FREEDOM PHOTONICS LLC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: HR001121S0007-04

Description

Currently, a major technology gap exists for small-pitch, large format uncooled imagers capable of operating at longwave infrared (LWIR) wavelengths. Freedom Photonics and team propose to address this gap through the use of HgTe colloidal quantum dots, whose solution-processing techniques offer advantages in reducing hybridization complexity and cost over their bulk epitaxial counterparts. The goals of this Phase I effort are to (i) develop detector and materials models to determine the feasibility of the technical approach, (ii) perform simplified materials synthesis and fabrication demonstrations, (iii) strategize integration with a ROIC and address hybridization process scalability, and (iv) develop test and characterization procedures and setups for use in a Phase II effort. Applications of this technology span next-generation Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, night vision, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR).Currently, a major technology gap exists for small-pitch, large format uncooled imagers capable of operating at longwave infrared (LWIR) wavelengths. Freedom Photonics and team propose to address this gap through the use of HgTe colloidal quantum dots, whose solution-processing techniques offer advantages in reducing hybridization complexity and cost over their bulk epitaxial counterparts. The goals of this Phase I effort are to (i) develop detector and materials models to determine the feasibility of the technical approach, (ii) perform simplified materials synthesis and fabrication demonstrations, (iii) strategize integration with a ROIC and address hybridization process scalability, and (iv) develop test and characterization procedures and setups for use in a Phase II effort. Applications of this technology span next-generation Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, night vision, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR).