EPIR TECHNOLOGIES INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: A12-015

Description

Improvised explosive devices (IED) present extreme hazards for US armed service personnel; however, current standoff IED detection systems are far too expensive and bulky to be widely deployed in combat arenas. To protect our soldiers from this threat, EPIR Technologies Inc. proposes to develop a low-cost, man-portable miniaturized imaging spectrometer through coupling tunable micro-opto-electro-mechanical (MOEMS)-based Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPI) with high-performance HgCdTe long-wave infrared (LWIR) focal plane arrays (FPA). EPIRs tunable FPIs allow for adjustable waveband selection, which makes the proposed system capable of adapting to new chemical agents or situational environments. In Phase I, EPIR has successfully optimized the MOEMS fabrication processes necessary for FPI fabrication and performed component and system modeling demonstrating that standoff ranges beyond 10 meters is possible.During Phase II EPIR will further optimize the fabrication of the MOEMS FPIs and demonstrate tunable electrostatic actuation on large area membranes. In parallel, we will fabricate high performance LWIR FPAs using our in-house growth and processing facilities and commercial read-out integrated circuits. The effort will continue with the design of the electronic, optic and cooler components of the hyperspectral imager. These components will be integrated with EPIRs FPIs and FPAs elements. A prototype hyperspectral imager will be demonstrated.