Bae Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.

Steven R Jost

Ian B Murray

Paul R Moffitt

Jeremy B Reeves

Paul R Murphy

David J Shelton

Danny J Reese

Raymond D Tower, Jr

A luminescent diode surface within the cold shield of an infrared camera to allow for continuous non-uniformity correction with uniform irradiance across an infrared IR detector array. Further provided by the inclusion of a luminescent diode surface within the cold shield paneling is the ability to change the diode bias providing a negative luminescent effect while utilizing reverse bias and an electro-luminescent effect while utilizing a forward bias. This may then further allow for multiple set points to provide continuous offset and gain correction and to correct non-linear response effects.

Luminescent cold shield paneling for infrared camera continuous non-uniformity correction

A midwave infrared lead salt photodetector manufactured by a process comprising the step of employing molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) to grow a heterostructure photoconductive detector with a wide-gap surface layer that creates a surface channel for minority carriers.

Polycrystalline heterostructure infrared detector

A room temperature operation polycrystalline infrared responsive photodetector, manufactured by a process, comprising the steps of patterning vacuum-deposited material and dry-etching a photonic crystal structure with resonant coupling tuned to long wavelengths.

Photonic coupling scheme for photodetectors

A series of processes have been discovered whereby uniform oxygen doping of lead chalcogenides have been achieved by using vapor deposition combined with in situ or ex situ ion implantation allowing the high yield manufacture of high S/N infrared detectors.

Sensitized photoconductive infrared detectors

A high resolution room temperature infrared camera requires no cryogenic cooling and high vacuum packaging, normally though necessary for infrared target detection, by using a &ldquo;blind&rdquo; polycrystalline lead salt resistor in combination with a matched active polycrystalline lead salt photoresistor both maintained at room temperature to provide a differential output indicative of an IR generating target. As a result of the matched components, the differential output nulls out the dark current which is the result of the ambient at the camera. The high degree of linearity associated with polycrystalline photoresistors permits fabrication of a differential detector where dark current in the active element is nulled out by equal and opposite current flow in a non-optically active reference resistor. Rather than a reference provided by a mechanical chopper normally used to correct for array non-uniformity, and rather than using costly temperature stabilization, the subject polycrystalline photoresistor provides a factory-setable reference, such that dark current can be canceled with the use of a nearly identical &ldquo;blind&rdquo; element beside the optically active element.

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Amherst, NH, United States of America

Steven R Jost