The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 05, 2017
Filed:
Sep. 04, 2015
Robert K. Reich, Tyngsborough, MA (US);
Harry R. Clark, Townsend, MA (US);
Carl O. Bozler, Waltham, MA (US);
Shaun R. Berry, Chelmsford, MA (US);
Jeremy B. Muldavin, Lawrence, MA (US);
Robert K. Reich, Tyngsborough, MA (US);
Harry R. Clark, Townsend, MA (US);
Carl O. Bozler, Waltham, MA (US);
Shaun R. Berry, Chelmsford, MA (US);
Jeremy B. Muldavin, Lawrence, MA (US);
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US);
Abstract
The high-pixel-count uncooled thermal imaging arrays disclosed herein have liquid crystal (LC) microcavity transducers separate from the read-out integrated circuit (ROIC). The transducer converts incident infrared (IR) radiation in birefringence changes that can be measured with visible light. In other words, the system uses the temperature sensitivity of the LC birefringence to convert the IR scene to a visible image. Measurements on sample arrays indicate that the LC material quality is similar to that of bulk samples and has good noise performance. Additionally, high-fill-factor arrays on fused-silica substrates may be processed to enable optimization of conditions for greatly improved temperature sensitivity. An additional IR absorber layer may be integrated into the process to tune the structure for the infrared.