High-resolution 3–5 [micro sign]m∕8–12 [micro sign]m dual-band quantum well infrared photodetector array

Abstract

A dual-band focal plane array (FPA) for the 8–12 µm and 3–5 µm atmospheric windows with simultaneous integration in both spectral bands on each pixel is reported. The FPA is based on quantum well infrared photodetectors and comprises 384×288 pixels with 40 µm pitch. At 7.6 ms integration time and an f/2 aperture, the FPA achieves excellent thermal resolution with noise-equivalent temperature differences of 17 mK (3–5 µm) and 43 mK (8–12 µm).