Significant improvements of HgCdTe (MCT) detectors for the midwave infrared (MWIR) region with cutoff wavelength of about 5.2 μm at 77 K have been achieved. Optimizing the CdTe passivation proved to be a decisive step towards higher operating temperatures. The optimization was done by refining the interdiffusion process of the CdTe passivation layer with the liquid phase epitaxy-grown layer. The dark current density was reduced almost to the level of Rule 07, a common infrared detector benchmark. Additionally, improving the passivation process also decreased tunneling. These advancements also showed up in the focal-plane array (FPA) performance. A considerable reduction of the noise-equivalent temperature difference at temperatures above 130 K was attained. Based on these preliminary results, an operating temperature for these devices of more than 160 K is expected. Additionally, infrared (IR) pictures taken with a MWIR MCT-based FPA processed with the previous, slightly improved technology are presented. It is shown that good picture quality is attained at operating temperature of 140 K while retaining operability of 99.61%.