Comparison of HgCdTe and QWIP dual-band focal plane arrays

We report on results of laboratory and field tests of dual- band MWIR/LWIR focal plane arrays (FPAs) produced under the Army Research Laboratory's Multidomain Smart Sensor Federated Laboratory program. The FPAs were made by DRS Infrared Technologies using the HgCdTe material system and by BAE Systems using QWIP technology. The HgCdTe array used the DRS HDVIP^TM process to bond two single-color detector structures to a 640 X 480-pixel single-color read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) to produce a dual-band 320 X 240 pixel array. The MWIR and LWIR pixels are co-located and have a high fill factor. The images from each band may be read out either sequentially (alternating frames) or simultaneously. The alternating frame approach must be used to produce optimal imagery in both bands under normal background conditions. The QWIP FPA was produced using MBE-grown III-V materials. The LWIR section consisted of GaAs quantum wells and AlGaAs barriers and the MWIR section used InGaAs quantum wells with AlGaAs barriers. The detector arrays were processed with three ohmic contacts for each pixel allowing for independent bias control over both the MWIR and LWIR sections. The arrays were indium bump-bonded to an ROIC (specifically designed for two color operation) which puts out the imagery from both bands simultaneously. The ROIC has variable gain and windowing capabilities. Both FPAs were tested under similar ambient conditions with similar optical components. The FPAs were subjected to a standard series of laboratory performance tests. The relative advantages and disadvantages of the two material systems for producing medium-format dual-band FPAs are discussed.