Digital-pixel focal plane array development

Since 2006, MIT Lincoln Laboratory has been developing Digital-pixel Focal Plane Array (DFPA) readout integrated circuits (ROICs). To date, four 256 × 256 30 μm pitch DFPA designs with in-pixel analog to digital conversion have been fabricated using IBM 90 nm CMOS processes. The DFPA ROICs are compatible with a wide range of detector materials and cutoff wavelengths; HgCdTe, QWIP, and InGaAs photo-detectors with cutoff wavelengths ranging from 1.6 to 14.5 μm have been hybridized to the same digital-pixel readout. The digital-pixel readout architecture offers high dynamic range, A/C or D/C coupled integration, and on-chip image processing with low power orthogonal transfer operations. The newest ROIC designs support two-color operation with a single Indium bump connection. Development and characterization of the two-color DFPA designs is presented along with applications for this new digital readout technology.