The research described herein was conducted to demonstrate the utility of silicon integrated circuit technology in addressing problems of cost and reliability in infrared imaging systems. Such systems have, in the past, employed arrays of individual detectors (used in conjunction with mecnanical scanners) to respond to the instantaneous radiation flux from the corresponding point in object space as the scene is scanned. Separate pre-amplifiers are often employed for each detector. Furthermore, the detectors themselves employ exotic semiconductor materials tailored to the pneciflc spectral interval of interest, so that little commonality is achieved in the development of devices. The result is a technology characterized by impressive performance but plagued by high system costs and less than optimum reliability. If new and novel approaches to infrared imagery could be developed which would provide comparable performance at reduced cost and with improved reliability, the impact on military infrared technology would be substantial. Silicon technology has, in recent years, produced a revolution in electronics well known to all in the fields of engineering and science. It has found little application in the infrared area, however, since silicon does not normally respoid to infrared radiation of wavelength > 1 /um. If a suitable photoresponsive mechanism in the range beyond 1 /m. could be developed Tor use in silicon devices, the full weight of a very impressive materials technology could be brought to bear on infrared imagery, and the dual problem of high cost and insufficient reliability might be solved. Internal photoemission in metal-silicon Schottky barrier diode structures has long been known to permit the detection of infrared radiation of wavelength longer than the fundamental absorption edge in silicon. After comparison with alternative infrared photoresponsive mechanisms f jr use with silicon, this was selected as the one offering the greatest opportunity for success. The detailed properties of the physical process of internal photoemission dictated the direction which would be pursued in applying it to infrared imagery.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.