Super Uncooled Multi-band Radiometer Sensor (SUMRS)

Leonardo DRS is pleased to provide a proposal for a Super Uncooled Multiband Radiometer Sensor (SUMRS) in response to the Sustained Landsat Imaging Technology (SLIT) RFP. DRS' offering builds upon the successful ESTO IIP MURI instrument which demonstrated that an uncooled bolometer based instrument is capable of meeting existing Landsat TIR performance expectations and is mature enough for use. Our MURI instrument used existing high TRL bolometers. Our proposed SUMRS instrument seeks to maximize TIR capability and performance through exploiting the latest developments in uncooled technology and advances in metafilters. We propose to demonstrate these improvements in an airborne demonstration similar to our successful MURI IIP program. The proposed SUMRS instrument will provide temporal/spatial simultaneous imaging in 6 spectral bands at 30m GSD from a 705km orbit and sensitivity better than the SLIT RMA requirements and current LANDSAT 8/9 TIRS instruments. The low SWAP of the Uncooled Radiometer design, by eliminating the cryocooler typically needed for LWIR FPAs, make it ideal for use on a small satellite platform to allow for launch of a constellation of small satellites to facilitate higher frequency revisits. Our proposed SUMRS instrument leverages the MURI IIP proven piezo back-scan mechanism to allow for frame stacking of up to 14 frames. The primary technology advancements included in the proposed SUMRS instrument are: • Bolometer arrays with 10 µm pixels (reduced from MURI's 17 µm) and the introduction of DRS' super uncooled bolometer technology for better GSD and higher sensitivity at lower SWAP. Super-uncooled bolometer arrays will provide improved sensitivity by modifying the ROIC to operate with continuous bias rather than pulsed bias, implementing higher resistance bolometers to allow for continuous bias operation, thermal mass reduction of the bolometer combined with increased thermal isolation of the bolometer material by utilizing higher thermal resistance bolometer leg materials. • Larger format 2,100 x 2,000 element bolometer arrays with 10µm pixels to hold all 6 spectral bands on a single FPA thereby improving band to band registration and, • Meta-surface filters that split the color bands such that the vertical FOV is imaged simultaneously in all 6 color bands. This simultaneity will allow for true simultaneous image capture in all six bands, eliminating the color to color latency seen in butcher block filter approach. Incorporation of these technologies will enable a 30m GSD from the Landsat orbit using a small wide field of view 235mm EFL f/1 lens. This is 2X better than the GSD requested in the SLIT RMA requirements. This gives the science community options for analysis: use the data at full 30m resolution or aggregate up to 60m resolution. The aggregated 60m data will be more sensitive and have better RER. The lower 30m GSD can facilitate improving co-registration with the reflective bands as requested in the SLIT RMA. This five year Super Uncooled Multiband Radiometer Sensor (SUMRS) instrument program will start with the development of the SUMRS Instrument Concept Design and a SFPA ROIC trade study and detailed design through PDR in the initial year. In the second year the SFPA ROIC design and wafer fabrication, and the Meta-surface Filter design will be completed. In year three the SFPA ROIC wafers will be characterization tested. Also in year three the SFPA Bolometer design and the SFPA bolometer package design will be completed and the first bolometer lot will be processed and characterization testing. In year four the SFPA bolometers will be packaged and tested. Also during year four the SUMRS Flight Instrument Design will be completed and hardware delivered, to support the Flight Instrument integration and Airborne Demonstration of the SUMRS Instrument in the fifth and final year. Our SUMRS instrument will provide a next generation TIR capability meeting or exceeding the SLIT RMA.

Accelerate mission development, reduce risks and costs for future Sustainable Land Imaging missions

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