Large Format Uncooled Focal Plane Array, Phase I

Uncooled focal plane arrays have improved dramatically and array sizes of 320x240 elements in a 50-?m pitch are commercially available at affordable cost. Black Forest Engineering proposes to design a readout integrated circuit to allow fabrication of a large format 1024x768 element uncooled sensor. The significant innovation is the use of 0.18 ?m CMOS design rules, high duty cycle signal sampling, and power reduction techniques to create a thermal sensor that provides high sensitivity readout of large format microbolometer detection elements sensitive to 8-14 ?m infrared. The thermal IR sensor will be low weight, small volume, low power and robust making it compatible with remote sensing applications such as aircraft, balloon-borne and space flight platforms

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.