SBIR Phase I: Ultra-low cost Long Wavelength Infra-Red Imaging Camera

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是使热成像解决方案能够跨越众多的日常应用。更具体地说，该项目将使热成像进入物联网（IoT）生态系统，这将促进公共安全、先进健康监测、能源和水资源节约方面的进步，所有这些都将进一步推动经济发展。长波长红外（LWIR）辐射可以穿透灰尘、烟雾和雾等常见的遮挡物，因此热像仪可以提高恶劣条件下的交通安全。例如，安装在汽车上或铁路沿线的摄像头将通过帮助防止碰撞来保护车内人员和行人。同样的好处还将提高警察、消防员和急救人员的安全性和效率。最后，远程监控摄像机将增加老年人和高医疗风险个体的独立性，同时尊重他们的隐私，因为LWIR图像保留了受试者的匿名性。最后，配备热成像的智能家电可以根据占用情况检测来调节照明和暖通空调的输送，以减少住宅和商业能源消耗。在农业方面，热成像可以与数据处理结合使用，以节约用水，并更有效地指导农药和化肥的使用。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目有潜力推进微制造、长波红外（LWIR）光学、晶圆级相机组装和小型化热成像相机领域的知识前沿。LWIR透镜技术利用半导体和MEMS / MOEMS行业的进步，实现了前所未有的透镜拓扑结构。该项目所追求的镜片技术将取代传统的锗或硫系玻璃镜片，这些镜片制造成本高昂且体积庞大。独特的镜头设计和制造方法进一步实现了晶圆级封装（WLP）和晶圆级光学（WLO），这是第一次允许将镜头组装到晶圆级热成像阵列上，而不是在单个晶圆级上，从而大大降低了成本、尺寸和重量。这项研究将涉及镜头的设计和制造，镜头组装到热成像阵列，最后，测试和基准的相机性能。最后，本项目通过开发使用时域有限差分（FDTD）模拟作为传统光线追踪光学设计软件输入的自定义预测模型，推进了介电超材料的研究和使用。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable thermal imaging solutions across a multitude of everyday applications. More specifically, this project will make thermal imaging accessible to the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, which will spur advancements in public safety, advanced health monitoring, and energy and water conservation, all of which will further drive economic development. Long Wavelength Infra-Red (LWIR) radiation propagates through common obscurants such as dust, smoke and fog, so thermal imaging cameras can enhance transportation safety under inclement conditions. For example, cameras mounted in automobiles or along railways will protect vehicle occupants and pedestrians by helping prevent collisions. The same benefits will also improve safety and increase efficacy of police, firefighters and EMTs. Finally, remotely monitored cameras will increase independence of elderly and high medical risk individuals while respecting their privacy as LWIR images preserve the anonymity of the subject. Finally, thermal imaging-equipped smart appliances can regulate lighting and HVAC delivery based upon occupancy detection to reduce residential and commercial energy consumption. In agriculture, thermal imaging can be used in conjunction with data processing to conserve water and direct the use of pesticides and fertilizer more efficiently.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project has the potential to advance the frontiers of knowledge in the areas of micro-fabrication, Long Wavelength Infra-Red (LWIR) optics, wafer level camera assembly, and reduced form factor thermal imaging cameras. The LWIR lens technology leverages advancements from the semiconductor and MEMS / MOEMS industries to enable never before realized lens topologies. The lens technology pursued in this project will replace traditional germanium or chalcogenide glass lenses, which are expensive to manufacture and bulky. The unique lens design and fabrication approach further enable Wafer-Level Packaging (WLP) and Wafer-Level Optics (WLO), which extend the state-of-the-art by allowing, for the first time, the lens to be assembled on to the thermal imaging array at the wafer-level rather than at the individual die level, which results in significant reduction in cost, size and weight. This research will involve lens design and fabrication, lens assembly on to a thermal imaging array, and finally, testing and benchmarking of the camera performance. Finally, this project advances the study and usage of dielectric metamaterials by developing custom predictive models for using Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulations as an input for traditional ray tracing optical design software.