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

SBIR第一阶段：超低成本长波长红外成像相机

• 批准号: 1621621
• 负责人: SK Ganapathi
• 金额: $ 22.5万
• 依托单位: INVIS Technologies
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-07-01 至 2017-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1621621&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Ultra; low; cost

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.

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是在众多的日常应用中实现热成像解决方案。 更具体地说，该项目将使物联网（IoT）生态系统能够使用热成像，这将促进公共安全，先进的健康监测以及能源和水资源保护的进步，所有这些都将进一步推动经济发展。 长波红外（LWIR）辐射可以通过灰尘、烟雾和雾气等常见的遮蔽物传播，因此热成像相机可以提高恶劣条件下的运输安全。例如，安装在汽车或沿着铁路上的摄像头将通过帮助防止碰撞来保护车辆乘员和行人。同样的好处也将提高安全性，提高警察、消防员和急救人员的效率。最后，远程监控摄像机将提高老年人和高医疗风险个人的独立性，同时尊重他们的隐私，因为LWIR图像保持了受试者的匿名性。 最后，配备热成像的智能家电可以根据占用检测来调节照明和HVAC输送，以减少住宅和商业能源消耗。在农业领域，热成像技术可与数据处理技术结合使用，以节约用水，更有效地指导农药和化肥的使用。这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一期项目有可能推进微加工、长波红外（LWIR）光学、晶圆级相机组装和缩小尺寸热成像相机等领域的前沿知识。LWIR透镜技术充分利用了半导体和MEMS/MOEMS行业的先进技术，实现了前所未有的透镜拓扑结构。 该项目中采用的透镜技术将取代传统的锗或硫属玻璃透镜，后者制造成本高且体积大。 独特的透镜设计和制造方法进一步实现了晶片级封装（WLP）和晶片级光学（WLO），其通过首次允许将透镜以晶片级而不是以单个管芯级组装到热成像阵列上来扩展现有技术，这导致成本、尺寸和重量的显著降低。 本研究将涉及透镜的设计和制造，透镜组装到热成像阵列，最后，测试和基准的相机性能。 最后，该项目通过开发自定义预测模型，使用时域有限差分法（FDTD）模拟作为传统光线跟踪光学设计软件的输入，推进了电介质超材料的研究和使用。