GOALI: Short-wave infrared polarization sensitive focal plane array

与可见光相比，短波红外(SWIR)光可以更深入地穿透雾霾、雾、烟雾和纸巾等遮蔽层。水蒸气、雾和硅等材料在SWIR中是透明的，而SWIR是人眼不可见的。在可见光光谱中看起来相似甚至相同的物体可以很容易地在SWIR中识别。本研究旨在展示一种新型的SWIR偏振敏感成像传感器，该传感器在医学成像、遥感、监视、3D成像和工业计量中具有应用。该项目支持在光学、电气工程、化学和材料科学等多学科领域的本科生和研究生的研究和培训。技术摘要该项目支持在SWIR中工作的新型偏振敏感焦平面阵列(FPA)的研究和开发。这项拟议的研究利用了亚利桑那大学(UA)的薄膜制造和成像偏振测量以及4D Technology的半导体封装和工业计量方面的跨学科专业知识，4D Technology是一家位于亚利桑那州图森市的On Innovation Business公司。该项目的目标是(1)推进多层SWIR滤光片的基本设计、技术诀窍和制造工艺，(2)在SWIR中构建新的偏振敏感焦平面阵列，以及(3)展示用于自动半导体缺陷检测和计量应用的穿透晶片成像系统。这项工作的智力意义在于，除了为SWIR滤光片和镀膜创造一种新的设计和制造工艺，以扩展最先进的技术之外，还将推动目前尚不存在的创新和重要传感器的开发。这种类型的传感器将使新型和复杂的仪器具有使用可见光难以实现和不可能实现的应用。具体地说，该团队将开发一种新的材料和处理方法，实现1至2微米波长范围内的任意非线性偏振(圆形和椭圆形)滤光片。独特的是，建议的焦平面分割式偏振仪将是单次拍摄的，对振动不敏感，并且紧凑。从长远来看，更广泛的影响包括：(1)利用目标结果促进实际产品中的应用；以及(Ii)加强用于在UA光学科学学院内部和外部通过现有的远程学习计划为本科生和研究生教学创建新课程材料的知识库。研究生和本科生将完成这项工作的重要部分，以获得宝贵的技术和团队合作技能，通过设备制造和仪器测试融合行业和学术观点。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Compared with visible light, short wave infrared (SWIR) light can penetrate deeper into obscuring layers, such as haze, fog, smoke and tissue. Water vapor, fog, and materials such as silicon are transparent in SWIR, and SWIR is invisible to the human eye. Objects that appear similar or even identical in the visible spectrum can be easily identified in SWIR. This research seeks to demonstrate a novel SWIR polarization sensitive imaging sensor that has applications in medical imaging, remote sensing, surveillance, 3D imaging and industrial metrology. The project supports the research and training of undergraduate and graduate students in the multidisciplinary areas of optical sciences, electrical engineering, chemistry, and materials science.Technical abstractThis GOALI project supports the research and development of a novel class of polarization-sensitive focal plane arrays (FPAs) that operate in the SWIR. The proposed research leverages the interdisciplinary expertise of thin-film fabrication and imaging polarimetry at the University of Arizona (UA) and semiconductor packaging and industrial metrology at 4D Technology, an Onto Innovation Business located in Tucson, Arizona. The goals of this project are (1) the advancement of fundamental design, know-how and fabrication process of multilayer SWIR optical filters, (2) the construction of a new polarization sensitive focal plane arrays in the SWIR, and (3) the demonstration of a through-wafer imaging system for automated semiconductor defect inspection and metrology applications. The intellectual significance of this work lies in advancing the development of an innovative and important sensor that currently does not exist in addition to creating a novel design and fabrication process for SWIR optical filter and coating to extend the state-of-the-art. This type of sensor will enable novel and complex instruments with applications that are difficult and impossible to perform using visible light. Specifically, the team will develop a new material and processing approach to realize arbitrary nonlinear polarization (circular and elliptical) filters in the 1 to 2 micron wavelength range. Uniquely, the proposed division-of-focal plane polarimeter will be single shot, insensitive to vibration, and compact. In the long-term, the broader impacts include: (1) leveraging the GOALI results to advance applications in real products; and (ii) strengthening the knowledge base used to create new course material for undergraduate and graduate teaching within the UA College of Optical Sciences, and externally through an existing distance-learning program. Graduate and undergraduate students will carry out a significant portion of this work to gain invaluable technical and teamwork skills merging industry and academic perspectives through device fabrication and instrument testing.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.