MULTISPECTRAL MULTIPOLARIZATION ANTENNA-COUPLED INFRARED FOCAL PLANE ARRAY

Adjacent pixels of an infrared focal plane array (IR FPA) can be configured to have different spectral or polarization responses by adjustment of the lengths or orientations of the antenna arms which couple radiation into the sensors. The manufacturing costs of such an antenna-coupled IR FPA would be much less than integration of spectral or polarization filters onto each pixel, or fabrication of adjacent pixels with materials of different bandgaps. The antenna-coupled pixels can be made smaller than usual pixels, allowing this diversity of spectral or polarization information on the FPA without losing spatial resolution. The infrared (IR) sensors can be tunnel diodes, schottky diodes, photovoltaics, photoconductors, bolometers, and pyroelectrics. Application areas can include military and civilian remote sensing, automotive driving aids, industrial sensing, medical imaging, and general surveillance.