Radiometric packaging of uncooled bolometric infrared focal plane arrays

Abstract

INO has a wide e x p e r i e n c e i n t h e d e s i g n a n d fabrication of different kinds of microbolometer focal plane arrays (FPAs). In particular, a 5 1 2 x 3 pixel microbolometer FPA has been selected as the sensor for the New Infrared Sensor Technology (NIRST) instrument, one of the payloads of the S A C -D/Aquarius mission. In order to make the absolute temperature measurements necessary for many infrared Earth observation applications, the microbolometer FPA must be integrated into a package offering a very stable thermal environment. The radiometric packaging technology developed at INO presents an innovative approach since it was conceived to be modular and adaptable for the packaging of different microbolometer FPAs and for different sets of assembly requirements without need for requalification of the assembly process. The development of the radiometric packaging technology has broadened the position of INO as a supplier of radiometric detector modules integrating FPAs of microbolometers inside a radiometric package capable of achieving the requirements of different space missions. This paper gives an overview of the design of INO's radiometric package. Key performance parameters are also discussed and the test campaign conducted with the radiometric package is presented.