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US 9,793,177 B2Granted
Precise annealing of focal plane arrays for optical detection
AssigneeNational Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC
InventorDaniel A. Bender
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Precise annealing of identified defective regions of a Focal Plane Array (“FPA”) (e.g., exclusive of non-defective regions of the FPA) facilitates removal of defects from an FPA that has been hybridized and/or packaged with readout electronics. Radiation is optionally applied under operating conditions, such as under cryogenic temperatures, such that performance of an FPA can be evaluated before, during, and after annealing without requiring thermal cycling.
Claims14
A system comprising:
- a device configured to mount and position a Focal Plane Array (“FPA”), wherein the FPA comprises:
- a sensory layer and a ROIC layer, wherein the sensory layer is hybridized with the ROIC layer, wherein the sensory layer comprises an identified defective region, the defective region corresponding to at least one defective pixel, the defective region being less than an entirety of the FPA;
- an emitter that irradiates the defective region of the FPA to anneal the defective region without annealing a non-defective region of the FPA;
- and
- a controller component, wherein the controller component is configured to control the movement of the emitter or to control the movement of the device configured to mount and position the FPA.
2 more elements
A system comprising:
- a device configured to mount and position a Focal Plane Array (“FPA”), wherein the FPA comprises:
- a sensory layer and a readout integrated circuit (ROIC) layer, wherein the sensory layer is hybridized with the ROIC layer, wherein the sensory layer comprises an identified defective region, the defective region corresponding to at least one defective pixel, the defective region being less than an entirety of the FPA;
- a laser emitter that irradiates the defective region of the FPA to anneal the defective region without annealing a non-defective region of the FPA;
- and
- a computing apparatus comprising:
- a laser selector component that selects characteristics of a laser beam to be emitted by the laser emitter based at least in part upon a thermal model that simulates laser absorption and heat profile generation within a material to be annealed;
- and
- a controller component, wherein the controller component is configured to control the movement of the emitter or to control the movement of the device configured to mount and position the FPA.
5 more elements
A system comprising:
- a device configured to mount and position a Focal Plane Array (“FPA”);
- an emitter configured to emit annealing radiation and to focus the emitted annealing radiation onto a selected portion of a sensory layer of the FPA without annealing a non-defective region of the FPA;
- an interrogation component configured to read pixel values from a readout integrated circuit (ROIC) layer of the FPA and to identify defects from the read pixel values, wherein the ROIC layer is hybridized with the sensory layer;
- and
- a controller component, wherein the controller component is configured to control the movement of the emitter or to control the movement of the device configured to mount and position the FPA.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.