*** 9760645 Chow This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project utilizes bandgap-engineered photon detection for high performance ambient temperature thermal imaging for a variety of industrial applications such as nondestructive testing, quality control, and process optimization. Although thermal detectors such as micro-bolometers have seen rapid progress in performance and cost reduction, they are limited by low detectivity, sluggish response time, and spectral non-specifivity. Fast IR imaging is difficult to achieve. Indium arsenic antimonide (InAs1-xSbx), grown by molecular beam epitaxy, , will be used as the basic photodiode material. The design suppresses Auger noise to achieve much higher detectivity. In similar material systems high detectivity has been found that is greater than commercial thermal detectors by an order of magnitude. Phase I will emphasize material fabrication and feasibility demonstration of uncooled operation. Phase II would optimize the device structure and fabricate two-dimensional imaging arrays. Uncooled IR imaging arrays are expected to have commercial applications in nondestructive testing, medical diagnostics, industrial process control, navigation, and pollution monitoring. Reduced fabrication and operating costs may expand commercial markets significantly. ***
