Development of high-performance radiation-hardened antireflection coatings for LWIR and multicolor IR focal plane arrays

Abstract

High Performance Radiation Hardened LWIR and Multicolor Focal Plane Arrays are critical for many space applications. Reliable focal plane arrays are needed for these applications that can operate in space environment without any degradation. In this paper, we will present various LWIR and Multicolor Focal Plane architectures currently being evaluated for LWIR and Multicolor applications that include focal plane materials such as HgCdTe, PbSnTe, QWIP and other Superlattice device structures. We also present AR Coating models and experimental results on several promising multi-layer AR coatings that includes CdTe, Si₃N₄ and diamond like Carbon, that have the necessary spectral response in the 2-25 microns and are hard materials with excellent bond strength. A combination of these materials offers the potential of developing anti-reflection coatings with high optical quality with controlled physical properties.