Low-Cost Platform Technology for LWIR Sensor Arrays for Use in Automotive Night Vision and Other Applications

Abstract

In the EU FP7 project "ADOSE" a new approach has been used to develop a new cost efficient technology by adapting a volume proven integrated MEMS process for the production of a suspended thermodiode array. As low-cost was to be the key feature of the project the focus was set on fully semiconductor compatible production without the need for dedicated equipment and on the use of cost efficient MEMS technologies like wafer-level vacuum encapsulation. A first proof-of-concept integrated FIR array with 42 x 28 pixels was already published [1], now the final ADOSE design with 100 x 50 pixel resolution is produced and under evaluation. While the ADOSE chip targets the requirements of a low-end “Hot-Spot-Detector”, many applications require higher resolutions. As the technology used in ADOSE inherits some limitations from its pressure sensor ancestor, we advance the technology to get rid of these and achieve a low-cost and high-res imager. Here we present the results from ADOSE and give an outlook on the new BMBF-funded Spitzencluster MicroTEC Südwest project RTFIR.