Tiny eyes in the sky

Advances in the area of 2-D photovoltaic infrared focal plane array (FPA) design and fabrication are being driven by the demands of military electro-optical systems designers who need the detection of very small infrared signals over different applications. Decreasing FPA pixel pitch is now the trend in the field, and this is driven because of the need for high-sensitivity detection in spectral bands, not to mention the capabilities realized with dual-band and two-color detectors. FPA improvements will include a reduction in cost and size, an increase in resolution and standoff performance, and improved reliability.