Lead chalcogenides based infrared focal plane arrays

This paper describes hybrid coordinate addressed focal plane arrays based on thin films of lead chalcogenides and sensitive in different wavebands of the infrared spectral regions. The arrays feature high sensitivity, close to BLIP-mode, wide dynamic range and low heat dissipation. Their advantages include random access, element block selection, image scaling and on-chip data encoding. The focal plane arrays for various spectral ranges have an identical design, topology and electrical characteristics of photosensitive layers, and can be used for construction of multispectral opto-electronic systems. The arrays for near and middle infra-red spectral diapason work in wide range of temperatures, that permits to create on their basis photodetecting systems both with cryogenic and thermoelectric cooling. Different design configurations with elements from 128x128 to 256x256 are discussed and experimental characteristics of the arrays are presented.