Curved infrared detectors: application to spectrometry and astronomy

D. Dumas; M. Fendler; F. Berger; F. Marion; A. Arnaud; C. Vialle; V. Goudon; J. Primot; E. Le Coarer; H. Ribot

doi:10.1117/12.856122

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20 July 2010 Curved infrared detectors: application to spectrometry and astronomy

D. Dumas, M. Fendler, F. Berger, F. Marion, A. Arnaud, C. Vialle, V. Goudon, J. Primot, E. Le Coarer, H. Ribot

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7742, High Energy, Optical, and Infrared Detectors for Astronomy IV; 77421V (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.856122
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The traditional design of optical systems is severely complicated by the curved shape of the image surface which has to be recorded on a planar retina. This constraint decreases the image quality; optical elements are then added to avoid aberrations and lead to increase the dimensions of the system. However, miniaturization could be achieved, without decreasing resolution and sensibility, by recording the image surface on a curved retina. The optical advantages of curved sensors have been demonstrated; the simplification leads to scale down the entire system. Moreover, the hemispherical shape increases the field of view (FOV). In this paper the advantages of curved focal plane will be detailed through two applications: spectrometry and large FOV telescopes. In astronomy, large FOV and miniaturization with good resolution can only be achieved by curving the focal plane; the difficulty is to curve in a hemispherical shape large detectors. The advantages are highlighted by the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) project. Despite this high interest in curved detectors, only few articles are dedicated to this hemispherical shape technology. Some solutions exist, which mainly consist in structuring the die in sub-devices. We propose a solution to curve an IR sensor with a fill factor equal to 100%. To do so, we developed a dedicated bonding process which allows curving silicon using its mechanical properties. A curved uncooled infrared detector has been performed without mechanical and electrical damage.

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D. Dumas, M. Fendler, F. Berger, F. Marion, A. Arnaud, C. Vialle, V. Goudon, J. Primot, E. Le Coarer, and H. Ribot "Curved infrared detectors: application to spectrometry and astronomy", Proc. SPIE 7742, High Energy, Optical, and Infrared Detectors for Astronomy IV, 77421V (20 July 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.856122

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