3 Mega-pixel InSb detector with 10 μm Pitch

SCD has developed a new 1920x1536 / 10 μm digital Infrared detector for the MWIR window named Blackbird. The Blackbird detector features a Focal Plane Array (FPA) that incorporates two technological building blocks developed over the past few years. The first one is a 10 μm InSb pixel based on the matured planar technology. The second building block is an innovative 10 μm ReadOut Integrated Circuit (ROIC) pixel. The InSb and the ROIC arrays are connected using Flip-Chip technology by means of indium bumps. The digital ROIC consists a matrix of 1920x1536 pixels and has an analog to digital (A/D) converter per-channel (total of 1920x2 A/Ds). It allows for full frame readout at a high frame rate of up to 120 Hz. Such an on-chip A/D conversion eliminates the need for several A/D converters with fairly high power consumption at the system level. The ROIC power consumption at maximum bandwidth is less than 400 mW. It features a wide range of pixel-level functionality such as several conversion gain options and a 2x2 pixel binning. The ROIC design makes use of the advanced and matured CMOS technology, 0.18 μm, which allows for high functionality and relatively low power consumption. The FPA is mounted on a Cold-Finger by a specially designed ceramic substrate. The whole assembly is housed in a stiffened Dewar that withstands harsh environmental conditions while minimizing the environment heat load contribution to the heat load of the detector. The design enables a 3-megapixel detector with overall low size, weight, and power (SWaP) with respect to comparable large format detectors. In this work we present in detail the characteristic performance of the new Blackbird detector.