Abstract

State-of-the-art mid-infrared (MIR: 2 – 15 µm) direct detectors (e.g. semiconductor based HgCdTe, PbS, PbSe, and microbolometer) suffer from high background noise when operating at room temperature. Low noise detection therefore requires multi-stage or cryogenic cooling (−195°C) and perfect shielding to avoid temperature fluctuations [1]. Such systems easily become sophisticated and bulky, non-suitable for widespread applications. As the MIR spectral range, especially around 6 µm, is very relevant for spectroscopic-imaging of bio-molecules (protein, lipids), tissues (cancer, tumour), or for sensing of environmental pollutants (CH₄, NO, NO₂, SO₂), high resolution spectroscopic systems in the 6 µm range is much in need. The numbers of pixels in typical HgCdTe or microbolometer based array detectors are limited to few 100s, making them less than ideal for fast high resolution broad-band spectroscopy.

© 2019 IEEE