Development of Nanostructured VOx Uncooled Bolometers
Project Description
We will develop innovative methods to fabricate vanadium oxide (VOx) thin films for uncooled microbolometers used in high fidelity land imaging. Whereas commercial off-the-shelf VOx uncooled microbolometers are inexpensive options for land imaging, their performance is insufficient and has no room for improvement using current fabrication processes. We will fabricate a prototype microbolometer array with improved performance by incorporating the unique VOx thin films.
The end goal of this project is to develop proof-of-concept uncooled microbolometers which can be integrated in future thermal instruments engaged in land imaging on future observatories.
Another, secondary, goal of this project is to explore means of increasing the internal thermal time constant of VOx microbolometers.
More »Anticipated Benefits
Uncooled microbolometers are prime candidate detectors in thermal imagers for both terrestrial (e.g., LandSat) and planetary applications (e.g., missions to the Jovian lunar environment like JEO/JGO), because they do not require large amounts of power and mass needed for cooling. For this reason, the Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) has identified these detectors as the subject of multiple studies.
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Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Goddard Space Flight Center
(GSFC)
|
Lead Organization | NASA Center | Greenbelt, Maryland |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
Maryland
