U.S. Army's Latest Solicitation New, Compact Room-Temperature Infrared Sensor with Quantum-Level Performance

On September 3, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced a new solicitation, the OptTIm program, aimed at achieving quantum-level infrared (IR) detection at room temperature.

On September 3, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced a new solicitation, the OptTIm (Optical Thermal Imaging Program), aimed at the infrared spectrum at room temperature is a vast landscape of information that modern infrared detectors can use this information for a variety of applications. Examples include night vision, biochemical spectroscopy, microelectronic design, and climate science. However, modern sensors used in these practical areas lack spectral selectivity and must filter out noise, thus limiting their performance. Currently, advanced infrared sensors enable ultra-sensitive single-photon level detection, but these sensors must be cryogenically cooled to 4K (-269°C) and require large and bulky power supplies, making them too expensive and impractical for everyday, commercial use by the Department of Defense.

DARPA's OptTIm program aims to develop new, compact room-temperature infrared sensors with quantum-level performance - bridging the performance gap between uncooled thermal detectors with limited capabilities, and high-performance cryogenically cooled photodetectors.

If researchers can meet the program's metrics, we will enable infrared detection with orders of magnitude improvements in sensitivity, spectral control and response time over current room-temperature infrared devices," said Mukund Vengalattore, OpTIm program manager for DARPA's Defense Science Division. A compact infrared sensor that achieves quantum-level sensitivity at room temperature will transform battlefield surveillance, night vision, and imaging on land and in space. It will also enable a large number of commercial applications, including infrared spectroscopy for non-invasive cancer diagnosis, highly accurate and immediate pathogen detection from human breath/air, and pre-disease detection of agricultural and plant health threats."

The key to potentially making this huge technological leap in infrared sensing comes from combining the best aspects of three sensor modes in synergy. First, optomechanical resonators (tiny trampoline-like structures) provide a highly isolated, ultra-sensitive platform; second, all-photodetectors yield low-noise, quantum-level detection; and third, designer metamaterials with spectrally selective "tailored" infrared absorption allow for extremely precise detection of desired wavelengths.

What makes OpTIm such an incredible challenge, and one that could have a revolutionary impact if we succeed - is to combine all three approaches," Vengalattore said. together. We are not looking to augment existing infrared detection modes simply through evolutionary improvements in signal reading, noise mitigation, or spectral selectivity; what makes this project exciting from a scientific standpoint and from an application-oriented perspective is that OpTIm seeks to bring together innovative solutions at the intersection of optomechanics, materials physics, photonics, and metrology to take a fresh look at an old problem. A fresh look at an old problem. In the end, based on all the applications that the projected capabilities of the OpTIm detector will bring, and probably many more that we have not yet imagined, will result from this new infrared detection regime."

OpTIm is a 60-month program divided into two 30-month phases in which the team will work to validate, characterize and benchmark this new opto-mechanical infrared detector.

 Reference link:

https://www.hstoday.us/industry/industry-news/darpa-seeks-solutions-to-enable-quantum-level-infrared-detection-at-room-temperature/