The partnership between RVS, Seek Thermal and Freescale Semiconductor continues on the path to bring the latest technology and innovation to both military and commercial customers. The partnership has matured the 17μm pixel for volume production on the Thermal Weapon Sight (TWS) program in efforts to bring advanced production capability to produce a low cost, high performance product. The partnership has developed the 12μm pixel and has demonstrated performance across a family of detector sizes ranging from formats as small as 206 x 156 to full high definition formats. Detector pixel sensitivities have been achieved using the RVS double level advanced pixel structure. Transition of the packaging of microbolometers from a traditional die level package to a wafer level package (WLP) in a high volume commercial environment is complete. Innovations in wafer fabrication techniques have been incorporated into this product line to assist in the high yield required for volume production. The WLP seal yield is currently > 95%. Simulated package vacuum lives >> 20 years have been demonstrated through accelerated life testing where the package has been shown to have no degradation after 2,500 hours at 150°C. Additionally the rugged assembly has shown no degradation after mechanical shock and vibration and thermal shock testing. The transition to production effort was successfully completed in 2014 and the WLP design has been integrated into multiple new production products including the TWS and the innovative Seek Thermal commercial product that interfaces directly to an iPhone or android device.
At the 2010 meeting of the Defense and Security Symposia Raytheon
reported on the status of their efforts to establish a high rate uncooled
detector manufacturing capability. At that time we had just finished the transition of the 640 × 480, 25 μm product to our 200 mm wafer fab line at Freescale semiconductor and established an automated packaging and test capability.
Over the past year we have continued to build on that foundation. In this paper we will report on this year's progress in completing the transition of our 25 μm product line to Freescale semiconductor. Included will be
the 320 × 240 product transition and a summary of SPC and defectivity
data from one year's production.
Looking beyond 25 μm, we are well along in our transition of the 17 μm
product line to Freescale, with test results being available for the
640 × 480. Additionally, we will report on progress / status of the
Tailwind program, which is developing a 2048 × 1536, 17 μm uncooled
sensor. Data to be reported includes the establishment of subfield
stitching at a high rate commercial fab and the development of the
detector package and electronics.
With 17 μm transitioned to production, Raytheon has started work on the
HD LWIR program, which is laying the foundation for the next
generation of uncooled detectors by further shrinking the pixel to <17
μm. With the HD LWIR program just beginning, we will review our
development strategy and program plan.
Over the past two years Raytheon has made a major investment aimed at establishing a high volume uncooled
manufacturing capability. This effort has addressed three elements of the uncooled value stream, namely bolometer
fabrication, packaging and calibration/test.
To facilitate a low cost / high volume source of bolometers Raytheon has formed a partnership with a high volume
200mm commercial silicon wafer fabrication. Over a 12 month period Raytheon has installed 200mm VOx deposition
equipment, matched the metrology used on the Raytheon 150mm line, transferred the process flow used to fabricate
Raytheon's double layer bolometer process and qualified the product. In this paper we will review the process transfer
methodology and bolometer performance.
To reduce bolometer packaging cost and increase production rates, Raytheon has implemented an automated packaging
line. This line utilizes automated adhesive dispense, component pick and place, wire bonding and solder seal. In this
paper we will review the process flow, qualification process and line capacity
Calibration and test has traditionally been performed using a number of temperature chambers, with increased
throughput being obtained by adding more chambers. This comes at the expense of increased test labor required to feed
the chambers and an increased energy and floor space foot print. To avoid these collateral costs, Raytheon has
implemented an automated robotic calibration cell capable of performing in excess of 5,000 calibrations a month. In this
paper we will provide an overview of the calibration cell along with takt time and throughput data.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.