Prof. Donald Butler
Department of Electrical Engineering
Southern Methodist University
| Organizer: IEEE Toronto Section, Circuits and Devices Chapter |
| Title: Uncooled Infrared Detection with Micromachined Detectors |
| Speaker: Prof. Donald Butler Department of Electrical Engineering Southern Methodist University |
| Abstract: Thermal imagery allows objects to be identified and imaged according to their different temperatures. The ability to image by temperature allows for remote thermometry, "nightvision" and the ability to see through smoke and inclement weather. A large number of applications from transportation with nightvision for cars, boats, and aircraft, policing and security, firefighting, and medicine exist for thermal imagery. Until recently, high performance cameras have required cooling to cryogenic temperatures. More recently, detectors operating at room temperature have been developed using micromachined bolometers and pyroelectric detectors. The 2000 Cadillac has implemented an uncooled nightvision system, which will migrate to other models in the near future. Temperature resolution across a scene on the order of 10 mK has been demonstrated with these "uncooled" infrared detector arrays. This talk will overview the principles of uncooled infrared detectors and the various microbolometer and micro-pyroelectric detector technologies being employed. Issues concerning the micromachining and fabrication of uncooled focal plane arrays will be presented. The research being conducted at SMU on the "next generation" of uncooled infrared detectors using Y-Ba-Cu-O and other materials will be presented. The work at SMU is based in part upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (ECS-9800062), Army Research Office (38673PH), NASA (NAS1-99100) and Raytheon. |
| Biography: Dr. Donald Butler received his B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science: Physics Option from the University of Toronto (1980) and his M.S. (1981) and Ph.D. (1986) from the University of Rochester in Electrical Engineering. He performed his graduate research at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics investigating the nonequilibrium behavior of superconductor thin films in response to picosecond electrical and optical excitations. He continued his graduate research as a Research Associate in 1986. In 1987, he joined the Electrical Engineering Department at Southern Methodist University as an Assistant Professor. In 1993, he was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor. At SMU, he has been involved in research projects involving the optical control of superconductive microwave transmission line filters, the investigation of high temperature superconductors for hybrid superconductor-semiconductor electronics, the application of high temperature superconductors to microwave mixing and parametric conversion, the characterization of GaAs MMICs at cryogenic temperatures, and uncooled infrared detectors. His current research is focused on uncooled infrared detection, microelectromechanical devices (MEMS), pulsed laser deposition and annealing of thin films. He has been working on semiconducting YBaCuO uncooled infrared detection for the past seven years. He currently has published more than 60 journal articles and conference presentations and holds 4 patents. Dr. Butler is a senior member of the IEEE, a member of the SPIE, ASEE, and the American Physical Society. He is active in the IEEE. For the past 10 years he has served in various positions for the IEEE at the chapter, section, and international level. He is a recipient of the IEEE Third Millennium Medal. He is an Electron Device Society Distinguished Lecturer. |
| Time and Location: Monday, July 17, 2000 at 2:00 p.m. University of Toronto Galbraith Building, ROOM 244 35 St. George Street, Toronto |
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
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