Plasmonic Metamaterial Approach to Infrared Scene Projection

As both the response speed and sensitivity of thermal imagers have improved significantly over recent years, new IRSP systems are needed to provide greater dynamic range and faster response speeds. Addressing these issues, as well as producing a cost effective and modular IRSP system will be critical for providing quality scene projection for the next generation of infrared imagers. To address these needs, the team proposes to develop a new class of infrared spatial light modulators (SLMs) based upon metamaterial technologies. Metamaterials are a class of engineered materials where arrays of sub-wavelength resonant elements are integrated within a surface or volume to impress a desired spectral or directional response.By virtue of hybridizing metamaterials with active materials such as semiconductors and or phase change materials (PCMs) a mechanism for dynamic tuning (e.g. frequency tuning or amplitude modulation) is made possible. Thus, we propose to create the next generation of IRSPs by using the metamaterials ability to selectively alter reflectivity or transmissivity to act as an MWIR SLM with an external source, such as a high temperature blackbody, acting as the illuminator.