The QWIP Infrared Detector

MagnetarJones writes "This article on space.com reports on a new infrared detector using a chip known as a Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector array (QWIP), capable of resolving images in far infrared wavelengths more than three times better than current detectors. The QWIP uses the semiconductor gallium arsenide, a material with established commercial uses that have led to a simplified, less expensive, manufacturing process. The best detectors in use today -- including other gallium arsenide versions -- have a resolving power of about 300,000 pixels. The new array, a wafer-like chip measuring about 2 centimeters on a side, carries 1 million pixels across its detection surface. Even the pixels themselves are smaller, five of them could fit in the diameter of a human hair, allowing them to detect more light and generate a higher quality image."