1996 Outstanding Professional Research Award
Frank Szmulowicz will receive the Wohlleben/Hochwalt Outstanding Professional Research Award on April 29 for his contributions to the development of the mathematical and theoretical methods necessary to implement the band-gap engineering design of semiconductor materials for improved infrared sensors used on Air Force systems for detecting objects in darkness. Key issues in the development of long and very long infrared imaging arrays are cost, reliability, and cooling requirements. Infrared absorbing semiconductor materials have been used as sensors and detectors in defense applications for over 35 years. The new generation of infrared detectors based on Frank's designs of band-gap engineered materials such as quantum wells and superlattices hold the promise of meeting these requirements.
The results of Frank's theoretical calculations combined with the experimental measurements conducted by his colleagues at the Materials Directorate (WL/MLPO) are used to design detector structures with the infrared response characteristics tailored to Air Force applications. In particular, Frank developed and implemented infrared detector designs for quantum well and superlattice band-gap engineered structures for the next generation of focal plane infrared detector arrays for space-based applications. Because the cooling cost for these detectors is much lower than for the previous generation of detectors, millions of dollars per launch can be saved when deploying these detectors in space. Band-gap engineered detectors can also be used in medical imaging, atmospheric pollution monitoring, communication, and molecular spectroscopy.
Frank worked out the theory, carried out the calculations, and collaborated with other researchers, in particular, Dr. Gail J. Brown (WL/MLPO), to have his band-gap engineered structures grown and their performance measured. Structures based on his designs have been and continue to be grown at such places as WL/MLBM branch at WPAFB, the Quantum Epitaxial Designs, the National Research Council (Canada), the Space Vacuum Epitaxy Center (University of Houston), Hughes Research Labs, and Chalmers University (Sweden). Experimental tests on these structures confirm his predictions. Overall, the combined theoretical-experimental effort indicates that sensors made with these materials offer improved performance, such as high-resolution imaging in tailored spectral bands, while eliminating device fabrication and yield problems associated with earlier materials.
The theoretical techniques Frank devised for his calculations represented a significant improvement over existing methods in terms of their numerical stability and ease of use. Frank hopes that the conceptual and pedagogic attributes of his theory will replace the traditional textbook treatments of superlattices and quantum wells.
A number of Ph.D. theses at AFIT, Northwestern, University of Alabama, and other places have been motivated by Frank's theoretical contributions. His work also provided a theoretical underpinning for the experimental work of Dr. Gail Brown, for which she won the prestigious Cleary Award at the Materials Lab.
Frank has been with UDRI since 1978, where he is now a Principal Investigator and Group Leader. His theoretical contributions have been part of a 20 year effort conducted by the Electromagnetic Materials Group of the Metals and Ceramics Division to improve infrared detectors. His work is supported by the Wright Laboratory, Materials Directorate.
April 9, 1997
by Niki Maxwell
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