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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

There are an increasing number of issues confronting lithography engineers in modern wafer fabs. Of these problems, yield loss due to reticle defects has received less attention as compared to the shrinking process window of advanced lithographic requirements. Wafer fabs also have concentrated primarily on equipment and people as major sources of yield loss. The requirement of increased focus on reticle defects is examined. The constraints of the current manufacturing capability of mask shops is driving the need for a better method to link the actual lithographic manufacturing process to the reticle defect analysis. This paper will propose a method for integrating the reticle inspection and wafer process as a method for advanced reticle disposition and specification generation. By linking the fab wafer process to the reticle defect inspection a more complete picture of the impact of having reticle defects can be assessed.

The US Display Consortium (USDC) selected SAIC to establish a manufacturing operation for LCD backlights to foster the growth of the US LCD industry. The development agreement requires SAIC and the USDC to cost share the 4.3 million dollar effort which will result into a manufacturing capability to produce 12,000 backlight assemblies a year. The backlight assemblies have a range of sizes to match the LCD sizes - from 4 inches by 4 inches to 10 inches by 12.5 inches. The units are projected to support the demanding military display requirements and also have a lower cost, lower performance version to meet industrial display requirements where sunlight readability and rugged features are important. The units are not projected to compete with the simple, edge lit backlights in commercial, lap-top computers. The production capability is planned to be in place in early 1997.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

The Center for Optics Manufacturing (COM) has organized a volunteer Process Science Committee that will cooperate in advancing the optical manufacturing sciences. The objective is to develop technical information and processes that improve manufacturing capability, especially in grinding and polishing technology. Chaired by Donald Golini of Litton Itek Optical Systems, the committee members are volunteers from several American Precision Optics Manufacturers Association (APOMA) companies and institutions. Many of the companies are also funding project elements. The committee will accelerate industry progress by integrating the research and development activities of cooperating APOMA companies and institutions involved in both COM and independent programs. In the short term, the effort concentrates on grinding and polishing process innovation. In later phases, the effort will aid in the design future generations of machines and processes. While the developments are directly adaptable to COM's OPTICAM program, the results will influence a wide range of innovation and application in all methods of optical fabrication. Several leaders in the field are participating in the research and development effort--Boston University, Eastman Kodak Company, Hughes Leitz Optical Technologies, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Litton Itek Optical Systems, Melles Griot, Optical Components Inc., Precision Optical, Rank Pneumo, Schott Glass Technologies, Solution Technology, Texas Instruments, Tropel, and the universities of Arizona and Rochester. Other APOMA member companies will participate as resource needs grow. The collaboration is unique in the industry's history.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.