A team led by University of North Texas physics professor Usha Philipose has entered a second phase of research into infrared sensor materials for thermal imaging. In an October 12 university announcement, UNT said the earlier feasibility phase demonstrated that the researchers could engineer materials with suitable electrical and thermal properties. The next phase will test different material options and examine whether they can be manufactured using processes already used in the semiconductor industry.

The work receives support from the U.S. Army’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, and the team is working with TKSInfrared. Its long-term goal is for a sensor to detect temperature changes smaller than one degree, but the university presents this as a target rather than an achieved performance result. The announcement does not identify the materials being tested or give measured sensitivity, production volumes or a commercialization timetable. The second phase is therefore a development effort on material performance and process compatibility, rather than a report of a sensor in mass production.