SK Infrared unlocks the power of next-generation infrared technology, crafting custom detectors and imaging solutions for unparalleled performance across a diverse set of applications.
Military & Defense
Infrared technology is extensively used for threat detection and targeting, providing significant tactical advantage by allowing operation in low-visibility conditions. It enhances situational awareness, and provides aerial reconnaissance, tracking movements, and monitoring field conditions.
Autonomous & Environmental Monitoring
Infrared sensors, including IR cameras and LiDAR, enable autonomous vehicles and robots to navigate, detect objects, and operate with high sensitivity in various conditions. Satellites use infrared imaging and spectroscopy to analyze greenhouse gases, measure ocean temperature, and detect contaminant signatures in our food supply.
Agriculutural
Infrared-equipped drones are used for monitoring large areas, such as forests, urban farming, or livestock health, providing real-time reflective and thermal imagery for stress, moisture and growth patterns. Infrared technology enhances agricultural productivity by enabling early detection of problems, improving resource efficiency, and supporting sustainable farming practices.
Astronomy
Telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Spitzer Space Telescope capture deep-space images, detecting galaxies billions of light-years away, using infrared imaging. Infrared spectroscopy can detect and measure environments on other planets, forming stars, and distant galaxies.
Industrial Manufacturing
Infrared imaging is essential for monitoring and enhancing operations, providing non-invasive sensing, and detecting hidden hazards in various environments. Infrared technology is commonly used for quality control, industrial processes, predictive maintenance, and real-time data capture in low-light or no-light conditions.
Technology
Welcome to SK Infrared, a leading provider of advanced semiconductor solutions with a focus on infrared sensor technology. We specialize in designing and manufacturing high-performance infrared sensors for applications in automation, security, agriculture, medicine, and industrial systems. Our cutting-edge semiconductor expertise ensures precision, reliability, and efficiency in every product we offer. Whether you need custom sensor solutions or production-level support, we are committed to delivering innovation that meets your evolving needs. Explore our offerings and discover how our infrared sensor technology can power your next breakthrough.
Short-wave Infrared (SWIR)
- Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) technology captures reflected infrared light rather than emitted heat.
- Widely used in defense, industrial, agricultural, and medical fields for tasks like surveillance, defect detection, and plant health monitoring.
- Ideally used for moisture detection, material sorting, and environmental monitoring, offering vision beyond the visible spectrum and human eye capability.
Mid-wave Infrared (MWIR)
- Mid-Wave Infrared (MWIR) spans 3–8 µm wavelengths and excels in thermal imaging, surveillance, and detecting heat signatures through smoke and fog.
- Technology focuses on high-resolution and target discrimination, especially for high-temperature contrasts in military and industrial use cases. Gas detection, remote sensing and astronomy are other applications in this wavelength band.
- Cooled detectors are used for peak performance; however, the cryogenic systems increase the cost and complexity of the MWIR system.
- Recent advancements in quantum detectors and uncooled MWIR sensors are making the technology more accessible for commercial and scientific applications.
Long-wave Infrared (LWIR):
- Long-wave Infrared (LWIR) covers 8-14 µm wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum and detects heat emissions without external light, making it ideal for passive thermal imaging, night vision, and industrial use.
- Often operates without cooling, making LWIR systems more affordable and accessible, especially for ambient temperature detection through atmospheric obstacles.
- Used in security, firefighting, maintenance, and medical diagnostics, with advances like uncooled microbolometers enabling broader use in consumer tech, drones, and autonomous vehicles.
Research & Development
SK Infrared continually leverages innovations in single and multicolor infrared detection technology to design and develop custom devices for military and commercial applications. We understand the unique needs of each from short-wave infrared to long-wave infrared. We’re passionate about micro- and nanotechnology and the potential to transform research and industry applications.
Contact us to understand how our design process can build your next custom solution.
Conference Presentations and Proceedings
“Laser imaging of gases for concentration and location identification.”
U.S. Patent 11,714,046, issued August 1, 2023.
Ball, Christopher, Theodore Ronningen, Douglas Fink, Brett Ringel, Sanjay Krishna, Earl Fuller, and Douglas Mooney
“Open circuit voltage photodetector.”
U.S. Patent 11,521,994, issued December 6, 2022.
Krishna, Sanjay, Earl Fuller, Waleed Khalil, Theodore Ronningen, Alireza Kazemi, Dale Shane Smith, Teressa Specht, and Ramy Tantawy
“Signal and Noise Analysis of an Open-Circuit Voltage Pixel for Uncooled
Infrared Image Sensors”
IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Regular Papers,
vol.68, no.5, pp.1827-1840, 2021.
Roman Fragasse, Ramy Tantawy, Dale Smith, Teressa Specht, Zahra Taghipour, Phillip V. Hooser, Chris Taylor, Theodore J. Ronningen, Earl Fuller, Charles Reyner, Josh Duran, Gamini Ariyawansa, Sanjay Krishna, Waleed Khalil
ULTRAFAST THZ SWITCHES USING PERFECTLY ABSORBING METAL FREE METASURFACES. SK Infrared. LLC, 2021.
Fuller, Earl
R. Specht; J. M. Duran; Z. Taghipour; R. Fragasse; R. Tantawy; T. J. Ronningen; G. Ariyawansa; C. Reyner; D. S. Smith; E. Fuller; W. Khalil; S. Krishna. “Open-circuit voltage photodetector architecture for infrared imagers.” Applied Physics Letters117, no. 16 (2020).
Fragasse, Roman, Ramy Tantawy, Shane Smith, Teressa Specht, Zahra Taghipour, Phillip Van Hooser, Christopher Taylor, T.J. Ronningen, Earl Fuller, Rudy Fink, and Sanjay Krishna. “Advancing uncooled infrared imagers using an open-circuit voltage pixel.” In 2020 IEEE 11th Latin American Symposium on Circuits & Systems (LASCAS), pp. 1-4. IEEE, 2020.
Specht, Teressa, Zahra Taghipour, Theodore J. Ronningen, Roman Fragasse, Ramy Tantawy, Shane Smith, Earl Fuller, Waleed Khalil, and Sanjay Krishna. “Photodetector architecture for open circuit voltage operation of MWIR InAsSb detectors.” In 2019 IEEE Research and Applications of Photonics in Defense Conference (RAPID), pp. 1-4. IEEE, 2019.
Specht, Teressa, Zahra Taghipour, Theodore J. Ronningen, Roman Fragasse, Ramy Tantawy, Shane Smith, Earl Fuller, Waleed Khalil, and Sanjay Krishna. “Novel photodetector design using open circuit voltage for mid-wave infrared imagers.” In Infrared Technology and Applications XLV, vol. 11002, pp. 464-470. SPIE, 2019.
Specht, Teressa, Stephen Myers, Theodore J. Ronningen, Alireza Kazemi, David Hollingshead, Earl Fuller, and Sanjay Krishna. “Side wall passivation of LWIR P-type superlattice detectors using atomic layer deposition.” In 2018 IEEE Research and Applications of Photonics In Defense Conference (RAPID), pp. 1-4. IEEE, 2018.
Kazemi, Alireza, Stephen Myers, Zahra Taghipour, Sen Mathews, Ted Schuler-Sandy, Seung Hyun Lee, Vincent M. Cowan et al. “High quantum efficiency mid-wavelength infrared superlattice photodetector.” In Infrared Technology and Applications XLIII, vol. 10177, pp. 379-384. SPIE, 2017.
Godoy, Sebastián E., Majeed M. Hayat, David A. Ramirez, Stephen A. Myers, R. Steven Padilla, and Sanjay Krishna. “Detection theory for accurate and non-invasive skin cancer diagnosis using dynamic thermal imaging.” Biomedical optics express 8, no. 4 (2017): 2301-2323.
In bump-free antimonide superlattice membrane detectors on silicon substrate.
Proc. SPIE 9819, Infrared Technology and Applications XLII, 98190W; May 20, 2016; Seyedeh Marziyeh Zamiri, Brianna Klein, Theodore Schuler-Sandy, Stephen A. Myers, Francesca Cavallo, Sanjay Krishna
Development of dual-band barrier detectors.
Proc. SPIE 9819, Infrared Technology and Applications XLII, 981911; May 20, 2016; Elena Plis, Stephen A. Myers, David A. Ramirez, Sanjay Krishna
HOT MWIR Interband Cascade Detectors Based on Strained Layer Superlattices.
Quantum Structure Infrared Photodetector Conference; June 15, 2016; Stephen Myers, David Ramirez, Zhao-Bing Tian, Eli Garduno, Sen Matthews, Theodore Schuler-Sandy, Yuliya Kuznetsova, Anjali Singh, Kevin Rigg, Vincent Cowan, Sanjay Krishna
MWIR pBn Unipolar Barrier Photodetectors Based on Strained Layer Superlattices.
Quantum Structure Infrared Photodetector Conference; June 15, 2016; David Ramirez, Stephen Myers, Yuliya Kuznetsova, Sen Mathews, Ted Schuler-Sandy, Elizabeth Steenbergen, Christian Morath, Vincent Cowan, Sanjay Krishna
Noise Characterization of HOT MWIR Interband Cascade Detectors.
Quantum Structure Infrared Photodetector Conference; June 15, 2016; Eli A. Garduno, Stephen A. Myers, Zhao-Bing Tian, Ted Schuler-Sandy, Christian P. Morath, Vincent M. Cowan, Sanjay Krishna
Comparison of MWIR unipolar barrier structures based on strained layer superlattices.
Proc. SPIE 9974, Infrared Sensors, Devices, and Applications VI; August 31, 2016; David A. Ramirez, Stephen A. Myers, Yuliya Kuznetsova, Sen Mathews, Theodore Schuler-Sandy, Elizabeth H. Steenbergen, Christian P. Morath, Vincent M. Cowan, Sanjay Krishna
Confocal Raman Spectroscopy and AFM for evaluation of Sidewalls in Type II Superlattice FPAs.
Proceedings of SPIE Defense and Security Symposium 2015. 9451, 9451OR (2015); T. J. Rotter, T. Busani, P. Rathi, F. Jaeckel, P.A. Reyes, K.J. Malloy, A. A. Ukhanov, E. Plis, S. Krishna, M. Jaime-Vasquez, N. F. Baril, J. D. Benson, D. A. Tenne
High-operating Temperature MWIR Unipolar Barrier Photodetectors Based on Strained Layer Superlattices.
Proc. SPIE 9451, Infrared Technology and Applications XLI, 945113, June 4, 2015; David A. Ramirez, Elena A. Plis, Stephen A. Myers, Christian P. Morath, Vincent M. Cowan, Sanjay Krishna
MWIR Unipolar Barrier Photodetectors Based on Strained Layer Superlattices.
Proc. SPIE, 2015; David A. Ramirez; Stephen A. Myers, Elena Plis, Yuliya Kuznetsova, Christian P. Morath, Vincent M. Cowan, Sanjay Krishna
Dynamic thermal imaging non-invasively detects skin cancer with high sensitivity and specificity. Society for Investigative Dermatology Annual Meeting, Research in Cutaneous Surgery Symposium; May 8th, 2014; Stephen A. Myers, Sebastian. E. Godoy, David A. Ramirez, Greg von Winckel, Sanchita Krishna, Marianne Berwick, R. Steven Padilla, Sanjay Krishna
Dynamic Infrared Imaging for Skin Cancer. Quantum Structured Infrared Photodetector International Conference, QSIP 2014; Sebastián E. Godoy, David Ramirez, Stephen Myers, Greg von Winckle, Sanchita Krishna and Sanjay Krishna
High Operating Temperature Midwave Infrared (MWIR) Photodetectors Based on Type II InAs/GaSb Strained Layer Superlattice. Proc. SPIE Defense and Security Symposium 9226, 92260Q, Sept. 17, 2014; David A. Ramirez; Elena A. Plis; Stephen Myers; Laura A. Treider; Eli Garduno, Christian P. Morath; Vincent M. Cowan; Sanjay Krishna
Passivation of Long-wave Infrared InAs/GaSb Superlattice Detectors with Epitaxially Grown ZnTe.
Proceedings of SPIE Defense and Security Symposium, 9070, 907010, 2014; Plis, E; Kutty, M. N.; Myers, S.; Krishna, S.; Chen, C., Phillips, J. D.
Investigation of Quantum Efficiency in Mid-wave Infrared (MWIR) InAs/GaSb Type-II Strained Layer Superlattice (T2SL) Detectors.
Proceedings of SPIE Photonics West, 8996, 89960P, 2014; Acosta, L., Klein, B., Tian, Z.-B., Frantz, E., Myers, S., Gautam, N., Schuler-Sandy, T., Plis, E., Krishna, S.
Metered Dose Inhalers: Varying the time between multiple actuations could influence the emitted dose.
American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM. October 13-16, 2013; Julia Hautmann, Sebastián E. Godoy, Patricia Marshik, Ramesh Chand, Jason McConville, Sanjay Krishna, Sanchita Krishna, and Pavan Muttil
Dynamic Infrared Imaging of Skin lesions for Early Detection of Skin Cancer.
QSIP Corsica 2012; S. Krishna , M. Yaesoubi, A. Barve, M. Sharma, P. Sen, S. Krishna, M.Berwick, S. Padilla