Uncooled Poisson Bolometer for High-Speed Event-Based Long-Wave Thermal Imaging

Event-based vision provides high-speed, energy-efficient sensing for applications such as autonomous navigation and motion tracking. However, implementing this technology in the long-wave infrared remains a significant challenge. Traditional infrared sensors are limited by either slow thermal response times or the high power demands of cryogenic cooling. Here, we introduce the first event-based infrared detector operating in a Poisson-counting regime. This is realized with a spintronic Poisson bolometer capable of experimentally validated broadband detection from 3–14 μm across the MWIR and LWIR atmospheric transmission windows, with sensitivity estimated to extend into the SWIR regime down to 0.8 μm based on near-infrared transduction layer characterization. In this regime, infrared signals are detected through statistically resolvable changes in stochastic switching events. This approach enables room-temperature operation with high timing resolution. Our device achieves a maximum event rate of 1,250 Hz, exceeding the maximum detectable event rate of conventional uncooled microbolometers by a factor of 3.6. Power consumption is kept low at 0.2μW per pixel. These results demonstrate a pathway toward high-speed, energy-efficient, event-driven thermal imaging.