percent. In addition, the reflection gratings commonly used in the industry to alleviate this problem were made of very fine periodic posts and were difficult to produce in large formats. To address this problem, researchers at the Army Research Laboratory developed the corrugated quantum infrared photodetector (C-QWIP) in 2008, which used micromirrors on the photodetector to increase the effectiveness of redirecting the light onto the quantum well region at any wavelength. In essence, the 45-degree inclined detector sidewalls allowed light to be reflected parallel to the material layers to produce an electrical signal. Tests conducted by researchers at ARL and L-3 Communications Cincinnati Electronics determined that the C-QWIP demonstrated bandwidths exceeding 3 micrometers, which was 5 times wider than the commercial QWIP at the time. Since C-QWIPs can be manufactured using gallium arsenide, they served as a more affordable alternative to conventional infrared detectors for Army helicopters without sacrificing resolution and requiring less calibration and maintenance. In February 2013, NASA launched a satellite that featured the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) instrument as part of its Landsat Data Continuity Mission. The TIRS utilized three C-QWIPs designed by the Army Research Laboratory to detect long wavelengths of light emitted by the Earth and track how the planet's water and land are being used. This application marked the first time a QWIP was used in space. Function Infrared detectors generally work by detecting the radiation emitted by an object, and the intensity of the radiation is determined by factors such as the object's temperature, distance, and size. Unlike most infrared photodetectors, QWIPs are independent of the band gap of the detecting material, because they are based on the optical transition within a single energy band. As a result, it can be used to detect objects with much lower energy radiation than what was previously possible. The basic elements of a QWIP are quantum wells, which are separated by barriers. The quantum wells are designed to have one confined state inside the well and a first excited state which aligns with the top of the barrier. The wells are n-doped such that the ground state is filled with electrons. The barriers are wide enough to prevent quantum tunneling between the quantum wells. Typical QWIPs consists of 20 to 50 quantum wells. When a bias voltage is applied to the QWIP, the entire conduction band is tilted. Without light the electrons in the quantum wells