News

15 April 2009

 

Sofradir demos APD MWIR detector for extreme low light

At this week’s SPIE Defense, Security & Sensing Conference 2009 in Orlando, FL, USA (14-17 April), Sofradir of Châtenay-Malabry, near Paris, France, which manufactures cooled infrared detectors based on mercury cadmium telluride (MCT/HgCdTe) for military, space and industrial applications, is demonstrating its new low-noise avalanche photodiode (APD) mid-TV format infrared (IR) detector for amplifying low input signals.

The 30 micron pitch APD detector offers a flexible solution for emerging opportunities in IR applications where input light signals are very low, says Philippe Tribolet, VP R&D, technology & products. The new low-noise APD IR detector offers system integrators a choice of wavebands, more compact optics and an ability to overcome any low-input-signal read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) performance degradation, he adds.

The new APD expands Sofradir’s portfolio of MCT IR detectors in the short-waveband (1-2.5 microns) and mid-waveband (3-5 microns) regions of the spectrum. It can be used for active imagery (2D or 3D) as well as passive imagery, where low input signals are amplified.

Designed for military applications, active imagery (laser-gated imaging), spectrometry, gas detection and a range of scientific applications, the MCT-based 30-micron-pitch APD IR detector enables users to operate cameras with small apertures or with narrow wavebands in extreme low light detection.

It can amplify low input signals by a factor of 5300, keeping the photodiode signal-to-noise level constant, which is a result unmatched by competing technologies, the firm claims.

*At the conference, Sofradir is also presenting five technical papers on MCT technology:

• 'Uniting IR detectors for tactical & space applications: a continuous cycle of reliability';
• '50 years of successful MCT research and production in France';
• 'New high-gain IR detectors for active imaging';
• 'Ultra-low-power ADC on chip for high-performance IR detectors'; and
• 'Sofradir MCT technology for space applications'.

ULIS launches large-format, fourth-generation IR detector

ULIS, a subsidiary of Sofradir and GE Equity based in Veurey-Voroize, near Grenoble, France that makes uncooled IR detectors based on amorphous silicon technology for low-cost IR cameras in industrial, professional, and security applications, is launching a new fourth-generation IR detector.

The firm says that the new generation paves the way for higher-definition resolution in IR surveillance cameras and in all-weather and night thermal imagers that enhance driver vision in military vehicles.

ULIS’ new XGA format (1024 x 768) 17-micron pixel pitch IR detector has doubled the number of pixels of earlier IR models, significantly increasing resolution and meeting the requirements of higher-performance IR products, the firm claims.

The new detector provides more choice among high-end IR products, says ULIS’ managing director Jean-François Delepau. “We will be extending this technique to enhancing the compactness of our smaller formats, such as the popular 640 x 480, as we ramp up production towards the third quarter of 2009,” he adds.

ULIS is one of few firms to make 17-micron IR detectors and the first to introduce them to commercial applications, it is claimed. The new technology will allow system integrators and IR camera makers to reduce the size and weight of optical systems, enabling the design of smaller cameras.

Uncooled IR detectors first came to the market in 1995, but large-format IR detectors were either unavailable or unaffordable for applications other than the military. In the last five years, ULIS has reduced the pixel pitch size of its IR products from 35 to 25 microns and now down to 17 microns, which is critical to improved IR image quality as well as to size reduction and camera performance.

See related item:

Sofradir wins MCT detector contract from Galileo Avionica

Search: Sofradir MCT/HgCdTe IR detector

Visit: www.ulis-ir.com

Visit: www.sofradir.com