A customizable commercial miniaturized 320×256 indium gallium arsenide shortwave infrared camera

Abstract

The design and performance of a commercial short-wave-infrared (SWIR) InGaAs microcamera engine is presented. The 0.9-to-1.7 micron SWIR imaging system consists of a room-temperature-TEC-stabilized, 320x256 (25 µ m pitch) InGaAs focal plane array (FPA) and a high-performance, highly customizable image-processing set of electronics. The detectivity, D*, of the system is greater than 10 13 cm-√Hz/W at 1.55 µm, and this sensitivity may be adjusted in real-time over 100 dB. It features snapshot-mode integration with a minimum exposure time of 130 µ s. The digital video processor provides real time pixel-to-pixel, 2-point dark-current subtraction and nonuniformity compensation along with defective-pixel substitution. Other features include automatic gain control (AGC), gamma correction, 7 preset configurations, adjustable exposure time, external triggering, and windowing. The windowing feature is highly flexible; the region of interest (ROI) may be placed anywhere on the imager and can be varied at will. Windowing allows for high-speed readout enabling such applications as target acquisition and tracking; for example, a 32x32 ROI window may be read out at over 3500 frames per second (fps). Output video is provided as EIA170-compatible analog, or as 12-bit CameraLink-compatible digital. All the above features are accomplished in a small volume < 28 cm 3 , weight < 70 g, and with low power consumption < 1.3 W at room temperature using this new microcamera engine. Video processing is based on a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) platform with a soft-embedded processor that allows for ease of integration/addition of customer-specific algorithms, processes, or design requirements. The camera was developed with the high-performance, space-restricted, power-conscious application in mind, such as robotic or UAV deployment. 1

Ultra-Broadband Ultraviolet–Visible Light–Short Wavelength Infrared InGaAs Focal Plane Arrays via n-InP Contact Layer Removal

“…P-type doping-intrinsic-n-type-doping (PIN) In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As/InP back-illuminated focal plane arrays (FPAs) have attracted extensive attention because of their low dark currents, high detectivity, high quantum efficiency, and good anti-radiation characteristics in uncooled conditions [ 1 , 2 ]. In addition, InGaAs FPA detectors have been widely used in applications in aviation safety, biomedicine, camouflage recognition, night vision, and other fields [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Recently, extensive research has been conducted on the extension of the response spectrum from short wavelength infrared (SWIR) to visible light (VIS) with InP substrate removal [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”

Ultra-broadband UV-VIS-SWIR InGaAs focal plane arrays via n-InP contact layer removal

“…P-type doping-intrinsic-n-type-doping (PIN) In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As/ InP back-illuminated focal plane arrays (FPAs) have attracted extensive attention because of their low dark currents, high detectivity, high quantum efficiency, and good anti-radiation characteristics in uncooled conditions [1][2]. In addition, InGaAs FPA detectors have been widely used in the applications of aviation safety, biomedicine, camouflage recognition, night vision, and other fields [3][4][5]. Recently, extensive research has been conducted on the extension of the response spectrum from short wavelength infrared (SWIR) to visible light and SWIR (VIS-SWIR) with InP substrate removal [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21].…”

Ultra-broadband UV-VIS-SWIR InGaAs focal plane arrays via n-InP contact layer removal

“…P-type doping-intrinsic-n-type-doping (PIN) In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As/ InP back-illuminated focal plane arrays (FPAs) have attracted extensive attention because of their low dark currents, high detectivity, high quantum efficiency, and good anti-radiation characteristics in uncooled conditions [1][2]. In addition, InGaAs FPA detectors have been widely used in the applications of aviation safety, biomedicine, camouflage recognition, night vision, and other fields [3][4][5]. Recently, extensive research has been conducted on the extension of the response spectrum from short wavelength infrared (SWIR) to visible light and SWIR (VIS-SWIR) with InP substrate removal [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21].…”