SWIFT: a low SWaP wide distribution SWIR product line

Abstract

Over the last decade a growing demand for imaging solutions in the short wave infra-red (SWIR) regime has stimulated technological investments aimed for cost and size reduction. This resulted in the development of smaller pitch, lower power focal-plane arrays (FPAs), enabling the production of a very compact and low-cost electrooptical systems for the SWIR band. SCD has been on the forefront of this technological wave developing the SWIFT family of 10 µm pitch InGaAs SWIR digital infrared detectors.Currently the SWIFT family consists of two products. The SWIFT 640 is a compact VGA version of the Cardinal1280 FPA embedded in a compact ceramic package. The module consists of dedicated proximity electronics boards providing power and timing to the readout circuit (ROIC) and enables communication and video to the system. It presents low noise imaging with very low dark current and excellent imaging under low light level conditions. In this work, we will elaborate on the electro-optical performance, low SWaP design considerations and the environmental endurance of this module.The second product -SWIFT 640 EIcombines daylight and low light level imaging with event-based imaging and multi spot laser tracking. Recently we described the architecture, key features, and preliminary characterization results. In this article, we will present detailed results for the ALPD detection sensitivity and false alarm rate (FAR) as a function of laser pulse intensity and background flux. We will also present our capability to track and decode simultaneously several laser spots.