Let's See the Invisible

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Let's See the Invisible // ALLIED VISION INFRARED CAMERAS Let’s see the invisible SWIR and LWIR camera technology WWW.STEMMER-IMAGING.COM // VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE LIGHT Infrared radiation In everyday life, we encounter electromagnetic radiation in many different forms such as visible light, ultraviolet light, radio waves or X-rays, differing only in their wavelengths. Within the electromagnetic spectrum, infrared ra- diation is located between visible light and microwaves. Major divisions of the electromagnetic light spectrum Highest Energy Wavelength (μm) Lowest Energy 02 Imaging is our passion. STEMMER IMAGING Head Office Gutenbergstraße 9 - 13, D-82178 Puchheim www.stemmer-imaging.comWWW.STEMMER-IMAGING.COM Phone: +49 89 80902-0, [email protected] Detecting different types of radiation Allied Vision provides cameras for the following spectral bands: Visible light, NIR, SWIR, and LWIR. Thereby, for All physical objects constantly emit infrared radiation. each spectral band a corresponding sensor technology is The hotter an object gets the more radiation is emitted used. In general, it can be distinguished between two with shorter wavelengths and higher intensity. The ra- principles: Quantum and thermal detectors. diation intensity at moderate temperatures (above 25 °C) a level that we can detect as heat. Coming back to the temperature measurement capa- bilities of cameras, the diagram below shows the in- At temperatures above 800 °C, the intensity is high tensity of radiation in dependency of the wavelength enough and the wavelength short enough for the radi- emitted by an object with the given temperature. As ation to pass the threshold at the red end of the visible you can see, LWIR cameras can ideally detect and light spectrum. Hence, steel glows red upon heating measure temperatures between -70 °C and +250 °C, as and becomes white the hotter it gets. here the peak of the radiated energy emitted by an ob- ject corresponds with the detector’s, spectral sensitiv- This means that IR radiation and likewise heat can be ity range. In contrast, SWIR cameras are best suited to detected and measured with cameras calibrated ac- measure temperatures above 250 °C and up to 800 °C. cordingly. Above 800 °C, thermal imaging can also be performed with CCD or CMOS cameras normally used for captur- ing visible images. Black-body spectrum for temperatures between -150 °C and 1200°C 106 105 104 103 102 T= 1200° T= 800° T= 500° 10 T= 250° Specific-Spectral Radiation [W/(m2 μm)] T= 80° 1.0 T= 25° T= 20° T= -70° 0.1 T= -150° 0.01 0.2 μm 0.4 μm 1 μmWavelength 10 μm 20 μm 100 μm Visible NIR Short Wave Infrared MWIR Long Wave Infrared fps Cameras from Allied Vision for IR imaging 120 Goldeye SWIR 50 40 Mako/Manta/Prosilica GT Pearleye LWIR 30 Guppy NIR Guppy NIR 15 Bigeye NIR Wavelength 0.4 μm 0.75 μm 1 μm 1.7 μm 2.7 μm 5 μm 8 μm 14 μm 03 WWW.STEMMER-IMAGING.COM // SWIR CAMERA TECHNOLOGY The invisible light Sensors used in SWIR cameras work similar to silica Two other differences between CCD/CMOS and InGaAs based CCD or CMOS sensors by converting photons sensors are of interest: Currently, it is not possible to into electrons – so called quantum detectors.Butto combine the ROIC (read-out circuit) with the photo- be able to detect light beyond the visible spectrum, sensitive area with 100% accuracy during the hybri- their photon sensitive area is made of materials such as dization. Therefore, InGaAs sensors have a much higher Indium Gallium Arsenide (InGaAs) or Mercury Cadmium percentage of defective and non-uniform pixels which Telluride (MCT - HgCdTe). Thereby, in dependency of makes a proper image correction in the camera in- the material composition (chemical structure), these evitable. sensors are sensitive in different wavelength ranges and might require a strong cooling to achieve a proper Wavelength 0,9 - 1,7 μm SNR ratio (sometimes down to cryogenic tempera- tures using liquid nitrogen or a small Stirling cycle re- Anti-Reflection Coating frigerator unit). InP In contrast to silicium-only based CCD and CMOS sen- InGaAs Detector Array sors, an InGaAs sensor is made of different materials. Combining these materials is a relative complex and time consuming technology, as many manufacturing steps are needed. Additionally, the production yield is CMOS Readout IC (Si) relatively low. This is mainly caused by difficulties that may occur when connecting the CMOS read-out cir- Architecture of an InGaAs photodetector cuit with the photosensitive part of the sensor. All this makes these sensors types quite expensive. 04 Imaging is our passion. STEMMER IMAGING Head Office Gutenbergstraße 9 - 13, D-82178 Puchheim www.stemmer-imaging.comWWW.STEMMER-IMAGING.COM Phone: +49 89 80902-0, [email protected] 320 In addition, the band gap between valence and con- 280 duction band is smaller for InGaAs semiconductors. 240 200 This means the thermal excitation of electrons into the 160 conduction band and collection in the ROIC wells is 120 80 much easier. As a result, the dark current values are 40 0 higher and a proper and cost-effective cooling is 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 needed to reduce image noise and to enable longer ex- 5 seconds exposed image at+5°Csensortemperature posure times. That’s why most of the InGaAs sensors are equipped by default with thermo-electric cooling 320 280 (TEC) elements. But sensor cooling does not only re- 240 duce the image noise, it also effects the proper correc- 200 160 tion of non-uniform and defect pixels. 120 80 40 SWIR cameras of Allied Vision are equipped by default 0 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 with high sensitive, global shutter InGaAs focal plane arrays (FPA). An integrated single- or dual stage TEC 5 seconds exposed image at – 30 °C sensor temperature cooling ensures extremely low dark current values, which help to achieve an extraordinary image quality. Therefore, images from an InGaAs sensor are compa- rable to visible light images in resolution and detail; Although infrared radiation in the short wave infrared however, SWIR images are not in color. region is not visible to the human eye, it interacts with objects in a similar manner as visible wavelengths. Furthermore, InGaAs sensors can "see" even at night and under other challenging conditions like dust or haze. Finally, one major benefit of SWIR imaging, which is un- matched by other IR imaging technologies, is the abil- ity to image through glass. For SWIR cameras, special and very expensive lenses are mostly unnecessary. 05 WWW.STEMMER-IMAGING.COM // GOLDEYE SWIR CAMERAS See the unseen Smart Features & Benefits // Built-in image correction to ensure optimized image quality: • Non-uniformity correction (NUC) • Defect pixel correction • Background correction // Comprehensive I/O control options including multiple Trigger modes Enable eased system integration // Pre- and post-trigger recording (Recorder Mode) Prevent missing any detail // ROI settings StreamBytesPerSecond, and Stream Goldeye short-wave infrared (SWIR) cameras incorpo- Hold rate high-performance InGaAs sensors sensitive in the For entire frame rate and bandwidth control NIR/SWIR spectral range from 900 nm – 1,700 nm. The // High analog gain mode cameras are available in two different flavors: Increased sensitivity in low-light applications A compact, ruggedized design without fan; and an ad- // Look-up tables and Gamma control vanced scientific design with nitrogen gas filled cooling Improve contrast to see what really counts chamber (Cool models). // Event Channel and Chunk Data Knowing what’s going on inside the camera and track it All Goldeye cameras are equipped with an active thermo- // Storable user sets electric cooling (TEC) to reduce noise and to enable ex- For simplified camera setup tended exposure times as well as constant image quality // Firmware update in the field independent of the ambient temperature. In combina- Enables eased maintenance tion with 14-bit image processing and the numerous on-board image correction features, Goldeye cameras Operating Conditions produce an outstanding, low-noise image quality. Power requirements DC 10.8 ... 30 V or PoE/PoE+ The extended feature set, comprehensive I/O control Power consumption 5 W with TEC off and multiple mounting options facilitate simple system Operating temperature -20 °C ... +50 °C case temp integration. In addition, locking functionality at all con- Storage temperature -30 °C ... +70 °C nectors enable a secure operation. Regulations CE incl. RoHS (2011/65/EU) Shock & Vibration ISO60068-2-27 and ISO60068 All this together make Goldeye cameras the perfect choice for industrial and scientific applications beyond Spectral Sensitivity the visible spectrum. Options ) % Modular concept: // C-, F-, or M42-Mount adapters // Various IR filters // Silver housing Further InGaAs cameras with CameraLink interface or QVGA sensors available. Absolute Quantum Efficiency ( Wavelength (nm) 06 Imaging is our passion. STEMMER IMAGING Head Office Gutenbergstraße 9 - 13, D-82178 Puchheim www.stemmer-imaging.comWWW.STEMMER-IMAGING.COM Phone: +49 89 80902-0, [email protected] Model Resolution Frame rate Pixel size Sensitive area Cooling power Size [WxHxL] mm Weight G-032 SWIR TEC1 636 x 508 100 fps 25 μm 15.9 mm x 12.7 mm max. dT=-30K 55x55x78 < 420 g G-032 SWIR Cool TEC2 636 x 508 100 fps 25 μm 15.9 mm x 12.7 mm max. dT=-60K 80x80x90 < 860 g *without lens Highlights // InGaAs SWIR sensors, with >99.5 % pixel operability // Peltier cooling for continuous high-quality SWIR // Spectral sensitivity ranging from 0.9-1.7 μm imaging
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