News Article
Goodrich unveils super sensitive mil-hardened InGaAs camera
The uncooled 60Hz SWIR camera is lightweight and compact and ideal for persistent surveillance and other military, aerospace, and marine operations.
Sensors Unlimited subsidiary, Goodrich ISR Systems is introducing a 1.3 Mpixel InGaAs video camera, the GA-1280J-15A. Goodrich says it offer the highest sensitivity available in a military-hardened NIR-SWIR camera.
The new, high resolution J-Series SWIR camera features 1280 x 1024 pixels, with 15μm pitch and 60Hz full frame rate. Compact (less than 4.3 cubic in.) and lightweight (less than 125g), the camera easily fits on board most unmanned aerial or ground vehicle systems, hand-held, and mobile surveillance systems. For added convenience, the camera is also available in an OEM model which can be integrated into higher level systems.
The uncooled SWIR camera is available in two versions: one operates in the shortwave infrared from 0.9 μm to 1.7 μm spectral range; the other offers extended NIR-SWIR range from 0.7 μm to 1.7 μm. The cameras, which have no mechanical shutters, can image through fog, smoke, haze, or dusty conditions. From low-light to daylight, the rugged solid-state SWIR cameras are ideal for persistent surveillance and other military, aerospace, and marine operations.
Both OEM camera models integrate easily into existing gimbaled or handheld imaging systems, enabling visual verification of laser location and imaging during thermal crossover – the hours of sunrise and sunset – when the performance of traditional thermal imaging systems is degraded.
According to John Trezza, Vice President for Force Protection, Goodrich's ISR Systems’ Princeton team, “The Goodrich high-resolution SWIR camera revolutionises the SWIR imaging market with a 1.3Mpixel imager at 15μm pitch, demonstrating Goodrich’s continued leadership in the SWIR marketplace.”
“Combined with Goodrich’s InGaAs detectors, which offer the lowest dark current in the industry, this new camera opens up many new applications where high resolution and sensitivity in the SWIR are critical.”
The J-series SWIR camera features include on-board automatic gain control and built-in non-uniformity corrections. The internal circuitry of the ROIC and the dynamic range processing on board the camera address the challenges of urban night imaging without blooming. Camera Link digital output provides intuitive plug-and-play video operation with high quality 12-bit images for digital image processing or transmission.
Goodrich will premier the new GA-1280J-15A SWIR camera at SPIE’s Defence, Security and Sensing (DSS) exhibition from April 25-29, 2011 at the Orlando World Centre Marriott Resort and Convention Centre, Orlando, Florida.
