High Performance SWIR Imaging Cameras

Author: Dr. Geoff Martin, Principal Systems Engineer
Monday, November 30, 2015
Raptor Photonics Ltd.

Silicon based area detectors (e.g. CCDs or CMOS) are widely used in high performance imaging applications, detecting wavelengths from soft x-ray through to near infrared (NIR). Typically the quantum efficiency (QE) of these detectors decreases rapidly as the detection wavelength increases further into the NIR region. The use of imaging systems to capture long wavelength photons (beyond the detection range of Silicon based devices) continues to increase in many diverse application areas, such as life sciences, security and surveillance, non-destructive testing, quality control and astronomy. This paper will discuss the performance of InGaAs detector arrays, sensitive in the VIS-SWIR region.