January 19, 2008, San Jose, Booth 6525 — XenICs, Europe’s leading developer of innovative infrared image sensors, has developed a special chip thinning technology for extending the coverage of its proven SWIR cameras XEVA and XS into the visible realm. Both camera models can now capture a total wavelength area of 0.4 μm to 1.7 μm. These extended, innovative optical features are based on the removal of the InP substrate from the thermoelectrically cooled InGaAs sensor array. Instead of 125 μm, as in the standard layout, the new chip, after removing the InP substrate, now is only 5 μm thick.
With its own, newly developed chip thinning technology for InGaAs focalplane arrays, XenICs enables its new XEVA-1.7 320 and XS-1.7 320 camera models to cover not just the standard SWIR wavelength range of 0.9 – 1.7 μm, but extending coverage into the visible area, for a total of 0.4 to 1.7 μm. Pixel pitch remains at 30 μm, with an excellent pixel operability of over 99%.
Both camera models come equipped with a C-mount for standard optics as well as spectrometer fixation holes. Depending on the application, the XEVA, with its anti-condensing construction, can be used uncooled, with TE1 cooling down to 263 K, or with TE3 fan or water cooling down to 223 K. The XS-1.7 320 is operated uncooled.
The XEVA-1.7 320 is available in various speed versions up to 350 fps. An optional analog video interface (PAL or NTSC) is available. Its digital output word is 14 bits wide and the signal/noise ratio is 69dB. For particularly flexible usage, subframes can be read out at a higher frequency of up to 12 kHz. This is very helpful, for example, in monitoring systems when keeping a large area in view and then, if objects of interest are spotted, switching to rapid tracking of these objects. Housing dimensions are 100 x 100 x 100 mm3. XEVA weighs 1.8 kg.
The XS-1.7 320 camera is the extra-small version of XEVA. Its compact housing measures just 50 x 50 x 50 mm³, and it weighs just 225 grams. The XS offers the same functionality as the XEVA, except for the sole USB 2.0 interface, optionally a trigger input or analog out can be chosen. Available frame rates are 60 Hz or 100 Hz.
XEVA and XS are controlled through the graphical user interface X-Control via USB 2.0. This permits choosing integration time, position and size of subframes and camera parameters and calibration functions, such as two-point correction of uniformity and bad-pixel replacement. X-Control allows the controlling of various display modes of the image, histogram, line profile, and spot meter as well as conversion into graphic file formats and storage of video sequences on memory or hard disk.
With their extended features, both camera models open up a variety of industrial and security applications, such as hyperspectral image capture and laser beam profiling, vision enhancement in automotive and airborne applications, semiconductor inspection, thermal imaging in the range of 200 – 800°C, online process control, and medical electronics.
