UNCOOLED INFRARED IMAGERS INDUSTRY: LESS PIXELS FOR VOLUME APPLICATIONS

14 Oct 2013

Manufacturers of infrared sensors with uncooled performance, traditionally focused in the development of high performance devices, are now moving towards an opposite direction: the production of low-end imagers with less pixels (< 100 x 100) but at a much more reduced cost. The idea is that the new strategy pulls out the demand and will act as the definitive catalyst for converting infrared detectors in a volume industry.

The new paradigm of Infrared imagers industry: less pixels for boosting the number of Applications

The strategy chosen by Infrared detectors manufacturers for conquering mass markets has been to launch low end imagers with a reduced number of pixels but very competitive prices for volume orders.

Uncooled thermal detectors.- Sofradir has recently launched the Ulis 80p family which is a α-Si microbolometer 80x80 FPA. The company claims that the detector price for thousands of units will be well below 300 $. On the other hand, FLIR or Fluke, which do not sell detectors independently, commercialize microbolometer and pyroelectric cores FPAs with prices well below 1000$ for low resolution imagers (15x15, 60x60 or 100x100 pixels). Other relevant thermal detectors manufacturers are following similar strategies.

Uncooled quantum detectors.- New Infrared Technologies (NIT) has just launched the TACHYON SERIES. It is the first quantum infrared detector monolithically integrated with its Si- CMOS ROIC and commercially available. The TACHYON SERIES has two formats, 32x32 and 80x80. The VPD PbSe detector works in the MWIR spectral region. Based on these detectors NIT commercializes OEMs which are able to provide more than 2000 fps in real uncooled operation.

Industrial applications would act as a main detonator.

Technological bricks are just available. The next step is to find a critical number of volume applications which boosting the market of infrared imagers. Major market analysts claim that a main detonator could be in the industrial side.

• substituting point detectors by low end imagers at the same or even lower costs,
• optimizing control quality assurance in the whole process chain in a reliable and affordable way, and
• measuring and controlling events in early stages of the processes.

The possibility of using low end/cost imagers will invite to an extensive use of infrared devices in multitude of industrial applications where their use has been traditionally precluded by high cost, lacking of reliability and/or difficulties in their implementation. Substituting traditional point detectors by low resolution imagers will catalyze the use of infrared imagers in the industry and it is expected to serve as a booster for the infrared detector industry.

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