Enabling the Age of Digital Pixel Infrared Imaging

Ross Bannatyne (Director of Business Development)

 

 

 

Senseeker has raised the bar for commercially available digital pixel readout ICs (DPROICs) with the new Magnesium™ MIL RP0092 for infrared reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition systems. However, with great power comes great responsibility, so unless you have approval from the United States Government, unfortunately this cutting-edge DPROIC is not for you.

One of the beauties of this chip is that it’s dual-band, dual-polarity design enables it to be hybridized with most mainstream detector types. That makes it flexible to operate in different types of infrared imaging systems produced by different infrared camera developers. It also simplifies the supply chain, since a standard proven core element can be reused across multiple systems by different suppliers. It’s a cutting-edge digital pixel design, so system performance future-proofing is also part of the deal.

Digital pixel readout ICs (DPROICs) are complex because more functionality is squeezed into the width of each pixel (in the case of Magnesium MIL, that’s 12 µm). There are major benefits though. From a performance perspective, the ability to disassociate the noise floor level from the size of the well capacity is very significant. It means that better sensitivity can be achieved for low signals, but it is still possible to have a very large well capacity to handle larger signals with long integration times. This is not possible with a conventional analog-pixel readout IC.

In the case of the Magnesium MIL RP0092, the well capacity is indeed large. It’s programmable to over 140 Me-. This large well capacity gives it the dynamic range that is necessary to bring high definition imaging to recon, surveillance and target acquisitioning. A wide dynamic range enables the observation of thermally subtle targets in the presence of high flux events that occur in the same scene, ensuring that the widest range of contrast in targets can be resolved under the most challenging conditions.

Magnesium products derive their name from their pixel pitch width sharing the same numeral as the atomic element. The ‘MIL’ moniker indicates that it is intended for the purposes of U.S. Government designated customers only. Stay tuned to Senseeker for more atomic element inspired breakthrough products.

About Senseeker

Senseeker is a wholly US owned transducer IC semiconductor company that specializes in the design of stateof-the-art digital imaging sensors and readout integrated circuits for hybrid infrared image sensing arrays. Senseeker's products and IP enable designers to produce world class infrared image sensing solutions. Read more at https://www.senseeker.com.

 

Media contact: info@senseeker.com | 1 (805) 617-0337

 

Insight # IS-20200414-01