Teledyne Technologies Incorporated has announced that its subsidiary, Teledyne Scientific & Imaging, LLC (TS&I), has introduced its first miniature hot mid-wave infrared (Mini-HMIR) strained-layer-superlattice (SLS) based 640×512 tactical camera. This SLS Mini-HMIR camera exploits technological advances in detector technology to improve size, weight and power for demanding tactical applications.
The camera will be on display this week at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2012 annual meeting and exposition in Washington D.C.
“SLS infrared detectors, which are based on traditional III-V semiconductor materials, offer the promise of better performance, combined with lower cost and ease of manufacturing,” said Dr. Robert Mehrabian, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Teledyne. “Because of its novel technology, SLS detectors and cameras have the potential to expand the tactical infrared camera market and also displace other currently available technologies.”
Target applications for the SLS Mini-HMIR camera include the following: missile seekers, personal weapon sights, light payloads for unmanned aerial vehicles, hand held imaging applications and situational awareness. The SLS Mini-HMIR camera provides high value by increasing the detector temperature while maintaining detection ability. This increased detector temperature reduces both the cool down time and required power thereby extending camera lifetime.
TS&I also integrated critical image processing technologies into the camera including non-uniformity correction, faulty pixel replacement, automatic camera exposure control to optimize noise performance, and adaptive dynamic range control on the output video data.
