Princeton Infrared Technologies (Monmouth Junction, NJ), which specializes in indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) imaging technology and shortwave-infrared (SWIR) linescan cameras, visible-SWIR science cameras, and 1- and 2D imaging arrays, has received a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the Office of the Secretary of Defense to fund the development of a megapixel high-resolution seeker with extended wavelength detection capability covering the entire SWIR range.
The camera will have a high pixel operability with a digital output at greater than industry standard frame rate at full resolution. The imager will be manufactured on indium phosphide (InP) substrates using the InGaAs and gallium arsenide antimonide (GaAsSb) system, allowing for low cost and the ability to utilize modern III-V semiconductor processing. Additionally, the imager will be manufactured and hybridized at wafer scale to minimize cost.
“This research has huge benefits for both the defense and commercial markets,” explains Martin H. Ettenberg, Ph.D., president of Princeton Infrared Technologies. “This research will lead to wide spectral width imagers in the SWIR, which will provide for various hyperspectral imaging opportunities.” The new imagers will also require significantly less cooling, allowing reduced system size, weight, power, and cost, he adds.