e2v supplies imaging sensor focal plane for Earth observation satellite

Chelmsford, England--Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL; Guildford, England) integrated e2v's imaging sensors into a focal-plane array for the NigeriaSat-2 Earth observation satellite, which launched into space on August 17. Developed for the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) of Nigeria, the satellite will provide Nigeria with valuable, geographically referenced high-resolution satellite imaging for applications in mapping, water resources management, agricultural land use, population estimation, health hazard monitoring, and disaster mitigation and management.

The e2v high-resolution focal plane for the instrument was built with an array of five CCD CCD31-40 imaging sensors. The CCD31-40 8192 × 1 pixel device offers 12 µm square pixels with readout via two registers, one above and one below the image region. The registers are split in the middle and terminated in four separate output amplifiers. There are also five multispectral bands that cover the spectrum from 450 to 900 nm.

SSTL mounted appropriate filters over some of the CCDs to give the required color information.

The focal plane design features e2v's new packaging technique, in which the five devices are mounted in close parallel with each other and co-planar to <10 µm.

“e2v is proud to deliver this innovative image sensor focal plane array to SSTL and equip NASRDA of Nigeria with valuable geographically referenced high-resolution imagery,"says Bertrand De Monte, e2v marketing and applications manager. "We are confident that NigeriaSat-2 will be a great success, accelerating the discovery of indispensable information in this region.”

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