A miniature VGA SWIR camera using MT6415CA ROIC

Selim Eminoglu; S. Gokhan Yilmaz; Serhat Kocak

doi:10.1117/12.2057495

24 June 2014 A miniature VGA SWIR camera using MT6415CA ROIC

Selim Eminoglu, S. Gokhan Yilmaz, Serhat Kocak

Proceedings Volume 9070, Infrared Technology and Applications XL; 90700A (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2057495
Event: SPIE Defense + Security, 2014, Baltimore, MD, United States

Abstract

This paper reports the development of a new miniature VGA SWIR camera called NanoCAM-6415, which is developed to demonstrate the key features of the MT6415CA ROIC such as high integration level, low-noise, and low-power in a small volume. The NanoCAM-6415 uses an InGaAs Focal Plane Array (FPA) with a format of 640 × 512 and pixel pitch of 15 μm built using MT6415CA ROIC. MT6415CA is a low-noise CTIA ROIC, which has a system-on-chip architecture, allows generation of all the required timing and biases on-chip in the ROIC without requiring any external components or inputs, thus enabling the development of compact and low-noise SWIR cameras, with reduced size, weight, and power (SWaP). NanoCAM-6415 camera supports snapshot operation using Integrate-Then-Read (ITR) and Integrate-While-Read (IWR) modes. The camera has three gain settings enabled by the ROIC through programmable Full-Well-Capacity (FWC) values of 10.000 e-, 20.000 e-, and 350.000 e- in the very high gain (VHG), high-gain (HG), and low-gain (LG) modes, respectively. The camera has an input referred noise level of 10 e- rms in the VHG mode at 1 ms integration time, suitable for low-noise SWIR imaging applications. In order to reduce the size and power of the camera, only 2 outputs out of 8 of the ROIC are connected to the external Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) in the camera electronics, providing a maximum frame rate of 50 fps through a 26-pin SDR type Camera Link connector. NanoCAM-6415 SWIR camera without the optics measures 32 mm × 32 mm × 35 mm, weighs 45gr, and dissipates less than 1.8 W using a 5 V supply. These results show that MT6415CA ROIC can successfully be used to develop cameras for SWIR imaging applications where SWaP is a concern. Mikro-Tasarim has also developed new imaging software to demonstrate the functionality of this miniature VGA camera. Mikro-Tasarim provides tested ROIC wafers and also offers compact and easy-to-use test electronics, demo cameras, and hardware/software development kits for its ROIC customers to shorten their FPA and camera development cycles.

Citation Download Citation

Selim Eminoglu, S. Gokhan Yilmaz, and Serhat Kocak "A miniature VGA SWIR camera using MT6415CA ROIC", Proc. SPIE 9070, Infrared Technology and Applications XL, 90700A (24 June 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2057495

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