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Acuros announces 6 MP SWIR Sensor to be released in 2024

November 15, 2023 By Atul Ingle Leave a Comment

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The sensor is based on quantum dot crystals deposited on silicon.

Link: https://www.swirvisionsystems.com/acuros-6-mp-swir-sensor/

Acuros® CQD® sensors are fabricated via the deposition of quantum dot semiconductor crystals upon the surface of silicon wafers. The resulting CQD photodiode array enables high resolution, small pixel pitch, broad bandwidth, low noise, and low inter-pixel crosstalk arrays, eliminating the prohibitively expensive hybridization process inherent to InGaAs sensors. CQD sensor technology is silicon wafer-scale compatible, opening its potential to very low-cost high-volume applications.

Features:

3072 x 2048 Pixel Array
7µm Pixel Pitch
Global Snapshot Shutter
Enhanced QE
100 Hz Framerate
Integrated 12bit ADC
Full Visible-to-SWIR bandwidth
Compatible with a range of SWIR lenses

Applications:

Industrial Inspection: Suitable for inspection and quality control in various industries, including semiconductor, electronics, and pharmaceuticals.
Agriculture: Crop health monitoring, food quality control, and moisture content analysis.
Medical Imaging: Blood vessel imaging, tissue differentiation, and endoscopy.
Degraded Visual Environment: Penetrating haze, smoke, rain & snow for improved situational awareness.
Security and Defense:Target recognition, camouflage detection, and covert surveillance.
Scientific Research: Astronomy, biology, chemistry, and material science.
Remote Sensing: Environmental monitoring, geology, and mineral exploration

Full press release:

SWIR Vision Systems to release industry-leading 6 MP SWIR sensors for defense, scientific, automotive, and industrial vision markets

The company’s latest innovation, the Acuros® 6, leverages its pioneering CQD® Quantum Dot image sensor technology, further contributing to the availability of very high resolution and broad-band sensors for a diversity of applications.

Durham, N.C., October 31, 2023 – SWIR Vision Systems today announces the upcoming release of two new models of short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) image sensors for Defense, Scientific, Automotive, and Industrial Users. The new sensors are capable of capturing images in the visible, the SWIR, and the extended SWIR spectral ranges. These very high resolution SWIR sensors are made possible by the company’s patented CQD Quantum Dot sensor technology.

SWIR Vision’s new products include both the Acuros 6 and the Acuros 4 CQD SWIR image sensors, featuring 6.3 megapixel and 4.2 megapixel global shutter arrays. Each sensor has a 7-micron pixel-pitch, 12-bit digital output, low read noise, and enhanced quantum efficiency, resulting in excellent sensitivity and SNR performance for a broad array of applications.

The new products employ SWIR Vision’s CQD photodiode technology, in which photodiodes are created via the deposition of low-cost films directly on top of silicon readout ICs. This approach enables small pixel sizes, affordable prices, broad spectral response, and industry-leading high-resolution SWIR focal plane arrays.

SWIR Vision is now engaging global camera makers, automotive, industrial, and defense system integrators, who will leverage these breakthrough sensors to tackle challenges in laser inspection and manufacturing, semiconductor inspection, automotive safety, long-range imaging, and defense.
“Our customers challenged us again to deliver more capability to their toughest imaging problems. The Acuros 4 and the Acuros 6 sensors deliver the highest resolution and widest spectral response available today,” said Allan Hilton, SWIR Vision’s Chief Product Officer. “The industry can expect to see new camera and system solutions based on these latest innovations from our best-in-class CQD sensor engineering group”.

About SWIR Vision Systems – SWIR Vision Systems (www.swirvisionsystems.com), a North Carolina-based startup company, has pioneered the development and introduction of high-definition, Colloidal Quantum Dot (CQD® ) infrared image sensor technology for infrared cameras, delivering breakthrough sensor capability. Imaging in the short wavelength IR has become critical for key applications within industrial, defense systems, mobile phones, and autonomous vehicle markets.
To learn more about our 6MP Sensors, go to https://www.swirvisionsystems.com/acuros-6-mp-swir-sensor/.

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SWIR Vision Systems announces 6 MP SWIR sensor to be released in 2024

November 15, 2023 By Atul Ingle Leave a Comment

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The sensor is based on quantum dot crystals deposited on silicon.

Link: https://www.swirvisionsystems.com/acuros-6-mp-swir-sensor/

Features:

3072 x 2048 Pixel Array
7µm Pixel Pitch
Global Snapshot Shutter
Enhanced QE
100 Hz Framerate
Integrated 12bit ADC
Full Visible-to-SWIR bandwidth
Compatible with a range of SWIR lenses

Applications:

Industrial Inspection: Suitable for inspection and quality control in various industries, including semiconductor, electronics, and pharmaceuticals.
Agriculture: Crop health monitoring, food quality control, and moisture content analysis.
Medical Imaging: Blood vessel imaging, tissue differentiation, and endoscopy.
Degraded Visual Environment: Penetrating haze, smoke, rain & snow for improved situational awareness.
Security and Defense:Target recognition, camouflage detection, and covert surveillance.
Scientific Research: Astronomy, biology, chemistry, and material science.
Remote Sensing: Environmental monitoring, geology, and mineral exploration

Full press release:

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Filed Under: Photo News, Photography, Sensor News Tagged With: quantum, swir

EETimes Europe article on emergence of consumer and automotive SWIR imaging

September 2, 2022 By Atul Ingle Leave a Comment

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An article in EETimes Europe from August 24, 2022 argues that huge changes are happening in the consumer and automotive SWIR imaging industry. Some excerpts below.

https://www.eetimes.eu/how-smartphones-will-disrupt-the-swir-imaging-industry

How Smartphones Will Disrupt the SWIR Imaging Industry

August 24, 2022 Axel Clouet and Eric Mounier

Sensing SWIR radiation requires imagers based on other materials, making them orders of magnitude more expensive than silicon-based imagers. Therefore, SWIR’s use today is limited to specific applications in defense, industry, or research.

... [A] pull from the consumer market is inspiring unprecedented changes in the SWIR industry, with the emergence of new technologies and the entrance of game-changing players who may enable market and technology disruption.

A newer technology, based on quantum dots (QDs), is emerging as a lower-cost alternative to InGaAs. ... with a manufacturing process that is compatible with CMOS, allowing cost reductions by orders of magnitude.

QD technology is still emerging, with the first commercial products released in 2018 for the industry by SWIR Vision Systems.

SWIR’s technology development will be accelerated by the entrance of game-changing players: Sony released its first commercial SWIR imager in 2020, and in 2021, STMicroelectronics announced the development of SWIR imagers based on QDs. ... [both are] leading companies in the consumer and automotive silicon-based imaging industry. Sony introduced a manufacturing method based on copper-to-copper bonding, inherited from its know-how in silicon-based imaging, to make InGaAs SWIR imagers. STMicroelectronics published initial results for its SWIR imagers based on QD technology ... demonstrated high sensitivity, optimized at about 1.4 µm.

[Yole Intelligence] expect[s] the number of industrial cameras to increase significantly in the coming years, thanks to price decreases linked to QD technology penetration and the introduction of new manufacturing processes for InGaAs. These segments could represent a US$828 million market in 2027 at the camera level.

[Since] an artificial SWIR source needs to be used in combination with the imaging system. The SWIR source market should therefore benefit from the growth of the SWIR imaging market. SWIR edge-emitting diode lasers (EELs) are widely used today in the telecommunications market, ... SWIR vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) should strongly benefit from the emerging consumer and automotive SWIR markets.

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3D cameras for metaverse

July 21, 2022 By Atul Ingle Leave a Comment

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Press release from II-VI Inc. announces joint effort with Artilux on a SWIR 3D camera for the "metaverse".

https://ii-vi.com/news/ii-vi-incorporated-and-artilux-demonstrate-a-3d-camera-for-enhanced-user-experience-in-the-metaverse/

PITTSBURGH and HSINCHU, TAIWAN, July 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – II‐VI Incorporated (Nasdaq: IIVI), a leader in semiconductor lasers, and Artilux, a leader in germanium silicon (GeSi) photonics and CMOS SWIR sensing technology, today announced a joint demonstration of a next-generation 3D camera with much longer range and higher image resolution to greatly enhance user experience in the metaverse.

Investments in the metaverse infrastructure are accelerating and driving the demand for sensors that enable more realistic and immersive virtual experiences. II-VI and Artilux combined their proprietary technologies in indium phosphide (InP) semiconductor lasers and GeSi sensor arrays, respectively, to demonstrate a miniature 3D camera that operates in the short-wavelength infrared (SWIR), at 1380 nm, resulting in significantly higher performance than existing cameras operating at 940 nm.

“The longer infrared wavelength provides better contrasts and reveals material details that are otherwise not visible with shorter-wavelength illumination, especially in outdoor environments,” said Dr. Julie Sheridan Eng, Sr. Vice President, Optoelectronic Devices & Modules Business Unit, II-VI. “By designing a camera that operates at 1380 nm instead of 940 nm, we can illuminate the scene with greater brightness and still remain well within the margins of eye safety requirements. In addition, the atmosphere absorbs more sunlight at 1380 nm than at 940 nm, which reduces background light interference, greatly improving the signal-to-noise ratio and enabling cameras with longer range and better image resolution.”

“The miniature SWIR 3D camera can be seamlessly integrated into next-generation consumer devices, many of which are under development for augmented-, mixed-, and virtual-reality applications,” said Dr. Neil Na, co-founder and CTO of Artilux. “II‑VI and Artilux demonstrated a key capability that will enable the metaverse to become a popular venue for entertainment, work, and play. The SWIR camera demonstration provides a glimpse of the future of 3D sensing in the metaverse, with displays that can identify, delineate, classify, and render image content, or with avatars that can experience real-time eye contact and facial expressions.”

II-VI provided the highly integrated SWIR illumination module comprising InP edge-emitting lasers that deliver up to 2 W of output power and optical diffusers, in surface-mount technology (SMT) packages for low-cost and high-quality assembly. Artilux’s camera features a high-bandwidth and high-quantum-efficiency GeSi SWIR sensor array based on a scalable CMOS technology platform. Combined, the products enable a broad range of depth-sensing applications in consumer and automotive markets.

About II-VI Incorporated
II-VI Incorporated, a global leader in engineered materials and optoelectronic components, is a vertically integrated manufacturing company that develops innovative products for diversified applications in communications, industrial, aerospace & defense, semiconductor capital equipment, life sciences, consumer electronics, and automotive markets. Headquartered in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, the Company has research and development, manufacturing, sales, service, and distribution facilities worldwide. The Company produces a wide variety of application-specific photonic and electronic materials and components, and deploys them in various forms, including integrated with advanced software to support our customers. For more information, please visit us at www.ii-vi.com.

About Artilux
Artilux, renowned for being the world leader of GeSi photonic technology, has been at the forefront of wide-spectrum 3D sensing and consumer optical connectivity since 2014. Established on fundamental technology breakthroughs, Artilux has been making multidisciplinary innovations covering integrated optics, system architecture to computing algorithm, and emerged as an innovation enabler for smartphones, autonomous driving, augmented reality, and beyond. Our vision is to keep pioneering the frontier of photonic technologies and transform them into enrichment for real life experience. We enlighten the path from information to intelligence. Find out more at www.artiluxtech.com.

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NIT SWIR camera based on HgTe quantum cascade detector

June 30, 2022 By Atul Ingle Leave a Comment

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The Institute of Nano Sciences from CNRS-Sorbonne University is currently researching and producing quantum dot materials of HgTe, sensitive in the extended SWIR wavelength range. Through a partnership with NIT, a first sensor-camera was produced.

This technology is promising to design low-cost and small pixel pitch focal plane array, as well as to expand the spectral range of the SWIR camera up to 2.5 µm.

This collaborative program is funded by the French National Research Agency.

This video presents the technology of quantum cascade detector (QCD) deposition with response up to 2um on NIT ROIC’s, and sample results images in various conditions.

A related paper titled "Photoconductive focal plane array based on HgTe quantum dots for fast and cost-effective short-wave infrared imaging" is in the June 2022 issue of Nanoscale journal.

Abstract: HgTe nanocrystals, thanks to quantum confinement, present a broadly tunable band gap all over the infrared spectral range. In addition, significant efforts have been dedicated to the design of infrared sensors with an absorbing layer made of nanocrystals. However, most efforts have been focused on single pixel sensors. Nanocrystals offer an appealing alternative to epitaxially grown semiconductors for infrared imaging by reducing the material growth cost and easing the coupling to the readout circuit. Here we propose a strategy to design an infrared focal plane array from a single fabrication step. The focal plane array (FPA) relies on a specifically designed readout circuit enabling in plane electric field application and operation in photoconductive mode. We demonstrate a VGA format focal plane array with a 15 μm pixel pitch presenting an external quantum efficiency of 4-5% (15 % internal quantum efficiency) for a cut-off around 1.8 μm and operation using Peltier cooling only. The FPA is compatible with 200 fps imaging full frame and imaging up to 340 fps is demonstrated by driving a reduced area of the FPA. In the last part of the paper, we discuss the cost of such sensors and show that the latter is only driven by labor costs while we estimate the cost of the NC film to be in the 10-20 € range.

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Quantum Dot Photodiodes for SWIR Cameras

April 18, 2022 By Atul Ingle Leave a Comment

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A research team from Ghent University in Belgium has published an article titled "Colloidal III–V Quantum Dot Photodiodes for Short-Wave Infrared Photodetection".

Abstract: Short-wave infrared (SWIR) image sensors based on colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are characterized by low cost, small pixel pitch, and spectral tunability. Adoption of QD-SWIR imagers is, however, hampered by a reliance on restricted elements such as Pb and Hg. Here, QD photodiodes, the central element of a QD image sensor, made from non-restricted In(As,P) QDs that operate at wavelengths up to 1400 nm are demonstrated. Three different In(As,P) QD batches that are made using a scalable, one-size-one-batch reaction and feature a band-edge absorption at 1140, 1270, and 1400 nm are implemented. These QDs are post-processed to obtain In(As,P) nanocolloids stabilized by short-chain ligands, from which semiconducting films of n-In(As,P) are formed through spincoating. For all three sizes, sandwiching such films between p-NiO as the hole transport layer and Nb:TiO2 as the electron transport layer yields In(As,P) QD photodiodes that exhibit best internal quantum efficiencies at the QD band gap of 46±5% and are sensitive for SWIR light up to 1400 nm.

a) Normalized absorbance spectra of the three QD batches (red) measured in tetrachloroethylene (TCE) before and (blue) dimethylformamide (DMF) after phase transfer. For each set of spectra, the vertical line indicates the maximum absorbance of the band-edge transition at 1140, 1270, and 1400 nm, respectively. The spectra after ligand exchange have been offset for clarity. b) (top) Photograph of the extraction of QDs from (top phase) octane to (bottom phase) DMF and (bottom) representation of the phase transfer chemistry when using 3-mercapto-1,2-propanediol (MPD) and butylamine (n-BuNH2) as phase transfer agents, indicating several reactions that bring about the replacement of the as-synthesized ligand shell of chloride and oleylamine by deprotonated MPD and n-BuNH2. c) X-ray photoelectron spectra (red) before and (blue) after ligand exchange in different energy ranges, showing the disappearance of chloride, the appearance of sulfide and the preservation of the In:As ratio after ligand exchange.

a) Schematic of the In(As, P) QD field effect transistor, consisting of a spincoated film of ligand exchanged QDs on top of cross-fingered source and drain electrodes and separated from the gate electrode by a thermally grown oxide. b) Transfer characteristics of the field effect transistor at a source–drain voltage of 5 V.

a) (top) Energy level diagram of the In(As,P) QDPD stack used here. The diagram was constructed by combining UPS results for the 1140 In(As,P) QD film and literature data for the contact materials.[39-43] (bottom) Schematic of the QDPD stack. b–d) Dark and photocurrent densities under white-light illumination of In(As,P) QDPDs for specific absorber layers as indicated. e) Photocurrent density as a function of white light illumination power in log–log scale. The reference power is 114.7 mW cm^−2.

a–c) External quantum efficiency spectra for the different In(As,P) QDPDs as indicated, recorded at a reverse bias of −2, −3, and −4 V. The absorbance spectrum of the corresponding In(As,P) QD batch is added in each graph for comparison. d) Normalized transient photocurrent response of the different In(As,P) QDPDs following a 400 µs step illumination. Rise and fall times have been indicated by the dominant fast time constant obtained from a multi-exponential fit of the transient.

Full article (open access): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202200844

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Artilux Announces CMOS IR Sensor for Mobile Digital Health Applications

March 13, 2022 By Atul Ingle Leave a Comment

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Hsinchu, Taiwan, March 8th 2022 – Artilux, the leader in CMOS-based SWIR optical sensing technology, demonstrated a multi-spectral optical sensing platform compatible with NIR/SWIR vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays, light emitting diodes (LED), and CMOS-based GeSi (Germanium-Silicon) sensors. This compact optical sensing platform is the industry-leading solution targeted to embrace the rapidly growing TWS and wearables markets in addition to unlock diversified scenarios in digital health.

In light of the increasingly popular wide spectrum (NIR/SWIR) optical sensing applications starting from vital sign monitoring in smartwatches to skin detection in TWS earbuds, cost-effective and energy-efficient optical components including LED, VCSEL, edge-emitting lasers, and SWIR sensors have become the crucial factors to meet such rising user demands. The widely discussed skin detection function in TWS earbuds requires SWIR sensors to perform precise in-ear detection and to deliver seamless listening experiences, while at the same time sustaining long battery life. Such product requires SWIR wavelength, lower power-consumption, lower cost, smaller size with higher sensitivity. The announcement aims to deliver a compact and cost-effective multi-spectral optical sensing solution, by incorporating Artilux’s CMOS-based ultra-sensitive SWIR GeSi sensors with the capability to integrate AFE (analog front end) and digital function into a single chip, together with high-performance VCSEL arrays at 940nm and 1380nm supplied by Lumentum.

Although the press release does not mention any technical specifications it may be worth referring to an ISSCC paper from 2020 published by a team from Artilux that described a Ge-on-Si technology. The paper is titled "An Up-to-1400nm 500MHz Demodulated Time-of-Flight Image Sensor on a Ge-on-Si Platform" (https://doi.org/10.1109/ISSCC19947.2020.9063107).