Xenics SWIR Camera Cougar is LN2 Cooled for Lowest Noise and Dark Current

Leuven, Belgium / Stuttgart, Germany – Xenics, Europe's leading developer and manufacturer of advanced infrared detectors that cover the LWIR to the visible realm, demonstrates the Cougar-640, a high-performance InGaAs camera for extreme low-light-level imaging applications in the shortwave infrared (SWIR) range. LN2 cooling reduces dark current to lowest levels ever seen. The Cougar's spectral response covers 0.9 to 1.7µm at a high resolution of 640 x 512 pixels. At Vision 2012, Xenics exhibits in Booth 1D82, Hall 1.

The new Xenics Cougar-640 camera covering the SWIR realm 0.9.to 1.7µm incorporates an in-house designed InGaAs detector XFPA-1.7-640-LN2 featuring 640 x 512 pixels at a pixel pitch of 20µm and full 24 bit ADC. The detector is optimized for 77K liquid nitrogen (LN2) cooling and is based on an SFD (Source Follower per Detector) read-out topology to achieve ultra low noise levels of 15e-(@T = 77K, Tint = 50µs), gain at 2.2 µV/e- and full well of 400.000 e-. Pixel operability is >98 percent. The Cougar-640 camera offers extremely low dark current specification of less than 10e- per pixel which allows integration times of several hours. Together with the Read While Integrate (RWI) feature, the Cougar-640 is perfectly suited for extremely low-light-level applications such as photoluminescence measurements in semiconductor manufacturing and failure analysis, Raman spectroscopy or astronomy. Exposure time reaches from 5.6µs up to several hours. A non-destructive read-out mode simplifies operation when long integration times are used.

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The high-resolution 640 x 512 InGaAs camera features a maximum full frame rate of 1.42 Hz. The frame rate can be increased when a smaller region of interest is selected through the windowing mode. Window size can be arbitrarily defined from 2x4 upward. Read-out mode is Integrate Then Read (cooled or uncooled) or Read While Integrate (77K cooled). The Cougar-640 setup consists of two modules: a Dewar (178L x 93W x 207H mm³) containing the LN2-cooled InGaAs sensor, and a separate housing for the control and read-out circuitry (40L x 100W x 130H mm³). Camera interfacing is provided via standard CameraLink interface for ease of integration.

About Xenics
Xenics is the leading developer of innovative infrared detection solutions for a wide range of applications. Xenics designs, manufactures and sells infrared detectors and cameras, both line-scan and 2-D, covering the infrared wavelength ranges from 0.4 to 14 micrometers. In addition, Xenics delivers custom products according to the agreed specification and planning. As a European vendor with a worldwide service and distributor network, Xenics is strategically placed to serve global markets with highly innovative products drawing on a strong science and technology background.