The Materials and Manufacturing Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has contracted Goodrich Corporation to develop solutions for its short wave infrared (SWIR) imaging sensors. A contract released under AFRL's Advanced Development of Protection Technologies (ADePT) programme covers the investigation of approaches for SWIR detectors. Work will be performed by Goodrich’s ISR Systems team in Princeton, NJ.
According to Dr David Dawes, manager of business development for Goodrich's ISR Systems Princeton team: 'Our work on the ADePT programme will develop materials and techniques to improve the survivability of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and targeting sensors, giving our warfighters a great advantage on the battlefield. We look forward to developing and deploying this enhanced capability to many diverse platforms.'
SWIR technology detects reflected light in wavelength bands between visible and thermal cameras. The Goodrich system is extremely small, low power and lightweight; this is achieved using specialised indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) materials and advanced circuitry allow it to run without cooling.
The Goodrich ISR Systems team (formerly Sensors Unlimited) has pioneered the design and production of NIR and SWIR cameras and systems utilising advanced InGaAs imaging technology for industrial, commercial, military, agricultural, and scientific markets.
