Sofradir has demonstrated a prototype of the first 10µm pixel pitch infrared detector. The small pitch means that Sofradir can double the number of pixels on a standard size chip.
With this significant increase in image resolution, fighter pilots and soldiers will be considerably more effective in distinguishing between small objects at long distances (up to 10km) during the day and night, and through fog and smoke.
Targeted military applications include Infrared Search and Track Systems (IRST), targeting and reconnaissance pods, long-range surveillance and armoured vehicles.
The focal plane array prototype was developed with the support of DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement) by CEA-Leti at DEFIR, the joint laboratory of Sofradir and CEA-Leti. CEA-Leti is a leading European microtechnology, IT and health technology research centre.
Sofradir credits its Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT/HgCdTe), a cooled IR technology using a silicon-like photodiode implantation process, for enabling the development of its 10µm pixel pitch IR detector.
