Xenics has introduced an 800Hz version of the Cheetah-640-CL that interfaces to any frame grabbing system via medium Camera Link. The camera has been designed for applications where high-speed imaging in the SWIR band matters.
Users of high-speed SWIR applications need very flexible camera equipment to follow the different conditions they may encounter. The 800Hz camera fills the gap between the already available 400Hz and 1,730Hz versions of the camera. The TE1-cooled sensor makes the Cheetah-640-CL highly sensitive, achieving low dark current characteristics at flexible integration times from 1μs up to 40ms at 25°C sensor temperature (high gain mode); or up to 100ms at 268K sensor temperature (high gain mode).
The laser beams used for free-space satellite communication emit typically at 1,064nm or 1,550nm (eye-safe and low atmospheric attenuation). The high-speed feature of the Cheetah-640-CL camera is being used in adaptive optics systems to correct imaging systems for atmosphere turbulence.
Since astronomical observations are also prone to atmospheric turbulence, adaptive optics techniques are also being used. Observations in the NIR and SWIR are specifically interesting because of the absorption bands of CO2, H2O and a number of trace gases. Moreover, airglow emission in SWIR can be detected from several planets. The combination of adaptive optics and a high-speed Cheetah-640-CL camera is key to achieving diffraction limited observations.
According to the company, the Cheetah-640-CL has already proven to be a valuable tool in electro-coalescence research for water separation from heavy crude oil. The camera can obtain more than 1,000 frames per second at 640 x 512 pixel resolution, enabling a detailed investigation of the high speed water drop coalescence process in visually non-transparent crude oil.
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