Date: 19 November, 2007
Sofradir, a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced infrared detectors for military, space and commercial applications, confirmed that Philippe Tribolet, VP R&D, Technology and Products, will speak on the new technologies that address the challenges of infrared (IR) detectors and the night operations they support at the Night Vision Conference and Exhibition, 30-31 October 2007.
Infrared (IR) imaging systems, such as Sofradir's Mercury Telluride Cadmium (MCT) IR detectors, have been widely used in the military field for years because of the advantages they offer in night operations. Targets can also be detected under poor atmospheric transmission conditions (fog, smoke and dust) and the IR camera is less affected by reflected sunlight or other blooming effects.
Historically, one of the compelling reasons why the military adopted infrared technology was its capacity to look at hot targets (i.e. vehicles motors and rockets) for surveillance and targeting. In his presentation entitled "High Performance IR detector technologies and their applications", Tribolet will explain why the MCT material is particularly well-adapted to high performance and long range IR detector applications, and outlines the advantages and future applications of small pixel pitch IR detectors.
The high performance of an IR detector is determined by its identification range, its compactness and reliability, and ability to operate in all weather conditions. High performance is obtained by increasing the format size of the detector to get more spatial resolution. Decreasing the pixel pitch is mandatory for producing larger formats at affordable costs, which is why small pixels are an important focus.
Tribolet will also cover new features such as electron initiated avalanche ohotodiodes (e-APDs), which improve the infrared detector capacity of detection especially in low flux conditions (poor weather). Sofradir develops and manufactures advanced infrared detectors (IR) for military, space and commercial applications. It specializes in cooled IR detectors based on a sophisticated high performance technology,
Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT). Together with its subsidiary Ulis (specialists in uncooled IR detectors), created in 2002, Sofradir generated revenues of EUR 93 M (USD 121 M) in 2006. Sofradir directly exports more than 60% of its products. Customers include the US Army, Thales, Sagem, Selex, Alcatel Alenia Space and ESA (European Space Agency). Sofradir's manufacturing facilities are located in Veurey-Voroize, near Grenoble, France.