SWIR Camera Industry

Ⅰ、The Importance of Cooling for SWIR Cameras Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) is a critical parameter that characterizes the imaging performance of SWIR cameras. SWIR cameras use InGaAs as the sensor material, with a typical dark current of 18.75 ke⁻/pixel/s. In comparison, silicon-based detectors at room temperature exhibit a dark current of only about 40 e⁻/pixel/s. Therefore, the SNR of SWIR cameras is largely dominated by the dark current level. Cooling the sensor chip can effectively suppress dark current, so the cooling temperature of a SWIR camera can serve as a reference indicator for its maximum SNR. Based on this, I have divided SWIR camera cooling temperatures into five levels: room temperature (20°C), –10°C, –20°C, –50°C, and –100°C, and for each level, representative products are listed. Ⅱ、Cooling Temperature Grades 2.1、20°C Room Temperature (Uncooled) The detector temperature varies with the ambient temperature, and there is no built-in cooling module. This type of camera offers the smallest size, lowest power consumption, lowest cost, and simplest integration; however, it has the highest dark current, which varies significantly with temperature. It is only suitable for basic industrial scenarios with sufficient lighting and high-speed production lines, and cannot meet the requirements of low-light and precision inspection. Representative…