AST Digital Magazine FINAL (2.5.16) Feb 2016 | Page 14

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Volume 1

February 2016

Sierra-Olympic Offers Unique Vis-SWIR Video Camera - QI-SCD15-M1
Sierra-Olympic Technologies, supplier of infrared (IR) and thermal imaging components,
cameras, and systems solutions for advanced imaging applications, introduces the highperformance 640 x 512 pixel format QI-SCD15-M1 visible-shortwave infrared (SWIR) video
camera. The camera is equipped with the unique capability of operating in either a
conventional SWIR imaging mode, or in asynchronous laser pulse detection (ALPD)
mode. The low-power SWIR VGA camera, with 15 µm x 15 µm pixel size, features excellent
sensitivity and integral anti-blooming. It is also compatible with smaller, less expensive optics
and supports C-mount or M42-mount shortwave infrared, or other lenses. Designed and
manufactured by Quantum Imaging (Colorado Springs, CO), the QI-SCD15-M1 was showcased
at SPIE’s Photonics West, Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, February 16-18, 2016
in Sierra-Olympic’s booth # 5340.
When the new QI detector is in ALPD mode, it serves as a 2-dimensional sensor capable of capturing short-duration laser pulses and providing the X-Y
position of those pulses in both daytime and night-time operation. Additionally, multiple asynchronous spots can exist simultaneously in the same field
of view. These characteristics make the new QI-SCD15-M1 ideal for see-spot operations when detecting 860 nm, 1064 nm, and/or 1550 nm laser
spots.
Chris Johnston, president of Sierra-Olympic, explains, “The camera’s ALPD mode is based on frequency rather than a conventional laser-pulse-detection
method which is based on intensity. Therefore, the ALPD camera is not affected by bright, sunny conditions, making it a superior and more reliable
imaging method on a clear day. Conversely, imagery from a laser-pulse detector based on intensity can be seriously impaired and its performance
degraded in similar sunny conditions.”
The QI-SCD15-M1 camera features an indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) sensor that provides extended spectral sensitivity; operating from 0.5 µm to 1.7
µm, it is compatible with a number of illumination sources. Available through Sierra-Olympic in a rugged, industrial miniaturized camera body, the same
camera optionally comes in a modular design, the QI-SCD15-FLEX, for applications where space is tight or unusually shaped.
For more information on the QI SWIR cameras, plea