The development of high-sensitivity uncooled infrared night-vision sensors for use in driver-assistance systems

Uncooled sensors for use in night vision are a promising technology for use in active driver-assistance systems (ADAS) in combination with active-type sensors. However, the sensitivity of conventional uncooled sensors is low because attempts to achieve high sensitivity with conventional sensors are hampered by their high resistivity, which increases thermal noise. To overcome this problem, we have developed new uncooled sensors that have a low resistivity and high sensitivity. This was achieved by improving the crystal quality of the detector materials. Consequently, the sensitivity of the developed sensors was about five times higher than that of conventional low-resistivity sensors. This result could expand the range of use of such sensors and might improve object-recognition accuracy in forward-facing ADAS.