RVS Uncooled Sensor Development for Tactical Applications

RVS has made a significant breakthrough in the development of an athermal (TECless) 640 x 480 uncooled sensor with a unit cell size of 17 μm x 17 μm, and performance approaching that of the 25μm arrays. The sensor design contains a highly productized FPA and is designed to achieve excellent sensitivity (low NETD and low spatial noise) with good dynamic range. The improved performance is achieved through bolometer structure improvements, innovative ROIC design, and flexible, low power electronics architecture. We will show updated performance and imagery on these sensors, which is currently being measured at <50mK, f/1, 30 Hz. Pixel operability is greater than 99 % on most FPAs, and uncorrected responsivity nonuniformity is less than 3% (sigma/mean). The combination of reduced FPA pixel size and improved effective thermal sensitivity enhances performance by providing smaller, lighter-weight systems via reduced optics size. Or, alternatively, increased range via enhanced pixel resolution without increasing mass (maintaining optical size). We will also show the advancements made in our uncooled common architecture electronics in terms of reduced power and size for man-portable and missile applications.