Cryogenically cooled midwave infrared sensor for small satellite payloads (Conference Presentation)

Space-qualified midwave infrared (MWIR) camera systems have been high in cost and proprietary to large aerospace companies. To achieve high frame rates, the power consumption is also high. The smaller pixels used in larger arrays have low charge handling capacity that results in poor signal to noise performance. This is a significant obstacle for many small satellite missions. <br/> <br/> This paper presents a novel, low SWAP-C, commercially available high-end MWIR camera technology that is fully space-qualified for LEO missions. The design uses high-end commercial infrared detectors and coolers combined with custom circuitry for smart power management of cryo-coolers and latch-up protection of the detectors.