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The
Factory |
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Our
uncooled infrared detectors are manufactured
by our sister company,
ULIS, located outside
Grenoble, France. |
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ULIS is
a high-volume manufacturer of infrared detectors that
are used in products designed for a diverse range
of imaging applications including: building energy
audits, thermography, security and surveillance, night
vision driving, firefighting and military. ULIS has
become a world leader in the production of microbolometer
detectors based on amorphous silicon technology, an
easy and reliable semiconductor material to manufacture.
The ULIS microbolometers are now available in a range
of form factors, from small to large, and are recognized
because of their excellent performance while maintaining
low weight and low power consumption. ULIS, a subsidiary
of Sofradir and GE Equity, is located in Veurey-Voroize,
near Grenoble, France and employs 120 people.
Key to the impressive advances in the
design and manufacture of bolometer detectors is the
long-term agreement that exists between ULIS and LETI
(Laboratoire Infrarouge of the Electronics
and Information Technology Laboratory, a renowned
French Research and Development Center) which
continues to bring technological improvements as a
result of ongoing significant research. Below are
some recent technical papers indicative of the quality
and magnitude of the research being performed. |
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| Recent ULIS Research
Papers |
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| High-performance
uncooled amorphous silicon VGA and XGA IRFPA with 17μm
pixel-pitch |
| Authors: J.
L. Tissot, S. Tinnes, A. Durand, et al. Published
27 October 2010 |
| ULIS and CEA/LETI have
a great deal of accumulated expertise on amorphous silicon
uncooled microbolometers with 45μm, 35μm, 25μm
and now 17µm pixel pitch. Recent innovations developed
on the 25μm pixel-pitch ROIC have been incorporated
into 17µm pitch models including detector configuration
by serial link, low power consumption, wide electrical
dynamic range. The new detectors deliver remarkably
high spatial resolution while keeping the small thermal
time constant. The reduction of the pixel-pitch turns
the TEC-less VGA array into a product well adapted for
high resolution and compact systems and the XGA a product
well adapted for high resolution imaging systems. High
electro-optical performances have been demonstrated
with NETD < 50mK. |
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| High-performance
uncooled amorphous silicon TEC less XGA IRFPA with 17μm
pixel-pitch |
| Authors: C.
Trouilleau, B. Fièque,
S. Noblet, et al. Published 6 May 2009 |
| A 1024x768 (XGA) IRFPA has been developed
with 17μm pixel-pitch to address high end, high performance
applications. This detector features: very high image
resolution, two video outputs, low power consumption,
wide electrical dynamic range, configurable by serial
link. The reduction of the pixel-pitch turns this XGA
array into a product well adapted for high resolution
yet compact systems with excellent NETD coupled with wide
thermal dynamic range as well as the outstanding uniformity
and high pixel operability, achieved thanks to the use
of highly stable amorphous silicon technology coupled
with the ROIC design. |
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| Uncooled
amorphous silicon IRFPA for high performance and high
volume applications |
| Authors: D.
Pochic, A. Durand, J. L. Tissot, et al. Published
23 September 2009 |
| Uncooled infrared technology
has given rise to the opportunity for new applications
for uncooled detectors including large volume markets.
Compared to other infrared detector technologies, uncooled
detectors offer many interesting advantages including
high reliability and lower cost while delivering a level
of performance that is sufficient for many applications.
The development of amorphous silicon detectors for high
volume applications is described. In addition, several
design features are described that enable easier system
development and reduced non-recurring costs. The appropriateness
of different detector packages (metallic and ceramic)
are described which depend on the application environment
and the production volume. |
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| VGA
17 μm development for compact, low-power systems |
| Authors: A.
Durand, J.L. Tissot, P. Robert, et al. Published
20 May 2011 |
| A new VGA 640x480 uncooled
microbolometer IRFPA is described based on amorphous
silicon technology with 17 μm pixel-pitch. This detector
keeps all the innovations developed on the 25 μm
pixel-pitch ROIC delivering high spatial resolution.
The pixel-pitch reduction turns this TEC-less VGA array
into a product well adapted for high resolution and
compact systems. Electro-optical performance is presented
as well as recent performance improvements. The tradeoff
between NETD and wide thermal dynamic range is described,
as well as the high characteristics of uniformity and
pixel operability, achieved thanks to the mastering
of amorphous silicon technology coupled with the ROIC
design. Solar exposure is also taken into account and
shows that ULIS amorphous silicon is perfectly well
suited to sustain high intensity exposure. |
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