THALES long wave QWIP thermal imagers

THALES have developed for volume manufacture high performance low cost thermal imaging cameras based on the THALES Research Technology (TRT) third generation gallium arsenide long wave QWIP array. Catherine XP provides 768 × 575 CCIR video resolution and Catherine MP provides 1280 × 1024 SXGA video resolution. These compact and rugged cameras provide 24 h passive observation, detection, recognition, identification (DRI) in the 8–12 μm range, providing resistance to battlefield obscurants and solar dazzle, and are fully self contained with standard power and communication interfaces. The cameras have expansion capabilities to extend functionality (for example, automatic target detection) and have network battlefield capability. Both cameras benefit from the high quantum efficiency and freedom from low frequency noise of the TRT QWIP, allowing operation at 75 K, low integration times and non interruptive non uniformity correction. The cameras have successfully reached technology readiness level 6/7 and have commenced environmental qualification testing in order to complete the development programmes. These latest additions to the THALES Catherine family provide high performance thermal imaging at an affordable cost.