Army reaches out to industry for advanced visible/near infrared focal plane array technology
FORT BELVOIR, Va., 8 July 2014. U.S. Army researchers are surveying industry for companies able to develop advanced visible-light and near-infrared focal plane array (FPA) sensors for applications such as electro-optical payloads, weapon sights, night vision, and sensors for unmanned vehicles.
Officials of the Army Contracting Command at the Aberdeen Proving Ground Belvoir Division at Fort Belvoir, Va., issued a sources-sought notice last week (W909MY14QATDI) for the Advanced Visible/Near Infrared TDI Focal Plane program.
The notice was issued on behalf of researchers at the Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) of the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC).
Researchers are interesting in developing advanced visible/near infrared time-domain integration (TDI) focal plane technology for production in a limited number that push the state of the art of this technology, Army researchers say. A TDI imager operates similarly to a scanning array, except that it images perpendicularly to the motion of the camera.
Related: BAE Systems to develop advanced digital focal plane array detectors for missile defense
The sensor should be a large-format, small-pixel visible/near infrared focal plane array that meets new army objectives. Researchers want a charge-couple device (CCD) or complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) focal play array with about 24,000 pixels in non-scanned direction.
The sensor array should have about 256 TDI pixels with about a 4.5 pixel pitch with an imaging line rate of about 30,000 lines per second. The goal is an electro-optical sensor with new levels of image quality and clarity.
Related: ITT to build infrared focal plane array sensor for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope
Companies interested should email 15-page white papers no later than 18 Aug. 2014 to the Army's Michelle Hodges at [email protected]. In the subject line put RFI - W909MY-14-Q-ATDI Advanced Visible/Near Infrared TDI Focal Plane, followed by the company's name.
Email questions or concerns to Michelle Hodges at [email protected]. More information is online at https://www.fbo.gov/notices/2627fc94f733de2783acc1c05df470e3.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
