Imec has developed its first shortwave infrared (SWIR) range hyperspectral imaging camera. It integrates CMOS-based spectral filters together with InGaAs-based imagers. For a number of years, semiconductor CMOS-based hyperspectral imaging filters, designed and manufactured by Imec, have been integrated monolithically onto silicon-based CMOS image sensors. This has a sensitivity range of 400–1000 nm, however, it is expected that more than half of commercial multi- and hyperspectral imaging applications need discriminative spectral data in the 1000–1700 nm SWIR range. Imec’s initial SWIR range hyperspectral imaging cameras feature both linescan “stepped filter” designs with 32–100 or more spectral bands, as well as snapshot mosaic solutions enabling the capture of 4–16 bands in real-time at video-rate speeds. Cameras with both USB3.0 and GIGE interfaces are currently being tested.
Imec is a research centre and its developments are used by camera vendors and other manufacturers who integrate the technology into their products.
