Umicore, the large Europe-based metals and materials group, is in the final stages of completing a new 10,000 square foot molded infrared glass lens production facility in the U.S. The factory will have a production capacity of 100,000 units and expects to start shipping product in early 2005. The chalcogenide lenses are intended as a low-cost replacement for germanium lenses in high-volume infrared applications.
AEG Infrarot-Module, AIM, has been selected by the German Army to supply the HuntIR thermal weapon sight for Germany’s Infantryman of the Future (Infanterist der Zukunft, IdZ) program. Competition for the program was hotly contested and the German Army evaluated many different sights in an effort to meet the German Infantry requirements which emphasize the role of 10 soldier squads having a variety of equipment and missions.
Start-up Bridge Semiconductor is developing low-cost 160 x 120 uncooled FPAs based on pyroelectric PVDF thin films deposited on conventional microbridges. The company is relying on a Direct Digital Signal Conditioning™ (DDSC) technology which the company says is 1000 times more sensitive than existing circuits and produces a digital output at each pixel.
The Shephard Night Vision Conference (October 13-14) is covering applications of all of the night vision technologies: image intensifiers, thermal imagers and millimeter-wave imaging. The keynote address is being presented by Dr. Fenner Milton, Director of the U.S. Army Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate.