SELEX Sensors & Airborne Systems has moved its mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) grown by MOVPE (Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy) on low-cost GaAs substrates into production. The company is now producing 640 x 480 LWIR FPAs - dubbed “Eagle LW”- with a cut-off wavelength of 9.7µm.
An attempt to gain economies of scale in the automotive night vision market has fallen through. Negotiations on the potential acquisition by Autoliv of the L-3 Infrared Products automotive night vision business have been discontinued. The move would have combined the two leading suppliers of passive LWIR automotive night vision systems.
A proposed European Union regulation to enhance pedestrian safety may help to significantly expand the use of automotive infrared night vision systems. The proposed regulation will require a specific active safety system called Brake Assist on all new vehicles starting on July 1, 2008. In addition, new types of equipment, such as collision avoidance, will be recognized as alternatives to Brake Assist.
Max-Viz has obtained an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for its EVS-1000 Enhanced Vision System on Bell 206/407 helicopters. The EVS-1000 makes use of a 320 x 240 VOx microbolometer in order to give pilots situational awareness in fog, haze and other reduced visibility conditions.