Industrial image sensors tested for space applications

Teledyne Technologies Incorporated has released three variants of industrial CMOS sensors, with resolutions ranging from 1.3MP up to 67MP, following a delta space qualification methodology and radiation testing. The Upscreened Variants (USV) are designed for use in new space applications, including Earth observation and remote sensing payloads, star trackers, monitoring cameras, and cameras for space suits, rovers, moon landers, and space situational awareness or domain awareness. These new products complement the company's ongoing offerings for demanding science and defence missions by delivering options for the less rigorous New Space market.

"Within the New Space industry, some system designers may use COTS sensors and make them fly with no upscreening, which means that they take the risk of any malfunctions or errors further down the line," explains Céline Semécas, product marketing manager, Teledyne e2v. "Teledyne e2v's industrial upscreened image sensors are tested for space and are delivered as flight models with lot validation test certificates and radiation test reports."

The three CMOS sensors will undergo full screening, serialisation and lot validation tests. Depending on the mission profile, they are supplied as flight models with two levels of screening, according to U1 (ESCC9020-like) or U3 (NASA Class 3 tailored for image sensors). Devices were sampled and have been through radiation characterisation in specialised facilities, including testing for Single Event Latch-up (SEL), Single Event Effect (SEE), and Single Event Functional Interrupt (SEFI) malfunctions or errors. The image sensors provide a wide range of embedded functions, including sub-sampling, multi-region of interest (ROI), defective pixel correction, and high dynamic range capability.

For satellite star trackers and monitoring cameras, the Ruby 1.3M USV is a radiation-tolerant 1.3MP (1280 x 1024) global shutter sensor optimised for space systems subject to constraints such as size, weight, and power (SWaP) and cost. Housed in a 12.7mm x 12.7mm CLCC packaging, this 5.3µm pixel pitch sensor can fit with cost-effective 1/1.8" lenses, consumes very low (≤200mW) power, and is obtainable in a monochrome or colour version.

The Emerald Gen2 12M USV is a compact 12MP (4096 x 3072) global shutter imaging sensor for monitoring cameras, featuring a 2.8µm pitch, and is available in monochrome and colour versions. It features a very low readout noise performance of less than three electrons, delivering excellent image quality and the ability to work in high-contrast scenes. It has ROI features, enabling the company to offer an 8.9MP ROI image sensor in the same packaging, enabling space engineers to make even smaller cameras because they can use smaller optics. This sensor also features LVDS and MIPI outputs, which ease the integration.

The Emerald 67M USV is a 67MP (8192 x 8192) image sensor that features one of the smallest global shutter pixel pitches (2.5µm) on the market. This 8K high-resolution device can cover a large swath for Earth observation and is also appropriate for space domain awareness applications, enabling them to cover a large field of view. Emerald 67M USV combines low noise (<3e- @ 12 bits), providing excellent image quality in low light conditions, and up to 65fps @10 bits, delivering sharp images at very high speed. The image sensor can support monochrome or colour video and can be utilised for multispectral imaging.

The company provides a comprehensive range of tools to facilitate the system integration of CMOS sensors and expedite the time-to-market. These tools include evaluation kits, reference designs, radiation reports and space qualification reports. "With a dedicated support team and quick response times, Teledyne e2v in Grenoble supports space engineers from design concept to system launch," adds Céline Semécas. "Furthermore, Teledyne e2v is used to managing long-term supplies with applications that require long product life cycles and obsolescence management."