SecDef funds Princeton Infrared Technologies’ SWIR EO seeker

Princeton Infrared Technologies has received a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research award from the US Office of the Secretary of Defense (SecDef) to develop a high-resolution, short-wave infrared (SWIR), electro-optical (EO) seeker.

The camera will have high pixel operability with a digital output greater than the industry standard frame rate at full resolution.

The imager will be manufactured on InP substrates using the InGaAs/GaAsSb system allowing for low cost and the ability to utilise modern III-V semiconductor processing.

The imager will be manufactured and hybridised at wafer scale to minimise cost.

Martin H. Ettenberg, president of Princeton Infrared Technologies, commented: ‘These new imagers will require significantly less cooling allowing reduced system size, weight, power and cost’.

Although the value of the award has not been disclosed, Princeton Infrared Technologies previously received an SBIR award for a high-resolution SWIR EO seeker from the Office of the SecDef in 2019 that was valued at around $150,000.

This announcement follows from the news of the USAF awarding Princeton Infrared Technologies $1 million to develop an SWIR camera for low-cost targeting and tracking application in September earlier this year.