CMOS Image Sensors Upscreened for Space Flight

To serve growing demands for imaging of the Earth from space, Teledyne Technologies Inc. and its Teledyne Space Imaging business launched a trio of upscreened-variant (USV) CMOS imaging sensors well-suited for long operating lifetimes while observing the planet (see image above). Capable of resolution from 1.3 to 67.0 Mpixels, the sensors are good fits for such applications as monitoring, situational awareness, and payload checking.

The CMOS imaging sensors are designed, manufactured, and tested in the company’s Grenoble, France and Seville, Spain facilities and upscreened for space in the Grenoble facilities. Depending on final use, the sensors come as flight models with two levels of screening, according to U1 (ESCC9020-like) or U3 (NASA Class 3 tailored for image sensors).

The image sensors offer numerous features to enhance performance and functionality, including subsampling, multiple regions of interest (ROI), defective pixel correction, and high dynamic range capability.

According to product marketing manager Céline Semécas of Teledyne e2v, “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.”

She explains the importance of upscreening for space, “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.”

For satellite star trackers and monitoring cameras, the Ruby 1.3M USV is a radiation-tolerant 1.3-Mpixel (1280 × 1024) global shutter sensor supplied in a 12.7- × 12.7-mm CLCC package. It consumes less than 200 mW and comes in monochrome and color versions.

Model Emerald Gen2 12M USV is a compact 12-Mpixel (4096 × 3072) global shutter imaging sensor for monitoring cameras also available in monochrome and color versions. And model Emerald 67M USV, which comes in monochrome or color as well, is a 67-Mpixel (8192 × 8192) image sensor with high resolution and a 2.5-μm global shutter pixel pitch.