Selex ES has taken the wraps off its latest infrared technology with a new detector named Superhawk. At the heart of this system are thermal pixels measuring just 8 microns in size, less than one-twelfth the thickness of a human hair. The Superhawk detector employs more than a million of them to create a detector that can produce a 1280x1024-resolution, blur-free image in total darkness.

Development of the eight-micron pixel is the outcome of Selex ES’s three-decade program of refining the metal organic vapour phase epitaxial (MOVPE) process by which infrared-detecting crystals are grown. Each pixel has the capability to discriminate heat differences of down to one-fiftieth of a degree. The advantages of small pixels is that more can be packed into a given detector field, resulting in improved performance with no penalty in size, weight or price.

However, in some systems packing in ever more pixels can actually decrease image sharpness. As the pixels get smaller, the tendency for signals to “leak” into the neighbouring pixels increases, with the result that imagery can become blurred. Selex ES’s detector employs a unique solution in which the individual pixels are physically separated from each other, with no signal leak between them.

The Superhawk detector is now ready for use in a variety of infrared thermal imaging camera systems, including those produced by Selex ES itself. The ability to produce ever-sharper images further aids the decision-making process, particularly when subject to the strict rules of engagement under which many forces operate in policing and peace-keeping missions. A blurred image may show a suspect holding a long object, for instance, but a sharp image can reveal whether it is a weapon or an innocent everyday object.