NIR camera for inspection and quality control

Stemmer Imaging has introduced a compact, uncooled, near-infrared (NIR) camera for inspection and quality control applications in the semiconductor, waste sorting and food inspection industries.

The new Xenics Bobcat-1.7-320 incorporates an embedded digital signal processor for real-time image processing.

The camera uses both subsurface NIR inspection and thermal imaging capabilities.

NIR imaging also has applications for online quality control, while thermal imaging provides quality control for thermal processes and thermography between 300C and 800C.

The highly sensitive InGaAs detector is suitable for low-light levels and does not require cooling, meaning that it has a low power consumption.

If additional SWIR illumination is required, the Bobcat can be used in conjunction with light sources such as an eye-safe 1.55um laser.

Thanks to its built-in digital signal processing, PC connection via standard Ethernet or optional Cameralink connections and its compact size, the Bobcat can be used in restrictive and challenging industrial environments.

Standard C-Mount lenses and protective camera housings can be used.

The Bobcat is supplied with a graphical user interface, which facilitates the control of the camera and the acquisition of images.

Images and movies can be saved in various file formats.

NIR imaging provides information not available from visible spectrum imaging, according to the company.

This can range from sugar content in fruit to low-level photon emissions caused by semiconductor grid defects and absorption by various plastic materials.

NIR imaging also enables features below the surface of an object to be viewed, allowing internal defects to be imaged and opening the possibility of inspecting product through, for example, plastic packaging.

For thermal imaging applications, NIR radiation will pass through glass for imaging, whereas glass is opaque to low-wavelength infrared (LWIR) cameras.

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