Fotónica

1. OPTICS INNOVATIONS
Beyond the Visible
Raptor Photonics, a deceptively small U.K. engineering company, has
been developing the next generation of short-wave infrared cameras.
Mark Donaghy
Originally focused on developing night-vision technol-
ogy for the surveillance market, Raptor Photonics
Ltd. now develops and supplies next-generation,
high-performance digital-camera solutions for a broad
spectrum of scientific, industrial and surveillance appli-
cations. The company offers a range of sensors, including
charge-coupled devices, electron multiplication charge-
coupled devices and indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs),
across its camera lineup. Raptor also provides custom
solutions to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
and instrumentation companies worldwide to meet the
varied imaging needs of its customers.
Investing in talent and technology
Established in 2006 as a four-person start-up in Larne,
Northern Ireland, U.K., Raptor now employs 18 peo-
ple. Raptor is a relatively small company, but it has
invested heavily in both its employees and its technol-
ogy and now sells to more than 40 countries. Customers
include academic institutions, government-run labs
and Fortune 500 companies. Though the company has
stayed small, over the past 12 years Raptor’s reach has
rapidly grown, delivering a number of firsts in the mar-
ket, including the first scientific short-wave infrared
(SWIR) camera.
OWL 1280
HD VIS-
SWIR camera
Raptor Photonics
Getty Images
24 OPTICS & PHOTONICS NEWS JANUARY 2019
Pulses

2. The key to this growth lies in the
company’s ability to react quickly to
emerging technologies and market
opportunities and then offer cus-
tom enhancements to meet customer
needs. All of the cameras’ designs
have originated from OEM projects,
where Raptor designed a dedicated
camera core to match the specific
requirements of a customer. When a
customer-specific camera reaches vol-
ume production, the company often
finds that other customers have simi-
lar requirements, albeit with minor
amendments to the core technology,
such as mechanical and electronic
layout, optical setup, firmware fea-
tures and cooling. Thus, Raptor offers
dozens of OEM iterations across its
suite of cameras.
High sensitivity in low light
Raptor’s camera technology enables
users to see things in very low lev-
els of light. Many applications that
are difficult to perform using vis-
ible light are made possible with
SWIR imaging, enabling the user
to “see beyond the visible.” Unlike
mid-wave infrared (MWIR) and long-
wave infrared (LWIR) light, which is
emitted from the object itself, SWIR
is similar to visible light in that
photons are reflected or absorbed
by an object. The reflective nature
of SWIR light provides the strong
contrast needed for higher-resolu-
tion imaging. Ambient starlight and
background radiance (nightglow) are
natural emitters of SWIR and provide
excellent illumination for low-light
or nighttime imaging, including
imaging though fog, haze and water
vapors.
Seeing in low light is a desirable
quality across numerous applica-
tions. Researchers use Raptor’s
cameras to view very weak fluores-
cence samples through microscopes
to understand how tumors spread.
Recycling companies use SWIR
cameras during hyperspectral imag-
ing to distinguish and sort various
grades of plastic waste. The cameras
are also used in airport screening
equipment to help identify poten-
tially dangerous substances in
luggage, and in aircraft to help pilots
land in very low visibility. Scientific
and medical OEMs employ Raptor
cameras in their instrumentation
for applications ranging from drug
development to DNA sequencing—
the applications for sensitive cameras
are endless.
Seeing in low light is also desir-
able over a broad spectrum of
environmental conditions. With this
in mind, Raptor cameras are compact
and rugged, operating in very harsh
climates. This is essential for custom-
ers who quite often put the cameras
into “mission critical” applications,
which run 24/7. Raptor now has cam-
eras being used underwater, on land,
in the air and even in space—where
the space-hardened cameras are used
in low-orbit mini satellites for 5G
telecommunication networks.
Across the pond
Since its inception, Raptor has been
a leading player in the design and
development of SWIR cameras using
InGaAs sensors—a game-changing
technology that can be made sen-
sitive enough to count individual
photons. The cameras are capable of
imaging from 400 nm to 1700 nm.
Raptor’s family of InGaAs focal plane
arrays offer different resolutions
(320 × 256, 640 × 512 and 1280 × 1024)
along with cooling, readout and
interface alternatives, providing
a range of options for customers
requiring visible and SWIR imaging.
Low-noise electronics and readout
integrated circuit (ROIC) design
ensure the quality of the images.
Further, Raptor is certified to the
ISO 9001:2015 standard, and fewer
than 2 percent of products are
returned.
In late 2017, Raptor expanded
its presence in the United States by
establishing Raptor Photonics Inc.
The sales and support office includes
dedicated admin, technical and sales
staff to support all U.S. customers.
Looking ahead, Raptor also sees
opportunities across Asian markets,
where there is a lot of interest for
high-end cameras. Advances in tech-
nology also mean that new markets
are opening up in areas like space
science, with low-orbit CubeSats
requiring cameras for Earth observa-
tion (see “CubeSats: Tiny Platforms
for Orbiting Optics, p. 28). Scientists
keep pushing the boundaries—
Raptor wants to be there to support
them along the way. OPN
Mark Donaghy (md@raptorphotonics.com)
is the vice president of sales and mar-
keting at Raptor Photonics.
Ninox 1280 VIS-SWIR camera
Raptor Photonics
Raptor Photonics Ltd.
HEADQUARTERS: Larne,
Northern Ireland, U.K.
CEO: Stephen Hamilton
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 18
www.raptorphotonics.com
25
JANUARY 2019 OPTICS & PHOTONICS NEWS