NEC Toshiba Space selects Sofradir's bi-spectral IR detector for global change observation mission

Veurey-Voroize, France, 13 March 2007.Sofradir, a developer and manufacturer of advanced infrared detectors for military, space, and commercial applications, has signed a $4.2 million contract with NEC Toshiba Space to supply a custom-made bi-spectral long wave infrared detector (LWIR).

Sofradir's bi-spectral LWIR detector (two bands in long wave range) will be used on the second-generation global imager (SGLI), an observation instrument for the global change observation mission (GCOM).

GCOM is a satellite observation project being carried out by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Under the contract, Sofradir will develop and manufacture a bi-spectral detector with up to 12 microns wavelength for multi-spectral analysis that will be delivered to NEC Toshiba Space in 2009.

The SGLI is a multi-spectral imaging radiometer, and one of three observation instruments destined for the GCOM-C satellite. The SGLI is to conduct detailed global monitoring of the ground surface and middle and lower atmospheres. The role of Sofradir's bi-spectral LWIR detector in the SGLI will be to provide data about the atmosphere and the Earth's surface in thermal infrared wavelengths.

The bi-spectral LWIR detector Sofradir will deliver is a Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT) focal plane array that includes two arrays centered on 10.8 and 12 microns wavelengths respectively, which are hybridized on a single readout circuit for accurate registration.