FARNBOROUGH, England – On 17 July at the Farnborough International Show, Teledyne e2v announced that—in partnership with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) and the Centre for Electronic Imaging (CEI) at The Open University (OU)—it has been awarded a contract to develop CMOS TDI image sensors for small satellites for Earth Observation (EO).
Under the contract, which was awarded by the UK Space Agency via the Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation, Teledyne e2v will lead the development of new technology based on CMOS Time Delay and Integration image sensors.
"CMOS TDI sensors provide a smaller pixel running at higher speeds, which are suited ideally for smaller satellites,” said Paul Jerram, Chief Engineer, Space Imaging, Teledyne e2v on the tradeshow floor. “It’s virtually impossible to do this with CCDs, so we moved toward CMOS TDI. The CMOS TDI sensors offer on-chip digitization and operates at a lower voltage than CCDs.”
He continued, "In terms of SWaP, the CMOS TDI sensors can do a lot more on chip, as they dissipate less power while costing significantly less for overall focal plane electronics."
Collaborating with Teledyne e2v on the project is SSTL, which—according to Sean Hodges-Jackson, Business Development Manager, Space Imaging—brings an understand of what the market needs and is offering its expertise to Teledyne e2v in that regard. Additionally, OU is contributing its capabilities in sensor characterization and testing.
"Available on custom basis for EO applications, these sensors are being made possible through the bringing together of capabilities across the whole of Teledyne."
Teledyne e2v’s new CMOS TDI sensors are being designed to support emerging EO applications, including land use mapping, urban infrastructure, agriculture, security and surveillance, maritime, as well as others.
