NEC has succeeded in developing the world’s first high-sensitivity non-cooled infrared image sensor by applying high-purity semiconducting carbon nanotubes (CNT) to the infrared detection part through its proprietary extraction technology.
The company aims to commercialize the image sensor by 2025.
An infrared image sensor is a technology that acquires necessary information by converting infrared rays into electrical signals, and can detect infrared rays emitted from people and objects even in the dark. Therefore, it is used in various fields to realize safe and secure social infrastructure, such as night vision that supports driving at night, aircraft navigation support systems, and security cameras.
There are two types of infrared image sensors: a “cooled type” that operates by cooling to an extremely low temperature, and an “uncooled type” that operates around room temperature. While the cooled type has high sensitivity and excellent responsiveness, it requires a cooler, so it is large, expensive, consumes a lot of power, and requires regular maintenance of the cooler.
The uncooled type does not require a cooler, so it is small, inexpensive, and consumes low power.
NEC has focused on semiconducting CNTs, which are contained in single-walled CNTs and have the characteristic that the resistance value reacts sensitively to temperature. Succeeded in developing an image sensor for the first time.