SWIR, beyond visible

Short-wave infrared (SWIR) light is typically defined as non-visible light which falls within 900 – 1700 nm in wavelength, but it is also common to refer to extended-SWIR or NIR as the range from 780 to 2500 nm. Thus this range lies between VIS (390-780 nm) and MIR-FIR (3000-10 000 nm). In comparison to the neighbour spectra, SWIR imaging offers unprecedented advantages : it is unique to both visible imaging and other forms of IR-imaging in that it is neither affected by poor ambient conditions nor reliant on thermal emissivity. Driven by unceasing advancements on SWIR sensing, SWIR imaging is nowadays a key technology for many applications. This is why Lytid developed SIRIS, one of the most performant InGaAs-based SWIR cameras on the market.

Thanks to its unique features, SWIR imaging offers access to plenty of applications. Penetration through obscurant and minimal atmospheric influence makes SWIR imaging a valid ally for night vision, security and surveillance, and astrophysics observation. The capability of SWIR photons to penetrate biological tissues while being harmless for living beings, opens the door to non-invasive, non-destructive, in vivo SWIR medical imaging and fluorescence microscopy in small animals. SWIR imaging is also used for quality inspection of Silicon components, being this material transparent to SWIR light. Also, colors that appear almost identical in the visible may be easily differentiated using SWIR, improving product analysis in food and pharma industry.