Balluff showcases new Sony SWIR sensors in the BVS CA-GV 5GigE camera series
Making the invisible visible
Sony has three SWIR sensors, the IMX990, IMX992, and IMX993, which Balluff has now incorporated into the portfolio of the new 5GigE camera family BVS CA-GV.
SWIR sensors (short for Short Wave Infrared) enable a view of a wavelength range that is approximately 3.5 times larger than that of conventional sensors. Conventional sensors and the human eye capture images in the wavelength range from 400 to approximately 750 nm, while SWIR sensors capture images in the wavelength range from 400 to 1,700 nm.
Through the clever design of filters and lighting, product characteristics can be made visible, especially in the non-visible range, thus enabling a much easier evaluation of good and bad products.
The SWIR cameras, with resolutions ranging from 1.3 to 5.3 MPixels, will be available in two designs with a front surface area of 29 x 29 mm and 40 x 40 mm. The uncooled SWIR sensors will be integrated into the 29 x 29 mm housing.
In fall 2025, the camera family will be expanded to include cooled SWIR sensors. A new cooling concept enables operation without an additional fan. Due to their sensor size, the cooled SWIR sensors, which are necessary for particularly good image quality, can only be installed in a 40 x 40 mm housing.
The BVS CA GV camera family is characterized by a compact design and a power consumption of less than 4.3 watts. These features facilitate integration into existing systems without additional heat sinks.
The 5GigE interface is GenICam-compliant and can be throttled to 2.5 GigE on the software side. This allows customers to switch to the new camera technology without immediately having to adapt their computer and network card infrastructure.
The BVS CA GV camera family offers various configurations for digital inputs and outputs. In addition to a classic output and an input that can be switched to 5 or 24 VDC (TTL or PLC signal) via software, two GPIOs (general purpose input/output) and an RS232 interface are available.
The GPIOs can be flexibly configured as inputs and outputs, which allows encoders to be connected. The RS232 interface is used for parameterizing liquid lenses or flash controllers. In addition, the camera family can be powered via PoE (Power over Ethernet).
Thanks to the digital interfaces and modular design, the BVS CA GV camera family already meets many customer requirements in its standard version. This leads to reduced manufacturing costs, allowing the cameras to be offered at attractive prices. Customer-specific requirements such as special filters, extended temperature ranges, frozen firmware versions, production under special clean room conditions, and high-precision alignment of the sensors can also be met.
Request details, samples, and prices for the BVS CA-GV with SWIR sensors now—contact us today.
