Xenics expands its Bobcat product family and makes SWIR cameras affordable.

Leuven, Belgium, 17 September 2021

Xenics announced the addition of new camera members to the popular Bobcat 320 family, a best seller in the industry, including an extremely affordable SWIR camera.?

The newly expanded Bobcat 320 family consists of high-performance SWIR cameras with a 320x256 resolution for industrial applications. In a move to further complement the offer, Xenics has introduced three new cost-effective camera options in addition to the Bobcat 320 series for a complete solution in the 320x256 resolution space:

? Bobcat+ 320: an improved, high performance SWIR camera for demanding applications with an option for extension into visible wavelengths (vSWIR).

? Bobcat 320 TE0: an uncooled (TECless) camera that offers SWIR performance at the lowest price.

? Bobcat 320 WL: an uncooled (TECless) and windowless (WL) camera to minimize the number of optical elements and consequently internal reflections.

This camera is ideally suited for applications such as laser beam analysis or wavefront sensing.

Bobcat+ 320: Xenics improves performance to address the needs of demanding applications

As application requirements and capability differentiation become more stringent, a simple and cost-effective camera with improved performances is the answer. This is particularly true for hyperspectral applications or spectroscopy, for machine vision in the semiconductor industry or for surveillance applications.

In these systems there is a need for larger dynamic range, IWR (integrate while read) read out mode to improve the speed vs integration time trade off, and optionally, a wavelength extension into the visible range (vSWIR). As an answer to these requirements, Xenics now proposes the Bobcat+ 320. In addition to Bobcat 320 performance, customers will benefit from:

• Two read out modes (ITR (integrate then read) and IWR mode): in IWR mode, with overlapping read and integrate phases, you can optimize the integration (exposure) time for a given frame rate requirement. Moreover, “By minimizing the blind-time, you never lose a photon,” said Pieter Deroo, Camera Development Director at Xenics.
• Two selectable gains including a High Dynamic Range configuration with 60dB of dynamic range.
• An optional extension into visible wavelengths allows access to vSWIR spectral coverage (400 to 1700nm) for better integration, enhanced detection capabilities and reduced price.

Bobcat 320 TE0: Xenics introduces the ultimate low-cost SWIR camera?

As a leader in the SWIR camera market, Xenics believes that the price should never limit the use of a SWIR camera in applications where SWIR clearly is the best technical solution. This is the reason for the Bobcat 320 TE0 introduction.

With a camera that can even be below €5000 (unit price in volume order of 20 units), SWIR is now affordable for most industrial applications and customers will not have to limit themselves to visible or NIR cameras:

“When SWIR is the technical solution, Xenics’ SWIR will be the chosen solution” said Marc Larive, Strategic Marketing Manager at Xenics.

Bobcat 320 WL: Xenics, listening to customers’ needs, offers a camera with windowless detector

The third new version of Bobcat 320 that Xenics introduces today is equipped with an uncooled and windowless detector. This is the result of a real demand from the market. For laser measurement (typically laser beam profiling), unwanted reflections off the optical surfaces should be limited in order to avoid interference fringes in the image: therefore, the windowless Bobcat completely cancels out the reflections off the top and bottom surface of a detector window. The same advantage holds true for laser wavefront sensing applications.?

Finally, as the camera is also TECless, both the Bobcat 320 TE0 and WL are in the same price range.

All three new cameras are proposed with GigE interface which is a common standard for industrial applications and use the same mechanical and electrical interface as the standard Bobcat 320. They all benefit from Xenics user interface software Xeneth which makes them very simple to configure and use, thus reducing the R&D time and efforts.

Marc Larive said:

“Xenics is market-driven: the three new products are introduced to our customers who want more than just a SWIR camera. They want a real answer to their needs. The very low cost of the TE0 and WL cameras will open up new applications in previously price-prohibitive markets.”

With this family extension, Xenics confirms its leading position in the SWIR market.