C-RED One
First Light Imaging
An ultra high-speed, photon-counting SWIR camera built around a 320x256 MCT e-APD sensor, delivering sub-electron readout noise at up to 3,500 frames per second for astronomy and adaptive optics.
Technical specifications
- Sensor array
- 320 x 256 MCT e-APD pixels
- Spectral range
- 0.80-2.43 micron (J, H, K bands)
- Maximum frame rate
- 3,500 fps (full frame)
- Readout noise
- <1 e- (CDS mode, gain x50)
- Digitization
- 16-bit
- Operating temperature
- 80 K (cryogenic)
- Cooling method
- Integrated pulse tube cooler, no LN2 required
- ROI capability
- Multiple regions of interest, >10 kHz achievable
About
The C-RED One is First Light Imaging’s flagship low-light, high-speed shortwave infrared camera, built around a 320 x 256 pixel Mercury Cadmium Telluride electron-initiated avalanche photodiode array with a 24 micron pixel pitch. It is designed for applications requiring simultaneous extreme sensitivity and rapid image acquisition in the 0.80-2.43 micron spectral range, achieving readout noise below 1 electron in correlated double sampling mode with internal avalanche gain up to x50, while sustaining full-frame rates as high as 3,500 fps. The sensor is cooled cryogenically to 80 K using an integrated pulse-tube cooler housed in a sealed vacuum enclosure, eliminating the need for liquid nitrogen. Multiple readout modes and multiple-region-of-interest capability give users flexibility for demanding real-time control loops. Target applications include astronomical adaptive optics wavefront sensing, atmospheric and deep-space imaging, solar astronomy, and light-emitting device characterization, making it a widely adopted detector at ground-based observatories for real-time correction of atmospheric turbulence.
Documentation
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