SwiftIR | High-Framing Uncooled Thermal Camera by Axiom Optics

High-Framing uncooled thermal camera

The SwiftIR 640 is a High-Framing uncooled thermal camera from Axiom Optics, combining compact construction with high-speed LWIR thermal imaging. A 640 × 480 active array, 17 µm pixel pitch and broadband 8–14 µm detector response provide detailed infrared images for research, machine vision and dynamic scene observation. The high-speed configuration supports up to 120 frames per second over USB 3.0.

High-frame-rate LWIR imaging at up to 120 fps

For applications that need more temporal samples than conventional 30 or 60 fps imaging, SwiftIR 640 combines its detector with the high-speed proxy and USB 3.0 interface configuration. At 120 fps, frames are sampled approximately every 8.3 ms. The sensor’s nominal thermal time constant is 12 ms; the sampling interval and detector response time describe different aspects of imaging performance.

This high-frame-rate LWIR camera is suited to developing imaging systems for moving objects, laboratory experiments, process observation and infrared machine vision. Required sensitivity, motion contrast and system timing should be evaluated under the intended operating conditions.

Broadband uncooled thermal imaging

The microbolometer converts absorbed long-wave infrared radiation into an electrical signal. Objects emit infrared radiation according to their temperature and emissivity, while reflected radiation and the scene background also contribute to the recorded image. SwiftIR 640 displays variations in this detected radiance as grayscale or color contrast.

The broadband configuration has no methane bandpass filter. It is designed for general LWIR scene imaging. The standard 19 mm f/1.0 athermalized lens provides a nominal 32.0° × 24.2° field of view and 0.895 mrad IFOV. Other lens options are available on request.

Built-in mechanical shutter for shuttered NUC

A built-in mechanical shutter closes to provide a uniform reference for shuttered one-point non-uniformity correction (NUC), also called flat-field correction (FFC). This compensates pixel-to-pixel offsets and helps maintain a consistent image as the camera conditions change. The correction briefly interrupts scene imaging. Bad-pixel replacement and display enhancement complement the correction workflow.

USB 3.0 thermal camera with IR-Vista software

A single USB connection carries UVC video, CDC virtual-COM camera control and 5 V power. IR-Vista provides acquisition, corrected-image display, recording and offline analysis on Windows x64, macOS Apple silicon and Linux ARM64. C, C++ and Python SDK APIs support integration into custom applications.

White Hot and color lookup tables, min/max linear stretch, histogram equalization and CLAHE help visualize scene contrast. ROI statistics, histograms and line profiles support image analysis; raw .bin recordings can be browsed and replayed for offline review, with trim and processed MP4 export.

Output: corrected images. Radiometric temperature calibration is not specified, so this configuration does not provide calibrated temperature measurements. Sensor NETD is <30 mK at f/1, 300 K and 30 Hz; this condition does not establish camera sensitivity at 120 fps.

Explore Axiom Optics’ LWIR thermal cameras and cores, or contact us to discuss the SwiftIR 640 configuration for your application.