Distribution deal offers LWIR camera modules for compact and mobile devices

Mouser has signed a distribution agreement with Teledyne FLIR to stock the FLIR Lepton micro thermal camera modules. Through the agreement, it offers engineers Lepton’s revolutionary longwave infrared (LWIR) imager modules that are small enough to fit in a smartphone and are one-tenth the cost of conventional IR cameras, making them an ideal thermal camera module for compact and mobile devices.

These LWIR camera solutions use focal plane arrays (FPAs) of either 160 x 120 or 80 x 60 active pixels with a thermal sensitivity lower than 50mK, easily integrating into native mobile devices and other electronics as an IR sensor or thermal imager. The modules are excellent for various imaging applications, including automotive, presence detection, robotics, smart cities, and IoT.

“Teledyne FLIR Lepton modules meet design engineers’ need for minuscule imaging solutions,” said Mike Scott, Mouser Electronics' vice president of Supplier Management. “This partnership combines Lepton’s technology expertise and Mouser’s unsurpassed customer service and best-in-class logistics to speed customers’ time to market.”

“Mouser will enhance the customer NPI experience and enable customers to access and source our imaging modules 24/7,” said Dan Jarvis, senior director of OEM Sales at Teledyne FLIR. “Mouser’s renown for new product introductions and support for the design community makes them a great partner and resource for our customers.”

The 3.0 and 3.5 are high-resolution LWIR micro thermal camera modules that provide a 160 x 120px, 12µm pixel size, uncooled FPA in a small 10.5mm x 12.7mm x 7.14mm package. The 3.0 module is non-radiometric, while the 3.5 module offers a radiometric thermal imaging system over the entire pixel array, capturing accurate, calibrated, and non-contact temperature data in every pixel of each image.

The 2.5 LWIR micro thermal camera module provides an FPA of 80 x 60 active pixels with a pixel size of 17µm in an 11.5mm x 12.7mm x 6.8mm package. The module provides temperature-stabilised output for radiometric processing, plus a fast time-to-image of fewer than 0.5 seconds.

Thermal Camera Breakout Board v2.0 quickly connects all versions of the Lepton camera modules to common platforms such as Raspberry Pi or custom hardware. This easy-to-interface evaluation board, created for quick prototyping and development and not for production use, offers onboard power supplies generated from 3V to 5.5V and a master clock.