Photonis

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Photonis is an European manufacturer of image intensifier tubes and night vision devices located in France. Photonis was founded in 1937.

History

Photonis Technologies SAS was formed from a 2005 merger of three separate companies.

• Photonis
  • 1937 PHILIPS Brive
  • 1936 HYPERELEC
  • 1966 RTC Compelec
  • 1990 PHILIPS Components
  • 1992 PHILIPS Photonics
  • 1996 Photonis
• Delft Electronic Products BV (DEP)
  • 1970 Delft Electronische Producten
  • 1973 Oude Delft
  • 1990 Delft Instruments
  • 1995 Delft Electronic Products BV
• Burle Industries
  • 1942 US NAVY
  • 1946 RCA Corp.
  • 1966 GE
  • 1987 BURLE Industries
  • 1999 Purchase of Galileo MCP

Company Structure

Today, Photonis Technologies SAS has a single subsidiary, Photonis France SAS.

Photonis France SAS in turn has the following subsidiaries:

• Burle Industries, Inc.
• Brennel Glass Ltd.
• Photonis USA, Inc.
• MicroOLED S.A.S.
• Photonis-DEP B.V.
  • Hi-Light Opto Electronics B.V.
• Antheryon Optics

Image Intensifiers

Photonis manufactures second generation image intensifiers exclusively. However, the company has continuously improved the technology, with the higher end of their lineup competing, if not outperforming, modern third generation image intensifiers.

European made tubes are very expensive, with Photonis being no exception. When comparing to prices of U.S. made thin film Gen. 3 tubes, they usually have a worse price to performance ratio.

However, Photonis image intensifiers feature higher shock rating and exceptional dynamic range in mixed light conditions, e.g. urban environments.

XD4

Introduced in 2000.

XR5

Introduced in 2002. With Autogating. Aviation models are often referred to as golden bullet(s) due to their golden EMI shielded housing.

Echo

Echo is the most recent line of Photonis image intensifiers aimed at the civilian market.

There are several different type designations for Echo image intensifiers, including ZG1499C and ZW1499C. Z = Echo, G/W = P43/P45, numbers = model or format, A/B/C = performance spec (with revisions).

Tubes with a postfix A are U.S. only, while B and C are for the rest of the world.

Echo tubes sold in the U.S. have a minimum FOM of 1800 and often exceed 2000, with no upper limit. In contrast, Echo tubes sold outside of the U.S. have a minimum FOM of 1600.

U.S. P45 Echos are lower gain than the worldwide market counterpart.

There are two theories that try to explain this, both based on the assumption that Photonis needs to produce higher performing tubes for the U.S. market to compete with American manufacturers of third generation image intensifiers.

• Photonis might have two separate production lines, one based in the U.S., and one based in the EU. The U.S. production line has much higher requirements. This would in result in one or more of the following:
  • Lower production volume
  • Higher rate of rejects / fallouts
  • Higher production cost / smaller sales margin
• Photonis might have one production line in the EU, separating the resulting image intensifiers by specs.

4G / INTENS

Originally, 4G was released as a performance standard. The 4G specification is:

• Extended bandwidth of < 400 nm to > 1000 nm
• FOM > 1800
• Resolution > 57 lp/mm even in bright environments
• Halo of 0.75 mm

In 2014, Photonis launched a new line of image intensifiers called INTENS, intended to be compliant with the 4G standard. Allegedly, early INTENS tubes however did not actually meet the 4G specification.

In 2017, Photonis has dropped the INTENS branding entirely and started selling the image intensifiers simply branded as 4G, making it impossible for other manufacturers to use the original 4G standard anymore.

Similar to Echo, 4G sold commercially in the American market outperforms 4G sold everywhere else. Furthermore, Echos for the American market often outperform non-American 4G.

Apart from surpassing the aforementioned 4G standard, 4G branded image intensifiers are advertised to surpass mil-spec standards and feature:

• Ultra Fast Auto-Gating (UFAG)
• Less black spots
• Longer lifespan (at least 7000hrs)

4G+

Released in 2019, the 4G+ series builds on the technology of 4G with various improvements, leading to a minimum 2300 FOM, with unconfirmed sources claiming some tubes reaching up to 3000 FOM.

In 2016 Photonis patented the use of diffraction grating which suggests a 80% increase in photocathode sensitivity.

Marketing material also mentions improvements in MCP technology.Experts have linked these improvements to a second patent from 2019 indicating the use of a Gallium-Arsenide (GaAs) film to focus electrons emitted by the MCP, leading to a alleged 81% improvement of the MTF.

Night Vision Optics

Visual comparison of mil-spec PVS-14 eyepiece (right) and DEP Ether eyepiece (left).

Ether ocular lens

Photonis-DEP developed and produced a night vision ocular assembly named Ether for use with PVS-14 pattern devices.

Marketed as an upgrade lens, the Ether eyepiece is more lightweight and has a larger eyebox compared to other mil-spec oculars. In practical terms the larger eyebox is a combined effect of a slightly wider diameter and an increased convexity of the lens.

Further Reading

1. Photonis marketing material:
   Differences between Gen3 and 4G image intensification technology
   https://www.photonis.com/system/files/2020-10/Difference_Gen3_4G_english_version.pdf