Infrared sensors are like owls in the night sky, able to see wavelengths invisible to the human eye and helping devices open their eyes in the dark." Whether in LIDAR for autonomous driving. optical signal detection in high-speed networks, or military | range-finding equipment, these applications demand sensors with extremely high sensitivity. A British company. Phlux Technology is now equipping this "infrared eye? with a new tool. They have introduced an evaluation board designed for their Aura series of avalanche photodiodes (APDs). In simple terms, this small circuit board acts like a "test lab", enabling engineers to easily evaluate sensor performance and speed up development.

For researchers and engineers, building a system around infrared sensors has never been an easy task. Measuring sensitivity, noise levels, response speed, and other parameters often requires complex test setups and specialised expertise. Phlux's evaluation board works like a "plug-and-play" mini lab, making it easy to get started. At just 70 mm x 60 mm-smaller than a smartphone— the board is compact but cleverly designed. It integrates a transimpedance amplifier that efficiently boosts weak optical signals, making them easier for test equipment to capture. Users can conveniently configure parameters such as dark current, responsivity, and noise-equivalent power. In addition, they can test dynamic characteristics such as pulse response, rise and fall times, and signal amplitude. This data helps designers compare the performance of different sensors and decide which best suits their application.

The standout feature of Palux's Aura APD series is its ultra-high sensitivity. The company claims they are 12 times more sensitive than conventional devices. It's like the difference between an ordinary person who can only hear whispers nearby and Aura sensors that can pick out faint sounds even amid distant noise. This performance is not accidental. Phlux incorporates antimony (Sb) into its InGaAs semiconductor structure. This small addition dramatically boosts internal gain, reaching up to 120x or more. In other words, extremely weak light signals can be amplified above the noise floor and reliably detected. Moreover, the devices remain stable even at high temperatures, avoiding large distortions caused by environmental changes. They also recover quickly from strong signals, meaning that in LiDAR applications, where pulses of varying intensity are received in quick succession, the sensors can rapidly adapt without "stalling."

Another advantage of the evaluation board is its flexibility. It not only supports Phlux's own common packaging types (such as TO-46, TO-56, and ceramic packages with quartz windows) but also allows engineers to benchmark similar products from other manufacturers. This "open compatibility" design saves developers significant time and cost. Think of it as a lab bench: it showcases the best performance of Phlux's own devices while also serving as a standard platform for cross-comparison.

Alongside the standard evaluation board, Phlux has also developed a discrete ultra-low-noise preamplifier, achieving noise levels as low as 30 (W/vHz-among the best in class, while maintaining stable performance across bandwidths up to 75 MHz.

In the past, testing and evaluating infrared APDs was a lengthy and complex process, requiring extensive time to set up platforms and configure parameters. With this new evaluation board, engineers can quickly capture key data and compare it directly with existing designs. The leap in efficiency is like moving from the slow pace of the horse-drawn carriage era straight into the age of high-speed rail. 

As demand for infrared technology continues to grow across LiDAR, optical communications, industrial measurement, and defence reconnaissance, Phlux's innovation will undoubtedly accelerate the entire industry's development. In the future, more applications will benefit from these high-performance sensors —from boosting the safety of autonomous vehicles, to improving the stability of high-speed networks, to delivering pinpoint detection on the battlefield. The mission of infrared sensors is to capture what the human eye cannot perceive. With its Aura APDs and versatile evaluation board, Phlux is making it easier for developers to push the limits of this "infrared eye."

（Writer：Laurro）