Patent ID: 7839450

Claim:
An apparatus for optical measurements, real-time imaging, sensing, detection, or controlling, comprising: a single or a plurality of image sensors, said image sensors comprising one or a plurality of image sensor devices; cooling means for cooling said image sensor devices, said cooling means comprising at least one package in which one or several image sensor devices are thermo-electrically cooled and sealed in a hermetic manner, said package configured to accommodate off-the-shelf non-cooled image sensors packaged in standard I.C. packages, and further allowing for the image sensor device to be removed or replaced; said at least one package comprising; a. a metal housing, with hermetically sealed connection pins, wherein one side is open, said housing accepting a metal cover which is welded on, or provides for implementation of an O-ring or gasket seal against a removable cover; b. a cover, which comprises an optically transparent window hermetically sealed into a metal mounting frame, said cover can be welded against said housing forming a hermetically sealed chamber; c. a printed circuit board, flex circuit or ceramic adapter for mounting of a single or a plurality of imaging sensor devices, for adapting to the pinout of said imaging sensor devices, and for implementing electronic circuits directly at said imaging sensor devices, d. a single stage or plurality of stages of thermo-electric cooling elements, and e. a metal heat transfer block for thermal transfer between said thermo-electric cooling elements and said imaging sensor devices; digital logic means, to drive said image sensors as well as a direct I/O control; a processor mechanism for performing high-speed closed-loop digital control of said image sensors, the processor mechanism performing high-speed real-time control of image sensor parameters via direct interface to said digital logic means; and at least one signal optimization system, comprising at least one of a chemical, mechanical, opto-mechanical or opto-electronic component or process which affect any signals to be optimized, said digital logic means to drive at least one of said chemical, mechanical, opto-mechanical and opto-electronic components and processes; wherein said processor mechanism is placed directly at said image sensor such that output data from said image sensor is immediately processed and evaluated.