MIRAGE: calibration radiometry system

The advent of high resolution infrared resistor arrays, has greatly increased the level of fidelity of infrared sensor testing that can be accomplished in the cost effective laboratory environment. However, the sensor output image quality depends on the uniformity of the projector array. In addition to the advanced proprietary design and fabrication process used to create a highly uniform emitter array, Santa Barbara Infrared, Inc. (SBIR) applies a high speed correction algorithm to the incoming data stream that improves the uniformity of the final infrared image. The key to this algorithm is a set of calibrated tables that are measured for each emitter element in the array. SBIR has developed a Calibration Radiometry System (CRS) which is used to quickly perform these high precision measurements for each emitter element. This paper looks at the CR5 system, reviews the algorithms used for applying the correction and for making the calibration measurements. It concludes with some initial results showing the effect of the calibration tables derived using the CR5.