Uncooled infrared sensors with digital focal plane array

Loral Infrared & Imaging Systems is developing low cost, high performance, uncooled infrared imaging products for both military and commercial applications. These products are based on the microbolometer technology, a silicon micromachined sensor which combines the wafer level silicon processing with a device structure capable of yielding excellent infrared imaging performance. Here, we report on the development of an uncooled sensor, the LTC500, which incorporates an all digital focal plane array and has a measured NETD of less than 70 mK. The focal plane array and the electronics within the LTC500 have been designed as an integrated unit to meet a broad range of end user applications by providing features such as nonuniformity correction, autogain and level, NTSC video, and digital outputs. The 327 X 245 element focal plane array has a 46.25 micrometers pixel pitch and an on focal plane array 14 bit to analog to digital converter (ADC). The ADC has a measured instantaneous dynamic range of more than 76 dB at a 6.1 MHz output data rate and 60 Hz frame rate. The focal plane array consumes less than 500 mW of power, of which less than 250 mW is used in the ADC. An additional 36 dB of digital coarse offset correction in front of the ADC on the focal plane array results in a total electronic dynamic range of 112 dB. The MRT of the LTC500 camera has been measured at less 0.2 C at fo.