Staring IR-FPA with on-FPA adaptive dynamic range control electronics
US5563405A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 28, 1995 |
| Grant date | Oct 8, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 28, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N25/76
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An adaptive dynamic range control circuit architecture is disclosed that enables an IR-FPA (10) to achieve a higher dynamic range. The circuit architecture significantly reduces a resolution required for an analog-to-digital converter (ADC 24) that converts the analog output signals of the IR-FPA to a digital representation. In a preferred embodiment of this invention a column CTIA readout integrated circuit architecture is used in conjunction with the adaptive feedback circuitry of this invention to provide pedestal suppression on a per-pixel basis for the IR-FPA. The use of the circuitry of this invention modifies the conventional column CTIA amplifier configuration to a configuration having an auto-zeroed charge ratioed gain stage (50). One advantage to this technique is that by suppressing the charge pedestal, the usable signal output from the IR-FPA can be brought off-chip to the readout integrated circuit at a much higher gain. As a result, the ADC requires fewer bits to resolve the useable signal information and dynamic range.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.