Roy Rumbaugh, Simon Pongratz, Tom Breen, Heather Wickman, Ron Klug, Aaron Gess, John Hays, Jonathan Bastian, Greg Hall, Tim Arion, John Owens, David Siviter
Since its introduction less than a year ago, many camera products and end-user applications have benefited from upgrading to the revolutionary BAE Systems MicroIRTM SCC500TM Standard Camera Core. This flexible, multi-resolution, uncooled, vanadium oxide (VOx) microbolometer based imaging engine is delivering higher performance at a lower price to diverse applications with more unique requirements than previous generations of engines. These applications include firefighting, surveillance, security, navigarion, weapon sight, missile, space, automotive and many others. This paper highlights several cameras, systems, and their applictiaons to illustrate some of the real-world uses and benefits of these products.
Starting in the early 1990’s, BAE SYSTEMS began a significant investment in the development of MicroIR Uncooled Microbolometers. 160 x 120, 320 x 240, and 640 x 480 focal plane array (FPA) technology advances in both large pixel and small pixel format have driven Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD), power, size, weight, and price lower. These improvements have resulted in many new applications that previously could not afford larger, heavier, costlier cooled systems. While advancements in state of the art performance have been published regularly at Aerosense and other industry forums, far less has been discussed on the performance advances that have occurred as a result of volume manufacturing. This paper describes the improvements in performance that have been a result of BAE SYSTEMS leadership position in MicroIR microbolometer manufacturing. With over 15,000 units shipped through 2002, ranging from Standard Imaging Modules (SIM) to Standard Camera Cores (SCC) to complete imaging systems, the cumulative expertise gathered from this manufacturing experience over the past seven years has also pushed the state of the art system performance, in ways that single/small quantity technology demonstrators never could. Comparisons of temporal NETD, spatial NETD, dynamic range, operability, throughput, capacity, and other key metrics from early manufacturing lots to the present will be presented to demonstrate the advances that can only be achieved through volume manufacturing.
BAE SYSTEMS has designed and developed MicroIR microbolometer focal plane arrays (FPAs) in three formats (160x120, 320x240, and 640x480) and with two different pixel sizes (46micrometers and 28micrometers ). In addition to successfully demonstrating these FPA technologies, BAE SYSTEMS has produced and delivered thousands of 320x240 (46micrometers pixel) imaging modules and camera cores for military, thermography, firefighting, security and numerous other applications throughout the world. Recently, BAE SYSTEMS has started production deliveries of 160x120 (46micrometers ) systems, demonstrated 320x240 and 640x480 second-generation (28micrometers ) imaging, and demonstrated second-generation thermoelectric cooler-less operation. This paper discusses these recent accomplishments and, when possible, provides quantitative NETD and performance data for our newly developed FPAs and systems. Video will be shown to demonstrate sensor performance capabilities.
Lockheed Martin IR Imaging Systems is developing low cost, high performance, uncooled IR imaging products for both military and commercial applications. These products are based on microbolometer technology, a silicon micromachined sensor that combines wafer level silicon processing with a device structure capable of yielding excellent imaging performance. Here, in the third of a series of papers, we report on several applications that are utilizing the Lockheed Martin microbolometer sensor. The performance of our basic uncooled sensor has been measured to determine sensor capabilities for insertion into both military and commercial products. Non-linearity of the sensor over a scene temperature range of 95 degrees C is less than 0.5 percent. Our sensor typically have temporal NETDs of less than 70 mK as well as spatial NETDs of less than 50 mK, with an instantaneous dynamic range of 84 dB, and a total dynamic range of 120 dB. MRTD performance is less than 0.4 degrees C at spatial frequencies more than 20 percent beyond Nyquist. Spatial noise variation over time has been measured and found to meet both commercial and military requirements with excellent spatial noise over wide scene and ambient temperature ranges. Some of the multiple applications in which our uncooled sensor have been used have been described in reports demonstrating the varied and unique uses of this product. Our sensor is now used by dozens of partners and customers for applications ranging from hand-held radiometric camera to driving aids; from long range surveillance cameras to miniature cameras; from rifle sights to helmet mounted camera. These applications will be discussed along with their unique system level performance parameters. Video will be used to demonstrate the various applications discussed.
Lockheed Martin IR Imaging Systems is developing low cost, high performance, uncooled infrared imaging products for both military and commercial applications. These products are based on microbolometer technology, a silicon micromachined sensor that combines wafer level silicon processing with a device structure capable of yielding excellent imaging performance. Here, in the first of a series of papers, we report on several applications that are utilizing the Lockheed Martin microbolometer sensor. The performance of our basic uncooled sensor has been measured (and reported in multiple papers) to determine sensor capabilities for insertion into both military and commercial products. Non-linearity of the sensor over a scene temperature range of 95 degrees Celsius is less than 0.5%. Our sensors typically have temporal NETDs of less than 70 mK as well as spatial NETDs of less than 50 mK. MRTD performance is less than 0.4 degrees Celsius at spatial frequencies more than 20% beyond Nyquist. Spatial noise variation over time has been measured and found to meet both commercial and military requirements with excellent spatial noise over wide scene and ambient temperature ranges. Some of the multiple applications in which our uncooled sensors have been used have just recently been described in one report demonstrating the varied and unique uses of this product. Our sensor is now used by dozens of partners and customers for applications ranging from hand-held radiometric cameras to driving aids; from driver's aids to miniature cameras from rifle sights to radiometers. These applications will be discussed along with their unique system level performance parameters. Video will be used to demonstrate the various applications discussed.
Lockheed Martin IR Imaging Systems is developing low cost, high performance, uncooled infrared imaging products for both military and commercial applications. These products are based on microbolometer technology, a silicon micromachined sensor that combines wafer level silicon processing with a device structure capable of yielding excellent imaging performance. Here, in the first of a series of papers, we report on several applications that are utilizing the Lockheed Martin microbolometer sensor. The performance of our basic uncooled sensor has been measured (and reported in multiple papers) to determine sensor capabilities for insertion into both military and commercial products. Non-linearity of the sensor over a scene temperature range of 95 degrees Celsius is less than 0.5%. Our sensors typically have temporal NETDs of less than 70 mK as well as spatial NETDs of less than 50 mK. MRTD performance is less than 0.4 degrees Celsius at spatial frequencies more than 20% beyond Nyquist. Spatial noise variation over time has been measured and found to meet both commercial and military requirements with excellent spatial noise over wide scene and ambient temperature ranges. However, the multiple applications in which our uncooled sensors have been used have never been described in one report demonstrating the varied and unique uses of this product. Our sensor is now used by dozens of partners and customers for applications ranging from hand-held radiometric cameras to driving aids; from sniper location prototype cameras to helmet mounted mine detection sensors; from rifle sights to space sensors. These applications will be discussed along with their unique system level performance parameters. Video will be used to demonstrate the various applications discussed.
Lockheed Martin IR 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 that combines wafer level silicon processing with a device structure capable of yielding excellent imaging performance. Here we report on the latest technical improvements and performance of an uncooled sensor as measured through laboratory and field testing. The performance of our uncooled sensor has been measured to determine sensor capabilities for insertion into both military and commercial products. Linearity of the sensor over a scene temperature range of 95 degrees Celsius is less than 0.5%. Our sensors typically have temporal NETDs of less than 70 mK as well as spatial NETDs of less than 50 mK. MRTD performance is less than 0.4 degrees Celsius at spatial frequencies more than 20% beyond Nyquist. Sensor stability over time has been measured and found to meet both commercial and military requirements. Spatial noise over a wide scene temperature range is reported as well as other test results. Video is used to demonstrate sensor performance capabilities in a variety of applications.
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.
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