High Speed Readout for Photodiode Focal Plane Arrays

State-of-the-art wide temporal bandwidth laser radar detectors require high-speed, wide bandwidth, low noise Read Out Integrated Circuits (ROICs) to take advantage of the 1+ GHz bandwidth detectors and exploit a richer set of target signatures at increased spatial resolution. Today's CMOS semiconductor based ROICs do not support the noise/bandwidth/power requirements for emerging 1 to >10GHz bandwidth high responsivity detectors in direct and coherent detection transceiver architectures. To address the need for increased bandwidth ladar ROICs, CTI proposes to implement Indium Phosphide based integrated circuits to harness their proven advantages for simultaneous higher bandwidth, lower noise, and wider dynamic range. In Phase 1, CTI will develop circuit designs and execute critical circuit risk reduction measurements for an InP ROIC. The designs will be optimized for focal plane array detector configurations and echo/waveform capture sequences that are compatible with next-generation multifunction ladar waveforms. In Phase II, CTI will build and test the ROIC with state-of-the-art ladar transmitters. The proposed work leverages CTI's proven experience in fielding real-world ladar systems, signal acquisition and processing, and coherent/direct detection receivers.