Digital Staring Array IR Imager with on Focal Plane Analog to Digital Conversion

As the size of staring sensors increase, the bandwith to move data off the focal plan increases proportional to the number of pixels in the array. For analog focal planes increased bandwidth also means increased noise. Readout noise limited systems will be less sensitive, detector noise limited systems may become readout limited at the higher bandwidths. Power dissipation will also increase with size. The newly developed MOSAD technology places an A/D/ converter at each pixel limiting noise bandwith to temporal bandwidth, independent of array size. The converter requires no more surface area than the old analog detector interface it replaces. Digital at the pixel allows lower switching voltage over analog, reducing power consumption. The technology can be applied to large focal plane arrays of cooled HgCdTe improving linearity and dynamic range. Power consuming and noise limited analog electronics can be eliminated from the system, improving reliability and decreasing cost. This A/D conversion process can be built with existing semiconductor technology. The technology is also less dependent on device parameters compare to other digital or analog approaches, giving it improved immunity to radiation effects and longer life.| Benefits: There is a broad range of systems that can be developed with lower cost digital imagers including: Safety (aircraft landing, truck collision avoidance), surveillance (law enforcement, assembly line) and earth resources (atmospheric sounders, agricultural).|