Two Color Per Pixel Digital Readout Staring Focal Plane Array

Amain Electronics has developed an innovative on focal plane digital readout approach which not only provides the necessary pixel size and linear dynamic range for multicolor detector interfacing, but also generates an offset free output data stream that can be input directly into a digital image processor or flat panel display. This eliminates the need for performance limiting analog electronics and off focal plane A/D converters, providing a lower cost, smaller and lighter systems with greater sensitivity. The Amain approach places an extremely low power analog portion of a multiplexed oversample A/D converter (MOSAD) at each pixel site, eliminating all analog multiplexing and readout. A 1024 by 1024 staring array would have the equivalent of 1,048,576 A/D converters on the focal plane and would operate at power levels equivalent to or less than analog approaches. There are many electronic technologies, switched CMOS, CCD, CID and active pixel (APS), that can be used to implement the digital conversion process. These can be built in a monolithic component form without need for special processing or precision components. This technology can be beneficially applied to all imaging systems; commercial, consumer and military. The objective of this development program is to design and analyze a fully functional Readout array. The design target is a 64x64 array with 50 micron cell sizes. To allow for future shrinkage, a circuit area of less than 25 microns on an edge will be designed. Depending on available semiconductor device processing technology, two buffer circuits will be placed under each pixel in the 25 micron area to support two color readout.