General Data Acquisition System for Infrared Focal Plane Arrays

A low-cost solution to the problem of testing diverse focal plane array types is needed but currently not available. Continued growth in the number of types of focal plane arrays indicate a market for a general data acquisition system for focal plane arrays within the focal plane array manufacturers, focal plane array users, and university research departments. We propose to develop a fully integrated and general data acquisition system for this purpose by integrating "off the shelf" personal computer controllable instruments and cards. Our goal is to provide a user-friendly test station that automates clock and bias generation and multiplexes the array data output into a standard matrix representation. Our target cost for a complete system, including data processing software, is $50K per system. We believe that an integrated general data acquisition system for focal plane arrays prices in this range will not only fulfill the needs for the current focal plane testing, but that it will also encourage development of new focal plane applications by lowering the costs of experimentation and development.