A PHASE SENSITIVE IMAGINE SYSTEM FOR COMBUSTION DIAGNOSTICS APPLICATIONS

The proposed Phase I SBIR Program targets the development of a high-repetition rate phase-sensitive CCD. The camera will be used for quantitative concentration measurements using high-repetition rate (from 1kHz to 80 MHz) picosecond-pulsed lasers with coherent pump/probe multidimentional imaging. Development of the camera will be carried out during Phase I of the program initially using a commercially-available signal analysis software package, and will consider detectors, signal processing techniques, readout methods, filters, and A/D systems. The software model results will then be evaluated using discrete electronic elements on circuit boards, clocked using multiple output pulse generators. In particular, DC rejection will be examined using switched capacitor filtering, direct DSP filtering, and DSP-based matched filtering. One of these discrete element mock-ups will be evaluated in pump/probe experiment, followed by a test of a fast linear array imager. As part of this study, image storage and retrieval will be examined. Near the end of the Phase I project, we will design a camera system based on an existing CCD or design a new CCD chip to be developed during Phase II.