High speed imager test station

Patent · 31 December 1994

OSTI ID:870158

Yates, George J ^[1]; Albright, Kevin L ^[2]; Turko, Bojan T ^[3]

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1. Santa Fe, NM
2. Los Alamos, NM
3. Moraga, CA

A test station enables the performance of a solid state imager (herein called a focal plane array or FPA) to be determined at high image frame rates. A programmable waveform generator is adapted to generate clock pulses at determinable rates for clock light-induced charges from a FPA. The FPA is mounted on an imager header board for placing the imager in operable proximity to level shifters for receiving the clock pulses and outputting pulses effective to clock charge from the pixels forming the FPA. Each of the clock level shifters is driven by leading and trailing edge portions of the clock pulses to reduce power dissipation in the FPA. Analog circuits receive output charge pulses clocked from the FPA pixels. The analog circuits condition the charge pulses to cancel noise in the pulses and to determine and hold a peak value of the charge for digitizing. A high speed digitizer receives the peak signal value and outputs a digital representation of each one of the charge pulses. A video system then displays an image associated with the digital representation of the output charge pulses clocked from the FPA. In one embodiment, the FPA image is formatted to a standard video format for display on conventional video equipment.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• Assignee: Regents of University of California, Office of Technology (Alameda, CA)
• Patent Number(s): US 5467128
• OSTI ID: 870158
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/348/702/
adapted
analog
analog circuit
array
associated
board
called
cancel
charge
charge pulses
charges
circuits
clock
clock pulse
clock pulses
clocked
condition
conventional
determinable
determine
determined
digital
digital representation
digitizer
digitizing
display
displays
dissipation
driven
edge
edge portion
edge portions
effective
embodiment
enables
equipment
focal
focal plane
format
formatted
forming
fpa
frame
generate
generator
header
hold
image
imager
leading
level
light-induced
mounted
noise
operable
output
output charge
outputs
outputting
peak
peak value
performance
pixels
placing
plane
plane array
portions
power
power dissipation
programmable
programmable waveform
proximity
pulses
rates
receive
receives
receiving
reduce
reduce power
representation
shifters
signal
signal value
solid
speed
speed digitizer
standard
standard video
station
trailing
trailing edge
value
video
video format
waveform
waveform generator