Kevin Sparkman

MIRAGE: System overview and status

Santa Barbara Infrareds (SBIR) MIRAGE (Multispectral InfraRed Animation Generation Equipment) is a state-of-the-art dynamic infrared scene projector system. Imagery from the first MIRAGE system was presented to the scene simulation community during last years SPIE AeroSense 99 Symposium. Since that time, SBIR has delivered five MIRAGE systems. This paper will provide an overview of the MIRAGE system and discuss the current status of the MIRAGE. Included is an update of system hardware, and the current configuration. Proposed upgrades to this configuration and options will be discussed. Updates on the latest installations, applications and measured data will also be presented.

LWIR NUC using an uncooled microbolometer camera

Performing a good non-uniformity correction is a key part of achieving optimal performance from an infrared scene projector. Ideally, NUC will be performed in the same band in which the scene projector will be used. Cooled, large format MWIR cameras are readily available and have been successfully used to perform NUC, however, cooled large format LWIR cameras are not as common and are prohibitively expensive. Large format uncooled cameras are far more available and affordable, but present a range of challenges in practical use for performing NUC on an IRSP. Santa Barbara Infrared, Inc. reports progress on a continuing development program to use a microbolometer camera to perform LWIR NUC on an IRSP. Camera instability and temporal response and thermal resolution are the main difficulties. A discussion of processes developed to mitigate these issues follows.

Performance improvements in large format resistive array (LFRA) infrared scene projectors (IRSP)

Santa Barbara InfraRed (SBIR) is producing high performance 1,024 x 1,024 Large Format Resistive emitter Arrays (LFRA) for use in the next generation of IR Scene Projectors (IRSPs). The demands of testing modern infrared imaging systems require higher temperatures and faster frame rates. New emitter pixel designs, rise time enhancement techniques and a new process for annealing arrays are being applied to continually improve performance. This paper will discuss the advances in pixel design, rise time enhancement techniques and also the process by which arrays are annealed. Test results will be discussed highlighting improvements in rise time, uniformity and reduced numbers of defective pixels.

Large format resistive array (LFRA) infrared scene projector (IRSP) performance and production status

SBIR has completed development of the Large Format Resistive Array (LFRA) Infrared Scene Projector (IRSP) and shipped the first production system. Nine more systems are in production and will be shipped to several US Government customers on approximately six week centers. The commercial name of the LFRA IRSP is Mirage XL. System performance meets a broad range of program requirements and SBIR has been extremely successful in producing this ground breaking projector.

Scalable emitter array development for infrared scene projector systems

Several new technologies have been developed over recent years that make a fundamental change in the scene projection for infrared hardware in the loop test. Namely many of the innovations are in Read In Integrated Circuit (RIIC) architecture, which can lead to an operational and cost effective solution for producing large emitter arrays based on the assembly of smaller sub-arrays. Array sizes of 2048x2048 and larger are required to meet the high fidelity test needs of today’s modern infrared sensors. The Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) Test and Evaluation/Science and Technology (T and E/S and T) Program through the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentations (PEO STRI) has contracted with SBIR and its partners to investigate integrating new technologies in order to achieve array sizes much larger than are available today. SBIR and its partners have undertaken several proof-of-concept experiments that provide the groundwork for producing a tiled emitter array. Herein we will report on the results of these experiments, including the demonstration of edge connections formed between different ICs with a gap of less than 10µm.

Ultra high temperature (UHT) infrared scene projector system development status

The Ultra High Temperature (UHT) development program will develop, package, and deliver high temperature scene projectors for the U.S. Government. The Infrared Scene Projector (IRSP) systems goals are to be capable of extremely high temperatures, in excess of 2000K, as well as fast frame rates, 500 Hz, and 2 ms rise times. The current status of the pixel design will be discussed with an emphasis on the models developed to facilitate these designs and estimate performance prior to fabrication.

Enhanced LWIR NUC using an uncooled microbolometer camera

Performing a good non-uniformity correction is a key part of achieving optimal performance from an infrared scene projector, and the best NUC is performed in the band of interest for the sensor being tested. While cooled, large format MWIR cameras are readily available and have been successfully used to perform NUC, similar cooled, large format LWIR cameras are not as common and are prohibitively expensive. Large format uncooled cameras are far more available and affordable, but present a range of challenges in practical use for performing NUC on an IRSP. Some of these challenges were discussed in a previous paper. In this discussion, we report results from a continuing development program to use a microbolometer camera to perform LWIR NUC on an IRSP. Camera instability and temporal response and thermal resolution were the main problems, and have been solved by the implementation of several compensation strategies as well as hardware used to stabilize the camera. In addition, other processes have been developed to allow iterative improvement as well as supporting changes of the post-NUC lookup table without requiring re-collection of the pre-NUC data with the new LUT in use.

Ultrahigh-temperature emitter pixel development for scene projectors

To meet the needs of high fidelity infrared sensors, under the Ultra High Temperature (UHT) development program, Santa Barbara Infrared Inc. (SBIR) has developed new infrared emitter materials capable of achieving extremely high temperatures. The current state of the art arrays based on the MIRAGE-XL generation of scene projectors is capable of producing imagery with mid-wave infrared (MWIR) apparent temperatures up to 700K with response times of 5 ms. The Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) Test and Evaluation/Science and Technology (TandE/SandT) Program through the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentations (PEO STRI) has contracted with SBIR and its partners to develop a new resistive array based on these new materials, using a high current Read-In Integrated Circuit (RIIC) capable of achieving higher temperatures as well as faster frame rates. The status of that development will be detailed within this paper, including performance data from prototype pixels.

MIRAGE emitter improvements & technology review

With the increased demand for IR sensor and surveillance systems, there is a growing need for technologies to support their operational readiness. Measurement of sensor characteristics such as sensitivity, MRTD, and dynamic range should be standard in all mission critical systems. The Real-Time Infrared Test Set (RTIR) is a portable system designed to provide in-the-field calibration and testing of IR imaging systems and seekers. RTIR uses the high volume manufacturing processes of the Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) and the Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) technology to produce a Thermal Pixel Array (TPA). State-of-the-art CMOS processes define all the necessary on-chip digital and analog electronics. When properly driven, this array generates variable temperature,synthetic IR scenes. A nonuniformity measurement of several TPAs is presented.

Rise-time enhancement techniques for resistive array infrared scene projectors

Santa Barbara Infrared (SBIR) produces high performance resistive emitter arrays for its line of IR Scene Projectors (IRSPs). These arrays operate at frame rates up to 200 hertz. The inherent properties of the pixels can result in transitions between two temperatures that are more than the 5 millisecond frame time. Modifying the pixel drive level on a frame by frame basis can lead to improvements in the measured rise times. This paper describes a new capability developed by SBIR that improves the rise time of the pixels. It discusses the process by which array drive levels are modified to achieve quicker transitions together with test results showing improved rise time. In an example transition cited here, the risetime is reduced by more than a factor of two from 8.3 ms to 3.7 ms.