1040X1040 INFRARED CHARGE SWEEP DEVICE IMAGER WITH PTSI SCHOTTKY-BARRIER DETECTORS

We have developed a 1-Mpixel infrared charge sweep device (IRCSD) imag er for thermal imaging in the 3- to 5-mum band. The device of this ima ger is a 1040 x 1040 monolithic PtSi Schottky-barrier (SB) array using the charge sweep device (CSD) readout architecture. The pixel size is 17 x 17 mum2 and the fill factor of this device is 44%. In this image r system, four video signals are read out from four independent channe ls on the device. The processing of these four outputs, such as sample and hold (S/H), and offset control and image correction, is performed in parallel, after which these outputs are combined to produce high-d efinition TV (HDTV; 1125 lines, 30 Hz) format thermal image in real ti me. The noise-equivalent temperature difference (NETD) with f/1.2 opti cs at 27-degrees-C background is 0.13-degrees-C at the HDTV output sta ge.