Nonuniformity correction of cryogenic 512~2 emitter arrays: The 5 minute 5 NUC using FIESTA

摘要

In this paper we report on efforts to correct the spatial radiance nonuniformities in four infrared emitter arrays in the mid-wave infrared. Using a table-top setup in which a 512 * 512 NODDS arrays was driven by the MRC FIESTA 8500 drive electronics, and the output radiance from the emitter array was captured by a 100% fill-factor InSb focal plane array with fast frame storage capabilities, we were able to improve the emitter radiance nonuniformities by up to a factor of six while collecting the emitter radiances using the sparse grid approach in only 5 minutes. We report on the custom FIESTA operating system we developed, paying particular attention toe the real-time nonuniformity correction (RTNUC) capabilities since this enabled the emitter nonuniformities to be minimized while the emitter movie was played at frame rates up to 180 Hz. We also report on the custom emitter data processing software we developed which enabled us to determine the radiance from four emitters and write out new, calibrated movies which displayed radiances with on 2% nonuniformity.