Infrared Solutions, Inc.

Fluke Corporation

Timothy J McManus

Shane M Anderson

A microbolometer imaging apparatus having an array of selectable substrate-isolated microbolometer detectors, a detector selection controller, and a readout circuit. The detectors may be exposed to a scene of interest, and each detector has a corresponding resistor value. The detector selection controller may selectively couple an electrical bias source to each detector. The readout circuit may establish an output signal representative of the resistance value of each detector. The readout circuit includes a feedback bias control circuit modulates the electrical bias source as a function of the output signal.

Microbolometer focal plane array with temperature compensated bias

A readout circuit for an array of substrate-isolated microbolometer detectors includes a bias source that varies in accordance with changes in substrate temperature as detected by a temperature sensor that has temperature characteristic that resembles the temperature characteristic of the microbolometer detector array so as compensate detector measurements for temperature induced errors in the microbolometer focal plane array read out.

In accordance with the present invention, a microbolometer focal plane array is provided with at least one thermally-shorted microbolometer detector that is thermally shorted to the microbolometer focal plane array substrate. A characteristic relationship is empirically derived for determining a corrected resistance value for each detector of the microbolometer focal plane array in response to radiation from a target scene as a function of the corresponding detector resistance value, the thermally-shorted microbolometer detector resistance value, and the empirically derived characteristic relationship.

Apparatus and method for compensating for pixel non-uniformity in a bolometer

A method and apparatus for controlling bias for an microbolometer focal plane array which includes use of one thermally-shorted microbolometer detector thermally shorted to the substrate upon which one or more thermally-isolated microbolometers are constructed. A calibration bias source magnitude is determined and continually adjusted as a function of (i) the temperature related reading value of the resistance of the thermally-shorted microbolometer at calibration, and (ii) the temperature related reading value of the resistance of the thermally-shorted microbolometer after each image sample is taken.

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Minneapolis, MN, United States of America

Timothy J McManus