The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 18, 2014
Filed:
Apr. 08, 2011
Aaron Johnson, Merrimack, NH (US);
David Schorr, Austin, TX (US);
James H. Steenson, Jr., New Boston, NH (US);
Aaron Johnson, Merrimack, NH (US);
David Schorr, Austin, TX (US);
James H. Steenson, Jr., New Boston, NH (US);
BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc., Nashua, NH (US);
Abstract
An accurate and rapid method for characterizing the performance of an APD and setting its operating voltage Vop to an optimal value uses an on-board LED or other pulsed light source to measure APD responses at different operating voltages Vop. An estimated breakdown voltage Vb is determined by comparing the measured responses, and the Vop is adjusted to a new value at a fixed offset from the estimated Vb. The fixed offset is selected according to ambient light conditions, including the presence or absence of light background noise, and whether the sun is partially or fully in the field of view. The method is iterated until convergence, or until a maximum number of iterations is reached. In embodiments, a plurality of APD's having a common Vop can be adjusted, and the Vop is never set below a minimum value VopBW necessary to meet timing requirements for a missile guidance system.