FORWARD LOOKING INFRARED DEVICE

Assignee

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED A CORP. OF DE

Filed

Jun 24, 1983

Granted

Sep 19, 2000

Location

DALLAS TX US

Abstract

A forward looking infrared (FLIR) device implemented using complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) techniques is disclosed. The device includes optics (10) for focusing infrared energy onto a scanner (12) for scanning across a detector array 16; a signal conditioning integrated circuit 18 for producing television compatible video signals from the detector array outputs which are electrical signals representative of the infrared energy impinging thereon; and a monitor (2) for displaying the video signals. The detector array and signal conditioning IC are mounted on a metallized ceramic chip affixed within a DEWAR (19). Electronics (20) ancillary to the signal conditioning IC is located outside the DEWAR. The signal conditioning IC includes an array of preamplifiers (24) d-c coupled to the detector array for amplifying the detector array outputs, a-c coupled into band limiters (26) for limiting noise, an array of circuits (28) including d-c restoration circuits for restoring the d-c level to the a-c signals, offset circuits for partially correcting the d-c restored signals for MOSFET losses and a multiplexer. The multiplexer multiplexes the partially corrected signals as video signals to a multiplexer post amplifier 36A. The multiplexer post amplifier output goes to a multiplying digital to analog converter (MDAC) 30. The MDAC completes correcting the video signals for offset, and corrects the gain thereof for post amplification in a post amplifier 36 to provide 525 line video for television display.

Source: Google Patents