DESIGN OF A MIXED SIGNAL READOUT INTEGRATED CIRCUIT FOR INFRARED FOCAL PLANE ARRAY (IRFPA

Abstract

Infrared sensing has lot of applications in research, medical, astronomy, traffic & military surveillance. Micro-bolometer sensors are widely used in the detection of infrared radiations. The image from the bolometer depends upon the sensitivity of the sensor & readout integrated circuit. Each bolometer represents a single pixel of the image. My thesis, basically focus on the readout circuitry of the sensor. After thorough study of different topologies and the previous research on the topic, we have designed a readout circuit that meets different design objectives such as minimum power consumption, less cost & large linearity of the system. Our mixed signal circuit starts with the analog design of pre-amplifier circuit and moves towards the digital conversion of the signal. By using software like ORCAD, MATLAB & mentor graphics we validated the circuit by testing it mathematically & at circuit & PCB level. For mentor graphics layout design we use the facility of national institute of electronics (NIE), Islamabad.