The theoretical blackbody has an emissivity of one. The requirements for a practical blackbody are: 1. emissivity near unity 2. uniform cavity temperature 3. known temperature 4. known limiting aperture area. Primary standard blackbodies operate at pure elemental freezing point temperatures with reverse conical cavities. Secondary standard blackbodies with reverse conical cavities have continuously adjustable temperature and are available for temperature ranges from 10 to 3300 K. Transfer of calibration between primary, secondary and working standards blackbodies is made using contact temperature sensors and radiometers. The conical cavity, V-grooved and multihexaprismatic surfaces are practical for working standards blackbodies. Conical cavity sources with cavity diameters from 0.040 to 4.0 inches are available. Extended area flat plate sources from 1 millimeter square to 2.3 meters square and larger are practical.

Large scale infrared (IR) detector array production requires highly automated and accurate test equipment with data logging features. At Texas Instruments (TI), five different types of automatic test systems have been developed with a central computer data logging system. Two of these system types test the completed array in various stages of integration into the final assembly. These tests include responsivity, detectivity, and other characteristics. Since direct calibration for responsivity and detectivity is not available, close attention to the applicable formulas, an error budget, and calibration procedures is required. This paper first summarizes the many types of tests and test equipment that are used at TI in constructing a finished "Common Module" detector from raw mercury cadium telluride (MCT), then describes in more detail the test sets for automated testing of the array itself, and the factors affecting array test accuracy and calibration.

Automatic test of IR detectors and CCD devices is accomplished by connecting programmable test equipment to a minicomputer. Digital signals from a timing generator are converted to analog levels and applied to the CCD. Video output from the CCD is digitized and transferred via a buffer memory into the computer for analysis. The device temperature, IR irradiance level and applied voltages are variable under program control. Measured device parameters are printed on paper and saved in machine-readable form as data base files. The device under test can be a packaged die mounted in a dewar or be in wafer form on the wafer prober.

A number of errors can occur in the calibration of infrared sources, and in the evaluation of infrared seeker sensitivity at low energy levels on automatic test equipment. Some sources of error and their potential magnitudes will be discussed in the following text. Also, the theoretical SNR of a simple radiometer in the 4- to 5-micrometer range will be discussed.

This work reflects the methodology used at Rockwell International in the radiometric evaluation of IR/CCD focal plane elements. It is intended as an input which, when combined with inputs from other industrial and government groups, will result in standardized procedures for the evaluation of detector/charge-coupled devices similar to the procedures prepared by DOD for the evaluation of infrared detectors. Specifically, data collection, data reduction, and data formats are discussed, as well as proposed figures of merit for quantum yield and device noise.

Hughes Aircraft Company builds a variety of Electra-Optical Systems within its Manufacturing Division in El Segundo, California. The magnitude of the testing function within the manufacturing cycle of these systems, whether they are a Laser Fire Control System, a Thermal Imaging System, or some type of dedicated electronics, is almost beyond measure. Whereas testing was once quite simple, today's more complex products demand more complex test strategies. In our typical manufacturing cycle, there are at least nine (9) separate areas in which testing related to the product (end-item) may be performed. In this paper, an overview of these test areas will be discussed along with same of the considerations that are necessary for a logical manufacturing test strategy.

A sensor test facility has been established by Rockwell's Space Operations/Integration and Satellite Systems Division (SO/I&SSD) to support thermal-vacuum and radiometric testing at its Seal Beach facility. The system was designed specifically to support the Teal Ruby Experiment (TRE) and generally to accommodate other large infrared sensors. Primary elements of the system consist of a cryopumped thermal-vacuum chamber with its test volume completely enveloped within a 90°K cold shroud, and a 24-inch-diameter infrared collimator. Consideration was given during the design to accommodate remote handling of the TRE, ambient thermal influence to the TRE, remote collimator positioning and focusing, and seismic isolation of the test system.

This paper describes an approach to automated testing of pulsed laser beam parameters. The test system which was developed is capable of fully characterizing laser beam quality and aimpoint. Hard copy data is provided, and no operator judgement or adjustments are required. The test system was developed by the U.S. Army's Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal. The system was redesigned and productized for production testing by Hughes Aircraft's Electro Optical and Data Systems Group in Los Angeles, California.

Through the years, astronomers have accumulated units and nomenclature that they understand and promulgate, but that are not understood by most engineers and some physicists. For example, astronomers use the term Jansky in place of the former "flux unit," which they define as 10-26 W/m2 Hz. The steps in converting to spectral areance [flux density] in watts/cm2 μm or watts/cm2 cm-1 are described later. Other terms, which engineers should know, and their units are given in the Nomenclature.

A 64 x 128-element IR-CCD focal plane array was developed with high-performance PtSi Schottky-barrier detectors. The buried-channel CCD imager has an interline transfer organi-zation with 22% detector area efficiency and 120 x 60 μm pixel size. The high-performance "thin" platinum silicide detectors have cut-off wavelength of about 6.0 μm and quantum efficiency of 4.0 to 1.0% in the 3.0 to 4.5 μm spectral range. Depending on the processing parameters and operating voltage, the measured dark current density of these IR detectors at 77K is in the range of 5 to 60 nA/cm2. High quality thermal imaging has been obtained with the 64 x 128-element PtSi Schottky-barrier IR-CCD focal plane array in a TV compatible IR camera. The IR-CCD camera operates at 60 frames per second without vertical interlacing.

This paper will review the salient and well known advantages of operating in the 3 to 5 micron band where low cost, lightweight imagers are required. Several representative 3 to 5 micron handheld imagers built by Magnavox will be presented along with their key parameters. As a result of the relative success of these systems, new and more demanding specifications have been prepared for "2nd Generation" thermal imagers. To meet these goals, systems require more detectors on the focal plane. The reasons for choosing a 3 to 5 micron SPRITE detector, rather than either high density hybrid or solid-state pyroelectric arrays will be given. Finally, an overall system design which incorporates an optimized SPRITE architecture, which meets all of the new specifications, will be shown.

Honeywell has modified the Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratories (AFWAL) Chaparral Forward Looking Infrared Set (FLIR) so that it may be used as an imaging radiometer. Additional outputs have been included that format the video signal in a manner suitable for a wide dynamics range digital recording system.

The electro-optical applications of infrared transmitting materials are extensive. The IR transmitting glasses which are being developed and investigated for these applications will be briefly reviewed. Glasses offer ease of formability particularly for fiber optics and the potential for obtaining the lowest theoretical losses in the material. A review of the industrial and military electro-optical applications of these glasses will be presented. New families of infrared transmitting glasses have been discovered which may have advantages over the existing infrared transmitting materials which are typically used as bulk optics in electro-optical applications. In addition, the availability of infrared transmitting fiber optics, in the relatively near term, is an exciting prospect because such fibers will allow a new degree of freedom in systems' design. This paper examines the properties of the newer infrared transmitting glasses and their usefulness in commercial and military systems.

A system performing histogram equalization for video signal will be presented. A closed circuit TV system will be used to give a live demonstration of the system. The performance and evaluation results will be discussed. We shall present a size and cost evolution of the system from 1979 through 1982 to 1984 and discuss some of the future applications.

To the layman, an image is seen as a single entity. He might say, as he holds up a photograph, "this is a view of my house". His choice of words reveals his perception of it as a single entity. The professional image processor, on the otherhand, must deal with the same image as a vast array of individual pixels, each one having its own numerical (intensity) value.

Passive remote sensing addresses the problem of remotely monitoring, i.e. detecting the presence of, specific chemicals by the analysis of the radiative infrared signature of the material in the line-of-sight (LOS). Development of processing techniques for detecting the presence of the target chemical with a low enough false alarm rate in real time is the essence of the signal processing requirement for remote sensing. The aspects of data simulation and signal processing to achieve the passive remote monitoring objective are discussed. Application to environmental pollution monitoring is suggested.

Performance evaluation or acceptance testing of IR imaging and target recognition systems requires precise means of controlling radiant energy at near ambient conditions. Small, precisely controlled differences in background and target radiation must be maintained to evaluate the capability of the system to produce a discernable image. In addition to the consideration of technology to maintain this control, attention is given to means of automation to reduce the manpower intensity of testing and aligning complex imaging systems. This paper will discuss the several disciplines of technology that must be applied and integrated to achieve the end result of automated precision radiation control.

The history of the NBS Self-Study Manual on Optical Radiation Measurements is briefly reviewed following a short introductory discussion of the needs from which it arose. Important features of the content are discussed in relation to the objectives of the Manual. The original plan for a three-part Manual is presented, followed by a listing (in Appendix I) of the chapters published to date and some discussion of two more that are nearly ready for publication. The remaining chapters and plans for their preparation to complete Part I--Concepts in the next two to three years are presented, followed by a brief summary of the funding situation on which this depends.