In many situations, the difference between success and failure comes down to taking the right actions quickly. While the
myriad of electronic sensors available today can provide data quickly, it may overload the operator; where only a
contextualized centralized display of information and intuitive human interface can help to support the quick and
effective decisions needed. If these decisions are to result in quick actions, then the operator must be able to understand
all of the data of his environment. In this paper we present a novel approach in contextualizing multi-sensor data onto a
full motion video real-time 360 degree imaging display. The system described could function as a primary display
system for command and control in security, military and observation posts. It has the ability to process and enable
interactive control of multiple other sensor systems. It enhances the value of these other sensors by overlaying their
information on a panorama of the surroundings. Also, it can be used to interface to other systems including: auxiliary
electro-optical systems, aerial video, contact management, Hostile Fire Indicators (HFI), and Remote Weapon Stations
(RWS).
Maintaining tactical superiority in a complex battlespace, with asymmetric threats, dictates the need for a real-time, high
throughput imaging system that provides the user with an intuitive and effective means of achieving imaging situational
awareness quickly and continuously. As systems and sensors grow in both number and intricacy, situational awareness
necessitates presenting large amounts of data in an easily understandable manner to the operator to avoid fatigue and
overload. This paper discusses how we achieved real-time, 360° imaging awareness and presents a demonstrated
prototype. The imaging system architecture is described with emphasis on the dedicated high-speed image processor
which provides the real-time panoramic stitching, digital zoom and image stabilization. The image processor is designed
around a high-speed, state-of-the-art Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) FPGA architecture that executes algorithms on
these high speed digital video streams with less than 100ms of latency. Field test results are presented from recent at-sea
and ground vehicle data collects. Planned future expansions to the system are outlined such as the capacity for higher
resolution, infrared capability, and the planned platform integration efforts. Other important lessons learned as a result of
this development are also presented throughout the paper.
The Extreme-Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) is a component of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
satellite, aimed at measuring the solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) irradiance with high spectral resolution, temporal
cadence, accuracy, and precision. The required high EUV quantum efficiency (QE), coupled with the radiation dose to
be experienced by the detectors during the five year mission (~1 Mrad), posed a serious challenge to the charge-coupled
device (CCD) detectors. MIT Lincoln Laboratory developed the 2048 × 1024 pixel CCDs and integrated them into the
detector system. The devices were back-side thinned and then back surface passivated using a thin, heavily boron-doped
silicon layer grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) at less than 450°C. Radiation-hardness testing was performed
using the Brookhaven National Laboratory's National Synchrotron Light Source (BNL/NSLS). The MBE-passivated
devices were compared against devices with back surfaces passivated with a silver charge chemisorption process and an
ion-implant/furnace anneal process. The MBE devices provided both the highest QE at the required (-100°C) operating
temperatures, and superior radiation hardness, exceeding the goals for the project. Several flight-ready devices were
delivered with the detector system for integration with the satellite.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory (MIT LL) has been developing both continuous and burst
solid-state focal-plane-array technology for a variety of high-speed imaging applications. For continuous imaging, a
128 × 128-pixel charge coupled device (CCD) has been fabricated with multiple output ports for operating rates greater
than 10,000 frames per second with readout noise of less than 10 e- rms. An electronic shutter has been integrated into
the pixels of the back-illuminated (BI) CCD imagers that give snapshot exposure times of less than 10 ns.
For burst imaging, a 5 cm × 5 cm, 512 × 512-element, multi-frame CCD imager that collects four sequential image
frames at megahertz rates has been developed for the Los Alamos National Laboratory Dual Axis Radiographic
Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT) facility. To operate at fast frame rates with high sensitivity, the imager uses the same
electronic shutter technology as the continuously framing 128 × 128 CCD imager. The design concept and test results are
described for the burst-frame-rate imager.
Also discussed is an evolving solid-state imager technology that has interesting characteristics for creating large-format
x-ray detectors with ultra-short exposure times (100 to 300 ps). The detector will consist of CMOS readouts for high
speed sampling (tens of picoseconds transistor switching times) that are bump bonded to deep-depletion silicon
photodiodes. A 64 × 64-pixel CMOS test chip has been designed, fabricated and characterized to investigate the
feasibility of making large-format detectors with short, simultaneous exposure times.
Lincoln Laboratory has designed and fabricated a charge-coupled device (CCD) array capable of imaging both polarization and illumination uniformity. The device consists of an 1107-element linear array of UV-optimized silicon photodiodes readout by a three-stage CCD through a single ~1-MHz output amplifier. This yields an effective clock rate for the whole array of ~1 kHz. Each of the active diode surfaces within the 1107-element array is covered by a UV-opaque layer of polysilicon into which are patterned 140-nm, transmissive sampling slits. The orientation and location of the slits enables simultaneous determination of illumination uniformity, degree and direction of polarization, and polarization uniformity. The device is tested with a 193-nm excimer laser equipped with variably polarized illumination and the theoretical performance of the device was supported by finite-difference time domain optical simulations.
Lincoln Laboratory has designed and fabricated a charge-coupled device (CCD) array capable of imaging both polarization and illumination uniformity. The device consists of an 1107-element linear array of UV-optimized silicon photodiodes read out by a three-stage CCD through a single ~1-MHz output amplifier. This yields an effective clock rate for the whole array of ~1 kHz. Each of the active diode surfaces within the 1107-element array is covered by a UV-opaque layer of polysilicon into which are patterned 140-nm, transmissive sampling slits. The orientation and location of the slits allows simultaneous determination of illumination uniformity, degree and direction of polarization, and polarization uniformity. The device was tested with a 193-nm excimer laser equipped with variably polarized illumination and the theoretical performance of the device was supported by finite-difference time domain optical simulations.
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