16 -- RFI - Advanced Detector Technology (ADT)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION AIRBORNE LASER (ABL) ADVANCED DETECTOR TECHNOLOGY (ADT) THIS DOCUMENT IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. DO NOT PREPARE OR SUBMIT PROPOSALS IN RESPONSE TO THIS RFI. THE PURPOSE OF THE RFI IS TO CONDUCT MARKET RESEARCH AND RECEIVE INPUT FROM INDUSTRY ON THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS DESCRIBED BELOW. THE GOVERNMENT MAY CHOOSE TO PURSUE THE REQUIREMENT IN THE FUTURE. INFORMATION PROVIDED TO THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE SHARED WITH CONTRACTORS SUPPORTING THE ABL PROGRAM AND WITH FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTERS. TECHNICAL QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO LT. MIKE PRIMROSE AS STATED IN THE CONTACT SECTION BELOW. SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ARE LISTED AT THE END OF THE DOCUMENT. CONTACTS Questions, comments, or suggestions should be directed to Lt Mike Primrose, MDA/ABL/ALTC, at (505) 853-3772 or michael.primrose@kirtland.af.mil. DESCRIPTION A. INTRODUCTION: The Department Of Defense (DoD) is interested in receiving information for market research purposes for high frame rate, high bandwidth, low noise detectors for applications such as active tracking, wave-front sensing, imaging, and laser scoring. In the event that the ADT will be pursued, the Government is interested in understanding what market capabilities exist to satisfy the requirement. Open communication with the technical point of contact (POC), Lt. Mike Primrose is encouraged. B. TECHNICAL TOPIC AREA: The DoD is interested in approaches that address the following camera output performance goals: 1) Wavelength: The camera shall detect near-infrared photons in the region 1.0-1.1 microns. High quantum efficiency (>0.65) is desirable to maximize the camera performance. 2) Frame Rate: The camera system shall have a frame rate of at least 5.5 kHz, as required for airborne and surface-based applications. Readout latencies shall be less than 50 microseconds, and compatible with the rates noted here and in subsequent items. 3) Noise: The overall camera noise performance shall be less than 10 photons per pixel NEI. However, DoD is interested in being able to scale the designs to the desirable 1-photon NEI performance level. Avalanche Photo-Diode (APD) technology is of special interest in this regard, with gains needed in the region 10-100 or more. The noise values quoted here represent all additive noise sources, including dark current readout noise Multiplicative noise sources (such as uncompensatable temporal or spatial variations in per-pixel gain) shall be less than 3%. 4) Array Format: The camera shall be produced in an array format for tracking, wave-front sensing, imaging, and scoring applications, with 128x128 pixels whose size is 30microns in order to be consistent with current ABL optics. The pixel fill factor shall be greater than or equal to 0.9. Pixel non-uniformities shall be correctable to 5% with linear gain-offset Non-Uniformity Correction (NUC) algorithms. The array will be designed so that a Multi Lenslet Array can be interfaced to the camera with minimal effort or off-board alignment requirements. 5) Multiplexer: For large arrays, an electronic multiplexer to rapidly read out the full array or subsets of the array is desirable. Of particular interest is a device for which multiple non-overlapping regions of interest (ROI's) may be simultaneously read out. The number of I/O ports should be compatible with the desired frame rate for the overall camera system, as well as the ROI read capability for the detector array. 6) Dynamic Range: The dynamic range of the pixel output shall be greater than 2000:1, with at least 12 bits of quantization in the camera's digitizers. 7) Cross Talk: Nearest-neighbor pixel cross talk shall be less than 5% from all sources 8) Read Out Time: The pixel read out time shall be < 50usec, and the integration time shall be user-selectable from 0.5 usec to 20usec. 9) Triggering: The camera shall be capable of initiating its exposure from an external electrical signal (using a standard high-speed protocol such as low-voltage differential signaling). The timing jitter, from the input trigger edge to the beginning of the exposure, shall be less than 100 nsec. In this external triggering mode, the camera's frame rate shall be controlled by the frequency of the external signal, i.e., from 0 Hz to 5.5 kHz. The camera shall ignore any trigger signal that comes sooner than the camera's minimum frame time after an earlier valid trigger. 10) Operations: - ABL platform provides for two separate mounting packages/units. The sensor head platform is 6.25"H x 6"L x 4"W excluding protrusions from electrical connectors and kinematic mount features. - The support electronics package has a 6"L x 6"H x 4"W platform available. - Max weight - TBD. - Mounting and fastening - Plug and Play. - Cameras shall achieve their nominal operating performance while provided with forced air between 35 degrees F and 45 degrees F, with a flow rate of 1.5 lbs/min/camera using normal room air. The camera's internal cooling system shall not introduce mechanical vibrations. 11) Electrical: - Electrical Power Supplied - 28 VDC Type I and II - (For All Operational Modes) - 208 VAC, 3 phase, 400 Hz - All other Mil-STD to be called out later (environmental) - Electro Optical cleanliness per Mil - STD 1246C, Level 200 - Frame Start Synchronization (user provided) - Signaling protocol: LVDS, 100 nsec minimum pulse width - Sample rate: DC to 5.5 kHz - Jitter between Frame Start Synchronization pulse and beginning of exposure: 100 nsec maximum - Video Signal Interface: eight LVDS 28-bit data links using the National Semiconductor Channel Link signaling protocol. Each link will carry two 12-bit camera channels. Three additional bits will be added by the FPGA in the camera to identify valid line and field periods, and the "CCD Active" interval. One additional bit will be held in reserve. The resulting 28-bit word will be transmitted over a link consisting of 4 LVDS pairs at a bit rate of 252 Mbit/s each, with a fifth LVDS pair carrying a 36 Mhz clock. 12) Lifetime: The camera shall be capable of lifetime consistent with Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF)=5 years, as the expected uses are for operational DoD systems. 13) Persistence: Focal plane persistence is defined as the fraction of the camera's response to illumination in one frame, that persists as an apparent response in the next frame. Persistence shall be less than 1E-5 for any pixel. 14) Extinction Ratio: The Overall Extinction Ratio (defined as the ratio of the video signal with the tube/APD etc. gated off to the video signal with tube/APD gated on when operated in accordance with the specified timing) for wavelengths near 1.0 - 1.1 microns shall be < 1E-5. The Government asks that industry respondents discuss how camera performance could be measured, using standard metrics such as spectral responsively, detectivity (D*), and noise equivalent signal power (or irradiance). The Government also requests respondents discuss how measurements could be made to prove performance on items 1-14 above. QUESTIONS Following are some specific questions regarding the ADT requirements. Contractors should freely make any other comments or suggestions on areas not discussed here. 1) Does industry believe that the draft Advanced Detector Technology (ADT) specifications are reasonable? If not, please provide recommendations on how the draft specifications could be improved. 2) Is there anything in the current description that is unnecessary? 3) What is an adequate schedule for development of an ADT? 4) What is a reasonable cost estimate to develop an ADT? 5) In addition to responding to any of the above questions, industry may also offer any other comments or recommendations that it feels would improve the technical effort. Please e-mail RFI responses in a Microsoft Word file to Lt. Mike Primrose at michael.primrose@kirtland.af.mil.