Date of Award
6-2007
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering
Department
Department of Engineering Physics
First Advisor
Michael A. Marciniak, PhD
Second Advisor
Salvatore J. Cusumano, PhD
Abstract
Airborne Laser testing and evaluation can be aided by developing a spectrally-based infrared camera simulation to explore how the target surface's specular and diffuse reflectivities affect the observed signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and how the target's temperature in the laser spot can estimated. This simulation provides for the observed irradiance, scaled by atmospheric absorption, to consist of the target's self-emission, reflected background emission, and the path emission from the observer to the target. The observed irradiance is scaled and distributed onto a focal plane array by way of a simulated optical system, whose effects are described by modulation transfer functions. The modeled detector response converts the observed irradiance to a current signal from which detector noise quantities are computed. Analyzing the simulated data shows that the observed SNR is dependent upon the target's reflectivity, and leads to a conclusion that the mid-wave infrared band is best choice for observing the thermal emission. For estimating temperature, a least-squares optimization will not work because of the effects of the point spread function.
AFIT Designator
AFIT-GEO-ENP-07-01
DTIC Accession Number
ADA469169
Recommended Citation
Orth, David F., "An Infrared Camera Simulation for Estimating Spatial Temperature Profiles and Signal-to-Noise Ratios of an Airborne Laser-Illuminated Target" (2007). Theses and Dissertations. 2917.
https://scholar.afit.edu/etd/2917