Design and characterization of a mixed-signal PCB for digital-to-analog conversion in a modular and scalable infrared scene projector
Date
2015
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Infra-red (IR) sensors have proven instrumental in a wide variety of fields from military to industrial applications. The proliferation of IR sensors has spawned an intense push for technologies that can test and calibrate the multitudes of IR sensors. One such technology, IR scene projection (IRSP), provides an inexpensive and safe method for the testing of IR sensor devices. Previous efforts have been conducted to develop IRSPs based on super-lattice light emitting diodes (SLEDS). A single-color 512x512 SLEDs system has been developed, produced, and tested as documented in Corey Lange's Master's thesis, and a GOMAC paper by Rodney McGee [1][2]. Current efforts are being undergone to develop a two-color 512x512 SLEDs system designated (TCSA). The following thesis discusses the design and implementation of a custom printed circuit board (PCB), known as the FMC 4DAC, that contains both analog and digital signals. Utilizing two 16-bit digital-to-analog converters (DAC) the purpose of the board is to provide four analog current output channels for driving the TCSA system to a maximum frame rate of 1 kHz. In addition, the board supports a scalable TCSA system architecture. Several copies of the board can be run in parallel to achieve a range of analog channels between 4 and 32.