Realities of A/D conversion accuracy in radiometric testing

Test stations that are designed for today's imaging focal plane testing requirements normally include A/D conversion. The accuracy of the A/D conversion relates to the measurement accuracy of the test station and as such is a very important component of the stations end-to- end performance. Therefore characterization of the A/D conversion component is essential to the understanding of the test station's capabilities. This paper discusses the performance of two common A/D conversion devices integrated for use in a typical test station environment; 12 bit, 10 MHz; and 16 bit, 2 MHz. It details the realities of the accuracy of these A/D components as they are integrated into test stations, comparing the theoretical limits to the tested performance. Also discussed are the problems of testing high resolution A/D components at Nyquist frequencies at full scale input signals. The effect of A/D performance upon other common components within the test station is shown. This paper explores why time domain testing of A/D components may be a better gauge of performance than the more common frequency domain testing for evaluation within the focal plane testing environment.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.