Zynq-7000 SoC-based portable uncooled infrared imaging system

A novel portable infrared imaging system based on uncooled focal plane array and programmable system-on-chip（SoC）was proposed.The latest Xilinx Zynq-7000 was used to integrate the main part of the system into a single SoC.Parallel arithmetic units and digital modules were implemented on the programmable logic（PL）of Zynq-7000 to decrease system size and ensure the real-time p nonuniformity correction,while programs running on the processing system（PS）of Zynq-7000 controlled the system work flow and provided human-machine interfaces using open-source software such as Linux and OpenCV.Meanwhile,industry standard advanced extendable interface（AXI）buses were adopted to encapsulating standardized IP cores and build high speed data exchange bridges between units within Zynq-7000.Test results indicate that the image quality and real-time performance of the system can meet application requirements.And it provided a more flexible and extendable solution for evaluating and deploying infrared image enhancement and nonuniformity correction algorithms.

Challenges in using an analog uncooled microbolometer thermal camera to measure crop temperature

It has been long known that thermal imaging may be used to detect stress(e.g.water and nutrient deficiency)in growing crops.Developments in microbolometer thermal cameras,such as the introduction of imaging arrays that may operate without costly active temperature stabilization,have vitalized the interest in thermal imaging for crop measurements.This study focused on the challenges occurring when temperature stabilization was omitted,including the effects of focal-plane-array(FPA)temperature,camera settings and the environment in which the measurements were performed.Further,the models for providing thermal response from an analog LWIR video signal(typical output from low-cost microbolometer thermal cameras)were designed and tested.Finally,the challenges which typically occur under practical use of thermal imaging of crops were illustrated and discussed,by means of three cereal showcases,including proximal and remotely based(UAV)data acquisition.The results showed that changing FPA temperature greatly affected the measurements,and that wind and irradiance also appeared to affect the temperature dynamics considerably.Further,it is found that adequate settings of camera gain and offset were crucial for obtaining a reliable result.The model which was considered best in terms of transforming video signals into thermal response data included information on camera FPA temperature,and was based on a priori calibrations using a black-body radiation source under controlled conditions.Very good calibration(r^(2)>0.99,RMSE=0.32℃,n=96)was obtained for a target temperature range of 15-35℃,covering typical daytime crop temperatures in the growing season.However,the three showcases illustrated,that under practical conditions,more factors than FPA temperature may need to be corrected for.In conclusion,this study shows that thermal data acquisition by means of an analog,uncooled thermal camera may represent a possible,cost-efficient method for the detection of crop stress,but appropriate corrections of disturbing factors are required in order to obtain sufficient accuracy.

An empirical method for improving accuracy of human eye temperature measured by uncooled infrared thermal imager

In order to reduce the temperature measurement error with the uncooled infrared thermal imager, experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of environment temperature and measurement distance on the measurement error of human eye temperature. First, the forehead temperature was used as an intermediate variable to obtain the actual temperature of human eyes. Then, the effects of environment temperature and measurement distance on the temperature measurement were separately analyzed. Finally, an empirical model was established to correlate actual eye temperature with the measured temperature, environment temperature, and measurement distance. To verify the formula, three different environment temperatures were tested at different distances. The measurement errors were substantially reduced using the empirical model for temperature correction. The results show that this method can effectively improve the accuracy of temperature measurement using the infrared thermal imager.

CVD preparation of vertical graphene nanowalls/VO_(2)(B)composite films with superior thermal sensitivity in uncooled infrared detector

Vanadium dioxide with superior thermal sensitivity is one of the most preferred materials used in microbolometer,and the B phase of VO_(2) is particularly prominent.However,conventional VO_(2)(B)undergoes low temperature-coefficient of resistance(TCR)values and large resistances.In this paper,simple controllable composite films of vertical graphene nanowalls/VO_(2)(B)(i.e.,VGNWs/VO_(2)(B))with a suitable square resistance(12.98 kU)and a better temperature-coefficient of resistance(TCR)(-3.2%/K)were prepared via low pressure chemical vapor deposition.The VGNWs can provide a fast channel for electron transport and enhance the conductivity of VO_(2)(B).This preparation method can provide a low cost,facile and simple pathway for the design and fabrication of high performance VO_(2)(B)thin films with superior electrical properties for its application in uncooled infrared detectors.

A low-cost infrared absorbing structure for an uncooled infrared detector in a standard CMOS process

This paper introduces a low-cost infrared absorbing structure for an uncooled infrared detector in a standard 0.5 m CMOS technology and post-CMOS process. The infrared absorbing structure can be created by etching the surface sacrificial layer after the CMOS fabrication, without any additional lithography and deposition procedures. An uncooled infrared microbolometer is fabricated with the proposed infrared absorbing structure.The microbolometer has a size of 6565 m2and a fill factor of 37.8%. The thermal conductance of the microbolometer is calculated as 1.3310 5W/K from the measured response to different heating currents. The fabricated microbolometer is irradiated by an infrared laser, which is modulated by a mechanical chopper in a frequency range of 10–800 Hz. Measurements show that the thermal time constant is 0.995 ms and the thermal mass is 1.3210 8J/K. The responsivity of the microbolometer is about 3.03104V/W at 10 Hz and the calculated detectivity is 1.4108cm Hz1=2/W.

Surface plasmon-enhanced dual-band infrared absorber for VO_x-based microbolometer application

We propose a periodic structure as an extra absorption layer（i.e., absorber） based on surface plasmon resonance effects, enhancing dual-band absorption in both middle wavelength infrared（MWIR） and long wavelength infrared（LWIR）regions. Periodic gold disks are selectively patterned onto the top layer of suspended SiN/VO_2/SiN sandwich-structure.We employ the finite element method to model this structure in COMSOL Multiphysics including a proposed method of modulating the absorption peak. Simulation results show that the absorber has two absorption peaks at wavelengths λ =4.8 μm and λ = 9 μm with the absorption magnitudes more than 0.98 and 0.94 in MWIR and LWIR regions, respectively. In addition, the absorber achieves broad spectrum absorption in LWIR region, in the meanwhile, tunable dual-band absorption peaks can be achieved by variable heights of cavity as well as diameters and periodicity of disk. Thus, this designed absorber can be a good candidate for enhancing the performance of dual band uncooled infrared detector, furthermore, the manufacturing process of cavity can be easily simplified so that the reliability of such devices can be improved.

Thermal and mechanical characterizations of a substrate-free focal plane array

We propose a substrate-free focal plane array （FPA） and the microcantilevers extend from a supporting frame. in this paper. The solid substrate is completely removed, Using finite element analysis, the thermal and mechanical characterizations of the substrate-free FPA are presented. Because of the large decrease in thermal conductance, the supporting frame is temperature dependent, which brings out a unique feature： the lower the thermal conductance of the supporting frame is, the higher the energy conversion efficiency in the substrate-free FPA will be. The results from the finite element analyses are consistent with our measurements： two types of substrate-free FPAs with pixel sizes of 200×200 and 60×60 um^2 are implemented in the proposed infrared detector. The noise equivalent temperature difference （NETD） values are experimentally measured to be 520 and 300 mK respectively. Further refinements are considered in various aspects, and the substrate-free FPA with a pixel size of 30×30 um^2 has a potential of achieving an NETD value of 10 mK.