Motion Scan and Data Collection Methods for Electro-Optic System Testing

This article discusses different scanning patterns and approaches that can be used to measure an electro-optic (EO) sensor’s performance. Measurements of sensor resolution, distortion, field-of-view (FOV) size, minimum resolvable contrast and minimum resolvable temperature (in the case of IR cameras) are all examples of performance metrics that are measured with these tests.

Executing scan tests with an automated motion system allows for capturing many data points that characterize sensor performance for development and production testing. Automating these tests with a very accurate system allows pass/fail testing while establishing production sensor in-spec baselines and performance trends that can be used to find quality and manufacturing issues. These automated tests can even improve sensor uniformity and accuracy by using the measured image metrology data to calibrate out optical errors by digitally correcting the EO image data in real time.