Operational parametrization of the 1/f noise of a sequence of frames by means of the principal component analysis in focal plane arrays

Principal component analysis is applied to the calculation of the power a of the 1/f(alpha) dependence of the power spectrum density of a sequence of frames affected by a 1/f noise and obtained from a focal plane array. This method provides an operational alternative of characterization of this type of noise that has been successfully applied to simulated and experimental data. The a parameter obtained by this method corresponds with a global characterization of the whole array. Besides, a calibration lifetime is calculated. This temporal parameter indicates when the 1/f noise begins to be more noticeable than the temporal noise in the images of the array. (C) 2003 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.