EFFECT OF SPATIAL NOISE ON THE MINIMUM RESOLVABLE TEMPERATURE OF A STARING SENSOR

The development of staring infrared focal plane arrays has forced potential users to consider the effect of spatial noise on the performance of infrared sensors. We varied the amount of spatial noise present in infrared imagery and measured its effect on the value of the minimum resolvable temperature (MRT). A mathematical model for including the effects of spatial noise on image quality is presented and compared to experimental data. The effect of both the spatial and temporal power spectral density on the MRT is discussed. Excess low-frequency noise in the temporal domain is shown to be a source of spatial noise.