MEASUREMENTS OF MODULATION TRANSFER FUNCTION AND SPATIAL NOISE IN INFRARED CCD'S (SPECKLE, INFORMATION THEORY, OPTICS)

This dissertation deals with the measurement of Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) and spatial noise in infrared CCD's. A new method for the measurement of MTF is presented, which uses the phenomenon of laser speckle. The instrument constructed has the advantages that it does not require components of high optical or mechanical quality, and it does not require precise alignment. There is only one moving part in the system. The results of this method are compared with results obtained from an interferometric technique and from an impulse response technique, and found to be in close agreement. The characterization of spatially-dependent noise is pursued via the formalism of Detective Quantum Efficiency and also via a two dimensional generalization of the classical representation for information capacity. Suggestions for improving the performance of the array as a signal processor are drawn from these considerations. Test results are presented for a 64 by 32 element infrared CCD of Schottky barrier construction.