Minimum resolvable temperature difference measurements on undersampled imagers

Abstract

Minimum Resolvable Temperature Difference (MRTD) is the primary measurement of performance for infrared imaging systems. Where Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) is a measurement of resolution and three-dimensional noise (or noise equivalent temperature difference) is a measurement of sensitivity, MRTD combines both measurements into a test of observer visual acuity through the imager. MRTD has been incorrectly applied to undersampled thermal imagers as a means for assessing the overall performance of the imager. The incorrect application of the MRTD (or just MRT) test to undersampled imagers includes testing to the half-sample (or Nyquist rate) of the sensor and calling the MRT unresolvable beyond this frequency. This approach is known to give poor predictions in overall system performance. Also, measurements at frequencies below the half-sample rate are strongly dependent on the phase between the sampling geometry and the four-bar target. The result is that very little information in the MRT measurement of an undersampled thermal imager is useful. There are a number of alternatives including Dynamic MRT (DMRT), Minimum Temperature Difference Perceived (MTDP), Triangle Orientation Discrimination (TOD), and objective MRT tests. The NVESD approach is to measure the MTF and system noise and to use these measurements in the MRT calculation to give good sensor performance predictions. This paper describes the problems with MRT for undersampled imagers, describes the alternative measurements, and presents the NVESD approach to MRT measurements.