Design of Frame-transferred Surface Array CCD Imaging System for Dark Objects

In order to realize the requirement of low-noise observations of dark objects in deep-space explorations, the design method for a simple and stable space camera imaging system is proposed in this paper. Based on the back-illuminated frame-transferred surface array CCD (CCD47-20AIMO) produced by the British E2V company, the circuitry design is given for the every part of the system. In which the applications of the correlated double-sampling analog-digital converter (AD) and the synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) can effectively suppress the correlated noise in the image signal. In addition, a drive control method favorable to the adjustment of exposure time is proposed, in the light-sensing stage it provides the exposure time with an independent and adjustable time delay to make the imaging system satisfy the requirement of long exposure time setting. The imaging system adopts the Cyclone III-series EP3C25Q240C8 field programable gate array produced by the Altera company as the kernel control device, and the drives are programmed in modules according to the function of the every device, in favor of transplantation. The simulative and experimental results indicate that the drive circuitry works normally, and that the system design can satisfy the preset requirement.