Low Cost, Size, Weight, and Power, Radiation Hard, Time-of-Flight LiDAR or Infrared Radiometry System on a Chip for Earth Orbit and Planetary Missions

The goal of the ACT program is to develop and demonstrate component and subsystem level technology that enhances earth observation remote sensing in new innovative ways while simultaneously reducing the cost, size, weight, and power (C-SWAP) requirements of the technology. NASA uses light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology and infrared (IR) radiometry for atmospheric measurements, geographical data retrievals, ocean profiling, satellite validation, and algorithm development. LiDAR and radiometry technology for Earth observations in the future are primarily focused on studying factors that impact weather, air quality, and climate. The objective of this proposal is to develop a low C-SWAP System on a Chip (SoC) robust enough for space-based Time-of-Flight (ToF) LiDAR and IR Radiometry. Our Detection and Ranging System on a Chip (DARSoC) will have a reconfigurable front end to allow adaption, accommodating a range of detector specifications and will be robust enough for space-based missions. The ACT program solicits new technologies to support future developments within six focus areas: carbon cycle and ecosystems, water and energy cycle, climate variability and change, atmospheric composition, weather and atmospheric dynamics, and earth surface and interior. A strength of our proposed technology is that our DARSoC is reconfigurable and versatile, meaning it is compatible for missions within each of these focus areas. Missions that have been conducted in the past pertaining to these focus areas include the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO), Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation lidar (GEDI), and the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER). For future missions, capabilities that are desired are higher accuracy, higher information content, and optimized readout electronics. Utilizing components that are low cost, size, weight, and power provide the flexibility of focusing on these vital functions. In addition, our DARSoC will be radiation tolerant, making it suitable for in-space missions. A final requirement of the ACT program is to reduce development risks and time. Our DARSoC leverages IP from a radiation tolerant TRL 5 prototype designed for another project giving us a strong starting point for some circuits and knowledge on the radiation tolerance of the technology. Our DARSoC will be equipped with a 14-bit analog readout path for radiometry applications and can provide under 50 ps timing resolution for ToF. The SoC will include a highly re-configurable fast analog front end and timing discriminator (FEaD) that will be designed for compatibility with a wide range of photomultiplier and solid-state LiDAR detectors and infrared radiometers on the market and currently in development. The SoC back-end will include a low noise phase locked loop (PLL) for receipt of an input from an external ultra-stable oscillator. The PLL will provide multiplication of the oscillator time reference to higher frequencies and subsequently used to capture the laser ToF. Additionally, the radiometry path will include a low-noise PGA followed by high resolution, reconfigurable, asynchronous SAR ADC to amplify and digitize the sensitive radiometric signals. The proposed radiation hardened by design SoC will process the ToF or ADC data and provide a low-latency range measurement to the mission's control and data handling. Incorporating our proposed technology into future Earth science LiDAR or radiometry missions can not only allow for ground-breaking scientific discoveries but provide scientists with measurements intended to study human health and improve lives.

Accelerate mission development and reduce risk by developing critical components and subsystems for advanced instruments and observing systems

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