FAINTSTAR: an intelligent single-chip sensor head for star trackers—prototype results

Abstract

Since 2003 the European Space Agency’s roadmap for star tracker CMOS APS (active pixel) image sensors has included developments to integrate significant logic functionality with the pixel array, aiming at an imaging system-on-chip. FaintStar (FS) will be the first commercially available product resulting from these activities. FaintStar is being developed by ams Sensors Belgium (formerly CMOSIS) in two phases. Phase 1 served to specify, design, manufacture, and characterise a prototype chip, informally named FaintStar1 (FS1), the subject of this paper. FaintStar is a one megapixel image sensor with 10 µm pixels and rolling shutter. All interactions with the user are over a single 80 Mb/s SpaceWire link. FaintStar offers various readout modes (full frame, windowed, windowed with dual rolling shutter, etc.). The chip has ‘pixels-to-centroids’ processing, including transfer curve linearisation, bad pixel replacement, background image estimation and suppression, spike filtering, bright object extraction, and photometric barycentre calculation. The algorithms used are generic, i.e., non-reliant on third-party IP, yet highly user-configurable. Data-compressed or raw image output is also supported. The device has been developed for star trackers mainly, although applications such as high-accuracy sun sensing, and navigation, rendezvous, or rover cameras are also served. The prototype chip exceeds its expectations. This article starts with an overview of the FS1 design and reports on the Phase 1 characterisation results, including electro-optical performance, proton displacement damage, total dose, and single event radiation effects. Started end of 2017, the project’s Phase 2 entails minor design refinements, creating FaintStar2 (FS2), its manufacturing, and then a formal evaluation campaign. After this, the sensor will be offered as a commercial off-the-shelf product.