Abstract: Corrective factors are applied so as to remove anomalous features from the signal generated by a photoconductive detector, and to thereby render the output signal highly linear with respect to the energy of incident, time-varying radiation. The corrective factors may be applied through the use of either digital electronic data processing means or analog circuitry, or through a combination of those effects.

Abstract: An infrared detector output of a radiometer is amplified and inverted to provide a first signal which is amplified to a predetermined level and a second signal which is inverted with respect to the first signal and amplified to a fraction of the predetermined level of the first signal. The first and second signals are alternately sampled to sample portions of those signals which occur when the detector of the radiometer is viewing the target and then viewing the reference. The signals are sampled once while the detector of the radiometer is looking at the target and twice occurring on each side of the target sample when the detector is looking at the reference signal. The first and second signals are separately integrated in accordance with a predetermined timing pattern determined by the sampling rate of the first (target) and second (reference) signals. The peak integrated outputs of the first and second signals are held then sampled to produce the demodulated output from the radiometer.