Method and apparatus for testing photo-receiver arrays and associated read channels

Apparatus, comprising:

• a) a photo-receiver comprising a capacitor for storing a charge which is indicative of how much light has entered the photo-receiver;
• b) a first multiplexor comprising an input for reading a charge off of said capacitor, an input for receiving a first test voltage, a number of select inputs, and an output, wherein the select inputs allow for coupling the first multiplexor's output to one or more of its inputs;
• c) a charge transfer stage, coupled to the output of the first multiplexor, for converting the charge stored on the capacitor to an analog voltage;
• and
• d) an analog-to-digital converter, coupled to an output of the charge transfer stage, for converting the analog voltage to a digital value.

Apparatus, comprising:

• a) a photo-receiver array, the photo-receiver array comprising a plurality of photo-receivers, each photo-receiver comprising a capacitor for storing a charge which is indicative of how much light has entered the photo-receiver;
• b) a first number of multiplexors, each of the first number of multiplexors comprising:
• i) a first number of inputs for reading the charge off of at least one capacitor of at least one of the plurality of photo-receivers;
• ii) a second input for receiving first test voltages;
• iii) a number of select inputs;
• and
• iv) an output, wherein the select inputs allow for coupling the multiplexor's output to one or more of its inputs;
• c) a charge transfer stage, coupled to the outputs of the first number of multiplexors, for converting the charges stored on the capacitors of the plurality of photo-receivers to analog voltages;
• and
• d) a number of analog-to-digital converters, coupled to outputs of the charge transfer stage, for converting the analog voltages to digital values.