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Optical designs of compact multi-channel and all-reflective system for

infrared imaging

Min Wanga, François Châteauneufa, and Christian Proulxa


a
Institut National d’Optique
2740, Einstein Street, Quebec, QC, G1P 4S4, Canada

ABSTRACT

In space infrared (IR) optics, to achieve better observation of ground target, a common aperture all-reflective telescope,
working at fast focal-ratio with multi-channel to cover different waveband and wide field-of-view (FOV), is a most
wanted optical system. The remarkable imaging properties of the fast focal-ratio, flat-field, anastigmatic, rotationally
symmetric Schwarzschild telescope have been well recognized historically, but suffer strong central obscuration and
limited FOV in the conventional axis-symmetric design. Our solution is to use an eccentric system evolved from the
Schwarzschild axially symmetric system, adding a tertiary off-axis mirror, to optimize the off-axis performance with the
appropriate system parameters and specs, as required by most space IR optical systems. The optical design system
consists of three powered mirrors, in which the primary (M1) is convex and secondary (M2) is either convex or concave,
with a tertiary (M3) always in concave shape respectively. Both secondary and tertiary mirrors have their size larger than
that of the primary. The entrance pupil of the system is projected behind M1. Dichroic filters can be used after the
tertiary mirror to achieve separation of multi-spectral channels. In the designs the mirrors with optimized aspherical
shapes, which are all in even-asphere warped up to 10th asphericities, are used for achieving the final image quality. The
final corrected wavefront in the system can result in the good optical performance with an encircled energy of better than
80% per pixel for all channels, working at F/1.66 to correct a wide FOV up to 27.70 (H) x 48.70 (V). The design is
scalable for different image scales, as usually required for different optical systems targeting different applications. The
broad spectral range from mid-wave infrared (MWIR) up to Far IR can be fully covered by this design. Multiple focal-
plane-arrays (FPAs) can be used with respect to different spectral channels in the optical systems.

Keywords: Space IR optics, Optical design, All-reflective, Off-axis, Wide field of view, Fast focal ratio, Wavefront
correction, Multi-spectral-channels, Multi-FPAs

1. INTRODUCTION

In space IR optics, to achieve better observation of ground targets, it is usually necessary to improve ground resolution
for wide spectral coverage from mid-wave infrared (MWIR) to long-wave infrared (LWIR) and even Far Infrared, with
the increase of image size on the FPAs. With the special environment conditions in space, the space optics must meet the
requirements of the satellite platforms, in which the compact size and lightest weight for the optical systems will usually
be a must. When taking into account the current optical designs, the space-based earth observations sometimes suffer
either from central obscuration or from limited field of view caused by the conventional mirror systems, even including
the TMA (three-mirrors-anastigmatic) designs. Usually, a TMA design with concave primary can only provide a field-
limited imaging, especially in one direction, when a fast optical layout is needed. With the conventional three-mirror-
anastigmatic designs, even in eccentric systems, it is still difficult to obtain a large un-vignetted bi-dimensional field of
view (FOV). The optical performance of the most conventional IR mirror systems is often limited either by the beam
obscuration or by the field of view, when both requirements are usually critical in space applications. The central beam
obscuration in the optical system will degrade the imaging contrast in the middle frequency, but the limited FOV will
reduce the photon flux (throughput) and field information in the optical systems. It is evident that both of them will
negatively impact the delivered image quality of the IR systems across the wide-field. Thus, it has been suggested that a
novel IR mirror system will be necessary to overcome these two main drawbacks of the conventional designs. Evidently,
this represents a challenge in the optical design and solution.

The Thin Ice Cloud in the Far Infrared Experiment (TICFIRE) and the Platform for the Observation of the Earth and for
in-orbit Technology Experiments (POETE) were two conceptual missions proposed within the frame of Canadian Space
Agency’s program for small and research-oriented satellites. In defining these missions, we have been exploring the

Infrared Technology and Applications XXXVII, edited by Bjørn F. Andresen, Gabor F. Fulop, Paul R. Norton,
Proc. of SPIE Vol. 8012, 801226 · © 2011 SPIE · CCC code: 0277-786X/11/$18 · doi: 10.1117/12.886412

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feasibility of developing a wide field all-reflective imaging capability for space IR optics. The system must deliver
images with an 80% of ensquared energy per pixel or better over a wide field for extended IR wavebands comprised in
the 7μm - 60μm spectral band. In order to meet all system requirements for space application, evidently, a novel all-
reflective optical system is an interesting approach, especially for the off-axis configuration without central obscuration.
As we know, the remarkable imaging properties of the flat-field, anastigmatic, rotationally symmetric Schwarzschild
telescope have been recognized historically. This system has physical constraints due to the fact that both mirrors
obstruct the incoming and outgoing light beams, thus it suffers strong central obscuration and limited FOV in the
conventional axis-symmetric design. Our approach to overcome the inherent problems of Schwarzschild’s two-mirror
configuration is to use an eccentric system, adding a tertiary off-axis mirror, to optimize the off-axis performance of the
system. In our novel approach, the design concept becomes very attractive, given the fast focal ratio, the image quality
and wide field-of-view, while being unobstructed and fully transparent from MWIR to Far Infrared with no chromatic
aberration. In order to meet all system requirements with this novel optical design system, which should operate in space
environment conditions and produce images of pixel-resolution or better, main design requirements must be considered,
such as a common aperture for a wide field correction, a fast working optics without beam obscuration, as well as
extended large IR waveband image.

However, it is clear that all-reflective and off-axis optics, working at fast focal-ratio to correct a wide field, always set a
challenge in the optical design of the instrumentation. Modern advanced image sensors, even for IR systems, have a
large number of small pixels. High numerical apertures (NA) are required by the optics to match the resolution offered
by the small pixels, especially for the un-cooled micro-bolometer FPAs. The combination of high NA with large
effective area results in large effective Lagrange invariant value for the modern IR image sensors. In the context of the
novel IR system, an all-reflective and off-axis optical design is required to work at fast focal ratio for wide field to better
match the Lagrange invariant of the sensor. This involves a high-quality fast optical system in order to take the full
advantage of the image sensor for high resolution applications.

In our design investigations, different all-reflective design approaches have been considered to study the optical design
feasibility of the high-performance IR system for space-optics applications. The modified eccentric Schwarzschild
design is chosen for reasons and advantages such as flat-field, anastigmatic, unobstructed and wide-field, as well as all-
reflective optics. In this paper, the preliminary optical design and performance analysis are presented with this novel
design approach proposed by INO. The aberrated wavefront coming from a convex primary, working at off-axis section
in an optical system without symmetry, are numerically computed and given, in section 2, for system aberration
evaluations. In section 3, the system requirements and design considerations are discussed. The two optical design
configurations and performance evaluation are described and given respectively in sections 4 and 5 respectively. Finally,
conclusion and discussion are presented in section 6.

2. WAVEFRONT ANALYSIS OF BASIC SCHWARZSCHILD’S CONFIGURATION

2.1 Axial symmetry system


A critical condition for the absence of coma aberration is to satisfy the Abbe sine condition in the two-mirror system,

Y1
EFL = = Const . (1)
sin U

for all of the ray heights Y1, aperture angles U, and equivalent focal length EFL. That’s why Schwarzschild analytically
figured out the sine condition and equation for the path of arbitrary ray in his concentric anastigmat two-mirror system
with axial symmetry, in which both mirrors are spheres as shown in Figure 1. In this optical configuration, the spherical
aberration, astigmatism, and coma, all three Seidel aberrations are zero for a moderate field-of-view (FOV) with good
image quality. But it suffers strong central obscuration and limited FOV in the conventional axis-symmetric design.

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1 STO 3 4 SU
UM
M1 M2
(Convex)
) (Concave) Image Pl
lane

Sphe
erical Coma Astigmatism Fi
ield Curvature Distor
rtion
Seidel Diagram
INO
Waveleng
gth: 0.5500 µm.
Maximum aberration scale is 2.00
0000 Millimeters.
Grid lin
nes are spaced 0.20000 Mi
illimeters. Schwarzschild des sign.ZMX
Configuration 1 of 1

(a) (b)
F
Figure 1. Two-mmirror Schwarzscchild aplanat sysstem with axial symmetry:
s (a) Scchwarzschild conncentric
config
guration; (b) Com
mputed residual Seidel
S aberrationns for the system
m.

2.2 Off-axis primary in co


onvex shape
It is evident that
t the conven ntional Schwarrzschild’s confi
figuration in axxial symmetry has
h a severe ceentral obscuratiion
which degraddes the optical the imaging coontrast in the middle
m frequenccy, which is unndesirable in most
m space IR systems.
s
Thus, the offf-axis all-reflecctive design is a more appropriate choice in terms of unobscured optical systems workiing in a
broad spectraal range as requ uired usually for
fo space IR opptics for earth observation.
o Thhese optical sysstems usually consist
c
of a chain off three-mirror, off-axis,
o unobsscured optical telescopes.
t As a wide field-off-view is usuallly required on both
directions (hoorizontal and vertical)
v for spaace IR systemss, the conventioonal off-axis TMA
T (Three-M Mirror Anastigmmat)
design with the
t mirror’s po ower of positivee-negative-possitive won’t be considered as the approach, due to the alwaays
limited FOV in one directio on. The eccenttric Schwarzscchild’s system with
w a negativee and unobscurred mirror as thhe
primary coulld be an interessting approach for a wide andd un-vignetted bi-dimensiona
b l FOV.

It is well knoown that Zernikke polynomialss represent a coomplete (and orthogonal)


o desscription of thee aberrations off any
imaging optical system with h a circular aperture stop. In an eccentric opptical system, the t aberration function can be
expressed as a Taylor series in terms of thhe normalized fieldf and apertture vectors, annd its structurall form is determ mined
by the symm metry of the system. The aberrrations of an opptical system, which
w is rotatioonally symmettric, are the summ of the
individual suurface contributtions. As indiccated and proveed by Buchroedder [1], the nett optical system m aberration fieeld at
the image plaane of a misaligned or even completely
c nonnsymmetrical optical
o system design
d is still the
t sum of indiividual
surface contrributions of thee conventional form developeed by Seidel (oonly for third orrder) for eitherr spherical or
nonspherical (e.g., asphericc) surfaces. Bucchroeder alreaddy observed thhat the aberratioon field contribbution of a sphherical
surface in ann optical system
m without symm metry is centerred along the linne connecting the centers of the pupil for thhe
surface (a paarameter that is dependent on the optical sysstem configuraation) and the center c of curvatture of the surfface (a
parameter thaat is independeent of the systeem but dependeent on the misaalignment/placeement of the suurface). Thus, when w a
system is perrturbed or desiggned without symmetry,
s no new
n aberrations will be createed in a system with a circularr
aperture stopp. Rather, the chharacteristic field dependence of the knownn aberration fieelds at the imagge plane will be
modified, usuually exhibiting multinodal behavior.
b Speciifically, the nett exit pupil abeerration functioon at any field point
p is
still composeed of the knowwn aberration tyypes only and is the sum of eaach surface conntribution afterr accounting foor the
fact that the centers
c of the aberration
a fieldd contributions, for each surfaace, no longer coincide.

The aberrated wavefront off a primary coonvex mirror, either


e in conic or aspherical shape,
s workingg on off-axis parts
p and
observing a point
p y displaced by an angle α froom the optical axis
at infinity a may be reppresented by [22]
(
Z = ∑ z n ,m = ∑ An ,m r n cos mθ + Bn ,m r n sin mθ = )
n ,m (2)
⎧ A11 r cos θ + B111 r sin θ + A20 r 2 + A40 r 4 + A31 r 3 cos θ + B31 r 3 sin θ + A22 r 2 cos( 2θ ) + ⎫
⎪ ⎪
= ⎨+ B22 r 2 sin( 2θ ) + A51 r 5 cos θ + B51 r 5 sin θ + A42 r 4 cos(
c 2θ ) + B42 r 4 sinn( 2θ ) + ⎬
⎪ ⎪
⎩ + A 33 r 3
cos( 3θ ) + B 33 r 3
sin( 3θ ) + A60 r 6
+ ...... ⎭

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where the mirror’s surrounding medium is either air or the vacuum with index of refraction n = 1. In equation (2), An,m
and Bnm are the coefficients of a particular aberration while r, θ are the polar coordinates in the plane of the exit pupil. In
Eq. (2), the aberration terms superior to the 5th order are neglected.
In order to numerically estimate the optical path difference (OPD) contribution of the aberrated wavefront coming from
a primary convex mirror in an optical system without rotational symmetry, as shown in Figure 2, we assume that the
diameter and radius of curvature of the primary mirror are respectively 35.0 mm and 40.0 mm, based on the first-order
analysis with the system. In this case, the aberration field contribution of a convex surface in an optical system without
symmetry is centered along the line connecting the centers of the pupil for the surface and the center of virtual image for
a convex mirror. Considering the system requirement of a 45o field of view (FOV) in horizontal, which corresponds to a
beam incident angle αH= ±22.50, and 270 (αV=±13.50) in vertical, one can compute the OPD contribution for the
aberrated wavefront at exit pupil of this system without rotational symmetry, and the exit pupil is eccentrically located
on the aperture stop of the system. This is reported in Table 1 and it shows that the third-order coma and the third-order
astigmatism are still the dominant aberrations in the aberrated wavefront for large off-axis angles of view.

Exit Pupil
A.S.

Off-axis
section
used
Center

En. Pupil

Infinity incident Virtual


Image
Parent optical axis COC

Primary
convex mirror

Figure 2. Primary convex mirror working in an optical system without rotational symmetry.

Table 1. OPD contribution at αH=22.50 with a wavelength λ = 3 um.


Parabolic convex mirror Spherical convex mirror
Znm Aberration type (working at αH=22.50, αV=00 ) (working at αH=22.50, αV=00)
OPD Contribution OPD [λ] at OPD Contribution OPD [λ]
rmax at rmax
Third-order coma -8.384 X 10-4 r3cos θ 22.64 -4.555 X 10-4 r3cos θ 12.30
z31 -5 3 -4 3
-4.27 X 10 r sin θ 1.152 -2.745 X 10 r sin θ 7.41
-3 2 -3 2
Third-order astigmatism -8.405 X10 r cos (2θ) 7.565 -7.80 X10 r cos (2θ) 7.198
z22
-2.670 X10-2r2 sin (2θ) 24.03 -1.471 X10-2r2 sin (2θ) 13.24

Third-order SA* -2.0 X 10-7 r4 0.183 -4.507 X 10-8 r4 0.037


z40
Fifth-order linear coma 1.0 X 10-7 r5 cos θ 2.066 1.0 X 10-7 r5 cos θ 2.066
z51 -9 5 -8 5
1.46 X 10 r sin θ 0.035 4.829 X 10 r sin θ 1.173

Fifth-order tangential 1.5 X 10-6 r4 cos (2θ) 1.193 -6.0 X 10-7 r4 cos (2θ) 0.485
z42 oblique SA
6.2 X 10-6 r4 sin (2θ) 5.008 4.1 X 10-6 r4 sin (2θ) 3.33

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Fifth-order elliptical coma -9.33 X 10-5 r3 cos (3θ) 2.519 -6.45 X 10-5 r3 cos (3θ) 1.741
z33 -5 3 -5 3
4.68 X 10 r sin (3θ) 1.264 2.53 X 10 r sin (3θ) 0.683
-11 6 -10 6
Fifth-order SA -4.914 X 10 r 0.036 -1.286 X 10 r 0.094
z60
High Neglect Neglect Neglect Neglect
orders
*: SA = Spherical Aberration.
The aberration coefficients versus vertical FOV for this convex mirror are given in Table 2 for different vertical FOV. It
is clear that the off-axis high-order aberrations increase quickly with an increase of the FOV.

Table 2. Computed main aberration coefficients (unit in wavelength) vs vertical field-of-view (αV) for a
convex mirror working in an optical system without symmetry (Wavelength = 3 microns).

Main terms for OPD [λ] Parabolic convex Parabolic Spherical convex Spherical
at rmax mirror convex mirror mirror convex mirror
(working at αV = (working at αV = (working at αV = (working at αV =
+50, αH=00): +100, αH=00): +50, αH=00): +100, αH=00):
OPD [λ] at rmax OPD [λ] at rmax OPD [λ] at rmax OPD [λ] at rmax
z22 (=A22 r2 cos (2θ), 5.08 10.6 7.32 11.51
Astig. 3)
z31(=B31r3 sin θ, Coma -1.81 -3.36 -6.48 -6.81
3)
z40 (=A40 r4, Sph. 3) 1.46 2.79 0.90 1.76
z33 (=B33 r3 sin (3θ), -0.59 -1.26 -1.08 -1.59
Tri. Coma 5)
z42 (=A42 r4 cos (2θ), -0.76 -1.53 -2.20 -2.72
Astig. 5)
z51 (=B51 r5 sin θ, -0.18 -0.398 0.94 0.72
Coma 5)
z53 (=B53 r5 sin (3θ), 0.14 0.29 0.40 0.51
Tri. Coma 7)
Other high orders Negligible Negligible z44 (Squa. 7, in r4 z44 (Squa. 7, in r4
cos (4θ))= -0.13 cos (4θ))= -0.19

Obviously, all the aberrations, as shown in Table 1 and 2, need to be controlled and corrected in order to obtain a good
image for this designed off-axis system. Thus, the primary convex mirror can have an aspherical shape, and the off-axis
aberrations could be corrected by additional (secondary and tertiary) mirrors with the associated degrees of freedom.

2.3 Off-axis system


As can be analytically demonstrated, the wave aberration expansion of an imaging optical system without rotational
symmetry, with a circular aperture stop, is as follows
2
⎛→ →⎞ ⎛ → →⎞ ⎛→ →⎞ ⎡⎛ → → ⎞ → ⎤⎛ → → ⎞
w = Δw020 ⎜ ρ • ρ ⎟ + Δw111 ⎜ H • ρ ⎟ + ∑ w040 j ⎜ ρ • ρ ⎟ + ∑ w131 j ⎢⎜ H − σ j ⎟ • ρ ⎥⎜ ρ • ρ ⎟ +
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠ j ⎝ ⎠ j ⎣⎝ ⎠ ⎦⎝ ⎠ (3)
⎡⎛ → →
⎞ ⎛ → →
⎞ ⎤⎛ →


+ ∑ w220 j ⎢⎜ H − σ j ⎟ • ⎜ H − σ j ⎟⎥⎜ ρ • ρ ⎟ + L
j ⎣⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠ ⎦⎝ ⎠

where, ρr represents a pupil position with ρx and ρy its components along x) and y) in the entrance/exit pupil and Hr
represents a position in the image plane with Hx and Hy its components along x) and y) , respectively in the field. The
subscript j is the index for the summation over each optical surface, as used in the system without symmetry, and the σr j

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is a vector to point to where the center of the aberration field of a specific surface is. The Δw020 and Δw111 are the focus
and tilt terms respectively. The w131 and w220j are the third-order wave aberration coefficients. In this case, the direction
of light propagation is always along the +z direction, and this is the surface-by-surface wave aberration expansion for an
optical system without symmetry, up to through fifth order, as shown in the literature [3]. The aberration coefficients
(wklm)j of the wavefront can be numerically computed by ray tracing with the system, where k=2p+m and l=2n+m with
p, n positive integers, p≤n.

3. OPTICAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION

3.1 TICFIRE system requirements


Thin Ice Clouds in the Far Infrared Experiment (TICFIRE) is a process-oriented mission dedicated to observe key
parameters of Thin Ice Clouds (TIC) forming in the cold regions of the Poles and globally in the upper troposphere. It
measures directly in the far IR (FIR) spectral and cold geographical regions precisely where most of the atmospheric
thermal cooling takes place. To develop a wide field multi-channel and all-reflective system for TICFIRE, the main
specifications and requirements for the optical system to fit a micro-satellite mission are as follow:

• For space observation of ground targets:


Image scale for operating condition: Nadir viewing, 650 km altitude and 10 km ground-sampling-distance
(GSD) per pixel of 104 µm and a total swath of 640 km;
• Field of view: 28 degrees (H, swath direction) X 49 degrees (V, pushbroom direction) per camera;
• Waveband: Corrected over any specified waveband contained in the 7 µm to 60 µm band with bandpass filters,
6 wavebands needed for observation, such as: B1: 7.9-9.5 µm; B2: 10.0-12.0 µm; B3:12.0-14.0 µm; B4: 16.0-
18.5 µm; B5: 22.5-27.5 µm; B6: 30.0-60.0 µm;
• Design radiometric quality: 80% ensquared energy (EE) contained within each pixel across the central 90% of
the FOV;
• Effective Focal Length (EFL) and working f-number:
EFL = 6.63 mm, working at faster than f/1.7;
• All reflective design without beam obscuration;
• Common aperture stop in the system design;
• Compact system design for space application;
• Maximum 3 powered mirrors;
• Mirror’s shape will be producible with today’s manufacturing technologies;
• Dichroic will be used for channel separation;
• Bandpass filters will be used for spectral waveband selection.

3.2 POETE system requirements


The Platform for the Observation of the Earth and for in-orbit Technology Experiments (POETE) mission concept has
been developed to help overcome the scientific and socio-economic issues associated with forest fires [4]. Each satellite
payload includes a visible near-infrared (VIS-NIR) instrument and a mid-wave and thermal infrared (MWIR-TIR)
instrument. The two instruments combined provide for 6 spectral channels spanning from the visible to the thermal
infrared for fire monitoring, retrieval of quantitative fire parameters (such as effective fire temperature, area and
radiative energy release), and land surface temperature measurement. The MWIR-TIR instrument concept is a
pushbroom scanner filter radiometer with on-board radiometric calibration capabilities. Its all-reflective three-mirror
input optics delivers a 400-m GSD at an altitude of 700 km, relaying the scene signal to detectors based on INO's
microbolometer technology for detection in four spectral channels centered at 3.8 μm, 8.8 μm, 10.5 μm and 12.0 μm.
The main specifications and requirements for the MWIR-TIRoptical system are given as follow:

• For space observation of ground targets:


Image scale for operating condition: Nadir viewing, 700 km altitude and 400 m ground-sampling-distance
(GSD) per pixel of 52 µm and a total swath of 200 km;

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• Field of view: 16.3 degrees (H, swath direction) X 3 degrees (V, pushbroom direction);
• Waveband: Corrected over any specified waveband contained in the 3.4 µm to 12.5 µm band with bandpass
filters, 4 wavebands needed for observation, such as: MWIR: 3.4-4.0 µm; TIR1: 8.3-9.3 µm; TIR2:10.0-11.0
µm; TIR3: 11.5-12.5 µm;
• Design radiometric quality: 80% ensquared energy (EE) contained within each pixel across the full FOV;
• Effective Focal Length (EFL) and working f-number:
EFL = 90.2 mm, working at faster than f/1.8;
• All reflective design without beam obscuration;
• Common aperture stop in the system design;
• Compact system design for space application;
• Maximum 3 powered mirrors;
• Mirror’s shape will be producible with today’s manufacturing technologies;
• Dichroic will be used for channel and band separation.

3.3 Design considerations


As we know, it is not a trivial optical-design task to cover the wide field of view at a fast focal-ratio for a mirror system,
especially without beam obscuration, and meet simultaneously all the other specifications desired for a space application.
Our approach is to design an eccentric system evolved from the Schwarzschild axially symmetric system, adding a
tertiary off-axis mirror, to optimize the off-axis performance. The design approaches is as follow:

• All-reflective and off-axis design with convex primary and secondary, and concave tertiary;
• Or all-reflective and off-axis design with convex primary, concave secondary and tertiary.

In this system, the severe off-axis aberrated wavefront from the primary convex mirror, as given in Section 2, must be
controlled and corrected at fast focal ratio for a wide FOV to achieve simultaneously the beam convergence, the
aberration correction, and the spectral-waveband separation and selection without beam obscuration. In fact, the multi-
spectral channels, as required in the system, can be separated using dichroic components in the optical design
configuration. On the other hand, the bandpass filters will be used in the optical path before the IR focal-plane-arrays
(FPAs) for different wavebands detection in the systems. The aperture stop of the optical system could be positioned
between the secondary and tertiary mirrors, in order to project the entrance pupil of the system behind the primary
convex mirror for mirror-size control and field aberration correction. As derived from our system analysis, the optical
power of the 3 mirrors could be negative (M1), negative or positive (M2), and positive (M3), depending on the first-
order requirements. If necessary, folding flat-mirrors could be used and inserted in the optical path for beam folding in
order to obtain a compact system with sufficient back focal spacing for the detector housing. The dichroic plate is a
wedge plate, in order to compensate for the astigmatic wavefront when using in a fast convergent beam at large angles of
incidence.

In all cases, the mirrors can have the shape of even asphere, and the off-axis aberrations could be corrected by the
mirrors using the new degrees of freedom available, for example, the angles of tilt, the surface decenter, and the surface
asphericities as well.

4. OPTICAL DESIGN FOR TICFIRE

As mentioned in Sections 2 and 3, the required FOV for this Nadir viewing configuration is larger than for usual mirror
systems. At the same time, the instrument needs to cover the 6 wavebands simultaneously. Obviously, a novel approach
is required for the optical design of the camera. Thus, an eccentric system evolved from the Schwarzschild axially
symmetric system, adding a tertiary off-axis mirror, is our approach to design this Nadir IR camera.

4.1 Design configuration


The basic optical design consists of a convex primary (M1) and convex secondary (M2) mirrors as well as a concave
tertiary mirror (M3), in which both M2 and M3 have their size larger than that of the primary. The aperture stop of the
system is positioned between the M2 and M3, which results in the entrance pupil of the system to be projected behind

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M1 for control of the mirror size and for aberration compensation across the field. In order to have enough space to
accommodate the detector packages in the system, two additional folding mirrors are used respectively before and after
M1. A dichroic filter is inserted after the tertiary mirror to achieve a separation of the spectral channels between B1-B3
and B4-B6 wavebands, in which the wavebands of B1-B3 are transmitted and the B4-B6 are reflected. The dichroic filter
used for waveband separation is in Germanium and it is slightly wedged in order to compensate for the aberration due to
the fact that the dichroic filter is at an angle in the convergent beam for the B1-B3 channel. In the design, channels B4-
B6 (Lambda = 16μm to 60μm) are reflected from the top surface of the dichroic filter, and the convergent beam, after
reflection from the dichroic, goes through bandpass filters and focuses on the image plane. As for the channels B1 to B3
(Lambda = 7.9μm to 14μm), the beam goes through the dichroic filter and bandpass filters before focusing on the FPAs.
The substrate of the bandpass filters are respectively Zinc Selenide for the B1, B2, and B3 wavebands, and optical-grade
Chemical Vapor Deposited Diamond for the B4, B5 and B6 wavebands to optimize the total transmission of each band.
The final aberration correction is achieved using the shape, position, and spacing of the mirrors, which are optimized in
the ray-tracing with a specified merit-function for the optical system design. The optical code of Zemax-EE (version
2010) is used for the design.

In order to cover the full swath and have a fast optical system, 2 identical cameras are used side-by-side. Under this
concept, each Nadir camera is designed for a FOV of 27.660 (H) X 48.70 (V), which is half of the FOV in the direction of
the swath.

The optical design configuration consists of 3 off-axis aspherical mirrors and 2 folding flat mirrors with a dichroic filter,
working at F/1.66, as shown in Figure 3. As can be seen in this figure, the 3 powered-mirrors (M1, M2, and M3) consist
of a basic off-axis Schwarzschild design with an aperture stop located between M2 and M3.

M3
A.S.

M2

FM FPA-2(B4-B6)

M1 Dichroic
FM
FPA-1(B1-B3)

Y Z
Incoming
X

3D Layout
Preliminary Optical Design Configuration for Nadir Camera INO
Scale: 1.0000 20.00 Millimeters

Configuration: All 2

Figure 3. Preliminary optical design configuration for Nadir camera. It consists of 3 powered off-axis
0 0
mirrors, working at F/1.66 to correct a wide FOV of 28 (H) X 49 (V), where the horizontal FOV is in Y
direction for wide swath, as indicating in the drawing, and the vertical FOV in the X direction (perpendicular
to the paper) along the pushbroom direction of the satellite. Left) Optical design configuration in shaded
model; Right) Optical design configuration in 3D with ray tracing from incident beam to FPAs (A.S. =
aperture stop and FM = folding mirror).

4.2 Design summary


The proposed optical design for the Nadir camera is summarized in Table 3, as given in this section.

Table-3. Summary of the optical design configuration.


Design criteria Optical design configuration (a) Note
Optical design All-reflective off-axis design with 3 powered Evolved from off-axis
configuration mirrors Schwarzschild design
1 X 32 pixels, 104 um/pl, 3 (1X32 pixels) 2 FPA detectors used in each
Detector size line-arrays for each channel with 3-mm per Nadir camera to cover a total of
line spacing, 3 line-arrays for 3 wavebands 6 wavebands from 7 μm to 60

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/FPA detector μm
Altitude of optics 650 km
EFL 6.63 mm It’s scalable for this design
concept.
FOV per each camera 28 degrees (H) X 49 degrees (V) For each camera
Full FOV 56 degrees (H) X 49 degrees (V) With 2 cameras side by side
aligned
Working f-number F/1.66 Fast optics for mirror system
Spectral wavebands 6 wavebands including from 7 to 60 µm; To be extended from MWIR to
Such as: Far IR
B1: 7.9-9.5 µm; B2: 10.0-12.0 µm; B3:12.0-
14.0 µm; B4: 16.0-18.5 µm; B5: 22.5-27.5
µm; B6: 30.0-60.0 µm;
Powered mirror and shape 3 off-axis mirrors in aspheric shapes Even asphere used
Folding mirror 2 flat mirrors For detector housing
NEP < 200 pW
NETD Depending on the waveband
Optics volume 140 mm (L) X 64 mm (W) X 75 mm (H) For each camera
Total weight of 5 mirrors 0.105 kg / each camera Assumption in Aluminum
(a)
: For Nadir camera.

4.3 Optical performance evaluation


Based on the designed configuration of the Nadir optical system presented in Section 4, the optical performances of the
system have been estimated. Good optical performance has been obtained with the design. The required resolution of the
designed camera has been achieved for all of the 6 spectral channels. The polychromatic MTFs have been computed for
six wavebands, as given in Figure 4. The computed ensquared energy across the field is given for the 6 wavebands in
Figure 5. In these computed diagrams, the dimension of the square domain containing better than 80% of the energy per
pixel is given over the full FOV of the optical system for the wavebands from B1 to B5 (7.9 um to 30 um), and nearly
76% of the energy per pixel for B6 waveband (30 um to 60 um) due to the diffraction limitation in the Far-IR. The color
scale located on the right side of each map is dimensionless and normalized.
TS Diff. Limit TS 15.00, 0.00 (deg) TS -15.00, 0.00 (deg) TS 0.00, 13.83 (deg) TS 0.00, -13.83 (deg) TS Diff. Limit TS 15.00, 0.00 (deg) TS -15.00, 0.00 (deg) TS 0.00, 13.83 (deg) TS 0.00, -13.83 (deg)
TS 0.00, 0.00 (deg) TS 24.40, 0.00 (deg) TS -24.40, 0.00 (deg) TS 24.40, 13.83 (deg) TS 0.00, 0.00 (deg) TS 24.40, 0.00 (deg) TS -24.40, 0.00 (deg) TS 24.40, 13.83 (deg)
TS 5.00, 0.00 (deg) TS -5.00, 0.00 (deg) TS 0.00, 9.00 (deg) TS -24.40, -13.83 (deg) TS 5.00, 0.00 (deg) TS -5.00, 0.00 (deg) TS 0.00, 9.00 (deg) TS -24.40, -13.83 (deg)
1.0 1.0

0.9 0.9

0.8 0.8
Modulus of the OTF

Modulus of the OTF

0.7 0.7

0.6 0.6

0.5 0.5

0.4 0.4

0.3 0.3

0.2 0.2

0.1 0.1

0.0 0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 0 1.5 3 4.5 6 7.5 9 10.5 12 13.5 15
Spatial Frequency in cycles per mm Spatial Frequency in cycles per mm

Polychromatic Diffraction MTF Polychromatic Diffraction MTF


Preliminary Optical Design Configuration for Nadir Camera
wavelength range for B1 to B3:
INO Preliminary Optical Design Configuration for Nadir Camera
wavelength range for B4:
INO
Data for 7.9000 to 14.0000 µm. Data for 16.0000 to 18.5000 µm.
Surface: Image Surface: Image

Configuration 1 of 2 Configuration 2 of 2

(a) (b)

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TS Diff. Limit TS 15.00, 0.00 (deg) TS -15.00, 0.00 (deg) TS 0.00, 13.83 (deg) TS 0.00, -13.83 (deg) TS Diff. Limit TS 15.00, 0.00 (deg) TS -15.00, 0.00 (deg) TS 0.00, 13.83 (deg) TS 0.00, -13.83 (deg)
TS 0.00, 0.00 (deg) TS 24.40, 0.00 (deg) TS -24.40, 0.00 (deg) TS 24.40, 13.83 (deg) TS 0.00, 0.00 (deg) TS 24.40, 0.00 (deg) TS -24.40, 0.00 (deg) TS 24.40, 13.83 (deg)
TS 5.00, 0.00 (deg) TS -5.00, 0.00 (deg) TS 0.00, 9.00 (deg) TS -24.40, -13.83 (deg) TS 5.00, 0.00 (deg) TS -5.00, 0.00 (deg) TS 0.00, 9.00 (deg) TS -24.40, -13.83 (deg)
1.0 1.0

0.9 0.9

0.8 0.8

Modulus of the OTF

Modulus of the OTF


0.7 0.7

0.6 0.6

0.5 0.5

0.4 0.4

0.3 0.3

0.2 0.2

0.1 0.1

0.0 0.0
0 1.05 2.1 3.15 4.2 5.25 6.3 7.35 8.4 9.45 10.5 0 0.8 1.6 2.4 3.2 4 4.8 5.6 6.4 7.2 8
Spatial Frequency in cycles per mm Spatial Frequency in cycles per mm

Polychromatic Diffraction MTF Polychromatic Diffraction MTF


Preliminary Optical Design Configuration for Nadir Camera
wavelength range for B5:
INO Preliminary Optical Design Configuration for Nadir Camera
wavelength range for B6:
INO
Data for 22.5000 to 27.5000 µm. Data for 30.0000 to 60.0000 µm.
Surface: Image Surface: Image

Configuration 2 of 2 Configuration 2 of 2

(c) (d)
Figure 4. Computed MTFs on image plane of the optical design for Nadir camera: (a) For wavebands B1 to B3;
(b) For wavebands B4; (c) For wavebands B5; (d) For waveband B6.

Ensq. Energy Ensq. Energy


9.40E-001 8.83E-001
13.8

13.8
9.37E-001 8.81E-001

9.34E-001 8.78E-001

9.30E-001 8.75E-001

9.27E-001 8.72E-001
Y Field 1

Y Field 1
9.24E-001 8.70E-001

9.21E-001 8.67E-001

9.18E-001 8.64E-001

9.15E-001 8.61E-001

9.11E-001 8.58E-001
-13.8

-13.8

9.08E-001 8.56E-001
-24.4 X Field 1 24.4 -24.4 X Field 1 24.4
Computed Ensquared Energy Per Pixel on FPAs versus FOV( x,y) Computed Ensquared Energy Per Pixel on FPAs versus FOV( x,y)
Preliminary Optical Design Configuration for Nadir Camera
FOV in degrees;Polychromatic computation (7 to 14 um) INO Preliminary Optical Design Configuration for Nadir Camera
FOV in degrees;Polychromatic computation (16 to 30 um) INO
Variable X : X Field 1 Variable X : X Field 1
X - Range : -24.4 - 24.4 X - Range : -24.4 - 24.4
Variable Y : Y Field 1 Variable Y : Y Field 1
Y - Range : -13.83 - 13.83 Y - Range : -13.83 - 13.83
Variable Z : Merit Function Operand 2, DENF Configuration 1 of 2 Variable Z : Merit Function Operand 2, DENF Configuration 2 of 2

(a) (b)
Ensq. Energy
7.66E-001
13.8

7.64E-001

7.62E-001

7.60E-001

7.58E-001
Y Field 1

7.56E-001

7.54E-001

7.52E-001

7.50E-001

7.48E-001
-13.8

7.46E-001
-24.4 X Field 1 24.4
Computed Ensquared Energy Per Pixel on FPAs versus FOV( x,y)
Preliminary Optical Design Configuration for Nadir Camera
FOV in degrees;Polychromatic computation (30 to 60 um) INO
Variable X : X Field 1
X - Range : -24.4 - 24.4
Variable Y : Y Field 1
Y - Range : -13.83 - 13.83
Variable Z : Merit Function Operand 2, DENF Configuration 2 of 2

(c)
Figure 5. Computed ensquared energy versus FOV on image plane of the system with a pixel size of 100 μm X
100 μm: (a) For wavebands B1 to B3; (b) For wavebands B4 to B5; (c) For waveband B6.

5. OPTICAL DESIGN FOR POETE

The remarkable imaging properties of this all-reflective off-axis design, which can work at fast focal-ratio to correct a
wide field-of-view for extended wavebands without chromatic aberration, can also be scaled for an optical system with a
longer focal length required for smaller ground sampling distances. To optimize the off-axis performance with the
appropriate system parameters and specifications, as required for the Platform for the Observation of the Earth and for

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in-orbit Technology Experiments (POETE), a novel all-reflective off-axis optical system is designed with a longer focal
length.

A preliminary optical design for the POETE IR-camera [4] has been carried out, while taking into account the system
requirements and specifications. The optical configuration is shown in Figure 6. This design consists of a convex
primary mirror (M1, negative) and two concave secondary (M2) and tertiary mirrors (M3), which have their size larger
than that of the primary. The aperture stop is placed between the M2 and M3 to project the entrance pupil of the system
behind M1. The 3 dichroic filters are made of Zinc Selenide and are located after the tertiary mirror to achieve the
separation of the 4 spectral channels. In this system, mirrors with optimized aspherical shapes (even-asphere warped up
to 10th asphericities) were used for the spherical and coma aberrations correction. The spacing between the mirrors was
used to correct the astigmatism from third-order to fifth-order. The first-order design specifications for the system are
given in Table-4. The final corrected wavefront in the system can result in the good optical performance for the
ensquared energy of better than 80% per pixel of 52-um for all of the 4 channels, as shown in Figure 7. The image
simulations with the optical system are displayed in Figure 8.

Table-4. First-order design parameters and specs for POETE IR-camera system.

Design item Design parameters


FOV on ground 200 km (H) X 34.2 km (V)
Resolution on ground 400 m/pixel
Detector size 1 X 256 pixels, 52 µm/pl, FPA= 4 line-arrays per each channel, 4 FPAs
used for 4 different channels
Spectral wavebands 4 wavebands including from 3.4 to 12.5 µm;
Such as: MWIR: 3.4 – 4.0 µm; TIR1: 8.3 – 9.3 µm; TIR2:10.0-11.0 µm;
TIR3: 11.5-12.5 µm;
Altitude of optics 700 km
EFL 90.2 mm
Entrance pupil diameter 50 mm (average)
Corrected FOV 16.30 (H) X 30 (V)
Equivalent Working F-Number F/1.8 (average)
NEP < 33 pW
NETD < 0.3 K
Optics volume 295 mm (L) X 150 mm (W) X 238 mm (H)

A.S.

M3

M2

M1

Dichroic-3

Dichroic-2
Y
FPA-4
X Z
FPA-3
FPA-1 FPA-2 Dichroic-1
3D Layout
Preliminary optical design configuration for POETE camera with 4 channels INO
Scale: 0.6000 33.33 Millimeters

Configuration: All 4

Figure 6. Preliminary optical design configuration is displayed for POETE IR-camera. It consists of 3 powered off-axis
mirrors, working at F/1.66 to correct a wide FOV of 16.30 (H) X 30 (V), where the horizontal FOV is in the
X direction (perpendicular to the paper) for wide swath, as indicating in the drawing, and the vertical FOV in
the Y direction along the pushbroom direction of the satellite. Left) Optical design configuration in shaded
model; Right) Optical design configuration in 3D with ray tracing from incident beam to FPAs (A.S. =
aperture stop).

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Diff. Limit 6.0000, 0.0000 (deg) -6.0000, 0.0000 (deg) 0.0000, -1.4000 (deg) Diff. Limit 6.0000, 0.0000 (deg) -6.0000, 0.0000 (deg) 0.0000, -1.4000 (deg)
0.0000, 0.0000 (deg) 8.1300, 0.0000 (deg) -8.1300, 0.0000 (deg) 8.1300, 1.4000 (deg) 0.0000, 0.0000 (deg) 8.1300, 0.0000 (deg) -8.1300, 0.0000 (deg) 8.1300, 1.4000 (deg)
3.0000, 0.0000 (deg) -3.0000, 0.0000 (deg) 0.0000, 1.4000 (deg) -8.1300, -1.4000 (deg) 3.0000, 0.0000 (deg) -3.0000, 0.0000 (deg) 0.0000, 1.4000 (deg) -8.1300, -1.4000 (deg)
1.0 1.0

Fraction of Enclosed Energy

Fraction of Enclosed Energy


0.9 0.9

0.8 0.8

0.7 0.7

0.6 0.6

0.5 0.5

0.4 0.4

0.3 0.3

0.2
FPA-2: TIR2 waveband 0.2
FPA-1: TIR3 waveband
0.1 0.1

0.0 0.0
0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20 22.5 25 0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20 22.5 25
Half Width From Centroid in µm Half Width From Centroid in µm

FFT Diffraction Ensquared Energy FFT Diffraction Ensquared Energy


Preliminary optical design configuration for POETE camera with 4 channels INO Preliminary optical design configuration for POETE camera with 4 channels INO
Wavelength: Polychromatic Wavelength: Polychromatic
Surface: Image Surface: Image
Configuration 1 of 4 Configuration 2 of 4

Diff. Limit 6.0000, 0.0000 (deg) -6.0000, 0.0000 (deg) 0.0000, -1.4000 (deg) Diff. Limit 6.0000, 0.0000 (deg) -6.0000, 0.0000 (deg) 0.0000, -1.4000 (deg)
0.0000, 0.0000 (deg) 8.1300, 0.0000 (deg) -8.1300, 0.0000 (deg) 8.1300, 1.4000 (deg) 0.0000, 0.0000 (deg) 8.1300, 0.0000 (deg) -8.1300, 0.0000 (deg) 8.1300, 1.4000 (deg)
3.0000, 0.0000 (deg) -3.0000, 0.0000 (deg) 0.0000, 1.4000 (deg) -8.1300, -1.4000 (deg) 3.0000, 0.0000 (deg) -3.0000, 0.0000 (deg) 0.0000, 1.4000 (deg) -8.1300, -1.4000 (deg)
1.0 1.0
Fraction of Enclosed Energy

Fraction of Enclosed Energy


0.9 0.9

0.8 0.8

0.7 0.7

0.6 0.6

0.5 0.5

0.4 0.4

0.3 0.3

0.2
FPA-4: MWIR waveband 0.2
FPA-3: TIR1 waveband
0.1 0.1

0.0 0.0
0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20 22.5 25 0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20 22.5 25
Half Width From Centroid in µm Half Width From Centroid in µm

FFT Diffraction Ensquared Energy FFT Diffraction Ensquared Energy


Preliminary optical design configuration for POETE camera with 4 channels INO Preliminary optical design configuration for POETE camera with 4 channels INO
Wavelength: Polychromatic Wavelength: Polychromatic
Surface: Image Surface: Image

Configuration 3 of 4 Configuration 4 of 4

Figure 7. Computed ensquared energy on image plane with the designed configuration for POETE IR
camera, including the 4 channels associated with 4 different spectral wavebands, such as
MWIR, TIR1, TIR2, and TIR3. The pixel size is 52 X 52 microns.

Figure 8. Image simulation with the designed POETE IR-camera. The image size is 26 mm (H) X 5 mm (V) on
image plane of FPA-4, and the FOV is 16.4 degrees (H) X 3 degrees (V).

6. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION

Based on our preliminary optical designs and analysis with the novel all-reflective off-axis optical system, it seems
possible to achieve a wide-field correction with a fast focal ratio. In these designs, evolved from the eccentric
Schwarzschild system, the primary mirror is always in convex and the tertiary added in concave. The secondary mirror
will have a shape either in convex or in concave, depending on the system requirements and configurations. The shapes
of the mirrors used in the designs are even asphere, working off-axis. With this kind of designs, it is possible to obtain a
large un-vignetted bi-dimensional field of view for an all-reflective system without obscuration for an appropriate image
scale. Folding mirrors could be added, if necessary, in order to provide sufficient space to position the detector
assemblies at the image plane while keeping the instrument compact. The dichroic and passband filters are used in the
design for channel separation and waveband selection, especially in order to get compact optical systems for space
application. Generally speaking, all-reflective optics is theoretically athermal with monolithic material for optical and
mechanical parts, but the temperature gradient over the structure of the camera should be carefully controlled in the
opto-mechanical design phase for the camera. In order to athermalize the system for the environmental conditions in
space, a single monolithic material for the optical and mechanical parts, such as Aluminum, is a possible choice for the
camera opto-mechanical design. On the other hand, carbon fiber reinforced polymer is an interesting material for the
opto-mechanical structure if the mirrors are made of Zerodur substrate.

In optical design, surface aspherization is a powerful tool for the control of the aberrations, as demonstrated in the two
design approaches presented in this paper. However, making an aspheric surface is much more complex than polishing a
spherical surface. Most of the modern methods involve computer-controlled precision machining or polishing. Off-axis
optical aspheric surfaces can be produced with such techniques. Single-point diamond turning (SPDT) is a sophisticated
technology for asphere manufacturing with IR and metal materials, especially for off-axis asphere fabrication, and the

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cutting tool is available from single-axis to multi-axis SPDT. Magnetorheological Finishing (MRF) is a new technique
that allows precise polishing of aspheric surface starting with a preformed blank. New MRF machines allow the
production of high-quality large sizes aspheric and free-form optical components. However, the feasibility of the
manufacturing of an aspheric surface depends on its shape and substrate materials. Beyond the manufacturing challenge
of the aspheric surface, there are all the difficulties for the inspection of those surfaces in order to ensure the optical
performances. Fortunately, methods have been developed to allow the inspection of off-axis optical asphere. Computer-
generated holograms (CGHs) have been used for years in optical testing of aspheric surfaces, especially for off-axis
asphere [5], and are on their way to becoming a state-of-the-art technology for off-axis aspheric tests in interferometry.
The CGHs are capable of producing an optical wavefront with any desired shape and with extremely high accuracy, in
particular for the shapes of off-axis asphere. Meanwhile, stitching methods are becoming interesting alternative to the
CGH approaches for asphere tests. Hence it seems that for the off-axis aspheric surfaces of the proposed designs, the
validation of the shape conformity would not be a problem with today’s highly advanced optical metrology techniques.

There are several aspects in the manufacturing process that can compromise the feasibility of the realization of complex
optical components, such as off-axis aspheric mirrors, involved in the proposed designs. To align the non-rotationally
symmetric surfaces in the optical systems is usually a non-trivial engineering task, and it will add degrees of freedom for
the system alignment. In fact, the off-axis aspheric mirror can be characterized by the paraxial base radius, conic
constant, higher order aspheric coefficients of the parent mirror, diameter of the section, and displacement of the section
used from parent optical axis as well. All of that could give a challenge for the off-axis system alignment. However,
there exist already several methods to align off-axis mirrors in optical industry. Especially, for a compact size of the
mirrors used in these two designs, the coordinate measuring machine (CMM) could be a powerful tool for the alignment
of a compact off-axis system, because the CMM allows optical alignment to start from a position closer to the final
target with high-accuracy. The final optical alignment is then achieved using feedback between the wavefront sensor (or
interferometer) and the optical design code.

Finally, it will be very important to establish the manufacturing feasibility for such complex off-axis optical systems
included in the proposed designs. It will require rigorous tolerance and stray-light analyses during the next design phase,
before the final selection of the materials.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We gratefully acknowledge the participation and contributions of the Canadian Space Agency as well as the University
of Quebec in Montreal who led the TICFIRE mission concept study and NGC Aerospace who led the POETE mission
concept study.

REFERENCES

1. Buchroeder, R. A., ″ Tilted component optical systems, ″ Ph. D. dissertation (University of Arizona), (1976).
2. Lemaitre, G. R., ″ Astronomical Optics and Elasticity Theory″, Springer publ., Berlin & Heidelberg, 43-44 (2009).
3. Thompson, K. P., ″ Multinodal fifth-order optical aberrations of optical systems without rotational symmetry:
spherical aberration, ″ J. Opt. Soc. Am. A, Vol. 26, No. 5, 1090-1100 (2009).
4. Proulx, C., Châteauneuf, F., Wang, M., et al., "An uncooled mid wave and thermal infrared payload for fire
monitoring," Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 7474, 74741Q (2009).
5. Wang, M., Asselin, D., Topart, P., Gauvin, J., Berlioz, P., and Harnisch, B., ″ CGH null test design and fabrication for
off-axis aspherical mirror tests, ″ Proceedings of SPIE, Vol. 6342, 63421Y (2006).

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