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Wang2011 (Sistema Compacto)
Wang2011 (Sistema Compacto)
infrared imaging
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
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.
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.
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.
Exit Pupil
A.S.
Off-axis
section
used
Center
En. Pupil
Primary
convex mirror
Figure 2. Primary convex mirror working in an optical system without rotational symmetry.
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
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.
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
• 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.
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.
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).
0.9 0.9
0.8 0.8
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
Configuration 1 of 2 Configuration 2 of 2
(a) (b)
0.9 0.9
0.8 0.8
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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).
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
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
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
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).
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
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.
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