TY - JOUR
T1 - An Off-Axis Catadioptric Division of Aperture Optical System for Multi-Channel Infrared Imaging
AU - Chen, Jie
AU - Yang, Tong
AU - Xie, Hongbo
AU - Yang, Lei
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 by the authors.
PY - 2025/10
Y1 - 2025/10
N2 - Multi-channel optical systems can provide more feature information compared to single-channel systems, making them valuable for optical remote sensing, target identification, and other applications. The division of aperture polarization imaging modality allows for the simultaneous imaging of targets in the same field of view with a single detector. To overcome the limitations of conventional refractive aperture-divided systems for miniaturization, this work proposes an off-axis catadioptric aperture-divided technique for polarization imaging. First, the design method of the off-axis reflective telescope structure is discussed. The relationship between optical parameters such as magnification, surface coefficient, and primary aberration is studied. Second, by establishing the division of the aperture optical model, the method of maximizing the field of view and aperture is determined. Finally, an off-axis catadioptric cooled aperture-divided infrared optical system with a single aperture focal length of 60 mm is shown as a specific design example. Each channel can achieve 100% cold shield efficiency, and the overall length of the telescope module can be decreased significantly. The image quality of each imaging channel is close to the diffraction limit, verifying the effectiveness and feasibility of the method. The proposed off-axis catadioptric aperture-divided design method holds potential applications in simultaneous infrared polarization imaging.
AB - Multi-channel optical systems can provide more feature information compared to single-channel systems, making them valuable for optical remote sensing, target identification, and other applications. The division of aperture polarization imaging modality allows for the simultaneous imaging of targets in the same field of view with a single detector. To overcome the limitations of conventional refractive aperture-divided systems for miniaturization, this work proposes an off-axis catadioptric aperture-divided technique for polarization imaging. First, the design method of the off-axis reflective telescope structure is discussed. The relationship between optical parameters such as magnification, surface coefficient, and primary aberration is studied. Second, by establishing the division of the aperture optical model, the method of maximizing the field of view and aperture is determined. Finally, an off-axis catadioptric cooled aperture-divided infrared optical system with a single aperture focal length of 60 mm is shown as a specific design example. Each channel can achieve 100% cold shield efficiency, and the overall length of the telescope module can be decreased significantly. The image quality of each imaging channel is close to the diffraction limit, verifying the effectiveness and feasibility of the method. The proposed off-axis catadioptric aperture-divided design method holds potential applications in simultaneous infrared polarization imaging.
KW - catadioptric optical system
KW - division of aperture
KW - infrared system
KW - optical system design
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105020242981
U2 - 10.3390/photonics12101008
DO - 10.3390/photonics12101008
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105020242981
SN - 2304-6732
VL - 12
JO - Photonics
JF - Photonics
IS - 10
M1 - 1008
ER -