Diffractively corrected Risley prism for infrared imaging

David C. Weber; James D. Trolinger; Robert G. Nichols; Amit K. Lal

doi:10.1117/12.391653

7 July 2000 Diffractively corrected Risley prism for infrared imaging

David C. Weber, James D. Trolinger, Robert G. Nichols, Amit K. Lal

Proceedings Volume 4025, Acquisition, Tracking, and Pointing XIV; (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.391653
Event: AeroSense 2000, 2000, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

This paper presents experimental results using a ZnSe Risley prism scanner in which diffractive gratings were etched into the prism faces to correct for chromatic aberrations. Risley prism scanners, which consist of independently rotating prisms, offer distinct advantages over mirrored systems. The faces of the two scanner elements are parallel and adjacent to one another, resulting in a simple, lightweight, and compact system with extremely high pointing stability and accuracy. Laboratory results for the scanner, when used in a midwave infrared imaging system, demonstrated a total field of view +/- 22.5 degrees with almost no aberrations. The optical performance of the scanner demonstrated a factor of two improvement in resolution when compared to an equivalent scanner using no diffractive correction. We conclude that the use of diffractively corrected prisms offer a new potential for using Risley prisms as a alternative lightweight scanner in missile seekers.

Citation Download Citation

David C. Weber, James D. Trolinger, Robert G. Nichols, and Amit K. Lal "Diffractively corrected Risley prism for infrared imaging", Proc. SPIE 4025, Acquisition, Tracking, and Pointing XIV, (7 July 2000); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.391653

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