StingRay Optics, producers of advanced optical solutions, has introduced a 50mm midwave infrared (MWIR) large format lens assembly. The lens was developed with an optional microscanning and step-stare sensor capability for enhanced imaging requirements. The 50mm lens offers flexibility to potential end users as either a standalone solution for large format detectors or in conjunction with the enhanced resolution features.
The lens is suitable for use with cooled cameras with focal planes of up to 28mm in diagonal. The speed of the lens is based upon an F/2.3 cold shield arrangement and the 50mm lens' focal length is derived from the required 1m sampling area at an operating distance of 2.5km.
The MWIR large format lens assembly offers diffraction-limited performance over the entire field of view (FOV), thus enabling the microscan image enhancement feature to achieve the clearest possible image.
The microscanning system, for which the lens was originally developed, is being used to determine the inherent benefits of image dithering and processing, with an emphasis on decreasing ground sampling distances. Simultaneously, the system's step and staring FOV feature is intended to explore both optical and mechanical methods to rapidly survey and stitch the FOV, and thereby produce a system with a substantially larger field of regard.
