Allen Mann-Infrared Optics and Zoom Lenses, Second Edition (SPIE Tutorial Text Vol. TT83) (Tutorial Texts in Optical Engineering) - SPIE Publications (2009)

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Bellingham, Washington USA
Tutorial Texts in Optical Engineering
Volume TT83
PRESS

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mann, Allen, 1929-
Infrared optics and zoom lenses / Allen Mann. -- 2nd ed.
p. cm. -- (Tutorial texts in optical engineering ; v. TT83)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8194-7667-8
1. Infrared equipment. 2. Zoom lenses. I. Title.
TA1570.M34 2009
621.36'2--dc22
2009010126

Published by

SPIE
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Phone: +1 360 676 3290
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Copyright 2009 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed
in any form or by any means without written permission of the publisher.

The content of this book reflects the work and thought of the author(s).
Every effort has been made to publish reliable and accurate information herein,
but the publisher is not responsible for the validity of the information or for any
outcomes resulting from reliance thereon.

Printed in the United States of America.


Introduction to the Series

Since its inception in 1989, the Tutorial Texts (TT) series has grown to more than
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It is my goal to maintain the style and quality of books in the series and to
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interest to our reading audience.

James A. Harrington
Rutgers University
vii

Contents

Preface ................................................................................................................. xi
1. System Considerations ................................................................................... 1
1.1 Radiometry .................................................................................................. 1
1.1.1 Blackbody radiation .............................................................................. 1
1.1.2 Planck's equation ................................................................................. 1
1.1.3 Stefan-Boltzmann law .......................................................................... 2
1.1.4 Wien displacement law ........................................................................ 2
1.2 Atmospheric Transmission .......................................................................... 3
1.2.1 Scattering ............................................................................................. 3
1.2.2 Absorption ............................................................................................ 4
1.2.3 Infrared windows .................................................................................. 4
1.2.4 Computer calculation ........................................................................... 4
1.3 Lens Transmission ...................................................................................... 5
1.3.1 Transmittance ...................................................................................... 5
1.3.2 Reflectance .......................................................................................... 5
1.4 Coatings ...................................................................................................... 7
1.4.1 Single-layer coatings ............................................................................ 7
1.4.2 Multilayer coatings ............................................................................... 8
1.5 Infrared Detectors ....................................................................................... 9
1.5.1 Basic relations ...................................................................................... 9
1.5.2 Types ................................................................................................... 9
1.5.3 Arrays ................................................................................................. 11
1.5.4 Matching the detector with the optics ................................................ 11
1.6 References ................................................................................................ 12
2. Optics Fundamentals .................................................................................... 13
2.1 Lens Equation ........................................................................................... 13
2.2 Stops and Pupils ....................................................................................... 13
2.3 Optical Formulas ....................................................................................... 15
2.4 Optical Performance Criteria ..................................................................... 16
2.5 Telescopes ................................................................................................ 17
2.6 Primary Aberrations .................................................................................. 19
2.6.1 Definition of the Seidel aberrations .................................................... 19
2.6.2 Variation of primary aberrations with aperture and field height ......... 19
2.6.3 Stop shift equations ........................................................................... 20
2.7 Achromatism ............................................................................................. 21
2.7.1 Primary achromatism ......................................................................... 21
2.7.2 Secondary spectrum .......................................................................... 22
2.8 Principal Planes ........................................................................................ 22
viii

2.9 Problems ................................................................................................... 24
2.10 References .............................................................................................. 24
3. Unique Features of the Infrared Region ...................................................... 25
3.1 Optical Materials ....................................................................................... 25
3.1.1 Materials for the infrared .................................................................... 25
3.1.2 Calculation of index of refraction ....................................................... 27
3.2 Thermal Compensation ............................................................................. 28
3.2.1 Focus shift with temperature .............................................................. 28
3.2.2 Athermalization .................................................................................. 28
3.2.3 Athermalization methods ................................................................... 29
3.3 Cold Stop and Cold Shield ........................................................................ 30
3.4 Narcissus .................................................................................................. 30
3.4.1 Types of retroreflections .................................................................... 30
3.4.2 Reduction techniques ........................................................................ 30
3.5 Glass Substitution ..................................................................................... 31
3.6 References ................................................................................................ 32
4. Optical Design Techniques .......................................................................... 35
4.1 Optical Design Starting Point .................................................................... 35
4.2 Scaling ...................................................................................................... 35
4.3 Optical Materials Selection ....................................................................... 37
4.4 Techniques for Compactness ................................................................... 37
4.5 Symmetry Principle ................................................................................... 37
4.6 Bending ..................................................................................................... 38
4.7 Aplanatic Condition ................................................................................... 38
4.8 Adding an Element .................................................................................... 39
4.9 Field Lens Utilization ................................................................................. 39
4.10 Conics and Aspheres .............................................................................. 40
4.11 Diffractive Surfaces ................................................................................. 41
4.12 Aperture Stop Location ........................................................................... 41
4.13 Computer Optimization ........................................................................... 41
4.14 Global Search ......................................................................................... 42
4.15 Tolerances .............................................................................................. 44
4.16 References .............................................................................................. 44
5. Zoom Lenses ................................................................................................. 45
5.1 Types of Zoom Lenses .............................................................................. 45
5.1.1 Optically compensated zoom lens ..................................................... 45
5.1.2 Mechanically compensated zoom lens .............................................. 48
5.2 Infrared Zoom Lens Specifications ........................................................... 50
5.2.1 Spectral region ................................................................................... 51
5.2.2 Optical system performance .............................................................. 51
5.2.3 Aperture ............................................................................................. 51
5.2.4 Effective focal length .......................................................................... 51
5.2.5 Magnification range ............................................................................ 51
5.2.6 Size constraints .................................................................................. 51
5.2.7 Operating environment ...................................................................... 51
5.2.8 Distortion ............................................................................................ 52
ix

5.2.9 Transmission ...................................................................................... 52
5.2.10 Narcissus ......................................................................................... 52
5.2.11 Vignetting ......................................................................................... 52
5.3 Extenders .................................................................................................. 52
5.4 References ................................................................................................ 53
6. Refractive Infrared Zoom Lenses ................................................................ 55
6.1 Target Simulators ...................................................................................... 55
6.1.1 CI Systems ......................................................................................... 55
6.1.2 Hughes Aircraft Company .................................................................. 56
6.1.3 Lockheed Martin ................................................................................ 60
6.1.4 Optics 1 .............................................................................................. 63
6.2 Scanning Systems .................................................................................... 65
6.2.1 Barr & Stroud ..................................................................................... 65
6.2.2 Pilkington P.E. .................................................................................... 67
6.2.3 Optics 1 .............................................................................................. 70
6.2.4 Precision-Optical Engineering ........................................................... 71
6.2.5 Zhejiang University, Department of Optical Engineering ................... 73
6.2.6 Electrooptical Industries, Ltd. ............................................................. 74
6.2.7 Scotoptix ............................................................................................ 76
6.2.7.1 Boresighted zoom lens ............................................................... 76
6.2.7.2 Athermalized zoom lens ............................................................. 76
6.2.7.3 Optically compensated zoom lens .............................................. 81
6.2.8 Optimum Optical Systems ................................................................. 81
6.2.9 Royal Institute of Technology ............................................................ 83
6.2.10 Fuji Photo Optical Company ............................................................ 83
6.2.11 Carl Zeiss ......................................................................................... 84
6.3 Charge-Coupled Device Imaging Systems ............................................... 84
6.3.1 Angenieux .......................................................................................... 84
6.3.2 University of Alabama, Huntsville ...................................................... 87
6.3.3 National First University of Science and Technology ........................ 87
6.3.4 Industrial Technology Research Institute ........................................... 88
6.4 Laser Beam Expanders ............................................................................. 88
6.4.1 Carl Zeiss ........................................................................................... 88
6.4.2 University of Twente .......................................................................... 89
6.5 Diffractive Optics ....................................................................................... 93
6.5.1 Optics 1 .............................................................................................. 94
6.5.2 Optical E.T.C., Inc. and Teledyne Brown ........................................... 95
6.5.3 Wescam ............................................................................................. 99
6.5.4 Texas Instruments ........................................................................... 101
6.5.5 Raytheon .......................................................................................... 102
6.5.6 Raytheon .......................................................................................... 104
6.6 Focal Plane Arrays .................................................................................. 104
6.6.1 Agency for Defence Development ................................................... 104
6.6.2 Royal Institute of Technology .......................................................... 106
6.6.3 Royal Institute of Technology .......................................................... 106
6.7 References .............................................................................................. 108

x

7. Reflective Infrared Zoom Systems ............................................................ 111
7.1 Obscured Systems .................................................................................. 111
7.1.1 Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology .................... 111
7.1.2 Center for Applied Optics, University of Alabama, Huntsville .......... 112
7.2 Unobscured Systems .............................................................................. 113
7.2.1 Hughes Aircraft Company ................................................................ 113
7.2.2 Optical E.T.C., Inc. ........................................................................... 113
7.2.3 Beijing Institute of Technology ......................................................... 116
7.2.4 Contraves Brashear ......................................................................... 117
7.3 Special Systems ...................................................................................... 117
7.3.1 Lockheed Martin .............................................................................. 119
7.3.2 Industrial Research, Ltd. .................................................................. 119
7.3.3 Optical Research Associates ........................................................... 120
7.4 References .............................................................................................. 121
8. Future Trends .............................................................................................. 123
8.1 Athermalization ....................................................................................... 123
8.2 Diffractive Optical Elements .................................................................... 123
8.3 Conics and Aspherics ............................................................................. 123
8.4 Materials .................................................................................................. 123
8.5 Detector Technology ............................................................................... 124
8.6 Simulators ............................................................................................... 124
8.7 Mirror Systems ........................................................................................ 124
8.8 Wavelength Region ................................................................................. 125
8.9 Optomechanical Considerations ............................................................. 125
8.10 Computer Optimization ......................................................................... 125
8.11 References ............................................................................................ 125
9. Summary of Applications ........................................................................... 127
9.1 Scene Projection and Simulation ............................................................ 127
9.2 Wide and Narrow Field of View Scanning Telescopes for Target Search
and Recognition ....................................................................................... 127
9.3 WFOV and NFOV FPA or CCD Surveillance, Tracking, and Target
Recognition .............................................................................................. 127
9.4 Battlefield Detection of Enemy Soldiers and Armaments ....................... 127
9.5 Search and Rescue Operations .............................................................. 128
9.6 Mineral Resource Surveys and Forest Fire Detection ............................ 128
9.7 Laser Scanning Systems ........................................................................ 128
9.8 Cutting Sheet Metal with High-Power Lasers ......................................... 128
9.9 Observation of Solar Regions ................................................................. 128
9.10 Camera Cell Phones ............................................................................. 128
Appendix A. Miscellaneous Patents .............................................................. 129
Appendix B. Computer Analysis of Selected Patents ................................. 155
Appendix C. Answers to Problems from Chapter 2 ..................................... 159
Index ................................................................................................................. 161

xi

Preface

This tutorial is an outgrowth of my SPIE short course entitled Infrared Optics
and Zoom Lenses. The title was selected to reflect the scope of the subject
matter, and this has been carried over to the tutorial. The first three chapters
present an introduction to the principles of optics and the unique aspects of the
infrared region of the wavelength spectrum. This foundation makes it possible for
those readers who are not optical engineers to acquire the background
information needed for a treatise on infrared zoom lenses.
Chapter 1 presents overall system considerations involved in establishing the
requirements for an application that includes an optical system as one of its
elements. Chapter 2 sets forth the basic fundamentals of optics involved in the
design and analysis of optical systems. Chapter 3 presents the optics features that
are unique to the infrared region of the spectrum. Chapter 4 discusses some of the
optical design techniques that may be utilized in the optical design of infrared
systems. These four chapters could serve as an introduction to any treatise on
infrared optical systems. Further discussion of these topics may be found in the
tutorial text on this subject by Max J. Riedl.
1

Chapters 5 through 8 present the subject matter that is unique to the
subject of zoom lenses in the infrared. Chapter 5 sets forth the basic types of
zoom lenses and the establishing of specifications to meet the requirements of a
particular application. Chapters 6 and 7 present numerous examples of refractive
and reflective infrared zoom systems; the optical design techniques from Chapter
4 are employed in designing these representative infrared (IR) zoom lenses to
illustrate the utilization of these techniques. Companies identified in Chapters 6
and 7 are the names in existence at the time the reference papers were published;
some of them have since merged with other companies and lost their separate
identity. Chapter 8 presents a brief discussion of future trends in this subject area.
Chapter 9 presents a summary of infrared zoom lens applications.
Appendix A contains three landmark IR zoom lens patents in their entirety as
published. This appendix is included not only for the insights contained therein,
but also to provide lens prescription data to serve as potential starting points for
future design activity. Appendix B presents computer analysis that I have
performed on these patents and on one additional patent described in Sec. 7.2.1.
A definition of the analysis categories is to be found in Chapter 2. Appendix C
gives the answers to self-test problems presented in Sec. 2.9.
The infrared zoom lens literature consists primarily of patents and of papers
presented at conferences or published in journals and proceedings. In 1993 SPIE
published in its Milestone Series of Selected Reprints a volume on zoom lenses
which included a number of infrared papers and patents.
2
To my knowledge, this
tutorial is the first publication to be devoted exclusively to IR zoom lenses. It
xii Preface
should serve as an introduction to the subject for the uninitiated and as an aid to
the engineer who has an infrared zoom lens application to pursue. It is not
intended to be a step-by-step instruction manual for this complex optical design
activity.
Additions to Infrared Optics and Zoom Lenses are included in the second
edition of this tutorial. The additions are based on an expanded short course that I
recently presented. There are substantive additions to the topics in the table of
contents. They are discussed below. Also, 18 new refractive and reflective
systems have been added to the 23 zoom systems in the first edition, bringing the
total to 41 optical systems. The 18 new systems were published in the reference
literature since publication of the first edition, in the time interval from the year
2000 to 2007. These additional systems are in part the result of adding a new
categoryfocal plane arraysto the chapter on refractive infrared zoom lenses.
In part these additions are a result of including dual field-of-view infrared optical
systems in this tutorial. The 18 new zoom systems are intended to bring the
technology and the list of refractive and reflective zoom infrared systems up to
date. There are 24 additional references.
One of the themes that will be presented is the gradual shift in recent years
from the 8- to 12-micrometer (m) region to the 3- to 5-m region of the
wavelength spectrum. This shift is discussed in Secs. 2.7, 3.1, 3.2, 6.5, and 6.6.
The rationale for the substantive additions is presented below:
2.8 Principal planes: The location of the principal planes is important in order to
calculate accurately the separation between lens elements when going from a
thin-lens solution to a thick-lens solution. The location also affects the overall
length of the zoom system.
2.9 Self-test problems: A problem set is included in order to ensure a clear
understanding of optics fundamentals before discussing the infrared spectrum
and infrared zoom systems.
3.5 Glass substitution: Glass substitution is a powerful technique for performing
computer optimization and athermalization simultaneously by passive
substitution of infrared optical materials. I have done this glass substitution
successfully, and I present a detailed example with a reference to the paper I
wrote on this subject.
4.14 Global search: Global search has been demonstrated in recent years to be a
viable computer optimization tool. An example is presented of designing zoom
lenses by means of global search without designer intervention. The computer
program flowchart of the decision-making process is included in this discussion.
5.3 Extenders: Extenders are a practical means of extending the focal length
range of zoom lens systems. It is important to understand the optical limitations
of extenders.
6.6 Focal plane arrays: The use of focal plane arrays (FPA) to eliminate
scanning is an important development in infrared optical systems. Techniques for
Infrared Optics and Zoom Lenses xiii
overcoming the limitations of resolution of FPAs at higher spatial frequencies are
discussed in this section.
7.3 Special reflective systems: Due to the increase in the number of reflective
infrared zoom systems, it is important to understand techniques for dual-channel
detector arrays and for designing compact reflective systems through the use of
folding mirrors and the Mangin mirror.
Chapter 9 Summary of applications: It is useful to summarize the scope and
variety of infrared zoom lens applications. The discussion includes a reference to
each of the zoom systems presented in this tutorial. This overview makes this
chapter a fitting conclusion.
I would like to thank the reviewers for their helpful comments and
suggestions. Acknowledgment is also due to Gwen Weerts of SPIE for her
editorial assistance in the publication of this second edition of Infrared Optics
and Zoom Lenses.

Allen Mann
January 2009

1. Riedl, M. J., Optical Design Fundamentals for Infrared Systems, Second
Edition, SPIE Press, Bellingham, WA (2001).
2. Mann, A., Ed., Selected Papers on Zoom Lenses, SPIE Press, Bellingham,
WA (1993).

1

Chapter 1
System Considerations

1.1 Radiometry
1.1.1 Blackbody radiation
Blackbody radiation

is the emission of radiant energy which takes place from a
blackbody at a fixed temperature.
1
A blackbody is an ideal body which absorbs
all incident radiation and reflects none. Its radiating and absorbing efficiency,
called its emissivity factor, is unity. A graybody is an object with an emissivity
factor less than unity. Although an ideal radiator, a blackbody should not be
considered a meaningless abstraction. On a cosmological level, cosmic
background radiation which came into being shortly after the creation of the
universe has been observed to fit a blackbody curve with a high degree of
precision. In the context of electro-optical system design, the ideal assumption of
a blackbody is extremely useful because it represents a limiting case or may be
an approximation to a real set of conditions, as for example in the calculation of
stray radiation from an internal baffle. Blackbodies are used as calibrated sources
in simulation and spectrometer applications.
1.1.2 Plancks equation
Blackbody radiation has a spectral energy distribution as a function of
temperature which is described by Plancks equation (see Fig. 1.1):

( )
( )
2
3 1
5
2 1
Wm sr ,
exp 1
hc
L
hc kT

=

(1.1)
where
L is spectral radiance
h is Plancks constant, 6.6262 10
-34
Joule (J)
c is the velocity of light, 2.9979 10
8
m/s
is the wavelength in meters
k is the Boltzmanns constant, 1.3806 10
-23
J/K
T is absolute temperature in degrees K.

2 Chapter 1

Figure 1.1 Blackbody radiation.
1.1.3 Stefan-Boltzmann law
The total power radiated per unit area of a blackbody is obtained by integrating
Plancks radiation law over all wavelengths and is known as the Stefan-
Boltzmann law. Blackbody radiation takes place at a rate expressed by the
Stefan-Boltzmann law as:

( )
4 2
W m total power radiated per unit area, M T = = (1.2)

where
is the emissivity factor and
is Stefan-Boltzmann constant, 5.66961 10
-8
(W m
2
K
4
).
1.1.4 Wien displacement law
The wavelength at which maximum radiation occurs for a given temperature is
described by the Wien displacement law:

(max) = const/T = 2898/T (m) . (1.3)

This wavelength is significant for calibration purposes. It is desirable to use
relatively hot blackbody calibration sources. However, this calibration ideal is
often difficult to follow because of the problem of operating and maintaining
high-temperature blackbodies (that is, blackbodies that operate above 1000 C,
where the materials begin to glow red hot and suffer oxidation). Also, such high-
temperature blackbody sources tend to overdrive or saturate sensitive electro-
optical sensors.
1

The radiant emittance of a blackbody as a function of temperature and
wavelength is shown in Fig. 1.2.
2

System Considerations 3

Figure 1.2 Blackbody curves as a function of temperature.
2

1.2 Atmospheric Transmission
1.2.1 Scattering
Atmospheric attenuation of infrared radiation is caused by scattering and
absorption. There are two types of scattering, Rayleigh and Mie. With Rayleigh
scattering, the scattering particle diameter is smaller than the wavelength of
transmission. Rayleigh scattering is wavelength dependent. With Mie scattering,
the particle diameter is equal to or greater than the wavelength of transmission.
Mie scattering is independent of wavelength and predominates in the infrared
region of the spectrum. Since water droplets in clouds and fog have sizes
between 5 and 100 m, Mie scattering in haze or fog is just as bad in the infrared
as it is in the visible. The attenuation
s
resulting from scattering by particles
suspended in the atmosphere may be calculated according to

s
= e

x
, (1.4)
4 Chapter 1
where x is the path length and is a function of wavelength, concentration of
particles and their diameters, refractive index, and absorption coefficient.
1.2.2 Absorption
Absorption in the atmosphere is influenced primarily by the amount of ozone and
absorbing gases present, in particular water vapor, and by the wavelength of
transmission, which helps determine whether infrared radiation will encounter
absorbing gases or go through a window in the atmosphere. Atmospheric
transmission due to absorption as a function of wavelength is shown in Fig. 1.3.
2

1.2.3 Infrared windows
The most important windows for infrared zoom lens systems are the 3- to 5-m
and 8- to 12-m regions because of the relatively low amount of atmospheric
absorption in those regions. The choice of the particular window to be used is
determined by the temperature of the source and by the spectral sensitivity of the
detector. Atmospheric transmission
a
attenuated by absorption can be expressed
as

a
= e
x
, (1.5)

where x is the path length and is the absorption coefficient. When both
absorption and scattering are present, the effective transmittance can be
expressed by the product

( )
.
x
eff a s
e
+
= = (1.6)
1.2.4 Computer calculation
Detailed computer models exist for the calculation of transmission through the
atmosphere. The best known of these models is the LOWTRAN from the
Geophysics Directorate at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts.
3

Figure 1.3 Atmospheric transmission due to absorption as a function of wavelength
through 1.8 km at sea level.
2

1.3 Lens Transmission
Lens transmission can be expressed by

r + t + a = 1, (1.7)

where
r = reflectance r = 1 for an ideal reflector,
t = transmittance t = 1 for an ideal transmitter,
a = absorptance a = 1 for an ideal absorber (blackbody).

Additionally, according to conservation of energy, if no energy is lost through
absorption,
r + t = 1. (1.8)
1.3.1 Transmittance
The transmission T
a
through an optical element after absorption losses is
expressed by
T
a
= e
x
,

(1.9)
where
= absorption coefficient and
x = distance traveled through optical element.
1.3.2 Reflectance
The uncoated reflection loss per surface r (see Fig. 1.4) is expressed by

( )
( )
2
2
1
,
1
n
r
n
=
+
(1.10)

Figure 1.4 Uncoated reflection loss per surface.

6 Chapter 1
where
r = uncoated reflection loss per surface and
n = index of refraction of optical material.

Table 1.1 shows the uncoated reflection loss per surface as a function of index of
refraction.
The total transmission T
r
through an optical system after reflection losses is

T
r
= (1 r)
m
,
(1.11)

where m = number of surfaces. Figure 1.5 shows the uncoated transmittance of
common IR materials.
2

Table 1.1 Uncoated reflection loss per surface in air as a function of index of refraction.

Index of
refraction n
Reflection loss per
surface (uncoated)
1.5 4%
2.0 11%
2.5 18%
3.0 25%
3.5 31%
4.0 36%

Figure 1.5 Transmittance of common IR materials (uncoated).
2


Figure 1.6 Snells law of refraction.

1.4 Coatings
1.4.1 Single-layer coatings
As an introduction to a discussion of coatings, Snells law is the law of refraction
at an interface between two media, such as air-glass (shown in Fig. 1.6) or glass-
air. It can be stated as

sin ' sin ', n i n i = (1.12)

where n and n are the two media, i is the angle of incidence, and i is the angle of
refraction.
Antireflection coatings play a significant role in increasing the throughput of
an optical system. This is particularly true in the infrared region where high index
materials like germanium and silicon are so commonly used. As noted in the
previous section, reflection losses increase dramatically with higher index
materials. Also, zoom lens systems may require additional elements in order to
minimize the aberration residuals, which also increases the transmission losses
through the optical system. According to coating theory, the index of refraction
for a thin-film single-layer coating should be equal to the square root of the index
of refraction of the substrate at one particular wavelength.
According to the principle of the interactions at surface boundaries, there is a
half-wave phase change when light travels through a low-index medium and is
reflected from a high-index medium. There is no phase change when light travels
through a high-index medium and is reflected from a low-index medium. When
the thin-film layer thickness is a quarter wave, reflection losses are minimized
and transmission is maximized.
8 Chapter 1

Figure 1.7 Infrared multilayer antireflection coating.
4

1.4.2 Multilayer coatings
For broad spectral bands such as from 3 to 5 and from 8 to 12 m, a single layer
is not sufficient and a multilayer coating must be used. Most infrared materials
can be antireflection coated to reflectivities of 0.5% or less. An example of an
infrared multilayer antireflection coating is shown in Fig. 1.7.
4
A layer of zinc
sulfide is used as an antireflection coating for a germanium substrate. However,
zinc sulfide has a relatively bad adhesion to the substrate. Thus, there is a
potential problem in that the layer of zinc sulfide could be easily stripped and
removed. This is solved by having a layer of silicon dioxide formed contiguously
to the germanium substrate. Silicon dioxide has good adherence to the substrate,
but will absorb a certain percentage of infrared light in the 3- to 5-m range.
However, in this case the predetermined thickness of the silicon dioxide layer is
so slight that its absorption is negligible. Referring to Fig. 1.7, the first layer is
made of fluoride, the second layer of zinc sulfide, the third of germanium, and
from the fourth layer, zinc sulfide and germanium layers are formed alternately.
The (n1) layer is made of germanium, and the nth layer is made of silicon
dioxide.
1.5 Infrared Detectors
1.5.1 Basic relations
The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is a useful means of measuring the performance
of a complete system. In its simplest form the signal-to-noise ratio is stated by

,
NEP
P
SNR = (1.13)

where P is the collected radiant power in watts received by the detector, and NEP
is the noise-equivalent power (the radiant power that produces a signal-to-noise
ratio of one at the output of the detector).
The NEP is a function of the detector size d, the electrical bandwidth f
used in the measurement, and the detector figure of merit D*. D* is a relative
sensitivity parameter used to compare performance of different detector types.
D* is the signal-to-noise ratio at a particular electrical frequency and in a 1-Hz
bandwidth when 1 W of radiant power is incident on a 1-cm
2
active area detector.
The higher the D*, the better the detector.

( )
( )
( )
1 2
2
* 1 2 1
1 2
active area cm
cm Hz W .
NEP W Hz
D

=

(1.14)

Responsitivity is the detector photocurrent output per unit incident radiant
power at a particular wavelength.
1.5.2 Types
An infrared detector is a converter that absorbs infrared energy and converts it
into an electrical signal. There are two principal types of infrared detectors.
Thermal detectors measure the rate at which energy is absorbed; their response is
independent of wavelength. They tend to have a slow response time. The most
common types of thermal detectors are thermocouple, thermopile, bolometer, and
pyroelectric. The most important type of detector for infrared zoom lens
applications, however, is the photon detector. Photon detectors respond only to
incident photons that possess more than a certain minimum energy; their
response at any wavelength is proportional to the rate at which photons of that
wavelength are absorbed. All photon detectors are composed of semiconductor
material. They have a fast response time but require cooling for optimum
sensitivity. Typically, liquid nitrogen is used in a Joule-Thomson cooler to
achieve an operating temperature of 77 K. A detector dewar assembly diagram is
shown in Fig. 1.8. HgCdTe is a photoconductor detector with a spectral range
from 2 to 25 m. InSb is a photovoltaic detector with a spectral range from 1 to
5.5 m.
10 Chapter 1

Figure 1.8 Detector dewar assembly diagram.

A charge-coupled device (CCD) may be used in the near-infrared region
from 0.65 to 1.05 m for imaging applications. A CCD chip is an array of
photoelectric detectors built on a silicon base using layers of electrical
components printed on the surface. This structure divides the base into a grid of
separate compartments, called pixels, that hold electrical charges; the size of a
pixel may vary from about 6 to 25 m. The CCD chip provides a 2D array that
converts incoming photons into electrical signals. These signals are then sent to a
display where they are reconverted into an image or to a storage device for future
reconversion. Sensitivity of the CCD array may be improved by cooling using
either circulating water, liquid gases, or by means of a thermoelectric cooler that
can be integrated into the CCD camera package. The idealized relative spatial
response of a CCD to long-wavelength photons is shown in Fig. 1.9.
5

Figure 1.9 Idealized relative spatial response of a CCD to long-wavelength photons.
5


Figure 1.10 Linear-detector arrays, large-square rectangular arrays, and staring arrays.
2

1.5.3 Arrays
Infrared systems have evolved over the years through the development of linear-
detector arrays, large-square rectangular arrays, and staring arrays. They are
defined below and illustrated in Fig. 1.10.
2

(1) Serial scan: A small detector array with only a few elements is scanned
in a serial form. Two scan mirrors are required, one for azimuth and the
other for elevation.
(2) Parallel scan: A long detector array covering the full extent of the field
of view (FOV) in one dimension is swept out across the object space,
creating the full format image. Only a single-scan mirror is required.
(3) Staring array: No moving parts are required, and a full-format image is
created directly. The advent of staring arrays has eliminated scanning
and the corresponding need for pupil control.
1.5.4 Matching the detector with the optics
In an imaging system, the optics, detector, electronics, and display all have
inherent resolutions (Fig. 1.11). The overall system resolution is a composite of
these subsystem resolutions. Generally, in well-designed systems, the electronics
and display do not adversely affect the perceived image quality; therefore, it has
become commonplace to infer image quality from the optics and detector
performance.
System resolution depends on the optical blur diameter and the detector size.
When the system is detector limited, small changes in the blur diameter have
little effect on the system resolution. The detector size limits the smallest size
that can be discerned. With a large blur diameter, the resolution is limited by the
optics; most infrared imaging systems fall into this category.
A commonly used measure of optical resolution is the Airy disk size. It is the
bright center of the diffraction pattern produced by an ideal optical system. In the
focal plane of the lens, the Airy disk diameter is

= 2.44 F, (1.15)

where is the wavelength and F is the lens f/#.
12 Chapter 1

Figure 1.11 Imaging system.

Detector arrays are specified by the detector size and the number of pixels.
Again, the smallest target that can be discerned is limited by the detector size.
For example, a 256 256 one-half-inch detector array would have a pixel width
of 50 m. The optical designer can select both the aperture size D and the focal
length f (i.e., the f/#, where F = f/D). As the detector size decreases, the f/# must
also decrease to match the detector. For a system with a pixel width of 40 m
operating at a central wavelength of 10 m, the system will be optics limited
above an f/# of 1.64.
6
The lower the f/# for a diffraction-limited system, the
higher the resolution and the smaller the optical blur diameter. The challenge for
the optical designer is to minimize image aberrations while decreasing the f/#.
CCD arrays operate in the visual and near-infrared regions of the wavelength
spectrum. A typical one-half-inch CCD array may have pixels that are about 10
m in size. For most CCD camera applications, the camera will be operating in
the detector-limited region when the f/# is less than about 6 due primarily to the
relatively short operating wavelength. Refer to Sec. 6.3 for an example of an
infrared zoom lens using a CCD camera.
1.6 References
1. Wyatt, C.L., Radiometric System Design, Macmillan Co., New York (1987).
2. Fischer, R.E., Lens design for the infrared, in Infrared Optical Design and
Fabrication, R. Hartmann and W. J. Smith, Eds., SPIE Press, Bellingham,
WA (1991).
3. Riedl, M.J., Optical Design Fundamentals for Infrared Systems, SPIE Press,
Bellingham, WA (1995).
4. Hatano, T., Antireflection coating for infrared light, U.S. Patent No.
5,243,458, (September 1993).
5. Holst, G.C., CCD Arrays, Cameras, and Displays, 2nd Ed., SPIE Press,
6. Holst, G.C., Image quality: does your detector match your optics?
Photonics Spectra 33(1), 144146 (1999).
13

Chapter 2
Optics Fundamentals
2.1 Lens Equation
The basic lens equation is illustrated in Fig. 2.1 and can be stated as

1 1 1
,
f l l
| | | |
=
| |
\ . \ .
(2.1)

where f is the effective focal length, l is the object distance, and l is the image
distance. In Fig. 2.1, l is negative and l is positive, in accordance with the sign
convention. The focal length f = 1/P, where P is the power of the lens. For
example, if l = 1 and l = +1, then P = 2 and f = 0.5.
An important special case of the lens equation is illustrated in Fig. 2.2. This
is when the object is assumed to be at infinity, as is the case in most infrared
zoom lens applications. In accordance with Eq. (2.1), 1/l = 0, f = l, and the image
plane lies in the focal plane of the lens. In the above example, f = l = 0.5.

2.2 Stops and Pupils
The aperture stop is the limiting aperture of the optical system. The aperture stop
for a simple lens is shown in Fig. 2.3.
1
The entrance pupil is the image of the
aperture stop in object space and is coincident with it. The exit pupil is the image
of the aperture stop in image space and is also coincident with the aperture stop
in the figure.
1
The field stop limits the size of the detector at the image plane.

Figure 2.1 Basic lens equation.
14 Chapter 2

Figure 2.2 Lens equation with object at infinity.

The chief ray is the central ray of an off-axis bundle of rays. Figure 2.4
1

illustrates the entrance and exit pupils and chief ray of an optical system. The
entrance pupil is located where the projection of the chief ray at the first lens
surface crosses the optical axis. The aperture stop is located where the chief ray
crosses the optical axis. If the aperture stop is in front of the optical system, it is
coincident with the entrance pupil; if it is behind the optical system, it is
coincident with the exit pupil.
The location of the aperture stop has a strong influence on such first-order
properties as pupil location, lens diameters, chromatic aberration, and
illumination at the image plane. Achieving the desired solution for all of these
properties is further complicated in a zoom lens system because the relationships
that relate to the aperture stop location have to hold for all magnifications all the
way from one end of the zoom range to the other. Placement of the aperture stop
has particular importance for infrared systems.

Figure 2.3 Aperture stop for a simple lens.
1
(From Wyatt, Radiometric System Design,
Macmillan, 1987, with permission of The McGraw-Hill Co.)
Optics Fundamentals 15

Figure 2.4 Entrance and exit pupils and chief ray of an optical system.
1
(From Wyatt,
Radiometric System Design, Macmillan, 1987, with permission of The McGraw-Hill Co.)
2.3 Optical Formulas
The following are some basic formulas used in the design and analysis of optical
systems; the nomenclature definitions follow. These equations are utilized in
formulating the first-order parameters and in analyzing the theoretical and actual
performance of the optical system (refer to Figs. 2.3 and 2.4).

sin , NA n u = (2.2)

( ) ( ) / 1/ 2 sin 1/ 2 , F f D n u NA = = = (2.3)

V
o
= 2 NA / (mm), (2.4)

= 2.44 / D, (2.5)

= spot size / f, (2.6)

IFOV = d / f, (2.7)

tan = (d/2) / f, (2.8)

depth of focus (Rayleigh limit) = 4F
2
, (2.9)

Strehl ratio
( )
2
2
2 2
2
1 e

(
| |

(
|
\ .
(

(2.10)
and = 2.44F, (2.11)
16 Chapter 2
where
= wavelength
= rms wave error
F = f/#
f = effective focal length
D = entrance pupil diameter
u = half-angle of the limiting axial ray
= half-angle field of view in image space
d = pixel width
d = image diameter
IFOV = instantaneous field of view
n = index of refraction
NA = numerical aperture
= limiting angular resolution (diffraction)
= angular resolution (geometrical)
V
o
= diffraction limit (line pairs/mm)
= diffraction limited blur size (Airy disk).
2.4 Optical Performance Criteria
The following are various performance criteria utilized in evaluating the image
quality of an optical system:

Angular resolution: image spot size divided by the lens focal length.
Modulation transfer function (MTF): percent reduction in object contrast in the
image at a given spatial frequency.
Strehl definition: the ratio of the light intensity at the peak of the diffraction
pattern of an aberrated image to that at the peak of an aberration-free
image.
Seidel aberrations: the five terms in the fourth degree in the expansion of the
wavefront aberration in the image plane.
2
They can be expressed for each
surface and can be summed up for the entire optical system. Examples
can be found in Appendix B.
Zernike polynomials: mathematical decomposition of the aberrations present in
an optical system, which provides an evaluation of the effects of each
order of the aberration set on the image. This set of terms provides a
useful method for determining the most appropriate balance for the
various Seidel aberrations against higher-order residuals.
3

Rayleigh limit: An optical system is considered essentially perfect if the
wavefront can be included between two concentric spherical surfaces /4
apart. If the peak-to-valley optical path difference is /4, the system just
meets the Rayleigh criterion. For the 3- to 5-m and 8- to 12-m spectral
bands, the longitudinal depth of focus that meets the Rayleigh criterion is
shown in Table 2.1. This is a very useful value for infrared zoom lens
systems because it indicates the extent to which the image plane may
vary longitudinally from one end of the zoom range to the other.
Table 2.1 Longitudinal depth of focus at 4 m and 10 m.

f/# 4 m (in mm) 10 m (in mm)
1 0.016 0.04
2 0.064 0.16
3 0.144 0.36
4 0.256 0.64
5 0.400 1.00
2.5 Telescopes
The basic formulas for telescope magnification m and overall length L are
expressed as

tan
.
tan
o o
e e
f D
m
f D

= = =

(2.12)

.
o e
L f f = +
(2.13)

There are two types of telescopes, astronomical and Galilean (refer to Fig. 2.5).
4
For each case, the object and the image are at infinity. In the astronomical
telescope, both the objective and the eyepiece have positive focal lengths.
Therefore, the overall length is the sum of the two focal lengths. An intermediate
image is formed at the common focal point of the objective and eyepiece. In the
Galilean telescope, the objective is positive and the eyepiece is negative. The
image point of the object and the object point of the eyepiece are coincident.
Therefore, applying the above formula, the overall length between the objective
and the eyepiece is the difference between the absolute focal lengths. For
example, if f
o
= 100 and f
e
= 10, L = 110; but, if f
o
= 100 and f
e
= 10, then L = 90.

Figure 2.5 (a) Astronomical telescope and (b) Galilean telescopes.
4
(Reproduced from
W. J. Smith, Modern Optical Engineering, 2
nd
Ed. with permission of The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc.)
18 Chapter 2

Figure 2.6 Primary aberrations: spherical, coma, distortion, astigmatism, and chromatic.
4
(a) A simple converging lens with undercorrected spherical aberration; (b) graphical
representation of spherical aberration: longitudinal spherical aberration (LA) is plotted
against ray height (Y), and transverse aberration, in which the ray intercept height (H) at
the paraxial reference plane is plotted against the final ray slope (TAN H); (c) coma,
where the rays through the outer portions of the lens focus at a different height than the
rays through the center of the lens; (d) the coma patch, where the image of a point source
is spread out into a comet-shaped flare; (e) distortion, where dotted lines denote the
undistorted image; (f) astigmatism; (g) the primary astigmatism of a simple lens, where the
tangential image is three times as far from the Petzval surface as the sagittal image; (h)
undercorrected longitudinal chromatic aberration of a simple lens due to blue rays
undergoing greater refraction than red rays; and (i) lateral color, which results in different
sized images for different wavelengths. (Adapted from W. Smith, Modern Optical
Engineering, 2
nd
Ed., with permission of The McGraw-Hill Co.)
These are important considerations in the design of infrared zoom lenses. In
some applications, a zoom telescope serves as an afocal attachment in front of a
fixed imager; if it is of the Galilean type, it tends to have a shorter overall length
than would otherwise be the case (for an example, refer to Fig. 6.16).
2.6 Primary Aberrations
2.6.1 Definition of the Seidel aberrations
The primary aberrations, also known as the Seidel or third-order aberrations, are
shown in Fig. 2.6.
4
Strictly speaking, the Seidels do not include longitudinal and
lateral chromatic aberration. They may be defined as follows:

(1) Spherical aberration: the variation of focus with aperture.
(2) Coma: the variation of magnification with aperture.
(3) Astigmatism: tangential and sagittal images from a point source do not
coincide. The tangential image is three times as far from the Petzval
surface as the sagittal image.
(4) Field curvature: image is formed on the Petzval surface in the absence of
astigmatism, or the variation of magnification with field angle.
(5) Distortion: displacement of an off-axis image point from the paraxial
image position. An increase in the FOV produces pincushion distortion;
a decrease in FOV results in barrel distortion.
(6) Longitudinal color: variation of focus with wavelength.
(7) Lateral color: variation of image height with wavelength.
2.6.2 Variation of primary aberrations with aperture and field height
Table 2.2 shows how the primary aberrations vary as a function of aperture and
field height.
4
For example, since longitudinal spherical aberration varies with y
2
,
a 1.5 increase in aperture will cause this aberration to be 2.25 as large.

Table 2.2 Variation of primary aberrations as a function of aperture and field height.

Aberration
Versus
semiaperture
Versus field
height
Spherical (longitudinal) y
2
--
Spherical (transverse) y
3
--
Coma y
2
h
Astigmatism -- h
2

Astigmatic line length y
2
h
Field curvature -- h
2

Distortion (linear) -- h
3

Distortion (percentage) -- h
2

Chromatic (longitudinal) -- --
Chromatic (lateral) -- h
20 Chapter 2
2.6.3 Stop shift equations
Thin-lens approximations provide a useful tool for calculating the third-order
aberrations of an optical system.
4
For a lens element not at the stop, the
aberration contributions may be determined from the following formulas:

spherical SC
*
= SC, (2.14)

coma CC
*
= CC + SC
.
Q u
k
, (2.15)
astigmatism
* 2
2
,
k
Q
AC AC CC SC Q
u
= + +
(2.16)
Petzval sum PC
*
= PC, (2.17)

distortion
* 3
( 3 ) 3 2 .
k k
DC PC AC Qu CC Q SC Q u = + + + (2.18)

These stop shift equations may be applied to the surface contributions to
determine the third-order aberrations for a different stop position by setting

*
,
p p
y y
Q
y
= (2.19)
where
y is the axial paraxial marginal ray height at a surface,
y
p
is the principal paraxial ray height at a surface,

*
p
y is the principal paraxial ray height at a surface after the stop is

shifted,
and

k
u is the angular slope of the axial paraxial marginal ray in image space.

Since Q is an invariant, the values for y, y
p
, and
*
p
y may be taken at any
convenient surface. When the equations are used in this way, the unstarred terms
refer to the aberrations with the stop in the original position, and the starred terms
refer to the aberrations with the stop in the new position. Another consequence of
the invariant nature of this definition of Q is the fact that the stop shift may be
applied either to the individual surface contributions or to the sum of the
contributions of the entire system.
Some obvious conclusions can be drawn from an examination of the above
formulas. Third-order spherical aberration and the Petzval sum, also known as
the field curvature, are unaffected by a shift of the aperture stop to a new
location. If third-order spherical aberration is zero, coma is unaffected by a shift
of the aperture stop. Additionally, if third-order spherical and coma are both zero,
which is the aplanatic condition, astigmatism is unaffected by a stop shift. It
should be kept in mind that the effect on higher-order aberrations due to a shift of
the aperture stop cannot be determined from these formulas.
2.7 Achromatism
Since achromatism is a first-order property, achromatic balance can be
determined through the application of thin-lens equations.
2.7.1 Primary achromatism
For a series of thin lenses in close contact, the longitudinal chromatic aberration
is given by

2 1 2
1 2
l f
V V

= +

(2.20)

for a thin-lens doublet where

( )
( )
1
,
M
S L
n
V
n n
(2.21)

= 1 / f, (2.22)

and n
M
, n
S
, and n
L
are the mid-, short-, and long-wavelength indices of refraction.
For a thin-lens achromatic doublet, two wavelengths will come to focus when

a b
a
a
V V
f f
V

=

and
.
b a
b
b
V V
f
V

=

(2.23)

To make a positive achromat, combine a positive low-dispersion element with a
negative high-dispersion element:

3 to 5 m: silicon is low dispersion (V = 250)
germanium is high dispersion (V = 107)
f = 100: f
a

= 57.2, f
b
= 133.6

8 to 12 m: germanium is low dispersion (V = 1073)
zinc selenide is high dispersion (V = 58)
f = 100: f
a
= 94.6, f
b
= 1750.
22 Chapter 2
2.7.2 Secondary spectrum

The secondary spectrum is the variation in focus of the third wavelength with
respect to the other two wavelengths:

( )
( )
1 2
1 2
s
P P
l f
V V
(
=
(
(

, (2.24)

where

( )
( )
.
s M
S L
n n
P
n n
(2.25)

2.8 Principal Planes
In a thin-lens first-order solution the principal planes are located coincident with
the thin lens. In the basic lens imaging Eq. (2.1), l and l are measured from the
principal planes. In a thick-lens starting point solution the optical train object-to-
image distance is set according to the location and separation of the principal
planes of each lens element. A complex lens system has only two principal
planes which move about as the lens system is zoomed.
In Fig. 2.7(a), diverging rays from the primary focal point F emerge parallel
to the axis. In 2.7(b), parallel incident rays are brought to a focus at the secondary
focal point F". In each case the incident and refracted rays have been extended to
their point of intersection between the surfaces. Transverse planes through these
intersections constitute primary and secondary principal planes. The ray height
on the first principal plane is the same on the second principal plane, i.e., unit
lateral magnification.

Figure 2.7 Ray diagrams showing the primary and secondary principal planes of a thick
lens.
5
(Reproduced from Jenkins and White, Fundamentals of Optics, copyright of The
McGraw-Hill Co., Inc.)

Figure 2.8 Illustrating the significance of the nodal points and nodal planes of a thick
lens.
5
(Reproduced from Jenkins and White, Fundamentals of Optics, copyright of The
McGraw-Hill Co., Inc.)

Of all the rays that pass through a lens from an off-axis object point to its
corresponding image point, there will always be one ray for which the direction
of the ray in the image space is the same as in the object space, i.e., the segments
of the ray before reaching the lens and after leaving it are parallel. The two points
at which these segments, if projected, intersect the axis are called the nodal
points. This third pair of points and their associated planes are shown in Fig. 2.8,
which also shows the optical center of the lens at C. Since the incident and
emergent rays make equal angles with the axis, the nodal points are called
conjugate points of unit angular magnification. This concept is discussed further
in Ref. 6.
In general, the focal points and principal points are not symmetrically located
with respect to the lens but are at different distances from the vertices. The
positions of the principal planes for a given lens focal length can be changed by
bending the lens shape, as shown in Fig. 2.9. Moving the principal planes to the
right decreases the overall object-to-image distance. This can be a useful
technique in designing compact zoom lens systems. Moving the principal planes
to the left increases the overall object-to-image distance.

Figure 2.9 Illustrating the variation of the positions of the primary and secondary principal
planes as a thick lens of fixed focal length is subject to bending.
5
(Reproduced from
Jenkins and White, Fundamentals of Optics, copyright of The McGraw-Hill Co., Inc.)
24 Chapter 2
2.9 Problems
1. An f/2.5 zoom lens system is to be used in the 8- to 12-m wavelength
region. What is the Rayleigh limit at the central wavelength?

2. A Galilean telescope has a positive thin lens with 120-mm focal length and a
negative thin lens with 12-mm focal length.
(a) What is the magnification?
(b) What is the overall length?
(c) If the exit pupil diameter is 10 mm, what is the entrance pupil diameter?

3. A 150-mm focal length doublet consists of two singlets with V values of 200
and 100, respectively.
(a) Which singlet has the higher dispersion, the one with the higher or lower
V value?
(b) What is the focal length of each singlet in an achromatic doublet?

4. An f/2 singlet has a clear aperture of 50 mm with a refractive index of 3.5
and dn/dt = 0.000150 per degree C. The operating temperature range is
40 C. The wavelength region is from 8 to 12 m.
(a) What is the change in focal length with temperature?
(b) Is this change within the depth of focus for this wavelength region?

5. A 1 to 5 zoom lens is to be used as part of a forward-looking infrared
(FLIR) scanning system. It will operate at f/2 in the 8- to 12-m wavelength
region. It has a 12-mm exit pupil and an eyepiece focal length of 20 mm.
(a) What is the entrance pupil diameter at each end of the zoom range?
(b) What is the objective lens focal length at each end of the zoom range?
2.10 References
1. Wyatt, C.L., Radiometric System Design, Macmillan Co., New York (1987).
2. Welford, W.T., Aberrations of the Symmetrical Optical System, Academic
Press (1974).
3. Kim, C.J. and Shannon, R.R., Catalog of Zernike Polynomials, in Applied
Optics and Optical Engineering, Vol. X, R.R. Shannon and J. Wyant, Eds., pp.
193221, Academic Press, New York (1987).
4. Smith, W.J., Modern Optical Engineering, Second Ed., McGraw-Hill, New
York (1990).
5. Jenkins, F.A. and White, H.E, Fundamentals of Optics, McGraw-Hill, New
York (1957).
6. Johnson, R.B., Correctly making panoramic imagery and the meaning of
optical center, Proc. SPIE, 7060, 70600F (2008).


25

Chapter 3
Unique Features of the Infrared
Region
3.1 Optical Materials
3.1.1 Materials for the infrared
A large number of optical materials transmit in the infrared region of the
spectrum. However, the list of materials is quite limited when one considers
physical characteristics, workability, and cost. Table 3.1
1
indicates the materials
most commonly used in infrared zoom-lens systems for the 3- to 5-m and 8- to
12-m regions. It is apparent that indices of refraction are higher than they are
for optical materials in the visible spectrum. This is an advantage in the
correction of third-order and higher-order aberrations. For example, with a lens
shaped for minimum spherical aberration, the angular spherical aberration
SPH

for an object at infinity can be expressed by

( )
( ) ( )( )
2
3
4 1
,
128 1 2
SPH
n n
n n F
=
+
(3.1)
where
n = index of refraction and

focal length
, or .
diameter
f
F
d

=

The variation with a refractive index can readily be seen by tabulating for an f/1
lens as an example in Table 3.1. The advantage of using a high-index material
like silicon or germanium is quite apparent from these calculations.

Table 3.1 Variation of spherical aberration with a refractive index.

f/# n
1.0 4.0 0.008681
1.0 3.0 0.012891
1.0 2.0 0.027344
26 Chapter 3

Figure 3.1 V value versus index of refraction for several of the more commonly used
infrared materials.
2

Also, infrared materials tend to have low dispersion, which corresponds to a
high V number. Figure 3.1 presents the V value versus the index of refraction for
several of the more commonly used infrared materials.
2
The hatched area
indicates the more limited range of V values and refractive indices as compared
with visible materials. However, one should keep in mind that the Schott catalog
alone contains some 200 optical glasses within the hatched area;
3
in fact, the
number of available glasses in the visual region is more than one order of
magnitude greater than in the infrared.
Germanium is less expensive than zinc selenide or zinc sulfide. Since silicon
has become an order of magnitude less expensive than germanium, its use in
infrared zoom lens systems has greatly increased in recent years. This
development, in turn, has helped caused a shift from the 8- to 12-m to the 3- to
5-m region. Another factor is the availability of detectors such as InSb which
work well in the 3- to 5-m waveband.
In Table 3.2, V is defined as:

4 m 10 m
3 5 m 8 12 m
3 m 5 m 8 m 12 m
.
n n
V V
n n n n

1 1
= , =

(3.2)
Unique Features of the Infrared Region 27

Table 3.2 Refractive index data for infrared materials.

Material Zinc sulfide Zinc selenide Silicon Germanium Calcium fluoride
3 m 2.2570 2.4376 3.4320 4.0452 1.4179
4 m 2.2520 2.4331 3.4255 4.0243 1.4097
5 m 2.2460 2.4295 3.4223 4.0161 1.3990
V 114 177 250 107 22

8 m 2.2229 2.4173 3.4184 4.0051 --
10 m 2.2005 2.4065 3.4179 4.0032 --
12 m 2.1704 2.3930 3.4157 4.0023 --
V 23 58 896 1073 --

dn/dt 0.000043 0.000060 0.00015 0.000396 0.000011
density 4.09 5.27 2.33 5.33 3.18

Since many infrared components require aspheric or diffractive surfaces,
diamond turning is often the method of choice for the fabrication of these
surfaces that are so difficult to fabricate by traditional methods. Among other
methods, reactive ion etching has been successfully utilized to transfer a binary
optic diffractive pattern into the substrate.
4

3.1.2 Calculation of index of refraction
The calculation of refractive index data may be accomplished through the use of
general polynomials to provide interpolation at infrared wavelengths of interest
for purposes of optical design and analysis. Several forms of general polynomials
are available for use with infrared materials.
For their optical glasses Schott uses:

n
2
= A
0
+ A
1
2
+ A
2
2
+ A
3
4
+ A
4
6
+ A
5
8
,

(3.3)

which provides a worst-case fit of the refractive index to within 0.000005. For
infrared materials, Barr & Stroud
5
used a modified version of the Schott formula.
The data for infrared materials require additional positive terms. The full
expansion is:

n
2
= C
8
8
+ C
6
6
+ C
4
4
+ C
2
2
+ C
0
+ C
2
2
+ C
4
4
+ C
6
6
.
(3.4)

A least-squares technique is applied to form a set of linear equations to solve
to obtain the required coefficients. The least-squares fit process allows an
estimation of error by computing the fit error. This process is dependent on using
more data points than polynomial coefficients. The rms refractive index error
28 Chapter 3

ranges from 0.00008 for germanium in the 8- to 13-m range to 0.00002 for zinc
sulfide.
Another commonly used formula in the infrared is the Sellmeier equation,

( )
2
2
2 2
1
1
m
k
k
k
A
n
B
=
. (3.5)

For example, the Optical Research Associates CODE V optics program uses
this equation in its special materials catalog for infrared materials. The number of
terms varies from two to five, depending on the material. Most materials use
three terms.
6
The acceptable level of fit accuracy for inclusion in the CODE V
special catalog is based on the optical path difference (OPD) errors that can be
expected due to departures from measured data. The criterion chosen is that the
induced chromatic effect, OPD, be less than /10 for a f/1.5 singlet of 200-mm
diameter in any one of three spectral bands: 8 to 12, 3 to 5, and 0.4 to 0.7 m.
The result of imposing these criteria is that in certain cases, the same material is
fitted for two spectral ranges and both fits are included in the special catalog
using different names.
7
Some infrared zoom lens applications may require tighter
criteria. For example, the Pilkington "Dezir" compact infrared zoom telescope
has an entrance lens that has a diameter somewhat in excess of 200 mm and
operates at approximately f/1.0.
8

3.2 Thermal Compensation
3.2.1 Focus shift with temperature
Focus shift with temperature is a significant problem in the infrared region. The
change in refractive index with temperature, dn/dt, is presented in Table 3.1 for
the listed materials. Germanium, in particular, has a very high dn/dt. For a thin
lens the change in focal length with temperature can be expressed as
1

( )
.
1
f dn
df dt
n dt
(
| |
=
(
|
\ . (

(3.6)

For a system with a 100-mm focal length and a 40
o
C temperature range, the focal
shift is 0.527 mm for germanium. This would exceed the Rayleigh limit for
acceptable performance of 0.400 mm for an f/5 system in the 3- to 5-m spectral
region and of 0.490 for f/3.5 systems in the 8- to 12-m region.
3.2.2 Athermalization
Athermalization is the correction of this effect of focus shift with temperature.
There are several mechanical and optical methods, active and passive, available
to accomplish athermalization. It is possible to solve for achromatism and

athermalization at the same time with three infrared materials by solving the
following simultaneous equations:
9

Total power
1
.
J
i
i
k k
=
=
(3.7)

Achromatism
1
0.
J
i
i i
k
V
=
=
(3.8)

Athermalization
1
1
0,
J
i i
dl dk dl
k
dt t dt dt
=
+ | | | |
+ =
| |

\ . \ .
(3.9)

where dl/dt is the coefficient of expansion of the mounting material.
The above equations can be used to derive an achromatic, athermal hybrid
doublet with only two materials if a diffractive surface is considered to be the
third material.
3.2.3 Athermalization methods
There are several mechanical and optical methods available to accomplish
athermalization:

(1) Mechanical passive: The basic principle behind this approach is to
passively modify the axial position of a lens or lens group in order to
compensate for the image shift caused by temperature change. This
movement is achieved by natural expansion or contraction of mechanical
components. (However, for germanium this type of correction by such
metals as aluminum does not provide sufficient movement.)
(2) Mechanical active: A lens or lenses are moved axially either manually
or, preferably, by electromechanical means. Typically, temperature
sensors feed information to actuate motors which drive the athermalizing
elements to the required positions. This is particularly useful in zoom
lenses where the required athermalization movements differ with
magnification change.
(3) Optical passive: It is possible to select a combination of optical materials
that will minimize focus shift over a limited temperature range. For
simultaneous correction of achromatism and athermalization at least
three optical materials are required (refer to Sec. 3.2.2). By solving the
basic equations for power, achromatism and athermalization, the relative
power for each material can be derived. The use of zinc selenide, zinc
sulfide, and germanium is one such combination.
(4) Optomechanical: Optics with reduced temperature sensitivity can be
compensated by small passive or active mechanical movements.
(5) Passive-active mechanical: Passive mechanical means are combined
with small active movements to minimize temperature effects.
30 Chapter 3

(6) Reflective optics: A single spherical mirror, if fabricated from the same
material that separates the mirror from the focal plane, is in effect self-
athermalized. A uniform temperature soak will cause a uniform
expansion or contraction without any induced defocus.

Illustrations of the use of these techniques may be found in Figs. 6.17, 6.23, and
6.30.
The use of materials such as zinc sulfide and zinc selenide in combination
with germanium makes it possible to provide some passive optical
athermalization. Hybrid passive/active mechanical athermalization techniques are
also being utilized. The most common arrangement involves the additional
movement of lens elements which move for other reasons, such as zooming.
These movements are either real time computed or calculated from look-up
tables, and the whole process involves carefully selected temperature sensors as
part of a closed-loop system.
3.3 Cold Stop and Cold Shield
The cold stop is an aperture or baffle which prevents the detector from looking at
any extraneous stray radiation. If it is not the aperture stop of the system, it is a
cold shield.
3.4 Narcissus
Narcissus is a change through scan or across the format resulting from radiation
reflected from lens surfaces back into the detector/dewar assembly. The large
temperature differential between the 300 K ambient temperature and the 77 K
cooled detector temperature provides the potential for a large spurious signal.
3.4.1 Types of retroreflections
Narcissus consists of two components:
(1) pedestal level at the center of scan, and
(2) variation of the pedestal level with scan.

Mechanisms which create large pedestal levels are as follows:
(3) A refractive surface is at or near an intermediate image plane (y = 0),
where y is the paraxial marginal ray height at the offending surface.
(4) The marginal axial ray is normal or nearly normal to a refractive surface
(ni = 0), where n is the refractive index and i is the angle of incidence of
the marginal ray following this surface.

These two types of retroreflections are shown in Fig. 3.2.
10

3.4.2 Reduction techniques
Narcissus reduction techniques include improved multilayer antireflection
coatings on the offending lens surfaces and optical designer-controlled methods.


Figure 3.2 Two types of retroreflections.
10

In the latter technique, the optical designer introduces baffles into the design in
order to reduce the solid angular subtense of the cold signal and/or controls the
position and shape of offending surfaces during the optical design process.
Controls based on paraxial quantities at each surface can be highly effective in
reducing total narcissus and/or variation with scan.
The paraxial quantity yni is one measure of narcissus that can be controlled.
In general, increasing yni at a surface reduces the overall pedestal signal by
defocusing the reflected bundle so that it can be clipped by existing apertures or
the cold stop itself. Unfortunately, lens curvature changes which increase ni at a
surface usually increase third-order spherical aberration and coma contributions
at that surface. These aberrations may be balanced by contributions of opposite
sign from other lens elements in the system or may require the introduction of an
aspheric surface.
3.5 Glass Substitution
Optimization of glasses is handled differently than other lens data because there
does not exist a continuum of glasses on the glass map. This is particularly true in
the infrared region of the wavelength spectrum where the number of available
glasses is very limited.
Glass substitution is a very effective method for choosing glasses in the
infrared. The glass types are directly altered from a previously stored substitute
list, and then the optical system is reoptimized while seeking a better solution. By
selecting substitute glasses with a similar refractive index, the first-order
characteristics of the optical system are maintained before reoptimization. This
means that the principal planes of each altered lens are spatially maintained when
bending the lens or when shifting the lenses proximate to the altered lens to
maintain the proper distance between principal planes, or when bending and
shifting simultaneously in combination. For further discussion of computer
optimization, refer to Sec. 4.13.
32 Chapter 3

This substitution feature was used by the author to achieve passive
athermalization of the all-germanium 3:1 zoom lens solution described in detail
in Sec. 6.1.2.
11
Optical materials were selected during optimization with a lower
dn/dt than germanium. Various optical materials such as GaAs and AMTIR-1
were inserted with similar refractive index as germanium. Table 3.3 shows the
optical materials selected during the design process. Table 3.4 presents the
optical properties of these materials.

Table 3.3 Optical materials selected during the design process.

System #1 System #2 System #3 System #4
Lens 1 Ge Ge Ge Ge
Lens 2 Ge Ge Ge Ge
Lens 3 Ge GaAs GaAs GaAs
Lens 4 Ge CdSe CdSe AMTIR-1
Lens 5 Ge Ge Ge Ge
Lens 6 Ge ZnGeP
2
GaAs GaAs

Table 3.4 Optical properties of materials selected during the design process.

N(10.0 m) V(8 to 12 m) dn/dt CTE(10E-6)
Ge 4.0031 1007 .000396 5.9
GaAs 3.2781 106 .000150 5.0
ZnGeP
2
3.0791 49 .000003 --
AMTIR1 2.4975 113 .000076 12.0
CdSe 2.4292 84 .000135 4.9

The final passive solution contains one conic and one diffractice surface. It is
about 20% longer than the starting solution. Performance over the zoom range
and temperature range from 0 to 40 C is comparable to performance achieved by
active compensation.

3.6 References
1. Fischer, R.E., Lens design for the infrared, in Infrared Optical Design and
Fabrication, R. Hartmann and W. J. Smith, Eds., SPIE Press, Bellingham,
WA (1991).
2. Robert E. Parks, Fabrication of infrared optics, Optical Engineering 33(3),
685691 (1994).

3. Schott Optical Glass Catalog, Schott Glass Technologies Inc., Duryea, PA
(2006).
4. Kathman, A., and Johnson, E., Binary optics: new diffractive elements for
the designers tool kit, Photonics Spectra 26(9), 125132 (1992).
5. Lidwell, M., ODSA Technical Manual, Barr & Stroud Ltd. (1991).
6. John Isenberg, Optical Research Associates, Private Communication (1994).
7. CODE V Reference Manual, Optical Research Associates, Inc. (1994).
8. Roberts, M. Compact infrared continuous zoom telescope, Optical
Engineering 23(2), 117121 (1984).
9. Rogers, P.J., Athermalization of IR optical systems, in Infrared Optical
Design and Fabrication, R. Hartmann and W. J. Smith, Eds., SPIE Press,
10. Ford, E.H. and Hasenauer, D.M., Narcissus in current generation FLIR
systems, in Infrared Optical Design and Fabrication, R. Hartmann and W. J.
Smith, Eds., SPIE Press, Bellingham, WA (1991).
11. Mann, A. Athermalization of an infrared zoom lens system for target
detection, Proc. SPIE 4487, 118129 (2001).

35

Chapter 4
Optical Design Techniques

A number of techniques are available to assist the optical designer in the process
of designing infrared systems. This chapter describes some of them and they are
further illustrated in the detailed descriptions of infrared zoom lenses in Chapters
6 and 7.
4.1 Optical Design Starting Point
The starting point for the design of an infrared optical system may be one of the
following, in order of increasing difficulty:

(1) commercially available zoom lens systems (Sec. 6.1.1)
(2) zoom lenses described in patents or other reference literature (Sec. 6.5.2)
(3) a thin lens solution (Sec. 6.1.2).

Selection of the starting point is a very important decision to be made by the
optical designer since it will strongly influence the direction in which the design
activity will proceed and the likelihood of achieving the desired solution. Since
zoom lenses in general are more complicated and time consuming to design than
fixed focal length lenses, selection of the best starting point is more crucial to the
duration and cost of the design task.
4.2 Scaling
Scaling a lens is a simple but powerful tool for assisting in selecting a starting
point. When a previously designed optical system is chosen as a candidate for the
starting point, it is more than likely that the first-order parameters are somewhat
different from the requirements for the new design. Scaling by the appropriate
factor makes it possible to match the required focal length with that of the
candidate starting point (Secs. 6.1.2 and 7.2.2). It is important to keep in mind
what does and does not scale along with the focal length. What do scale are the
longitudinal distances along the optical axis and the lateral dimensions
perpendicular to that axis; thus, lens thicknesses and separations will scale along
with total track length. Lens diameters and pupil diameters will also scale. The
image size at the focal plane will scale. What do not scale are the f/#s and the

36 Chapter 4

Table 4.1 Scaling a lens by a factor of two with an object at infinity.

Candidate lens Required lens
Focal length 5 10
Track length 5 10
Entrance pupil diameter 1 2
Image semidiameter 0.262 0.524
f/# 5 5
Field of view (deg) 3 3
Wavelength (m) 35 35

angular fields of view; they remain constant regardless of the scale factor.
Wavelength also remains unchanged. An example to illustrate some of these
scaling relationships is presented in Table 4.1.
It may be that some adjustments will still have to be made before and/or
during the detail design. For example, if an f/4 lens is needed, the entrance pupil
diameter would have to be increased from 2.0 to 2.5 since F = f/D, and D = f/F =
10/4 = 2.5.
A related concept that should be mentioned is the Lagrange invariant,
1
which
can be expressed as
nu=n'u'' , (4.1)

where n and n are the indices of refraction before and after refraction, u and u
are the entrance and exit angles of the axial ray, and and are the object height
and image height (Fig. 4.1). This quantity is an invariant from object space
through all intermediate spaces of any symmetrical optical system. Scaling a lens
as shown in Table 4.1 does not change the Lagrange invariant, but changing the
f/# or the field of view would, in which case the optical system would go into
another design region.

Figure 4.1 Lagrange invariant.

Optical Design Techniques 37
4.3 Optical Materials Selection
A large number of optical materials transmit in the infrared region of the
spectrum. However, the list of materials is quite limited when one considers
physical characteristics, workability, and cost. Refer to Sec. 3.1 for the list of
materials most commonly used for infrared zoom lenses. It is essential to select
combinations of glasses that provide a solution for first-order longitudinal and
lateral chromatic aberration (Secs. 6.5.1 and 6.5.2).
4.4 Techniques for Compactness
Several techniques for compactness of infrared zoom lens systems are illustrated
in Fig. 4.2.
2
High powers in the front objective tend to shorten the travel of
moving components. Also, minimizing eyepiece focal length decreases the
overall length of the system, and good control of pupil aberrations minimizes
beam wander and reduces the diameter of the front element. There also is space
available around the smaller elements that can be utilized for packaging of
electronic and mechanical components (Sec. 6.2.2).
4.5 Symmetry Principle
The symmetry principle states that if an optical system has complete symmetry
about a central plane perpendicular to the axis, and if the magnification is unity,
then all aberrations depending on odd powers of the field vanish identically.
1

That is, coma, distortion, and transverse chromatic aberration of all orders are
zero. Departure from symmetry will have some effect on the aberration residuals
(Sec. 6.1.2).

Figure 4.2 Several techniques for compactness of infrared zoom lens systems.
2

38 Chapter 4

Figure 4.3 Spherical aberration as a function of lens shape.
3
(Reproduced from
W. J. Smith, Modern Optical Engineering, 2
nd
Ed. with permission of The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc.)
4.6 Bending
As long as the net curvature of a singlet lens is kept constant, the surface
curvatures can vary without changing the power P of the lens, where
P = (n 1)(c
1
c
2
) = (n 1)c, where n is the index of refraction. This changing
of the lens shape, called bending, is a powerful design tool because the shape of
the lens affects spherical aberration and coma without changing the Petzval sum
and the power (i.e., focal length, since P = 1/f). Figure 4.3

shows spherical
aberration minimized as a function of lens shape.
3
4.7 Aplanatic Condition
A condition may be imposed upon the design that the system continually satisfy
the aplanatic condition while it is zooming. In an aplanatic system spherical
aberration and coma are zero. During design, use can be made of the concept in
third-order aberration theory that for an aplanatic system the shift of the aperture
stop does not affect the aberration coefficients for spherical aberration, coma, and
astigmatism (Sec. 7.1.1).
4.8 Adding an Element
It is always an optical designers goal to minimize the number of lenses utilized
to meet the overall requirements. However, during the course of designing an
infrared zoom lens, it may become desirable or necessary to add an element in
order to reduce the residual aberrations to an acceptable minimum. If one of the
elements in the starting first-order solution has a very low f/#, it will introduce a
significant amount of aberration. By splitting it into two elements with a very
small separation between them, the focal length of each will be doubled and the
f/# of each will be correspondingly increased without affecting the first-order
parameters. The curvatures can then be allowed to vary to optimize their values
while maintaining the required focal length.
Adding an element can also be done by introducing a plane-parallel plate at a
suitable location in the optical train. By allowing the curvatures to vary during
optimization, the new element can become a lens with either positive or negative
power without upsetting the first-order parameters of the optical system (Sec.
6.1.2).
4.9 Field Lens Utilization
According to aberration theory, a thin lens placed at an image plane introduces
no aberrations but field curvature. This field-flattening feature can be utilized
when it becomes desirable to make the sagittal and tangential astigmatic field
curves more inward curving or more outward curving (Sec. 6.1.2). The field
curvature of this lens can be calculated by the thin-lens formula

( ) ' 1
,
'
n n
nn R

(4.2)

where R is the radius of curvature of the lens surface and is the radius of
curvature of the Petzval surface.
A field lens placed at or near an intermediate focal plane may be used to
reduce the needed detector image size for a given field coverage. In this case, the
power of the field lens is chosen to image the aperture stop of the objective lens
onto the exit pupil, as shown in Fig. 4.4.
3

It should also be noted that a thin lens placed at an image plane will have no
effect on the focal length of the system. In practice, the field lens has finite
thickness and is usually located a few millimeters away from the image plane.
Thus, some aberrations and some power may be introduced into the system by
the field lens. Also, introduction of a field lens will change pupil conjugates and
aberrations.
40 Chapter 4

Figure 4.4 Field lens.
3
(Reproduced with permission of The McGraw-Hill Co.)
4.10 Conics and Aspheres
Conics and aspheres present the designer with additional degrees of freedom in
defining the prescription data for an infrared zoom lens system. With the advent
of precise single-point diamond turning techniques, it adds little to the cost and
time of fabrication to specify conics and up to tenth- or twelfth-order aspherics in
the refractive or reflective surface description. These additional variables can be
very useful in minimizing aberration residuals during optimization (Secs. 6.5.2
and 7.2.2). The general equation for an aspheric surface can be stated as

( )
2
2 4 6 8 10
1 2 3 4 5
2 2
... ,
1 1 1
cy
z y y y y y
k c y
= + + + + + +
+ +
(4.3)

where e is the eccentricity, k is the conic constant equal to e
2
, and

k = 0 for a sphere,
k = 1 for a parabola,
k < 1 for a hyperbola,
k > 0 for an ellipse with foci on a line normal to the optical axis,
1 < k < 0 for an ellipse with foci on the optical axis, and

1 . . . n
are the aspheric coefficient terms.

4.11 Diffractive Surfaces
A diffractive optical element (DOE) can improve optical system performance
while lowering the cost and weight by reducing the number of lens elements and
desensitizing misalignment tolerances (Sec. 6.5). A DOE in combination with a
refractive component and with the appropriate power distribution produces an
achromatic system. It may also be possible to use the available DOE parameters
to correct for temperature. A new class of optical element consisting of an
aspheric surface and a DOE can be efficiently fabricated by diamond turning the
aspheric at the same time as the DOE. However, scattering may be a concern in
infrared systems. Many computer programs now include the capability of
modeling diffractive optical elements.
4.12 Aperture Stop Location
In forward-looking infrared (FLIR) systems, the detector responds to temperature
differentials across the field of view. Vignetting is the blocking of some bundles
of light from within the field of view before they reach the image plane.
Therefore, vignetting at the edge of the field of view cannot be tolerated because
vignetting will be sensed by the detector as a false temperature differential. This
means that clear aperture diameters must be large enough to transmit an
unvignetted beam from all points in the field of view. These diameters will vary
as a function of aperture stop location. Therefore, placement of the aperture stop
may be a critical parameter in applications where packaging constraints place
limitations on lens diameters (Secs. 6.1.2 and 6.5.2). This constraint on
vignetting is in contrast to visual photographic systems, where some falloff at the
edge of the field can be accommodated by the eye of the observer of an image on
film.
Lateral chromatic aberration is influenced by the aperture stop location. This
is an important consideration for infrared systems because the choice of optical
materials is so limited. Therefore, in the initial layout of the system the lens
powers, optical materials, and aperture stop location have to be selected so as to
provide for correction of both longitudinal and lateral color. It should be noted
that longitudinal chromatic aberration is unaffected by shifting the location of the
aperture stop.
4.13 Computer Optimization
Several software optics programs are available with zoom lens capability. The
first step is to find a suitable preliminary design starting point. One should select
infrared materials that provide longitudinal and lateral chromatic correction,
since these are first-order properties. Then one needs to define the merit function,
a single number representing the quality of the lens, in terms of target values and
weightings. The merit function considers the boundary conditions as well as the
image defects; boundary conditions include first-order properties such as focal
42 Chapter 4
length, and also physical parameters such as overall length and center and edge
thickness (Sec. 6.5.2).
The variable parameters have to be defined, starting with curvatures and
spacings. An essential step is to be certain that all of the rays will trace
trigonometrically over the full aperture and field of view or the program may not
be able to start optimizing. It may be necessary to start with a reduced aperture or
field and then increase them during optimization. It is important to review the
boundary violations after each optimization run and adjust the configuration as is
deemed appropriate. Analysis should be performed after each run as required to
evaluate optical performance and tolerance sensitivity.
4.14 Global Search
Several computer optimization programs utilize a global search technique
without designer intervention to find one or more solutions to optical design
problems. One successful approach is to set one radius to get a reasonable
effective focal length (EFL) and let the optimization program take over. Starting
at a local minimum tends to work more effectively in finding a good solution.
Starting from a set of plane parallel plates with a merit function that contains
important constructional considerations has been found to converge to a
satisfactory solution.
4
Numerous examples of global search may be found in the
literature, particularly at the quadrennial International Lens Design Conference
that is held every four years.
Among these programs there is an expert system for the automatic generation
of real solutions of zoom lens systems.
5
Two databases are established for
analyzing nearly 2000 zoom lens patents and 7,124 lens groups. The first
database is for the Gaussian optics of finished designs, and the second is for
individual lens groups. The expert system searches the first database for Gaussian

Figure 4.5 Examples of video camera real solutions.
4


Figure 4.6 Flowchart of the expert system program for the selection of a single layout.
4

layouts with specifications (zoom ratio, field of view, f/#, pupil position) close to
the design requirements. The goal is to achieve the required zoom ratio with
smooth cam curves and reasonable lens group f/#.
The structure of each lens group is selected from the lens group database
according to the range of zoom ratio, field of view, and f/#. A thick-lens system
is selected for each lens group with the simplest possible structure. The program
computes the Gaussian parameters and prints out satisfactory preliminary
solutions. Further optimization is needed to achieve the system focal length when
real lens groups are assembled into a complete system.
Examples of real solutions include a 2.5, 8.9- to 22.5-mm-focal-length
video camera shown in Fig. 4.5. A flowchart of the decision making process for
the selection of a single layout is presented in Fig. 4.6.
44 Chapter 4
4.15 Tolerances
Tolerancing an optical system is a complex subject that deserves a treatise of its
own. This is particularly true for zoom lens systems because the effects of
tolerances on performance have to be considered throughout the zoom range.
Computer programs can be very helpful by performing a statistical analysis of the
cumulative effect of all of the individual variable parameters such as radius of
curvature, surface accuracy, thicknesses, spacings, refractive index variations,
centering, and a host of other parameters. Compensators, usually spacings, are
utilized to relax tolerances as much as possible while maintaining the required
system performance.
A rule of thumb frequently used to form a basis for establishing tolerances
can be stated as
3

2
1
.
n
i
i
T t
=
=

(4.4)

This states that the expected total variation in performance T in an optical
assembly is given by the square root of the sum of the squares of the individual
tolerances t
i
. This is a conservative estimate by as much as a factor of two, but it
is a handy tool for predicting the cumulative effect of tolerances on performance
at one position.
4.16 References
1. Welford, W.T., Aberrations of the Symmetrical Optical System, Academic
Press, London (1974).
2. Roberts, M., Thermal zoom optics for R.P.V. sensors, in Fifth Int. Conf.
Remotely Piloted Vehicles, Univ. Bristol, 15.115.8 (1985).
York, (1990).
4. Mouroulis, P., Optical design and engineering: lessons learned, Proc. SPIE
5865, 586502 (2005).
5. Cheng, X., Wang, Y., Hao, Q., and Sasian, J.M., Expert system for
generating initial layouts of zoom systems with multiple moving lens groups,
Optical Engineering 44(1), 013001 (2005).

45

Chapter 5
Zoom Lenses
5.1 Types of Zoom Lenses
There are two types of zoom lenses, optically compensated and mechanically
compensated.
5.1.1 Optically compensated zoom lens
In an optically compensated zoom lens, two or more alternate lenses are linked
and move together with respect to the lenses between them (refer to Fig. 5.1).
1
This arrangement simplifies the mechanical construction and helps to maintain
good control of boresight and alignment. The image motion produced by this
type of system is a cubic curve, with the image in focus at a specific number of
positions during zoom. The maximum number of positions where the
longitudinal image motion is zero is equal to the number of moving air spaces. If
the object is at infinity and the first lens group moves during zoom, the space
between this lens group and the object is not considered a variable air space.
A. D. Clark has developed one form of the calculations used to evaluate the
image shift movements in an optically compensated zoom lens.
2
Figure 5.2
represents a general three-lens zoom unit, with the zoom elements in their
midzoom positions2 and also displaced from the midpoint. Small letters indicate

Figure 5.1 Optically compensated zoom lens.
1
(Reproduced from W. J. Smith, Modern
Optical Engineering, 2
nd
Ed. with permission of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.)
46 Chapter 5

Figure 5.2 General three-lens zoom system.
2
(Reproduced with permission from Elsevier
Science.)

the midzoom values and capital letters the values at some other general zoom
position. Thin-lens theory is used to investigate the zooming properties. The
Newtonian image equation is utilized, whereby x = f
2
/x.
Using Newtons equation,

2
'
b
B
B
f
X
X
= (5.1)
and

2
' ,
c
C
C
f
X
X
=
(5.2)
but

2
' ,
B
C B
B
f
X X D D
X
= = (5.3)

and using this in Eq. (4.2) gives

2
2
' .
C B
C
B B
f X
X
f DX
=
+
(5.4)

As previously defined, Z is the axial distance moved by elements A and C
from the midzoom position, and is the axial distance moved by the image plane
at zoom setting Z from the midzoom position. Thus,
Zoom Lenses 47

,
B B
X x Z = +

(5.5)

' ' ,
C C
X x Z = + (5.6)

D = d + Z, (5.7)
and Eq. (5.4) becomes

( )
( )( )
2
2
'
C B
C
B B
f x Z
x Z
f d Z x Z
+
= =
+ + +
. (5.8)

But, as with Eq. (5.4),

2
2
'
C B
C
B B
f x
x
f dx
=
+
, (5.9)

and this alters Eq. (5.8) after rearrangement to

( )
( )( )
2 2
2 2
,
C B C B
B B B B
f x Z f x
Z
f d Z x Z f dx
+
= +
+ + + +
(5.10)
or

3 2
2
,
Z aZ bZ
Z eZ g
+ +
=
+ +

(5.11)
where

2
2
C B
B
B B
f x
a d x
f dx
= +
+

( )
2 2 2
2
2
C B B
B B
B B
f f x
b f dx
f dx
= + +
+

B
e d x = +

2
.
B B
g f dx = +

It is interesting to note that only the square of the focal lengths appears in Eq.
(5.11), so the image deviation is independent of the sign of the power of the
lenses.
48 Chapter 5

Figure 5.3 Mechanically compensated zoom lens.
1
(Reproduced from W. J. Smith,
Modern Optical Engineering, 2
nd
Ed. with permission of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.)
5.1.2 Mechanically compensated zoom lens
In a mechanically compensated zoom lens, typically one movable component
provides the change in magnification (or focal length), and defocusing is
eliminated by a shift of one of the other elements of the zoom system (refer to
Fig. 5.3).
1
It is usually found that one or more of the components has to be driven
by some form of cam. Although this arrangement is more complex mechanically,
the image stays in focus throughout the zoom range, and this type of system
tends to have a shorter overall length than the optically compensated type.
Almost all infrared zoom lenses are mechanically compensated.

Figure 5.4 General two-component zoom unit, with the zoom elements in their midzoom
positions.
2
(Reproduced with permission from Elsevier Science.)

Zoom Lenses 49
Clark has also developed a form of the calculations used to evaluate the
zoom element movements in a mechanically compensated zoom lens. Figure 5.4
represents a general two-component zoom unit,
2
with the zoom elements in their
midzoom positions. Small letters indicate the midzoom values and capital letters
the values at some other general zoom position. Thin-lens theory is used to
investigate the zooming properties. For the first lens,

1
1 1
1 1
'
P
l l
= , (5.12)

where P
1
is the power of the lens and equal to the inverse of the focal length of
the lens.
This becomes

1
1
1 1
' .
1
l
l
Pl
=
+
(5.13)

Likewise for the second lens:

1
2
2 2
' .
1
l
l
Pl
=
+
(5.14)
But,
l
2
= l'
1
d. (5.15)

Therefore, using Eqs. (5.15) and (5.13) in (5.14),

1
1 1
2
1
2
1 1
1
' .
1
1
l
d
Pl
l
l
P d
Pl
+
=

+

+

(5.16)

Since the power of the combined system P is given by

P = P
1
+ P
2
dP
1
P
2
,

(5.17)

the above simplifies to

( )
1
1
2
2
1
1
'
1
d
dP
l
l
dP
P
l
+
. (5.18)

As the two components move, the following conditions must hold:
50 Chapter 5

Z
2
Z
1
= D d , (5.19)
and
L
1
+ L
2
+ D = K , (5.20)

where K is the object-to-image distance,

K = l
1
+ l
2
+ d.

Equation (5.20) specifies that the final image plane remains fixed. By using Eqs.
(5.17) through (5.20), the movements of the zoom elements can be calculated,
given the midzoom or any other starting position and the selected values of P, the
power of the complete system.
Equation (5.17) gives

1 2
2 2
,
P P P
D
P P
+
= (5.21)

and by combining Eqs. (5.18) and (5.20),

L
1
2
a + L
1
b + c = 0,
where
a = P,
b = D (P
2
P
1
+ P) KP,
c = KP
2
D K P
2
D
2
.

D is calculated using Eq. (5.21), and the above values of a, b, and c can then be
evaluated.
Finally,

( )
1 2
2
1
4
.
2
b b ac
L
a

= (5.22)

Since L
1
= Z
1
+ l
1
, the motion of the first zoom element Z
1
may be evaluated, and
using Eq. (5.19), the motion of the second element Z
2
may also be found.
5.2 Infrared Zoom Lens Specifications
Infrared zoom lens specifications may be stated in terms of any of the following
categories.
Zoom Lenses 51
5.2.1 Spectral region
The spectral region may be from 0.65 to 1.05, 3 to 5, or 8 to 12 m. The region
selected will depend upon the application, the detector, and the optical materials
utilized.
5.2.2 Optical system performance
Optical system performance may be stated in terms of spot size, angular
resolution, or MTF. Using MTF allows one to multiply the optics MTF by the
detector MTF in order to compute the system MTF. Performance may be stated
differently for various zoom positions.
5.2.3 Aperture
The aperture requirement may be stated in terms of f/#, numerical aperture,
entrance pupil diameter, or exit pupil diameter. If the aperture stop is located
behind the zooming elements, the f/# will remain constant throughout the zoom
range.
5.2.4 Effective focal length
Establishment of the EFL range will determine the required fields of view for a
given detector size at the image plane. It will also determine the required
entrance pupil diameter for a given f/# at each zoom position.
5.2.5 Magnification range
The magnification range is the zoom ratio from the lowest to the highest
magnification. It may vary anywhere from 2:1 up to 20:1 or even greater,
depending upon the system requirements. It is important to recognize that a
singularity may occur at a magnification of unity for the zoom groups. In the case
where such a condition exists, mathematical asymptotes in zoom group loci will
probably be observed. The result will be a discontinuity at this unique location,
with a loss of focus constancy. Therefore, continuous zooming with constant
focus may not be available throughout the zoom range.
3
5.2.6 Size constraints
Size constraints will be a function of the physical location of the zoom lens
system. Size constraints may be tighter for an operational system than for a
laboratory experimental unit. There may also be weight limitations for an
operational system.
5.2.7 Operating environment
The most common requirement in the operating environment is the temperature
range in which the system will function. This in turn will influence the selection
of optical and structural materials needed in order to achieve athermalization.
52 Chapter 5
Several representative temperature ranges are presented in Chapter 6. Other
possible environmental requirements are vibration and pressure, shown in Sec.
6.3.1.
5.2.8 Distortion
A certain amount of distortion at the edge of the field of view can be tolerated at
each zoom position. Typically, 5% is an acceptable outer limit.
5.2.9 Transmission
The required transmission will depend on the needed system throughput.
Typically, transmission through the optics should be 50% to 75% or more.
5.2.10 Narcissus
Narcissus can be a significant problem in infrared zoom lens systems. Less than
0.25 C temperature differential at each zoom position may be an acceptable
requirement.
5.2.11 Vignetting
Any vignetting is unacceptable in an infrared application because it will lead to a
false indication of a temperature differential at the image plane.
5.3 Extenders
An extender can be installed between the zoom lens and the sensor as a magnifier
to increase focal length. The focal length range increases in accordance with the
extender magnification. The f/# also increases in accordance with the extender
magnification because the focal length increases while the entrance aperture
remains the same. The zoom ratio remains unchanged while the decrease in field
of view is inversely proportional to the magnification. The spectral waveband
remains the same with proper extender glass selection. These attributes are
illustrated in Table 5.1.
Navitar, Inc. of Rochester, New York is one of the leading suppliers of
extender lenses.
Table 5.1 Example of use of zoom lens extender.

Zoom lens without
extender
Zoom lens with 2 SiGe
extender
Focal length 50 to 200 100 to 400
f/# f/2 f/4
Zoom ratio 4 to 1 4 to 1
Field of view 20 to 5 deg 10 to 2.5 deg
Spectral band 3 to 5 m 3 to 5 m
Zoom Lenses 53
5.4 References
York (1990).
2. Clark, A.D., Zoom Lenses, Elsevier, New York (1973).
3. Neil, I.A., Optimization glitches in zoom lens design, Proc. SPIE 3129,
158180 (1997).

55

Chapter 6
Refractive Infrared Zoom
Lenses
6.1 Target Simulators
Considerable progress has been made in the development of infrared target
simulators with zoom optics. One important application is in the realistic testing
of advanced missiles. This can be achieved with an electro-optical system that
operates in the 3- to 5-m or 8- to 12-m waveband and reproduces an object
moving with respect to a sky background, as it is seen by an approaching missile
with a FLIR. The radiance texture of both object and background are achieved by
an infrared transparency, whose pixel level can be chosen from as many as 256
gray levels. An infrared zoom lens simulates the closing distance between the
missile and the target. The block diagram of an example of a target simulator is
presented in Fig. 6.1.
1
The target scene generator, background scene generator,
and flare scene generator combine to present a varying image of the target at the
entrance aperture of the unit under test.
6.1.1 CI Systems
CI Systems of Agoura Hills, California, has been a leader in the realistic
simulation of infrared scenes for testing of advanced missiles. This has been
achieved by building a completely automatic PC-controlled electro-optical
system which operates in the 3- to 5-m waveband and reproduces an object
moving with respect to a background. The radiance texture of both the object and
background are achieved by an infrared transparency, whose pixel radiance can
be chosen from 256 gray levels. In one implementation with a 10:1 magnification
ratio, a modulated infrared image passes through an array of nine lens elements
that make up the zoom optics. The focal length range is from 150 to 1500 mm.
The beam that exits the zoom optics is a collimated image of the simulator target.
An optical schematic of the zoom lens is presented in Fig. 6.2.
2
Although
depicted going left-to-right toward the focal plane, in reality the light proceeds in
the reverse direction. In order to match the 75-mm entrance aperture of the rest of
the simulator system, the zoom lens exit pupil is by design positioned 200 mm in
front of the first lens of Group I. Group I forms a fixed intermediate image. This

56 Chapter 6

Figure 6.1 Block diagram of an example of a target simulator.
1

image introduces field curvature at the short focal length but also allows a
relaxation of the coaxiality tolerance between Group I and Groups II, III, and IV.
The zoom lens is mechanically compensated, with two moving groups which are
driven by computer-controlled electromechanical drivers. The optical materials
are calcium fluoride, silicon, and germanium. There is one aspheric surface in
Group II.
In addition, CI Systems in collaboration with Sturlesi Computational
Engineering has designed an advanced simulator system with a number of unique
features.
2
It can provide simultaneous projection with two different zoom lenses
of the 3- to 5-m and 8- to 12-m wavebands. The focal length range is from 150
to 900 mm. An 8-deg field of view focal plane is projected at all focal lengths. A
unique feature of this dynamic zoom system is the very high velocity-to-range
and acceleration-to-range ratios which can be achieved. The zoom lens
construction is similar to the one described above, but there are important
differences. The number of lens elements has been reduced from nine to six, with
Group IV eliminated entirely. One or two additional aspheric surfaces are utilized
in order to achieve the desired optical performance. The moving Groups II and
III travel only in one direction.
6.1.2 Hughes Aircraft Company
While at Hughes Aircraft Company, I designed an infrared zoom lens system to
operate in the 8- to 13-m wavelength region for the detection of missile
signatures.
3
The requirement is for diffraction-limited, high resolution (1 mrad)
imaging optics at f/2 with transmission greater than 50%. Three different lens
modes operating over a 3:1 magnification range are needed to cover a 9.525-mm
diameter detector for three different sets of target range and FOV. The focal
length range is 37.76 to 113.28 mm and the corresponding FOV is 7.19 to 2.41
deg.
Refractive Infrared Zoom Lenses 57

Figure 6.2 Optical schematic of the target simulator zoom lens.
2

Schematics of the final lens system are shown at three zoom positions in Fig.
6.3.
3
The lens system consists of an afocal attachment in front of a fixed imaging
lens and a field flattener. The afocal attachment is made up of a positive singlet, a
negative air-spaced doublet, and another positive singlet. The first singlet and the
air-spaced doublet are the two moving lens components linked together with a
cam to provide mechanical compensation. Germanium was selected for all of the
lens elements because its high refractive index was essential to minimize the
aberrations at the lens working apertures. Its low dispersion made it possible to
achieve the desired color correction.
The symmetry principle was utilized in the afocal attachment to further
reduce lens aberrations. Therefore, only spherical surfaces were utilized in the
zoom lens system, and the 1 mrad resolution requirement has been met for all
conditions of use without any aspheric surfaces. The total glass weight has been

58 Chapter 6

Figure 6.3 Schematic of three zoom positions of final 3:1 lens consisting of an afocal
attachment in front of a fixed imaging lens and a field flattener.
3

calculated to be only 172.4 g, and the total length is 161.79 mm from the first
lens vertex to the image plane in the midposition.
Some of the design techniques discussed in Chapter 5 can be illustrated using
this zoom lens system as an example.
A symmetrical afocal telescope of unit power can be constructed by placing a
negative lens midway between two identical positive lenses so that the lens
system is working at unit magnification. If the middle lens is moved along the
axis from the midposition in either direction, the magnification will change
rapidly. Such an afocal system is shown schematically in Fig. 6.4.
3
An afocal
attachment in front of a fixed imaging lens was used as the starting point for this
design. A 3:1 zoom ratio is achieved in this manner. By placing the aperture stop
behind the moving elements it is possible to maintain a constant f/# at the image
plane without a variable iris. The symmetrical construction of the afocal
telescope in the midposition makes it possible to take advantage of the symmetry
principle in minimizing the lens aberrations.

Figure 6.4 Afocal system in which the middle lens is moved along the axis from the
midposition in either direction.
3

The afocal attachment was scaled up five times and placed in front of a 70-
mm fixed imaging lens. This thin-lens solution was used as the starting point for
the design activity. The first-order analysis of limiting rays shown in Table 6.1
indicated that nearly all of the lens apertures appear reasonable for a high-index
material like germanium. However, the middle negative element B operated at
f/0.50 at the high end of the zoom range and was split into an air-spaced doublet
to minimize aberration residuals.
A quick calculation of spherical aberration as a function of f/#, as shown in
Table 6.2 for refractive index n = 4.0, demonstrated the desirability of splitting
the negative element into two air-spaced doublets, with a corresponding doubling
of the f/# for each singlet.
The aperture stop was placed in front of the rear fixed element of the afocal
portion to minimize the aperture diameter of the large front element while
maintaining a constant f/# at the image plane.
60 Chapter 6
Table 6.1 First-order analysis of limiting rays.

Table 6.2 Spherical aberration as a function of f/#.

F

n
1.0

4.0 0.008681
0.75 4.0 0.020409
0.50 4.0 0.069448

A field flattener was added during the course of the design to reduce field
curvature and astigmatism within acceptable limits. Review of the aberration data
and astigmatism field plots indicated a need to make the field curvature more
outward curving by introducing a field-flattening lens into the system. Since the
field flattener is a lens with finite thickness placed 6.76 mm away from the image
plane to provide mechanical clearance for the lens housing and the detector, there
is some deviation from thin-lens theory in the design solution. The design
technique utilized was to place a parallel plate of finite thickness at the
appropriate location and let the optimization program vary the curvature of the
plate as needed to obtain the desired performance improvement. As can be seen
by examination of the sagittal and tangential field plots in Fig. 6.5,
3
the desired
results have been obtained. Field curvature has been shifted outward by adding
the field flattener, and the corresponding shift of the S and T curves has reduced
astigmatism to an acceptable magnitude. This system is close to diffraction
limited, as evidenced by the axial and 0.9 FOV MTF plots in Fig. 6.6.
3
Residual
chromatic aberration has some effect on the broadband MTF at the longer focal
lengths.
6.1.3 Lockheed Martin
T. H. Jamieson designed a 10:1, 2- to 5-m, diffraction-limited infrared zoom
collimator
4
to be used as a variable magnification scene generator to test infrared
imaging and seeker systems. It simulates the approach of a moving

Magnification Lens A
EFL = 46
Lens B
EFL = 15
Lens C
EFL = 46
Lens D
EFL = 70
diameter
(D)
1.73 60 30 35 35
1.0 40 25 35 35
0.58 20 20 35 35
f/D=f/#
1.73 0.77 0.50 1.31 2.0
1.0 1.15 0.60 1.31 2.0
0.58 2.30 0.75 1.31 2.0

Figure 6.5 Sagittal and tangential field plots before and after inserting a field flattener.
3

target, which requires that a fixed size radiation source be projected into the
entrance pupil of the test optical system at varying magnifications, such that it
always fills the entrance aperture and field of view of the test optics. The range of
focal lengths required was from 300 to 3000 mm, with a maximum test aperture
of 60-mm diameter, so that the relative aperture range was from f/5 to f/50. The
field of view is a modest 2 deg. The zoom system consists of fixed foreoptics of
1000-mm focal length and a relay with magnification varying from 0.316 to 3.16
to achieve the 10:1 zoom ratio. The zoom system schematic is shown in Fig. 6.7.
4

It consists of four doublets, for a total of eight elements, made from silicon and
germanium to achieve achromatization. The foreoptics is of a telephoto
construction. The two mechanically compensated doublets in the zoom relay are
controlled by high-performance stepper motors. Computer optimization was
initiated at three zoom positions and was expanded to five and eventually to
eleven zoom positions. Diffraction-limited performance was achieved over the
entire zoom range. The components of the system were mounted on a laboratory
table, and this arrangement is shown in Fig. 6.8.
4

62 Chapter 6

Figure 6.6 Axial and 0.9 FOV MTF plots for the final 3:1 zoom system.
3

Figure 6.7 (a) Telephoto foreoptics and (b) zoom relay at extreme and midposition.
4


Figure 6.8 View of zoom projector optics, motion control, and blackbody.

6.1.4 Optics 1
Optics 1 developed a long-wave 5:1 infrared zoom projector to project simulated
infrared scenes to FLIRs and missile seekers while mounted in an aircraft.
5
The
optical schematic of this zoom scene projector is shown in Fig. 6.9. The projector
optomechanical assembly is presented in Fig. 6.10. Object space for the projector
is to the left of the zoom lens projector. Image space for the projector is to the
right of the zoom lens projector and coincides with object space for the common
module imager. It is designed to operate over the 8- to 12-m spectral waveband.
The zoom ratio is 5:1 from 220- to 1100-mm focal length. It operates with a 512
512 emitter array having 0.05-mm pitch size. The system consists of eight lens
elements with three +, , + moving groups. The fixed 150-mm-diameter zoom
lens entrance pupil is located 300 mm in front of the assembly. The aperture stop
of the zoom lens is situated so as to match the zoom lens exit pupil with the
entrance pupil of the common module imager. This entire optical train is shown
in Fig. 6.9. The field of view varies from 6.65 to 1.33 deg. Performance is near
diffraction limited over the entire zoom range. The object space f/# is f/1.4 at the
220-mm-focal-length position where the limiting aberrations are spherical and
coma. At the long-focal-length position the limiting aberration is secondary
color. The convex surface of the front lens is diffractive. The lens materials are
germanium and zinc selenide. Thermal compensation from 0 to 40 C is achieved
through choice of materials used in mechanical assembly and by means of zoom
group motion adjustments. This zoom projector has been manufactured and
successfully tested.

64 Chapter 6

Figure 6.9 Long-wave infrared (LWIR) 5 zoom scene projector optical layout.
5

Figure 6.10 LWIR projector optomechanical assembly.
5

Figure 6.11 FLIR system schematic.
6
(Reproduced with permission of Marcel Dekker,
Inc.)
6.2 Scanning Systems
One of the most important applications of infrared zoom lenses has been with
forward-looking infrared scanning systems. Figure 6.11
6
indicates how a FLIR
system operates. The objective forms an image onto a linear array of infrared
detectors. The amplified output of each detector drives a corresponding light-
emitting diode (LED). This array of LEDs is imaged, after reflection from the
back side of the scanning mirror, onto an image tube (vidicon). This, in turn,
drives a conventional cathode ray tube display. In this manner, a scanned infrared
image is converted into a visual image on a television screen.
The infrared zoom lens serves as the afocal attachment in front of the FLIR
objective lens. This can be an astronomical zoom telescope with an intermediate
image between the objective and the eyepiece. It is usually mechanically
compensated with two zooming groups, one negative and one positive. The
magnification ratio is often on the order of 4:1 or 5:1 or higher. Another
arrangement is to use the Galilean telescope, with which there is no intermediate
image, as the afocal zoom attachment to reduce the overall length of the system.
6.2.1 Barr & Stroud
Barr & Stroud developed a series of infrared zoom lenses for use in scanning
applications. They are intended to operate in the 8- to 13-m waveband over a
continuous zoom range of at least 3:1 and preferably up to 10:1. They are
mechanically compensated so as to minimize overall length. As shown in Fig.

66 Chapter 6

Figure 6.12 Barr & Stroud zoom telescope divided into five component groups.
7

6.12,
7
the zoom telescope is divided into five component groups comprising a
stationary primary objective component, front and rear zoom components, a
compensator component, and an eyepiece component. The final 2 to 10 zoom
telescope configuration is shown in Fig. 6.13,
7
with the zoom objective forming
one subsystem and the eyepiece coupled to the compensator component to form
another subsystem. The latter subsystem is interchangeable to match the given
scanner system, and to minimize complexity it has no moving parts. This is in
keeping with the Barr & Stroud philosophy of a modular design concept to utilize
a versatile zoom objective lens with a series of interchangeable
compensator/eyepiece lenses to accommodate different scanner systems.
Color correction is achieved through the use of one zinc selenide element in
the front zooming component. All of the other lens elements are made of
germanium. All of the lens elements have high-efficiency antireflection coatings
except the external surface of the primary objective element, which has an
ultrahard coating. Focusing from the minimum object distance to infinity and
athermalization are achieved by movement of at least one zoom component. The
athermalization method is based upon an electromechanical servo loop system
which includes carefully located temperature probes during assembly.
As part of its design philosophy, Barr & Stroud emphasized paying particular
attention to tolerances at an early design stage so as to minimize or eliminate
tolerancing problems during production. In the area of general manufacturing and
assembly, for example, compensation for center thickness errors is accomplished
by specifying medium to small center thickness tolerances on the auxiliary and
eyepiece lens elements and medium to large thickness tolerances on the zoom
objective optics. In addition, zoom components may be repositioned away from
their nominal design positions through the use of a variable-thickness spacer
placed between the primary objective element and the rest of the optics.
Boresight error may be minimized or eliminated by tilting or decentering at least
one lens element. It has been found that tilt or decenter of the zooming
components may be more effective in reducing boresight error without degrading
resolution. Judicious choice of carriage mechanisms may reduce boresight error
to an acceptable level and remove the need to provide additional compensation.

Figure 6.13 Final Barr & Stroud 2 to 10 zoom telescope configuration.
7
6.2.2 Pilkington P.E.
A compact 20 to 5 infrared continuous zoom telescope named Dezir was
designed and manufactured for production by Pilkington P.E. (PPE) Ltd. It was
intended to satisfy the requirements listed in Table 6.3.

Table 6.3 Requirements for a Dezir zoom telescope.

8 to 12 m
36-deg FOV in exit pupil space
10-mm exit pupil diameter
focus range 100 m to
overall length 350 mm
operating range 10 to +20 C
transmission > 60%

68 Chapter 6

Figure 6.14 Dezir first-order solution for the objective zooming groups.
8
(Reproduced with
permission of Philip Rogers and Qioptiq, Ltd.)

The system consists of a continuous-zoom objective and a fixed focal length
eyepiece. The Dezir has a +, , +, + mechanically compensated power
construction; its fixed entrance lens is followed by internal negative and positive
zoom elements, and a fixed doublet is in front of the eyepiece. The first-order
solution for the zoom objective in the midposition is shown in Fig. 6.14,
8
and the
final zoom telescope design is shown in Fig. 6.15.
9
The prime refracting medium
is germanium with a zinc selenide negative element in the negative moving group
to ensure good chromatic correction at all magnifications. The fixed internal
power group was made into an air-spaced doublet to make the group slightly
telephoto so as to reduce the back focal length of the complete zoom objective.
The eyepiece focal length was minimized, which reduced the objective focal
length and the overall physical length as well. The overall length of the zoom
telescope is 380 mm.
Measured performance of the Dezir largely meets the stringent target
specification. Narcissus effect due to retroreflections from lens surfaces was
minimized by use of low reflection coatings and through the correct choice of
lens shapes. A relatively large narcissus contribution caused by a surface in the
negative zoom group at low magnifications was eliminated by reconfiguring the
negative group optical power balance. The entrance lens diameter was controlled
mainly by reduction of pupil spherical aberration. Focusing from to 100 m and
athermalization are achieved by an axial movement of the entrance lens. The
total optics mass is 3.6 kg, and the total transmission is typically on the order of
65%.
Another compact infrared continuous-zoom telescope with the code name
Zulu has been designed and manufactured by PPE to be used in the optics sensor
package for remotely piloted vehicles. It is intended to satisfy almost identical
requirements as those listed in Table 6.3 and is of a similar mechanically
compensated construction as the Dezir. The Zulu MK.I goes from 10 to 3.8
and has an overall length of 200 mm.
The techniques used for compactness are shown in Fig. 4.2 of Sec. 4.4. To
ensure compactness of the complete telescope, the space available adjacent to the


Figure 6.15 Final Dezir zoom telescope design.
9

waisted section of the optics is utilized by zoom mechanisms and motors. The
zoom motions are provided by an arrangement of concentric cylinders; each
zoom group is mounted within cylinders connected by means of a cam follower
to a cam cylinder, which is rotated by an electric motor via a gearhead.
The MK.I was superseded by an MK.II version in which mechanical
modifications were incorporated and by a MK.III design which increased the
zoom ratio from 2.6:1 to 4:1 with a small increase in overall length.
The zoom lens configuration chosen by PPE has a number of important
advantages in production, including inherent self-centering and ease of assembly
resulting from axial symmetry. Centration tolerance is achieved mechanically
without optical alignment of individual lens elements. For the PPE zoom lens
design to be suitable for production, the individual component tolerances must be
achieved using conventional machining methods and without the need to match
components. By concentrating on and finding solutions in the mechanical
tolerancing problem areas, PPE has achieved a zoom lens design suitable for
volume production while meeting the performance specifications.
70 Chapter 6
6.2.3 Optics 1
Optics 1, Inc., in Westlake Village, California, designed an afocal zoom
attachment for the common module FLIR to be used on the U.S. Navy P-3 Orion
aircraft.
10
The system is an 8- to 12-m long-wave IR imaging system using a
linear HgCdTe detector array. This system must be fully interchangeable with the
present dual field of view switching afocal lens assembly. The designed zoom
attachment has a 5:1 magnification range from 0.9 to 4.5. The required MTF
at ambient temperature is 85% on axis 0 to 12 line pairs per millimeter (lp/mm).
Transmission needs to be at least 75% on axis. Focusing is required from 500 ft
to . An optical schematic of the system, including the common module FLIR, is
10
The zoom attachment is a Galilean form of afocal zoom
lens, which provides an acceptable level of performance while still meeting the
demanding packaging and other requirements. The zoom attachment has two
moving groups with a , + power distribution. The design employs all
germanium elements with the exception of one weak zinc selenide element for
color correction. There are four aspheric surfaces utilized for compactness in
order to achieve the desired optical performance. The aperture stop is located
toward the aft end of the zoom attachment so as to properly match the zoom lens
exit pupil to the entrance pupil of the common module imager. Narcissus is
tightly controlled through the judicious use of high-efficiency antireflection
coatings. The final design for this system provides an excellent level of
performance throughout the entire zoom range and is fully producible.
Athermalization over a temperature range of 25 C is required for this
system; the methodology is shown in concept in Fig. 6.17.
10
Each moving group
is controlled by one stepper motor that is microprocessor controlled and has an
associated look-up table programmed into erasable programmable read-only

Figure 6.16 5:1 afocal attachment for the common module FLIR.
10

Figure 6.17 Athermalization methodology for the 5:1 system.
10

memory (EPROM). The microprocessor controls the motions of the two zooming
groups so as to allow the user to proceed to any desired magnification. Two sets
of look-up tables are employed which are programmed into the EPROM; one set
is for the motion of the groups as a function of temperature and the other is for
changes to group motions as a function of range. Two thermistors bonded to the
housing in the vicinity of the first element instruct the microprocessor as to
which look-up table to access for thermal compensation.
The approach taken to achieve the required tight tolerances in manufacturing
and assembly is to utilize linear bearings for the zooming group motions, with
three separate bearings per group. The mechanical housing and all associated
components are manufactured of stress-relieved aluminum in order to avoid any
bimetallic effects. The lens elements are bonded into their respective housings
using a compliant bond material.
6.2.4 Precision-Optical Engineering
Precision-Optical Engineering in Hertfordshire, England, has been active in this
field for a number of years and developed a compact 3.5 to 20 zoom telescope
with an overall length of 300 mm for use in the 8- to 12-m waveband at four
specific zoom positions.
11
It has a +, , +, + mechanically compensated
construction illustrated in Fig. 6.18;
11
the scroll cam configuration for the two
zooming groups is shown in Fig. 6.19.
12
The telescope is designed to interface
with a UK TICM2 scanner, although it is capable of adaptation to other scanner
types. The telescope operates with a 10-mm pupil over a total field of view of 60
deg horizontal by 40 deg vertical. There is an internal turret which permits the
high magnification to be switched to 40 operating at half aperture. The

72 Chapter 6

Figure 6.18 Compact 3.5 to 20 zoom telescope.
11

manufactured telescope demonstrates near-diffraction-limited performance over a
substantial portion of the field of view together with a very high level of
narcissus control. The high MTF levels are due in large part to the lens
accuracies achieved using the potting techniques developed by the company. The
prime refracting medium is germanium with a zinc selenide negative element in
the negative moving group to ensure good chromatic correction at all
magnifications.
The zoom drive is achieved via the scroll cam, which comprises a cylinder
with a pair of slots in which followers are located. It selects specific
magnifications within the zoom range and is also responsible for athermalization
compensation, rotating itself according to the focal length requirement and the

Figure 6.19 Scroll cam configuration.
12
(Reproduced with permission of Richard Simmons,
BAE Systems).
temperature. For athermalization, the aberration balance is maintained by
adjusting the air space between the fixed front lens and the zooming groups, and
the position of the focusing lens is adjusted to ensure that the overall length of
the system is maintained. At the long focal length setting, an additional degree of
freedom is introduced to allow the zoom groups to be moved differentially. At
the short focal length setting, only the focusing lens position is adjusted while the
zoom groups remain stationary. The profiles of the slots in the regions between
athermalization zones have been configured to provide the smoothest mechanical
motions possible, with minimum variations in torque; this makes it possible to
minimize power requirements for the cam drive.
6.2.5 Zhejiang University, Department of Optical Engineering
The Deptartment of Optical Engineering at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou,
China, has designed a compact afocal infrared zoom telescope with a 3:1
magnification ratio from 2 to 6 which operates in the 8- to 12-m spectral
region.
13
The focal length and object field are 32 to 96 mm and 20.6 to 6.94 deg,
respectively. The overall length is 159 mm with an entrance lens diameter of 94
mm. The system operates at a constant relative aperture of f/2 over this zoom
range. The position and diameter of the exit pupil remain constant during
zooming. It has a 20 m to object distance. An optical schematic of the system
is shown in Fig. 6.20.
13
The five groups have a +, , +, +, + power distribution,
with Groups I, IV, and V stationary, while II and III are the mechanically
compensated moving groups. The zooming groups are fixed into two lens
mountings that slide the main concentric cylinder on which there is an outer
cylinder for the adjustment of zooming. Two sets of three roller followers
distributed equiangularly on each lens mounting are inserted into six cam slots on
the main cylinder and into six linear slots on the outer cylinder. The high
concentricity of these cylinders and the accurate match in machining ensure that
the concentric deviations of zooming and compensating lenses are in tolerance
during zooming.
Athermalization has been achieved in an infrared zoom telescope of similar
construction with a magnification range from 3.87 to 12;
13
the temperature
range is from 10 to +40 C. The lens elements are all made of germanium, and
the lens mount is made of aluminum alloy. The system is athermalized by means
of a combination of manual adjustment of the front lens and mechanical passive
athermalization of the rear collimating lens group.
14
The front lens is placed into
its lens cell for focus adjustment by manually turning until the needed distance
mark on the outer cylinder is aligned to a temperature mark on a stationary
sleeve. The temperature lines are marked at the proper position to obtain the
appropriate compensation displacement of the separation between Groups I and
II due to variation of ambient temperature during focusing. During focusing, the
front lens is rotated according to the ambient temperature. In the rear group, three
nylon 1010 bars and two invar bars are connected in series. The nylon bar end of
the part is attached to the fixed cylinder, and the other end is connected to the

74 Chapter 6

Figure 6.20 Compact afocal infrared zoom telescope with 3:1 magnification from 2 to
6.
13

collimating lens cell. The summarized expansion or contraction of the series bar
due to the ambient temperature is utilized to compensate displacement of the
separation between Groups IV and V by moving the collimating lens cell, which
can slide smoothly inside the fixed cylinder.
6.2.6 Electrooptical Industries, Ltd.
Electrooptical Industries in Rehovot, Israel, designed a compact high-
performance IR zoom telescope with a 15:1 magnification range from 0.5 to
7.5.
15
It is characterized by three optical element groups which are moved in a
predetermined manner to change magnification and compensate for temperature
effects. An optical schematic of the system is presented in Fig. 6.21.
15
The five
groups have a +, , +, +, + power distribution. Groups A and D are stationary,
while B, C, and E are the movable groups. The unfolded length of the telescope
from the front lens to the exit pupil is 275 mm, and the entrance pupil diameter is


Figure 6.21 Compact high-performance IR zoom telescope with 15:1 magnification range
0.5 to 7.5.
15
76 Chapter 6
150 mm. The telescope operates in the 8- to 12-m region of the infrared
spectrum. The lens elements are of germanium except for a zinc selenide
negative singlet in the negative moving group. This group has an undercorrected
spherical aberration that compensates for the overcorrected spherical aberration
in the front fixed lens element. High optical transmission is achieved due to using
only seven lenses in the overall system.
Magnification change and athermalization are achieved at the instant of
actual use by computer-controlled positioning of the movable groups in
accordance with data precomputed for each magnification and temperature of the
system. The computer receives three inputs: the instantaneous required
magnification, provided by manual input from the controller; the actual
temperature of the system, which is monitored by a sensor; and the required
focusing factor for the collimator. Static and dynamic tolerance requirements are
achieved primarily through proper control of the negative pair of lenses.
Boresight stability is accomplished through high lateral accuracy of the linear
bearings provided for the lens groups, and the simplicity of the mechanical
design and production is due to the use of standard high-accuracy assemblies
such as translators, linear bearings, and lead screw mechanisms.
6.2.7 Scotoptix
6.2.7.1 Boresighted zoom lens
I. A. Neil of Scotoptix designed a boresighted zoom lens with a 2:1 zoom range
from 10 to 20.
16
It consists of all spherical surfaces and has all germanium
elements except for one zinc selenide element for color correction in the 8- to 12-
m region. There are two movable components (, +) in the zoom assembly. An
auxiliary lens system minimizes variation in boresight accuracy by offsetting at
least one component from its nominal position by a fixed amount of decentration
or tilt; in this way, differences in angular errors at various zoom settings can be
reduced to near zero without significant degradation of other performance
criteria. The zoom lens schematic at three zoom positions is shown in Fig. 6.22;
16

the optical prescription data are presented in Table 6.4.
6.2.7.2 Athermalized zoom lens
Neil also designed an athermalized zoom lens with a 3.3:1 magnification range
from 6 to 20.
17
It too consists of all germanium elements except for one zinc
selenide element for color correction in the 8- to 12-m region, and again there
are two movable components (, +) in the zoom assembly. Athermalization is
achieved with movable carriages which are independently axially positioned
according to position signals generated by preprogrammed computing means that
correlate lens position with focusing distance, magnification, and automatically
measured temperature. The mechanical mechanisms are driven by electric motors
arranged in a servo loop. The zoom lens schematic at three zoom positions is
shown in Fig. 6.23.
17
The optical prescription data are presented in Table 6.5.

Figure 6.22 Boresighted zoom lens.
16

78 Chapter 6
Table 6.4 Optical prescription data of a boresighted zoom lens.

Lens Surface Separation Magnification
Radius of
Curvature
Material
Pupil -- 0 all flat air

A
A
1
22.30 all 36.32 air
A
2
4.58 all 34.19 Ge

B
B
1
0.48 all 233.38 air
B
2
4.81 all 114.30 Ge

C
C
1
0.48 all 50.80 air
C
2
4.58 all 61.47 Ge

D
D
1
61.62 all 69.09 air
D
2
2.70 all 122.78 Ge

E
E
1
23.84 all 94.79 air
E
2
5.58 all 67.16 Ge

F

F
1

22.68 10 2976.88 air
43.93 15 -- --
62.75 20 -- --
F
2
4.80 all 308.71 Ge

G
G
1
53.50 10 177.80 air
28.08 15 -- --
7.16 20 -- --
G
2
2.91 all 321.46 Ge
G
G
1
7.20 all 123.70 air
G
2
3.20 all 216.48 ZnSe

H

H
1
107.82 10 239.78 air
111.99 15 -- --
114.09 20 -- --
H
2
19.70 all 176.00 Ge


Figure 6.23 Athermalized zoom lens.
17

80 Chapter 6
Table 6.5 Optical prescription data of an athermalized zoom lens.

Lens Surface Separation Magnification
Radius of
Curvature
Material
Pupil --- 0 all flat air

A
A
1
22.29 all 44.32 air
A
2
4.50 all 36.37 Ge

B
B
1
0.50 all 193.01 air
B
2
4.25 all 1724.73 Ge

C
C
1
0.50 all 35.33 air
C
2
16.83 all 21.85 Ge

D
D
1
69.21 all 95.37* air
D
2
5.00 all 77.52 Ge

E

E
1

15.75 6 34722.22* air
49.59 13 -- --
73.62 20 -- --

E
2
5.50 all 243.31 Ge

F

F
1

78.45 6 331.31 air
35.83 13 -- --
8.59 20 -- --

F
2
2.75 all 556.48 Ge

F
F
1
6.00 all 407.05 air
F
2
2.75 all 585.41 Ge
F F
1
9.75 all 112.81 air
F
2
3.00 all 157.93 ZnSe

G

G
1

82.47 6 263.19 air
91.25 13 -- --
94.46 20 -- --

G
2
22.50 all 182.97 Ge
*Surfaces D
1
and E
1
have aspheric profiles.

Surfaces D
1
and E
1
are aspherics having profiles governed by the well-known
aspheric equation:
ZC = 1 [1 C (CH
2
+ BH
4
+ GH
6
+ DH
8
+ )]
1/2
, (6.1)
where
Z = distance parallel to the optical axis,
C = inverse of the radius of curvature of spherical surface, and
H = radial distance perpendicular to the optical axis.
In the case of surface D
1
, H has a maximum value of 18.54 mm for the axial field
and C = 1/(95.37 mm), B = 2.79 10
8
, G = 0, and D = 0. In the case of
surface E
1
, H has a maximum value of 29.03 mm for the axial field and
C = 1/(34722.22 mm), B = 7.54 10
8
, G = 0, and D = 0.
6.2.7.3 Optically compensated zoom lens
A patent issued to Neil describes a compact optically compensated infrared zoom
lens system for the 8- to 12-m wavelength region.
18
The first and third
components are single positive lens elements which remain stationary while the
second and fourth components, mounted on a common carriage, are selectively
positionable along the optical axis. These components consist of a negative air-
spaced doublet and a negative singlet, respectively. This zoom lens system is
shown in Fig. 6.24
18
in front of a one-component collecting system which forms
a real image of the object space radiation. The rear surface of the first lens
element is aspheric to help reduce system length. All of the lens elements are of
germanium except for one zinc selenide element in the air-spaced doublet. The
collecting system is movable to a limited extent to enable refocusing of the image
to compensate for the limited defocusing throughout the zoom range and for
defocusing due to effects of temperature variations. The telescope is athermalized
over the range from 10 to +50 C. The magnification range is from 1 to 9,
and performance is nearly diffraction limited over 75% of the field of view. An
alternative arrangement described in the patent goes from 4 to 20.
6.2.8 Optimum Optical Systems
A modern infrared zoom lens has been designed and fabricated by E. Ford of
Optimum Optical Systems of Calabasas, California.
19
It has a 3.5:1 zoom range,
operates at f/3.0 in the midwave infrared (MWIR) from 3.8 to 5.0 m and is a
reimaging system with all spherical surfaces. The focal length range is from 85 to
300 mm, the overall length is 280 mm, and the maximum aperture diameter is
100 mm. The image format diagonal is 12 mm. The stop location is 25 mm from
the image plane. The focus range is from to 30 m, but at the near focus the
narrow field suffers some spherical aberration due to the conjugate shift. The
operating temperature range is from 35 to +60 C and the wavefront remains
diffraction limited over most of this temperature range. The lens schematic is
shown in Fig. 6.25.
19
One of the unique features of this lens is that it was designed to be
microprocessor controlled and driven by stepper motors. Two motors are
82 Chapter 6
required for the two independent group motions, and the range and thermal
compensation are accomplished by these motors. The zoom look-up table, stored
in nonvolatile computer memory, is a list of allowable positions and the

Figure 6.24 Compact optically compensated infrared zoom lens system.
18

Figure 6.25 Modern infrared zoom lens.
19

Figure 6.26 Step-zoom dual-field-of-view telescope, NFOV.
20

corresponding number of the motor step to reach that position. The number of
table positions determines the speed and smoothness of the motion. Active
temperature compensation is accomplished in software.
6.2.9 Royal Institute of Technology
The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden designed a step-zoom
dual-field-of-view infrared telescope to operate in the 8- to 12-m waveband.
20

The zoom ratio from narrow field of view to wide field of view is 3.75:1. The
optical schematic is presented in Fig. 6.26. The system consists of six lenses with
one conic surface. The zoom system has three +, , + groups. The axial motion of
a single lens group is used to switch field of view and for focus and
athermalization. The narrow field of view is 2.56 deg horizontal with a 4 to 3
aspect ratio. The narrow field of view has a 150-mm entrance pupil diameter.
The front objective is a germanium singlet bent to minimize spherical aberration.
The second lens group is a zinc selenide/germanium doublet. The third lens
group is a germanium singlet with one conic surface. The eyepiece consists of
two simple germanium lenses. Wide field-of-view performance is limited by
lateral color at the corners. The system operates at f/1.2, where the f/# is defined
as the objective lens focal length divided by the objective lens entrance pupil
diameter. The zoom ratio can be increased to 10:1 in a variation of this design.
This variation is presented in Fig. 6.27.
6.2.10 Fuji Photo Optical Company
An infrared zoom lens has been designed by Fuji Photo Optical Company with a
4:1 zoom ratio. The optical schematic is presented in Fig. 6.28.
21
The f/# is f/1.
There are two operating modes. This infrared zoom lens operates in the 3- to 5-
m waveband using silicon and germanium as the optical materials. It also has an
operating mode in the 8- to 12-m waveband using zinc selenide and germanium
as the optical materials.
84 Chapter 6

Figure 6.27 10 step zoom telescope.
20
6.2.11 Carl Zeiss, Inc.
Carl Zeiss, Inc. has designed a modular infrared Kepler telescope (U.S. patent
No. 6,057,960). This optical system is presented in Fig. 6.29.
22
The objective has
a positive front group and a negative rear group. The objective includes an
interchangeable optic W to change field of view. An intermediate image is
located at position 27 in the schematic. This intermediate image is important as it
is placed at the common focal point of the objective-eyepiece combination to
make this subsystem afocal as an essential ingredient of a scanning system. The
spectral waveband is from 7.5 to 10.5 m. The optical materials are germanium
with zinc selenide for color correction.
6.3 Charge-Coupled Device Imaging Systems
6.3.1 Angenieux
A zoom lens compensated for temperature, vibration, and pressure (Fig. 6.30
23
)
has been developed by Angenieux, Inc., for volume production,
23
with over 600
units produced. Operating in the near infrared from 0.65 to 1.05 m, it was
developed for use with CCD sensors and is compatible with many airborne, tank,
and missile applications. This lens has a 10:1 zoom ratio, a 20- to 200-mm-focal-
length range, and operates at an aperture of f/6 or better. Its environmental
specifications are as follows:
temperature: 40 to +70 C
vibration: 5 Grms (50 500 Hz)
pressure: 850 1050 mbar.
These specifications are met through the use of (1) passive optical and
mechanical athermalization to keep the MTF constant at all temperatures, (2)
resonance damping of Group 1 to reject resonance frequencies above 500 Hz,
and (3) reduction of the power of the air lenses so as to minimize the effect of air
index variation with pressure. Note: The power of the air lenses refers to the
steepness of the radii of curvature of the surfaces adjacent to the airspaces.

Figure 6.28 Infrared zoom lens system consisting of five groups.
21

86 Chapter 6

Figure 6.29 Modular infrared Kepler telescope.
22

Figure 6.30 The 20200-mm zoom lens compensated for temperature, vibration, and
pressure.
23

Figure 6.31 Multiwavelength zoom lens for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope.
24

(a) Layout of zoom position 1 and (b) layout of zoom position 9.
6.3.2 University of Alabama, Huntsville
A multiwavelength zoom lens for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope
(ATST) has been designed by the University of Alabama, Huntsville.
24
The zoom
lens is an integral part of the ATST for observing radiation zones of the sun at
nine discrete wavelengths from 388.3 nm in the UV range to 854.2 nm in the
near IR. The optical schematic at the extreme positions is shown in Fig. 6.31.
This system requires constant resolution for identical image sampling at each
wavelength. An eight-element zoom lens meets the performance requirement
over the field of view. Each zoom position has a different focal length and f/# for
constant CCD sampling. The CCD camera has format size of 37 37 mm with
4096 4096 pixels corresponding to 9-m pixel size. The CCD sampling size is
18 m (two pixels) on the CCD detector.
The design starting point is Japan patent No. 58-34810 scaled to a 3000-mm
focal length and adjusted to f/27 at 550 nm. The glass materials are FKN5 crown
index 1.48914 and NLASF44 flint index 1.80832. The optimization program
utilized lens splitting, adding lenses, bending, and one aspheric surface. The final
design has two moving groups: a singlet for zooming and a doublet/singlet for
compensation. The Strehl ratio is greater than 90% at all zoom positions.
6.3.3 National First University of Science and Technology
A compact 2:1 mobile phone zoom lens has been designed by the National First
University of Science and Technology in Taiwan.
25
The overall length has been
reduced to 18.9 mm. The optical schematic is presented in Fig. 6.32. The front
diameter has been minimized with the aperture stop at the first element. The f/#
varies from f/2.8 in the wide field of view to f/3.8 in the narrow field of view.
The focal length varies from 5.5 mm to 11.0 mm. The system is designed for a
two-million pixel complimentary oxide semiconductor (CMOS) or CCD. There
are three +, , + moving groups with a motion distance for each group of less
than 10 mm. The optical materials are glass with one or more aspherical surfaces.
Distortion is less than 1% at all field and zoom positions.
88 Chapter 6

Figure 6.32 Compact 2:1 mobile phone zoom lens.
25
6.3.4 Industrial Technology Research Institute
A compact 2.5:1 zoom lens has been designed for cell phone applications and
inexpensive mass production by the Industrial Technology Research Institute of
Taiwan.
26
Injection-molded plastic aspheres improve performance and
compactness and decrease the cost due to the reduced number of lens elements.
There are only five lens elements. The first lens is negative with the concave
surface facing the object. Its rear principal plane is moved forward to shorten the
total length of the lens system. Control of optical power of the variator second
lens group shortens the zooming distance. The third lens group zooms to adjust
focus. Distortion is 3.5% in the wide field of view (WFOV) and 1.7% in the
narrow field of view (NFOV). The overall length is only 5.9 the image height.
The optical schematic can be seen in Fig. 6.33.
6.4 Laser Beam Expanders
6.4.1 Carl Zeiss, Inc.
Carl Zeiss, Inc. designed a beam expander telescope with variable magnification
for use with a 33:1 zoom ratio CO
2
laser scanning system.
27
The entrance pupil
varies from 1.5 to 50 mm, and the exit pupil is fixed at 1.5 mm; the latter pupil
serves as the entrance pupil for the scanner assembly. The scan angle is 12.5


Figure 6.33 Compact 2.5:1 cell phone zoom lens.
26

deg, and the overall length is 200 mm. To fulfill these requirements, a three-
element mechanically compensated lens system was chosen for the zoom
objective. It consists of a positive first-element focator, a negative second-
element variator, and a positive third-element compensator. Optimization of the
optical design was facilitated by splitting the compensator into two lenses with
powers of opposite sign. The change of magnification is accomplished by a large
axial movement of the variator and a relatively small axial movement of the
compensator. The lens schematic is shown in Fig. 6.34.
27
Since the optical
system was to be used with a monochromatic light source, no color correction
was required; therefore, all of the lenses were made of zinc selenide because of
its low absorption at 10.6 m. The telescope has since been achromatized and
athermalized. In all positions the telescope is diffraction limited both on axis and
for a field of view of 5 deg. The Seidel aberrations and astigmatic field curves
are presented in Fig. 6.35.
27
6.4.2 University of Twente
The University of Twente designed a zoom lens for use with CO
2
lasers. It is
used by high-power lasers in the 1- to 2-kW range for cutting sheet metal.
28
It
must match the numerical aperture of the focused beam to the material thickness.
The Rayleigh range should be about half of the material thickness. This zoom
lens has near-diffraction-limited performance from f/3 to f/8. The back focus is in
excess of the focal length, also known as a retrofocus telescope. The moving lens
90 Chapter 6

Figure 6.34 Beam expander telescope with variable magnification for use with a CO
2

laser scanning system.
27

group is mechanically compensated. The focal length varies from 60 to 200 mm
for a fixed 20-mm entrance pupil diameter. Zinc selenide is utilized as the optical
material for low absorption at 10 m. The field of view is 0.5 deg at the 60-mm-
focal-length position. Other considerations in the design include focusing of
reflected radiation, thermal gradients, and power density. The three-element
system with all spherical surfaces shown in Fig. 6.36 has been built and tested.

Figure 6.35 Seidel aberrations and astigmatic field curves for a beam expander
telescope.
27
92 Chapter 6

Figure 6.36 Three-element zoom system with all spherical surfaces.
28
6.5 Diffractive Optics
A diffractive optical element (DOE) is produced by replicating multilevel phase
patterns into an optical material, creating a stepwise approximation to an optical
phase profile (Fig. 6.37).
29
DOEs, sometimes known as binary optics due to
their multilevel structure, are being utilized with increasing frequency in visible
and infrared systems. Their use can improve optical system performance while
lowering the cost and weight by reducing the number of lens elements and
desensitizing misalignment tolerances. A DOE in combination with a refractive
component and with the appropriate power distribution produces an achromatic
system; it will also be possible to use the available DOE parameters to correct for
temperature. A new class of optical element consisting of an aspheric surface and
a DOE can be efficiently fabricated by diamond turning the aspheric surface at
the same time as the DOE. With its very high V number in the 8- to 12-m
region, germanium is a superior material for diamond turning compared with
other available infrared materials. However, scattering may be a concern in
infrared systems; 5% or more of the radiation will be diffracted into higher
orders, and stray radiation will raise the background signal level and lower the
contrast. Many computer programs now include the capability of modeling
DOEs.
Diffractive optics provide a strong negative dispersion which can be
combined with conventional lenses to reduce chromatic aberrations. The color of
a simple lens can be corrected without the usual method of adding another lens of

Figure 6.37 Hybrid refractive/diffractive lens element produced by replicating multilevel
phase patterns into an optical material, creating a stepwise approximation to an optical
phase profile.
29
(Reprinted from the May 1993 issue of Photonics Spectra, copyright of
Laurin Publishing Co., Inc.)
94 Chapter 6
a different glass type; this provides a degree of freedom that allows the designer
to reduce the number of elements. In addition, diffractive optics may be used in
infrared systems to reduce or eliminate the need for aspheric surfaces or for a
color-correcting element in the optical design. They may also allow a reduction
of alignment tolerances. At the same time, increased scattering and higher-order
diffraction are concerns that need to be addressed when considering diffractive
optics in the infrared. In any event, there is no doubt that infrared zoom lens
systems will benefit from the use of diffractive optics in the years ahead.
The dispersion of a DOE is negative and is independent of the substrate.
Therefore, a refractive/diffractive singlet can replace a conventional achromatic
doublet. For example, let us consider a silicon hybrid refractive singlet in the
MWIR 3- to 5-m region with focal length f = 100. For the diffractive surface,
V = (
M
)/(
S

L
) = 2. Using the primary achromatism Eq. (2.20) from Sec.
2.7.1, f
R
= 100.85 and f
D
= 11,850.
The optothermal coefficient of expansion of a DOE is independent of the
change in refractive index of the substrate with temperature. An achromatic and
athermal solution can be achieved with three optical materials that have different
powers, optothermal expansion coefficients, and dispersions. A thin-lens solution
in which the individual components are in contact can be derived by solving the
three simultaneous equations for system power, achromatism, and
athermalization. These equations can also be used to derive an achromatic,
athermal hybrid doublet by considering the diffractive surface to be the third
material or lens.
6.5.1 Optics 1
A 4:1 zoom lens with one diffractive element was designed by R. Hudyma for
the 3- to 5-m spectral band.
30
Table 6.6 presents the lens specifications.

Table 6.6 Diffractive zoom lens specifications.

Parameter Specification
focal length (f) 50200 mm (4)
f/# f/2.8
Encircled energy <40 m
Focal plane array format 10.25 10.25 mm
Spectral region MWIR

The configuration is +, , +, + with two inner moving groups. The optical
materials are silicon and germanium. Before adding a diffractive surface, the
chromatic strategy was to choose which groups to achromatize by examining the
change in chromatic aberration through zoom while leaving other groups
uncorrected due to low dispersion. By so doing, Groups I and III became
silicon/germanium doublets. The front silicon/germanium group was replaced by
a zinc sulfide hybrid element with the diffractive component placed on a base
asphere. The design solution with the hybrid singlet replacing the front doublet is
shown in Fig. 6.38.
30

6.5.2 Optical E.T.C., Inc. and Teledyne Brown
Optical E.T.C., Inc. (OETC) and Teledyne Brown Engineering (TBE) developed
a compact infrared zoom lens suitable for use in guided munitions with seekers.
31

It is to operate in the 3- to 5-m spectral band with a 4:1 zoom range. The focal
length range is 50 to 200 mm with a field-of-view range of 5 to 20 deg and the
aperture is a constant f/4.5 over the zoom range. The usable volume is a cylinder
having a diameter of 75 mm and length of 150 mm. The operational temperature
range is 20 to +50 C. The technical approach taken was to explore the
possibility of meeting these requirements by a lens system comprising
conventional lens elements where some surfaces are aspheric, and a similar
system that further incorporates diffractive surfaces. The OETC/TBE team was
successful in achieving near-diffraction-limited performance with both design
approaches over the entire zoom range and field of view. Both systems have a
similar geometric configuration with two moving zoom elements, and they both
utilize about the same volume. A comparison of the characteristics of these two
zoom lens systems is presented in Table 6.7.

Figure 6.38 Hybrid zoom lens with one diffractive surface.
30
96 Chapter 6
Table 6.7 Comparison of a conventional zoom lens and a diffractive zoom lens.

Parameter
Conventional
lens
Diffractive
lens
No. of elements 7 5
No. of germanium elements 2 1
No. of silicon elements 5 4
No. of spherical surfaces 9 5
No. of aspheric surfaces 5 3
No. of diffractive surfaces 0 2
No. of moving lens groups 2 2
Mass of lens system (g) 280.5 100.7
Transmittance relative to conventional lens 1 0.88
Thermal compensation needed maybe yes

My optical design of the conventional system is a mechanically compensated
lens having a +, , , + construction with the two internal negative groups as the
zooming components. The starting point for the design was an infrared zoom lens
patent for the 8- to 12-m region (see Appendix A for U.S. Patent no.
4,659,171); it was reduced to a thin-lens solution consisting of focal lengths and
spacings as listed in Table 6.8.
Silicon and germanium materials were inserted with finite lens thicknesses to
establish a starting point for the 3- to 5-m region while maintaining first-order
parameters and the overall length limitation of 150 mm. This zoom lens meets
the 75-mm diameter requirement by locating the aperture stop at the front vertex
of the first moving negative component. First-order aperture analysis indicated
that locating the aperture stop at any other location would cause vignetting and
make either the first fixed component or the rear fixed component exceed the 75-
mm limitation. The constant focal ratio of f/4.5 is maintained by modest
adjustment of the stop diameter during zooming. This system has excellent
longitudinal and lateral color correction through the use of silicon and
germanium in combination as achromats in the front and rear fixed components.
Field curvature has been minimized since the Petzval surface is almost flat due to
the balancing of positive and negative powers in the system.

Table 6.8 Thin-lens starting point at 50-mm and 200-mm focal length for the conventional
zoom lens system.

Lens group Focal length 50-mm spacing 200-mm spacing
1 96.246 47.914 65.556
2 44.505 12.245 22.901
3 33.278 29.841 1.657
4 27.535 50.310 50.310
-- -- 140.310 140.424
Table 6.9 Boundary conditions for initial optimization of a conventional zoom lens.

Type
First
surface
Last
surface

Target

Weight

Comment
TTHI 1 8 95 1 Overall control of zooming
group
TTHI 1 14 150 1 Overall length of optical
system
EFLY 1 14 50 1 Focal length at position 1
MNCA 1 14 0 1 No negative air space
MNCG 1 14 3.0 1 Minimum lens center
thickness
MNEA 1 14 0.1 1 Minimum edge air space
MNEG 1 14 2.0 1 Minimum lens edge thickness

Optimization was performed using the ZEMAX optics program. A default set
of rays was chosen as targets for initial optimization. Initial boundary conditions,
presented in Table 6.9,
32
were established so as to maintain first-order parameters
and a physically realizable solution during optimization. Weights were adjusted
upward and downward in subsequent optimization runs to ensure meeting these
boundary conditions.
The total number of aspheric surfaces necessary to achieve acceptable
performance was determined during optimization to be five. Detail design
optimization utilized three zoom positions initially and increased this number to
five, seven, and nine zoom positions. The final conventional lens schematic is
presented in Fig. 6.39
31
for the 50-mm-focal-length position.
Although MTF degradation due to thermal effects occurs at the lower
temperatures and the longer wavelengths, the conventional lens could potentially
be used without active thermal compensation. This lens system could also be
easily thermally compensated by slight movement of the first zooming element.
It would be a relatively simple matter to mount temperature sensors within the
lens system and provide the needed compensation.
The diffractive lens system designed by P. Reardon is also a mechanically
compensated zoom lens of the +, , , + construction, and again the two internal
negative elements are the zooming components. The design comprises just five
elements, four of which are silicon, with only one being germanium. Two
diffractive surfaces are required to maintain an excellent state of longitudinal and
lateral color correction; the first diffractive surface is located on the back surface
of the first silicon lens while the second diffractive surface is placed on the front

98 Chapter 6

Figure 6.39 Conventional zoom lens at the 50-mm position.
31

surface of the last silicon element. Three aspheric surfaces are utilized to correct
for the Seidel and higher-order aberrations. The variable aperture stop is located
at a fixed distance of about 7 mm from the back of the first zooming element.
The lens schematic for the diffractive solution is presented in Fig. 6.40
31
for the
50-mm-focal-length configuration.
The influence of the diffractive surfaces on the transmittance of the lens
system was investigated as part of this design study. Since they are used almost
exclusively for color correction, almost no optical power is provided by these
surfaces. The diffractive efficiency of a diffractive lens over the spectrum is
maximized by properly selecting the design wavelength of the lens. For the 3- to
5-m range, a central design wavelength of 3.750 m was determined. By
integrating over the entire spectrum, the average diffraction efficiency of one 16-
level diffractive surface was found to be 92%. Since the diffractive lens system
utilizes two diffractive elements, the diffraction efficiency of this system is
estimated to be 85%. The remaining 15% will appear as higher-order scattering
that should be of little consequence to the performance of the system.

Figure 6.40 Diffractive zoom lens at the 50-mm position.
31

The uncompensated diffractive lens suffers significant image degradation in
going through the full temperature range, particularly for the long focal length
positions. One cause of this degradation due to thermal effects is the large
curvatures on the zooming elements. However, with slight movement of the
zooming elements, the system regains nearly its original performance level.
6.5.3 Wescam
Wescam, Inc., designed a high-magnification zoom lens with two diffractive
surfaces.
33
Infrared cameras operating in the 3- to 5-m spectral band are used in
a wide variety of applications such as law enforcement, territorial surveillance,
and search and rescue. For these applications the infrared camera is often
combined with a daylight 3CCD camera system to provide a dual spectral band
capability. To optimize the overall system performance it is highly desirable to
match the fields of view of the two systems. Often a partial match to the visible
zoom lens is provided using an infrared lens having multiple discrete focal
lengths. However, a more desirable approach is to employ a continuous infrared
zoom lens with a field-of-view range matched to the daylight camera. Since
daylight zoom lenses can provide zoom ratios of 15:1 to over 35:1, an infrared
lens with a large zoom ratio is highly desirable.
The large zoom range requirement is most readily achieved with a large f/#.
However, system sensitivity decreases with increasing f/#. System analysis has
shown that f/4 represents a reasonable compromise. Although the lens MTF
degrades significantly at high spatial frequencies as the f/# increases, the overall
impact on system MTF is not significant since the detector pixel MTF dominates.
For example, at 20 lp/mm, increasing the f/# from f/2 to f/4 will degrade the MTF
by only about 10%. Based upon this system analysis, the primary zoom lens
characteristics were selected and are summarized in Table 6.10. An f/4 condition
supports a maximum focal length of 400 mm, which allows the entrance aperture
size to be maintained near or below 100 mm.
Utilizing a classical +, , +, + zoom configuration, the infrared zoom lens
designed by Wescam is shown in Fig. 6.41
33
at six zoom positions. A reimaging
design was chosen to minimize the objective lens diameter while maintaining

Table 6.10 Primary zoom lens characteristics.

Characteristic Typical lens value
Zoom magnification range 20
Focal length range 20 to 400 mm
Format 12.00-mm diagonal
Aperture 100 mm
f/# 4.0
Spectral band 3.4 to 5.2 m
100 Chapter 6

Figure 6.41 20:1 zoom lens with two diffractive surfaces.
33


Figure 6.42 Folded 20 zoom lens configuration.
33

100% cold shielding efficiency. The field of view is adjusted by sliding the
second negative lens element towards the fixed front lens and the positive third
lens group toward the fixed focusing doublet. The overall lens length is 429 mm
with spacings established to support a double fold. This fold, illustrated in Fig.
6.42,
33
results in an overall package length, including the detector/dewar, of less
than 300 mm. The front element and first moving group are both diffractive
elements to simplify the overall optomechanical lens design. The lens design
provides near-diffraction-limited performance over the full zoom range.
6.5.4 Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments designed an infrared continuous zoom telescope for the 8- to
12-m wavelength range that utilizes a diffractive optical surface for color
correction.
34
The system includes a continuous-zoom objective lens and a fixed
focal length eyepiece. The lens system includes five singlet elements: the first is
a fixed primary objective, and two negative zoom elements follow; the fourth is a
stationary collecting lens, and the fifth is the eyepiece. To ensure good color
correction, a diffractive optical surface is provided on the interior surface of the
first lens element in place of the introduction of an extra element (generally a
negative zinc selenide element).

Figure 6.43 Continuous-zoom telescope using diffractive optics.
34

102 Chapter 6
The diffractive surface allows the lens system to be made using all
germanium elements. As noted in Sec. 2.7.1, germanium has a very low
dispersion in the 8- to 12-m region and its high refractive index allows the
designer to minimize residual aberrations. The number of lens elements is
reduced to five through the use of aspheric surfaces, which reduces the overall
physical length as well. The lens schematic is shown in Fig. 6.43.
34
The front
objective lens has an aspheric diffractive inner surface and is stationary. The
second and fifth lenses each have an aspheric front surface, while the third and
fourth lenses each have an aspheric inner surface. The second and third lenses
each move independently to create the zoom effect. The fourth lens is a
stationary collecting lens, and the fifth lens is the stationary eyepiece.
Figure 6.44
34
shows the inner surface of the first lens with the diffractive
surface formed thereon. This surface includes a plurality of rings or circular
steps, each of the rings having a step function. The steps can move out from the
lens interior either in a direction toward the lens center, as shown in Fig. 6.45,
34

or toward the lens edge.
6.5.5 Raytheon
Raytheon designed a dual purpose infrared lens assembly that covers a 3:1 zoom
range: U.S. patent No. 6,151,170. The optical schematic is presented in Figure
6.46
35
. It operates in either the 3- to 5-m or 8- to 12-m waveband. The aperture
stop is mounted on the second focusing component 36. The field of view varies
from 8.0 to 24.0 deg. With a WFOV, the f/# is less than 1.0. With a NFOV the f/#
varies from f/0.9 to f/1.6. The overall length is 191 mm. This system utilizes
tenth-order aspherics on all surfaces and one diffractive surface on surface 42 for
axial color in one embodiment. In another embodiment there is a second
diffractive surface 44 to correct for lateral color. This patent also states that
lenses 38 and 40 are collecting lenses. This zoom imaging system may be used to
detect fires and to control temperature-sensitive industrial processes.

Figure 6.44 Diffractive surface with a plurality of rings.
34

Figure 6.45 Step function of the diffractive surface.
34

Figure 6.46 Dual-purpose infrared assembly.
35

104 Chapter 6
6.5.6 Raytheon
Raytheon also designed an optically athermalized diffractive infrared zoom lens
assembly, shown in Fig. 6.47.
36
The first and third elements are of the same
material and have positive power. A linked assembly shifts from wide to narrow
field of view by moving the second element, which is of a different material. The
materials are selected such that the dn/dt of the first material is less than the dn/dt
of the second material. The difference in focus between the wide and narrow
field of view positions is within the depth of focus of the zoom lens assembly.
Color is corrected by means of a diffractive surface on at least one of the first and
third lens elements.
6.6 Focal Plane Arrays
6.6.1 Agency for Defence Development
The Agency for Defence Development in South Korea designed a compact 20 to
1 focal plane array (FPA) infrared zoom camera.
37
The optical schematic is
presented in Figure 6.48.
37
It operates over the midwavelength region from 3.7 to
4.8 m. The focal length varies from 12.75 to 275.0 mm over the 20:1 zoom
range at f/2.5. Groups 2 and 3 (, +) are the two mechanically compensated
zooming groups. Their zoom loci are almost linear to simplify the mechanical
design of the cam. Group 1 is a single-element silicon sphere. Group 2 is a
single-element germanium asphere. It zooms for change of focal length and for
temperature focus, corrects for axial color in narrow FOV, and reduces the
Petzval curvature. The asphere corrects off-axis aberrations. Group 3 is a single-
element positive silicon asphere. Group 4 consists of two silicon elements. Group
5 consists of the reimaging optics. Double-fold mirrors reduce the overall
package size to less than 240 mm. The total weight of the camera is less than 5.3
kg.

Figure 6.47 Optically athermalized diffractive infrared zoom lens assembly.
36


Figure 6.48 Compact 20:1 focal plane array infrared zoom camera.
37
(a) Conceptual
design of zoom optics, and schematic of zoom optics with (b) NFOV and (c) WFOV.

106 Chapter 6
Distortion is less than 5% at all zoom positions. Automatic athermalization is
provided by the zooming groups from 30 to +55 C. Thermal defocus is
minimized to within the Rayleigh limit depth of focus of 0.05 mm because
silicon has a lower dn/dt than germanium.
Close to diffraction-limited performance is achieved through the use of two
microscanning mirrors and two modified lead zirconium titanate (PZT) actuators.
PZT is a ferroelectric material that can also be used as a pyroelectric. An FPA
detector-based imager has reduced resolution compared to scanning systems with
the same instantaneous field of view. This limitation is due to the spatially
synchronous scene sampling inherent in staring FPA systems. Spatial aliasing is
caused by the discrete nature of the detector array. The microscan concept is a
valid technique for increasing the sampling rate of staring FPA systems. The
higher spatial frequencies in an image can be fully resolved. The effective
sampling frequencies increase to double that of the detector. This results in
improved recognition and identification. The microscan principle operates by
moving the image on the detector by half a pixel width in both axes in sequential
video fields and interleaving the image on the display. This system employs a
2 2 microscanning technique by utilizing folding mirrors with an attached PZT
actuator. The PZT transducer tilts the mirror to create an optical line-of-sight
shift of one-half of the instantaneous FOV. The microscan concept is a valid
technique for increasing the resolution of staring FPA systems.
The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, designed a dual-field-
of-view optical system for infrared focal plane arrays.
38
The spectral waveband is
from 3 to 5 m. The zoom ratio from NFOV to WFOV is 3.5:1. The dual field of
view is achieved with axial zooming motion of one lens group, as presented in
Fig. 6.49.
38
The system operates at f/2.75 to match the diffraction-limited blur
spot with the detector unit cell in NFOV and WFOV. The narrow FOV is 2.5 deg
horizontal by 2.0 deg vertical. The NFOV focal length is 220 mm with an 88-mm
entrance aperture diameter. The objective lens group is used with reimaging relay
optics to minimize the front lens diameter. Diffractive and conic surfaces are
used to correct color and monochromatic aberrations, respectively. Wide FOV
performance is limited by lateral color at the field corners. Silicon and zinc
sulfide are the optical materials. Narcissus effect is minimized by means of
paraxial and real ray modeling of yni and I/I' values to defocus the narcissus
return of each surface so that it does not get focused near the cold shield or
detector.
The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, designed a triple-field-
of-view optical system for infrared focal plane arrays.
39
The spectral waveband is
from 3 to 5 m. The zoom ratio from NFOV to WFOV is 9.375:1. The triple


Figure 6.49 Dual-field-of-view optical system for infrared focal plane arrays.
38
(a) Step-
zoom lens, WFOV mode and (b) step-zoom lens, NFOV mode.

108 Chapter 6

Figure 6.50 Triple-field-of-view optical system for infrared focal plane arrays.
39

field of view is achieved with axial zooming motion of one lens group, as
39
The system operates at f/2.75 to match the diffraction-
limited blur spot with the detector unit cell in NFOV and WFOV. The narrow
FOV is 2.5 deg horizontal by 2.0 deg vertical. The NFOV focal length is 275 mm
with a 100-mm entrance aperture diameter. The objective lens group is used with
reimaging relay optics to minimize the front lens diameter. Diffractive and conic
surfaces are used to correct color and monochromatic aberrations, respectively.
Wide FOV performance is limited by lateral color at the field corners. Silicon
and germanium are the optical materials. Narcissus effect is minimized by means
of paraxial and real ray modeling of yni and I/I' values to defocus the narcissus
return of each surface so that it does not get focused near the cold shield or
detector.
6.7 References
1. Ben-David, E. and Cabib, D., IR simulation of missile closing on a moving
textured object with a textured background and EO countermeasure, Proc.
SPIE 1687, 509521 (1992).
2. Mangoubi, S., Sturlesi Computational Engineering, Private Communication
(27 February 1993).
3. Mann, A., Infrared zoom lens system for target detection, Optical
Engineering 21(4), 786793 (1982).
4. Jamieson, T. H., Diffraction limited infrared zoom collimator, Proc. SPIE
3129, 131137 (1997).
5. Shi, W. and Couture, M.E., Long wave infrared zoom projector thermal
analysis and compensation, Optical Engineering 39(10), 27052714 (2000).
6. Laikin, M. Lens Design, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York (1991).
7. Neil, I.A. General purpose zoom lens for the thermal infrared, Proc. SPIE
518, 5565 (1984).
8. Rogers, P., Qioptiq Ltd., Private Communication (May 1995).
9. Roberts, M., Compact infrared continuous zoom telescope, Optical
Engineering 23(2), 117121 (1984).
10. Fischer, R.E., Actively controlled 5:1 afocal zoom attachment for common
module FLIR, Proc. SPIE, 1690, 137152 (1992).
11. Simmons, R.C., Stability of aberrations with temperature in fast thermal
imaging zoom telescopes, Proc. SPIE 916, 1926 (1988).
12. Simmons, R., BAE Systems, Private Communication (11 July 1995).
13. Chen, R., Design of compact IR zoom telescope, Proc. SPIE 1540, 717723
(1991).
14. Chen, R., Combination of mechanical athermalization with manual in IR
zoom telescope, Proc. SPIE 1540, 724728 (1991).
15. Shechterman, M., High performance wide magnification range IR zoom
telescope with automatic compensation for temperature effects, Proc. SPIE
1442, 276285 (1990).
16. Neil, I.A. and Turnbull, M.Y., Zoom lens tolerances and design concepts,
Proc. SPIE 590, 1829 (1984).
17. McCreath, W. and Neil, I.A., Zoom lens assembly, British Patent
Application No. 83,15878 (1983).
18. Neil, I.A., Variable magnification infrared objective lens assembly, U.S.
Patent No. 4,632,498 (1986).
19. Ford, E., Active temperature compensation of an infrared zoom lens, Proc.
SPIE 3129, 138143 (1998).
20. Akram, M.A. and Asghar, M.H., A step-zoom dual-field-of-view IR
telescope, Proc. SPIE 4832, 32833 (2002).
21. Watanabe, F., Infrared zoom lens system, U.S. Patent No. 6,091,551
(2000).
22. Ulrich, W., Modular infrared Kepler telescope, U.S. Patent No. 6,057,960
(2000).
23. Pierre Nory, Angenieux, Private Communication (May 1995).
24. An, H.K. and Pitalo, S.K. Diffraction-limited constant resolution zoom lens
across multi-wavelengths for Advanced Technology Solar Telescope, Proc.
SPIE-OSA 6342, 63421L (2006).
110 Chapter 6
25. Fang, Y.C. and Tsai, H.L., 2 optical digital zoom lens with short total
length and extremely small front aperture for two million pixel CMOS on
mobile phones, Proc. SPIE-OSA 6342, 634211 (2006).
26. Chang, C.W. and Wu, C.C., A compact and cost effective design for cell
phone zoom lens, Proc. SPIE 6667, 6667OP (2007).
27. Aurin, F.A., Zoom system for CO
2
laser, precalculation and final design,
Proc. SPIE 655, 176181 (1986).
28. Beckman, L.H. and Maerten, O., Zoom lens designs for use in sheet metal
cutting by high power CO
2
lasers, Proc. SPIE 1780, 765776 (1993).
29. Behrmann G. and Bowen, J., A hybrid approach opens doors for diffractive
optics, Photonics Spectra 29(5), 159168 (May 1993).
30. Hudyma, R.M., Role of diffractive elements in the design of mid-wave
infrared zoom lenses, Proc. SPIE 1970, 1122 (1993).
31. Mann, A., Johnson, R.B., Reardon, P., and Peters, B., Compact infrared
zoom lenses for the 35 spectral band, Proc. SPIE 2744, 181192 (1996).
32. ZEMAX Optical Design Program Users Guide Version 7.0, Focus Software,
Inc. (1998).
33. Sinclair, R.L., High magnification zoom lenses for 35 m applications,
Proc. SPIE 3429, 1118 (1998).
34. Chipper, R., Infrared continuous zoom telescope using diffractive optics,
U.S. Patent No. 5,493,441 (February 1996).
35. Chipper, R., Dual purpose infrared assembly, U.S. Patent No. 6,151,170
(2000).
36. Chipper, R., Fixed focus, optically athermalized, diffractive infrared zoom
objective lens, PCT Int. Patent Appl. No. WO/2003/085437, U.S. Patent
Appl. No. 6,999,243 (2003).
37. Kim, H.S., Kim, C.W., and Hong, S.M., Compact mid-wavelength infrared
zoom camera with 20:1 zoom range and automatic athermalization, Optical
Engineering 41(7), 16611667 (2002).
38. Akram, M.N., Design of a dual field-of-view optical system for infrared
focal plane arrays, Proc. SPIE 4767, 1323 (2002).
39. Akram, M.N., Design of a multiple-field-of-view optical system for 3 to 5
m infrared focal plane arrays, Optical Engineering 42(6), 17041714
(2003).

111

Chapter 7
Reflective Infrared Zoom
Systems

7.1 Obscured Systems
7.1.1 Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
A 2:1 axially symmetric zoom reflective system with all spherical surfaces was
designed by S. Y. Rah and S. S. Lee to satisfy the requirements listed in Table
7.1.
1
In a four-mirror zoom system, for a given set of mirror curvatures, there are
three independent parameters: the distances between the mirrors. A condition
imposed upon the design is that the system continually satisfies the aplanatic
condition while it is zooming. In an aplanatic system spherical aberration and
coma are zero. The optical designers made use of the concept in third-order
aberration theory that for an aplanatic system the shift of the aperture stop does
not affect the aberration coefficients for spherical aberration, coma, and
astigmatism. The stop was placed at the last surface of the system for ease of
control of illumination of the image point. Although several reflective
configurations were examined, the Cassegrain-Cassegrain combination was
selected as the most appropriate for this system since it was found to have the
smallest image spot size throughout the zoom range. The optical schematic is
shown in Fig. 7.1.
1
Astigmatism limits the field angle of the system to less than
1.0 deg. A conic surface such as an ellipsoid for the primary surface has been
found to be effective in reducing astigmatism throughout the zoom range.

Table 7.1 Requirements for a 2:1 axially symmetric reflective zoom system.

Focal length range 66.67133.33 cm
f/# range f/4.0f/8.0
Wavelength 10.6 m
Field of view 1.0 deg
Central obscuration 50% maximum
112 Chapter 7

Figure 7.1 Axially symmetric Cassegrain-Cassegrain 2:1 zoom reflective system with all-
spherical surfaces.
1

7.1.2 Center for Applied Optics, University of Alabama, Huntsville
An all-reflective four-element zoom telescope was designed by R. B. Johnson at
the Center for Applied Optics, University of Alabama, Huntsville.
2
The
motivation for this effort was the need for a telescopic system capable of both
wide and narrow field viewing across multiple spectral bands. The final design is
illustrated in Fig. 7.2
2
and has a 4:1 zoom range from 7.37 to 29.46-cm EFL at
approximately f/3.3. It is a Cassegrain-inverse-Cassegrain configuration with two
moving zoom elements and a zooming image plane. The mirrors are all conics
with higher-order aspherics on the secondary and tertiary. The full field of view
range is from 6.0 to 1.5 deg. An automated prototype of this multispectral zoom
telescope (MZT) has been fabricated, a task made easier through the use of
special alignment flats diamond-turned along with each mirror. Tests have
confirmed predicted performance.
Reflective Infrared Zoom Systems 113

Figure 7.2 All-reflective, four-element Cassegrain-inverse-Cassegrain 4:1 zoom
telescope.
2

7.2 Unobscured Systems
7.2.1 Hughes Aircraft Company
An all-reflective zoom optical system was designed by R. Kebo of Hughes
Aircraft Company.
3
It has a 2:1 zoom ratio from 1.7 to 3.6. It is a four-mirror
system with three movable mirrors and a stationary primary mirror. The primary
is a paraboloid and the secondary is a hyperboloid. All of the mirrors are
rotationally symmetric and centered on the optical axis. The aperture stop is
located at the primary. Both the entrance and exit pupils are decentered from the
optical axis, with the entrance pupil lying above it, and the exit pupil lying below
it; this results in an unobscured system, a unique feature of this configuration.
The field of view, however, is centered on the optical axis. The FOV is 0.95 deg
at 3.6 and 2.0 deg at 1.7. It is an afocal system with an intermediate image
between the secondary and tertiary mirrors. The system schematic is shown in
Fig. 7.3.
3
Performance analysis of this system at 3.6 is presented in Appendix B.
7.2.2 Optical E.T.C., Inc.
I designed for Optical E.T.C., Inc. an unobscured all-reflective zoom optical
system for utilization in the infrared to project a large-area thermal pixel array as
part of an infrared test set.
4
A remote 150-mm unobscured entrance pupil was

114 Chapter 7

Figure 7.3 All-reflective zoom optical system with decentered entrance and exit pupils.
3
required to match the pupil of the unit under test. This system has a 2:1
magnification range and is spatially compact, with the physical envelope being
less than 610 305 mm. The focal length varies from 600 to 1200 mm, the field
of view varies from 2.2 2.2 to 4.4 4.4 deg, and the focal ratio varies from f/4
to f/8. This system consists of three aspheric mirrors which share a common
optical axis, although their mechanical axes are displaced from one another. The
secondary and tertiary mirrors and the image plane move during zoom. The
image surface is flat. The schematic of this system at three zoom positions is
shown in Fig. 7.4.
4

The field of view is offset below the optical axis by 3.3 deg. The advantage
of this over the centered FOV is that residual spherical aberration and other
aberration residuals about the optical axis are used to achieve balance with the
astigmatic and comatic aberrations present farther off axis. This approach
allowed realization of good resolution over relatively large fields of view
throughout the 2:1 zoom range.
The starting point for this design was a 4:1 system previously designed by
R. B. Johnson that consisted of three aspheric mirrors with a 100-mm entrance
pupil. The portion of the zoom range from 450- to 900-mm focal length was
selected for optimization. When reasonable image quality was obtained for this
set of parameters, this preliminary design was scaled up to the 600- to 1200-mm
focal length range; this scaling increased the pupil diameter to 133.3 mm. At this
point, the pupil diameter was increased to the required 150 mm. This change
degraded the image quality, which resulted in the addition of higher-order
aspheric coefficients on the primary and tertiary mirrors in order to achieve
acceptable performance levels.
The MTF was evaluated at the Nyquist sampling frequency of the thermal
pixel array, which is 2.86 cycles/mm. Using the sampling frequency makes it
possible to perform comparative evaluations at all zoom positions. The results of
the evaluation are contained in Table 7.2. The values in the table are ratios given
by the actual diffraction MTF divided by the diffraction-limited MTF at 2.86
cycles/mm. Zoom positions are from short to long focal length. Field positions
are in terms of relative field angles
x
and
y
. The high degree of uniformity over
the entire field of view throughout the zoom range is evident.

Table 7.2 MTF of the 2:1 zoom mirror system.

Zoom
EFL
(mm)

0,1

0,0

0,1

1,1

1,0

1,1
620 84 82 83 83 83 78
689 80 88 90 78 84 73
926 78 80 92 86 82 66
1107 83 84 86 88 87 68
1224 83 81 79 86 82 64
116 Chapter 7

Figure 7.4 All-reflective zoom collimator with an unobscured entrance pupil and with the
FOV center offset with respect to the optical axis, (a) short EFL, (b) mid EFL, (c) long
EFL.
4
7.2.3 Beijing Institute of Technology
The Beijing Institute of Technology has designed an unobscured all-reflective
three-mirror zoom system.
5
The optical schematic is presented in Fig. 7.5. It
consists of a three-mirror, +, , +, 2:1 zoom system without an intermediate
image. The focal length is from 150 to 300 mm operating at f/4. All of the
mirrors are centered on the optical axis. The primary and tertiary mirrors are off-
axis aspheres obtained by cutting the parent mirror. All of the mirrors and the
image plane are movable. The operating spectral wavebands are from 3 to 5 m
and from 8 to 12 m. The system is designed for use with uncooled linear array
detectors that form an image by scanning in orbit for multispectral earth
observations in such applications as forest fire detection and mineral resource
surveys.

Figure 7.5 Unobscured all-reflective three-mirror zoom system.
5
(a) Zoom system layout
for f = 150 mm and corresponding MTF and (b) zoom system layout for f = 300 mm and
corresponding MTF.

7.2.4 Contraves Brashear
A broadband 2:1 zoom collimator was developed for the kinetic kill vehicle
simulator by Contraves Brashear at Eglin AFB.
6
It consists of a flight motion
simulator to project infrared scenes from 3.0 to 12.0 m. This unobscured
reflective system provides five discrete field of view positions ranging from 1.5
to 3.0 deg. The 4-in. diameter exit pupil is 50 in. below the mounting surface of
the flight motion simulator. The four-mirror all-reflective off-axis system has
three movable mirrors: M2, M3, and M4. An intermediate image near M2 is
relayed to the final image at the emitter array. The focal length varies from 20 to
40 in. while the f/# goes from f/5 to f/10. Distortion is less than 1% at any field
position. The system schematic is presented in Fig. 7.6.
7.3 Special Systems
This section consists of nonzooming reflective systems for use in the infrared that
illustrate various design techniques that can be utilized in zoom reflective
systems. These techniques include the clever use of mirrors for folding the
system into a compact package, the Mangin mirror, catadioptric systems, and
dual exit pupils.
118 Chapter 7

Figure 7.6 Broadband 2:1 zoom collimator for a flight motion simulator.
6

Figure 7.7 Folded Mangin seeker optical system.
7

7.3.1 Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin designed a folded catadioptric seeker optical system
7
presented
in Fig. 7.7. This system meets the seeker requirement of a long focal length for
long-range identification of targets. The short physical length is achieved with a
folded optical system. The f/# is f/2 for use with an uncooled detector array. The
seeker operates in the 8- to 12-m region. The system consists of two refractive
elements and two fold mirrors. The lens elements are made of AMTIR-4. A
diffractive surface is on the back of the first element for color correction. The
refractive surface of the second element is aspheric. The second fold is a Mangin
mirror
8
where reflection takes place on the rear surface of the second lens
element. A Mangin mirror consists of a thick negative meniscus lens, as shown in
Fig. 7.8. The rear surface is a reflective mirror. The negative lens introduces
overcorrected spherical aberration to compensate for undercorrected spherical
aberration of the reflecting surface. The negative Petzval surface causes field
curvature which can be offset by the positive lens element in the optical train.
The optical components of this seeker system are assembled into a compact
eyeball-shaped camera.
7.3.2 Industrial Research, Ltd.
Industrial Research, Ltd. designed a scalable MWIR and LWIR optical system
intended for use in long range surveillance and astronomy.
9
The optical
schematic is presented in Fig. 7.9 This system employs a large spherical primary
mirror and small refractive aberration correctors. Germanium and sapphire are
used for the 3.5- to 5.5-m passband. Germanium and zinc selenide are used for
the 3.5- to 5.5-m and 8- to 12-m passbands. Dual band operation can be
enabled with a spectral beamsplitter. An f/# of f/0.8 or faster can maintain
diffraction-limited performance over the useful field of view. The relayed
catadioptric allows the aperture stop of the system to be placed coincident with
the window of the detector cryostat. The system can be scaled to relatively large
pupils. The central obscuration provides a convenient location for the calibration
source.

Figure 7.8 Mangin mirror.
8
(Reproduced with permission of Laurin Publishing Co.)

120 Chapter 7

Figure 7.9 Scalable MWIR and LWIR optical system.
9

7.3.3 Optical Research Associates
Optical Research Associates has designed a four-mirror compact afocal telescope
with dual exit pupil.
10
The optical schematic can be seen in Fig. 7.10. This system
is a demagnifying telescope with a single entrance aperture. It creates two
separate exit pupils with different visual and infrared spectral images without
requiring a dichroic beamsplitter or switch mirror. The telescope uses four conic
or aspheric mirrors folded into a compact package. Mirrors 2 and 3 are convex to
create a long exit pupil distance. Two channels are created by splitting mirrors 3
and 4 into separate sections with independent tilts to separate the exit pupils. This
tilt difference introduces astigmatism which is corrected by mirror aspherizing
and field of view offset.

Figure 7.10 Four-mirror compact afocal telescope with dual exit pupil.
10

7.4 References
1. Rah, S.Y. and Lee, S.S., Four-spherical-mirror zoom telescope continuously
satisfying the aplanatic condition, Optical Engineering 28(9), 10141018
(1989).
2. Johnson, R.B., Hadaway, J.B., and Burleson, T., All-reflective four-element
zoom telescope: design and analysis, Proc. SPIE 1354, 669675 (1990).
3. Kebo, R.S., All-reflective zoom optical system, U.S. Patent No. 5,144,476
(1992).
4. Mann, A., and Johnson, R.B., Design and analysis of a compact, wide field,
unobscured zoom mirror system, Proc. SPIE 3129, 97107 (1997).
5. Chang, J.,Wang, Y., Zhang, T., Talha, M.M, Weng, Z., and Yang, H., All
reflective zoom systems for infrared optics, Proc. SPIE-OSA 6342, 63421Q
(2006).
6. Arendt, J.W. and Binduga, G.E., Broadband zoom collimator for installation
on a flight motion simulator at the KHILS facility, Proc. SPIE 5408, 6675
(2004).
7. Amon, M. and LeBlanc, R.A., Folded Molded Mangin Optical System,
Proc. SPIE 5076, 261267 (2003).
8. Villa, J., Catadioptric lenses, Optical Spectra, 5758 (March/April 1968).
9. Beach, D., Scalable MWIR and LWIR optical system designs employing a
large spherical primary mirror and small refractive aberration correctors,
Proc. SPIE 4441, 154162 (2001).
10. Rodgers, J.M., Four-mirror compact afocal telescope with dual exit pupil,
Proc. SPIE-OSA 6342, 63421J (2006).

123

Chapter 8
Future Trends

Progress can be expected in the areas listed below as mechanically compensated
zoom lenses continue to dominate the field of infrared zoom lenses.
8.1 Athermalization
A variety of approaches to athermalization are currently being utilized. The use
of materials such as zinc sulfide and zinc selenide in combination with
germanium makes it possible to provide some passive optical athermalization.
Hybrid passive/active mechanical athermalization techniques are also being
utilized. The most common arrangement involves the additional movement of
lens elements which already move for other reasons, such as zooming and
focusing. These movements are either real-time computed or calculated from
look-up tables, and the whole process involves carefully selected temperature
sensors as part of a closed-loop system. The use of glass substitution during
optimization has been demonstrated to be a feasible approach to passive
athermalization of infrared zoom lens systems.
1

8.2 Diffractive Optical Elements
Diffractive optical elements are being utilized with increasing frequency in
visible and infrared optical systems. They can improve system performance
while reducing cost and weight by reducing the number of lens elements.
8.3 Conics and Aspherics
The use of conic sections and aspheric surfaces has become more commonplace
mainly due to the relative ease of diamond turning these surfaces at low cost to
tight tolerances.
2

8.4 Materials
The availability of optical materials in the infrared region of the spectrum
continues to be somewhat limited.
3
Some materials, such as gallium arsenide,
find greater use in special applications such as laser systems. Zinc selenide is the
material of choice in CO
2
laser systems due to its low absorption at 10.6 m.
124 Chapter 8
Refractive index distribution-type lenses, commonly known as gradient index
(GRIN) lenses, make it possible to reduce the required number of lens elements
in an optical system and thereby decrease the overall size and weight of the
system, and such lenses already have been developed for use in the visual
spectrum. However, there are still fabrication issues to be resolved before
infrared gradient index lenses become a reality. Also, diamond-turned aspherics
can serve the same purpose in reducing aberrations. In addition, polymer (plastic)
materials that have an appropriate refractive index in the IR and are formed
through injection molding are being utilized in the infrared region of the
wavelength spectrum.
8.5 Detector Technology
Infrared systems have evolved over the years through the development of linear-
detector arrays, large-square rectangular arrays, and staring arrays. The advent of
staring arrays has eliminated scanning and the corresponding need for pupil
control. Therefore, there are more objective lens type systems, as opposed to
afocal telescopes. Infrared focal plane arrays have been developed that provide
nearly ideal photon-noise-limited performance.
4
Uncooled arrays are also being
more widely utilized for special applications.
5

8.6 Simulators
The trend in infrared missile simulators is toward increasingly more realistic
simulation of operational scenarios. This involves including the background
scene and countermeasures in the target presentation. More versatility in the
selection of scenarios is being built into the simulator systems. To help
implement this capability, the exit pupil is being pushed farther out in front of the
zoom lens. Dynamic velocity-to-range and acceleration-to-range ratios are being
further extended. Zoom magnification ratios are also being increased. At the
same time, the total number of optical elements must be kept to a minimum in
order to keep the radiation losses to a reasonable level. These somewhat
conflicting demands present a formidable challenge to the designers of these
systems.
8.7 Mirror Systems
The further use of mirror systems in infrared zoom applications is a real trend for
the present and the future. Mirror systems may be particularly useful in
multispectral applications across the visual and infrared regions of the spectrum.
Unobscured reflective systems and off-axis systems offer certain advantages in
light-gathering power and in performance over obscured reflective systems and
refractive zoom lenses.
Future Trends 125
8.8 Wavelength Region
The shift from 8- to 12-m to the 3- to 5-m region has accelerated due to
detector and system issues as well as the low cost of silicon as compared with
germanium, zinc selenide, and zinc sulfide.
8.9 Optomechanical Considerations
For mechanically compensated zoom lenses, the cam is being replaced by stepper
motors in certain closed-loop operations. Also, infrared zoom lenses and
reflective systems will continue to become more compact.
8.10 Computer Optimization
The purpose of computer optimization is to minimize the merit function, which
defines optical system performance within a given set of boundary conditions.
The achieved solution is a local minimum that is strongly dependent on the
starting point. Global optimization is an approach which finds many local
minima and is less dependent upon the starting point. Further developments in
this area of investigation can be expected.
6
Some studies have shown the
feasibility of using global optimization to search for solutions to zoom lens
design problems.
8.11 References
1. Mann, A., Athermalization of an infrared zoom lens system for target
detection, Proc. SPIE 4487, 118129 (2001).
2. Riedl, M.J., Diamond turning: stretching the optical envelope, Photonics
Spectra 30, 130132 (June 2001).
3. Alexay, C.C. Material selection for broadband infrared optics, Proc. SPIE
3697, 453462 (1999).
4. Sprafke, T., and Beletic, J.W., High-performance infrared focal plane arrays
for space applications, Optics and Photonics News 19(6), 2227 (2008).
5. Wauters, J., Novel IR detectors operate at room temperature, Laser Focus
World 34(5), 175179 (May 1998).
6. McGuire, Jr., J.P., Designing easily manufactured lenses using a global
method, in International Optical Design, Technical Digest (CD), Paper
TuA6, Optical Society of America (2006).

127

Chapter 9
Summary of Applications

The applications of the refractive and reflective zoom systems presented in this
tutorial text are summarized in this chapter.
9.1 Scene Projection and Simulation
One important application is in the realistic testing of advanced missiles. This
can be achieved with an electro-optical system that operates in the 3- to 5-m or
8- to 12-m waveband and reproduces an object moving with respect to a sky
background, as it is seen by an approaching missile. An infrared zoom lens
simulates the closing distance between the missile and the target. Refer to Secs.
6.1.1, 6.1.2, 6.1.3, 6.1.4, 6.5.2, 7.2.2, and 7.2.4.
9.2 Wide and Narrow Field of View Scanning Telescopes for
Target Search and Recognition
The zoom capability is utilized for target acquisition in the WFOV mode of
operation and for recognition in the NFOV at the long focal length position. The
zoom lens system utilizes a scanning mirror to scan the object field of view. The
afocal telescope in Sec. 6.2.3 is designed to operate as an attachment to the
common module FLIR. Refer to Secs. 6.2.1, 6.2.2, 6.2.3, 6.2.4, 6.2.5, 6.2.6,
6.2.7.1, 6.2.7.2, 6.2.7.3, 6.2.8, 6.2.9, 6.2.10, 6.2.11, 6.5.4, 6.5.5, 6.5.6, 7.1.1,
7.1.2, and 7.2.1.
9.3 WFOV and NFOV FPA or CCD Surveillance, Tracking, and
Target Recognition
An FPA or CCD provides coverage over the object field of view without the need
of a scanning mirror in front of the zoom lens system. Array sizes as large as
256 256, 512 512, 1028 1028 and larger have been fabricated for use with
these optical systems. Refer to Secs. 6.5.1, 6.5.3, 6.6.1, 6.6.2, 6.6.3.
9.4 Battlefield Detection of Enemy Soldiers and Armaments
A zoom lens located on a tank or other mobile weapon system can detect enemy
soldiers and armaments in the field of battle. Refer to Sec. 6.3.1.
128 Chapter 9
9.5 Search and Rescue Operations
For these applications the infrared camera is often combined with a daylight
CCD camera system to provide a dual spectral band capability. To optimize the
overall system performance it is highly desirable to match the fields of view of
the two systems. Since daylight zoom lenses can provide zoom ratios of 15:1 or
greater, an infrared lens system with a large zoom ratio is highly desirable. Refer
to Sec. 6.5.3.
9.6 Mineral Resource Surveys and Forest Fire Detection
Infrared zoom imaging systems may be used to detect forest fires. Refer to Sec.
6.5.5. Reflective zoom systems can form an image by scanning in orbit for
multispectral earth observations. Refer to Sec. 7.2.3.
9.7 Laser Scanning Systems
A beam expander telescope with variable magnification has been designed with a
large zoom ratio for use in a CO
2
laser scanning system. Refer to Sec. 6.4.1.
9.8 Cutting Sheet Metal with High-Power Lasers
A zoom lens for use with CO
2
lasers is used by high-power lasers in the 1- to 2-
kW range for cutting sheet metal. It must match the numerical aperture of the
focused beam to the material thickness. The Rayleigh range should be about half
of the material thickness. Refer to Sec. 6.4.2.
9.9 Observation of Solar Regions
The zoom lens is an integral part of the system for observing radiation zones of
the sun at several discrete wavelength from the UV to the near IR. This system
requires constant resolution for identical image sampling at each wavelength.
Each zoom position has a different focal length and f/# for constant CCD
sampling. Refer to Sec. 6.3.2.
9.10 Camera Cell Phones
Compact mobile phones are utilizing zoom lenses with CCD sensors to enhance
their picture-taking capability. Refer to Secs. 6.3.3 and 6.3.4.

Conclusion:

The possibilities for future applications of infrared zoom systems are
unlimited.

129

Appendix A

Miscellaneous Patents

130 Appendix A

Miscellaneous Patents 131
132 Appendix A


134 Appendix A


136 Appendix A


138 Appendix A

140 Appendix A


142 Appendix A


144 Appendix A


146 Appendix A


148 Appendix A


150 Appendix A


152 Appendix A


155

Appendix B
Computer Analysis of Selected
Patents
156 Appendix B

Computer Analysis of Selected Patents 157

158 Appendix B

159

Appendix C
Answers to Problems from
Chapter 2

1. 0.25 mm

2. (a) 10
(b)108 mm
(c)100 mm

3. (a) the lower value
(b) 75 mm, 150 mm

4. (a) 0.24 mm
(b) no

5. (a) 12 mm, 60 mm
(b) 20 mm, 100 mm


161

Index

absorptance, 5
absorption, 4
achromatism, 21, 29
Advanced Technology Solar
Telescope, 87
afocal, 19, 70, 84
attachment, 57, 65
system, 58
Agency for Defence Development,
104
air lenses, 85
Airy disk, 11
alignment, 45
Altman, Richard M., 129
Angenieux, 84
antireflection coatings, 7
aperture stop, 13, 14, 41, 51, 59, 98
aplanatic condition, 20, 38, 111
aspherics, 40, 80, 102
astigmatism, 19, 111, 120
astronomical telescope, 17
athermalization, 28, 32, 51, 72, 73,
123
atmospheric transmission, 3

Barr & Stroud, 27, 65, 146
beam expander telescope, 90, 128
Beijing Institute of Technology, 116
bending, 23, 38
blackbody, 1
boresight, 45, 76
boundary conditions, 97

calcium fluoride, 27, 56
calibration, 2, 119
cam, 48, 69, 71, 73, 104, 125
Carl Zeiss, 84, 88
Cassegrain, 111
catadioptric, 119
CCD array, 10, 12
cell phone, 128
applications, 88
Center for Applied Optics,
University of Alabama,
Huntsville, 112
centration tolerance, 69
charge-coupled device (CCD), 10,
87
chief ray, 14
chromatic aberration, 21
CI Systems, 55
Clark, A. D., 45
coefficient of expansion, 29
cold shield, 30
cold stop, 30, 31
color correction, 96, 97
coma, 19
compactness, 37, 68
compensator, 66, 89
computer optimization, 41, 42, 125
computer programs, 44
conics, 40
conic sections, 123
Contraves Brashear, 117

depth of focus, 15, 17, 104
detector array, 11, 12
dewar assembly, 10
Dezir, 67
diamond turning, 93, 123
diffraction limit, 16
diffractive
optics, 93
surfaces, 41

162 Index

dispersion, 26, 94
distortion, 19, 52
dual field of view, 83, 106

effective focal length, 13, 16, 51
Electrooptical Industries, 74
emissivity, 1
entrance pupil, 13, 14, 61
exit pupil, 13, 14, 120
expert system, 42
extender, 52
eyepiece, 18, 66, 101

field
curvature, 19, 20
flattener, 57, 58, 61
lens, 39, 40
field of view, 36, 115
first-order solution, 68
focal plane array, 104, 124
focusing, 66, 73
Ford, E., 81
foreoptics, 61
telephoto, 62
forward-looking infrared (FLIR),
24, 55, 63, 65, 70
Fuji Photo Optical Company, 83

Galilean telescope, 17, 24, 65
germanium, 8, 21, 26, 102
glass substitution, 31
global search, 42

Hughes Aircraft Company, 56, 113,
138
hybrid, 95

index of refraction, 6, 25, 27
Industrial Research, Ltd., 119

Industrial Technology Research
Institute, 88
infrared, 3, 14, 25, 35, 94, 123

Jamieson, T. H., 60
Johnson, R. B., 112, 115
Joule-Thomson, 9

Kebo, R., 113
Korea Advanced Institute of Science
and Technology, 111

Lagrange invariant, 36
laser beam expanders, 88
lateral color, 83, 108
law enforcement, 99
lead zirconium titanate (PZT), 106
lens
equation, 13
transmission, 5
Lockheed Martin, 60, 119
LOWTRAN, 4

magnification, 51, 58, 71, 74
Mangin mirror, 119
Mann, A. 31, 34, 95, 113
materials, 25, 37
mechanically compensated zoom
lens, 48, 125
microscanning, 106
Mie scattering, 3
mobile phone zoom lens, 87
modulation transfer function, 16, 51,
62, 72, 99, 115
multilayer coatings, 8

narcissus, 30, 31, 52, 68, 72
National First University of Science
and Technology, 87
Navitar, Inc, 52
Index 163

Neil, I. A., 76, 81, 146
Newtons equation, 46
nodal planes, 23
Noyes, Gary R., 138

objective, 18, 101
obscured systems, 111
Optical E.T.C., 95, 113
Optical Research Associates, 120
optically compensated zoom lens,
45, 81
Optics 1, 63, 70, 94
optimization, 32, 60, 61, 87, 97, 115
Optimum Optical Systems, 81

Petzval, 39
photon detector, 9
Pilkington P.E., 67
pixels, 10, 12
Planck, 1
plastic, 88, 124
Precision-Optical Engineering, 71
primary aberrations, 18
principal planes, 22, 23
projection, 56

Rayleigh
limit, 15, 16, 24
scattering, 3
Raytheon, 102, 104
Reardon, P., 97
reflectance, 5
reflection, 6
remotely piloted vehicles, 68
resolution, 11
resonance damping, 85
Rosenblatt, Jerome J., 129
Royal Institute of Technology, 83,
106

scaling, 35
scanning system, 65, 84, 88
scattering, 93
scene projection, 127
Scotoptix, 76
search and rescue, 128
secondary spectrum, 22
seekers, 95
Seidel aberrations, 16, 19, 89, 91
Sellmeier equation, 28
signal-to-noise ratio, 9
silicon, 21, 26
simulation, 127
simulators, 55
Snells law, 7
special systems, 117
specifications, 50
spectral region, 51
spherical aberration, 19, 25, 38, 59,
76
staring arrays, 11, 124
starting point, 35, 87, 96
Stefan-Boltzmann, 2
stepper motors, 81, 125
stop shift equations, 20
Strehl ratio, 15, 87
symmetry principle, 37, 57, 58

target
search and recognition, 127
simulator, 55, 57
Teledyne Brown, 95
telephoto foreoptics, 62
telescopes, 17
Texas Instruments, 101
thermal
compensation, 28, 63
detectors, 9
thin lens, 22, 35, 39, 59
tolerances, 44, 66, 69, 71
transmission, 6, 52
transmittance, 5, 98

164 Index

uncooled linear array detectors, 116
University of Alabama, Huntsville,
87
University of Twente, 89
unobscured system, 113

variator, 89
vignetting, 41, 52, 96

wavelength, 4, 36
Wescam, Inc., 99
Wien, 2
Zernike polynomials, 16
Zhejiang University, Department of
Optical Engineering, 73
zinc
selenide, 21, 26
sulfide, 8, 26
zoom
collimator, 60, 116, 117
lenses, 45
projector, 63
range, 99
relay, 62
Zulu, 68


About the Author

Allen Mann received his BS in physics at UCLA in
1961. He has 48 years of experience in the design and
analysis of a wide variety of optical systems,
including visual and infrared zoom lenses. He was
first employed as an optical designer at the Infrared
Laboratory of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. His
subsequent positions were with Northrop Nortronics,
Xeros Electro-Optical Systems, and Ford
Aeronutronic. He has written several papers on the
subject of infrared zoom lenses and is the editor for
the SPIE Milestone volume Selected Papers on Zoom
Lenses. He was chairman of SPIE Zoom Lens
Conference I and co-chair of Zoom Lens Conference II. Mann retired from
Hughes Aircraft Company in 1992 and is now an independent consultant. He
teaches the SPIE short course on infrared zoom lenses and is a member of SPIE
and the Optical Society of America.


Allen Mann-Infrared Optics and Zoom Lenses, Second Edition (SPIE Tutorial Text Vol. TT83) (Tutorial Texts in Optical Engineering) - SPIE Publications (2009)

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