Optics

NVESD Imager Modeling, Analysis and Testing Course

October 2010

Mel Friedman

1
 Optics - Introduction

Goals of Presentation:
• Understand the language and methods of optics.
• Understand trade-offs in optical design

2
 Electromagnetic Spectrum
Red 0.77 μ
Orange
Yellow
Green 0. 5 μ
Blue
Indigo
Violet 0.4 μ

8 – 12 μ Long wave IR
3–5μ Medium wave IR
0.75 – 3 μ Near wave IR
3
 Light Representation
• Photon concept.
– Light is made up of photons. Each photon
has energy
E = h f;
– E is energy in Joules
– h is Planck’s constant = 6.625 10-34 Js
– f is frequency of light [Hz]

4
Light Representation & Wave Front Concept

• Wave Concept
E = E0 sin( t – k z) where
E0 is wave amplitude
 is angular frequency [rad/sec]
k = 2 / 
 = wavelength [m]
z = distance in direction of propagation [m]
• Wave Front Concept
Set argument of sin function to 2  n. The resulting equation is a
function of time, position and n. For a particular value of time
and integer values of n, this defines the wave fronts.
The wave defined above is a plane wave because k z = 2 n
defines planes perpendicular to the z-axis separated by .
5
 Light Representation
Wave fronts are points of constant phase in a wave.
These points define a surface which moves as a
function of time.
In homogenous media (i.e. n is not a function of
position in the media) light travels in a direction
perpendicular to the wave front.
Rays are defined as lines normal to the wave front.
Cylindrical or This is the direction light rays follow in a
spherical wave fronts homogenous medium.
Comment: Ray optics is the limit of wave optics
when wavelength is short.

Important
6
 Light Representation
Fermat’s Principle.
A light ray travelling from one point to another will,
after any number of reflections and refractions, follow
the path requiring the least or stationary transit time.
Because light travels at different speeds in different

 
media, the path of the ray from A to B is not the one of
least distance.

Optical Path Length.

B
OPL  n s  s
A
OPL = Optical Path Length
n(s) = index of refraction as function of position

Restatement of Fermat’s Principle:

Light travels in such a way as to minimize the OPL 7
 Reflection and Snell’s Law of Refraction
From Fermat’s principle one can deduce
the Law of Reflection.
Law of Reflection. Reflected ray lies in
plane of incidence and θi = θr

From Fermat’s principle one can deduce the

Law of Refraction, also called Snell’s law.
I = Incident ray
Law of Refraction. Transmitted ray lies in
R = Reflected ray plane of incidence.
T = Transmitted ray
n1
N = Surface normal sin t  sin i
n1=Index of refraction for n2
medium 1 ≡ c/v1 Snell’s law asserts that light bends toward
n2 = Index of refraction for normal when it enters a more optically
medium 2 = c/v2 dense medium and it bends away from the
normal when it enters a less optically dense
Plane of Incidence = Plane medium.
determined by I and N
8
Important
Lens Concepts and Nomenclature

9
 Lens Concept – Optical axis
Surface 2 Surface 1

Optical axis  
C1 C2

• C1 is center of surface 1

• C2 is center of surface 2

• Optical axis is line connecting C1 and C2

Definition of optical axis is important 10

Lens Concepts – Thin Lens Approximation
C o n v e r g in g L e n s
O b ject O is optical center of lens
O p tic a l Ax is
O fi f0 is focal length in object space
f0

Im ag e fi is focal length in image space

The above diagram is a model that approximately describes ray traces of a thin lens.
The ray through the optical center of the lens passes through un-deviated.
Result: If the medium is same on both sides of lens, then distance of f 0 from optical
center is same distance of fi from optical center.
Definition. Focal Plane is the plane where the image is formed.
Result: In first order optics the focal plane is perpendicular to optical axis.
Result: Using the thin lens approximation one can derive Gauss’s thin-lens approx.
Why is the ray through O a straight line?
11
 Thin Lens – Ray Tracing Rules

1. Rays entering the lens parallel to the optic axis, exit through the focal point.
2. Rays entering the lens through the focal point will exit parallel to the optic axis.
3. Rays that pass through the center of the lens do not change direction.

12
Lens ray tracing rules are important
 Thin Lens – Ray Tracing Rules
• The rules apply for a thin lens and are an
approximation.
• A lens is thin when the lens thickness is
much less than the focal length.
• Justification for rule 3:
• Ray 1 is bent down
• Ray 2 is bent up
• Somewhere between rays 1 and 2 there
is a ray that is not deviated. That ray
goes through the center of the lens
• Alternate justification for rule 3:
• Near the center of the lens, the lens is
approximately a plane parallel plate.

This diagram is justification

for rules 1 and 2.
13
Thin Lens – Ray Tracing Rules
• This diagram illustrates why a ray
passing through the center of a lens is
not deviated.
• Near the center of the lens, the lens
is approximated by plane parallel
plates.
• From Snell’s law the emerging ray
has the same direction as the
incident ray.
• From Snell’s law the emerging ray is
displaced from the incident ray but if
the glass is very thin the deviation
can be neglected.
• Final Result. If the lens is thin, a
single straight line represents a
ray through the center of the lens.
14
 Thin Lens – Image formation

This diagram applies ray tracing rules to show how a lens forms an image.
15
 Thin Lens – Focusing of On and Off-Axis Points

This diagram illustrates on and off-axis focusing of parallel ray bundles.

Since the focus is at F, the point source is infinitely far away. This is also implied
by the observation that the incident rays are parallel.
16
 Thin Lens Equation (Gauss’s Equation)
f

O bject

h0
O O ptic al Axis

hi

Im ag e

f
so si

s0 is distance of object from lens

1 1 1
  si is distance of image from lens
s0 si f f is lens focal length
17
Diagram and equation are important
 Derivation of Thin Lens Equation
f

O bject

h0
 O O p tic al Ax is

  hi
hi
I m ag e

f
so si

h0 h h s h0 hi h f
tan    i w h ich im p lies i  i tan    w h ich im p lies i 
s0 si h0 s0 s0  f f h0 s0  f

si f 1 1 1
So s0

s0  f
w h ich im p lies
s0

si

f

A variety of sign conventions are used. Sometimes thin lens equation is written:
1 1 1
  
s0 si f 18
 Transverse Magnification
f

O bject

h0
 O O ptic al Axis

  hi
hi
Im ag e

f
so si

  T ran sv erse M a gn ificatio n The difference between transverse and

angular magnification is important.
hi si Angular magnification will be defined later.
 
h0

s0
19
 Use of Thin Lens Equation
Thin lens and magnification equation answers the question: Given an object
and a lens, where is the image formed and big is the image:
Problem: Lens has focal length of 5 cm; Object is 20 cm to left of lens. Find
image distance and magnification.

1 1 1 1 1 1 1

 
      si 
s0 si f si f s0 1
f  1
s0

1
si  1 1 . f  5, s 0  20  6.67 cm
f  s0

hi s 6.67
 
h0
 i 
s0 20
 0.33

20
Limiting Behavior of Thin Lens
1 1 1
 
s0 si f

Im plies that when

s0   , si  f
Important
s0  f , si  

21
 Ray Tracing – Convex Lens with s < f
Note: Rays 4, 6 and 7 determine image

Why is NVESD interested in objects close to the lens?

To calculate entrance and exit pupil size and location need to calculate image of
aperture stop. The aperture stop is usually close to the lens. 22
Ray Tracing Concave Lens With s > f

Rays 4, 6 and 8 determine image of M.

M’ is location of virtual image.
23
 Graphical Ray Tracing Through a Thin Convex Lens
Problem: Find direction ray A takes Solution:
after exiting convex lens
1. Extend ray A backward a convenient
distance and place a conceptual
object at O on the ray.
2. Draw rays B, C and D to find the
image O’ of O.
3. The direction of A after exiting the
lens is now determined --- it passes
through O’.

Comments:
1. This technique can be used to find the direction any ray takes after exiting a thin convex lens.
2. Similar technique can be used for a concave lens.
3. This technique can be used to find approximate location of entrance and exit pupils.

24
Ability to find direction an arbitrary ray takes after traversing a lens is useful for understanding optical systems.
 Area Magnification


A im g
A obj
 
Eq. 1

q
p
2

• Here Eq. 1 is shown to be true for a thin lens system.

• Using concept of throughput this result will be shown to be true for a thick
lens system.
• The importance of Eq. 1 is that it illustrates the value of the throughput
25
concept.
 Thick Lenses
Definition of Thick Lens: A thick lens is a single lens or combination
of lenses with a distance between the first and last optical surface not
small compared to the lenses focal length.

For thick lenses the focal length can no longer be measured from the
focal point to the center of the lens. The focal length is measured from
the focal point to the first or second Principal Point.

26
 Thick Lens – Principal Points
Important

The first and second principal points are found using the following procedure:
1. Project a ray parallel to the optic axis from the right
2. Project the entering and exiting ray until they intersect
3. From the point where the rays intersect, construct a line perpendicular to
optic axis
4. The intersection of this line with the optic axis is the first principal point P 1
5. As shown in the diagram, the second principal point is found in a similar
fashion by projecting a ray parallel to the optic from the left.

If the medium on both sides of the lens has the same index of refraction,
then the distances P1 f1 equals P2 f2. This common distance is the focal
27
length of the lens. Important
 Focal Length of Two Thin Lenses

If two thin lenses with focal lengths F1 and F2 are separated by a distance
zseparation, then the focal length of the combination is given by
1 1 1 Z sep aratio n
  
F co m b in atio n F1 F2 F 1 F 2
Note that the combination focal length is measured from the principal plane P 2. It
is not measured from a lens surface.
If the last term is small (lenses in contact) the last term can be neglected and
1 1 1
 
F co m b in atio n F1 F2
28
 The Relay Lens Pair
Definition of Relay Lens: A
lens or lens system used to
transfer a real image from
one point within an optical
system to another, with or
without magnifying it.

h im g F
The transverse m agnification of a relay system  relay is :  relay 
h obj
 2
F1
h obj h im g h im g F
P roof : tan  
F1

F2
  relay 
h obj
 2
F1
29
 Afocal Telescopes
Definition of Afocal: The literal meaning of afocal is without a focal length.
An afocal optical system is one where an object point at infinity is imaged at
infinity.
Keplerian Telescope
Keplerian Telescope

T he o b je c tive o f a n a fo c a l te le s c o p e is to inc re a s e the a p p a re nt a ngula r s e p a ra tio n o f d ista nt o b je c ts

A ngula r M a gnific a tio n is d e fine d b y :  a n g u la r 

o u t p u t
Definition of angular
in p u t
D obj lens
magnification is important
F1 D in p u t
Important R e s ult :  angular 
F2
 
D o u t p u t D sec lens

 F o r w e ll  d e signe d s ys te m 30
 Afocal Telescopes

Why is NVESD interested in afocal telescopes? We want to clearly see distant

objects. So we want angular magnification and we can achieve this with afocal
telescopes.
31
Angular Magnification of Afocal Telescope

O bjec tive Lens S ec ondary Lens

out F1
W h y is  ?
in F2
in F1 F2 out

h h
tan in  an d tan 2   h  F 1 tan in  F 2 tan out 
F1 F2
tan out F 
 1  out
tan in F2 in
If o b ject is clo se to th e o p tical axis in an d out are sm a ll an d
tan ge n t o f an an gle is ap p ro xim ated b y th e an gle.

Note: If F2 is made arbitrarily small angular magnification can be

increased without limit. Is this useful?
32
 Objective Size for Afocal Telescope
F D in O bjective Lens Secondary Lens
W h y is 1  ?
F2 D out D in
2
D in D out
2 2 F1 D in F1
tan      D in 

F2
D out
F1 F2 F2 D out D out
2

C o n c lu sio n :
F2
If D sec  D obj th en p art o f th e p en cil o f ray s su b te n d ed
F1
b y th e o b jectiv e len s w ill n o t m ak e it th ro u gh th e se co n d ary len s

33
Galilean and Cassegrain Designs
The Reflective Galilean Afocal Telescope
• Advantages of this approach
• Is totally reflective so it works with all wavelengths
• Is much more compact than Keplerian telescope

The Cassegrain Objective

• By moving the secondary mirror a little to the
left the Galilean telescope is transformed to a
positive objective. That is rays from a distant
object are brought to a focus.
• The objective focal length is much larger than
the separation of the mirrors.

34
Afocal Telescope with Detector Lens

The afocal telescope w ith a detector lens has an effective

focal length F com bination :
F1 F3
F com bination 
F2
Continued … 35
Important result
 Understanding Fcom Expression
F1 F2 F3

D in
2


 Dout 
2

F co m
D in D out
D in F
tan   2
 2
  1
F1 F2 D out F2

D out D in
D in F F
tan   2
 2
 F com  F3  1 3
F3 F com D out F2

The system behaves like a simple camera.

Properties of camera: Focal length is Fcom ; Entrance pupil diameter is Din.
36
Introduction to Diffraction

37
 Overview of Diffraction
• According to geometric optics,
the size of the circles in the
image plane get smaller and
smaller as the pinhole gets
smaller and smaller.
• The image should get sharper
2 mm 1 mm
as the hole diameter gets
smaller.
0.6 mm
•
0.35 mm Why doesn’t the image
continue to get sharper as the
pinhole diameter gets smaller?
0.15 mm 0.07 mm
Important Observation
38
 Geometrical and Physical Optics
• With a slit size much larger than the
wavelength (see a), there is a well
defined shadow . The rays to the
right of the screen are all nearly
parallel and in the direction of the
incident ray. Here geometrical
optics works.
• With a slit comparable to the
wavelength (see b), the exiting rays
are more divergent. The rays to the
right of the screen are no longer
parallel to direction of the incident
ray. Geometrical optics is less valid
for this case.
• With a slit size equal to the
• Wave incident on slit wavelength (see c), the exiting rays
• The wavelength is constant for the most part are not even close
• The slit size gets progressively to the direction of the incident ray.
smaller Here geometrical optics is a poor
approximation.
39
 Experimental Evidence Using Water Waves Support Previous Vu-graph

Water waves on the left are

incident on a slit with size about
equal to the wavelength.
The waves diverge in a way
illustrated in diagram c in the
preceding vu-graph.

Important wave property

demonstrated by water waves.

Diffraction of water waves at a slit in

a ripple tank. 40
Optical Experiment Supporting Diffraction
A B C

Experimental Arrangement

D F

G H

Aperture Size
41
 Aperture: 2.18 mm 1.86 mm 1.58 mm 1.17 mm 0.92 mm

Aperture: 0.78 mm 0.57 mm 0.38 mm

• As the aperture gets smaller and smaller, the observed diffraction pattern
first gets smaller but then gets larger.
• As the aperture continues to get smaller the observed diffraction pattern
continues to get larger but maintains a similar pattern. This region is termed
the Fraunhofer diffraction region. The region where the diffraction pattern is
changing as the aperture gets smaller is termed the Fresnel diffraction
region. 42
Important observation.
 • This is a photo taken by a pinhole camera.
It is fairly sharp. So why use lenses?

Important observation
• Lenses are used because it takes a long
time to take a photo with a pinhole
aperture.

• With monochromatic light, if one tries to image a point source with a lens,
ideally one would observe a point image. Suppose a lens was designed
which according to geometric optics (ray tracing using Snell’s law and law of
reflection) should be imaged as a point. Is a point observed on the image
plane?
Important Observation
• A point image is not observed on image plane! Instead a Fraunhofer
diffraction pattern is observed on image plane. This is the same pattern seen
with the smallest pinhole in the preceding vu-graph.
43
A geo m e trically p erfe ct co n v ex len s fills th e h o le in th e a p ertu re p lan e.
T h e le n s h as a fo cal len gth f a n d a d ia m eter D .
A m o n o ch ro m a tic p o in t so u rc e a t in fin ity is th e o n ly illu m in atin g so u rc e.

  
T h e irra d ia n ce o n th e im age p lan e is d escrib ed b y

k a r 2
J x 2
I  I0 2 J1 f
; I
 2 1 Important Result
k a r I0 x
f

k  2  ;   w av elen gth f  len s fo ca l len gth



a  D  len s rad iu s J 1  B essel fu n ctio n o f o rd er 1

2
r  rad ial d istan ce fro m id eal fo cu s p o in t x ka r
f
I 0  irrad ian ce w h en r  x  0  rad ial d istan ce fro m id eal fo ca l
p o in t in d im en sio n le ss u n its
T h e eq u a tio n fo r I assu m es a p erfe ct len s w ith o u t ab e ratio n s
44
 Spatial Dependence of Diffraction Function
1 .0

0 .8
2
J1 x
x

vs x

0 .6

0 .4

0 .2

0 .0

0 2 4 6 8 10
x

E field vs. radial dist ance in dim ensionless unit s for a p erfect lens.

E field vs radial distance in dimensionless units for a perfect lens.

45
 Square of Diffraction Function
0 .1 0

0 .0 8
2 J1 x
x
 2
vs x

0 .0 6

0 .0 4

0 .0 2

0 .0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10
x
I rradiance vs radial dis t ance in dim ens ionles s unit s for p erfect lens .

Irradiance vs radial distance in dimensionless units for a perfect lens.

46
Spherical Aberration Distorts Diffraction Pattern
Images of monochromatic point source produced by an optical
system with increasing amounts of spherical aberration

Increasing spherical aberration

47
 Coma Distorts The Diffraction Pattern
Images of monochromatic point source produced by an optical
system with increasing amounts of coma.

Increasing coma

48
Astigmatism Distorts the Diffraction Pattern
Images of monochromatic point source produced by an optical
system with increasing amounts of astigmatisim.

Increasing astigmatism.

The images were produced in the paraxial image plane.

Effects of aberration usually neglected when modeling diffraction 49

Why are We Interested in Diffraction?

It is possible to design a lens

that from the view point of
geometric optics (Snell’s law
and law of reflection) is nearly
perfect on the optical axis, .
That is, from a geometrical
optics viewpoint the image of a
point source would be a point.
Under these conditions
diffraction effects dominates
the ability to resolve point
sources.

Important

50
Intermediate Optics

51
 Optical Terms

Axial Ray. A ray that begins at the on-axis point of an object and ends at the on-
axis point on the image.
Aperture Stop. The aperture stop is the surface in the optical system that limits
the angle over which the lens will accept rays from the on-axis object point.
Marginal Ray. The marginal ray is a particular axial ray that starts at the on-axis
point in the object, grazes the aperture stop and ends at the on-axis point in the
image.

Continued …
Important Definitions 52
 Optical Terms

Paraxial Ray. A ray that is always close to the origin is termed a paraxial ray.
The angles in Snell’s law for paraxial rays are necessarily small. For paraxial
rays the angles are small enough to permit setting the cosine of the angle equal
to unity and the sine and tangent of the angle equal to the angle.
Chief Ray. Any ray from an off-axis point that passes through the center of the
aperture stop.
Principal Ray. An alternate name for the chief ray.
f – number. Is sometimes abbreviated F/#. It will soon be defined.

53
Important Definitions Continued …
 Optical Terms

Entrance Pupil. Image of the aperture stop (A.S.) in optical elements between
the aperture and the object. It is where the aperture stop appears to be to the
object.
Exit Pupil. Image of the aperture stop in optical elements between between the
aperture stop and the image. It is where the aperture stop appears to be to the
image.

Continued … 54
Important Definitions
 Optical Terms

  
F/# is defined in three ways. The
definitions given below apply to a single
lens with the aperture stop at the lens.

  
The F  is de fine d in one of thre e w a ys :
p
F  o b ject sp ace , o b ject n o t at  
D L en s
q
F  i m ag e sp ace , o b ject n o t at  
D L en s
F
F  i m ag e sp ace , o b ject at  
D L en s

Usual definition for F/#

In all cases the F/ # is a measure of the solid angle subtended by the lens at
either the object or the image.
The F / # is used to characterize the radiometry of the optical system.
If the object is not at infinity the second definition is pertinent for calculating
the irradiance at the focal plane. 55
Digression on F/#

56
 Another Definition of F/#
n is index of refraction in image
n space


Denp
Useful definition for
radiometry

feff F/#  (2 n sin )-1

When n=1 and  is <<1  (2 tan )-1
= (Denp/feff)-1

Useful definition for diffraction

Conclusion: When n=1 and  << 1 both definitions are the same. When this
condition is not satisfied the two definitions disagree!
57
How small can the F/# be if n = 1 on imaging side of lens ?
 Another Definition of F/#
n is index of refraction in image
n space


Denp
Useful definition for
radiometry

feff F/#  (2 n sin )-1

When n=1 and  is <<1  (2 tan )-1
= (Denp/feff)-1

Useful definition for diffraction

How small can the F/# be if n on imaging side of lens = 1?

With radiometry definition answer is 0.5.
With diffraction definition answer could be less than 0.5. No lens with F/# <58
0.5
 Another Definition of F/#
n is index of refraction in image
n space


Denp
Useful definition for
radiometry

feff F/#  (2 n sin )-1

When n=1 and  is <<1  (2 tan )-1
= (Denp/feff)-1

Useful definition for diffraction

With electronic detectors is there a method for effectively making the F/# smaller
than 0.5?
The answer is “yes”. For details see the patent described on next page.
59
This patent shows how to effectively
decrease the F/# below 0.5.

The Idea:
1. Construct optical system that
produces multiple images on the
focal plane for the central part of
the image.
2. Add the signals from the
corresponding parts of the image.
3. With n images the signal to noise
ratio is increased by a factor (n)1/2.
• A zoom lens trades field of view for
additional resolution.
• This invention trades field of view
for improved signal to noise ratio.

Patent documentation is on
NVESD intranet.
60
 Understanding the Index of Refraction Inclusion in Radiometric F/# Equation

Eq. 1

F/#  (2 n sin )-1

Without the immersion lens the height of the image is himg

With the immersion lens the height of the image is himg/n
So index of refraction of immersion lens makes the image smaller by factor n
Since energy is conserved, the smaller image is brighter
Conclusion: Index of refraction is needed in Eq. 1.

61
End Digression on F/#

62
 Illustrating F / # = 1 and F / # = 3
Here the focal length of the lens is
the same as the diameter. This is
a F / 1 system.

Here the aperture was reduced

and the focal length stayed the
same. This is a F / 3 system.

Here the aperture stayed the

same and the focal length
increased. This is a F / 3
system.

F / # quantifies the size of the cone angle: The smaller the F/# the larger the
cone angle
63
Optical Terms
Entrance Pupil. The image of the
aperture stop formed by those optical
elements between the aperture stop
and the object. This is what the
aperture stop looks like if you look at it
from the object.
Exit Pupil. The image of the aperture
stop formed by those optical elements
between the aperture stop and the
image. This is what the aperture stop
would look like if you viewed it from
the image.
z0,enp. Distance between object and
entrance pupil.
zexp,i. Distance between exit pupil and
image.

64
 Example: Determine the Aperture Stop, Entrance and Exit Pupils

• For an axial point, increase the cone of rays till some obstruction stops
rays from getting through the system. This is the aperture stop (A.S.).

• Entrance pupil (EnP) is image of A.S. in optical elements before the A.S.
• Exit pupil (ExP) is image of A.S. in optical elements after the A.S.

65
F / # for Thick Optical Systems
F / # for optical system with several optical
elements can now be defined.



z0,enp
F  object space, object not at  
Denp


zexp, i
F  image space, object not at  
Dexp
zexp, f2 F
F  image space, object at   
Dexp Denp

 See Figure
This equality is apparent from the figure.

This is what is usually meant by F / #

when the meaning is not stated
explicitly.

66
Why are the Concepts of Aperture Stop, Entrance and Exit Pupil Important?

• The F / # is an important parameter of an optical system and it is defined

in terms of aperture stop, entrance and exit pupils. The F / # tells how
“fast” an optical system is.
• Aperture stop, entrance and exit pupil are used in the quantitative
description of diffraction.
• When coupling multiple optical subsystems, it is desirable to have the
entrance pupil diameter and location of the subsequent optical system
coincide with the exit pupil of the preceding subsystem. If the entrance
pupil of the subsequent optical subsystem is smaller than the exit pupil of
the preceding optical subsystem, then part of the pencil of rays from the
object is lost.
• Example. In looking through a telescope you try to make the entrance
pupil of your eye coincide with the exit pupil of the telescope.
• Example. Binoculars are designed for day or night use. One difference
in the design has to do with the exit pupil of the binoculars: the exit
pupil diameter of a pair of binoculars intended for day and night use is
about 3mm and 8 mm respectively.

Important 67
 Cold Shield and Cold Stop
• For infrared detectors to work
well they are typically cooled to
77 K
• The detector is put in a dewar
• We want to shield the detector
from photons emitted from the
optical components. These
are noise photons and they
reduce sensor performance.

Cold Shield. A cold shield is placed adjacent to the detector plane to limit the solid
angle from which the detector receives radiation. It passes radiation from the
scene and blocks radiation from internal sources.
Cold Shield Efficiency. The cold shield efficiency η is the percentage of radiation
that reaches the detector that comes from the scene.
Cold Stop. If the cold shield is placed so that it is the image of the aperture stop,
then it has 100 % efficiency and is called a cold stop.
68
Important
 Field Stop and Field of View
Field Stop. The field stop is an
aperture at an image plane of an
optical system that determines
the size and shape of an image.
Frequently, the field stop
aperture is determined by the
extent of the sensing element.
For example, film in a 35 mm
camera or the extent of the
sensor array in a thermal
imager.
Field of View. Field of view is the angular coverage of an optical system.
F ro m th e ab o v e d iagram th e F O V is easily calcu lated :
h obj h img

  
F O V half angle  tan  1 
p
 tan  1 
q
Important
w h ere
h obj is h alf th e h eigh t w id th o f th e largest o b ject th at can b e im age d at a d ista n ce p
h img is h alf th e th e h eigh t w id th o f th e fo cal p lan e array
q is d ista n ce fro m cen te r o f th in len s to im age p lan e
p is d ista n ce fro m cen te r o f th in len s to o b ject p lan e
69
 Field of View, Magnification and Focal Length

• For a distant object, p>>F. Then q ≈ F.

• Long F gives narrow field of view and
high lateral magnification.
• Short F gives wide field of view and
low lateral magnification.

Important

D e riv a tio n
yd
F o r a d is ta n t o b je c t F O V  s o a s F in c re a s e s , F O V d e c re a s e s
F
q F
T h e la te ra l m a gn ific a tio n  
p

p
s o a s F in c re a s e s ,  in c re a s e s

 F o r d is ta n t o b je c t
For distant objects
70
 Throughput, Optical Invariant and A Ω Product (Qualitative)
Flux. Flux is the total watts of
electomagnetic power incident on a surface,
leaving a surface or passing through an
optical system.
Throughput, Optical Invariant, A Ω Product.
These all mean the same thing. The
throughput or optical invariant (neglecting
transmission losses) is constant through out
an optical system. (See next vu-graph or
Ωenp, Ωobj, Ωexp, Ωimg, z0,enp, zexp,i,O’Shea for explanation of why this is so.)
entrance pupil and exit pupil are
defined in this diagram.
Facts of Life:
• F / # and FOV affect flux transfer and image quality.
- A small F / # and large FOV promote high flux transfer (which is good)
but image quality suffers (large aberrations).
- A large F / # and a small FOV tend to have better image quality (small
aberrations) but at the cost of less flux transfer to the image plane.
71
 Conservation of AΩ Product
 s

 d
As
Ad

r
L As Ad
d  L A s  d   L Ad  s
r 2
So As  d  Ad  s

Asource  det ector  Adet ector  source Important Result

• A Ω product is conserved
• Either A Ω product can be used to calculate the power in either
direction of power flow
72
Throughput, Optical Invariant and A Ω Product (Quantitative)
We frequently want the total flux
through an optical system. Then
Φ= L A Ω
Since Φ and L are constant through
an optical system this implies A Ω is
constant through an optical system.
L is called radiance.

A   A obj  enp  A enp  obj  A img  exp  A exp  img

A enp A obj A exp A img A enp A img
 A obj  A enp   A img  A exp A obj  A exp
z 0,enp 2 z 0,enp 2 z exp , i 2 z exp , i 2 z 0,enp 2 z exp , i 2

Definition of solid angle From 1st and last equality

F o r the c a s e o f a c a m e ra w ith a thin le ns A e n p  A e x p  A L e n s

T he n z 0 , e n p 2  p 2 a nd z e x p , i  q 2 a nd the a b o ve e q ua tio n b e c o m e s
A o bj A im g
2
 2
w hic h is the s a m e e q ua tio n tha t w a s d e rive d w itho ut o p tic a l inva ria nt .
p q 73
 Detector Footprint
• Detector Footprint. The image of the detector on the object plane is termed
the detector footprint.
• Why is concept of Detector Footprint useful?
• It indicates the region of space from which the detector is receiving radiant
data.
• It indicates a minimum resolution in object space associated with detector
size.
• Result:
p
W h en p   F , y FootPrint  yd Important
F
Lens

yd
y Fo o tP rin t

D et ect or

yd y FootP rint p p
  y FootP rint  yd  yd
q p q F
q
p
  74
S im ilar T riang les W h en p   F
 Image Quality (Qualitative)

• Diffraction is a consequence of the wave nature of radiation

• A well-corrected imaging system forms a minimum blur sport that is related to
the F / # of the system. Aberrations can only make this spot size larger.
• Diffraction Limited Performance is the best performance obtainable from an
optical system i.e. point spread function is characteristic of diffraction rather
than aberration.
8 – 12 μ systems are frequently diffraction limited
0.3 – 0.7 μ systems (visible) are frequently aberration limited except at the
largest F / #
• Another method for describing imaging quality is with MTF
• Take the two dimensional Fourier transform of the irradiance [watt/cm 2] of
the blur spot. In general this will be a complex function. The absolute
value (or modulus) of this complex number is the MTF.

75
 Aberrations (Facts of Life)
• There is little benefit in making the aberration spot size smaller than
the diffraction spot size.
• Systems operating at low F/# have the smallest diffraction limited
performance and thus the best potential performance. Aberrations
become worse (geometrical blur spot increases) as the F/# decreases.
The result: low F/# systems are harder to correct to a diffraction limited
level of performance.
tc


R2

 
R1
L en s M a k er F o rm u la :
1 1 1 n  1 2 tc
 nl  1    
f R1 R2 n R1 R2
With n and tc fixed there are many values of R1 and R2 that determine the
focal length. The freedom to allow R1 and R2 to vary while maintaining a
fixed focal length is called “bending the lens”. 76
Continued …
 Aberrations (Facts of Life)
• Aberrations arise because of the inability of optical systems with a finite
number of spherical surfaces to produce geometrically perfect imaging for all
possible object points.
• All aberrations increase with decreasing F/# and/or increasing Field of View
(FOV)
• Aberration control dictates a minimum allowable F/# and a maximum FOV
• Generally a designer wants to make the F/# smaller but doing this degrades
performance (the geometric spot size increases) and the designer has to
strike a balance between the ability of the optical system to transfer flux and
having a sharp image.
• The lens maker formula describes the focal length of a lens in terms of the
refractive index for the lens material, the thickness of the lens and the radius of
curvature of the two surfaces.
• Lens designers minimize aberrations by varying the location of the aperture
stop and adjust the relative curvature of the two surfaces for each lens element
in such a way as to keep the focal length of each lens element the same. By
doing this they keep the focal length of the lens system constant but
significantly improve image quality i.e. the geometrical spot size is made
smaller.
77
Intermediate Diffraction

78
 Diffraction Diameter
Assume wavelength of radiation is λ. Then the diffraction limited diameter of
the blur spot is
d diffraction 2.44  F /# Important result

ddiffraction
ddiffraction is the diameter of the first black ring
79
 Angular Description of Diffraction (Thin Lens)
Quantities defined in diagram
β
ddiffraction,obj
ddiffraction,img
DLens
p
q distance from lens center to
image plane

Object at 


2 .4 4  F 
F


2 .4 4  F

F
Image at q

D lens

2 .4 4 

q
q
D lens
Object at p


2 .4 4 

p
p
D lens


 2 .4 4 Valid at all distances
D lens
Continued …
80
Important result
 Angular Description of Diffraction (Thin Lens)

β is known from previous vu-graph

From the above figure:

ddiffraction,obj =  p = is diameter of blur spot on object plane = minimum resolved dimension at object

ddiffraction,jmg is diameter of blur spot at the image plane

ddiffraction,jmg =  q when object is not at 
ddiffraction,jmg =  F when object is at 
81
 Angular Description of Diffraction (Compound Lens)
Quantities defined by figure: βobj,
βimg, aperture stop, entrance pupil,
exit pupil.
z0,enp is distance from object to
entrance pupil
zexp,i is distance from exit pupil to
image (assumes object is not at  )
zexp,f2 is distance from exit pupil to
second focal point (assumes object
is at )

For a compound lens the angular blur is

generally different in object and image space.

2 .4 4 
 ob j  The diameter of the entrance pupil is generally different from the
D enp
diameter of the exit pupil.
2 .4 4 
 im g  These equations are the same as the equations for the simple
D exp
lens with Dlens replaced by Denp and Dexp. Continued … 82
Angular Description of Diffraction (Compound Lens)

βobj defined previously

βimg defined previously

T h e sp o t d iam ete r in o b ject an d im age sp a ce are :

d diffrac tion ,obj   obj z 0,enp
d diffrac tion ,im g   im g z exp ,i w h en o b ject is n o t at 
d diffrac tion ,im g   im g z exp , f 2   im g F w h en o b ject is at 
83
Materials

84
 Materials Considerations
v elo c ity in fre e sp a ce
n 
Index of Refraction n. v elo c ity in m aterial u n d er co n sid eratio n
P h ase , n o t gro u p v elo c ity is u se d Important
 
v phas e  ; v group 
k k
Material Dispersion. The index of refraction varies with wavelength. This
phenomenon is termed material dispersion. From the lens maker’s
equation this causes the lens to have different focal lengths for different
wavelengths and causes chromatic aberration.
Fresnel Equations. When a ray traverses a boundary between two materials
it is refracted according to Snell’s law and reflected according to the law of
reflection. The distribution of power between the reflected and transmitted
power is given by Fresnel’s equations.
T h ese eq u atio n s assu m e n o rm al in cid en ce •
F o r len ses, th e ray s are ap p ro xim ately n o rm al n2  n1 2

 
to th e len s, so u su ally th ese eq u atio n s are a go o d r 
ap p ro xim atio n •
n2  n1
r an d t are th e fra ctio n o f th e en ergy reflected an d 4 n 1 n 2
tran sm itted resp e ctiv ely • t
n 1 is in d ex o f refrac tio n o n o n e sid e o f th e b o u n d ary •
n1  n2 2
n 2 is in d ex o f refrac tio n o n th e o th er sid e o f th e b o u n d ary • 85
 
Materials Considerations (Continued)
• The reflected and transmitted flux is calculated this way:
 reflec ted   inc ident r  is flu x w atts
 trans m itted   inc ident t
N o te :  reflec ted   trans m itted  1

• Why are we interested in this? In a compound lens, designed to minimize

aberrations, there may be several lens elements and reflection losses can
become significant.

    
•What are the transmission losses when the material has an index of
refraction n=3?
4 n 1 n 2 3
t F rontS urfac e  . n1  1, n2  3 
n1  n2 2 4


3
t Bac kS urfac e 
4
3 2
t F ront& Bac k   5 6 .2 5 
4 86
 Materials Considerations (Continued)

• The transmission loss given by Fresnel’s equation is a transmission loss at


the surface.
• There are also transmission losses in passing through the material that is
given by:
 z   0   z
Important
A ssu m es th at th e in cid e n t rad iatio n co v ers a sm a ll


w av e len gth b an d o r th at  ch an ges n egligib ly o v er
th e b an d o f in cid e n t rad iatio n •
 0 is th e p o w er in th e b eam at z  0
 z is th e p o w er in th e b eam at z

For radiation to get through a lens there is a transmission loss at each

surface and a transmission loss in traversing the lens material. So
the total transmission is given by:

 T otal  t    t t  t 2    t Important
87
 Material Consideration Summary
• Optical coatings substantially decrease
surface reflection losses.
• One consideration in choice of lens
material is transmission loss.

88
 Optics References
• Infrared and Electro-Optical Systems, R. Driggers, P.
Cox, T. Edwards (1999)
• Optics, E. Hecht, A. Zajac (1979)
• Fundamentals of Optics, F. Jenkins, H. White (1976)
• Elements of Modern Optical Design, D. O’Shea (1985)
• Engineering Optics, K. Iizuka (1983)
• RCA Electro-Optic Handbook (1974)
• Modern Optics, R. Guenther (1990)
• Infrared Detections and Systems, E. L. Dereniak, G. D.
Boreman (1996).
• Modern Optical Engineering, W. J. Smith (2000)
• Field Guide to Infrared Systems, A. Daniels (2007)

89
Questions?

90