Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

Lawrence M Scherr

Marco A Lopez

Neil R Nelson

Harold J Orlando

Dean L Weideman

This is a target projector projecting a vertical line source of infrared energy for testing of thermal imaging sensors. A vertical wire of a material which heats and emits infrared energy when an electrical current is passed therethrough is heated by a DC source. There is a projector for intercepting a portion of infrared energy from the wire, for passing only a line source beam portion which comprises a narrow beam of about 10 milliradians width and subtends a vertical angle of about 40.degree., and for directing the narrow beam on an optical center line of a thermal imaging sensor being tested. One type of projector comprises a narrow vertical mirror oriented about a longitudinal axis of rotation which is in a common plane with the wire disposed between 4' and 10' from the wire and rotatable about the axis of rotation to project the line source beam in a desired direction. In another projector, the mirror is replaced by a slit. The wire and projector in combination are also rotatable to a position 45.degree. from vertical so that dead channels of a sensor tied to adjacent live channels can be identified.

Infrared line source projector

A non-mechanically scanned optical sensor system includes a stationary sensor array having an image plane, a lens system characterized by a field of view corresponding to image of a scene viewed by the lens system, an image divider for dividing the image into plural contiguous sub-images and a device for directing each of the sub-images onto substantially the entirety of the image plane of the sensor array. The directing device in one embodiment is an array of small lenses coextensive with respective light beams of respective sub-images of an image viewed by the lens system. In another embodiment, both the image divider and the directing device are realized together as an X-Y addressable array of electrically deformable optical elements, such as silicon micro-mirrors, individually directing respective ones of the sub-images to the sensor array. In another embodiment, the image divider is a spatial light modulator having an array of optical shutters controlling respective sub-images.

Growing community of inventors

Altadena, CA, United States of America

Lawrence M Scherr