KR20190055862A - Short Wave Infrared Camera Optical System for The Long Range Image Monitoring - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a short wave infrared camera optical system for monitoring a long range, which includes a plurality of lenses (L1 to L7) disposed along an optical axis, wherein the lenses (L1 to L7) receive a wavelength band of 0.9 to 1.7 μm. The lens (L7) adjacent to a detector (D) moves along the optical axis to correct the defocus occurring when the object changes the distance and changes the temperature.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a short-range infrared camera,

The present invention relates to a short-distance infrared camera optical system for remote surveillance, and more particularly, to a far infrared camera optical system for long distance surveillance which is more advantageous in image acquisition in a situation where a corrective distance such as a fog is limited because a wavelength is longer than that of a CCD camera or a CMOS camera, However, if the laser beam is irradiated in the infrared wavelength range, it is possible to acquire an image at low visibility even at night. Therefore, it is possible to provide an imaging apparatus capable of acquiring day and night images at low visibility, .

Generally, the far infrared ray (LWIR) includes a wavelength band of infrared rays emitted by humans as light having a wavelength band of 8 to 13 mu m. A far infrared ray camera is a camera that can detect an infrared ray generated by a person or an object at night and pick up the image. A related prior art is Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1214601 entitled " Non-thermal infrared lens module ".

The medium infrared (MWIR) refers to an infrared ray having a wavelength band of 3 to 8 mu m. The mid-infrared wavelength band is mainly used for missile seekers because it is advantageous for high temperature target detection. It may also refer to an infrared ray of 3 to 5 μm which is used as a waiting window for thermal imaging equipment. Related prior art is Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2016-0141103 entitled " Infrared 10x continuous zoom optical system among cooling radiators. &Quot;

However, for example, when a far infrared (LWIR) or medium infrared (MWIR) camera is mounted on a laser interceptor, it can be used to detect, track, and intercept airborne drones infiltrating enemies in situations where visibility distances are limited There is a problem with image acquisition.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1214601 entitled " Nonthermalized Infrared Lens Module " Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2016-0141103 entitled " Infrared 10x continuous zoom optical system among cooling radiators "

An object of the present invention is to provide a short-distance infrared camera optical system for distant surveillance capable of acquiring an image even in a situation where the focal distance and the like are limited.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not intended to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It will be possible.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup apparatus including lenses (L1 to L7) arranged in a plurality of lines along an optical axis, the lenses (L1 to L7) receiving a wavelength band of 0.9 to 1.7 mu m, And the lens L7 adjacent to the lens L7 moves along the optical axis to correct the defocus caused when the object changes its distance and changes its temperature.

More specifically, the front and rear surfaces of the lenses L1 to L7 may be formed as spherical surfaces, respectively.

The lenses L1 to L7 may be anti-reflective coating (AR coating).

According to the present invention, since the wavelength is longer than that of a CCD camera or a CMOS camera used in a visible light region, it is more advantageous when acquiring an image in a situation where a corrective distance such as a fog is limited. When illumination is performed with a laser beam in a short infrared wavelength region, Also, since it is possible to acquire images at low visibility, it provides the optimal image equipment capable of acquiring day and night images at low visibility. Thus, for example, when the optical system of the present invention is mounted on a laser interceptor, it is possible to detect, track, and intercept a dron above the front that is infiltrated from the enemy.

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a far-infrared camera optical system for a distance surveillance of the present invention.
2 is a graph showing a modulation transfer function (MTF) at an object distance infinite.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference symbols whenever possible. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

As shown in the figure, the far-infrared camera optical system for long distance monitoring of the present invention includes lenses L1 to L7 arranged in a plurality of lines along the optical axis. Reference numeral D denotes a detector for detecting an image from light received by the lenses L1 to L7.

The lenses L1 to L7 receive the short-wave infrared (SWIR) light so that the necessary images can be acquired even when the focal distance and the like are limited. That is, the lenses L1 to L7 receive the short infrared rays (SWIR) in the wavelength band of 0.9 to 1.7 mu m so that the detector D can acquire the necessary image.

Unlike infrared (MWIR) and far-infrared (LWIR) light emitted from the object itself, SWIR is an excellent contrast for imaging that requires higher resolution as the principle is that the photons are reflected and absorbed from the object. And the lenses L1 to L7 receive the short infrared rays SWIR so that the detector D can acquire a necessary image.

The detector (D) has an Indium Gallium Arsenide (InGaAs) image sensor of 640 × 512 arrangement available in the short infrared (SWIR) band of 0.9 to 1.7 μm wavelength.

In the optical system of the present invention, the field of view (FOV) is 1.83 DEG x 1.47 DEG, the 1-pixel size of the detector D is 15 mu m and the detection plane is 6.60 x 512 The size of the image is 7.68 mm, and the instantaneous field of view (IFOV) at a moment when one pixel is viewed has a value of 0.1 mrad.

The limit resolution of the infrared optical system is determined by the detector (D), and the F-number of the optical system of the present invention is 4.0 in order to satisfy the limit resolution. The number of F-numbers is determined in consideration of the size of the airy disk determined by the optical system specifications.

Spectral Range
0.9 to 1.7 탆

Effective focal length
(Effective Focal Length)
≥300.0 mm

Focus Range
20m to infinity @ wide
(20m ~ Infinity @ Wide)
F-number
(F-number)
4.0

Viewing angle @ infinity
(Field of View @ Infinity)
≥1.83 ° × 1.47 °
Instantaneous viewing angle @ infinity
(Instantaneous Field of View @ Infinity)
? 0.1 mrad
Pixel format
(Pixel format)
640 × 512 pixels (15 μm pitch)
(640 × 512 pixels (15 μm pitch))

In the optical system of the present invention, it is possible to adjust the focus regardless of the position of the object in the infinite range from the minimum object distance of 20m, and the lens L7 is fine-shifted by the object distance to change to auto focus, Defocus caused when the object distance changes and the temperature changes also moves the lens L7 finely to secure the performance.

The lenses L1 to L7 may be formed by mixing a crown material and a flint material and AR coating (Anti-Reflective Coating) to minimize a transmittance drop to a wavelength of 0.9 to 1.7 mu m.

In addition, the lenses L1 to L7 may be formed as spheres on both the front surface facing the object and the rear surface facing the detector D, thus ensuring ease of fabrication and alignment. The focusing lens L7 is formed to be light in weight compared to the other lenses L1 to L6, thereby facilitating the movement. Table 2 shows the radius of curvature (Radius) of the preferred lenses L1 to L7.

division Surface type
(Surface Type) Radius of curvature
[mm] L1 Front Sphere 700.00 back side Sphere 115.41 L2 Front Sphere 141.03 back side Sphere -155.04 L3
Front Sphere -134.29 back side Sphere -552.32 L4
Front Sphere 217.23 back side Sphere 362.17 L5
Front Sphere 188.39 back side Sphere 93.62 L6
Front Sphere 103.10 back side Sphere -144.58 L7
Front Sphere -278.89 back side Sphere 199.51

The modulation transfer function (MTF) is a standardized value indicating how clearly the optical module transmits the image information of the object when the object is viewed through the optical system. The object distance (MTF) performance at an object distance of 50 m and an object distance of 20 m, and FIG. 2 is a graph showing a modulation transfer function (MTF) at an object distance infinite.

The spatial frequency is determined according to the pixel size of the detector (D), and the performance can be checked by checking the modulation transfer function (MTF) result at the corresponding frequency. The maximum performance that an optical system can have is referred to as the diffraction limit and is indicated by a dotted line in the figure.

Also, the beam diameter represents the size of the light beam incident on each pixel, and the smaller the beam diameter, the smaller the aberration and the higher the modulation transfer function (MTF) performance. In general, when the object is monochrome, the design is made based on the 2-pixel size based on the maximum detector (D) so that all the rays incident on the detector D through the lenses L1 to L7 are converged in the 2-pixel pitch .

The reason for determining the beam diameter and modulation transfer function (MTF) performance as a pixel size is that it is the minimum unit that can be decomposed in the detector (D) and has different target modulation transfer function (MTF) performance depending on the 1-pixel size .

A spot diagram at an object distance of 50 m and an object distance of 20 m was analyzed for the optical system of the present invention. As a result, it was confirmed that the optical system of the present invention was all condensed in 2-pixels, The modulation transfer function (MTF) is slightly lower when the beam diameter is larger.

Also, even if the aberration components dropping the image quality are removed, a point on the object image is not uniformly imaged at one point on the image plane due to the effect of the diffraction phenomenon or the like. Ray aberration analysis is an important point for identifying these problems through the beam pattern and for power and optimal design. The optical aberration graph approaches zero (ZERO) as the ideal lens, and the optical performance becomes better if the slope of the other two wavelengths is canceled according to the characteristic of the wavelength. In addition, we can directly confirm the effect of each third order aberration such as spherical aberration, astigmatism, and distortion aberration on the image plane through the order difference.

The distortion aberration represents a nonlinear change in the ideal image height of the aberration optical system and the actually designed optical system. When the distortion aberration increases, the shape of the upper surface is distorted and becomes different from that of the detection surface. This distortion aberration is frequently observed in a wide angle camera, and the distortion aberration at an object distance of 50M and an object distance of 20M is analyzed for an optical system of the present invention, the object distance is infinite.

As a result of the analysis, the distortion aberration magnitude is about 0.0035%, which is not the magnitude of distortion aberration which can be felt by the user when photographing the image and photograph, and the result predicted in actual image acquisition through the 2-d image simulation It was confirmed to be unreasonable even when compared with the original.

The tolerance analysis is to analyze the performance deterioration that may occur when assembling or fabricating an optical system designed theoretically through sensitivity analysis in advance, and it is necessary to preliminarily apply an error that may occur when manufacturing and assembling the lens system artificially, To predict the performance change.

The sensitivity analysis is used to analyze the error tolerance range, to improve the sensitivity of the optical system by enhancing the production yield and the target performance by complementing the sensitive part. The yield of the optical system according to the present invention is analyzed through the sensitivity analysis. Items of analysis include curvature, refractive index, thickness, surface shape, and center. Sensitivity was analyzed through various items such as tilt, tilt, group tilt, group di center.

As a result of the tolerance analysis, it was confirmed that 97.7% of the lens manufactured by the present modulation transfer function (MTF) has a performance degradation width of about 18.9%. It is confirmed that there is no big problem in writing when considering the performance degradation of about 15 ~ 20% in general.

As described above, since the optical system of the present invention has a longer wavelength than the CCD camera or CMOS camera used in the visible light ray region, it is more advantageous when capturing an image in a situation where the focal distance and the like are limited, and the laser beam in the short infrared wavelength region It is possible to acquire images at low visibility even at night, so that it is possible to provide an optimal image equipment capable of acquiring day and night images at low visibility. Thus, for example, when the optical system of the present invention is mounted on a laser interceptor, it is possible to detect, track, and intercept a dron above the front that is infiltrated from the enemy.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It will be possible. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims, and all differences within the scope of equivalents thereof should be construed as being included in the present invention.

L1 to L7: lenses
D: detector

Claims (3)

And lenses (L1 to L7) arranged in a plurality of lines along the optical axis,
The lenses L1 to L7 receive a wavelength band of 0.9 to 1.7 mu m,
Wherein the detector (D) and the lens (L7) adjacent to the detector (D7) move along the optical axis to correct a defocus that occurs when the object changes its distance and changes its temperature.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the lenses (L1 to L7) have spherical surfaces on the front and rear surfaces, respectively.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the lenses (L1 to L7) are AR coated (Anti-Reflective Coating).

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