Wide angle achromatic prism beam steering for infrared countermeasure applications

Bradley D. Duncan; Philip J. Bos; Vassili Sergan

doi:10.1117/1.1556393

1 April 2003 Wide angle achromatic prism beam steering for infrared countermeasure applications

Bradley D. Duncan, Philip J. Bos, Vassili Sergan

Optical Engineering, Vol. 42, Issue 4, (April 2003). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1556393

The design and analysis of achromatic doublet prisms for use in laser beam steering is presented. The geometric relationships describing the maximum steering angle are given, as are discussions of first- and second-order dispersion reduction. Infrared (IR) material alternatives and optimum IR material characteristics for wide-angle achromatic prism beam steering are also investigated. Sixteen materials in 120 different combinations have been examined to date. For midwave IR applications it is shown that the minimum dispersion currently achievable across the full 2 to 5 μm spectrum is 1.7816 mrad at an average maximum steering angle of 45 deg. This is accomplished using LiF/ZnS doublet prisms. Several issues related to the azimuth and elevation angles into which light is steered as a function of prism rotation angles are also presented.

©(2003) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

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Bradley D. Duncan, Philip J. Bos, and Vassili Sergan "Wide angle achromatic prism beam steering for infrared countermeasure applications," Optical Engineering 42(4), (1 April 2003). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1556393

Published: 1 April 2003

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