Compact fixed-source array test station for calibration of a semi-active laser (SAL) seeker
First Claim
1. A test station for calibrating a semi-active laser (SAL) seeker including a SAL detector, comprising:
- a fixture for mounting the SAL seeker, said seeker including an optical system having an entrance pupil that gathers optical energy over a field of view (FOV) and focuses the optical energy into a spot on the SAL detector;
a spherical lens having a first side positioned at a location in front of where the entrance pupil of the seeker would be located, said spherical lens comprising one or more materials each having an index of refraction greater than one and less than or approximately equal to two;
an array of fixed optical sources that generate respective temporally pulsed divergent optical beams, said sources positioned on a surface of a focal sphere at an effective focal length of the spherical lens offset from a second, opposite side of the spherical lens over the entire FOV of the seeker and aligned along respective radial lines to the center of the spherical lens so that each said divergent optical beam is collimated by the spherical lens to form a collimated optical beam that overlaps the entire entrance pupil of the seeker;
a memory that stores a first source activation profile to generate a transfer function for the SAL detector, said transfer function mapping a spatial displacement Δ
X and Δ
Y in orthogonal axes of a centroid of the spot to azimuth and elevation angles for the source of the spot;
a controller responsive to the first source activation profile to activate the sources one at a time in a phase delayed manner to implement the activation profile; and
a computing device responsive to a measured spatial displacement Δ
X and Δ
Y of the spot on the SAL detector for each source as the source is activated to create a table entry for the transfer function in a calibration table that maps the measured Δ
X and Δ
Y to the known azimuth and elevation angles of the activated source.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fixed-source array test station provides a compact cost-effective high-throughput test bed for testing optical sensors that require stimulus at fixed angular positions. An array of fixed collimated sources at different angular positions in the sensor'"'"'s FOV are positioned on a surface of a focal sphere at the effective focal length of a spherical lens and aligned along respective radial lines to the center of the spherical lens so that each said divergent optical beam is collimated by the spherical lens to form a collimated optical beam that overlaps the entire entrance pupil of the optical seeker. The sources are activated in accordance with an activation profile in order to calibrate or otherwise test the sensor.
4 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A test station for calibrating a semi-active laser (SAL) seeker including a SAL detector, comprising:
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a fixture for mounting the SAL seeker, said seeker including an optical system having an entrance pupil that gathers optical energy over a field of view (FOV) and focuses the optical energy into a spot on the SAL detector; a spherical lens having a first side positioned at a location in front of where the entrance pupil of the seeker would be located, said spherical lens comprising one or more materials each having an index of refraction greater than one and less than or approximately equal to two; an array of fixed optical sources that generate respective temporally pulsed divergent optical beams, said sources positioned on a surface of a focal sphere at an effective focal length of the spherical lens offset from a second, opposite side of the spherical lens over the entire FOV of the seeker and aligned along respective radial lines to the center of the spherical lens so that each said divergent optical beam is collimated by the spherical lens to form a collimated optical beam that overlaps the entire entrance pupil of the seeker; a memory that stores a first source activation profile to generate a transfer function for the SAL detector, said transfer function mapping a spatial displacement Δ
X and Δ
Y in orthogonal axes of a centroid of the spot to azimuth and elevation angles for the source of the spot;a controller responsive to the first source activation profile to activate the sources one at a time in a phase delayed manner to implement the activation profile; and a computing device responsive to a measured spatial displacement Δ
X and Δ
Y of the spot on the SAL detector for each source as the source is activated to create a table entry for the transfer function in a calibration table that maps the measured Δ
X and Δ
Y to the known azimuth and elevation angles of the activated source. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A test station for a semi-active laser (SAL) seeker including a SAL detector, comprising:
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a fixture for mounting the SAL seeker, said seeker having an entrance pupil to detect optical energy over a field of view (FOV) and focus the optical energy into a spot on the SAL detector; a spherical lens having a first side positioned at a location in front of where the entrance pupil of the seeker would be located, said spherical lens comprising one or more materials each having an index of refraction greater than one and less than or approximately equal to two; an array of fixed optical sources that generate respective temporally pulsed divergent optical beams, said sources positioned on a surface of a focal sphere at an effective focal length of the spherical lens offset from a second, opposite side of the spherical lens over the entire FOV of the seeker and aligned along respective radial lines to the center of the spherical lens so that each said divergent optical beam is collimated by the spherical lens to form a collimated optical beam that overlaps the entire entrance pupil of the seeker; a memory that stores one or more source activation profiles to perform different tests; a controller responsive to one of the source activation profiles to activate the sources to implement the activation profile; and a computer that selects the source activation profile for a particular test, retrieves it from memory and provides it to the controller and is responsive to recorded SAL detector data to perform the test. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. A test station for an electro optic (EO) sensor, comprising:
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a fixture for mounting the EO sensor, said sensor having an entrance pupil to detect optical energy over a field of view (FOV) and focus the optical energy onto an EO detector; a spherical lens having a first side positioned at a location in front of where the entrance pupil of the sensor would be located, said spherical lens comprising one or more materials each having an index of refraction greater than one and less than or approximately equal to two; an array of fixed optical sources that generate respective temporally pulsed divergent optical beams, said sources positioned on a surface of a focal sphere at an effective focal length of the spherical lens offset from a second, opposite side of the spherical lens over the entire FOV of the sensor and aligned along respective radial lines to the center of the spherical lens so that each said divergent optical beam is collimated by the spherical lens to form a collimated optical beam that overlaps the entire entrance pupil of the sensor; a memory that stores one or more source activation profiles to perform different tests; a controller responsive to one of the source activation profiles to activate the sources to implement the activation profile; and a computer that selects the source activation profile for a particular test, retrieves it from memory and provides it to the controller and is responsive to recorded EO detector data to perform the test. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification