Advances in the optical design of miniaturized optical correlators

摘要

Future high performance miniature optical correlators will require specially designed Fourier lenses. This paper presents optical design considerations and results for several small, high performance Fourier lenses. These lenses are designed to match up with various spatial light modulators (SLMS) to utilize the full resolution of the SLMS. The miniature designs are compared in size and performance to optics used in the current LMSC subcompact hybrid optical correlator. The results presented illustrate that the high level of performance of our current correlator can be retained and extended in a miniature correlator; and that the size can be dramatically reduced. The new designs are optimized for use with spatial light modulators having various numbers of pixels and pixel spacings.