Warm Shield Sensor Design

Many Ballistic Missile Defense sensors use infrared wavelengths to detect the heat generated by target missiles. These sensors must capture infrared emission from a missile, image that missile onto a detector with the requisite resolution, and control the amount of unwanted light or stray light striking the detector. Limiting stray light from internal and external sources is often as important as providing a high quality image of the target. Prior work has demonstrated that warm shields can effectively reduce thermal background noise and lead to more compact, easier to build, infrared sensors. In this SBIR response, we propose to substantially shorten the optical design cycle while characterizing the benefits and limitations of a specific warm shield design.