A ZOOM LENS FOR FORWARD LOOKING INFRARED SYSTEMS

ZOOM LENSES, OR LENSES OFFERING A CONTINUOUS VARIATION IN MAGNIFICATION (AND HENCE FIELD OF VIEW), CAN HAVE SIGNIFICANT ADVANTAGES OVER CURRENT SINGLE FIELD OF VIEW SYSTEMS OR EVEN MULTIPLE OR DISCRETE MAGNIFICATIONS FOR FLIR APPLICATIONS. IN THIS PROJECT WE WILL USE THE LATEST COMPUTER LENS DESIGN SOFTWARE AS WELL AS N EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE BASE IN THE OPTICAL DESIGN OF FLIR TYPE SYSTEMS TO GENERATE A 5L1 IR ZOOM LENS SUITABLE TO SERVE AS THE TELESCOPE IN A FLIR SYSTEM. ALTHOUGH FROM A FIRST ORDER OPTICS STANDPOINT, THESE SYSTEMS ARE INDEED QUITE FEASIBLE, POTENTIALLY IMAGE DEGRADING FACTORS SUCH AS NARCISSUS, SCAN NOISE, SHADING, AND OTHERS CAN BE SUBSTANTIALLY MORE DIFFICULT TO CONTROL IN A ZOOM CONFIGURATION THAN FOR A SYSTEM WITH MULTIPLE YET DISCRETE FIELDS OF VIEW. OPTICS 1, INC. FULLY UNDERSTANDS THESE ISSUES, AND THEY WILL BE APPROPRIATELY TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN THE DESIGN. IN ADDITION, USE OF STATE OF THE ART YET APPROPRIATELY MATURE FABRICATION AND PRODUCTION METHODOLOGIES SUCH AS DIAMOND TURNED ASPHERES AND PLASTIC HOUSINGS WILL BE GIVEN STRONG CONSIDERATION AS WARRANTED IN ORDER TO OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE AND MINIMIZE SIZE, WEIGHT, AND COST.