Super-Resolved Imaging Sensors with Field of View Preservation

Diffraction and non-ideal sampling severely limit the spatial resolution of an imaging seeker. The diffraction limit is imposed by both the nominal wavelength and the physical size of the optics, typically limited by the submunition body diameter for a passive millimeter wave imaging seeker. Non-ideal sampling is imposed by detector technology and sensor design trade-offs. Focal-plane sampling often deviate from ideal sampling in two ways: first the array elements do not usually acquire ideal point samples, but instead integrate the image intensity over a finite spatial region; and second, the sample spacing is often greater than that required for critical sampling, at the Nyquist frequency.We propose to develop a novel integrated two stage solution incorporating image reconstruction techniques coupled with microscanning to possible achieve as much as a 5X increase in resolution when compared to a conventional sensor without corresponding loss of field of view. This is possible because microscanning allows us to build a single oversampled image having no loss in field of view and with reduced aliasing. Typical super-resolution approach require oversampling in the image plane which in turn reduces the field of view by the amount of oversample.In this Phase I effort we are proposing to create a system level simulation, to develop microscanning algorithms, to look at system and algorithm trade-offs, and to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach using measured passive millimeter wave imagery (PMMW).