Nonmechanical Submicroscanning Imaging Sensor

The imaging sensor described in this proposal will provide new capabilities for fire control systems by generating unaliased imagery out to twice the Nyquist frequency of the focal-plane array (FPA) used in the sensor. The proposed system uses a nonmechnical liquid-crystal beam steering device to shift imagery on the FPA of the sensor by a fraction of the amount used in mechanical microscanning. Submicroscanning sensor performance will be comparable to that obtained with conventional microscanning, but with less weight and mechanical complexity. Building on the results of an initial proof-of-principle demonstration of the submicroscanning technique performed at Wright Laboratory, WPAFB, we propose to further investigate the capabilities of nonmechanical submicroscanning and examine specific design issues regarding image shift versus image quality, spatial noise performance, and material considerations. Use of nonmechanical submicroscanning for point-target tracking will also be investigated. The knowledge gained in Phase I will provide a design base for a prototype submicroscanning imaging sensor to be developed in Phase II.