Non-circular Aperture Reflective Imager Throughput
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Solution Overview
Problem
Reflective optical imagers face challenges in achieving high throughput due to obscuring nature and tradeoffs in size and spatial resolution, making it difficult to collect imagery quickly with fine spatial resolution.
Innovation Solution
The design of a non-circular aperture reflective imager with increased aperture size in a direction orthogonal to the optical system's folding direction, allowing for higher throughput and spatial resolution without compromising compactness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a reflective imager uses a conventional circular aperture design, then the system maintains compactness, but the throughput and spatial resolution are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by replacing the conventional circular aperture with a non-circular aperture shape. This asymmetric design allows the aperture to collect more light in specific directions while maintaining compact overall system dimensions, thereby increasing throughput without proportionally increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes dimensionality change by extending the aperture in one dimension (creating an elongated non-circular shape) while keeping the system compact in other dimensions. This selective dimensional expansion increases the light-gathering area and throughput without requiring a proportional increase in overall system size
2Productivity
If the aperture size is increased to improve throughput, then more light is collected, but the system size increases and spatial resolution tradeoffs worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the aperture area increase in specific local regions (creating a non-circular shape with extended dimensions in useful directions) rather than uniformly increasing all dimensions. This allows throughput improvement while limiting the overall system size increase
3Measurement precision
If the aperture size is increased to improve spatial resolution, then finer ground resolution is achieved, but the system size and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric non-circular aperture design allows different dimensions of the aperture to be optimized for different resolution requirements. This enables fine spatial resolution in critical directions without requiring a uniformly complex aperture design in all directions
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design significantly increases the throughput and spatial resolution in one dimension, enhancing the sensitivity of imaging systems like spectrometers while maintaining compactness.
Implementation Method 1
reflective imager designs having a non-circular aperture and a high throughput, or fast optical speed
Data Source
AI summary
Reflective imager sub-systems that have a non-circular entrance pupil and provide substantially increased throughput to a detecting component of a system are disclosed.