Design a conformal optical system based on Fermat's principle

Area of Science:

• Optical Engineering
• Precision Optics
• Guided Weapon Systems

Background:

• Conformal optical systems are crucial for precision-guided weapons.
• Traditional systems use correctors to manage dynamic aberrations in ellipsoidal domes.
• Existing methods face challenges in dynamic aberration compensation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel method for designing conformal optical systems.
• To eliminate the need for a corrector in conformal optical systems.
• To simplify the design and improve the performance of optical systems in guided weapons.

Main Methods:

• Design based on Fermat's principle.
• Ensuring equal optical path distances (OPD) for rays entering at different angles.
• Calculating the inner dome surface to achieve identical OPD, effectively making the ellipsoidal dome act as a spherical dome.

Main Results:

• A corrector is no longer required in the conformal optical system.
• The ellipsoidal dome functions identically to a spherical dome.
• A functional conformal optical system was designed for mid-wave infrared (3.7-4.8µm) with specific parameters (fineness ratio 1, diameter 120 mm, field of regard ±60°, F-number 1.2).

Conclusions:

• Fermat's principle provides a feasible method for designing corrector-free conformal optical systems.
• The proposed method simplifies optical system design for applications like precision-guided weapons.
• The demonstrated system design validates the effectiveness of the novel approach.