Compact, high resolution and wide-angle infrared imaging systems are the paragons for security and situational awareness applications. Coherent fiber bundles (CFB) provide a platform to relay curved images, formed by optical systems such as a monocentric lens, to flat focal plane arrays so that image flattening is decoupled from image formation. This enables hundredfold increase in resolution per unit volume for wide angle lenses. We present hybrid chalcogenide/polymer CFB for mid-wave infrared (MWIR) image relay. We design the lens system and the AR coating for the bundle, and finally demonstrate a stack-and-draw process to yield 10μm pitch CFBs with about 8,000 cores.
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