The operation of the Direct Write Scene Generator (DWSG) at the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) to drive a fiber array projection system is reported. The fiber array absorbs the input radiation from the laser-based system and produces broadband infrared output through blackbody cavities fabricated on the ends of the optical fibers. A test program was accomplished to quantify the performance of the fiber array with respect to input laser power and optical pulse width. Static and dynamic scenes were also projected with the device and recorded with an IR camera system. This paper presents the results of this work.
The operation of the Direct Write Scene Generator (DWSG) to drive a fiber array projection system is reported in this paper. The fiber array absorbs the input radiation from the laser-based system and produces broadband infrared output through blackbody cavities fabricated on the ends of the optical fibers. A test program was begun to quantify the performance of the fiber array with respect to input laser, power, temporal response, spatial uniformity, IR output, and fiber-to-fiber crosstalk. Static and dynamic scenes will also be projected with the device and captured with a camera system. Preliminary projection of a simple scene has been accomplished.
Efforts to produce a fiber optic based high spatial resolution (4 X 106 pixels/in2) infrared (IR) scene projector for background scene applications are described. Light from a source scene is transmitted by total internal reflection to thin film optical black body cavities at the ends of the fiber elements and converted to IR radiation. The design of the optical thin film black body cavity allows flexibility to tune both source and output characteristics for the scene projector and tailor in-band emissivities to values greater than 0.9. Fiber elements are micromachined into the optic to provide thermal isolation between scene pixels and minimize thermal cross talk. The materials and processes being investigated are discussed with respect to thermal modeling results which direct design considerations. Examples of IR images produced by this approach are presented with discussions of future plans.
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