28 May 2020 Optical design for an active standoff spectrometer with a broadband source
Author Affiliations +
Funded by: Air Force Research Laboratory
Abstract

We describe an optical bench design that efficiently projects broadband infrared energy from a supercontinuum (SC) source onto an extended target and collects the backscattered return. The optical system enables standoff spectral measurements of surfaces at up to 15 m away with a continuous spectral range from 3.6 to 11  μm. The goal of the optical system is to maximize energy transmission and capture under various fundamental and practical constraints imposed by the SC fiber laser source (broad spectrum, high divergence exiting the fiber), spectrometer (light collimation), detectors (étendue limits), and the overall system (size, weight, and cost). The design effort led to an all-reflective, off-axis configuration for both the transmitter and receiver, using custom-designed enhanced gold surfaces. We are able to successfully capture >90  %   of the source energy and transmit it with low loss to the remote target while maintaining a nearly diffraction-limited Gaussian beam. The receiver telescope matches the detector étendue while providing uniform (±2.5  %  ) off-axis signal collection over the target area to enable scanning of the SC laser spot.

© 2020 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) 0091-3286/2020/$28.00 © 2020 SPIE
Agustin I. Ifarraguerri, N. Convers Wyeth, and Brian Gorin "Optical design for an active standoff spectrometer with a broadband source," Optical Engineering 59(9), 092006 (28 May 2020). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.59.9.092006
Received: 26 January 2020; Accepted: 15 May 2020; Published: 28 May 2020
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CITATIONS
Cited by 2 patents.
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KEYWORDS
Sensors

Spectroscopy

Optical design

Receivers

Mirrors

Transmitters

Target detection

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