Design and calibration of a wide field of view MWIR optically multiplexed imaging system

We describe the optical design and characterization testing of an optically multiplexed imaging system operating in the 3.4 to 5 micron waveband. The optical design uses a division of aperture method to overlay six images on a single focal plane and produce a 90 by 15 degree 6-megapixel field of view. Image disambiguation is achieved through image shifting enabled by piezo-actuated mirrors in the multiplexing assembly. This paper provides an overview of the optical design including focal plane selection, image resolution and distortion, pupil imaging, and aperture division geometry. A method of applying one and two-point non-uniformity correction using radiometric test data is suggested. Sensor-level per-channel image quality and sensitivity tests including MTF, 3D-noise and NEDT are shown to validate the design assumptions.