An IR target simulating projector system may sometimes require zooming lenses to simulate continuously the target's increasing size as a missile closes the range. In addition, special opto-mechanical layouts may sometimes be needed to allow cascaded action of two or more zooms to increase the zooming range, or to present the missile simultaneously two or more spectral regions. The zooms in these systems may differ in some important characteristics from the more conventional types: (1) The maximum speed and acceleration of their moving parts, as required by the dynamics of the missile-target approach scenario, are to be limited by the performance of commercially available stages carrying those parts, and (2) the motion control system must assure strict adherence to the 'zoom function' (relative position of the zoom's moving parts) to avoid defocusing during the zooming phase. In this paper we describe the implications of complying with these requirements on implementations actually designed and executed.

Date Published: 8 September 1995
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 2552, Infrared Technology XXI, (8 September 1995); doi: 10.1117/12.218251

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2552:
Infrared Technology XXI
Bjorn F. Andresen; Marija Strojnik, Editor(s)