IR scene generators are devices that simulate the IR radiation seen by heat seeking devices and IR detectors. Since the tracking accuracy is essential to heat seeking operation, a realistic high-resolution image is required. Current thermal RI scene generators use resistor array technology to generate an image whose size is on the order of 25mm square. We are building a 600mm X 600mm IR display systems with a scanned laser heating system for devices requiring a larger image size. Three high-powered CO₂ lasers are raster-scanned over a thin kapton screen. Rapid modulation of the laser coordinated with the scanning produces a pixilated heated image that emits IR energy. The system is composed of a background heating system with two laser each scanning a 128 X 64 array and a hotspot heating system with one laser scanning a 40 X 40 array. The background system is fixed over the entire screen and simulates environmental IR while the hotspot system can be scanned anywhere on the screen and simulates a target. Convective cooling is used to increase spatial resolution and temporal response. An IR camera provides closed loop optical feedback for the system.

Date Published: 4 May 2000
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 3931, Gas, Chemical, and Electrical Lasers and Intense Beam Control and Applications, (4 May 2000); doi: 10.1117/12.384264

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3931:
Gas, Chemical, and Electrical Lasers and Intense Beam Control and Applications
Santanu Basu; Santanu Basu; Steven J. Davis; Ernest A. Dorko, Editor(s)