Defense and Space Optics: At-wavelength IR Metrology for Testing & Alignment

Join our free webinar, Defense and Space Optics:  At-wavelength IR metrology for Testing & Alignment, on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, from 12 PM to 1 PM EST.

Infrared optics play a pivotal role in the space and defense industries due to their unique capabilities in detecting and analyzing thermal radiation.

• In space exploration, infrared optics facilitate the observation of celestial objects obscured by cosmic dust or faint in visible light, offering insights into the formation and behavior of stars, planets, and galaxies.
• They also enable Earth observation satellites to monitor climate change, natural disasters, and environmental conditions by capturing thermal signatures and variations.
• In defense, infrared optics are crucial for surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting, allowing for the detection of heat emissions from vehicles, aircraft, and personnel in diverse conditions, including low-light and obscured environments.
• Infrared laser communication systems offer secure and reliable data transmission over long distances, enhancing operational coordination and mission effectiveness.

Thus, it is essential to test the optical components and systems at the operating wavelength, to understand the final optical performance whether it be fiber coupling efficiency, system level wavefront error, or other performance metric.  Individual component metrology can be used to correct the as-built optical design for optimum system level performance.

This webinar will discuss how such optics are aligned and tested using various at-wavelength interferometers of different aperture sizes and configurations to maintain the integrity of the transmitted signals to tight tolerances, resulting in better coupling, less losses, and higher efficiencies.

We will cover wavelengths including:

• NIR: 1053nm  & 1064nm
• SWIR: Discrete c-band testing from 1530nm-1565nm
• MWIR: 3.39um, 3.8um – 4.1um
• LWIR: 10.6um