Design of Multi-Waveguide Merged Multi-Frame Integration System for Integrated Interference Imaging System

Abstract

The integrated interferometric imaging system has pointed out a highly promising direction for the development of high-resolution, small-volume, and lightweight optical imaging systems in orbit. However, the current integrated interferometric imaging system has the problem of a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in orbit, which seriously restricts the practical application and development of the system. To solve this problem, a design method for a multi-waveguide merged multi-frame integration (MWMMFI) system is proposed in this paper. This method proposes a novel non-uniform sampling time axis, which achieves accurate extraction of multi-frame integration signals between interferometric arms, overcoming the limitations of traditional time delay integration (TDI) techniques that are not applicable to tilted optical waveguide arrays. Consequently, it extends the integration time and increases the accumulation of effective optical signals. Additionally, noise is suppressed through an accumulate first and then differentiate algorithm. Ultimately, this achieves an enhancement of the system’s SNR and optimizes the quality of the reconstructed images, all without increasing motion degradation. Simulation experiments indicate that compared to traditional systems, the MWMMFI design can increase the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) up to 4 times when the merging number is two, and up to 6.58 times when the merging number is three. This provides both technical insights and theoretical guidance for addressing the issue of enhancing the SNR of integrated interferometric imaging systems in orbit.