Impact of Thermal Control Measures on the Imaging Quality of an Aerial Optoelectronic Sensor

Abstract

The image resolution is the most important performance parameter for an aerial optoelectronic sensor. Existing thermal control methods cannot eliminate the sensor’s temperature gradient, making the image resolution difficult to further improve. This article analyzes the different impacts of temperature changes on the imaging resolution and proposes modifications. Firstly, the sensor was subjected to thermo-optical simulation by means of finite element analysis, and the different impacts of temperature changes on the imaging quality were analyzed. According to the simulation results, an active thermal control method is suggested to enhance the temperature uniformity of the sensor. Considering the impacts of active and passive thermal control measures, thermal optical analysis was carried out to predict the performance of the sensor. The results of the analysis show that the imaging quality of the sensor has been significantly improved. The experimental results show that the image resolution of the optoelectronic sensor improved from 47 to 59 lp/mm, which demonstrates that the sensor can produce a high image quality in a low-temperature environment.