Passively Athermalized FF Lens
APPLICATION: A military flight application requiring a fixed focus lens with no moving parts. CHALLENGE: The desired lens must focus from a relatively-close 3 feet to infinity with no mechanical focus adjustment, while having a wide (+160°) field of view and athermal over a temperature range from 50°F to 122°F. SOLUTION: Durability: | The lens had a very durable and ruggedized design. | Innovation:: | No motors, power, or moving parts are used with the lens; the system is completely passive. | Design: | All materials used in the design have a normal coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), but the design was able to accommodate in temperature shifts (both optically and mechanically). The lens stays in focus over the entire thermal range. | Compact: | The finished lens measured only 2.5” Dia. X 2.2” Length. | Lightweight: | The finished lens only weighed 12 ounces. | Production: | irZoom now offers this lens as a standard, off-the-shelf solution (used with a Tau 640 camera). |
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