Alignment And Performance Test Of Visible/Infrared Compound Simulator

In the hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) simulation of multi-channels photoelectric detection system, visible/infrared compound simulator is a critical equipment to provide the realistic physical images of objectives and background within visible and infrared spectral bands for the performance testing. It can directly affect the accuracy of simulating target images, and then affect the testing accuracy of photoelectric detection system. Therefore, it is significant to analyze the performance of visible/ infrared compound simulator. In this paper, for a manufactured visible/infrared compound simulator, the testing methods, experimental measurements and the key alignment technology are mainly studied. The main researches are as follows:Firstly, the development scheme of visible/infrared compound simulator is analyzed, and the objective coupling scheme is adopted. The visible and infrared scene simulator are designed, manufactured and aligned respectively, accordingly it is necessary to test their performances respectively. For the visible scene simulator, the components, principle and performance request are simply analyzed. Then the performance parameters are particularly analyzed, and the design demands of every elementary system are put forward, which guarantees the accuracy of simulating objectives and the background theoretically.In addition, for the visible scene simulator, the testing methods of performance parameters, such as exit pupil, uniformity of illumination, field of view and distortion, are studied. Based on the experimental conditions, experimental platforms are built to measure the exit pupil, uniformity of illumination, radiation (dynamic range, contrast, and temporal stability). And then the errors of experimental results are evaluated.Furthermore, for the infrared scene simulator, the irradiance measurement technology is researched. Its principle and irradiance at the exit pupil are presented. The principle of infrared spectral radiometer is analyzed. The spectral matching factor of infrared detector and the noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) of infrared detection system are derived. The influence of infrared radiometer's field of view on the measurement is analyzed. The specific calibrate scheme of infrared radiometer, the measuring methods and procedures of infrared simulator's irradiance are presented. These researches provide a firm foundation for the infrared irradiance's measurement.Finally, the alignment of visible/infrared compound simulator is deeply researched. The alignment scheme of the visible scene simulator is analyzed, and the specific implementations of mechanical structure are presented. The impact on HWIL system by axis compound error of visible/infrared simulator and optical coupling device are researched. The technology of axis compound alignment is focused on, thus two specific schemes are proposed, and their errors are evaluated in detail.This paper focuses on the technology of measurement and optical alignment, laying a theoretical and technical foundation for the calibration of the compound simulator, which guarantees the simulator's performance.