Optimization of airgap in a monocentric lens assembly and metasurface based anti-reflecting coating in the long-wave IR regime

TL;DR

This paper optimizes air gaps in a monocentric LWIR lens assembly and proposes a metasurface ARC to improve transmittance, considering incidence angles and temperature effects for enhanced imaging performance.

Contribution

It introduces an optimized air gap design for monocentric LWIR lenses and a metasurface-based anti-reflective coating to improve transmittance across a wide field-of-view.

Findings

Optimized air gaps improve LWIR transmission over 8-12 μm.

Metasurface ARC enhances transmittance compared to traditional coatings.

Temperature variations affect focal length and spot size in the lens assembly.

Abstract

Owing to minimal aberration, larger field-of-view, and high resolution, monocentric lenses are preferred over other imagers in hemispherical image surface scenarios, particularly in the long-wave infrared (LWIR) region. Herein, we study a monocentric lens assembly consisting of a ball lens and two hemispherical shell lenses of given radii of curvature and lens materials to enhance the transmission of LWIR ranging from 8{\mu}m to 12{\mu}m wavelength. We optimize the air gaps between the lenses of the assembly for a wider range of incidence angles, assuming antireflecting coating (ARC) on all surfaces of the lenses. Additionally, the effect of temperature variation on the transmittance is also studied to attain an optimum air gap between the lenses. With the variation in incidence angle and temperature, modulations in focal length and spot size are reported for different wavelengths. Further, we propose a metasurface design to replace conventional multilayer ARCs to enhance the transmittance through the lens assembly over the given wavelength range for a wide field-of-view.