Optical design

Optical Design

DRA’s expertise in passive and active remote sensor development allows DRA to design and simulate custom Electro-Optical solutions for specialized sensing challenges. As part of the optical design process, DRA employs the following tools and techniques:

Proficiencies in:

  • Zemax OpticStudio lens design
  • MODTRAN
  • LiDAR design
  • FRED stray light analysis
  • Radiometry
  • Wave optics simulations
  • Optics lab characterization

DRA can generate build to print spec sheets for optical fabrication vendors, who verify performance and manufacturability. DRA’s designs demonstrate great control over optical aberrations and imaging performance over a wide set of wavelength, field of view and package limited scenarios.

Most optical sensor development goes through testing in DRA’s Optics Lab, which supports testing via free space optics, diffractive elements, filters, fiber-optics, lasers, a monochromator, an integration sphere and various photodetectors, cameras, sources and test targets for evaluating image quality and performance. DRA follows the EMVA1288 international standard for evaluating sensors.