Ultra-thin diffractive lenses for next-generation earth radiation budget instruments

We propose to design, develop and test an ultra-thin thermal infrared camera operated as a radiometer as a concept for a next-generation space-based earth radiation budget instrument. The demonstration will be performed in the thermal infrared wavelengths using commercial off-the-shelf cameras by replacing the traditional optics with a thin diffractive lens.

The use of thin diffractive lenses to replace the complex optical systems used in imagers and radiometers today, reduces the size, weight, power and cost (SWAP-C) of such systems. The framework used to develop the diffractive lens for the ERB radiometers can easily be tailored to other earth science measurements that involve the use of imagers, radiometers or hyperspectral imagers that could benefit from drastic size and weight reductions. Once matured, we see the diffractive lens technology leading to a game-changing reduction in SWAP of a whole suite of space-based remote sensing instruments.

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