Design, analysis and preliminary tests of a linear array CCD aerial camera for ground simulation

Demand for high quality images and simple structures is a trend in aerial camera lens design, however, aerial camera lens structures are complicated if there are complex optical systems. In this paper, to improve the imaging quality and reduce the weight of aerial camera lens, an aspherical surface is introduced to the optical system and an aerial camera is designed for ground simulation. As a result, the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the optical system is higher than 34% @ 91 lp/mm in all fields. Then, the modal and static properties of the developed aerial camera are verified by using finite element analysis, which satisfies the camera structural design requirements. The imaging test results indicate that the imaging performance satisfy design requirements of the aerial camera.