Secondary Imaging Architecture for Fast and Ultra-Wide LWIR Optics with Low Rectilinear Distortion

Wide-swath longwave infrared (LWIR) imaging from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) demands fast optics and rectilinear (F-tan) mapping for thermal mapping and multi-frame registration. Achieving an F/1.2 aperture with a 112° diagonal field of view (FOV) and distortion within ±5% is challenging, as mapping constraints and field-dominant off-axis aberrations become strongly coupled at large chief-ray angles. The low-distortion target is not only a geometric specification, but also a practical requirement that reduces peripheral compression, helps maintain edge-detail consistency, and lowers digital de-warping effort in the processing pipeline. While traditional LWIR secondary imaging is predominantly restricted to narrow-field cooled systems for cold-stop constraints, the proposed architecture utilizes a curved intermediate image to effectively decouple mapping formation in the field-dominant front objective from aperture-dominant correction in the rear group. Using chalcogenide glasses, the lens achieves a 5.7 mm effective focal length within a 186.9 mm total track. Analysis over the 8–12 μm band confirms performance approaching the diffraction limit at the 50 lp/mm Nyquist frequency alongside stable geometric fidelity across the full field. Thermal analysis from −40 °C to 80 °C and Monte Carlo tolerance analysis demonstrate stable imaging performance and manufacturing feasibility, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed design approach.