May 17, 2018 - Hillary Balonek, Brett Sternfield, Peter Clark, and David Imrie

Click to Signup Location: Optikos Corporation, 107 Audubon Road, Bldg. 3, Wakefield, MA 01880
Dinner Reservation Deadline: Monday, May 14, 2018 @ 6pm

World Metrology Day Short-Talks

As World Metrology Day approaches, please join us for a series of short talks by Optikos engineers that both address a diverse set of optical metrology topics and support the original aim of the Metre Convention on the worldwide uniformity of measurement.

A Beginner’s Guide to MTF Measurements, Hillary Balonek
In any metrology field, it’s easy to get an answer, but it’s far more challenging to get a correct and meaningful answer.  Measuring MTF is no exception, and there are many factors that need to be considered to ensure that the MTF data is useful in solving a problem or answering a question about lens image quality and characteristics.  In this discussion, we’ll stay away from the complicated math and Fourier analysis, and focus on the practical considerations that go into MTF lens measurements.

Rethinking Head Mounted Display Specifications, Brett Sternfield
The AR/VR resurgence has thrust head-mounted displays (HMD’s) back into the spotlight, however, current consumer HMD optical specifications are limited to field of view and display resolution. Both parameters are poorly defined and do not inform the consumer about the visual quality and feeling of immersion that a headset provides. Instead, we propose a revised list of specifications and measurement methods that are more technically accurate, more relevant to the consumer’s VR/AR experience, and more easily understood.    

Lens Shades, Apertures and Stray Light, Peter Clark
Inspired by Irving Abel, we’ll discuss how the extremely effective stray light suppression achieved by coronagraph systems relates to the photographer’s ordinary lens shade, and how an engineer may become confused by terminology.  Then, relating to the coronagraph, we will show how a very simple expression can estimate the diffracted stray light from an arbitrarily shaped aperture, which is interesting and may even be a useful thing to know!

Jim Baker’s Distortion Measurement Apparatus, David Imrie
During the Cold War, aerial reconnaissance film cameras were at the forefront of optical engineering.  Lens designs had to meet extraordinary performance goals, but without the modern day conveniences of precision motorized stages, CCDs, and Excel spreadsheets, devising instrumentation to characterize these remarkable lenses was no less challenging than their actual design.  We reach into the Optikos Museum for an appreciation of a distortion metrology fixture devised by the legendary Jim Baker over 50 years ago.

MEETING SPONSORED BY

Read more: May 17, 2018 - Hillary Balonek, Brett Sternfield, Peter Clark, and David Imrie

April 26, 2018 - Andrew Bodkin

Click to Signup Location: MIT Lincoln Laboratory, 3 Forbes Road, Lexington, MA 02420
Dinner Reservation Deadline: Monday, April 23, 2018 @ 6pm

The World of Spectral Imagers, From Multiband to Hyperspectral What They Are and How They Work

I will talk about the design and function of spectral imagers. I will not concentrate on the application of spectral image data such as identifying and tracking targets, defeating
camouflage, assisting in medical treatment, inspecting agricultural, and in food and manufacturing QC. But rather I will concentrate on the instrument design and the specific advantage of each design. I will cover the various systems that are available and go into depth on the systems we have built at Bodkin Design including multi-band, filter wheel, multi-slit, Fery prism, fiber re-formatter, and our own HyperPixel Array and Agile HyperPixel Array. The systems span the visible through LWIR so I will discuss the nuances of working in the infrared and how cooling affects design and operation. I will culminate the talk with a demonstration of one of our commercial products, the Cubert 185, which is a compact snapshot hyperspectral instrument intended for UAV based agricultural analysis.>

Read more: April 26, 2018 - Andrew Bodkin

March 15, 2018 - Dennis Leiner

Click to Signup Location: MIT Lincoln Laboratory, 3 Forbes Road, Lexington, MA 02420
Dinner Reservation Deadline: March 12, 2018 @ 6pm

“You’re Going to Put That Where?” Endoscope Optics and How to Make Them Smaller

Ever since the 1800’s when new endoscope designs were tested with sword swallowers, doctors and patients have been pushing engineers to develop smaller and smaller endoscopes with improved image clarity. Stacks of dozens of lenses with diameters of only a few millimeters were used for the best endoscopic optics until the middle of the twentieth century. Although video imaging became popular in the 1980’s, these systems used cameras much too big to fit inside the body. The development of smartphones incorporating high quality miniature cameras allowed the medical industry to take advantage of this improved technology and the huge amounts of money spent to perfect these systems.

This talk follows the development of endoscopes from Bozzini in 1806 to the latest 3D “chip-on-tip” robotic laparoscopes manufactured today by Intuitive Surgical, Inc. We’ll discuss the different technologies employed for accessing the different parts of the body.

We’ll finish with a discussion of current trends in the endoscope industry and the challenges facing engineers in meeting the demands of physicians.

Read more: March 15, 2018 - Dennis Leiner

February 15, 2018 - Jane Luu

Click to Signup Location: MIT Lincoln Laboratory, 3 Forbes Road, Lexington, MA 02420
Dinner Reservation Deadline: February 12, 2018 @ 6pm

The Kuiper Belt and its implications

The discovery of the Kuiper Belt not only proved that planetary accretion did not stop at the orbit of Neptune or Pluto, but it also made it very clear that our inventory of the solar system was far from complete.   It also clarified Pluto’s origin as a large and misclassified Kuiper Belt object.  This talk will elaborate on these and other implications for the Kuiper Belt.

Read more: February 15, 2018 - Jane Luu

January 18, 2018 - Jenna Samra

Click to Signup Location: MIT Lincoln Laboratory, 3 Forbes Road, Lexington, MA 02420
Dinner Reservation Deadline: January 15, 2018 @ 6pm

An Airborne Infrared Spectrometer (AIR-Spec) for Solar Eclipse Observations

On August 21, 2017, the Airborne Infrared Spectrometer (AIR-Spec) observed the total solar eclipse at an altitude of 14 km from aboard the NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V research aircraft. The instrument successfully observed the five coronal emission lines that it was designed to measure: Si X (1.43µm), S XI (1.92µm), Fe IX (2.85µm), Mg VIII (3.03µm), and Si IX (3.94µm). The linewidths, peak intensities, and center wavelengths of all five lines were measured radially outward from the limb at four positions in the corona. Characterizing these magnetically sensitive emission lines is an important first step in designing future instruments to monitor the coronal magnetic field, which drives space weather events as well as coronal heating, structure, and dynamics.

The AIR-Spec instrument includes an image stabilization system, feed telescope, grating spectrometer, and slit-jaw imager. The image stabilization system uses a fast steering mirror to correct the line-of-sight for platform perturbations, which are measured by a set of fiber-optic gyroscopes. The telescope collects light over a 0.4 degree (1.5 solar radius) field of view and feeds it into the spectrometer, which is based on a planar diffraction grating operating near the Littrow condition. The five wavelengths of interest are divided into two channels and imaged onto the cryogen-cooled InSb detector. The spectrometer optics are housed in a vacuum chamber and cooled with liquid nitrogen.

The instrument development and mission planning faced three major challenges. First, the line-of-sight stabilization system was required to operate without knowledge of the image, so that it could be tested and proven before the eclipse. Second, the thermal instrument background had to be dramatically reduced to allow the spectrometer to detect the faint coronal signal. Third, the flight plan needed to maximize the time spent in totality while optimizing the orientation of the aircraft before and during totality. The resolution of these issues had implications for both science and operations.

Presentation Slides

Read more: January 18, 2018 - Jenna Samra