Investigations of a Goggle Design Utilizing Holographic Optics.
Abstract:
The subject of this report is a preliminary design effort to develop a one-tube, two-eye goggle utilizing holographic optical elements. The major objective of this effort was to determine the feasibility of using holographic optics in a goggle system with its requirements of wide field-of-view, high efficiency, and good image quality. Because of the dispersive nature of holograms, holographic lenses operate best over a narrow band of wavelengths for the goggle application, therefore, holographic elements were considered only for the portion of the optical train following the image intensifier. In the course of this design effort, nine variations of a basic system configuration were evaluated in terms of imaging criteria, aberrations, and efficiency. Two designs that showed promise were studied in detail. One was an all-holographic design attractive in its simplicity, but having inadequate optical performance. A more complex hybrid system comprising two holographic lenses and two conventional lenses was characterized by better optical performance and high efficiency. It is recommended that in addition to further design studies, a laboratory version of the Hybrid Design be assembled and tested. Author