Focal plane resolution and overlapped array time delay and integrate imaging

Abstract

In this paper we model sub-pixel image registration for a generic earth-observing satellite system with a focal plane using two offset time delay and integrate (TDI) arrays in the focal plane to improve the achievable ground resolution over the resolution achievable with a single array. The modeling process starts with a high-resolution image as ground truth. The Parameterized Image Chain Analysis & Simulation Software (PICASSO) modeling tool is used to degrade the images to match the optical transfer function, sampling, and noise characteristics of the target system. The model outputs a pair of images with a separation close to the nominal half-pixel separation between the overlapped arrays. A registration estimation algorithm is used to measure the offset for image reconstruction. The two images are aligned and summed on a grid with twice the capture resolution. We compare the resolution in images between the inputs before overlap, the reconstructed image, and a simulation for the image which would have been captured on a focal plane with twice the resolution. We find the performance to always be better than the lower resolution baseline, and to approach the performance of the high-resolution array in the ideal case. We show that the overlapped array imager significantly outperforms both the conventional high- and low-resolution imagers in conditions with high image smear.