Research on stray light suppression of space debris detection camera

Abstract

The sources of stray light were briefly introduced and the necessity of stray light suppression was analyzed. Strong stray light often directly affected the performance of space debris detection camera and even invalidated it. Therefore, the application of stray light suppression in space debris detection camera was particularly important. The design of stray light suppression for space debris detection camera using baffle was proposed. On the basis of re-searching the source of stray light, the influences of the edge width of the baffle rings and the surfaces coating treatment scheme on the stray light suppression ability were finally determined. The stray light suppression ability of the baffle was greatly improved by exploring the limit of the mechanical processing of the baffle ring and optimizing the surface coating treatment method of the inner cavity of the baffle. At the same time, the stray light flow channel inside the optical system was optimized. The critical surfaces inside the optical system were found. After removing the critical surfaces, the stray light suppression design results showed the stray light rejection ratio reached 10-7 finally when off-axis angle was larger than 35°. The flares appearing on the detector disappeared completely in the experiments, and the signal-to-noise ratio was higher. The stray light suppression optimization obtained good results, which could better satisfy the requirements of space debris detection.