Design of reflective Fizeau optical synthetic aperture imaging system

In the development of astronomy, high spatial resolution imaging technology plays a crucial role in astronomical observations. The introduction of the optical synthetic aperture concept satisfies the demand for high spatial resolution imaging, gradually becoming a novel direction in the advancement of optical interferometry. This study focuses on the investigation of Fizeau-type synthetic aperture imaging system and presents the design and performance analysis of a system based on requirements. The Fizeau-type synthetic aperture imaging system designed in this paper adopts reflective structure. The system operates in the visible light band (400nm~700nm), with a full field of view angle of 0.3°, an entrance pupil diameter of 300mm, and a focal length of 3598 mm. The sub-telescopes adopt the structure of coaxial two-mirror telescope system. The optical delay line adopts a parallel mirror structure. The beam combiner adopts an off-axis three-mirror structure. The performance of each sub-system and the whole system is analyzed. The results demonstrate that the synthetic aperture imaging system enhances the spatial resolution compared with the single sub-aperture system.