Use of complementary wavelength bands for laser dazzle protection

The use of complementary wavelength bands in camera systems is a long-known principle. The camera system’s spectral range is split into several spectral channels, where each channel possesses its own imaging sensor. Such an optical setup is used, for example, in high-quality three-sensor color cameras. A three-sensor camera is less vulnerable to laser dazzle than a single-sensor camera. However, the separation of the individual channels is not high enough to suppress cross talk, and thus, all three channels will suffer from laser dazzling. To solve that problem, we suggest two different optical designs in which the spectral separation of the channels is significantly increased. The first optical design is a three-channel camera system, which was already presented earlier. The second design is a two-channel camera system based on optical multiband elements, which delivers undisturbed color images even under laser dazzle