Modelling of the over-exposed pixel area of CCD cameras caused by laser dazzling

A simple model has been developed and implemented in Matlab code, predicting the over-exposed pixel area of cameras caused by laser dazzling. Inputs of this model are the laser irradiance on the front optics of the camera, the Point Spread Function (PSF) of the used optics, the integration time of the camera, and camera sensor specifications like pixel size, quantum efficiency and full well capacity. Effects of the read-out circuit of the camera are not incorporated. The model was evaluated with laser dazzle experiments on CCD cameras using a 532 nm CW laser dazzler and shows good agreement. For relatively low laser irradiance the model predicts the over-exposed laser spot area quite accurately and shows the cube root dependency of spot diameter on laser irradiance, caused by the PSF as demonstrated before for IR cameras. For higher laser power levels the laser induced spot diameter increases more rapidly than predicted, which probably can be attributed to scatter effects in the camera. Some first attempts to model scatter contributions, using a simple scatter power function f(θ), show good resemblance with experiments. Using this model, a tool is available which can assess the performance of observation sensor systems while being subjected to laser countermeasures. © 2014 SPIE.