Imaging ball lens optically immersed with a fiber optic faceplate

An imaging ball lens for wide field of view applications, the imaging ball lens having an object side and an image side, comprising:

• a first plano-convex lens element having a convex surface and a planar surface, the convex surface facing an object side of the lens;
• a second plano-convex lens element having a convex surface and a planar surface, the planar surface of the second lens element being optically coupled to the planar surface of the first lens element, the planar surface of the second lens element facing the object side of the lens;
• a diaphragm positioned between the first and second lens elements defining an aperture of the lens;
• and
• a plano-concave fiber optic faceplate having a concave surface and a planar surface, the concave surface of the fiber optic faceplate being optically coupled to the convex surface of the second lens element, the concave surface facing the object side of the lens such that the second lens element is optically coupled to the fiber optic faceplate, and wherein a curved focal plane formed at the convex surface of the second lens element is mapped into a flat focal plane at the planar surface of the fiber optic faceplate.