Multiple imaging system and method for designing same

An optical system of the present invention produces multiple simultaneous adjoining images on a single image plane. The optical system includes a first optical sub-system, a second optical sub-system, an aperture stop located between the first optical sub-system and the second optical sub-system, and a beam separating sub-system located at a plane substantially coincident with the aperture stop. The beam separating sub-system can receive electromagnetic radiation from the first optical sub-system and can separate the received electromagnetic radiation into multiple beams of electromagnetic radiation. The second optical sub-system images the multiple beams of electromagnetic radiation received from the beam separating sub-system into multiple images on an image plane. The beam separating sub-system includes one or more beam separating components and a mid-system filter system. An output filter, overlaid on the imaging plane, prevents light from any one of the images from passing through to the portion of the image plane corresponding to any one of the other images.