Hughes Aircraft Company

Raytheon Company

Hughes Electronics Corporation

United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

The United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of

Pacific Wave Industries, Inc.

Jan Grinberg

Paul O Braatz

Alexander D Jacobson

Bernard H Soffer

Michael Waldner

Murray S Welkowsky

William P Bleha

Thomas R O'Meara

Michael J Little

Kuen Chow

Yuri Owechko

Emanuel Marom

Michael D Jack

Franklin A Dolezal

Uzi Efron

Chiung-Sheng Wu

Siegfried Hansen

Donald D Boswell

Robert D Etchells

Leroy J Miller

Arno G Ledebuhr

Melvin E Pedinoff

Graham R Nudd

Gary D Myer

Ronald T Smith

Robin J Harvey

Jon H Myer

Ronald I Wolfson

John E Gunther

Joseph Michael

Michael S Ray

Harold R Fetterman

Richard L Abrams

Frederick G Yamagishi

Hugh L Garvin

Adrian E Popa

Lewis M Fraas

Anson Y Au

Eliezer Wiener-Avnear

James G Nash

Min-Cheol Oh

Philip G Reif

William P Bleha, Jr

Roger H Brown

Nobuo J Koda

Norman W Goodwin

J Gregory Nash

K C Lim

Joe A Jenney

Phillip G Reif

Donald H Close

Ray Balcerak

John Varesi

Raymond Balcerak

Harold Fetterman

Donald E Sprotbery

Paul Q Braatz

Nubuo J Koda

An electro-optical modulator and a method for biasing a Mach-Zehnder modulator. The inventive modulator includes a layer of material at least partially transparent to electromagnetic energy. A first conductive layer is disposed on a first surface of the layer of at least partially transparent material. A second conductive layer is disposed on a second surface of the layer of at least partially transparent material. A layer of insulating material is disposed on the second conductive layer and a third conductive layer is disposed on the layer of insulating material. In the illustrative application, the modulator is a Mach-Zehnder modulator. A biasing potential is applied to the second conductive layer of the modulator and a modulating voltage is applied across the first and the third conductive layers.

Back biased electro-optical modulator

A method and apparatus for protecting a bolometer antenna imaging array from out of band electromagnetic energy is disclosed. Protective pads are disposed upon a window in an optical system forming a millimeter wave image on an array of bolometer antenna sensors. The protective pads are effectively opaque to infrared and visible emissions and are aligned to shade the bolometer portion of the bolometer antennas from infrared and visible emissions, while leaving the antenna portion of each sensor in the array exposed to intercept the millimeter wave energy incident upon them.

Infrared/visible energy protection for millimeter wave bolometer antenna method and apparatus

The system ( ) includes a first mechanism ( ) for receiving electromagnetic energy of a first wavelength from the scene ( ) and providing electromagnetic energy of a second wavelength shorter than the first wavelength. A second mechanism ( ) measures variations of the electromagnetic energy of the second wavelength over a predetermined area. The system is a millimeter wave imaging system ( ). The first mechanism ( ) includes a lens ( ) having an index of refraction substantially greater than . The lens ( ) is opaque to infrared electromagnetic energy and made of alumina, plastic, or other material having a relatively high index of refraction. The second mechanism ( ) includes and array of bolometers ( ) positioned parallel to an output aperture ( ) of the lens and within a distance of the output aperture ( ) that is much smaller than the second wavelength. A video controller ( ), a computer ( ), process video signals output from the array of bolometers ( ) to yield an image, which is displayed on a display ( ).

Compact all-weather electromagnetic imaging system

A radiation sensor. The inventive sensor has a two-level detector structure formed on a substrate in which a thermal detector element is suspended over the substrate as a microbridge structure. A receiver of electromagnetic radiation is provided on the same side of the substrate in a manner that efficiently couples the radiation field to the thermal detector element. The thermal detector element has a sandwich structure including a heater metal layer, a dielectric layer, and a thin film thermo-resistive material. The thermal detector element is suspended out of physical contact with the receiver. In one embodiment, the receiver is an antenna having a crossed bowtie configuration that efficiently couples the radiation field to the detector element. The inventive radiation sensors are especially useful for mm-wave and microwave sensing applications. The sensor can be used individually or in linear or two-dimensional arrays thereof. The invention also is directed to a method of fabricating such a radiation sensor.

Architecture and method of coupling electromagnetic energy to thermal detectors

An integrated infrared and millimeter-wave monolithic focal plane sensor array having a substrate upon which an integrated array of infrared sensors and mm-wave sensors are provided at a first planar level on the same side of the substrate, and a planar antenna for receiving incident millimeter-wave radiation located at a second planar level located between the integrated array of sensors and the surface of the substrates for coupling the mm-wave radiation field to the mm-wave sensor. The antenna receiver of electromagnetic radiation, in one embodiment, is an antenna having a crossed bowtie configuration which efficiently couples the radiation field to the mm-wave sensor. The invention also is directed to a method of fabricating such a radiation sensor.

Mm-wave/IR monolithically integrated focal plane array

A low profile receiving and/or transmitting antenna includes an array of lenses that focuses millimeter wave or other radiation onto a plurality of conventional patch antenna elements. The lenses and antenna elements are physically configured so that radiation at a tuning wavelength impinging on the antenna at a particular angle of incidence is collected by the lenses and focused onto the antenna elements in-phase. Two rotatable prisms may be disposed above the lenses to alter the angle of incidence of incoming or outgoing radiation to match the particular angle of incidence.

Flat antenna for satellite communication

A holographic optical filter separates broadband electromagnetic radiation into spectral components corresponding to different spectral regions and then images this radiation onto pixels of a display. It includes two layers of holographic optical elements that are sensitive to each of these spectral regions. The holographic optical elements generally transmit radiation outside of their bandpass but can diffract radiation falling within it. The filter is well suited for display applications and can be used in either a reflective or transmissive mode.

Holographic color filters for display applications, and operating method

The angular and/or spectral bandwidth of a holographic lens assembly can be widened to accomodate highly diverging and/or wide spectral bandwidth illumination sources, respectively. Each lens in the lens assembly is comprised of a plurality of angularly customized holograms (an angularly customized hologram set). Each of the individual holograms in an angularly customized hologram set has an acceptance angle range that is centered on a discrete peak acceptance angle. The separation between the holograms' peak acceptance angles is chosen so that the acceptance angle ranges of the individual holograms overlap. The resulting cumulative acceptance angle range of each angularly customized hologram set provides a holographic lens assembly that has a wider angular bandwidth than prior holographic lenses. The spectral bandwidth of the lens assembly can be similarly widened by adding a spectrally customized hologram set to the lens assembly in which the spectral waveband of each of the individual spectrally customized holograms partially overlap. Specific applications to various types of displays are disclosed, as well as preferred fabrication techniques for the holographic lenses.

Holographic lenses with wide angular and spectral bandwidths for use in

A compact scanned antenna which includes a radiator, a rotatable tube and a line source. The radiator is formed by plating a shaped dielectric core. It generates an antenna beam at an output aperture in response to a microwave signal at an input port. The line source generates a radiation sheet which is directed across a signal plane to the input pot. The tube has a cylindrical wall which is positioned across the signal plane. As the tube rotates, refractive or diffractive transmission structures pass through the signal plane. The refractive structures include linear segments which refract the wavefront of the radiation sheet. Because the wavefront slope at the radiator's aperture is a function of the wavefront slope at its input port, the antenna beam is scanned. The linear contour segments have the same inclination but are not colinear. This arrangement reduces the thickness of the tube wall. Phase coherence is achieved by an appropriate radial spacing of adjacent ends of contour segments. The diffractive structures are arranged to vary the spacing of diffraction rings as they pass through the signal plane. This produces scanned, first-order antenna beams. The line source is adapted to direct a predetermined one of these beams into the radiator.

Scanned antenna system and method

An infrared (IR) radiation transducer integrates an IR detector array with a liquid crystal (LC) readout. The IR detector is preferably a pixelized bolometer array, but other detectors such as pyroelectric materials are possible. To modulate the LC in response to detected IR radiation, a modulating section is provided that includes a charge injection structure which injects electrical charge in response to the detected IR radiation, and a charge transfer structure that transfers the injected charge to the LC readout section. During its active phase the charge transfer layer is depleted of majority charge carriers, and the charge injection and transfer mechanism operates in a manner analogous to a bipolar transistor. A visible readout is obtained by directing readout light through the LC, where it is modulated in accordance with the detected IR image. The transducers are small and light weight enough to be incorporated into a pair of goggles, for which no separate cooling is required.

Infrared transducer and goggles incorporating the same

An optical beam scanner incorporating an array of beam deflection elements commonly controlled to steer an optical beam impingent on the array is described. The beam steering elements are arranged in the array as individually controlled elements and the deflection of the beam is accomplished by setting the phase tilt and the phase offset of each element according to a calculation which removes modulo 2.pi. phase shift from the required position relative to a flat plane. Thus, the array elements can be thin and need only supply about 2 radians of phase shift. These elements may be incorporated in a planar array using beam deflection elements such as liquid crystal beam deflectors by choosing a drive scheme representing either a blazed array or a flat piston array. Operation may be designed for a large range of light wavelengths and the system may efficiently accommodate a combination of the blazed and flat piston techniques to obtain beam deflection characteristics otherwise unavailable by the exclusive use of each individual technique. By use of the liquid crystal phased array approach, rapid, high accuracy, large area beam deflection is possible without the necessity of any moving parts and with low power drive requirements. Phased arrays of the type described above may be arranged in successive parallel planes with a common beam axis to provide two-dimensional beam deflection.

Phased array for optical beam control

An integrated circuit structure and method of forming the same is described in which a plurality of common signal planes are provided for an integrated circuit formed on a layer of semiconductive material (30). The common planes consist of a single crystal semiconductive substrate (2) and at least one conductive layer (26, 66) between the substrate (2) and the semiconductive circuit layer (30), with insulative layers (24, 28, 68) separating the conductive layers (26, 66) from each other and from the substrate (2) and semiconductive layer (30). When one conductive layer (26) is used, a power supply signal (V+) is preferably applied to the substrate (2) and a ground reference to the conductive layer (26). Contacts are made between the integrated circuit and the desired common planes by metallized contacts (56, 60) formed in openings (54, 58) through the underlying material. Various circuit signals can also be introduced through additional conductive layers. In either case, only the top layer of semiconductive material (30) needs to be recrystallized from the substrate (2) into single crystal form, even if the conductive layers (26, 66) are provided as heavily doped semiconductive materials. The novel structure greatly reduces the surface area devoted to metallization, and practically eliminates cross-talk between components. It also enables a reduction of metallization levels from two to one, significantly increasing circuit yield.

Method of forming an integrated circuit structure with multiple common

A 3-D IC chip assembly is formed from stacked substrates in which each individual substrate has a plurality of different IC chips retained in respective recesses. Conductive feedthroughs extend through the substrate from the side where the chips are located to the opposite side, with the chips electrically connected to the feedthroughs. An electrical routing network on the opposite side of the substrate from the chips provides desired interconnections between the chips by connecting to the feedthroughs. The routing can be formed by standard photolithographic techniques.

3-D integrated circuit assembly employing discrete chips

An infrared (IR) simulator is disclosed in which an array of pixels is defined on an insulative substrate by resistor bridges which contact the substrate at spaced locations and are separated from the substrate, and thereby thermally insulated therefrom, between the contact locations. Semiconductor drive circuits on the substrate enable desired current flows through the resistor bridges in response to input control signals, thereby establishing the appropriate IR radiation from each of the pixels. The drive circuits and also at least some of the electrical lead lines are preferably located under the resistor bridges. A thermal reflector below each bridge shields the drive circuit and reflects radiation to enhance the IR output. The drive circuits employ sample and hold circuits which produce a substantially flicker-free operation, with the resistor bridges being impedance matched with their respective drive circuits. The resistor bridges may be formed by coating insulative base bridges with a resistive layer having the desired properties, and overcoating the resistive layers with a thermally emissive material. The array is preferably formed on a silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) wafer. Arrays of electromagnetic radiation bridge detectors may also be formed, with the bridges having either resistor, thermocouple or Schottky junction constructions.

Radiation detector array using radiation sensitive bridges

Integrated circuit structure with multiple common planes and method of

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Los Angeles, CA, United States of America

Jan Grinberg