Rockwell International Corporation

The Boeing Company

Boeing North American, Inc.

Teledyne Licensing, LLC

Mark D Ewbank

Mohsen Khoshnevisan

Pochi A Yeh

Jack L Feinberg

Ray Carlisle Delcher

Randolph L Hall

Patricia H Cunningham

William R Christian

Tallis Y Chang

Frederick R Vachss

Peter Gunter

Mark J Rosker

Arthur Chiou

Rene A Vazquez

A laser beam steering apparatus includes a beam steering cell with an adjustable shape, with the cell having opposing Fabry-Perot filters, and a steering mechanism coupled to the cell to adjust its shape so that the direction of a laser beam emitted from the cell is changed in response to a change in the cell shape.

Large-angle agile laser beam steering apparatus and method

A multiple path light source has a first and second laser source that generate low power continuous wave laser beam at wavelength &#x3bb;1 and &#x3bb;2 respectively. A pump laser source generates a high power pulsed narrow linewidth laser beam at wavelength &#x3bb;0. A first pair of DFGs convert the low power continuous laser beams at &#x3bb;1 and &#x3bb;2 to high peak power pulsed laser beams at wavelengths &#x3bb;1 and &#x3bb;2, and generate pulsed laser beams at wavelength &#x3bb;1=&#x3bb;1*&#x3bb;0/(&#x3bb;1&#x2212;&#x3bb;0) and &#x3bb;2=&#x3bb;2*&#x3bb;0/(&#x3bb;2&#x2212;&#x3bb;0). A second pair of DFGs receives the high peak power pulsed laser beams at &#x3bb;1 and &#x3bb;2 and the pulsed laser beams at &#x3bb;1and &#x3bb;2and generates laser beams at wavelength &#x3bb;3=&#x3bb;1*&#x3bb;2/(&#x3bb;2&#x2212;&#x3bb;1) and &#x3bb;3=&#x3bb;1*&#x3bb;2/(&#x3bb;2&#x2212;&#x3bb;1). A beam splitter combines the high power pulsed laser beam at wavelength &#x3bb;3 with the high power pulsed laser beam at wavelength &#x3bb;3to form a single laser light.

Multiple path infrared energy source

A family of cesium-germanium halide salts have utility as nonlinear optical crystals in applications including electro-optics and optical frequency conversion. These salts have the general formula CsGeCl.sub.x Br.sub.y I.sub.z, in which x, y, and z equal 0 through 3, inclusive, and where x+y+z=3. In contrast to well-known oxygen-containing materials, such as LiNbO.sub.3, these cesium-germanium halide salts exhibit optical nonlinearity with an extremely wide transparency range (without significant absorption) at wavelengths from about 0.4 .mu.m to greater than 25 .mu.m (covering the entire MWIR and LWIR regions). Based on Ge.sup.2+ ions, these halides have non-centrosymmetric perovskite structures. The halide ions form a strongly coordinating octahedral environment about the Ge.sup.2+ ions and resist migration in an electric field. The Ge2+ ions, however, are shifted slightly off center in the tetragonal phase, leading to a net electric dipole moment in each unit cell. The alignment of these dipole moments into ferroelectric domains can be controlled through applied electric fields. By aligning all dipole moments into a single ferroelectric domain, these cesium-germanium halides have utility for electro-optic and birefringently phase-matched frequency conversion devices. Alternately, periodic poling of the ferroelectric domains allows these materials to be used for quasi-phase-matched frequency conversion. Cesium-germanium halide salts, which can be isolated from aqueous solutions as salts of GeX.sub.3 .sup.- anions, are water-soluble, which facilitates large-aperture crystal growth.

Cesium-germanium halide salts forming nonlinear optical crystals

A flexible rejection filter removes coherent radiation from an incoming beam of light. The filter includes a beamsplitter for dividing the transmitted portion into first and second beams. A photorefractive crystal in the paths of the first and second beams couples coherent radiation from the first beam to the second beam. A focal plane detector follows the crystal in the path of the first beam for sensing the incoherent radiation in the first beam, while a beam dump follows the crystal in the path of the second beam for absorbing the coherent radiation of the second beam. Other filter configurations can utilize contradirectional energy coupling or resonator structures in conjunction with photorefractive media.

Flexible rejection filter (U)

A polarization independent energy exchanger transfers optical energy from a first coherent beam of optical energy to a second coherent beam of optical energy where the second beam is coherent with respect to the first beam, the second beam is counterpropagating with respect to the first beam, and the second beam possesses substantially the same polarization as the first beam. The energy exchanger includes a nonlinear optical uniaxial crystal having electro-optic coefficients r.sub.13 and r.sub.23 of equal magnitude and having a sufficiently large photorefractive charge density to achieve efficient contradirectional two-beam coupling, independent of the polarization states of the first and second beams. The crystal is oriented to receive the first and second beams therein such that the optic axis of the crystal is aligned parallel to the propagation directions of the first and second beams. The invention also envisions a polarization-independent backscattering phase conjugator for transferring optical energy from a first coherent beam of optical energy to a second coherent beam of optical energy where the second beam is the counterpropagating phase-conjugate reflection of the first beam. In this embodiment, a nonlinear optical uniaxial is provided with electro-optic coefficients r.sub.13 and r.sub. 23 of equal magnitude and having a sufficiently large photorefractive charge density to achieve efficient phase-conjugate backscattering, indepe n

Polarization-independent energy exchange and phase conjugation

A phase-conjugate optical communication system includes a first source of coherent radiation for producing a first beam having a nominal wavelength .lambda. and a first modulator for temporally modulating the first beam. A second source of coherent radiation, mutually incoherent with the first source, produces a second beam having the nominal wavelength .lambda., while a second modulator temporally modulates the second beam. A mutually pumped phase conjugator is positioned such that the first and second beams fan in the conjugator and produce a set of shared fanning holograms, the holograms causing a third beam, which is the phase conjugate of the first beam and on which is imposed the temporal modulation of the second beam, to be diffracted in a direction opposite to the first beam and causing a fourth beam, which is the phase conjugate of the second beam and on which is imposed the temporal modulation of the first beam, to be diffracted in a direction opposite to the second beam.

Phase-conjugate communication using mutually incoherent laser beams

A nonlinear optical system for phase conjugating two mutually incoherent beams of light having the same nominal wavelength includes a photorefractive crystal having a preferred fanning direction, a first face whose surface normal is perpendicular to the preferred fanning direction, and a second face parallel to the first face. A first beam of coherent light having a wavelength .lambda. is incident on the first face of the crystal and makes an acute angle with the preferred fanning direction of the crystal, while a second beam of coherent light which is mutually incoherent with the first beam and has the same nominal wavelength is incident on the second face of the crystal and also makes an acute angle with the preferred fanning direction of the crystal. With this arrangement, the first beam and the second beam photorefractively fan toward a third face of the crystal to produce a set of shared photorefractive fanning holograms which channel light from the first and second beams toward the third face.

Bird-wing phase conjugator using mutually incoherent laser beams

A coupled laser system includes a plurality of substantially parallel beams of coherent radiation with an output beam of coherent radiation at an oblique angle with respect to the plurality of beams. A photorefractive element is positioned to receive the plurality of beams and the output beams, the beams being frequency locked to within the photorefractive bandwidth of the photorefractive element such that laser energy is diffracted from the plurality of beams to the output beam by means of two-wave mixing. A lens may be used for focussing the parallel beams in the photorefractive element, while a plurality of mirrors may be supplied for adjusting the orientation of the output beam within the photorefractive element. Another coupled laser system includes a plurality of lasers, each laser providing a beam of coherent radiation, an optical resonant cavity, and a photorefractive element positioned within the resonant cavity, the beam being frequency locked to within the photorefractive bandwidth of the photorefractive element such that laser energy is diffracted from the coherent beams to a coupling beam in the resonant cavity by means of two-wave mixing. The resonant cavity is defined by a unidirectional ring resonator, with a partially reflecting mirror, a first substantially 100% reflecting mirror, and a second substantially 100% reflecting mirror.

External beam combining of multiple lasers

Laser energy is combined using dynamic beam splitters that can automatically accommodate changes in the laser cavity mode structure. Nonlinear optical methods and real time holography are employed to achieve phase locking among multiple lasers. A single laser output beam can be produced from a multitude of laser cavities which collectively contribute to the output power. No outside monitoring and servo mechanisms are required, since nonlinear optical processes automatically perform the functions of both monitoring and control. A coupled laser system includes two or more lasers, each laser having a resonant cavity, a laser gain medium in the resonant cavity, and a nonlinear optical element. Each nonlinear optical element is positioned in its respective resonant cavity to diffract laser energy from the cavity to a coupling beam by means of four-wave mixing (phase conjugation). Each cavity is coupled to another resonant cavity within the system by the coupling beams such that nonlinear optical interactions phase lock the outputs of all the lasers.

Growing community of inventors

Newbury Park, CA, United States of America

Mark D Ewbank