Ltv Aerospace & Defense Company

Ltv Missiles and Electronics Group

Loral Vought Systems Corporation

Nicholas J Krasutsky

Lewis G Minor

Edward Max Flowers

Mark E Koch

A gimballed optical system within a seeker head includes a relatively low power laser coupled to a relatively higher power laser by way of a flexible fiber optic cable to reduce the mass that must be oscillated in a scan.

Improved laser radar transceiver

Laser radar transceiver

An apertured mirror permits an outgoing, transmitted laser beam to pass and reflects a return, reflected beam onto a detector array.

Laser radar scanning system

The present invention relates to an optical reimaging system which incorporates multiple sets of lenses to transmit an image from one plane to another in the form of image segments which are detected by one or more discrete detector arrays. Signals generated by the detector array or arrays can be used to recombine the image segments to reproduce the image transmitted from the first focal plane. These image segments can be contiguous or separated, inverted or not, depending on the lens arrangment and magnification used. In infrared applications, all or a portion of the reimaging system may be cooled to reduce contaminating warm radiation.

Focal array reimaging system

A method and apparatus for rapidly erasing and rebiasing a thermoptic thin film. A thermal insulating material (16) is disposed adjacent a thermoptic thin film (10). A layer of resistive material (14) is disposed between the insulating material and the thermoptic thin film and is connected to a current generator (18) which supplies a current to the layer dissipating heat into the thermoptic thin film and insulating layer. A thermal body (22), having high thermal conductivity and interfacing with the insulating layer the opposite boundary from the thermoptic thin film, contains a conduit through which a refrigerated liquid is flowed to establish a thermal gradient from the thermoptic thin film to the fluid. Sufficient current is supplied to the resistive layer to maintain the temperature of the thermoptic thin film at the bias temperature. A control circuit is provided for intermittently interrupting the current flow, causing heat to dissipate from the thermoptic thin film and the temperature to drop to a point below the hysteresis loop, whereby images written in the thermoptic thin film are erased. A sensor (28) may be provided adjacent the thermoptic thin film for generating a temperature signal corresponding to the temperature of the film. The signal is fed back to the control circuit. When the temperature of the film drops below 45.degree. C. and the film is erased, sufficient current is then furnished to the resistive layer to cause the temperature of the film to increase to the bias temperature.

Growing community of inventors

Farmers Branch, TX, United States of America

Nicholas J Krasutsky