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Ii-vi Incorporated

Rex W Goranson

Raymond V Wick

An instrument for determining the vergence of a beam in the infrared spectrum, particularly a laser beam, includes a wedged shear plate of suitable infrared transmissive material; a flat plate detector; parallel, spaced bars or strips of bolometric material, such as bismuth, applied to the plate in a pattern so as to match the 'null' interferometric modulation from the wedged shear plate and alternately electrically connected to provide a pair of parallel electrical circuits providing signals for comparison; means for rotating and tilting the detector to provide 'null' readout from the compared signals and means for directly measuring the vergence of the beam by a measure of the amount of rotation and tilt required to achieve a 'null' readout.

Instrument for determining infrared beam vergence

A bolometer for the detection of radiation includes a thin film of bismuth having electrical contacts formed at its outer boundary edge whereby electrical signals, as a function of the X and Y positions of input radiation, appear as output signals at the contacts. A measure of the radiant energy striking the detector is used to ratio X and Y to make the instrument insensitive to changes in power input.

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Placitas, NM, United States of America

Rex W Goranson