Hrl Laboratories, LLC

Other

The Boeing Company

Logos Technologies LLC

Url Laboratories, LLC

Richard Michael Kremer

Jeong-sun Moon

Kyung-Ah Son

Ryan G Quarfoth

Hwa Chang Seo

Jack A Crowell

Mariano J Taboada

Joshua M Doria

Terry B Welch

Yuri Owechko

Daniel Yap

James H Schaffner

Keyvan R Sayyah

Guillermo A Herrera

Andrew C Keefe

Oleg M Efimov

David H Chow

Michael J Daily

Qin Jiang

Shankar R Rao

Pamela R Patterson

Scott Harris Bloom

Eric John Korevaar

Raymond Sarkissian

Adour Vahe Kabakian

Brian N Limketkai

Erik S Daniel

A process enables growing thick stoichiometric crystalline and preferably IR-transparent optical PCMO material on Si and other substrates. Sputter deposition is carried out in oxygen-free inert gas (e.g., Ar) environment, which helps to prevent decomposition of the PCMO material over the substrate. In the disclosed process, there is no need to add a seed layer prior to PCMO deposition. Moreover, no post-deposition annealing is needed in a high-temperature and high-pressure oxygen furnace, but an anneal provides certain additional benefits in terms of improved transparency at IR wavelengths. Over a long deposition time for a thick PCMO film on the high temperature (≥450° C.) substrates, the PCMO deposition is made repeated cycles of deposition of the PCMO material at the high temperature, each deposition cycle being followed by cooling the PCMO-deposited substrate to a substantially lower temperature (<50° C.). If an anneal is applied in a hydrogen environment that will cause hydrogenation of the PCMO film which yields PCMO films with an extremely small optical loss (i.e., optical extinction coefficient k<0.001) over the entire IR range.

Method for growing crystalline optical films on Si substrates which may optionally have an extremely small optical loss in the infra-red spectrum with hydrogenation of the crystalline optical films

An electric field-controlled refractive index tunable device includes a phase change correlated transition metal oxide layer, and E-field responsive charge dopants. The E-field responsive charge dopants either accumulate in the phase change correlated transition metal oxide layer or are depleted from the phase change correlated transition metal oxide layer in response to an E-field applied to the phase change correlated transition metal oxide layer.

Electric field-tunable IR devices with very large modulation of refractive index and methods to fabricate them

A solid state optical beam steering device including a body of electro-optical material wherein the body of electro-optical material comprises any material of a class of hydrogen-doped phase-change metal oxide and wherein the body has a first face and a second face opposite the first face, a first transparent resistive sheet on the first face of the body of electro optic material, wherein the first transparent resistive sheet has a first side and a second side, and a transparent conductor on the second face of the body of electro optic material, wherein the transparent conductor is coupled to the second side of the first transparent resistive sheet.

Solid-state tip-tilt-phased array

A process enables growing thick stoichiometric crystalline and preferably IR-transparent optical PCMO material on Si and other substrates. Sputter deposition is carried out in oxygen-free inert gas (e.g., Ar) environment, which helps to prevent decomposition of the PCMO material over the substrate. In the disclosed process, there is no need to add a seed layer prior to PCMO deposition. Moreover, no post-deposition annealing is needed in a high-temperature and high-pressure oxygen furnace, but an anneal provides certain additional benefits in terms of improved transparency at IR wavelengths. Over a long deposition time for a thick PCMO film on the high temperature (&#x2265;450&#xb0; C.) substrates, the PCMO deposition is made repeated cycles of deposition of the PCMO material at the high temperature, each deposition cycle being followed by cooling the PCMO-deposited substrate to a substantially lower temperature (&#x3c;50&#xb0; C.). If an anneal is applied in a hydrogen environment that will cause hydrogenation of the PCMO film which yields PCMO films with an extremely small optical loss (i.e., optical extinction coefficient k&#x3c;0.001) over the entire IR range.

A solid state electrically variable focal length lens includes a plurality of concentric rings of electro-optical material, wherein the electro-optical material comprises any material of a class of hydrogen-doped phase-change metal oxide and wherein each respective concentric ring further includes a transparent resistive sheet on a first face of the respective concentric ring, wherein the transparent resistive sheet extends along the first face, and a first voltage coupled between a first end and a second end of the transparent resistive sheet, wherein the first voltage may be varied to select an optical beam deflection angle.

Solid state electrically variable-focal length lens

A spatial light modulator cell and arrays of spatial light modulator cells are disclosed. The spatial light modulator cells can comprise a phase change material (PCM) having a first side and a second side; an optical reflector configured to reflect an optical beam passing from the first side to the second side; and a PCM heater thermal conductively coupled to the PCM, wherein thermal modulation of the PCM modulates a phase of the PCM which varies light transmission through the PCM. Methods of making spatial light modulator cells and arrays are also disclosed.

Electrically switchable infrared mirrors using phase-change chalcogenides materials

A continuous wave (CW) heterodyne light detection and ranging (LIDAR) air velocity sensor system that comprises a first light emitting structure arranged to send a signal light in a first direction in space; a second light emitting structure arranged to produce a local oscillator light having a wavelength different from the wavelength of the signal light by a predetermined wavelength; a receiver arranged to receive light from said first direction in space; and a first optical mixer for mixing the received light with said local oscillator light.

CW LIDAR wind velocity sensor for operation on a stratospheric vehicle

A sensor system including a spectrometer with a light source having a plurality of selectable wavelengths, a controller for controlling the sensor system, for selecting wavelengths of illumination light produced by the light source, and for controlling the light source to illuminate a spatial location, a photodetector aligned to detect light received from the spatial location, a blind demixer coupled to the photodetector for separating received spectra in the detected light into a set of sample spectra associated with different demixed or partially demixed chemical components, a memory having a plurality of stored reference spectra, a non-blind demixer coupled to the blind demixer and to the memory for non-blind demixing of the sample spectra using the reference spectra, and a classifier coupled to the non-blind demixer for classifying the set of demixed sample spectra into chemical components using the reference spectra.

Detection by active spatially and spectrally structured sensing and learning (DAS4L)

In order to determine crosswind effects between a weapon and its intended target () a crosswind gradient measuring apparatus () directs a first pulsed coherent light beam () and a second pulsed coherent light beam () to the target (). Light of both beams scattered back by aerosols in the air is measured by using a detector () thus generating a beat frequency in the detector signal. The beat frequency indicates a Doppler-shift due to crosswind as a function of range between weapon and target wherein the range is determined by the time of flight. The information determined by such a Doppler differential interferometer, DDI, is utilized by a signal processor () to calculate the bullet's crosswind offset which enables manual of automatic adjustment of an aiming mechanism.

Apparatus and methods for aimpoint correction

A method and apparatus for processing sound from a sound source. The sound from the sound source is detected. Harmonics in the sound from the sound source are identified. A distance to the sound source is identified using the harmonics and a number of atmospheric conditions.

Acoustic ranging system using atmospheric dispersion

A laser radar system capable of measuring windspeed to within 1 m/s at distances in the range of 10 km. The system comprises two Faraday atomic line filter/detectors combinations, a first filter-detector which consist of a metal vapor cell located between crossed polarizers. A magnetic field is applied to the cell which Zeeman splits the energy levels resulting in different absorption lines for left and right circularly polarized light. Near these lines the filter acts as a Faraday rotator providing rotary power only in the vicinity of an absorption line, which provides the 90 degree rotation necessary to pass the second polarizer. At higher fields and vapor densities multiple rotations lead to rapid modulations in the transmission spectrum. Away from the absorption line the filter provides an out of band rejection that is determined by the extinction ratio of the crossed polarizers. By tuning the temperature and the magnetic field in each Faraday filter sharply crossing response curves can be produced. A preferred lasing frequency range is a frequency range covering a portion of one of the slopes of the peak of the first filter and a portion of one of the opposite direction slopes of one of the peaks of the second filter. Within this range an increase in the frequency of signal light will result in a greater fraction of the light detected by one filter-detector and a smaller fraction detected by the other filter-detector and a decrease in the frequency of the signal light will have the opposite effect. In a preferred embodiment of this invention laser pulses from a laser operating near the midpoint of this preferred frequency range are beamed at a target which could be a windy portion of the atmosphere. Backscattered Doppler shifted light from aerosols and particles in the atmosphere are collected by a telescope and split into two parts, one part being directed to each filter-detector. The intensities of the light detected by the filter-detectors are compared and the relative magnitudes are used to determine the windspeed in the direction of the laser beam. Pulses can be made very short and the travel time of the light is used to determine the range so that a map of windspeed as a function of range is provided in the direction of the laser beam.

Growing community of inventors

Ramona, CA, United States of America

Richard Michael Kremer