Raytheon Company

Hughes Aircraft Company

Hughes Electronics Corporation

Robert William Byren

David S Sumida

Robin A Reeder

Vladimir V Shkunov

Chungte W Chen

David M Filgas

Alexander A Betin

Michael Ushinsky

William B King

David Alan Rockwell

Hans W Bruesselbach

Alvin F Trafton

Lacy G Cook

Darin Scot Williams

David A Ansley

William S Griffin

Duane Donald Smith

Chaunchy F McKearn

Cheng-Chih Tsai

Edward L Arnn

Julie L Bentley

Vijay Murgai

David F Rock

James E Klein

Steven C Matthews

Stephen R Klinger

Eric C Fest

Dana P Franz

Air core optical fiber structures in which the cladding is composed of an engineered optical metamaterial having a refractive index less than unity for at least one specific wavelength band and provides for total internal reflection of optical energy between the air core and metamaterial cladding. According to certain examples, a method of guiding optical energy includes constructing a hollow core optical fiber with an all-dielectric optical metamaterial cladding, coupling optical energy into the optical fiber having an operating wavelength near a resonance of the metamaterial cladding, and guiding the optical energy within the hollow core optical fiber by total internal reflection.

Low-latency, hollow-core optical fiber with total internal reflection mode confinement

A lasing medium having a tailored dopant concentration and a method of fabrication thereof is disclosed. The lasing medium has a single crystal having a continuous body having a selected length, wherein the crystal comprises dopant distributed along the length of the body to define a dopant concentration profile. In one embodiment, the dopant concentration profile results in a uniform heating profile. A method of fabricating a laser crystal having a tailored dopant concentration profile includes arranging a plurality of polycrystalline segments together to form an ingot, the polycrystalline segments each having dopant distributed, providing a crystal seed at a first end of the ingot, and moving a heating element along the ingot starting from the first end to a second end of the ingot, the moving heating element creating a moving molten region within the ingot while passing therealong.

Method for tailoring the dopant profile in a laser crystal using zone processing

A time-varying image is synthesized having at least one time-varying region of interest therewithin. The image is spatially modulated with an array of modulating pixels to form a modulated image. The array of modulating pixels has a modulator resolution. The modulated image is sensed with an array of sensor pixels. The array of sensor pixels has a sensor resolution. The modulator resolution is finer than the sensor resolution. Each sensor pixel corresponds to a plurality of modulating pixels. Said sensor pixel and said plurality of modulating pixels subtend the same region in the image. Outside the region of interest, the modulated image is synthesized at the sensor resolution and at a sensor video frame rate. Inside the region of interest, the modulated image is synthesized at the modulator resolution and at an effective synthesized video frame rate that is less than sensor video frame rate.

Foveated imaging system and method

The present disclosure is directed to electromagnetic radiation sensors including micro-lenses and to methods of constructing and utilizing such electromagnetic radiation sensors. In one embodiment there is provided an electromagnetic radiation sensor comprising a dielectric substrate including a front surface and a rear surface, an electromagnetic radiation detector element disposed on the rear surface of the substrate, and a lens comprising a three dimensional polaritonic metamaterial structure including a pattern of features formed in the front surface of the substrate, the lens configured to focus electromagnetic radiation incident on the front surface of the substrate onto the electromagnetic radiation detector element.

Sensor including dielectric metamaterial microarray

A weapon-locating ladar system estimates a backward trajectory of an airborne target by using flow field measurements to follow the wake turbulence trailing the airborne target from a position at which the target is detected backwards until the wake is no longer observable. The system may use the backward trajectory to estimate the point-of-origin of the target. The system may also use the flow field measurements along the backward trajectory to classify the target. Target classification may be used to refine the point-of-origin estimate, to influence counter-fire or to adapt the flow field measurements.

Ladar backtracking of wake turbulence trailing an airborne target for point-of-origin estimation and target classification

In one or more embodiments, a beam control apparatus and method for correcting aberrations include an off-aperture telescope configured to receive a beam of electromagnetic energy, wherein the telescope includes a first optical element and a second optical element. The second optical element is configured to be translated in three orthogonal axes, and a wavefront error sensor is configured to detect aberrations in the beam and to provide a wavefront error signal in response thereto. A processor is configured to provide a correction signal in response to the wavefront error signal, and an actuator is coupled to the second optical element and configured, in response to the wavefront error signal, to selectively translate the second optical element in one or more of three substantially orthogonal directions corresponding to the three orthogonal axes.

Low order adaptive optics by translating secondary mirror of off-aperture telescope

A system for generating an image of contoured surface includes a light source that is configured to project an electromagnetic radiation beam onto the contoured surface, wherein the projected beam generates first radiation reflected from a first portion of the contoured surface to form a speckle pattern, and second radiation reflected from a second portion of the contoured surface which is substantially uniform in intensity. The reflected first and second reflected radiation is received by an optical detector, and may be processed. The processing is configured to (1) generate a plurality of images from the first and second reflected radiation, with each image being generated using different coherence length electromagnetic radiation from the light source, and (2) generate a 3-D image of the contoured surface from the plurality of images. Methods for generating a 3-D image of a contoured surface are also disclosed.

Imaging system and method using partial-coherence speckle interference tomography

A system and method for providing a wavefront corrected high-energy beam of electromagnetic energy. In the illustrative embodiment, the system includes a source of a first beam of electromagnetic energy; an amplifier for amplifying said beam to provide a second beam; a sensor for sensing aberration in said second beam and providing an error signal in response thereto; a processor for processing said error signal and providing a correction signal in response thereto; and a spatial light modulator responsive to said correction signal for adjusting said beam to facilitate a correction of said aberration thereof. In more specific embodiments, the source is a laser and the sensor is a laser wavefront sensor. A mirror is disposed between said modulator and said sensor for sampling said beam. The mirror has an optical thin-film dielectric coating on at least one optical surface thereof. The coating is effective to sample said beam and transmit a low power sample thereof to said means for sensing aberration. The processor is an adaptive optics processor. The spatial light modulator may be a micro electro-mechanical system deformable mirror or an optical phased array. In the illustrative embodiment, the source is a master oscillator and the amplifier is a power amplifier beamline. An outcoupler is disposed between the oscillator and the amplifier.

Linear adaptive optics system in low power beam path and method

A system for imaging a textured surface includes a light source that is configured to project an electromagnetic radiation beam onto the textured surface, wherein the projected beam generates first radiation reflected from a first portion of the textured surface to form a speckle pattern, and second radiation reflected from a second portion of the textured surface which is substantially uniform in intensity. The reflected first and second reflected radiation is received by an optical detector, and may be processed to generate an image of the textured surface from the first and second reflected radiation. Methods for textured surface sensing are also disclosed.

Textured pattern sensing using partial-coherence speckle interferometry

A system for imaging a textured surface comprising includes a photoreceptor array having: at least a first photoreceptor and a second photoreceptor, each configured to receive electromagnetic radiation reflected from the textured surface and to generate a signal corresponding thereto; wherein the photoreceptor array is configured to detect an image of the textured surface based on the relative difference between the time of arrival of the signals from the first and second photoreceptors. Methods for imaging a textured surface and fabricating a photoreceptor array structure for imaging a textured surface are also provided.

Textured pattern sensing and detection, and using a charge-scavenging photodiode array for the same

An optical window may be configured to minimize optical aberrations. The optical window may include a laminous optical window assembly. The laminous optical window assembly may have four or more alternating layers of positive refraction material layers and negative refraction material layers. The four or more alternating layers may be configured to minimize refraction of electromagnetic rays propagating therethrough such that a given incident electromagnetic ray is substantially collinear with a corresponding transmitted electromagnetic ray.

Low-aberration optical window

Method of manufacturing a laser medium with a material having a surface and a dopant in the material distributed whereby the material has a spatially variant optical flux density profile uses tailored non-uniform gain profiles within a Yb:YAG laser component (rod, slab, disc, etc.) achieved by a spatial material modification in the spatially masked pre-forms. High temperature-assisted reduction leads to the coordinate-dependent gain profiles, which are controlled by the topology of the deposited solid masks. The gain profiles are obtained by reducing the charge state of the laser-active trivalent Ybions into inactive divalent Ybions. This valence conversion process is driven by mass transport of ions and oxygen vacancies. These processes, in turn, affect the dopant distribution throughout the surface and bulk laser crystal. By reducing proportionally more Ybions at the unmasked areas of component, than in the masked areas, the coordinate-dependent or spatially-controlled gain profiles are achieved. The material can be used for the fabrication of laser rods, slabs, etc. with various concentrations and spatial localizations of dopants.

Method of manufacturing a laser gain medium having a spatially variable gain profile

A material having a surface and a dopant in the material distributed whereby the material has a spatially variant optical flux density profile. In accordance with the invention, tailored non-uniform gain profiles within a Yb:YAG laser component (rod, slab, disc, etc.) are achieved by a spatial material modification in the spatially masked pre-forms. High temperature-assisted reduction leads to the coordinate-dependent gain profiles, which are controlled by the topology of the deposited solid masks. The gain profiles are obtained by reducing the charge state of the laser-active trivalent Ybions into inactive divalent Ybions. This valence conversion process is driven by mass transport of ions and oxygen vacancies. These processes, in turn, affect the dopant distribution throughout the surface and bulk laser crystal.

Growing community of inventors

Manhattan Beach, CA, United States of America

Robert William Byren