The Boeing Company

Cnh Industrial America LLC

Wade Lawrence Klennert

Jonathan Eugene Ricketts

Ralph R Galetti

Brandon E Ricketts

An energy beam profiler and calorimeter (EPC) is disclosed. The EPC includes a target board having a front surface and a back surface, a first plurality of oscillating heat pipes arranged as columns on a first plate, and a second plurality of oscillating heat pipes arranged as rows on a second plate. The target board is configured to receive an impinging energy beam at the front surface of the target board, and the first plate and second plate are adjacent to and in thermal communication with the back surface of the target board.

Oscillating heat pipe based energy beam profiler and calorimeter

A control system includes one or more laser diodes generating a spectral output at a specific center wavelength when the one or more laser diodes are at a target temperature range, one or more oscillating heat pipes, one or more sensors configured to monitor a current temperature of the one or more laser diodes, and a heater configured to generate heat. The one or more laser diodes are thermally coupled to the one or more oscillating heat pipes. The control system also includes one or more processors in electronic communication with the one or more laser diodes and the heater and a memory coupled to the one or more processors. The memory stores data into one or more databases and program code that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the control system to instruct the heater to generate heat for pre-heating the one or more laser diodes to the target temperature range.

Control system for regulating temperature for laser diodes

A laser system and associated method are provided for controlling the wave front of a primary laser beam. The laser system includes a laser medium for producing a primary laser beam and at least one optical element to which the primary laser beam is directed. The laser system also includes a secondary laser source for producing a secondary laser beam. The laser system may further include a spatial light modulator configured to receive the secondary laser beam and to spatially modulate the secondary laser beam to create a spatially modulated secondary laser beam having a spatial intensity pattern. The spatially modulated secondary laser beam may impinge upon at least one of the laser medium or the at least one optical element in order to selectively modify the temperature of portions of the laser medium or the at least one optical element upon which the spatially modulated secondary laser beam impinges.

Laser system and method for controlling the wave front of a laser beam

An example laser cooling system may include a first laser to induce a transition of a plurality of electrons in a medium to an excited energy state via absorption of photons. The laser cooling system may also include a second laser to stimulate emission from the medium of emitted photons having a higher energy than an energy of the absorbed photons.

Laser cooling via stimulated photon emissions

A diagnostic unit is used to align and focus individual laser sources in a spectral beam combining (SBC) laser. The diagnostic unit modifies a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor to dedicate one or more microlenses to a particular wavelength of the SBC laser using wavelength-specific filters in combination with corresponding microlenses. The diagnostic unit allows all of the laser sources to be evaluated at the same time because each wavelength has a dedicated portion of the sensor, typically a charge-coupled display. When an individual beam is centered in its dedicated portion of the sensor and has an acceptable spot size or intensity, the source for that particular beam is correctly aligned and focused. Off-center or incorrect spot-sized beams indicate incorrect alignment and focus for the laser source for that wavelength. When correctly calibrated, the sensor output can also be used to measure and correct power output levels of the individual laser sources.

Diagnostic for spectrally combined laser

A harvester grain bin monitoring system is disclosed. The system includes a sensor that monitors the perimeter of the bin proximate to the top rim to provide a warning to an operator when the grain level reaches approaches the bin rim. The sensor may be optical or mechanical.

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Albuquerque, NM, United States of America

Wade Lawrence Klennert