Montana State University

Flir Systems, Incorporated

Zachary Cole

Krishna Rupavatharam

Kristian D Merkel

William Randall Babbitt

Tiejun Chang

Randy Ray Reibel

Randy W Equall

Kelvin Wagner

Henry Kelley

Stephen C Collins

Lawrence Berg

Techniques are disclosed for an improved boresighting apparatus and related method for boresighting a light source to an imaging sensor, and for an improved material to be used in a target object in such a boresighting apparatus. For example, an apparatus for use in boresighting may include a catadioptric element and a target object, where the catadioptric element is configured to focus a laser beam from the light source and also to collimate light emitted from the target object at a different wavelength than the laser beam to be detected by the imaging sensor for indicating the location of the focused laser beam. The target object may, for example, comprises a fluorescent optical material doped with one or more optically active ions to absorb light having the wavelength of the laser beam and emit light in one or more wavebands detectable by the imaging sensors.

Boresighting a laser to an imaging sensor systems and methods

Techniques for detecting optical spectral properties of a target are described. The technique includes providing an optical carrier which has an optical frequency bandwidth which is narrow compared to the width of the narrowest spectral feature of the target to be determined. This optical carrier is then electro-optically modulated with an RF frequency chirp, creating an optical chirp probe beam with a frequency chirped optical spectrum having upper and lower frequency chirped sidebands that have amplitudes sufficient to be detected at a detector. The sidebands are frequency bands arranged symmetrically around the optical carrier frequency. The attributes of a sideband include a start frequency, bandwidth and chirp rate. A probe beam is generated with the sidebands and directed onto a target having a physical property with optical frequency dependence. An optical response signal resulting from an interaction between the probe beam and the target is detected. The optical frequency dependence of the physical property of the target is determined based on the optical response signal and the attributes of the sidebands.

Method and apparatus for detecting optical spectral properties using optical probe beams with multiple sidebands

Techniques for analog processing of high time-bandwidth-product (TBP) signals use a material with an inhomogeneously broadened absorption spectrum including multiple homogeneously broadened absorption lines. A first set of signals on optical carriers interact in the material during a time on the order of a phase coherence time of the homogeneously broadened absorption lines to record an analog interaction absorption spectrum. Within a time on the order of a population recovery time for a population of optical absorbers it the material, the interaction absorption spectrum in the material is read to produce a digital readout signal. The readout signal represents a temporal map of the interaction absorption spectrum, and includes frequency components that relate to a processing result of processing the first set of signals. The techniques allow processing of RADAR signals for improved range resolution to a target, as well as speed of the target, among other uses.

Method and apparatus for processing high time-bandwidth signals using a material with inhomogeneously broadened absorption spectrum

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Bozeman, MT, United States of America

Zachary Cole