Raytheon Company

Zachary D Barker

Gerald P Uyeno

Sean D Keller

Benn H Gleason

Craig O Shott

Eric Rogala

Mark K Lange

David James Knapp

Garret A Odom

An optical scanning system includes one or more Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) Micro-Mirror Arrays (MMAs) used to scan a field-of-view (FOV) over a field-of-regard (FOR). The MEMS MMA is configured such that optical radiation from each point in the FOV does not land on or originate from out-of-phase mirror segments and a diffraction limited resolution of the optical system is limited by the size of the entrance pupil and not by the size of individual mirrors.

Optical scanning system using micro-electro-mechanical system (mems) micro-mirror arrays (MMAs)

A warning receiver includes an anamorphic lens positioned to receive light within a field-of-view (FOV) defined by first and second angles that are orthogonal to each other and compress the light along the first orthogonal angle into a single line along the second orthogonal angle. A dispersive element is positioned to separate the single line of light into a plurality of wavelengths to produce a two-dimensional light field indexed by the second orthogonal angle and wavelength. A pixelated detector is positioned to receive the light field and readout electrical signals indexed by the second orthogonal angle and wavelength. A processor coupled to the pixelated detector process the electrical signals to detect and characterize an optical source within the FOV.

Warning receiver for detecting and characterizing an optical source

Small angle optical beam steering is performed using a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) Micro-Mirror Array (MMA) that minimizes diffraction for a specified steering angle, Generally speaking, this is accomplished with a MEMS MMA that exhibits a 'piston' capability to translate individual mirrors in addition to the tip and tilt capabilities. Adjacent mirrors can be tipped/tilted to the specified steering angle and then translated by a requisite amount to approximate a continuous surface. For a specified steering angle, the MEMS MMA is partitioned into one or more sections with each section including the maximum number of mirrors that can be grouped together and actuated to approximate a continuous surface given a maximum translation z. As a result, the only edge discontinuities exist between adjacent sections thereby minimizing distortion for a given steering angle.

Small angle optical beam steering using micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) micro-mirror arrays (MMAS)

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Marana, AZ, United States of America

Zachary D Barker