The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 16, 2007
Filed:
Sep. 15, 2005
Stephen J. Brosnan, San Pedro, CA (US);
Michael G. Wickham, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA (US);
Hiroshi Komine, Torrance, CA (US);
Stephen J. Brosnan, San Pedro, CA (US);
Michael G. Wickham, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA (US);
Hiroshi Komine, Torrance, CA (US);
Northrop Grumman Corporation, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Abstract
Encircled far field energy is substantially increased by modifying the near field energy distribution of radiation from each fiber in an emitting array. Each beamlet output from a fiber is modified to have a generally uniform cross-sectional energy distribution, using a pair of aspheric optical elements selected for that purpose. The optical elements may be refractive or reflective. The modified beamlets combine to form a composite output beam with a generally uniform energy distribution. Preferably, the composite beam is subject to an array-wide inverse transformation to a near-Gaussian distribution, further enhancing the encircled far field energy and providing a more efficient high power laser source. Further gains in efficiency are achieved by selecting a fiber bundle pattern, lens array pattern and lens shape that together result in a high fill factor.