Optical differential tilt sensor
US4981354A · kind A · utility
13Cited by
4References
6Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 13, 1989 |
| Grant date | Jan 1, 1991 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 13, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S3/783
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An electrooptical sensor system directly measures the angle between two nearly parallel collimated laser beams. After focussing with a positive lens, the beams pass through a photoelastic modulator, a quarter wave retardation plate, and two polarizers. The beams then hit a lateral cell position sensor. Electrical signals from the lateral cell are processed with special electronics to yield a voltage which is proportional to the angular difference between the two beams. The sensor measures extremely small angles and operates at a high bandwidth. Its primary application is in the control of phased array optical telescopes.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.