Phase corrector for large optical systems
US5002380A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 16, 1989 |
| Grant date | Mar 26, 1991 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 16, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B17/061
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Apparatus and a corresponding method, for removing the effect of phase aberrations introduced into an incident light wave by a large optical element, such as a large concave mirror. Rather than building additional precision into the mirror, phase correction is effected by first collimating and phase conjugating the incident beam after reflection from the mirror, then expanding the beam again to fill the mirror. After its second reflection from the large mirror, the light beam is practically free of phase errors, since the phase conjugated beam is subject to substantially the same phase aberrating conditions as the incident beam. The apparatus may be used to produce an aberration-free image of a distant object, or to produce an aberration-free collimated light beam from a diffraction-limited laser source.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.