Microwave camera
US5365237A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 13, 1993 |
| Grant date | Nov 15, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 13, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01K11/006
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A camera system in which microwave radiation from objects in a field-of-view is collected by an antenna having beam directions which are a function of the beam frequency. The collected radiation is used to modulate an optical beam to impose upon the beam spectral components which are functions of the frequencies of the microwave radiation. The modulated beam is then analyzed by an optical spectrum analyzer to produce an image of objects in the field of view. In a simple embodiment of the invention a one dimensional image is produced. This one dimensional image can be converted to a two dimensional image by panning the camera system or mounting the camera on a moving platform. In this preferred embodiment the spectrum analyzer comprises an angle-frequency filter (preferably an etalon). The portion of the modulated beam passing through the etalon is directed in a number of directions, the directions being a function of the spectral components of the modulated beam. The light passing through the etalon is focused on the aperture of a television camera to produce a one dimensional image. In another preferred embodiment an array of antennas and a corresponding number of optical modulato…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.