Modelocked waveform for synthetic aperture ladar
US6875978B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 14, 2002 |
| Grant date | Apr 5, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 28, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/2383
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A synthetic aperture ladar system using a mode locked laser transmitter. The inventive system (12) includes a mode locked laser transmitter (22), a receiver (40) adapted to detect signals transmitted by said laser (22) and reflected by an object (32) and a signal processor (50) for analyzing the signals. The laser (22) is particularly novel as a synthetic aperture ladar transmitter inasmuch as it includes a mode locking mechanism (180). The mode locking mechanism (180) causes the laser to output energy at all modes within the gain profile in phase with one another. The result is a series of coherent pulses which may be used for synthetic aperture ladar applications. In a particular embodiment, the present teachings are implemented in a multifunctional laser which, in its operational mode, outputs a mode locked beam for synthetic aperture ladar. In the illustrative embodiment, the laser is an erbium or erbium, ytterbium-doped, fiber pumped laser and the mode locking mechanism is a passive quantum well absorber crystal or an active acoustic crystal mounted in the laser cavity. In any event, the return signals are received and processed to extract range and cross-range imaging informa…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.