Beam director and control system for a high energy laser within a conformal window
US7626152B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 16, 2006 |
| Grant date | Dec 1, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 16, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B23/06
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A beam control system and method. The system includes an illuminator for providing a first beam of electromagnetic energy at a first wavelength; a source for providing a second beam of electromagnetic energy at a second wavelength; and an arrangement for compensating wavefront errors in the second beam using a bias representative of a comparison between the first wavelength and the second wavelength. In the illustrative embodiment, the arrangement includes a processor which corrects wavefront errors using a bias representative of a difference between said first wavelength and said second wavelength. In the disclosed application, a target wavefront sensor is included and the laser is a high-energy laser beam. The wavefront errors include a chromatic aberration and the errors are compensated using a deformable mirror and a correction algorithm executed by an adaptive optics processor. In one alternative embodiment, the errors are compensated using an optical aberration corrector. The aberration corrector may be a holographic optical element or other suitable device. In another alternative embodiment, the errors are corrected with the above embodiment in combination with the use of “w…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.