High speed/low light wavefront sensor system

USH615H · kind H · statutory invention registration

Assignee

• The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air · US

Inventors

• Julius M. Feinleib · Cambridge, US
• Lawrence E. Schmutz · Watertown, US

Key dates

• Grant date: Apr 4, 1989

Classification

• Technology area (CPC —): General

Abstract

A scalable, low light, high speed wavefront sensor system is disclosed for real time sensing of optical wavefronts using: a gateable image intensifier tube (GIIT), a monolithic lenslet array (MLM), a custom high speed switched silicon detector array, high speed analog/digital processing components, which are microprogrammed with signal processing algorithms. The incoming wavefront is reimaged by foreoptics, then divided into multiple subapertures by the use of the MLM. The MLM forms N.times.M target images which are intensified and transferred to a detector array in which the centroid of each target image on the pixels of the detector array define the local tilt aberration of the wavefront in each subaperture. This local tilt in each subaperture is calculated with microcoded implemented algorithms using real time processing electronics. By combining the local tilt in each subaperture with wavefront reconstruction techniques, the conjugate phase map of the original wavefront can be produced for adaptive optic applications. In order to sense a desired wavefront, the "time of arrival" and flux of the incoming beam can be controlled by the processor via the time and duration of the sig…