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INFRARED RECEIVER FOR OPTICAL RADAR

  • US 3,746,454 A
  • Filed: 03/03/1971
  • Issued: 07/17/1973
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/03/1971
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. Apparatus for use in an optical radar system of the type employing a pulsed laser as the transmitting means, the combination of a multiplicity of microlenses arranged in a two-dimensional array such that the front radiant energy receiving surfaces of said microlenses completely fill an area of an image plane;

  • a mixer-detector element contacting the back surface of each microlens;

    means for illuminating the front surfaces of said array of microlenses with a planar wave of optical radiation whose frequency differs from that of said pulsed laser, said planar wave of optical radiation acting within said mixer-detectors as a heterodyning signal with any laser radiation returned from any remote reflecting target within the field of view of said array and focused thereon; and

    means responsive to the amplitude of the signals appearing in the outputs of said mixer-detector elements for positioning said array of microlenses such that the longitudinal axis of symmetry of a central microlens of said array is spatially aligned with said remote reflecting target.

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