Optical system for wavefront compensation
First Claim
1. An optical system for controlling an optical beam train that transports a laser beam from a laser and directs said laser beam through the atmosphere at a target, comprising a first deformable mirror, disposed along a sample beam path of a first sample beam from said laser beam, for modifying said first sample beam, a laser beam sensor disposed to receive said first sample beam after reflection from said first deformable mirror, for detecting a phase front representative of said laser beam, an incoming beam sensor for detecting a phase front representative of an incoming beam entering said optical system after passage through the atmosphere, laser beam control means coupled to said laser beam sensor and to said first deformable mirror for controlling said first deformable mirror to compensate for errors in said phase front of said laser beam, and incoming beam control means coupled to said incoming beam sensor and to a second deformable mirror for controlling said second deformable mirror to compensate said laser beam for perturbations in the atmosphere;
- in which optical system, beam sampling means for deflecting said first sample beam from said laser beam and a second sample beam from said incoming beam combine to direct both said first and said second sample beams on said first deformable mirror and thence to said laser beam sensor and said incoming beam sensor respectively, whereby said laser beam sensor and said incoming beam sensor both detect radiation reflected from and modulated by said first deformable mirror; and
said laser beam control means adjusts said first deformable mirror to compensate for errors in said laser beam, thereby impressing a compensating configuration on said first deformable mirror and a corresponding modulation on said second sample beam, so that said incoming beam control means controls said second deformable mirror in response to both said second sample beam and to said corresponding modulation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A laser wavefront control system employs a common optical path and common high-power deformable mirror to optically compensate an incoming beacon or retroreflected return beam and a laser sample beam, in which the phase conjugate of the laser sample beam is impressed on a low-power deformable mirror. This control system drives the high-power deformable mirror, and has as its input the phase modulation required for compensation of optically sensed wavefront phase errors.
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Citations
5 Claims
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1. An optical system for controlling an optical beam train that transports a laser beam from a laser and directs said laser beam through the atmosphere at a target, comprising a first deformable mirror, disposed along a sample beam path of a first sample beam from said laser beam, for modifying said first sample beam, a laser beam sensor disposed to receive said first sample beam after reflection from said first deformable mirror, for detecting a phase front representative of said laser beam, an incoming beam sensor for detecting a phase front representative of an incoming beam entering said optical system after passage through the atmosphere, laser beam control means coupled to said laser beam sensor and to said first deformable mirror for controlling said first deformable mirror to compensate for errors in said phase front of said laser beam, and incoming beam control means coupled to said incoming beam sensor and to a second deformable mirror for controlling said second deformable mirror to compensate said laser beam for perturbations in the atmosphere;
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in which optical system, beam sampling means for deflecting said first sample beam from said laser beam and a second sample beam from said incoming beam combine to direct both said first and said second sample beams on said first deformable mirror and thence to said laser beam sensor and said incoming beam sensor respectively, whereby said laser beam sensor and said incoming beam sensor both detect radiation reflected from and modulated by said first deformable mirror; and said laser beam control means adjusts said first deformable mirror to compensate for errors in said laser beam, thereby impressing a compensating configuration on said first deformable mirror and a corresponding modulation on said second sample beam, so that said incoming beam control means controls said second deformable mirror in response to both said second sample beam and to said corresponding modulation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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Specification