Compensated coherent imaging for improved imaging and directed energy weapons applications
First Claim
1. An imaging method for producing improved resolution images, comprising:
- illuminating an object with coherent radiation;
with a plurality of subapertures, collecting light scattered from the illuminated object;
coherently detecting the light collected by each of the subapertures;
digitally reconstructing images from the coherently detected light for a set of the subapertures; and
digitally co-phasing the subapertures in the set of the subapertures using an image sharpness metric to form an image of the object comprising the digitally reconstructed images.
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Abstract
An imaging method and associated system for producing high-resolution images. The method includes illuminating an object or scene with coherent radiation such as beams from a laser and then, collecting scattered light with a plurality of subapertures rather than a single large aperture. The method continues with coherently detecting, such as with heterodyne detection, the scattered light to measure the complex amplitude incident on each subaperture and digitally reconstructing images from the coherently detected light for the subapertures. Then digital co-phasing is performed on the subapertures using an image sharpness or quality metric to form an image having the resolution of the total subaperture area. The method may also include determining an aimpoint in the formed image, calculating a phase screen, directing laser beams through the subapertures towards the aimpoint, and co-phasing the laser beams by applying the phase screen to form a single beam.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An imaging method for producing improved resolution images, comprising:
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illuminating an object with coherent radiation; with a plurality of subapertures, collecting light scattered from the illuminated object; coherently detecting the light collected by each of the subapertures; digitally reconstructing images from the coherently detected light for a set of the subapertures; and digitally co-phasing the subapertures in the set of the subapertures using an image sharpness metric to form an image of the object comprising the digitally reconstructed images. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An imaging system comprising:
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a laser for illuminating a field of view; a plurality of subaperture transceivers for receiving and detecting light scattered from the field of view using coherent detection; and a processing system for calculating a complex electric field at a set of the subaperture transceivers and for forming an image. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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19. An imaging method for producing high-resolution images, comprising:
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illuminating an object with coherent radiation from a laser; with a plurality of subapertures, collecting light scattered from the illuminated object; coherently detecting the light collected by each of the subapertures using heterodyne detection; and digitally co-phasing the subapertures in the set of the subapertures using an image sharpness metric to form an image of the object having substantially the resolution of the total area of all the subapertures in the set. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification