Scanner/optical system for three-dimensional lidar imaging and polarimetry
First Claim
1. An imaging LIDAR system for three-dimensional and polarization imaging of topographic surfaces and volumetric scatterers comprising:
- a common light source arranged for use onboard an aircraft or spacecraft that can transmit a coherent beam of light characterized by at least two different wavelengths;
an optical dual wedge scanner including, a first rotating optical wedge, a second rotating optical wedge, and configured to control the first and the second rotating optical wedge to simultaneously scan both a transit beam of light and a receive beam of light;
a pulse detector configured to detect the receive beam of light, after being redirected from the topographic surfaces and volumetric scatterers arranged for use onboard an aircraft or spacecraft, and a polarizer configured to generate at least one imaging signal and at least one depolarization signal responsive to the redirected receive beam of light; and
a microprocessor configured to process the at least one imaging signal and at least one depolarization signal generated by the means for detecting the receive beam of light;
wherein, the common light source is arranged to generate and to transmit a multitude of distinct pulses of light having the at least two different wavelengths, of which the at least one wavelength had been chosen for generation of the at least one imaging signal and the at least another wavelength had been chosen for generation of the at least one depolarization signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An optical scanner system for contiguous three-dimensional topographic or volumetric imaging of a surface from an aircraft or spacecraft is disclosed. A servo controller synchronizes the rotation rates of a pair of wedge scanners with high precision to the multi-kilohertz laser fire rate producing an infinite variety of well-controlled scan patterns. This causes the beam pattern to be laid down in precisely the same way on each scan cycle, eliminating the need to record the orientations of the wedges accurately on every laser fire, thereby reducing ancillary data storage or transmission requirements by two to three orders of magnitude and greatly simplifying data preprocessing and analysis. The described system also uses a holographic element to split the laser beam into an array that is then scanned in an arbitrary pattern. This provides more uniform signal strength to the various imaging detector channels and reduces the level of optical crosstalk between channels, resulting in a higher fidelity three-dimensional image.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. An imaging LIDAR system for three-dimensional and polarization imaging of topographic surfaces and volumetric scatterers comprising:
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a common light source arranged for use onboard an aircraft or spacecraft that can transmit a coherent beam of light characterized by at least two different wavelengths; an optical dual wedge scanner including, a first rotating optical wedge, a second rotating optical wedge, and configured to control the first and the second rotating optical wedge to simultaneously scan both a transit beam of light and a receive beam of light; a pulse detector configured to detect the receive beam of light, after being redirected from the topographic surfaces and volumetric scatterers arranged for use onboard an aircraft or spacecraft, and a polarizer configured to generate at least one imaging signal and at least one depolarization signal responsive to the redirected receive beam of light; and a microprocessor configured to process the at least one imaging signal and at least one depolarization signal generated by the means for detecting the receive beam of light; wherein, the common light source is arranged to generate and to transmit a multitude of distinct pulses of light having the at least two different wavelengths, of which the at least one wavelength had been chosen for generation of the at least one imaging signal and the at least another wavelength had been chosen for generation of the at least one depolarization signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for three-dimensional and polarization imaging of topographic surfaces and volumetric scatterers by an imaging LIDAR comprising;
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transmitting a coherent beam of light using a common light source arranged for use onboard an aircraft or spacecraft that can transmit the coherent beam of light characterized by at least two different wavelengths; simultaneously scanning the coherent beam of light using an optical dual wedge scanner including, a first rotating optical wedge, a second rotating optical wedge, and controlling the first and the second rotating optical wedge to simultaneously scan both a transit beam of light and a receive beam of light;
using means for detecting to detect the receive beam of light, after being redirected from the topographic surfaces and volumetric scatterers arranged for use onboard an aircraft or spacecraft, and generating at least one imaging signal and at least one depolarization signal responsive to the redirected receive beam of light, and using a microprocessor for processing the at least one imaging signal and at least one depolarization signal generated by the means for detecting the receive beam of light;wherein, the common light source is arranged to generate and to transmit a multitude of distinct pulses of light having the at least two different wavelengths, of which the at least one wavelength had been chosen for generation of the at least one imaging signal and the at least another wavelength had been chosen for generation of the at least one depolarization signal. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification