초록 ▼

An adaptive optical system with local wavefront sensing and control interferometrically determines wavefront phase aberration in an incoming electromagnetic beam and adjusts the reflective surface of a deformable mirror. The system is characterized by wavefront phase sensing local to the deformable

An adaptive optical system with local wavefront sensing and control interferometrically determines wavefront phase aberration in an incoming electromagnetic beam and adjusts the reflective surface of a deformable mirror. The system is characterized by wavefront phase sensing local to the deformable mirror and detection apparatus which synchronously detects phase differences between an interferometrically modulated beam and a uniform modulator.

대표청구항 ▼

An optical system for providing a uniform phase electromagnetic beam from an incoming aberrated electromagnetic beam having wavefront phase variations, comprising: a first beam splitter receiving the incoming electromagnetic beam and providing therefrom first and second split beams; an aperture mean

An optical system for providing a uniform phase electromagnetic beam from an incoming aberrated electromagnetic beam having wavefront phase variations, comprising: a first beam splitter receiving the incoming electromagnetic beam and providing therefrom first and second split beams; an aperture means, receiving said first split beam, for providing an aberration free reference beam; a phase modulation means receiving a control signal, for providing wavefront phase modulation to said reference beam; an adaptive optical element means receiving said second split beam at a reflective surface thereof, said adaptive optical element means including a plurality of addressable actuators that reconfigure said reflective surface in response to actuator control signals; a means for interfering said modulated reference beam with an output beam from said adaptive optical element, and for providing a combined beam including a varying intensity pattern corresponding to said incoming electromagnetic beam phase variations; a detector means, receiving said combined beam, for providing signals indicative of said varying intensity pattern; a control means that includes an oscillator generating oscillator signals for providing said phase modulation means control signals at an oscillation frequency and phase, said control means receiving signals from said detector means for providing said phase modulator control signals and generating said actuator control signals to iteratively reconfigure said element reflective surface and output therefrom an aberration free, uniform phase electromagnetic beam; said detector means including a synchronous detector for measuring said spatially varying signal pattern in dependence on said oscillator signal frequency and phase.