High Energy Laser Phase Aberration Compensation via Imaging Camera
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current high power laser weapon systems require complex, heavy, and costly beam control systems that include a 'beacon' laser and wave front sensor for phase aberration compensation, which increases weight, volume, and cost, making them unsuitable for tactical platforms.
Innovation Solution
The system compensates for phase aberration in high energy lasers using an imaging camera to estimate and correct phase aberrations based on the image of the HEL hit spot, eliminating the need for a 'beacon' laser and wave front sensor, thereby reducing complexity, weight, and cost.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a beacon laser and wave front sensor are used to measure phase aberration, then phase compensation accuracy is improved, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the phase measurement function from the traditional beacon laser and wave front sensor system. Instead of using a separate beacon laser to create a pseudo-star and a wave front sensor to measure the return signal, the invention uses the imaging camera to directly image the HEL hit spot on the target. The phase aberration is then estimated from the image characteristics of the hit spot, eliminating the need for the beacon laser and wave front sensor hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The imaging camera serves multiple functions: it images the target for tracking and identification, and simultaneously images the HEL hit spot for phase aberration measurement. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated phase measurement hardware, reducing system complexity while maintaining measurement capability.
2Measurement precision
If a beacon laser and wave front sensor are used to measure phase aberration, then phase compensation accuracy is improved, but system weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the heavy beacon laser and wave front sensor hardware from the system. By using the existing imaging camera to capture the HEL hit spot image and estimating phase aberration from image characteristics, the system eliminates the weight of dedicated phase measurement equipment while maintaining the ability to compensate for phase aberrations.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using physical hardware (beacon laser and wave front sensor) to measure phase, the invention creates an optical copy or representation of the phase information through the imaging camera's capture of the HEL hit spot. The phase aberration is then derived from this optical copy, avoiding the need for heavy dedicated measurement hardware.
3Measurement precision
If a beacon laser and wave front sensor are used to measure phase aberration, then phase compensation accuracy is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the phase measurement capability from expensive dedicated hardware (beacon laser and wave front sensor) and implements it through software processing of images captured by the existing imaging camera. This approach significantly reduces system cost while maintaining phase compensation accuracy, as the imaging camera is already part of the tactical platform's sensor suite.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive, complex, and maintenance-intensive hardware (beacon laser and wave front sensor) with a software-based solution that processes images from the existing imaging camera. This software approach is cheaper to implement, has no moving parts to wear out, and eliminates the need for expensive dedicated phase measurement hardware.
Data Source
AI summary
Described are systems and methods that compensate for phase aberration in a high energy laser (HEL) without the need for a “beacon” laser or a wave front sensor to measure the phase aberration in the return signal from the “beacon” laser. In one aspect, the systems and methods use an imaging camera to image a HEL hit spot on a target, estimate the phase aberration of the HEL at the target based on the image of the HEL hit spot, and compensate for the phase aberration in the HEL using the estimated phase aberration. Also described are systems and methods that clean up an image of a target by estimating a wave aberration of an incoming beam based on the image of the target and clean up the image of the target using the estimated wave front aberration.