# US 4,393,303 A · Intracavity phase front and power control

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- Number: US 4,393,303 A
- Document ID: US4393303A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 06/259,875
- Filed: 1981-05-04
- Granted: 1983-07-12
- Earliest claimed: 1981-05-04
- Assignees: United Technologies Corporation
- Inventors: James M. Spinhirne
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US4393303A

## CPC

- G02B 26/06: for controlling the phase of light (G02B26/08 takes precedence {, measuring optical phase difference G01J9/00})
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS

## Abstract

An adaptive optic control system employs a single intracavity deformable mirror having a separately controlled multi-pass region and single-pass region to separately control the output power and wave front, respectively.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An adaptive optical resonator comprising:
an optical gain medium;
means for exciting optical radiation within said gain medium;
reflective means, including a deformable mirror, disposed about said optical gain medium to form an unstable optical resonator for said radiation; and
feedback means, responsive to a portion of said outcoupled radiation, for controlling said deformable mirror, characterized in that:
said deformable mirror has a first region reflecting radiation within said resonator and a second region reflecting radiation out of said resonator;
said feedback means includes means for focusing a portion of said outcoupled radiation to a plurality of feedback focal points, a first detector responsive to a first fraction of said portion of said outcoupled radiation falling within a predetermined aperture centered on one of said feedback focal points and connected to means for controlling said first region to maximize the power of said first fraction of radiation impinging on said first detector, and a second detector responsive to a second fraction of that portion of said outcoupled radiation directed at another of said feedback focal points and connected to means for controlling said second region of said deformable mirror to adjust the wave front of said outcoupled radiation.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A resonator according to claim 1, in which said second fraction is that fraction of said radiation incident on said another feedback focal point that passes through a second aperture smaller than the Airy disk of said output beam, centered on said another feedback focal point and said second detector responds to the power of radiation passing through said second aperture.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

A resonator according to claim 1, in which said second detector is a wave front detector.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1, 2)

A resonator according to either of claims 1 or 2, in which said predetermined aperture is greater than the Airy disk of said output beam.