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AssigneeOceanit Laboratories, Inc.
InventorsKen C. K. Cheung, Ronald J. Hugo
Estimating the term…
A two-dimensional array of lateral-effect detectors (or position-sensing devices) is used to simultaneously measure multi-point centroidal locations at high speed. It is one of the primary components of a high-speed optical wavefront sensor design comprising a Shack-Hartmann-type lenslet array and associated analog circuitry including analog-to-digital (A/D) converters, and digital micro-processors. The detector array measures the centroidal location of each incident beam emerging from the lenslet array and calculates the local wavefront slope based on the beam deviations from their respective subaperture centers. The wavefront sensor is designed for high temporal bandwidth operation and is ideally suited for applications such as laser-beam propagation through boundary-layer turbulence, atmospheric turbulence, or imperfect optics. The wavefront sensor may be coupled with a deformable mirror as primary components of an adaptive optics system.
Wavefront sensing apparatus comprising a substrate, a lenslet array coupled to the substrate for focusing radiant energy from the substrate, a lateral-effect detector array for receiving focused radiant energy from the lenslet array, detecting location of the radiant energy on the substrate and generating signals, processors for processing the signals from the detector array, circuitry coupled to the substrate, and is outputs for outputting data relative to the signals processed by the processor.
Wavefront sensing method comprising providing a wavefront on a substrate, directing beams from the wavefront through lenslets in a lenslet array, directing the beams from the lenslets through sub-apertures of lateral-effect detectors in a lateral-effect detector array, detecting location of the beams on the substrate and generating signals with the detector array, processing the signals from the detector array by processors, and outputting data relative to the signals processed by the processor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.