Dynamic coherent nuller
AssigneeLockheed Martin Corporation
InventorsRichard L. Kendrick, Eric H. Smith
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a nuller that is used to significantly reduce or eliminate a monochromatic radiation signal within a polychromatic object field. In one embodiment, a method of nulling a coherent light from a light beam having the coherent light and an incoherent light comprises collimating the light beam having the coherent light and the incoherent light, and destructively interfering the coherent light to null the coherent light with no destructive interference of the incoherent light so as to project the incoherent light without the coherent light.
Claims20
A nuller for nulling a coherent light from a light beam having the coherent light from a monochromatic source and an incoherent light from a polychromatic image, the nuller comprising:
- a collimating lens configured to collimate the light beam having the coherent light and the incoherent light;
- and
- an interferometer configured to receive the collimated light beam and to produce destructive interference of the coherent light to null the coherent light with no destructive interference of the incoherent light so as to project the incoherent light of the polychromatic image without the coherent light from the monochromatic source.
A method of nulling a coherent light from a light beam having the coherent light and an incoherent light, the method comprising:
- collimating the light beam having the coherent light and the incoherent light;
- and
- destructively interfering the coherent light to null the coherent light with no destructive interference of the incoherent light so as to project the incoherent light without the coherent light.
A method of nulling a coherent light from a light beam having the coherent light and an incoherent light, the method comprising:
- collimating the light beam having the coherent light and the incoherent light, the coherent light having a coherence length which is substantially higher than a coherence length of the incoherent light;
- splitting the light beam into two split light beams along two paths;
- and
- recombining the light beams from the two paths, the two paths having a path length difference equal to (n+½) times a wavelength of the coherent light, where n is an integer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.