Agile-beam laser array transmitter

An apparatus for projecting an electromagnetic beam, the apparatus comprising:

• an array of electromagnetic emitters, configured to be controlled by an emitter controller and, the emitters configured to generate electromagnetic beams;
• an array of lenses positioned to project the electromagnetic beams to a selectable far-field position within an angular coverage area,
• the array of electromagnetic emitters further comprising subarrays of N electromagnetic emitters per subarray, each subarray sharing a common lens,
• the electromagnetic emitters within each subarray having a first separation pitch between the adjacent electromagnetic emitters, the lenses in the array of lenses having a second separation pitch between the adjacent lenses, and the subarrays having a third separation pitch between the adjacent subarrays,
• the first and second separation pitches being different from each other;
• and
• a receiver, reference beacon generator, and imaging system, the imaging system configured to detect the reference beacon and provide an input to the emitter controller to activate a subset of the emitters to project the electromagnetic beam onto the receiver.

A method for projecting an electromagnetic beam, the method comprising:

• emitting an array of electromagnetic beams, said array including subarrays of electromagnetic beams, the beams in each subarray having a first separation pitch between the adjacent electromagnetic beams;
• and
• projecting the electromagnetic beams to respective selectable far-field positions within an angular coverage area through an array of lenses having a second separation pitch between the adjacent lenses,
• wherein projecting said electromagnetic beams includes projecting the electromagnetic beams emitted by each subarray through a lens common to said subarray,
• wherein projecting the electromagnetic beams to respective selectable far-field positions is performed as a function of a second separation pitch, different from the first separation pitch, the first separation pitch and the second separation pitch having a difference which, in combination with a focal length, defines a step size in projecting the electromagnetic beams to the selectable far-field position.

A method for projecting an electromagnetic beam, the method comprising:

• emitting an array of electromagnetic beams, said array including subarrays of electromagnetic beams, the beams in each subarray having a first separation pitch between the adjacent electromagnetic beams;
• projecting the electromagnetic beams to respective selectable far-field positions within an angular coverage area through an array of lenses having a second separation pitch between the adjacent lenses, wherein said projecting is performed as a function of a second separation pitch different from the first separation pitch,
• wherein projecting the electromagnetic beams includes projecting the electromagnetic beams emitted by each subarray through a lens common to said subarray;
• detecting a reference beacon;
• and
• controlling emission and projection of at least a subset of the electromagnetic beams in response to the detected reference beacon.

A method for projecting an electromagnetic beam, the method comprising:

• emitting an array of electromagnetic beams by emitters adjacent to each other, said array including subarrays of electromagnetic beams, the beams in each subarray having a first separation pitch between the adjacent electromagnetic beams;
• projecting the electromagnetic beams to respective selectable far-field positions within an angular coverage area through an array of lenses having a second separation pitch between the adjacent lenses, wherein said projecting is performed as a function of the second separation pitch different from the first separation pitch, wherein projecting the electromagnetic beams includes projecting the electromagnetic beams emitted by each subarray through a lens common to said subarray;
• detecting a reference beacon;
• and
• controlling emission and projection of at least a subset of the electromagnetic beams in response to the detected reference beacon.

An apparatus for projecting an electromagnetic beam, comprising:

• an array of lenses having a first separation pitch between adjacent lenses;
• and
• an array of electromagnetic emitters comprising subarrays of N electromagnetic emitters, each subarray having a second separation pitch between the adjacent emitters, the second separation pitch being different from the first separation pitch,
• the first and second separation pitches having a difference which, in combination with the focal length of the lenses, defines a step size in projection the electromagnetic beams to a selectable far-field position within an angular coverage area, the emitters configured to generate electromagnetic beams, each electromagnetic beam filling a solid angle of a respective lens, the solid angle corresponding to the selectable far-field position,
• the array of electromagnetic emitters having a third separation pitch between the adjacent subarrays, the third separation pitch being different from the first and second separation pitches.

A method for projecting an electromagnetic beam, the method comprising:

• emitting electromagnetic beams at a first separation pitch;
• filling respective solid angles at a second separation pitch with the electromagnetic beams, the second separation pitch being different from the first separation pitch and having a difference which in combination with a focal length defines a step size in projecting the electromagnetic beams to a selectable far-field position within an angular coverage area;
• and
• projecting the electromagnetic beams to respective selectable far-field positions within an angular coverage area, the selectable far-field positions corresponding to the respective solid angles,
• wherein emitting the electromagnetic beams includes emitting at least one subset of the electromagnetic beams at a third separation pitch, different from the first and second separation pitches, and wherein projecting said electromagnetic beams includes refracting the at least one subset of electromagnetic beams emitted at the third separation pitch through a common lens.

An apparatus for projecting an electromagnetic beam, comprising:

• an array of electromagnetic emitters, said array comprising subarrays of N emitters, each subarray having a first separation pitch between adjacent emitters, the emitters configured to generate electromagnetic beams;
• and
• an array of lenses having a second separation pitch between adjacent lenses, the first and second separation pitches being different from each other, the lenses being positioned to project the electromagnetic beams to a selectable far-field position within an angular coverage area;
• the subarrays of N electromagnetic emitters having a third separation pitch, each subarray sharing a common lens, and the number of common lenses being reduced by N relative to an array of electromagnetic emitters without subarrays;
• and
• a receiver, reference beacon generator, and imaging system, the imaging system configured to detect the reference beacon and provide an input to the emitter controller to activate a subset of the emitters to project the electromagnetic beams onto the receiver.

A method for projecting an electromagnetic beam, the method comprising:

• emitting an array of electromagnetic beams by emitters, said array including subarrays of electromagnetic beams, the beams in each subarray having a first separation pitch between the adjacent electromagnetic beams;
• projecting the electromagnetic beams to respective selectable far-field positions within an angular coverage area through an array of lenses having a second separation pitch between the adjacent lenses, wherein said projecting is performed as a function of lenses having a second separation pitch different from the first separation pitch,
• wherein projecting the electromagnetic beams includes projecting the electromagnetic beams emitted by each subarray through a lens common to said subarray;
• detecting a reference beacon;
• and
• controlling emission and projection of at least a subset of the electromagnetic beams in response to the detected reference beacon.