Abstract

Coherent Optical Adaptive Techniques (coat) offer promise for overcoming the deleterious effects of phase distortions experienced by optical beams propagating in a turbulent and absorbing atmosphere. An 18-element, visible wavelength, multidither coat system is described. The all solid-state servosystem design was based on the results of an extensive computer simulation. The optical system uses a 0.488-μm argon laser and an array of beam splitters, phase shifters, and beam combiners (termed a phasor matrix) to form the output array. To date, 6- and 8-element linear arrays and an 18-element axisymmetric array have been investigated. The system has demonstrated a convergence time of 1.2 msec and can form the array with a strehl ratio of 0.67. Moving glint tracking, multiple glint discrimination, and offset pointing from a fixed reference have been demonstrated. Good agreement has been observed between measured system results and theoretical predictions.

© 1976 Optical Society of America

Atmospheric turbulence compensation using coherent optical adaptive techniques

James E. Pearson
Appl. Opt. 15(3) 622-631 (1976)

Effects of speckle in adaptive optical systems*

James E. Pearson, S. A. Kokorowski, and M. E. Pedinoff
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 66(11) 1261-1267 (1976)

The multidither principle in adaptive optics

T. R. O’Meara
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 67(3) 306-315 (1977)

Coherent Optical Adaptive Techniques

W. B. Bridges, P. T. Brunner, S. P. Lazzara, T. A. Nussmeier, T. R. O’Meara, J. A. Sanguinet, and W. P. Brown
Appl. Opt. 13(2) 291-300 (1974)

Automatic speckle cancellation techniques for multidither adaptive optics

S. A. Kokorowski, T. R. O’Meara, R. C. Lind, and T. Calderone
Appl. Opt. 19(3) 371-381 (1980)