Imaging diffractometer with holographic encoding enhancements for laser sensing and characterization.

What is believed to be a novel holographic optical encoding scheme has been developed to enhance the performance of laser sensors designed for the measurement of wavelength and angular trajectory. A prototype holographic imaging diffractometer has been created to reconstruct holographic cueing patterns superimposed in the focal plane of wide-angle scene imagery. Based on experimental pattern metric measurements at the focal plane, a theoretical model is used to compute the laser source wavelength and its apparent propagation direction within the sensor's field of view. The benefits of incorporating holographic enhancements within an imager-based sensor architecture are discussed.