ABSTRACT
A principal difficulty of long dwell coherent imaging ladar is its extreme sensitivity to target or platform motion. This paper describes a motion compensated frequency modulated continuous wave 3D coherent imaging ladar method that overcomes this motion sensitivity, making it possible to work with nonstatic targets such as human faces, as well as imaging of targets through refractive turbulence. Key features of this method include scannerless imaging and high range resolution. The reduced motion sensitivity is shown with mathematical analysis and demonstration 3D images. Images of static and dynamic targets are provided demonstrating up to 600×800 pixel imaging with millimeter range resolution.
ABSTRACT
A new coherent polarization beam combination (CPBC) architecture was employed to combine four amplified beams and produce over 25 W of coherent output with 94% efficiency and nearly diffraction-limited beam quality. The individual beams were produced by a fiber master oscillator power amplifier system and their phases were controlled and locked using servo-controlled phase modulators. The CPBC approach relies on a coherent superposition of orthogonal polarization states and allows the combination of an arbitrary number of beams with arbitrary power ratios.
