Richard David Lind

US Patent:

50489356, Sep 17, 1991

Filed:

Dec 24, 1986

Appl. No.:

6/947575

Inventors:

Uzi Efron - Los Angeles CA
Bernard H. Soffer - Pacific Palisades CA
Richard C. Lind - Woodland Hills CA
David M. Pepper - Malibu CA
Thomas R. O'Meara - Malibu CA

Assignee:

Hughes Aircraft Company - Los Angeles CA

International Classification:

G02F 124

US Classification:

359 36

Abstract:

Apparatus for compensating for inherent distortions in a modified liquid crystal light valve used in an integrated wavefront sensing and wavefront control system for laser optics. A main wavefront sensing and control system utilizes a liquid crystal light valve selected for response speed but having inherent surface non-linearities. A beam from an auxiliary laser is intermittently applied, while the main laser is blocked, to both the fast response LCLV of the main system and to a slower response LCLV of an associated correction system. The second LCLV system corrects for the non-linearities in the surface of the first LCLV and then maintains the stored correction signal for a decay interval which corresponds to several response times of the main LCLV, thus permitting the main LCLV system to perform fast correction of atmospheric aberrations in the laser beam wavefront unaffected by inherent surface non-linearities.