Patents Examined by Richard Harris
  • Patent number: 5612538
    Abstract: A Faraday filter rejects background light from self-luminous thermal objects, but transmits laser light at the passband wavelength, thus providing an ultra-narrow optical bandpass filter. The filter preserves images so a camera looking through a Faraday filter at a hot target illuminated by a laser will not see the thermal radiation but will see the laser radiation. Faraday filters are useful for monitoring or inspecting the uranium separator chamber in an atomic vapor laser isotope separation process. Other uses include viewing welds, furnaces, plasma jets, combustion chambers, and other high temperature objects. These filters are can be produced at many discrete wavelengths. A Faraday filter consists of a pair of crossed polarizers on either side of a heated vapor cell mounted inside a solenoid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 18, 1997
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Lloyd A. Hackel, Patrick Reichert