Patents by Inventor Arnaud Brignon

Arnaud Brignon has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11283168
    Abstract: The invention relates to an optical reception device for receiving a signal from an antenna array comprising: a light source generating an optical carrier and M phased optical beams which are frequency-shifted relative to the optical carrier; a collection circuit comprising N paths connected to an antenna, and comprising a modulator of an incident signal; a beam-forming network connecting (M+1) first ports to N second ports connected to one path, M first ports being connected to the optical beams and a control port connected to the other ports so that a maximum optical intensity on the control port corresponds to phased signals on the N second ports.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Jérome Bourderionnet, Gilles Feugnet, Arnaud Brignon
  • Patent number: 10979149
    Abstract: An elementary device for coherently recombining a first elementary beam and a second elementary beam, includes a first input and a second input, into which are respectively injected the first elementary beam and the second elementary beam to be recombined, an output that delivers an output beam corresponding to the coherent recombination of the first and second elementary beams, a delay line placed on one of the paths of said elementary beams and configured to induce a variable delay on said path, a variable coupler comprising a first 2×2 combiner, a phase modulator and a second 2×2 combiner, a control detector configured to generate, from the complementary beam, an error signal (?), a feedback loop configured to determine, from the error signal, the delay and the phase difference to be applied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Jérôme Bourderionnet, Arnaud Brignon, Arnaud Le Kernec, Michel Sotom, Anaëlle Maho
  • Publication number: 20200365988
    Abstract: The invention relates to an optical reception device for receiving a signal from an antenna array comprising: a light source generating an optical carrier and M phased optical beams which are frequency-shifted relative to the optical carrier; a collection circuit comprising N paths connected to an antenna, and comprising a modulator of an incident signal; a beam-forming network connecting (M+1) first ports to N second ports connected to one path, M first ports being connected to the optical beams and a control port connected to the other ports so that a maximum optical intensity on the control port corresponds to phased signals on the N second ports.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2018
    Publication date: November 19, 2020
    Inventors: Jérome BOURDERIONNET, Gilles FEUGNET, Arnaud BRIGNON
  • Publication number: 20200195355
    Abstract: An elementary device for coherently recombining a first elementary beam and a second elementary beam, includes a first input and a second input, into which are respectively injected the first elementary beam and the second elementary beam to be recombined, an output that delivers an output beam corresponding to the coherent recombination of the first and second elementary beams, a delay line placed on one of the paths of said elementary beams and configured to induce a variable delay on said path, a variable coupler comprising a first 2×2 combiner, a phase modulator and a second 2×2 combiner, a control detector configured to generate, from the complementary beam, an error signal (?), a feedback loop configured to determine, from the error signal, the delay and the phase difference to be applied.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2019
    Publication date: June 18, 2020
    Inventors: Jérôme BOURDERIONNET, Arnaud BRIGNON, Arnaud LE KERNEC, Michel SOTOM, Anaëlle MAHO
  • Patent number: 10436811
    Abstract: A laser-source assembly that is configured to illuminate a vacuum chamber containing atoms in the gaseous state so as to implement a cold-atom inertial sensor, the atoms having at least two fundamental levels that are separated by a fundamental frequency difference comprised between 1 and a few gigahertz, the assembly comprises: a master laser that emits a beam having a master frequency; a first control loop that is configured to stabilize the master frequency of the master laser on a frequency corresponding to half a set frequency of an atomic transition between a fundamental level and an excited level of the atoms; a slave laser that has a slave frequency; and a second control loop that is configured to stabilize the slave frequency of the slave laser with respect to the master frequency, the slave frequency being offset with respect to the master frequency successively, over time, by a first preset offset value, a second preset offset value, and a third preset offset value, the offset values being comprise
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Matthieu Dupont-Nivet, Sylvain Schwartz, Arnaud Brignon, Jérôme Bourderionnet
  • Patent number: 10371524
    Abstract: A passive resonant optical gyroscope comprising a cavity and operating with three frequencies comprises: a first injecting laser to inject a first optical beam into the cavity in a first direction; a second injecting laser to inject a second optical beam into the cavity in an opposite direction; a third injecting laser to inject a third optical beam into the cavity in one of the aforementioned directions, one laser amongst the injecting lasers having a master frequency, the two other injecting lasers, called the first and second slave lasers, respectively having a first slave frequency and a second slave frequency; a master servocontrol device; a first servocontrol stage comprising first and second slave devices; and a second servocontrol stage comprising first and second optical phase-locking devices respectively comprising a first and second slave oscillator to generate a first radiofrequency offset signal and a second radiofrequency offset signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignees: THALES, CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE, ECOLE NORMALE SUPERIEURE DE CACHAN
    Inventors: Sylvain Schwartz, Gilles Feugnet, Arnaud Brignon, Fabien Bretenaker
  • Patent number: 10222268
    Abstract: A method for measuring the delay between N pulses having a duration less than 100 picoseconds comprises the steps: collimated emission of the pulses having the same repetition frequency, emission of a reference pulse having the same repetition frequency capable of producing interference fringes with each of the pulses, for each of the pulses, detection, by a detector, of the coherent sum of this pulse with the reference pulse, this sum producing the interference fringes, the fringes originating from each of the pulses being distinguishable from one another. The reference pulse is emitted with an adjustable delay, and the method further comprises: for each delay, simultaneous measurement for the pulses of N contrasts of the interference fringes, for each of the pulses, a delay value between this pulse and the reference pulse is determined by the delay corresponding to the maximum contrast.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Jérome Bourderionnet, Arnaud Brignon, Marie Antier-Murgey
  • Publication number: 20180364106
    Abstract: A method for measuring the delay between N pulses having a duration less than 100 picoseconds comprises the steps: collimated emission of the pulses having the same repetition frequency, emission of a reference pulse having the same repetition frequency capable of producing interference fringes with each of the pulses, for each of the pulses, detection, by a detector, of the coherent sum of this pulse with the reference pulse, this sum producing the interference fringes, the fringes originating from each of the pulses being distinguishable from one another. The reference pulse is emitted with an adjustable delay, and the method further comprises: for each delay, simultaneous measurement for the pulses of N contrasts of the interference fringes, for each of the pulses, a delay value between this pulse and the reference pulse is determined by the delay corresponding to the maximum contrast.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2016
    Publication date: December 20, 2018
    Inventors: Jérome BOURDERIONNET, Arnaud BRIGNON, Marie ANTIER-MURGEY
  • Publication number: 20180356441
    Abstract: A laser-source assembly that is configured to illuminate a vacuum chamber containing atoms in the gaseous state so as to implement a cold-atom inertial sensor, the atoms having at least two fundamental levels that are separated by a fundamental frequency difference comprised between 1 and a few gigahertz, the assembly comprises: a master laser that emits a beam having a master frequency; a first control loop that is configured to stabilize the master frequency of the master laser on a frequency corresponding to half a set frequency of an atomic transition between a fundamental level and an excited level of the atoms; a slave laser that has a slave frequency; and a second control loop that is configured to stabilize the slave frequency of the slave laser with respect to the master frequency, the slave frequency being offset with respect to the master frequency successively, over time, by a first preset offset value, a second preset offset value, and a third preset offset value, the offset values being comprise
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2016
    Publication date: December 13, 2018
    Inventors: Matthieu DUPONT-NIVET, Sylvain SCHWARTZ, Arnaud BRIGNON, Jérôme BOURDERIONNET
  • Patent number: 10126559
    Abstract: A system based on recombination by superposition using a diffractive optical element DOE to combine the beams is provided. An optical diffractive assembly is placed upstream of a diffractive optical element to make it possible, via an appropriate imaging system, to optimize the combining efficiency in the ultra-short pulse regime.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Jérôme Bourderionnet, Arnaud Brignon
  • Patent number: 9812840
    Abstract: A system for phasing periodically configured laser sources, which comprises: means for collimating and directing the beams arising from the sources onto a combining diffractive optical element with a periodic phase grating, with an angle of incidence that differs from one beam to the next, these angles of incidence being determined according to the period of the grating; means for controlling the phases of the sources based on a negative feedback signal arising from the combined beams; means for drawing off a fraction of the combined beams; on the path of this fraction of the beams, a Fourier lens, with the combining diffractive optical element in its object plane; a matrix of detectors in the image plane of the Fourier lens, capable of detecting intensity distributions; means for calculating the negative feedback signal based on these intensity distributions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Jérôme Bourderionnet, Arnaud Brignon
  • Publication number: 20170299390
    Abstract: A passive resonant optical gyroscope comprising a cavity and operating with three frequencies comprises: a first injecting laser to inject a first optical beam into the cavity in a first direction; a second injecting laser to inject a second optical beam into the cavity in an opposite direction; a third injecting laser to inject a third optical beam into the cavity in one of the aforementioned directions, one laser amongst the injecting lasers having a master frequency, the two other injecting lasers, called the first and second slave lasers, respectively having a first slave frequency and a second slave frequency; a master servocontrol device; a first servocontrol stage comprising first and second slave devices; and a second servocontrol stage comprising first and second optical phase-locking devices respectively comprising a first and second slave oscillator to generate a first radiofrequency offset signal and a second radiofrequency offset signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2017
    Publication date: October 19, 2017
    Inventors: Sylvain SCHWARTZ, Gilles FEUGNET, Arnaud BRIGNON, Fabien BRETENAKER
  • Publication number: 20170201063
    Abstract: A system for phasing periodically configured laser sources, which comprises: means for collimating and directing the beams arising from the sources onto a combining diffractive optical element with a periodic phase grating, with an angle of incidence that differs from one beam to the next, these angles of incidence being determined according to the period of the grating; means for controlling the phases of the sources based on a negative feedback signal arising from the combined beams; means for drawing off a fraction of the combined beams; on the path of this fraction of the beams, a Fourier lens, with the combining diffractive optical element in its object plane; a matrix of detectors in the image plane of the Fourier lens, capable of detecting intensity distributions; means for calculating the negative feedback signal based on these intensity distributions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2015
    Publication date: July 13, 2017
    Inventors: Jérôme BOURDERIONNET, Arnaud BRIGNON
  • Publication number: 20170199390
    Abstract: A system based on recombination by superposition using a diffractive optical element DOE to combine the beams is provided. An optical diffractive assembly is placed upstream of a diffractive optical element to make it possible, via an appropriate imaging system, to optimize the combining efficiency in the ultra-short pulse regime.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2015
    Publication date: July 13, 2017
    Inventors: Jérôme BOURDERIONNET, Arnaud BRIGNON
  • Patent number: 8767289
    Abstract: The invention relates to a laser device comprising a number of fiber amplifiers (3) delivering a number of optical waves, which is supplied by an oscillator (1) that delivers a signal wave, characterized in that said device comprises: a coherent source (4) emitting a coherent wave at a wavelength approximately equal to that of the signal wave and the propagation direction of which is inclined to the propagation direction of the optical waves output by the fiber amplifiers; means for making the coherent wave interfere with the optical waves output by the fiber amplifiers, and generating an interferogram consisting of an array of fringes; interferogram detection means (7), the relative positions of the fringes transcribing an inter-fiber phase law; a spatial phase modulator (2); and processing/display means (6) for processing the detected phase law and for displaying it on the spatial modulator, said spatial modulator being positioned so as to be able to be read by the signal wave and thus generate a phase-m
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: Thales
    Inventors: Jean-Pierre Huignard, Cindy Bellanger, Arnaud Brignon, Joseph Colineau
  • Publication number: 20100142574
    Abstract: A laser source is disclosed with coherent recombination of N spatial monomode laser beams having N phase shifters controlled by a phase-lock device (3). The phase-lock device has an optical device (30) capable of taking at least a portion of each of the N beams. The optical device has an optical element (32) capable of applying a phase deformation, and at least one matrix (M1) of detectors capable of detecting a first image (im) of a wave surface corresponding to the N beams. The matrix (M1) of detectors also detects a second image (imd) deformed by the optical element (32). Processing means (31) are provided for processing the first and second images. The processing means are configured so as to measure the phase pistons between on the sub-pupils (spj) corresponding to the N beams and to apply phase corrections c(?) to each of the N beams, by means of said N phase shifters so as to minimize the phase pistons.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2006
    Publication date: June 10, 2010
    Applicant: Thales
    Inventors: Sebastien Demoustier, Arnaud Brignon, Jean-Pierre Huignard, Laurent Mugnier, Jerome Primot
  • Publication number: 20100034222
    Abstract: The invention relates to a source comprising a self-adaptive main laser cavity comprising at least one main amplifying medium in a main direction and several mirrors making it possible to create a gain hologram within said main amplifying medium by interference of a first optical wave in the main direction and a second optical wave in a direction different from the main direction, said wave being generated by the main amplifying medium, characterized in that it also comprises a secondary laser source delivering photons at a frequency that they impose on the main cavity and means of introducing said photons within the main laser cavity, said secondary source making it possible to force the main source to function on the frequency imposed by this so-called secondary source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2007
    Publication date: February 11, 2010
    Applicant: Thales
    Inventors: Simon Richard, Arnaud Brignon
  • Publication number: 20090316734
    Abstract: The invention relates to a laser device comprising a number of fibre amplifiers (3) delivering a number of optical waves, which is supplied by an oscillator (1) that delivers a signal wave, characterized in that said device comprises: a coherent source (4) emitting a coherent wave at a wavelength approximately equal to that of the signal wave and the propagation direction of which is inclined to the propagation direction of the optical waves output by the fibre amplifiers; means for making the coherent wave interfere with the optical waves output by the fibre amplifiers, and generating an interferogram consisting of an array of fringes; interferogram detection means (7), the relative positions of the fringes transcribing an inter-fibre phase law; a spatial phase modulator (2); and processing/display means (6) for processing the detected phase law and for displaying it on the spatial modulator, said spatial modulator being positioned so as to be able to be read by the signal wave and thus generate a phase-m
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2009
    Publication date: December 24, 2009
    Applicant: Thales
    Inventors: Jean-Pierre Huignard, Cindy Bellanger, Arnaud Brignon, Joseph Colineau
  • Patent number: 7489404
    Abstract: An fiber-optic interferometric rotation sensor device has a laser source combined with an optical fiber. These are configured to cause interference between a beam from the laser source and a beam coming from the optical fiber. The laser source includes an optical cavity having a gain lasing medium. The sensor device includes, along the path of the beam output by the laser cavity, a beam splitter device associated with a mirror, wherein the beam split off from the beam output by the laser cavity is sent into one of the ends of the optical fiber and directed from the other end toward the gain lasing medium to form a nonlinear mirror. The splitter device is followed by a detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2009
    Assignee: Thales
    Inventors: Jean-Pierre Huignard, Arnaud Brignon
  • Publication number: 20080055700
    Abstract: A laser source comprises N incident laser beams, N equal to two at least, N single-mode spatial beam propagation media, each forming a propagation channel (gi) for one laser beam, a system for coherent recombination at the exit of the N channels, in order to deliver a recombined laser beam (fR) at the exit, and a phase control device (D) comprising N programmable phase-shifter elements (di) under closed-loop feedback control, one at the entry of each channel (gi). The source also comprises a polarization control device (P) comprising N programmable polarization controllers (pi) under closed-loop feedback control, one per channel, each controller being disposed between the associated phase-shifter element and channel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2005
    Publication date: March 6, 2008
    Applicant: THALES
    Inventors: Jerome Bourderionnet, Arnaud Brignon, Sebastien Demoustier, Daniel Dolfi