Patents by Inventor Chris SMALLWOOD

Chris SMALLWOOD 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).

  • Path fluctuation monitoring for frequency modulated interferometer
    Patent number: 11467031
    Abstract: A method is presented for determining path length fluctuations in an interferometer using a reference laser with an arbitrary frequency with respect to the measured light. The method includes: injecting reference light along signal paths of the interferometer; measuring interference between the reference light at an output of the interferometer; determining an optical phase difference between the reference light in the two signal paths of the interferometer by measuring intensity modulation of the interference between the reference light and subtracting an intended frequency modulation from the measured intensity modulation; accumulating an unwrapped phase difference between the reference light in the two signal paths of the interferometer, where the unwrapped phase difference is defined in relation to a reference; and determining path length fluctuation of light in the interferometer using the unwrapped phase difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
    Inventors: Steven T. Cundiff, Chris Smallwood, Eric Martin
  • PATH FLUCTUATION MONITORING FOR FREQUENCY MODULATED INTERFEROMETER
    Publication number: 20210231495
    Abstract: A method is presented for determining path length fluctuations in an interferometer using a reference laser with an arbitrary frequency with respect to the measured light. The method includes: injecting reference light along signal paths of the interferometer; measuring interference between the reference light at an output of the interferometer; determining an optical phase difference between the reference light in the two signal paths of the interferometer by measuring intensity modulation of the interference between the reference light and subtracting an intended frequency modulation from the measured intensity modulation; accumulating an unwrapped phase difference between the reference light in the two signal paths of the interferometer, where the unwrapped phase difference is defined in relation to a reference; and determining path length fluctuation of light in the interferometer using the unwrapped phase difference.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 17, 2019
    Publication date: July 29, 2021
    Applicant: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
    Inventors: Steven T. CUNDIFF, Chris SMALLWOOD, Eric MARTIN