HIGH CAPABILITY, MULTI-BEAM, DECENTERED LENS LIGHT BEAM STEERING
An example system includes an emission lens defining an optical emission end of a beam steering device, and a field lens interposed between the emission lens and a number of optical steering paths. The example system includes a first and second optical steering path, each including a magnifying lens and a steering layer, with an actuator coupled to each steering layer. The example system includes each steering layer moveable independently, thereby allowing for independently steerable beams of each optical steering path.
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/US2020/056254, filed Oct. 19, 2020 entitled “HIGH CAPABILITY, MULTI-BEAM, DECENTERED LENS LIGHT BEAM STEERING” (EXCT-0008-WO2).
PCT/US2020/056254 (EXCT-0008-WO2) claims priority to the following U.S. Provisional Patent Applications: Ser. No. 63/011,706, filed 17 Apr. 2020, and entitled “DECENTERED LENS LIGHT BEAM ELECTRO-MECHANICAL STEERING” (EXCT-0008-P01); and Ser. No. 63/040,319, filed 17 Jun. 2020, and entitled “DECENTERED LENS LIGHT BEAM ELECTRO-MECHANICAL STEERING” (EXCT-0008-P02).
Each of the foregoing patent applications is incorporated by reference herein in the entirety for all purposes.
BACKGROUNDA previously known decentered beam steering system consists of two identical thin lenses separated by two focal lengths, as seen in
In the example previously known system, the first lens 112 is illuminated by an infinite uniform plane wave 102 (or incident beam). The first lens 112 and second lens 114 are arranged such that the back focal plane of the first lens coincides with the front focal plane of the second lens (at focal length 108 away from the second lens 114). The incoming collimated wavefront is focused to a point on the shared focal plane. The second lens 114 is decentered (e.g., relative to an optical axis 120 of the incident beam 102) by an offset 104 (defining steering angle A), and the decentered second lens 114 then collimates the exiting light 106, but the beam 106 is directed to a nonzero steering angle (θ) as seen in
As the maximum possible lens displacement 104 (Δ) is half of the lens 114 diameter, it can be seen that the maximum steering capability is (f/# is the f-number, or focal length over the beam diameter, in the context of the present disclosure):
Displacing the lens up to half of its diameter is not always practical, straight forward, and/or may introduce limitations in the steering speed (or frequency—e.g., a sweep frequency for steering through a range of angles) capability. Further, steering to a large angle in previously known systems may prevent some rays from hitting the next lens and introduce vignetting, e.g., depicted as vignetting losses 110 in the example of
Accordingly, the deflection angle 104 capability is determined by the diameter of the second lens 114, which must be increased to increase steering capability, and the system must provide a corresponding increase in the displacement 104 to achieve that increased steering capability. The increased size of the lens 114 makes steering more difficult, with the requirement for a larger, more capable actuator, and the movement of a greater mass of the increased size of the lens 114. Thus, in previously known systems, for a given focal length 108, a large lens 114 must be moved a large distance Δ to provide for high angle steering capability, severely limiting the capability, increasing the cost, and/or increasing the footprint of the system to steer to large angles, especially if the final aperture is large (e.g., since the lens 114 must be at least twice the size of the final steered beam size).
As depicted in
The previously known system operates at a magnification of one (1), where the steered beam 106 must be incident on the second lens 114, not counting the field lens 202, and accordingly the second lens 114 must be at least the size of the desired steered beam. For example, to achieve a one (1) inch steered beam, a minimum of a one (1) inch second lens 114 must be utilized. The large size of the second lens 114 suffers similar drawbacks to the system depicted in
Some previously known systems utilize a telescope (not shown) downstream of the second lens 114 to magnify the beam, reducing the required size of the second lens to achieve a desired steered beam size. However, the magnification proportionately reduces the effective steered angle θ by a fraction equal to the magnification, according to equation 3, where θ is the final steered angle, a is the deflected angle, and M is the magnification of the steered beam.
Accordingly, previously known decentered beam steering systems require large lenses with large deflections to achieve significant steering capability. Additionally, previously known systems suffer from high expense, low steering capability, a large footprint (e.g., weight, size, and/or power requirements), and generally more than one of these to meet some constraint for the others.
SUMMARYAn example system includes a first steering lens interposed between an electromagnetic (EM) source and a second steering lens; the second steering lens interposed between the first steering lens and a magnifying lens; the magnifying lens interposed between the second steering lens and a field lens; the field lens interposed between the magnifying lens and an emission lens; a first steering actuator coupled to the first steering lens, the first steering actuator configured to move the first steering lens along a first movement course; and a second steering actuator coupled to the second steering lens, the second steering actuator configured to move the second steering lens along a second movement course.
Certain further aspects of the example system are described following, any one or more of which may be present in certain embodiments. The example system includes one or more of: wherein an optical configuration of the first steering lens, the second steering lens, and the magnifying lens is configured to position a virtual object of the steering lenses at a position between fm and 2fm, wherein the position fm comprises a magnifying lens focal length displaced from the magnifying lens, and wherein the position 2fm comprises twice the distance fm; and/or wherein the optical configuration of the first steering lens, the second steering lens, and the magnifying lens comprises: an effective focal length of the combined first steering lens and second steering lens; the magnifying lens focal length; and an axial position of each of the first steering lens, second steering lens, and the magnifying lens.
Another example system includes a steering lens interposed between an electromagnetic (EM) source and a magnifying lens; the magnifying lens interposed between the steering lens and a field lens; the field lens interposed between the magnifying lens and an emission lens; and a steering actuator coupled to the steering lens, the steering actuator configured to move the steering lens along a movement course.
Certain further aspects of the example system are described following, any one or more of which are present in certain embodiments. An example system includes one or more of: wherein the movement course comprises selected movement along each of two axes; wherein a first one of the two axes comprises a first steering axis, and wherein a second one of the two axes comprises a second steering axis; wherein the two axes comprise perpendicular axes; wherein the steering actuator comprises a configurable lens element having an active lens portion, wherein the steering lens comprises the active lens portion, and wherein moving the steering lens along the movement course comprises changing a position of the active lens portion; wherein the steering lens comprises a positive lens, the system further comprising a second field lens positioned between the steering lens and the magnifying lens; and/or a source collimator lens interposed between the EM source and the steering lens.
An example system includes: an emission lens defining an optical emission end of a beam steering device; a field lens interposed between the emission lens and a plurality of optical steering paths; a first optical steering path of the plurality of optical steering paths, the first optical steering path comprising a first magnifying lens interposed between the field lens and a first steering layer, wherein the first steering layer is interposed between the first magnifying lens and a first electromagnetic (EM) source, a first steering actuator coupled to the first steering layer, the first steering actuator configured to move the first steering layer along a first movement course; a second optical steering path of the plurality of optical steering paths, the second optical steering path comprising a second magnifying lens interposed between the field lens and a second steering layer, wherein the second steering layer is interposed between the second magnifying lens and a second EM source, and a second steering actuator coupled to the second steering layer, the second steering actuator configured to move the second steering layer along a second movement course.
Certain further aspects of the example system are described following, any one or more of which may be present in certain embodiments. An example system includes wherein the first steering layer comprises a first steering lens interposed between the first EM source and a second steering lens, the second steering lens interposed between the first steering lens and the field lens, the first steering lens and the second steering lens having a combined first effective focal length, the field lens comprising a positive lens have a second focal length, wherein the first effective focal length is shorter than the second focal length, a first steering actuator coupled to the first steering lens, the first steering actuator configured to move the first steering lens along a first direction of the first movement course, and a second steering actuator coupled to the second steering lens, the second steering actuator configured to move the second steering lens along a second direction of the first movement course. An example system includes wherein the first steering layer comprises a steering lens interposed between the first EM source and the field lens, the steering lens having a first focal length, the field lens comprising a positive lens having a second focal length, wherein the first focal length is shorter than the second focal length, and a steering actuator coupled to the steering lens, the steering actuator configured to move the first steering lens along the first movement course. An example system includes wherein the first steering layer comprises, a first steering lens interposed between the first EM source and a second steering lens, the second steering lens interposed between the first steering lens and a magnifying lens, the magnifying lens interposed between the second steering lens and the field lens, a first steering actuator coupled to the first steering lens, the first steering actuator configured to move the first steering lens along a first direction of the first movement course, and a second steering actuator coupled to the second steering lens, the second steering actuator configured to move the second steering lens along a second direction of the first movement course. An example system includes wherein the first steering layer comprises a steering lens interposed between the first EM source and a magnifying lens, the magnifying lens interposed between the steering lens and the field lens, and a steering actuator coupled to the steering lens, the steering actuator configured to move the first steering lens along a first direction of the first movement course. An example system includes one or more of: wherein the first optical steering path comprises a centerline steering path, and wherein the second optical steering path comprises an offset steering path; wherein the first optical steering path comprises a centerline steering path, and wherein the second optical steering path comprises one of a plurality of offset steering paths; wherein the plurality of offset optical steering paths comprises six offset steering paths; wherein the first optical steering path comprises a centerline steering path, wherein the second optical steering path comprises one of a first plurality of offset steering paths surrounding the centerline steering path, the system further comprising a second plurality of offset steering paths surrounding the first plurality of offset steering paths; wherein the first plurality of offset steering paths comprises six offset steering paths; wherein the second plurality of offset steering paths comprises twelve offset steering paths; further comprising a third plurality of offset steering paths surrounding the second plurality of offset steering paths; wherein the first plurality of offset steering paths comprises six offset steering paths; wherein the second plurality of offset steering paths comprises twelve offset steering paths; and/or wherein the third plurality of offset steering paths comprises eighteen offset steering paths.
An example system further includes a controller having a steering target circuit structured to interpret a beam steering target value for each of the plurality of optical steering paths, a steering lens control circuit structured to determine a steering lens position for each of the plurality of optical steering paths in response to a corresponding beam steering target value for each of the plurality of optical steering paths, a steering actuation circuit structured to provide an actuator command value for a corresponding actuator for each of the plurality of optical steering paths in response to the corresponding steering lens positions, and where an actuator for each of the plurality of optical steering paths are responsive to the corresponding actuator command values. An example system further includes wherein the steering target circuit is further structured to swap a beam steering target value from a first one of the plurality of offset steering paths to a second one of the plurality of offset steering paths. An example system further includes one or more of: wherein the steering target circuit is further structured to swap a beam steering target value from a first one of the first plurality of offset steering paths to a second one of the first plurality of offset steering paths; wherein the steering target circuit is further structured to swap a beam steering target value from a first one of the first plurality of offset steering paths to a first one of the second plurality of offset steering paths; and/or wherein the steering target circuit is further structured to swap a beam steering target value from a first one of the second plurality of offset steering paths to a second one of the second plurality of offset steering paths.
Referencing
The example system 300 includes an EM source 302, for example a collimated light beam, laser, etc. In certain embodiments, the EM source 302 may be a fiber laser source or other fiber optic light source, and/or may be any other type of light source including a non-fiber light source. In certain embodiments, the EM source 302 may be provided as collimated light, and/or a converging and/or diverging light source, and/or combinations of these (e.g., in separate axes). In certain embodiments, the source light may be adjusted by a lens, a varifocal lens, and/or an aspherical collimating lens, before being provided to the negative lens(es). In certain embodiments, characteristics of the source light may be adjusted to the desired outlet characteristics, e.g., using net convergence and/or divergence, including in one or more axes, through the optical components of the steering system (e.g., the negative lens(es), field lens(es), and/or positive lens). Example, and non-limiting, light sources includes a laser diode, a fiber, and/or another laser component or collimated light source. As utilized herein, a light source, beam, or similar terms are understood to include electromagnetic (EM) radiation of any frequencies, including without limitation optical light, visible light, infrared radiation, ultraviolet radiation, microwaves, radio waves, and/or any selected frequency or range of frequencies relevant to the optical components of the steering system.
The example of
In the example of
The example system 300 further includes at least one steering layer 306, which may be a steering layer 306 according to any aspect of the present disclosure. The example steering layer 306 receives the collimated beam 312 (and/or the incident beam 102), and provides steering operations by displacement of one or more lenses of the steering layer 306, providing an initially steered beam 314.
An example steering layer 306 includes one or more steering lenses (typically a single lens, or two cooperating lenses), which are coupled to an actuator 318 that moves one (or more) associated steering lenses through a movement path. The steering layer 306 may include a negative lens, two cooperating negative lenses, a positive lens, two cooperating positive lenses, and/or a negative lens cooperating with a positive lens. The utilization of two lenses in a steering layer 306 allows for steering in two directions simultaneously (e.g., where one lens steers along a first axis and where the second lens steers along a second axis). For convenience of description, many examples throughout the present disclosure describe two steering lenses, where a first lens is moved in a first steering direction and a second lens is moved in a second steering direction. It will be understood that the movement directions of the lenses of a steering layer 306 may align with steering directions, or may be mis-aligned with the steering directions. For example, where steering is considered in two directions (e.g., an azimuthal direction and an elevation direction), a first example beam steering device 300 includes a first steering lens that moves in the azimuthal direction and a second steering lens that moves in the elevation direction. A second example beam steering device 300 includes the first steering lens that moves in a first direction, and a second steering lens that moves in a second direction, where the first and second direction are not aligned with the steering directions. In a further second example beam steering device 300, the target steering directions and/or the target movement positions of the steering lenses may be transformed (e.g., using a rotation, look-up table, or the like) allowing for steering control in the target steering direction using the movement of both lenses in cooperation. In certain embodiments, the first movement direction and the second movement direction may be perpendicular (whether aligned with the steering axes or not), but the movement directions need not be perpendicular. It will be seen that, where the movement directions are not perpendicular, the overall steering capability of the beam steering device 300 may be lower (e.g., a reduced magnitude of steering capability for one or both steering directions) relative to an equivalent beam steering device 300 having perpendicular movement directions. However, the movement capability of a beam steering device 300 can be provided to have sufficient capability for target steering directions, for example using one or more of (examples are not limiting): enhanced telescopic magnification (e.g., reference
One of skill in the art, having the benefit of the present disclosure and information ordinarily available when contemplating a particular system, can readily select lens configurations and characteristics for a given embodiment. Without limitation to any other aspect of the present disclosure, certain considerations for determining lens configurations and characteristics include, without limitation: movement capability (displacement and/or speed) of available actuators; orientation of movement directions (to each other, and/or to steering axes); the target steering envelope (e.g., magnitude and/or direction of steering); the available axial footprint of the beam steering device (e.g., axial extent of the steering components and/or a housing defining the steering components); a beam size of the incident beam; a beam size of the steered beam; relative costs of lens components (e.g., spherical, aspherical, anisotropic, astigmatic, positive and/or negative lenses, cylindrical lenses, and/or write-able lenses—e.g. reference
The example beam steering device 300 further includes one or more steering actuator(s) 318 configured to move the steering lenses of the steering layer 306. An example actuator 318 includes a piezoelectric actuator, for example a piezo responsive armature that displaces in response to an applied electric field, thereby moving an associated steering lens. In certain embodiments, a piezoelectric actuator has a modest displacement capability (e.g., a few millimeters), which may be preserved by separating actuators 318 into a first actuator 318 associated with a first steering lens, and a second actuator 318 associated with a second steering lens. Embodiments herein provide for significant steering capability, such that even with modest movement capabilities provided by piezoelectric actuators, highly capable steering (e.g., +/−10 degrees, +/−20 degrees, +/−30 degrees, +/−45 degrees, etc.) can nevertheless be achieved. An example actuator 318 includes an electromagnetic actuator, which may be of any type such as a linear actuator and/or a rotary-to-linear actuator of any type. An example actuator 318 includes an electromagnetic actuator (e.g., reference
The example beam steering device 300 includes a field lens 308. The example field lens 308 is positioned at an intersection of a focal plane of an emission lens 310 and an effective focal plan of the steering layer 306 (e.g., the net focal position of lenses of the steering layer 306. The field lens 308 ensures the steered beam 316 is fully incident on the emission lens 310 (e.g., reducing vignetting losses). The emission lens 310 is the final optical element of the beam steering device 300, whereby the emitted beam 106 is the final steered beam. The emission lens 310 and the field lens 308 can be sized according to the desired steering capability, beam size, and axial length of the beam steering device 300. The emission lens 310 can have a selected optical power to provide the selected convergence/divergence character (e.g., collimated) of the steered beam 106, to provide the selected telescopic magnification (e.g., 1×, 1.5×, 2×, 3×, etc.), and/or selected axial length of the beam steering device 300. The axial positioning of the components of the beam steering device 300, the optical power of the components, and the size of the components, can be selected to provide the appropriate magnification for beam steering capability and steered beam size, and to ensure that the steered beam does not experience vignetting losses.
It will be understood that a system including the beam steering device 300 may have further optics that the emitted beam 106 passes through before emission from the system. The example beam steering device 300 allows for significant steering capability (e.g., +/−8 deg., +/−10 deg., +/−15 deg., +/−20 deg., and/or +/−30 deg.) with an arbitrary aperture and/or emitted beam size. The example beam steering device 300 utilizes telescopic magnification to enhance the beam steering capability and the aperture size, allowing for a greater steering capability and/or steered beam size than available in previously known systems.
Referencing
The utilization of negative lenses 402, 404, as set forth herein, should be understood broadly. The negative lenses include a net effective concave aspect toward the incident light to be steered. While the negative lenses are depicted as concave lenses, it will be understood that the lenses may include any one or more of, without limitation: a concave lens, a net concave lens (e.g., having a concave and a convex portion, with a greater optical effect of the concave portion), a write-able lens (e.g., reference 36, 37, and the related description; also reference varifocal lens as described in PCT Patent Application PCT/US19/57616, entitled “SYSTEM, METHOD, AND APPARATUS FOR NON-MECHANICAL OPTICAL AND PHOTONIC BEAM STEERING” [EXCT-0004-WO], filed 23 Oct. 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference in the entirety for all purposes), and/or a Fresnel lens (e.g., having a net concave aspect).
The example beam steering system includes two of the negative lenses 402, 404 that steer in two directions that are referenced herein as an azimuthal direction (e.g., direction in a horizontal plane) and an elevation direction (e.g., direction in a vertical plane), although an example beam steering system may include only a single negative lens that steers in a selected direction (e.g., where steering in only a single axis is acceptable), a single negative lens that steers in two selected directions, or two of the negative lenses that steer in two selected directions. The two directions may be orthogonal, allowing for a continuous region of steering, or non-orthogonal, which will reduce the continuous region of steering, for example providing for gaps in the steering capability region, but may nevertheless provide for sufficient steering capability in certain embodiments. Additionally, or alternatively, the movement directions of the negative lenses may correspond to the steering directions (e.g., azimuthal and elevation movement corresponding to azimuthal and elevation steering), but they need not. For example, where the two negative lenses are capable to move orthogonally, then the lenses are capable of steering in a direction corresponding to azimuthal and elevation, but may have movement controlled in a transformed space to achieve the desired steering. It can be seen that the steering directions and the lens movement directions may correspond to any selected axes, including neither of the steering or lens movement occurring in a direction corresponding to “azimuthal” or “elevation,” although these terms are used herein for convenience and clarity of the description.
In the example of
In the example of
It can be seen that
While the embodiment of
For the embodiments of
Equation 4 sets forth the displacement for a given steering axis, and may be separated into a first component for the first negative lens 402, and a second component for the second negative lens 404. The value M is the net telescopic magnification for the steering system, the value A, is the component displacement (for the respective negative lens 402, 404), and fn is the effective negative focal length, which is a composite of the individual focal lengths of the series negative lenses 402, 404.
It can be seen from Equation 4 that telescopic magnification in the embodiments of
An example system includes two negative lenses each having an of −40 mm, and a radius of 7.5 mm, and a larger positive lens having a focal length of 50 mm and a radius of 18.867 mm. In the example arrangement, an axial distance between the positive lens and a closest negative lens may be about 24.876 mm, which may be readily determined by one of skill in the art contemplating a particular system, and having selected appropriate negative lenses and positive lenses, and aligning the effective focal plane of the negative lenses with the focal plan of the positive lens. In the example wherein one of the negative lenses provides a displacement of 1 mm, application of Eq. 4
or 3.62° of steering. If the magnification is increased to 5, then 1.5 mm of displacement provides
or 10.62 degrees. Note that, in the example, the other negative lens may have a slightly different configuration and resulting steering performance. For example, in one embodiment the first negative lens may have a radius of 7.5 mm, and the second negative lens may have a slightly larger radius (e.g., 7.596 mm, or −7.6 mm), which may result in slightly different values for the component performance of Eq. 4 corresponding to the second steered axis. In certain embodiments, the positive lens may have an anisotropic characteristic (e.g., an elliptical shape, anisotropic focal length—e.g., utilizing an anisotropic optical material, a configured Fresnel lens, and/or a configured variaxial lens, or the like) to deliver equivalent performance in each steering direction, and/or a steering controller may utilize movement commands for each negative lens that compensate for variabilities in steering commands. In certain embodiments, for example when any of the parameters of Eq. 4 have a frequency dependency (e.g., a frequency of the electromagnetic radiation of the steered beam), a temperature dependency, a voltage dependency, or the like, a steering controller may compensate for those dependencies in the provision of steering commands.
It can be seen that the embodiments set forth in
It will be understood, as described in further detail following, that certain steering capability values interact with frequency response values of mechanical steering components, providing for a reduced steering frequency capability at high steering capability angles (e.g., >20 degrees, >30 degrees, or more), and/or requiring a high degree of magnification at high steering capability angles. High magnification requirements can result in large components (e.g., of the positive lens), increased footprint of the beam steering device, and/or reduced steering precision. Accordingly, the steering capability, steering frequency capability, and magnification requirements are related in a multi-dimensional space, where any one of the capabilities (e.g., aperture size, steering capability, power throughput capability, and/or steering frequency capability) can be provided at almost any value, while at extreme capability values, one or more of the other capabilities and/or the telescopic magnification requirement become more constrained. In certain embodiments, steering capability values up to about +/−20 degrees can be provided with modest magnification requirements (e.g., 5x to 20x, without limitation) and high frequency capability (e.g., up to at least several kHz), where extreme steering capabilities (e.g., greater than +/−30 degrees) are possible at more limited frequency capabilities (e.g., up to about 100 Hz) and/or with greater magnification (e.g., 20x to 50x) and consequent increases in the beam steering system footprint and/or reduction in steering precision. One of skill in the art, having the benefit of the present disclosure, can readily design a steering system as set forth herein to meet desired capabilities within the multi-dimensional space, in accordance with Eq. 4 and other considerations set forth herein, and that will be understood to that person having knowledge of available optical components, mechanical steering components, and information about the contemplated system. Certain considerations for determining a particular configuration for a system include, without limitation, optical characteristics of available lenses, mechanical displacement capabilities and constraints, available footprint for the steering system (e.g., axial size; diameter; weight; power provision; cooling provision; and/or control capabilities including I/O, available sensors, and/or available actuators), capital cost considerations, operating cost considerations, and/or manufacturing constraints (e.g., tolerances of components, available materials, available operations such as machining, coating, finishing, etc.).
It will be understood that the aperture size and final steered beam size can be configured according to the incident beam size 102, the applied telescopic magnification (e.g., as described in relation to type 3 steering devices herein), and/or the lens sizes of steering components. Certain aspects that increase the emitted beam size relative to the aperture size (e.g., where aperture size corresponds to the emission lens 310, where emitted beam size to aperture size may be referenced as aperture utilization) include aspects that increase a common area between steering lenses (e.g., determined according to a maximum displacement, size, and/or axial displacement of the steering lenses; and/or further determined according to an inclusion of field lens(es) between steering lenses). Accordingly, one or more design aspects can increase the aperture utilization include: increasing the size of one or both of the steering lenses; increasing a telescopic magnification (e.g., type 3) of the beam steering device (e.g., which reduces the required displacement to achieve a given steering capability, and increases the beam size through magnification); utilizing a field lens between the steering lenses which increases the effective common area between the steering lenses; and/or increasing a radial magnification (or virtual displacement; e.g., type 1) of the beam steering device (e.g., which reduces the required displacement to achieve a given steering capability).
For convenient reference, embodiments of a beam steering device according to
According to any aspect of the present disclosure, the steering lenses 402, 404 can be estimated as an equivalent lens having effective optical activity equivalent to the steering lenses 402, 404. For example, a single negative lens with a moving focal point may be considered as an estimate for the two moving negative lenses 402, 404. The focal plane of the equivalent conceptual lens coincides with a focal plane of the emission lens 310
The angle of deflection in x and y axes (e.g., where the x axis aligns with a movement direction of a first steering lens, and where the y axis aligns with a movement direction of a second steering lens) are related to the displacement in those directions (Δx and Δy), and the focal length (fr) of the recollimator lens 310 as follows in Equations 5 and 6:
As set forth throughout the present disclosure, the x and y directions of the two steering lenses may be aligned with the logical steering axes of the beam steering device (e.g., the desired direction reference frame for steering nomenclature), and/or may be un-aligned with the logical steering axes. Additionally or alternatively, the x and y directions may be perpendicular, and/or may be mis-aligned. In certain embodiments, the mis-alignment of the x and y directions, and/or the perpendicularity of the x and y directions, may be due to design considerations (e.g., positioning of actuators in a confined space, ease of accommodation of movement, etc.), and/or due to manufacturing considerations (e.g., allowing for manufacturing tolerances of installation of actuators and/or lens movement direction; allowing for installation with lens movement within a range and/or at arbitrary directions—for example to simplify installation and/or integration; and/or allowing for a change of the logical steering axes after the installation and/or integration of the beam steering device into a system).
Without limitation to any other aspect of the present disclosure, operations to distribute steering responsibility between available steering components (e.g., between cooperating lens pairs, between lens layers, and/or between actuators where more than one steering solution is available, such as when movement directions are not aligned with logical steering axes, and/or when movement directions are not fully perpendicular) include one or more operations such as: utilizing a first one of the components before utilizing the second one of the components (e.g., utilizing a faster one of the components during transient operations, utilizing one of the components until saturated and/or at a threshold actuation amount, then utilizing the other one of the components); utilizing a first one of the components alternated with the other one of the components (e.g., utilizing a piece-wise scheduling of the components, alternated through the steering range); utilizing both components simultaneously (e.g., according to a look-up table or other stored steering information, which may include target steering angles and corresponding actuator positions for each of the components, where both actuators are moved from a present position to the corresponding actuator position for the target steering angle); and/or combinations of these. Without limitation to any other aspect of the present disclosure, operations to distribute steering responsibility between available steering components include trimming the actuator positions after the target steering angle is achieved, and/or adjusting the actuator positions for the same target steering angle at a different time or operating condition. Example operations include utilizing a first distribution scheme to achieve a transient steering target, and utilizing a second distribution scheme to achieve the same steering target at a different time (e.g., with different starting conditions for the components when the same steering target is requested at the different time), and/or after a period of time where the steering target is held (e.g., changing the actuator positions as the steering target is held, for example to un-saturate a steering component, to adjust the conditions to allow for a more rapid exit from the steering target (e.g., utilizing a small lens to achieve the steering target, and sharing some of the steering burden to the larger lens as the steering target is held thereby extending the available range of the small lens for better response to future steering target changes).
The available angle of deflection in the x and y axes are related to the displacements of the steering lenses of the steering layers 306. Where two serially arranged steering layers 306 cooperate to steer a single optical path, and where the corresponding lenses in each layer have a same movement direction, the available angle of deflection in each of the x and y axes are set forth in Equations 7 and 8. Where the arrangement of beam steering device is different than the conditions described for Equations 7 and 8, adjustments to the equations may be readily made to determine the available angle of deflection in each direction. In Equations 7 and 8, fr is the focal length of the effective equivalent positive lens, Δ1 references movement of the steering lens from the (left) first steering layer 306, and Δ2 references movement of the steering lens from the (right) second steering layer 306.
One of skill in the art, having the benefit of the present disclosure and information ordinarily available when contemplating a particular system, can readily determine an arrangement of steering layer(s), corresponding actuator(s), a distribution of steering responsibilities between components (e.g., steering layers and/or steering lenses), and/or a configuration of supporting steering components (e.g., collimating lenses, field lenses, etc.). Determined arrangements may be provided in accordance with any embodiments herein, including utilization of portions thereof, an including, without limitation, utilization of type 3 characteristics, type 1 characteristics, and/or combinations of these. Certain considerations to determine an arrangement of steering layer(s), corresponding actuator(s), distribution of steering responsibility between components, and/or configuration of supporting steering components include, without limitation: the cost and availability of lens types; the manufacturing tolerances of system aspects (e.g., lens characteristics; actuator position and alignment, including for the actuator during operation and/or installation); the available footprint for lenses and/or actuators (e.g., geometry, weight, and/or interfaces such as cooling, electrical power, communicative coupling, etc.); capital costs for a design (e.g., cost of components, cost of integration and/or engineering work, cost of tools to make a particular design, etc.); operating costs for a design (e.g., efficiency/power losses; wear and/or maintenance of components such as actuators; reliability and/or down-time considerations, etc.); and/or required and/or desired steering capability considerations (e.g., steering angle magnitudes, steering angle precision, steering speed, directional aspects of these; and/or steering duty cycle as expected or defined).
Referencing
Aspects of the example beam steering device 1200 are similar to the beam steering device 300 depicted in reference to
The example beam steering device 1200 includes the steering layer(s) 306 providing a steered beam 1204 to a magnifying lens 1202, where the magnifying lens 1202 increases the steered angle (e.g., as depicted schematically with steered beam 1206) of the beam 1206 incident on the field lens 308. The magnifying lens 1202, in coordination with lens(es) of the steering layer 306 provides for radial magnification, or displacement of a virtual image (or virtual object)—which is the displacement of a focal point of an equivalent lens of the lens(es) of the steering layer 306. An example steering layer 306 includes one or more moving negative lenses, each of which may be aligned with a steering axis or offset from a steering axis (e.g., reference
Referencing
An example beam steering device 1200, 1300 does not require a field lens 308, although the utilization of the field lens 308 allows for a more compact device (e.g., reduced size of the emission lens 310) and/or reduces vignetting losses that may otherwise be present. The example type 1 beam steering device 1200, 1300 creates a focus (concentration) of the beam energy on the field lens 308. In certain embodiments, for example with a beam steering device 1200, 1300 having a high power throughput, heat transfer from the field lens 308 may be considered in designing the beam steering device 1200, 1300. For example, the transparency of the field lens 308, the material selection of the field lens 308, the heat transfer environment of the field lens 308, and/or active cooling thermally coupled to the field lens 308 may be provided to account for expected thermal performance of the field lens 308. It can be seen that the field lens 308 is relatively large (in most embodiments) relative to other lenses (e.g., lenses of the steering layer 306), providing for a thermal sink that distributes heat throughout the field lens 308. The focusing characteristic of the type 1 beam steering device can be managed to accommodate large power throughput devices (e.g., greater than 55 kW). Further, beam steering devices having high power throughput may generally have a larger field lens 308 (e.g., providing for a larger thermal sink and/or heat transfer area), and further have a greater surface area around the field lens 308 (e.g., allowing for the inclusion of passive and/or active heat transfer capabilities), therefore allowing for management of higher power throughput devices.
An example type 1 steering device can be designed considering an equivalent lens with a moving focal point that is equivalent to the steering lens(es) of the steering layer 306 (e.g., with two steering lenses, an equivalent can be determined whether two negative lenses, two positive lenses, and/or one of each are present in the steering layer 306). That moving focal point is the virtual object of the beam steering device 1200, 1300. The size of the virtual object is Δx in a first direction (according to actuator displacement of a steering lens in direction x) and Δy is a second direction (according to actuator displacement of a steering lens in direction y). As described throughout the present disclosure, x and y are in the movement direction(s) of the steering lens(es), which may be aligned or not with the steering directions, and which may be perpendicular or not. An example description provided for clarity of the present disclosure utilizes x as a first steering direction and y as a second steering direction. Magnification (e.g., radial magnification) of the virtual object is provided by positioning the moving focal point of the equivalent lens between fm and 2fm, where fm is the focal distance of the magnifying lens 1202. The magnification (M) provides for displacement of the virtual object as MΔx in the x direction, and MΔy in the y direction. The magnification M, which may be distinct in each direction (e.g., as Mx and My, but is described herein as the same for clarity of the present description), is determined as M=z′/z, where z′ is the distance between the image of the virtual object and the magnifying lens 1202, and where z is the distance between the virtual object and the magnifying lens 1202. The axial distance between the emission lens 310 and the magnifying lens 1202 is z′+fr (or Mz+fr), where fr is the focal length of the emission lens 310. The field lens 308, where present, is positioned at fr. The emission lens 310 has a selected optical power to recollimate the beam converged on the image plane of the magnifying lens 1202, thereby providing a steered beam 106 having a selected collimation characteristic (e.g., collimated, and/or having a diverging and/or converging characteristic according to the requirements and/or application of the beam steering device 1200, 1300).
In the present description, the virtual object may be understood as the focal point (e.g., of small negative steering lens(es)), and the image of the virtual object is a real image formed on another lens (e.g., a real image formed by a magnifying lens 1202 on a field lens 308). Thus, the movement of the virtual object tracks movement of a focal point on a focal plane, and movement of the image of the virtual object tracks movement of the real image of the virtual object onto a lens of interest.
The steering capability of a beam steering device 1200, 1300 utilizing a type 1 configuration is set forth in equations 9 and 10. The example of equations 9 and 10 utilizes a single magnification M for both steering directions. It will be understood that the magnification M may vary between the steering directions, and/or transformations may be made where the steering directions and movement directions are not aligned, and/or where the movement directions are not linear (e.g., one or more actuator(s) 318 do not provide linear, or completely linear, motion of a steering lens).
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Example embodiments herein utilizing a type 1 steering device to create a virtual displacement that is much larger than the real displacement (e.g., the angle of the final steered beam 106 is multiplied relative to the steered angle of the beam 1204 incident on the magnifying lens 1202). An example beam steering device 1200 is readily capable to steer a beam 106 at large steering angles (e.g., >+/−60 degrees, >+/−45 degrees, and/or >+/−30 degrees) with modest displacement of the actuator 318. Additionally, and without limitation to any other aspect of the present disclosure, the beam steering device 1200 enhances numerous aspects over previously known beam steering devices, for example reducing vignetting losses (e.g., reduced actuator displacement allows for reduction in moving lens sizes, field lens size, and/or greater ease in creating a common area between lenses of the steering layer 306; thereby reducing moving lens sizes and/or field lens size that would otherwise be required to reduce vignetting losses for previously known beam steering devices), and/or enabling arbitrarily large apertures. For example, a beam steering device 1200 capable to produce a steered beam 106 having a size of 50 cm or greater can readily be constructed. The enhancements of the type 1 steering device can be utilized to increase capability of beam steering in other dimensions beyond a significant steering angle capability. For example, the type 1 steering device produces a high steering angle relative to the displacement amount of steering lens(es), allowing for reduced cost and/or capability of an actuator 318 moving the lens(es); an increased steering speed and/or frequency (e.g., putting a reduced mechanical strain on the system to move the steering lens(es)); increased common area of the steering lens(es) (e.g., increasing the supported beam size relative to aperture size of the emission lens 310—resulting in a larger supported emission beam size relative to previously known systems); and/or a reduction in the steering lens size(s) (e.g., the smaller displacement reduces the required steering lens size(s) that preserve a given common area of the steering lens(es)).
An example beam steering device 1300 includes a focal length of the equivalent negative lens (e.g., steering lenses of steering layer 306) of 40 mm, a focal length of the magnifying lens 1202 of 20 mm, and a focal length of the emission lens 310 and field lens 308 of 12 mm. The example steering device is capable to provide the steered beam 106 deflected to +/−15 degrees at a speed of 0.2 KHz. The example steering device is based on modeling, simulation, and experience, and is believed to be representative of capabilities within the range (without limitation) of embodiments as set forth herein. The example steering device depicts steering in only a single axis for purposes of illustration.
In certain embodiments, the optical components and configuration of a beam steering device (e.g., any type 3 steering device, type 1 steering device, and/or any other beam steering device as disclosed herein) are configurable to achieve a selected steered beam 106 size and/or convergence/divergence characteristic. An example configuration includes providing a type 3 steering device having a telescopic magnification selected to provide a steered beam 106 size, for example as a multiple of the incident beam 102 size according to the magnification of the optical components arranged within the beam steering device. Further configuration options for a type 3 steering device to accommodate a larger steered beam 106 size include one or more of: increasing a common area of steering lenses of the steering layer 306; including and/or increasing a size of a field lens (e.g., as in
It can be seen that certain features of the optical arrangement of a beam steering device compete in certain arrangements. For example, telescopic magnification and steering angle capability compete for a type 1 beam steering device. In another example, steering lens common area competes with one or more of: steering lens size; steering angle capability (e.g., reduced steering lens displacement limits steering angle capability but improves steering lens common area); and/or axial extent of the beam steering device compete for either a type 3 beam steering device or a type 1 beam steering device. It can be seen that certain features of the optical arrangement of a beam steering device cooperate in certain arrangements. For example, telescopic magnification and steering angle capability cooperate for a type 3 beam steering device. In another example, steering lens common area cooperates with a low-displacement steering lens arrangement, which may be desirable in certain embodiments: reduced displacement benefits cost considerations of the actuator(s), power consumption of the beam steering device, and steering speed through the displacement range of the beam steering device. Embodiments herein provide for a greater maneuverability through the optical arrangement space of a beam steering device, allowing for improved outcomes, capability, cost, and/or performance of a resulting beam steering device relative to previously known beam steering devices.
Without limitation to any other aspect of the present disclosure, embodiments herein provide for: high steering angle capabilities per unit of steering lens displacement; a high ratio of emitted beam size relative to the size of emitting optics (e.g., field lens(es), emission lens(es), etc.); a reduced and/or eliminated moving mass of actuated components (e.g., reduced size steering lens(es), and/or writeable lens(es) that eliminate physical movement); and/or a reduction in an axial extent of the beam steering device (e.g., utilizing negative steering lenses, and/or a net negative steering layer). Without limitation to any other aspect of the present disclosure, embodiments herein provide for numerous options to adjust the trade-off space of the arrangement of steering components, such as: utilization of telescopic magnification to enhance steering angle capability; dividing steering displacement burdens between multiple steering layers; utilization of a focusing (e.g., type 1 beam steering device with a field lens) or non-focusing (e.g., type 3 beam steering device) arrangement; compensation for non-aligned steering lens movement with logical steering axes (e.g., allowing for trade-offs between actuator positioning options, actuator types, manufacturing and/or alignment tolerances, etc.); and/or utilization of standardized or customized components (e.g., lens type and power selections, reduction or increase in actuator capability allowing for a broader range of acceptable actuator components, etc.). One of skill in the art, having the benefit of the disclosure herein and information ordinarily available when contemplating a beam steering device, can readily determine a configuration to meet the desired capability for a given application, while balancing component cost, manufacturability, and footprint characteristics of the beam steering device. Certain considerations for configuring a beam steering device to meet a desired capability, and/or to adjust the trade-off space of the arrangement of steering components include, without limitation: movement capability (displacement and/or speed) of available actuators; orientation of movement directions (to each other, and/or to steering axes); the target steering envelope (e.g., magnitude and/or direction of steering); the available axial footprint of the beam steering device (e.g., axial extent of the steering components and/or a housing defining the steering components); a beam size of the incident beam; a beam size of the steered beam; optical characteristics and/or relative costs of lens components (e.g., spherical, aspherical, anisotropic, astigmatic, positive and/or negative lenses, cylindrical lenses, and/or write-able lenses—e.g. reference
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In the example of
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The components and/or type of each individual steering device may be the same or distinct, and/or the capability of each individual steering device may be the same or distinct. A device configured according to the example of
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The capabilities and arrangements (e.g., type 3, type 1, and/or combinations) of the individual steering devices may vary, providing the selected number of steering devices and capabilities according to the desired capability of the type 2 beam steering device and/or application. It can be seen that the offset beams 1504 are not on the centerline, and even with a same capability (e.g., nominal+/−45 degrees for each of the individual steering devices), there will be some loss in the available steered range. For example, reference
The provided examples are non-limiting. In certain embodiments, the steering capability of the individual steering devices is sufficiently high such that non-steering considerations, such as ease of fabrication, integration of actuators, simplified geometry and/or footprint for the type 2 beam steering device, or the like, are utilized to determine the arrangement of the individual steering devices and components thereof. In certain embodiments, complex shapes and geometries of the individual steering devices are justified to preserve steering capability of the devices. In certain embodiments, a subset of the individual steering devices are maintained with high steering capability, such as: a selected number of individual steering devices, a related group of individual steering devices, and/or a distributed group of individual steering devices (e.g., to provide for distributed capability across the array of individual steering devices). The example of
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An example tier arrangement includes a hex geometry of beams approaching the field lens, with the central beam being on axis, or near on axis, and a ring of 6 apertures around the central ring to form a hex 7 arrangement, another ring of 12 around the hex 7 array to form a hex 19 array, and so on for larger hex arrangements.
For convenience of description, each similarly positioned group of individual steering devices may be referenced as a tier of individual steering devices. For example, the centerline individual steering device (and/or a group of least offset individual steering devices) may be referenced as a first tier, the individual steering devices for the number of beams 1504 (and/or a group of next-least offset individual steering devices) may be referenced as a second tier, and the individual steering devices for the number of beams 1702 (and/or a group of next-least offset individual steering devices) may be referenced as a third tier. It can be seen that the difference in the overall steering environment for each tier will have a greater variance than a previous tier, at least for embodiments where the extent of a given tier is utilized. For example, an arrangement such as depicted in
An example type 2 beam steering device is configured to manage such operational gaps, for example utilizing target swapping (e.g., reference
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The example beam steering device 1800 includes common optics 1824 (e.g., a field lens and an emission lens), where the first tier device 1818 steers a first EM beam 1801, where the second tier device 1820 steers a second EM beam 1803, and where the third tier device 1822 steers a third EM beam 1805. The example beam steering device 1800 includes the first tier device 1818 as a centerline device (e.g., with the first EM beam 1801 provided in-line with an optical axis 120). However, the beam steering device 1800 may not include a centerline device, and the devices 1818, 1820, 1822 may have distinct offsets from the optical axis 120 for any reason, regardless of whether the devices 1818, 1820, 1822 are provided as members of separate tiers. In the example of
The steered beams 1808, 1810, 1812 are depicted schematically, and are provided to illustrate that, where the devices 1818, 1820, 1822 otherwise have similar steering capability, that devices 1818, 1820, 1822 having a further offset from the optical axis 120 have a reduced capability for maximum steering in at least one direction. For example, a nominal optical axis for the second device 1820 is offset by an angle 1814 from the optical axis 120, and a nominal optical axis for the third device 1822 is offset by a larger angle 1816 from the optical axis 120. The reduction in the maximum steering capability includes the offset angle 1814, 1816 (e.g., steering “against” the offset angle requires that angle to be overcome in addition to the target steering value), but also includes a degradation of the overall capability of the offset device 1820, 1822 due to the engagement angle of the steered beam (e.g., 1804, 1806) with the common optics 1824. The degradation of the overall capability due to the engagement angle is not linear—for example, a mild offset of a few degrees may result in a capability loss of just a few degrees, but a larger offset (e.g., 20 degrees) will result in a more significant offset of the maximum capability. For example, where the first device 1818 includes a capability of +/−45 degrees, an otherwise similar second device 1820 having an offset angle 1814 of less than about 5 degrees may preserve an overall capability of +/−40 degrees, while an otherwise similar third device 1822 having an offset angle 1816 of less than about 10 degrees may preserve an overall capability of +/−30 degrees. The recited examples are non-limiting and illustrate the basic concept. The offset angles and capability degradation depend on a number of factors, which can be mitigated in the design details, for example utilizing axial distancing and/or arrangements of the individual beam steering devices 1818, 1820, 1822 to reduce offset angles, increased capability of the offset individual beam steering devices 1820, 1822 (e.g., utilizing radial and/or telescopic magnification, intermediate field lenses, and/or enhanced displacement capability of the related actuator(s), etc.) to make up for lost capability due to the nominal geometric arrangement of the devices 1818, 1820, 1822.
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The examples of
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The example beam steering device 2500 further includes a first lens 2502 interposed between the first individual steering device 1818 and the common field lens 1514, and a second lens 2504 interposed between the second individual steering device 1820 and the common field lens 1514. The lenses 2502, 2504 may be magnifying lenses, for example to implement a type 1 beam steering device for steering one or more of the number of beams to be steered by the type 2 beam steering device 2500. The lenses 2502, 2504 may additionally or alternatively include optical characteristics to apply selected adjustments to the steered beam, for example a lens 2502, 2504 may be an additional field lens (e.g., ensuring that the steered beams impinge on a common field lens 1514 and/or on a common emission lens 1516), and/or convergence lenses configured to provide a selected convergence characteristic to the steered beams.
In the examples of
In certain embodiments, piezoelectric devices provide a number of advantages, such as rapid response times (e.g., allowing for rapid steering operations, scanning, or the like), low degradation over a high number of operating cycles, and convenient control through electronic commands. However, piezoelectric devices utilized in previously known systems have a number of drawbacks limiting their utility, such as a limited displacement capability and sensitivity to certain frequency. Embodiments herein provide enhanced displacement capabilities for the lens(es) using piezoelectric devices, and/or enhanced steering capability mitigating a limited available displacement of the lens(es).
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The example apparatus 3800 includes a beam steering controller 3802 having a number of circuits configured to functionally execute operations of the controller 3802. The example controller 3802 is depicted as a single device for clarity of description, but may be a distributed device, positioned on another device as a portion thereof (e.g., a system controller for a system including a beam steering device), or combinations of these. The example controller 3802 includes a steering target circuit 3803 that interprets a beam steering target value 3801 (e.g., a steering angle for a first beam, a steering target location for the first beam, a trajectory of these (e.g., relative to time, a scanning frequency, etc.), a steering lens control circuit 3804 that determines position(s) for steering lens(es) in response to the beam steering target value 3801, and a steering actuation circuit 3806 that provides actuator command value(s) 3810 for actuators 318 of a beam steering device.
An example steering target circuit 3803 makes the beam steering target value 3801 available to the steering lens control circuit 3804, and may configure the beam steering target value 3801 according to a selected steering scheme. For example, the beam steering target value 3801 may be provided as a steering command according to an application view (e.g., 15 degrees azimuth, and −2 degrees elevation), and/or as a steering command according to a transformed view relative to the application view (e.g., making the steered beam incident on the emission lens at a selected location of the emission lens).
The circuits 3803, 3804, 3806 are depicted as single devices for clarity of the present description. However, a given circuit 3803, 3804, 3806 may be: a distributed device; provided as a part of another device; provided, in whole or part, as computer readable instructions stored on a memory (not shown), wherein a processor (not shown) executing the instructions thereby performs at least a portion of the operations of the respective circuit 3803, 3804, 3806; and/or provided, in whole or part, as a logic circuit and/or hardware component(s) configured to perform at least a portion of the operations of the respective circuit. A circuit, as utilized herein, may include one or more of any actuator, sensor, or other component of a beam steering device, and/or may be in communication with any actuator, sensor, or other component of the beam steering device.
An example steering lens control circuit 3804 determines a first position of a first steering lens and a second position of a second steering lens (e.g., operating with a beam steering device including a steering layer having two steering lenses) in response to the beam steering target value 3801. Example operations to determine the positions of the steering lenses include one or more of: determining a lens offset for each respective axis (e.g., where the lens movement for each steering lens is aligned with a steering axis); transforming the steering target value 3801 to respective lens positions 3808 (e.g., utilizing an operating diagram 3202, transforming equation, or the like); and/or selecting positions consistent with the steering target value (e.g., where more than one available position set will achieve the steering, for example when an actuator has a curved movement path for a steering lens). An example steering lens control circuit 3804 can perform, without limitation, any operation as described herein to determine positions for a steering layer and/or for individual steering lenses, that provide steering according to the beam steering target value 3801. An example steering lens control circuit 3804 accesses stored data 3812, such as transformation parameters, operating diagrams 3202, or the like. The lens positions 3808 correspond to a displacement of a steering lens (e.g., 3 mm in “x” direction, and 1 mm in “y” direction), and/or to a location of a steering lens on a writeable lens (e.g., a position of a variaxial lens, and/or a position on a pixelated writeable lens, and which may be an absolute position and/or a relative position) that provide beam steering according to the beam steering target value 3801.
An example steering actuation circuit 3806 provides actuator command value(s) 3810 in response to the lens position(s) 3808, for example providing a first actuator command value in response to a first position, and a second actuator command value in response to a second position. The example of
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The example procedure 4300 further includes an operation 4306 to command an actuator to move steering lens(es) along movement courses (e.g., the movement trajectory of the lens enforced by the actuator) in response to the steering lens position(s). Operations of the example procedure 4300 may be performed to steer a single beam in a single axis, to steer the single beam along two axes (e.g., azimuth and elevation, or other steering nomenclature), and/or to steer more than one beam simultaneously, each having one or two steering axes. Example operations 4306 include providing an actuator command (e.g., a position, voltage, or other command), providing commands to a variaxial lens to move the lens to a selected portion of the EO active substrate, changing a position of an active lens portion of a configurable lens, and/or providing an actuator command to write a lens to a selected portion of a pixelated EO active substrate.
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The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or in whole through a machine having a computer, computing device, processor, circuit, and/or server that executes computer readable instructions, program codes, instructions, and/or includes hardware configured to functionally execute one or more operations of the methods and systems disclosed herein. The terms computer, computing device, processor, circuit, and/or server, as utilized herein, should be understood broadly.
Any one or more of the terms computer, computing device, processor, circuit, and/or server include a computer of any type, capable to access instructions stored in communication thereto such as upon a non-transient computer readable medium, whereupon the computer performs operations of systems or methods described herein upon executing the instructions. In certain embodiments, such instructions themselves comprise a computer, computing device, processor, circuit, and/or server. Additionally or alternatively, a computer, computing device, processor, circuit, and/or server may be a separate hardware device, one or more computing resources distributed across hardware devices, and/or may include such aspects as logical circuits, embedded circuits, sensors, actuators, input and/or output devices, network and/or communication resources, memory resources of any type, processing resources of any type, and/or hardware devices configured to be responsive to determined conditions to functionally execute one or more operations of systems and methods herein.
Certain operations described herein include interpreting, receiving, and/or determining one or more values, parameters, inputs, data, or other information (“receiving data”). Operations to receive data include, without limitation: receiving data via a user input; receiving data over a network of any type; reading a data value from a memory location in communication with the receiving device; utilizing a default value as a received data value; estimating, calculating, or deriving a data value based on other information available to the receiving device; and/or updating any of these in response to a later received data value. In certain embodiments, a data value may be received by a first operation, and later updated by a second operation, as part of the receiving a data value. For example, when communications are down, intermittent, or interrupted, a first receiving operation may be performed, and when communications are restored an updated receiving operation may be performed.
Certain logical groupings of operations herein, for example methods or procedures of the current disclosure, are provided to illustrate aspects of the present disclosure. Operations described herein are schematically described and/or depicted, and operations may be combined, divided, re-ordered, added, or removed in a manner consistent with the disclosure herein. It is understood that the context of an operational description may require an ordering for one or more operations, and/or an order for one or more operations may be explicitly disclosed, but the order of operations should be understood broadly, where any equivalent grouping of operations to provide an equivalent outcome of operations is specifically contemplated herein. For example, if a value is used in one operational step, the determining of the value may be required before that operational step in certain contexts (e.g. where the time delay of data for an operation to achieve a certain effect is important), but may not be required before that operation step in other contexts (e.g. where usage of the value from a previous execution cycle of the operations would be sufficient for those purposes). Accordingly, in certain embodiments an order of operations and grouping of operations as described is explicitly contemplated herein, and in certain embodiments re-ordering, subdivision, and/or different grouping of operations is explicitly contemplated herein.
The methods and systems described herein may transform physical and/or or intangible items from one state to another. The methods and systems described herein may also transform data representing physical and/or intangible items from one state to another.
The methods and/or processes described above, and steps thereof, may be realized in hardware, program code, instructions, and/or programs or any combination of hardware and methods, program code, instructions, and/or programs suitable for a particular application. The hardware may include a dedicated computing device or specific computing device, a particular aspect or component of a specific computing device, and/or an arrangement of hardware components and/or logical circuits to perform one or more of the operations of a method and/or system. The processes may be realized in one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, embedded microcontrollers, programmable digital signal processors or other programmable device, along with internal and/or external memory. The processes may also, or instead, be embodied in an application specific integrated circuit, a programmable gate array, programmable array logic, or any other device or combination of devices that may be configured to process electronic signals. It will further be appreciated that one or more of the processes may be realized as a computer executable code capable of being executed on a machine readable medium.
While only a few embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as described in the following claims. All patent applications and patents, both foreign and domestic, and all other publications referenced herein are incorporated herein in their entireties to the full extent permitted by law.
While the disclosure has been disclosed in connection with the preferred embodiments shown and described in detail, various modifications and improvements thereon will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the present disclosure is not to be limited by the foregoing examples, but is to be understood in the broadest sense allowable by law.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the disclosure (especially in the context of the following claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the disclosure, and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the disclosure unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the disclosure.
While the foregoing written description enables one skilled in the art to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The disclosure should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the disclosure.
Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specified function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). In particular, any use of “step of” in the claims is not intended to invoke the provision of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f).
Persons skilled in the art may appreciate that numerous design configurations may be possible to enjoy the functional benefits of the inventive systems. Thus, given the wide variety of configurations and arrangements of embodiments of the present invention, the scope of the invention is reflected by the breadth of the claims below rather than narrowed by the embodiments described above.
Claims
1. A system, comprising:
- a first steering lens interposed between an electromagnetic (EM) source and a second steering lens;
- the second steering lens interposed between the first steering lens and a magnifying lens;
- the magnifying lens interposed between the second steering lens and a field lens;
- the field lens interposed between the magnifying lens and an emission lens;
- a first steering actuator coupled to the first steering lens, the first steering actuator configured to move the first steering lens along a first movement course; and
- a second steering actuator coupled to the second steering lens, the second steering actuator configured to move the second steering lens along a second movement course.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein an optical configuration of the first steering lens, the second steering lens, and the magnifying lens is configured to position a virtual object of the steering lenses at a position between fm and 2fm, wherein the position fm comprises a magnifying lens focal length displaced from the magnifying lens, and wherein the position 2fm comprises twice the distance fm.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the optical configuration of the first steering lens, the second steering lens, and the magnifying lens comprises: an effective focal length of the combined first steering lens and second steering lens; the magnifying lens focal length; and an axial position of each of the first steering lens, second steering lens, and the magnifying lens.
4. A system, comprising:
- a steering lens interposed between an electromagnetic (EM) source and a magnifying lens;
- the magnifying lens interposed between the steering lens and a field lens;
- the field lens interposed between the magnifying lens and an emission lens; and
- a steering actuator coupled to the steering lens, the steering actuator configured to move the steering lens along a movement course.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the movement course comprises selected movement along each of two axes.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein a first one of the two axes comprises a first steering axis, and wherein a second one of the two axes comprises a second steering axis.
7. The system of claim 5, wherein the two axes comprise perpendicular axes.
8. The system of claim 4, wherein the steering actuator comprises a configurable lens element having an active lens portion, wherein the steering lens comprises the active lens portion, and wherein moving the steering lens along the movement course comprises changing a position of the active lens portion.
9. The system of claim 4, wherein the steering lens comprises a positive lens, the system further comprising a second field lens positioned between the steering lens and the magnifying lens.
10. The system of claim 4, further comprising a source collimator lens interposed between the EM source and the steering lens.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 8, 2022
Publication Date: Nov 3, 2022
Inventors: Paul F. McManamon (Dayton, OH), Abtin Ataei (Oakwood, OH)
Application Number: 17/860,846