Fiber Array Laser Illuminator with Adaptive Beam Shaping (FALI_ABS)

ABSTRACT: To meet the Air force need for imaging systems that can be used to provide high resolution imaging and tracking of moving targets while mitigating the atmospherically-induced turbulence and target surface scattering-induced speckle noise effects that limit the effectiveness of currently available conventional imaging systems, Optonicus proposes the development of a Fiber Array Laser Illuminator with Adaptive Beam Shaping (FALI_ABS).The system will develop new capabilities for the engineering of illuminator beams possible with the use of the coherently controllable fiber-array beam-projection systems developed by Optonicus that will enable the FALI_ABS system to provide clear imagery in 20 km tactical scenario range of interest to the Air Force mitigating scintillation and speckle effects that impede the tracking of moving targets.; BENEFIT: The innovative Fiber Array Laser Illuminator with Adaptive Beam Shaping (FALI_ABS) system will directly benefit the Air Force and the wider DoD communities intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) needs for imaging through the atmosphere while overcoming the limitations induced by the scintillation and speckle noise effects that prevent conventional imaging systems (typically relying on multi-measurement averaging techniques) from successfully producing high-resolution imagery of moving targets over tactical (20 km) range distances.The FALI_ABS system will also have commercial applications for high-resolution imaging studies in fields such as agriculture, weather prediction and climate change.