Microlaser Diode Array Based Optical SAR Pattern Recognition Module

Conventinoal SAR systems use film as their input/output display medium, which makes these processors large, unreliable and slow with respect to the Navy's need for a real-time, compact SAR pattern recognitions system. We propose to fulfill this need by inserting arrays of individually and electrically addressable vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) into a spatio-temporal adaptive optical processing module (OPM) that operates directly on the SAR echo returns, bypassing the SAR image generation. Generating the SAR image is not necessary, and it is this process that prevents real-time pattern recognition on SAR data. The implementation of the proposed OPM will straightforwardly simplify pattern recognition of SAR data, and dramatically improve the performance as compared to alternative input light sources based on film or spatial light modulators. For the OPM mentioned above, higher speed, more versatility and device tolerance, as well as very compact optical system design is a direct result of the VCSEL microlaser arrays, a recent advancement in optical device technology. VCSELs are fundamentally much better suited for this application than the more circular, low-divergence beams, and they can be fabricated in arbitrary one-dimensional and two-dimensional patterns. The utility of this technology, and the OPM approach which is based on VCSELs is likely to range far beyond what we can presently imagine.