Random-Access Multi-Beam Oscillator (RAMBO)

"The past several decades have witnessed steady increases both in the number and the variety of optical sensors employed in guided weapons. As laser sources have become more efficient and cost-effective, this range of sensors has extended to targetdiscrimination, over-the-horizon terminal guidance, end-game guidance for hit-to-kill, Doppler imaging LADAR, and proximity fusing. This has created a growing demand for lasers with outputs which can be steered within an extensive field. Responding tothis need, we propose to develop a compact low-cost laser; the output of which can be switched internally so as to emerge from one of several exit ports in a random-access fashion. Electro-optic port-to-port switching occurs internal to the resonator;thereby eliminating the alignment and crosstalk issues which arise with separate source and switch configurations. Further features of the source include its high pulse rate and its ability to provide random-access switching in a time which is less thanits interpulse period. Proof-of-concept experiments have separately demonstrated the accommodation of several tens of ports and the generation of 30-ns pulses at a pulse rate of 20 kHZ and an average power of several watts. The technology represented bythe development of the RAMBO concept has direct application to a wide variety of commercial fields; prominent amongst which are precision machining, LADAR, telecommunications, and laser printing,