Invention Application
- Patent Title: IMAGE POLARIMETER USING A MICRO-ELECTRO-MECHANICAL SYSTEM (MEMS) MICRO-MIRROR ARRAY (MMA)
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Application No.: US17479927Application Date: 2021-09-20
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Publication No.: US20240402016A1Publication Date: 2024-12-05
- Inventor: Eric Rogala , Gerald P. Uyeno
- Applicant: Raytheon Company
- Applicant Address: US MA Waltham
- Assignee: Raytheon Company
- Current Assignee: Raytheon Company
- Current Assignee Address: US MA Waltham
- Main IPC: G01J4/04
- IPC: G01J4/04 ; G02B26/08 ; G02B27/28

Abstract:
An image polarimeter includes a MEMS MMA divided into two or more segments in which the mirrors in each segment are provided with a polarizer of a given polarization. The mirrors in each segment are tipped and tilted to steer polarized light onto different portions of an optical detector. In certain configurations the mirrors may also be pistoned to reduce aberrations. Each frame that is read out from the detector includes two or more distinct component polarized images having different polarizations P0, P2, . . . of the same scene to fully characterize the polarization properties of the scene. Since the mirrors only tip/tilt/piston in the dead period between frames, no components are moving during image acquisition and co-registration of the component polarized images is simple. The number of segments and the different polarizations may be selected to implement Jones calculus, Mueller calculus and Stokes parameters or other polarimetry techniques.
Public/Granted literature
- US12259277B2 Image polarimeter using a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) micro-mirror array (MMA) Public/Granted day:2025-03-25
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