Abstract:
A liquid metal ion source and alloy, wherein the species to be emitted from the ion source is contained in a congruently vaporizing alloy. In one embodiment, the liquid metal ion source acts as a source of arsenic, and in a source alloy the arsenic is combined with palladium, preferably in a liquid alloy having a range of compositions from about 24 to about 33 atomic percent arsenic. Such an alloy may be readily prepared by a combustion synthesis technique. Liquid metal ion sources thus prepared produce arsenic ions for implantation, have long lifetimes, and are highly stable in operation.
Abstract:
A stereo enhancement system (300) which provides an enhanced wider stereo image and a wider listening area, and further provides perspective correction for achieving correct stereo sound perspective with speakers at different locations and with headphones. The stereo enhancement system includes a stereo image enhancement system (100, 10, 110) which includes circuitry (11, 13, 111, 113) for generating sum and difference signals based on left and right stereo signals, circuitry (17, 18, 19, 22, 30, 115, 125, 129, 40) for selectively altering the relative amplitudes of the difference signal components, circuitry (17, 21, 30, 117, 127, 40) for selectively altering the relative amplitudes of the sum signal components, and circuitry (23, 25, 27, 119, 121, 123) for combining the processed sum and difference signals with the original left and right stereo signals to produce enhanced left and right stereo signals. The enhancement system further includes a perspective correction system (200, 210) which is responsive to the enhanced left and right signals provided by the stereo image enhancement system or to left and right stereo signals of an audio system. The perspective correction system includes circuitry (211, 213) for generating sum and difference signals from the left and right stereo signals, equalization circuitry (215, 217, 221, 223) for providing fixed equalization for the sum and difference signals to compensate for the variation with direction of the frequency response of the human ear, and mixing circuitry (225) for combining the equalized sum and difference signals to produce left and right signals.
Abstract:
An afocal beam expansion system and method which achieves the compactness of prior art refractive systems and yet avoids the use of refractive elements with their accompanying beam scattering, adsorption and temperature sensitivity. A pointing reflector (74) is positioned in the beam path between an expansion reflector (72) and a collimating reflector (76). The small diameter input beam is directed onto the expansion reflector (72), which causes it to diverge, reflects off the pointing reflector (74), and reaches the collimating reflector (76). The latter element collimates the beam and reflects it back to the pointing reflector (74), which points the beam along a desired output axis (78). The expansion, pointing and collimating reflectors are positioned relative to each other such that the beam axis is altered upon each reflection from each element. The pointing reflector (74) may be implemented as a plano mirror, or alternately may comprise a convex reflective surface that cooperates with the collimating mirror (76) to fully collimate the expanded beam. The invention is particularly applicable to airborne laser navigational radar terrain avoidance systems.
Abstract:
A laser apparatus (10) utilizing a master oscillator power amplifier configuration wherein a master oscillator (12) provides a source of low energy, high phase front quality, and high spectral purity radiation, injected into at least one lasing medium gain element (14) disposed along an optical path. Coupling means (16) is positioned to selectively couple a predetermined percentage of the master oscillator (12) radiation into the gain element (14) medium while preventing all but a predetermined percentage of any amplified radiation exiting the gain element (14) from re-entering the master oscillator (12). Phase conjugation means (20) is disposed along the optical path on the opposite side of the gain element (14) as the coupling means (16), for reflecting the phase conjugate of laser radiation incident thereon. Delay means positioned between the gain element (14) and the phase conjugation means (16) assures that radiation pulses coupled along the optical path traverse and substantially exit from the gain element (14), toward the phase conjugation means (20), before any reflected radiation from the phase conjugation means (20) enters the gain element (14).
Abstract:
A system and method for encoding information onto an optical beam in which a photorefractive material (18) is used to modulate the beam. An alternating electric field is applied to the photorefractive material (18) and modulated so as to vary the material's index ellipsoid via the electro-optic effect and hence modulate an output beam (20A) in accordance with the information to be encoded. The invention has applications to both externally pumped and self-pumped phase conjugate mirrors, and to other optical systems. Various modulation techniques can be used, and the modulation can be isolated from noisy beams by applying the modulating electric field on a high frequency carrier.
Abstract:
A liquid crystal electro-optical switching device utilizing a liquid crystal cell (10) wherein one electrode (5) has a grating pattern (11), and the other electrode is a planar layer. The device acts as a voltage tunable phase grating, whose grating strength is controlled by an external field applied to the electrodes. The switch provides one-dimensional 1 * N splitting with even outputs, and two-dimensional 1 * N switching in a crossed grating configuration.
Abstract:
A shaker table (10) includes a table base (12) mounted upon isolating supports (32) and vibrated by vibrators (34, 36). The vibration is conveyed through and damped in a flexure member (16) comprising pairs (26, 28) of honeycomb layers (18, 20, 22, 24) joined and bonded together by sheets (42) utilizing beads of elastomeric adhesive which space the honeycomb layers apart. A segmented top plate (14) is secured to the topmost honeycomb layer and is divided into a plurality of sections or segments (68-82) for separate resonances. In this way, highly damped vibrational resonances of table top plate (14) are obtained.
Abstract:
A high voltage active device such as a power FET is employed in a circuit configuration which maximizes the terminal impedance. This high impedance is placed in series with the gaseous discharge device to be driven. The gaseous discharge device is able to sustain conduction, between pulsed operations, at very low currents due to the very high impedance presented by the FET. A further refinement of the invention provides the supply voltage for the combination of the FET and the gaseous discharge device from a capacitor which can be charged during normal pulse-forming network charging.
Abstract:
Uniform electrical heating of a circular, single crystal germanium window (18) uses its bulk resistance and pairs of electrodes (20) equally spaced about the window's periphery. The electrode pairs are sequentially switched at a rate high enough to avoid thermal switching transients.