Adaptive Photonic Phased Locked Elements (APPLE) Phase II
Abstract
(U) The Adaptive Photonic Phase-Locked Elements (APPLE) Phase II program will develop ultra-compact, electronically-steerable, high power optical phased arrays, with each array element driven ultimately by a 3 kW fiber laser amplifier being developed in the Revolution in Fiber Lasers (RIFL) program. Each array element will contain an adaptive optics system to correct for the beam spreading effects of atmospheric turbulence and will have a clear aperture dimension of 2.5 cm to allow compensation for even the strongest atmospheric turbulence encountered in ground-to-air, air-to-air, and ground-to-space applications with only tip/tilt control. This conformal optical phased array technology is scalable in both power and total aperture size by adding additional elements to the array. The high power optical phased array technology being developed in this program will serve a broad spectrum of applications including laser communications, broad-area search and track, Identification of Friend or Foe (IFF), missile seeker negation, and at high power, surgical kill of strategic and tactical targets with minimal collateral damage. Technology will transition to Industry.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2011
- Source ID
- 8b19c8fef22188c2099768d912c0069e