Issued patent
LIDAR System Noise Reduction
An issued NASA patent from the Technology Transfer catalog.
About this technology
Overview
In order to overcome significant noise from solar background and backscatter this LIDAR system utilizes a laser light source that is azimuthally polarized or has Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM). A photon sieve is used to produce a ring pattern on the focal plane corresponding from the light of the return signal and causes stray light that is not polarized to produce a clustered region at the center of the ring pattern that is distinct from the laser return. The photon sieve can be used as the front end lens of a telescope or as an internal optical component after a traditional telescope. This technology can also be employed in encrypted communications and navigation.