Laser Lab: Vortex
In the Laser Lab, we conduct experiments into the propagation of structured light through various complex environments under varying conditions in air and water. We structure variable coherence of laser light in order to minimize scintillation on target and impart orbital angular momentum on laser beam to create vortex and improve irradiance delivery on reception.
The lab is home to a host of high-end optical equipment such as top-of-the-line spatial light modulators that create structured light, eye safe lasers, high-speed cameras that take several thousand images per second of ever changing light intensities, and Shack Hartmann sensors that capture light wavefront. There are two large tanks used to generate controlled underwater optical turbulence that impacts the laser light on propagation. The newest addition is a Rayleigh-Bénard tank, a custom made unique piece of equipment that creates turbulence similar to naturally occurring convection; ideal testbed for designing free space optical communications systems, sensor networks, adaptive optics systems and directed energy weapons. All of the projects incorporate machine learning algorithms to improve the system performance.
