Control, Filtering and Prediction for Phased Arrays in Directed Energy Systems

Under this project, UCLA researchers have developed new methods for filtering, prediction and system identification in adaptive optics for high energy laser systems including phased arrays. The research has concentrated on wavefront prediction in digital holography. The methods developed can achieve significant improvements in on-target Strehl ratios and tracking jitter for phased array high energy laser systems. The main contribution of the research is a state-space prediction filter that provides a near optimal initial condition for image sharpening, thereby making image sharpening and digital holography feasible in real time adaptive optics.