Research on laser target dynamic tracking system with rotating polarization grating

Opt Express. 2023 Aug 14;31(17):28257-28272. doi: 10.1364/OE.495342.

Abstract

A micromechanical target tracking system based on polarization grating (PG) is designed to meet the conformal design of laser communication systems and to realize the lightweight and miniaturization of space laser communication networking. The rotating dual PGs are applied to the dynamic tracking of laser targets for the first time, the relationship between the target position and the dual polarization gratings (PGs) angles is defined, and the PG beam deflection multi-coordinate construction and decoupling are carried out. A dual PGs mathematical model was established, and a controller based on the dual PGs system loop was designed. After calibration and dynamic verification of the dual PGs, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) tracking experiment is conducted for the first time, and the dual axis closed-loop tracking error of the dynamic target is within 300µrad (RMSE). The feasibility of dual PGs tracking formula, the feasibility of laser target fixed-point closed-loop control, and the dynamic closed-loop tracking performance are verified. In engineering applications, the dual PGs tracking system has guiding significance for realizing the lightweight and miniaturization of system integration, as well as the possibility to replace the traditional tracking control system.