Patent ID: 8041161

Claim:
A method for coupling free-space photonic signals with fiber optic waveguides using an adaptive controller that maximizes power transferred into said optic fiber by adjusting operating parameters of an active optical element, the method comprising: a) collecting, focusing, and steering an incident photonic energy beam into said optic fiber using an active optical element that controls the focal length, azimuth steering angle, and elevation steering angle of said incident beam; b) measuring the photonic energy received by said optic fiber; c) feeding said photonic energy measurement to an adaptive controller; d) periodically auto-calibrating said incident beam in said adaptive controller using a gradient ascent optimization algorithm to maximize the energy received by said optic fiber by adjusting the focal length and steering angles of said active optical element to the optimal design point determined in each auto-calibration cycle, whereby beam walk and wavefront error are periodically corrected.