Patent ID: 7417744

Claim:
An apparatus for coherent hybrid electromagnetic field imaging of a target, comprising: a) a transmitter that comprises (i) an energy source to generate a propagating electromagnetic beam, (ii) means for splitting the propagating electromagnetic beam into two or more coherently matched beams of about equal amplitude wherein the spatial and temporal self-coherence between the coherently matched beams is preserved, (iii) means for differentially modulating the coherently matched beams with a first time-varying signal, the first time-varying signal chosen from a time-varying polarization signal, a time-varying frequency signal, a time-varying phase signal, a time-varying amplitude signal, or combinations thereof, (iv) means for coherently combining the two or more coherently matched, differentially modulated beams of (iii) into a coherent modulated electromagnetic beam, (v) controlling means for collimating, guiding, or focusing the coherent modulated electromagnetic beam of (iv), and (vi) one or more apertures for transmitting the coherent electromagnetic beam of (v) to the target, (b) a receiver capable of square-law detection of the coherent electromagnetic beam received from the target, the receiver comprising (i) one or more apertures for receiving the coherent electromagnetic beam from the target, (ii) controlling means for collimating, guiding, or focusing the electromagnetic beam received from the one or more apertures of (b, i), (iii) a square law detector for extracting the first time-varying signal from the electromagnetic beam received from the controlling means of (b, ii), (c) a waveform generator that (i) generates the first time-varying signal of (a, iii) used to modulate the two or more coherently matched beams, and (ii) generates a second time-varying signal that is keyed and synchronized to the first time-varying signal, the second time-varying signal being used to demodulate a square law detected signal from the receiver, and (d) means for displaying images of the target from the demodulated square law detected signal from the receiver.