Coherent radiation source generating a beam with a regulatable propagation direction

Claim 1

A coherent radiation source producing a beam having a regulatable propagation direction, comprising: a laser cavity defined by an amplifying medium positioned between first and second spherical mirrors and pumping means to permit generation of an oscillation wave in said cavity, said first mirror having a non-zero transmission coefficient to transmit a fraction of said oscillation wave; and deflection means for providing said beam, comprising: (a) an interaction medium placed within the cavity between said amplifying medium and said second mirror to tap an amount of said oscillation wave and to provide an output deflected laser beam in a desired direction upon reception of a signal wave, the center of curvature of said first and second mirrors coinciding and being located within said interaction medium; and (b) means for generating said signal wave including means for deriving said fraction of said oscillation wave to illuminate the area of a selection matrix of X-Y modulating means, said matrix being X-Y controlled to provide a corresponding X-Y transparent window, and optical means to transmit said derived oscillation wave which passes through said selected window towards said center of curvature to constitute said signal wave, the direction of the output deflected beam being a function of the angle of incidence of said signal wave determined by the X-Y position of said selected window.