Abstract:
An optical improvement for angular position sensors, which may be used to determine the spatial coordinates of a small source of light (or other energy) in a 3-dimensional volume. Such sensors normally include a linear photosensitive image detector such as a photodiode array or a charge-coupled device (CCD). An irregular pattern of parallel slits is described which increases the amount of light gathered while avoiding the undesirable characteristics of lens optics for this application. One optimal type of irregular pattern is the uniformly redundant array. A mathematical correlation function together with a polynomial interpolation function can determine the displacement of the image on the detector and thereby the location of the source relative to one angular dimension. Given the locations and orientations of several sensors in a 3-dimensional coordinate system and given the angles measured by each, the location of the point source can be computed.
Abstract:
An apparatus and method for inspecting multilayer articles. An article to be inspected is clamped in a liquid filled tank between a pair of focused transducers. An ultrasonic pulse is introduced to a cross section of the article from each transducer sequentially. Reflections from the surfaces and interfaces within the article are received by each transducer and transmitted to a computer for analysis. The thicknesses of the innermost layers of the article are determined by calculating the mean of the measurements from each transducer for each inner layer.
Abstract:
Low height imaging systems may include one or more optical channels and a detector array. Each of the optical channels may be associated with one or more detectors of the array, have one or more optical components and a restrictive ray corrector, and be configured to direct steeper incident angle field rays onto the detectors. Alternatively, each of the optical channels may be associated with at least one detector, and have an aspheric GRIN lens. Another low height imaging system has an array of detectors and a GRIN lens having a surface with wavefront coding and configured to direct steeper incident angle field rays onto more than one of the detectors. One method forms a lens with wavefront coding. The method includes positioning a lens in a mold; and curing material onto a surface of the lens to form an aspheric surface of the lens with wavefront coding.
Abstract:
Arrayed imaging systems include an array of detectors formed with a common base and a first array of layered optical elements, each one of the layered optical elements being optically connected with a detector in the array of detectors.
Abstract:
Zoom lens systems and methods for imaging incoming rays over a range of ray angles are disclosed. The incoming rays are characterized by at least phase. The zoom lens system includes an optical axis and is characterized by a plurality of modulation transfer functions (MTFs) corresponding at least to the range of ray angles. The zoom lens system includes an optical group disposed along the optical axis, including at least one variable optical element that has a variable focal length selectable between at least two distinct focal length values. The optical group also includes a wavefront coding element. The wavefront coding element alters at least the phase of the incoming rays, such that the plurality of MTFs corresponding to the range of ray angles, for each one of the two distinct focal length values, are less sensitive to misfocus-like aberrations than a corresponding system without the wavefront coding element.