Institut National D'optique

Glopak Inc.

Centre De Recherche Industrielle Du Quebec

Photon Dynamics, Inc.

Leddartech Inc.

Opsun Technologies Inc.

International Gemstone Registry Inc.

Industries Machinex Inc.

Marc Levesque

Alain Cournoyer

Daniel Cantin

François Babin

Roland Basque

Paul Grenier

Pierre Galarneau

Denis Hotte

Jerry Schlagheck

Bruno Labranche

Yann Le Bihan

Yves Champagne

Bruno Bourliaguet

Raymond Gilbert

Marc Daigle

Marc Pastor

André Fougères

Wes Barron

Steeve Tremblay

Artashes Yavrian

Denis Lepine

Marc-Andre Boucher

Frederic Lamontagne

A sun-tracking light distributor system for use in an open-ended photo-bioreactor having an aqueous liquid for a photosynthetic culture, comprising: at least one light distributor each including a concentrator supporting section with a light entry surface adapted to receive sunlight rays, an elongated rod section with a light distribution surface adapted to redirect the received sunlight rays within the aqueous liquid, a light concentrating element provided at the light entry surface which concentrates within the elongated rod at least a portion of the sunlight rays received at the light entry surface; a displacement system operatively connected to the light distributors and adapted to change an orientation of the light entry surface of the light distributors to track a solar position.

Sun tracking light distributor system

A solar concentrator for concentrating solar radiation toward a solar cell, a concentrated photovoltaic module including a solar concentrator and a solar cell, and a secondary optical element for use in a solar concentrator are provided. The solar concentrator includes a primary optical element for collecting and focusing the solar radiation, and a secondary optical element. The secondary optical element is arranged to receive the solar radiation collected and focused by the primary optical element and includes an input end, and output end, and an adiabatic light guide tapering from the input end toward the output end and configured for concentrating and adiabatically guiding the solar radiation between the input and output ends. Some embodiments of the present invention can be useful in solar photovoltaic applications where it is desirable to provide high acceptance angles while maintaining high concentration and optical efficiency levels.

Adiabatic secondary optics for solar concentrators used in concentrated photovoltaic systems

Described is a method for the culture of microalgae, comprising: providing a consortium of at least two living species of microalgae; culturing under illumination the consortium in a controllable bioreactor and under non-sterile aqueous culture conditions; and controlling the culture conditions for affecting at least one of the following output: (i) flocculation and/or settling of said consortium of microalgae; and (ii) adhesion of the microalgae to surfaces of the bioreactor; wherein said culture conditions are controlled to promote (i) and/or to minimize (ii), without adversely affecting growth of the consortium of microalgae. It is also possible to control the culture conditions for affecting iii) the protein, carbohydrate, and/or fat content of the said microalgae consortium. A system for carrying out the method is also described.

Method and system for the culture of microalgae

A sun-tracking light distributor system for use in one of an open-ended system and a closed photo-bioreactor for a photosynthetic culture having an aqueous liquid is described. The system comprises: two light distribution walls made of a transparent material allowing sunlight to pass therethrough, the two light distribution walls creating an elongated channel with an interior space adapted to receive the sunlight and an exterior surface adapted to be partly immersed in the aqueous liquid in use; and a displacement system operatively connected to at least one of the two light distribution walls, the displacement system being adapted to change an orientation of the at least one of the two light distribution walls to track a solar position with respect to at least one axis.

A voltage sensor for obtaining a light signal representative of an AC voltage in a live electrical wire having a surrounding electrical field, comprising: a conducting device adapted to be placed in the surrounding electrical field and in galvanic isolation to the live electrical wire for causing a movement of charges and extracting a current from the movement of charges; a micro-light source for emitting a light signal, the micro-light source being operatively connected to the conducting device for receiving the extracted current and being directly powered by the extracted current, an intensity of the light signal being related to a value of the AC voltage in the electrical wire; a light guide, operatively coupled to the micro-light source, for receiving and propagating the light signal over a distance.

Optical sensor for non-contact voltage measurement

A laser welding system for sealing or cutting polymeric sheets is described. The system comprises a laser source capable of delivering a laser beam. The laser beam is projected onto a region of the polymeric sheets where the sealing or cutting is to be performed. An optical device is provided to image the sealing or cutting as it is performed. An image analyser asserts the sealing or cutting quality. An integrated control means is provided to control the laser source, the projection of the laser beam, the optical device and the image analyser.

Laser welding system for sealing or cutting polymeric sheets

A fiber-optic temperature sensor assembly comprises a cap with an inner cavity. A sensor member is received in the inner cavity of the cap. The sensor member has light-transmitting properties adapted to change with temperature variations. An optical fiber has a first end received in the inner cavity of the cap, and a second end of the optical fiber being adapted to be connected to a processing unit for transmitting light signals between the sensor member and the processing unit. A pressing device is received in the cap and pressing against the sensor member such that the sensor member is in operational contact with the first end of the optical fiber for transmission of light therebetween during operation of the fiber-optic temperature sensor assembly.

Fiber-optic temperature sensor assembly

Methods and apparatuses for reducing the response time along with increasing the probability of ranging of optical rangefinders that digitize the signal waveforms obtained from the pulse echoes returned from various types of objects to be ranged, the pulse echoes being too weak to allow successful ranging from a single waveform or the objects being possibly in motion during the capture of the pulse echoes. In a first embodiment of the invention, the response time at close range of a digital optical rangefinder is reduced by using a signal averaging process wherein the number of data to be averaged varies with the distance according to a predetermined function. In a second embodiment of the invention, the probability of ranging objects in motion along the line of sight of a digital optical rangefinder is increased and the object velocity measured by performing a range shift of each acquired signal waveform prior to averaging. In a third embodiment of the invention, the signal waveforms acquired in the line of sight of a digital optical rangefinder are scanned over a predetermined zone and range shifted and averaged to allow for early detection and ranging of objects that enter in the zone.

Digital signal processing in optical systems used for ranging applications

A clamp holds together at least two superposed, flexible polymeric films while they are optically sealed or cut by at least a laser beam. The clamp is comprised of two jaws wherein at least one of the jaws can be moved to allow a closing and an opening of the clamp. One of the jaws is a contact jaw to bring the films into contact. The other jaw is an optical jaw having an optical window to let at least one laser beam pass through it and wherein the window is wide enough to allow to optically seal or cut the whole width of the films if required. A support mechanism interconnects the jaws and allows a controlled opening and closing of the clamp.

Clamp for flexible polymeric film laser sealing

The invention is specially directed towards intermittent motion packaging machines where the packages are momentarily immobilized at a forming station for the time duration of the package sealing and cutting. The polymeric sheets or films are sealed and cut after being exposed to a laser beam in a controlled and optimized manner. The laser beam is shaped with appropriate optical elements to provide a desired intensity profile in the section of the films to be sealed or sealed and cut. With this method, a package can be sealed and cut simultaneously in one exposure step. An optical clamp holds the films together while they are being sealed by the laser. The optical clamp can reflect back to the films, partially or totally, the laser beam intensity that has not been previously absorbed. The optical clamp further allows to monitor the sealing and cutting process while the process is being performed.

Optical sealing clamp and a method for sealing and cutting polymeric sheets with a laser

A method and an apparatus for laser marking indicia in the volume of gemstones such as diamonds, the indicia being made up of a plurality of microscopic dot-shaped marks whose build-up can be initiated by exposing naturally-occurring internal defects or impurities in the volume of a gemstone to a tightly focused train of laser pulses. Authentication data is encoded in the gemstone from the relative spatial arrangement of the dot-shaped marks that form the indicium. Taking advantage of the presence of otherwise invisible defects in the gemstone allows for inscribing indicia with laser pulses carrying energies substantially lower than the threshold energy required for inscribing in the volume of a perfect gemstone material. The marking process is then much less susceptible to inflict damages to the surface of the gemstone, and the marking can be performed using a broad variety of femtosecond laser systems. The dot-shaped marks engraved at a depth below the surface of a gemstone can be made undetectable with the unaided eye or with a loupe by limiting their individual size to a few micrometers, while devising indicia made up of only a few marks. As a result, the marking does not detract from the appearance and value of the gemstone. The procedure for laser marking accounts for the random spatial distribution of the defects present in natural gemstones as well as for their strongly localized character. The presence of an indicium can be detected by using a dedicated optical reader that can be afforded by every jewellery store.

Method and system for laser marking in the volume of gemstones such as diamonds

A prismatic reflection optical waveguide device having an input and an output optical waveguide segments and a reflection interface provided therebetween apt to convey a light beam from one direction to another, wherein the light beam is conveyed by a single reflection on the reflection interface. Such a prismatic reflection optical waveguide device may, for example, be used as an optical waveguide sensor for measuring the refractive index of a sample medium. The measuring range and/or the sensitivity of such an optical waveguide sensor may be adjusted according to a particular application. Such a prismatic reflection optical waveguide device may also be used as a generally lossless bent optical waveguide wherein the reflection interface works as a mirror for reflecting the light beam coming from the input segment to the output segment, thereby providing a generally lossless transmission.

Prismatic reflection optical waveguide device

A method for inspecting an object and detecting defects is taught (BGA and Flip-Chip solder joints on a PCB particularly). The method comprises injecting a thermal stimulation on the object; capturing a sequence of consecutive infrared images of the object to record heat diffusion resulting from the heat pulse; comparing the heat diffusion on said object to a reference; and determining whether the object comprises any defects. Also described is a system comprising a mounting for mounting the object; a thermal stimulation module for applying a thermal stimulation to the bottom surface of the object; an infrared camera for capturing infrared images of the object on the top surface of the object to record a change in infrared radiation from the top surface resulting from the thermal stimulation; and a computer for comparing the change in infrared radiation within a region on the top surface to a reference and determining whether the object comprises any defects.

Growing community of inventors

St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Canada

Marc Levesque