Institut National D'optique

Centre De Recherche Industrielle Du Quebec

Industries Machinex Inc.

Marc Lévesque

Daniel Cantin

Alain Cournoyer

François Babin

Frédéric Lamontagne

Alex Paquet

Denis Hotte

Paul Grenier

Patrick Paradis

René Beaulieu

Yann Le Bihan

Marc-André Boucher

Sylvain Plante

Marc Daigle

Jacques Régnier

Patrice Côté

Julie Fréchette

Luc Lévesque

An optical assembly generally having a substrate; a photonic-integrated circuit (PIC) mounted on the substrate, the PIC having a plurality of optical ports; a first structure having a bottom surface connected to the substrate, and a first planar surface extending perpendicularly to the substrate; a second structure having a second planar surface being connected to the first planar surface of the first structure via an adhesive, and a support surface; and a waveguide array having a support surface being connected to the support surface of the second structure, the waveguide array having a plurality of waveguides each defining an optical path, with the optical paths lying in a waveguide plane, the waveguide plane being perpendicular to the first and second planar surfaces, the optical paths being maintained in optical alignment with corresponding ones of the optical ports via the adhered first and second planar surfaces.

Optical assembly and method for coupling a waveguide array to a photonic-integrated circuit

A sun-tracking light distributor for a photosynthetic culture in an aqueous liquid, comprising: two light distribution walls made of a transparent material, creating an elongated V-shaped channel adapted to receive the sunlight and to be partly immersed in the aqueous liquid, the sun-tracking light distributor has a center of buoyancy, a vertical passing through the center of buoyancy defines an axis of flotation, and a pivot axis of the sun-tracking light distributor is offset relative to the axis of flotation. Owing to the offset pivot axis, the orientation of the light distributor is changed by varying the level of aqueous liquid, thus allowing a tracking of the sun's altitude.

V-shaped light distributor system

An apparatus and a method for inspecting matter and the use thereof for sorting recyclable material including transparent material are disclosed. The apparatus comprises a lighting unit for projecting a concentrated diffused lighting onto the matter to generate a specular reflected light beam representative of the inspected matter. The apparatus comprises an imaging unit mounted according to a given imaging angle with respect to the projected concentrated diffused lighting for imaging the specular reflected light beam to provide image data representative of the inspected matter. The apparatus comprises an analyzing unit for analyzing the image data and providing matter characterization data based on the specular reflected light beam representative of the inspected matter.

Apparatus and method for inspecting matter and use thereof for sorting recyclable matter

A system and method to improve the accuracy of the measure of constituent element(s) in a sample containing domains potentially including the constituent element(s) are described herein. For each domain, the volume of the domain is estimated and the concentration of the constituent element(s) in the domain is determined using LIBS. When all the domains have been analyzed, the volumetric concentration of the domains is summed and divided by the total volume of the sample. Accordingly, by limiting the concentration analysis to separate domains, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the concentration analysis.

Method and system to measure the concentration of constituent elements in an inhomogeneous material using LIBS

An optical system for measuring in real-time the spatial distribution of aerosol particles, such as pesticides or the like, sprayed from a vehicle over an agricultural field. An optical sensor is mounted directly on the vehicle and sends an excitation light beam through the aerosol as it is being sprayed. The resulting scattered light is received and analyzed to deduce therefrom information on the spatial distribution of the particles. This information is relayed to a processing unit, which in turn provides spraying instructions, for example a warning signal, to the operator of the system. The spraying of the aerosol can therefore be controlled in real-time to avoid contamination of sensitive areas.

Real-time measuring of the spatial distribution of sprayed aerosol particles

The present invention provides an optical fiber device that takes advantage of the fiber structure to construct mechanically stable devices with components inserted in the optical path. An optical component is inserted in a cavity transversally machined across an optical fiber. The component is secured in the cavity and functionally interrelates with light propagated in the optical fiber. The invention also provides a method for manufacturing an optical fiber device with a component insertion into an optical fiber by machining a cavity in an optical fiber, providing a solid component to be inserted in the optical fiber, positioning the component inside the cavity, and securing the component in the cavity. The component is preferably provided as a glass ribbon and the component is preferably secured in the cavity using laser fusion.

Optical fiber devices using component insertion

A flat spatial response LIDAR apparatus for detecting particles within a short range is provided. The apparatus includes a light source projecting a light beam which is back-scattered by the particles to be detected. The back-scattered light is received, detected and analyzed. A spatial filter spatially filters the received back-scattered light in order to flatten the spatial response of the apparatus, so that a same concentration of particles at any distance within the short range will generate a signal of substantially the same intensity. This is for example accomplished by a properly profiled mask disposed in front of the detector, or a plurality of spatially distributed waveguides. As a result, the LIDAR apparatus can compensate for the 1/rdependence, or other dependences of the back-scattered light on the distance r.

Short range LIDAR apparatus having a flat spatial response

The present invention concerns an optical sensor located on a preferred azimuthal portion of the side of an optical fiber. An optical fiber having two opposite ends, a core and a cladding and at least one sensing area is disclosed. Each of the sensing areas is located between the two opposite ends and each has a longitudinal, a radial and an azimuthal portion of the fiber that has been removed and replaced by a sensing material. The sensing collected light is thus representative of a parameter to be measured, such as temperature. Placing the sensing material in a lateral side portion of the fiber increases the sensitivity of the sensor, particularly when it comes to contact temperature measurement in vivo.

Packaged optical sensors on the side of optical fibers

Disclosed is a method for engraving materials such as fused silica or ceramic by continuously actuating a laser producing a Gaussian beam, directing the beam towards the surface of the substrate and moving the beam relative to the surface of the substrate so that a V-groove is obtained by laser ablation of the substrate. The depth of the groove, the angle of the top of the groove, can be controlled by the relative speed between the laser beam and the substrate, the power density and the width of the laser beam, the polarization of the laser beam and the incident angle of the laser beam with respect to the surface. A method for treating an optical fiber connector is also disclosed.

Growing community of inventors

Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Canada

Marc Lévesque