Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Mitsumasa Nakajima

Toshikazu Hashimoto

Masashi Miyata

Kenya Suzuki

Kazunori Seno

Keita Yamaguchi

Yuzo Ishii

Naru Nemoto

Shiori Konisho

Tetsuo Takahashi

Takashi Goh

Osamu Moriwaki

Kei Kuwabara

Takashi Go

Yuichiro Ikuma

Etsu Hashimoto

Yuichi Higuchi

Naoki Ooba

Koichi Hadama

Joji Yamaguchi

Yoshito Jin

Kazunori Senoo

Masanobu Inubushi

Provided is a highly-sensitive image-capture element and an image capture device that can be simply manufactured, have little polarization dependency, and have micro-spectroscopic elements capable of separating incident light into three wavelength ranges integrated facing a pixel array. An image capture element has a transparent layer having a low refractive index made of SiOor the like and a plurality of micro-lenses laminated on a pixel array in which pixels each including a photoelectric conversion element are disposed in an array. Inside the transparent layer having the low refractive index, micro-spectroscopic elements composed of a plurality of microstructures having constant thickness (length in a direction perpendicular to the pixel array) formed of a material such as SiN having a higher refractive index than that of the transparent layer is embedded.

Image-capture element and image capture device

An image capturing element according to the present disclosure includes a pixel array formed by a plurality of pixels arranged in an array on a substrate, each of the plurality of pixels including a photoelectric conversion element, a transparent layer formed on the pixel array, and a spectroscopic element array formed by a plurality of spectroscopic elements arranged in an array, and each of the plurality of spectroscopic elements is at a position corresponding to one of the plurality of spectroscopic elements inside or on the transparent layer. Each of the plurality of spectroscopic elements includes a plurality of microstructures formed from a material having a refractive index higher than a refractive index of the transparent layer. The plurality of microstructures have a microstructure pattern. Each of the plurality of spectroscopic elements separates incident light into deflected light beams having different propagation directions according to the wavelength.

Image capturing element and image capturing apparatus having spectroscopic element array

An imaging element () includes a pixel array () in which pixels () are placed in a two-dimensional array, the pixel including a photoelectric conversion element; and a polarization-wavelength separation lens array () opposed to the pixel array (), the polarization-wavelength separation lens array () including polarization-wavelength separation lens () placed in a two-dimensional array, the polarization-wavelength separation lens () including a plurality of microstructures for condensing incident light at different positions on the pixel array () according to the polarization direction and wavelength components of the incident light.

Image sensor and imaging device

An image sensor of the present disclosure includes a two-dimensional pixel array in which a plurality of pixels including photoelectric conversion elements are arranged in the form of an array on a substrate, a transparent layer formed on the two-dimensional pixel array, and a two-dimensional spectroscopic element array in which a plurality of spectroscopic elements are arranged in the form of an array inside or on the transparent layer. Each spectroscopic element includes a plurality of microstructures made of a material having a higher refractive index than a refractive index of the transparent layer. The plurality of microstructures have a microstructure pattern. Each of the spectroscopic elements splits incident light into first to fourth deflected lights, which have different transmission directions, according to the wavelength region. A first to fourth pixels, which are adjacent to each other and are located directly below each of the spectroscopic elements, respectively detect the first to fourth deflected lights.

Spectral element array, image sensor and image apparatus

There is provided an optical signal processing device that generates a mask function in an optical domain to enable high-speed RC processing. For light emitted from a laser light source, an optical modulator modulates at a modulation period at least one of the intensity and phase values of the optical electric field. Thereby, the light emitted from the laser light source becomes an input signal. The input signal is entered into an optical FIR filter unit. For the input signal, the term corresponding to the mask function is multiplied at the optical FIR filter unit and weighted. Thereby, the input signal is converted into an input signal modulated. The modulated input signal enters via an optical coupler, an optical circulation circuit which is loaded with a variable attenuator and a nonlinear response element. The circulating optical signal is branched into two by an optical coupler. One branched light is converted into an intermediate signal at an optical receiver. The intermediate signal is computed by a formula at an electric signal processing circuit, and thereby, the operation as RC can be performed.

Optical signal processing device

An optical transmission and reception system includes an optical transmitter including an optical modulator that optically modulates a transmission signal containing a known signal inserted at predetermined intervals and transmits it to an optical transmission line, and an optical receiver including an optical RC circuit that converts an optical modulation signal received from the optical transmission line into a complex time series signal, a photoelectric conversion element that converts the complex time series signal into an electrical intensity signal, and a digital signal processing unit that performs learning using the known signal as a teaching signal and performs demodulation, based on learning results, using the electrical intensity signal received from the photoelectric conversion element.

Wavelength conversion apparatus

There is provided an optical signal processing device capable of RC in a complex space using optical intensity and phase information. An optical modulator controlled by an electric signal processing circuit modulates laser light, which is emitted from a laser light source, at a modulation period either or both of the intensity and phase values of the optical electric field. On the other hand, an input signal is also modulated by the optical modulator at a modulation period in the time domain so as to be an input signal. The converted input signal passes through an optical transmission path and enters an optical circulation circuit via an optical coupler. Part of the circulating light is branched into two by an optical coupler, and the branched light is converted into a complex intermediate signal at a coherent optical receiver. This complex intermediate signal demodulated at the coherent optical receiver is computed at an electric signal processing circuit, and thereby the operation as RC can be performed.

An input/output, a wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer, and a spatial light modulator are provided. The input/output is configured by an optical waveguide into which multiplex light with multiple wavelengths enters. The wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer performs demultiplexing for forming a plurality of signal lights by spatially demultiplexing the multiplex light emitted from the input/output, by one diffraction, into light of each wavelength, and multiplexing for multiplexing the spatially demultiplexed plurality of signal lights that are different in wavelength. The wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer is configured by a metasurface. The spatial light modulator reflects each of the plurality of signal lights in a set direction.

Optical signal processor

A polarization imaging image-pickup system includes an image-pickup unit array that includes a plurality of image-pickup units arranged two-dimensionally, wherein the image-pickup units each include: one wavefront control element that includes a plurality of microscopic structures; and a pixel array that is arranged so as to face the wavefront control element, and includes a plurality of pixels that are associated with the wavefront control element and are two-dimensionally arranged, and light from an imaging object is spatially separated by the one wavefront control element into first polarized light, and a second polarized light that is in a direction orthogonal to the first polarized light or has a rotation direction opposite to a rotation direction of the first polarized light, the first polarized light is collected at a first collection position on the pixel array, and the second polarized light is collected at a second collection position on the pixel array.

Polarization imaging system

The present invention implements an optical spectral shaper that is compact even if a number of input/output ports increases. The present invention provides a spatial light modulator, including: an optical waveguide front end that includes an input side waveguide portion which emits each signal light at a different angle while expanding a beam diameter of the signal light, and an output side waveguide portion that wave-guides each of the inputted signal lights, and couples the signal lights with a plurality of output fibers respectively; a spatial light modulator that changes the phase of each signal light by controlling the phase pattern of the plurality of pixels and emits the signal light, and the spatial light modulator in which a specific phase pattern is set for each pixel region to which each signal light enters; and an optical element group that is disposed so that each of the signal lights emitted from the optical waveguide front end is collected at a different pixel position on the spatial light modulator, and the light emitted from the spatial light modulator is coupled with the optical waveguide front end.

Optical spectrum shaper and optical signal monitor using same

Provided is a highly-sensitive color image-capture element and an image capture device that can be simply manufactured, have little polarization dependency, and have micro-spectroscopic elements capable of separating incident light into three wavelength ranges integrated facing a two-dimensional pixel array. An image capture elementhas a transparent layerhaving a low refractive index made of SiOor the like and a plurality of micro-lenseslaminated on a two-dimensional pixel array in which pixelseach including a photoelectric conversion element are disposed in an array. Inside the transparent layerhaving the low refractive index, micro-spectroscopic elementscomposed of a plurality of microstructures having constant thickness (length in a direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional pixel array) formed of a material such as SiN having a higher refractive index than that of the transparent layeris embedded.

Color image-capture element and image capture device

Provided is an optical signal processing device that can operate simultaneously for a plurality of wavelength bands. The optical signal processing device includes a WDM coupler array including a plurality of WDM couplers for separating the C band and the L band for the respective ports; input/output port groups provided for the C band and the L band, respectively; a micro lens array; a diffraction grating; a lens; and a spatial light modulator arranged in this order. The spatial light modulator collects light at different positions for the respective wavelengths, thus allowing all wavelengths to be independently subjected to a phase modulation. Light subjected to the desired phase modulation by the spatial light modulator is reflected and is deflected to have an angle corresponding to any desired port of the input/output port group, and then is optically-coupled to an input/output port depending on the deflection angle.

An optical signal processing device with a transponder aggregator function by which theoretical loss is not increased even if the number of necessary transponders is increased. Optical signals inputted from input ports are inputted to a PLC. The PLC has SBTs. The input ports are connected to the input-end SBT, and a plane wave is outputted from an output end of the PLC to the space side at an angle different for each input port. Optical signals outputted by the PLC are changed in their optical paths on the x-z plane by a cylindrical lens (Lsp) designed to refract optical signals in the x-axis direction, and are reflected by an LCOS at different regions corresponding to the positions of the input port. The reflected optical signals are incident on the output-end SBTs on the PLC, and are outputted to output ports via demultiplex parts.

Growing community of inventors

Atsugi, Japan

Mitsumasa Nakajima