Other

Comptic, Inc.

Chevron Research Company

Opteleacom, Inc.

William H Culver

Donald Cronin Schmadel, Jr

James Randall Beckers

Donald C Schmadel

A camera system capturing two parts of a same scene each at a different focus so that objects at different distances from the camera can be captured in focus. The camera system splits the image into two paths using a splitter and focuses the image of each path separately. The focus for each path can be manual or by autofocus. The parts of the images of the two paths can be combined by abutting them at a boundary or in a zone essentially located between the two parts. The image parts in the zone can be combined by blending using a linear function or a non linear function such as a frequency based function.

Camera that combines images of different scene depths

An optical switch for an optical network, which can switch a light beam from and input fiber to an output fiber quickly and without expensive intermediate conversions to electrical form. The optical switch changes the relative phase of the individual portions of a cross section of a wave front of a beam using wave front interference and can be used in packet switching with switching speeds of about 10 nanoseconds. These optical switches use a phase spatial light modulators (PSLM) that include an array of phase shifting elements preferably of Gires-Tournois interferometers. Each of the phase shifting elements has either a stationary reflective surface with a movable reflective surface or an electro-refractive medium sandwiched between two stationary surfaces. In the first embodiment, the stationary reflective surface with a movable reflective surface is kept a known distance apart by applied potential. In the second embodiment, an applied potential across the electro-refractive medium changes the optical wave path length of the phase shifting element. In a third embodiment, a prism or other spectral dispersing element is used to spectrally separate different wavelengths of a beam carrying a wavelength division multiplexed signal in a Litrow configuration. A spatial light modular is then used to controllably steer the separated wavelengths to a desired directions.

Optical switch

The present invention is a system that includes phase spatial light modulators as optical switching elements in an optical switching system. One or more input light beams are deflected by one or more input optical deflectors to a mirror and then to one or more output optical deflectors. Each deflector is a phase spatial modulator which changes the direction of the light beam by changing the phase of the beam wave front. The wave front is two dimensionally subdivided into pixels and pixel reflectors are used displace portions of the wave front in a direction generally perpendicular to the beam axis and relative to each other. Beam splitters, lenses, decoders and controllers provide the ability to cross connect or reroute beams and route packets.

A system that optically performs complex transforms, such as Fourier transforms. The system includes a pixel addressable spatial modulator that, in parallel, adjusts the phase of the light of each pixel. The modulator can be a reflective or transmissive type device. A transform lens, such as a Fourier lens, performs a two dimensional transform of the pixels outputs. This operation is repeated for the characteristic function (real and imaginary) of the function. The transformed outputs of the characteristic functions are sampled by a light detector and processed by a computer using simple fast operations, such as addition, into the final transform.

Two dimensional transform generator

A pumped fiber laser including turns of optical fiber defining a wound pack, wherein the optical fiber includes a core, a cladding around the core and a concentric layer of a porous glass matrix material, such as sol-gel, around the cladding. The fiber laser further includes a pumping laser, preferably in the form of a semiconductor laser bar, having lasing regions each being operable to generate light, and a wedge device for directing the light from the lasing regions into the side of the optical fiber at a plurality of different turns thereof, respectively.

Wedge side pumping for fiber laser at plurality of turns

A frequency shifted cavity apparatus for electromagnetic radiation.

Frequency shifted cavity for electromagnetic radiation

Remote controlled vehicle systems for the surveillance of and/or action on objects spaced from the point of control including a control or information receiving station and means for modulating a beam of light receivable at the control or information receiving station by intelligence bearing signals generated at the vehicle. The beam of light receivable at the control station may be a laser beam or a light beam carried by an optically conductive fiber or fiber bundle. Control signals may be transmitted to the vehicle by a modulated laser beam or a fiber-carried beam or by radio frequency signals.

Growing community of inventors

Washington, DC, United States of America

William H Culver