Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Trex Enterprises Corporation

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc.

Call/recall Inc.

Yoshinao Taketomi

Hiroshi Tsutsu

Hikaru Nishitani

Mikihiko Nishitani

Masashi Goto

Eric John Korevaar

Masumi Izuchi

Keizaburo Kuramasu

Hiroshi Satani

Edward P Davis

Yoshihiko Tanji

Matthew Last

Toshihiro Kubota

Yoshiko Mino

Zenrou Hayashi

Dale Buermann

Yi Zhang

Makoto Yamamoto

Tetsuo Kawakita

Hus Tigli

Shin-itsu Takehashi

Donald V Rosenberry

Maxim Abashin

Larry DiRuscio

Larry Dirvscio

Edwin P Walker

Todd Barrott

An apparatus for evaluating focus, including (a) a stage configured to hold a specimen; and (b) an optical train including a radiation source, calibration optic, objective and detector, the optical train forming a first path wherein radiation from the radiation source is directed to the calibration optic and then a first portion of the radiation is directed to the detector, thereby forming a first image on the detector, wherein a second portion of the radiation follows a second path from the calibration optic then through the objective to the specimen, wherein the optical train forms a third path wherein radiation reflected from the specimen is transmitted through the objective, then to the detector, thereby forming a second image on the detector, and wherein the radiation that forms the first image is astigmatic.

Calibrated focus sensing

A beam direction sensor for determining the direction of each beam in an array of light beams. The invention basically consists of a screen positioned to intersect the array of beams and a video camera to record the position of the images of the intersections. The screen can be any of a wide variety of screens that produce an image of the beams when illuminated with the beam. These include frosted glass and various diffusers. A preferred screen is a holographic diffusers.

Beam position sensor for optical switch modules

A method and system for creating and co-aligning a first array of optical beams with a second array of optical beams. In a preferred application the invention is used in a cross connect optical switch. A first set of alignment beams are created and added to and aligned co-axially with each of the first set of parallel collimated cross-connect communication beams. A second set of alignment beams are created and added to and aligned co-axially with each of the second set of parallel collimated cross-connect communication beams. A preferred embodiment includes an injection unit with a 'point' infrared light source such as a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) operating in the near infrared at 850 nm and having a divergence of about 30 degrees. The beam from this source is collimated with collimator optics to produce a collimated beam with a cross sectional dimension of about 16 millimeter&#xd7;16 millimeters. This collimated beam is separated into 128 separate beams with a mask having 128 0.6 mm diameter apertures that are positioned to align the 128 separate parallel beams with the communication beams from a fiber bundle.

Optical switch with co-axial alignment beam

The present invention provides an all optical cross connect switch utilizing two-axis MEMS mirrors for cross connecting optical fibers in a first set of optical fibers to optical fibers in a second set of optical fibers. The optical fibers in the first and second sets of optical fibers are precisely positioned in a first fiber-microlens positioning array to define a first set of parallel collimated cross-connect communication beam paths, with each collimated cross-connect communication beam path connecting an optical fiber in the first set of optical fibers with a MEMS mirror in a first MEMS mirror array. Alignment beams are added to and aligned co-axially with each of the first and second sets of parallel collimated cross-connect communication beams. Two beam direction sensor units are positioned to detect each alignment beam in the first and second sets of alignment beams transmitted through the dichroic mirror and a MEMS control system controls the positions of the MEMS mirrors to connect optical fibers in the first set of optical fibers to any of the optical fibers in the second set of optical fibers.

Optical switch module

An optical fiber alignment unit for the easy precise alignment of optical fibers in and array. In a preferred embodiment the positioning array is incorporated twice in an all optical cross connect switch utilizing MEMS mirrors for cross connecting optical fibers in a first set of optical fibers to optical fibers in a second set of optical fibers. The optical fibers are preferably arranged in rectangular arrays. These arrays include array sizes such as 4&#xd7;8, 16&#xd7;16 and 8&#xd7;16. A preferred embodiment built and tested by Applicants is a modular optical switch in which an input 8&#xd7;16 array of optical fibers from sixteen eight-fiber ribbons are cross-connected into an output 8&#xd7;16 array of optical fibers also from sixteen eight-fiber ribbons.

Optical fiber array alignment unit

Systems, materials, and methods for increasing the storage capacity of optical recording media are provided. In one aspect, the systems of the present invention take advantage of high NA optics to realize ultra high storage capacity. In another aspect, the systems of the present invention include the use of a liquid interface between the recording medium and a liquid interface singlet objective lens to increase storage capacity. The invention also provides for a material system that allows shorter wavelengths to be used for recording and readout. Further, the invention provides for recording methods wherein the wavelength for recording to a medium is longer than the wavelength for reading from the medium. Additionally, the invention includes a multilayer structure for recording media that increases storage capacity. In another aspect of the present invention, high NA optics and related systems and methods are utilized to increase the storage capacity of optical storage systems.

Optical storage with ultra high storage capacity

A number of minuscule LDD thin film transistors with high precision are arranged on a substrate for use in a liquid crystal display apparatus or other similar devices. The gate electrode is used as a mask at the time of injecting impurities into the semiconductor layer. To realize an LDD structure, the impurities are injected in two installments. The size of the gate electrode is changed in accordance with the length of the LDD regions between the first and second injections. The size of the gate electrode is changed by means of metal oxidation or dry etching. For precision dry etching of the gate electrode, various ideas are put into forming the photo resist.

Method for fabricating thin film transistor

This invention concerns with a semiconductor device which is characterized in that the device is provided with a thin film transistorhaving a polycrystalline semiconductor layer, the semiconductor layerincluding a channel area, highly doped drain areaspositioned on both sides of the channel areaand LDD areaspositioned between the channel areaand the highly doped drain areasand lower in dopant density than the highly doped drain areas, wherein any diameter of the crystalat least partly existing in the LDD areais larger than the size of other crystals

Semiconductor device, liquid crystal display device, EL display device, method for fabricating semiconductor thin film, and method for manufacturing the semiconductor device

In a polycrystalline silicon thin film transistor, a semiconductor device having a high field effect mobility is achieved by increasing a grain size of a silicon thin film. First, an insulation layer having a two-layer structure is formed on a transparent insulated substrate . In the insulation layer, a lower insulation layer , which is in contact with the transparent insulating substrate , is made to have a higher thermal conductivity than an upper insulation layer . Thereafter, the upper insulation layer is patterned so that a plurality of stripes are formed thereon. Subsequently, an amorphous silicon thin film is formed on the patterned insulation layer, and the insulation layer is irradiated with a laser light scanning in a direction parallel to the stripe pattern on the upper insulation layer . Thus, the amorphous silicon thin film is formed into a polycrystalline silicon thin film

Semiconductor thin film, method and apparatus for producing the same, and semiconductor device and method of producing the same

An optical display provided with a hologram element and a light source, wherein the hologram is a reflection hologram formed by a light beam which is obtained by utilizing light passing through a slit and has information on an object and a reference light beam which has an incident ligth path different from that of the light having the information on an object, and the reproduced image of the object is displayed using the light from the light source.

Optical display

Semiconductor thin film, method of producing the same, apparatus for producing the same, semiconductor device and method of producing the same

An optical display apparatus is provided that can utilize a low intensity point light source and that requires a small physical profile. The optical display apparatus comprises an image display apparatus including at least one point light source to form an image to be displayed for viewing, a hologram screen that defracts and reflects light from the point light source, and an imaging optical system arranged to adjust a focus in one direction of the image so that the point light source of the optical display apparatus is focused to a line on the hologram screen. The optical display apparatus reconstructs and images the image displayed on the image display apparatus on a virtual display plane.

Growing community of inventors

San Diego, CA, United States of America

Yoshinao Taketomi