The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 15, 2005
Filed:
Jul. 24, 2003
David C. Shaver, Carlisle, MA (US);
David C. Shaver, Carlisle, MA (US);
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US);
Abstract
Optical imaging systems and methods use polarized illumination and a coordinated pupil filter to achieve high contrast. An imaging system includes a light source to generate light for illuminating an object having features aligned in a first direction and features aligned in a second direction, a lens for imaging the illuminated object onto a surface, a spatial selection device, such as a pupil filter, selective in a first mode of light corresponding to features of the illuminated object aligned in the first direction and selective in a second mode of light corresponding to features of the illuminated object aligned in a second direction, a polarization device optically coupled to the spatial selection device and selective in the first mode of s-polarized light corresponding to the first direction and selective in the second mode of s-polarized light corresponding to the second direction, and a controller for selecting operation in the first mode or in the second mode.