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:
Aug. 10, 2010
Filed:
Dec. 12, 2006
Applicant:
Chun-ching Shih, Palos Verdes Estates, CA (US);
Inventor:
Chun-Ching Shih, Palos Verdes Estates, CA (US);
Assignee:
Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems Corporation, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G02B 13/08 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
Systems and methods for shifting the phase of incident light to induce a continuous phase variation in an azimuthal direction. A phase mask assembly has a first surface and a second surface. The first surface and the second surface are configured such that the distance between the first surface and the second surface varies continuously in an azimuthal direction around the phase mask. This mask can be used in a coronagraph system to effectively suppress the on-axis star image for the detection of off-axis planets.