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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7564618 | Orientation independent differential interference contrast microscopy technique and device A method for performing differential interference contrast microscopy on a specimen includes collecting at least two images with illumination respectively having first and second beam-shear directions relative to a rotational orientation of the specimen, determining... | 07/21/2009 |
| 7385565 | Projection-type display apparatus A projection-type display apparatus that has enhanced the sense of being present by adaptively adjusting, with a simple constitution, projection illumination, depending on an image signal, without causing color changes and by increasing apparent contrast. The projec... | 06/10/2008 |
| 7366394 | Multilayer observation optical microscope and multilayer observation unit In an optical microscope, a pair of convergence/collimation lenses (5, 6) are arranged in the common optical axis of a light beam directed toward a sample (15) being observed through an objective lens (14) and a light beam radiated or reflected ... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7355789 | Phase filter An optical device with a focusing optic that focuses a light beam in a focal plane and brings about a phase shift between a first part of the light beam and a second part of the light beam. The optical device has a first interface and a second interface, the first i... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7342717 | Wave field microscope with detection point spread function The present invention relates to two new wave field microscopes, type I and type II, which are distinguished by the fact that they each have an illumination and excitation system, which include at least one real and one virtual illumination source, and at least one ... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7327464 | System and method for coherent optical inspection A system and method for coherent optical inspection are described. In one embodiment, an illuminating beam illuminates a sample, such as a semiconductor wafer, to generate a reflected beam. A reference beam then interferes with the reflected beam to generate an inte... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7324273 | Confocal self-interference microscopy from which side lobe has been removed The present invention relates to confocal self-interference microscopy. The confocal self-interference microscopy further includes a first polarizer for polarizing reflected or fluorescent light from a specimen, a first birefringence wave plate for separating the li... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7304791 | Optical microscope apparatus using convergent beam as illumination light The optical microscope apparatus comprises an illuminating element for emitting as illumination light a convergent beam converging at a point in space; a sample mounting table for mounting a sample in front of the converging point of illumination light; and an objec... | 12/04/2007 |
| 7301632 | Polarization state conversion in optically active spectroscopy The invention describes a method to eliminate instrumental offset in measurement of optically active scattering and circular dichroism. The method uses the time-average measurement of the light that is systematically transformed by a series of optical devices. The o... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7301697 | Microscope device Specularly reflected light from a convergence position on an object surface 31 enters a second critical-angle prism 14, another prism 15, and a first critical-angle prism 13 of a parallel beam selection optical system 20 in this or... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7292389 | Circular extinction contrast imaging microscope Systems and methods for producing circular extinction (CE) contrast images of anisotropic samples. Microscope systems for determining circular extinction (CE), the differential transmission of left and right circularly polarized light resulting from circular dichroi... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7265835 | System for implementing variable retarder capability in ellipsometer, polarimeter or the like systems A system for implementing Berek-type variable retarder plate tipping capability in two orthogonal directions via tipping about a single axis, in combination with a means for rotating the orientation of the axis, having application in ellipsometer and polarimeter and... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7233434 | Orientation independent differential interference contrast microscopy technique and device A method for performing differential interference contrast microscopy on a specimen includes collecting at least two images with illumination respectively having first and second beam-shear directions relative to a rotational orientation of the specimen, determining... | 06/19/2007 |
| 7230754 | Neutral white-light filter device A substantially neutral filter across the white-light spectrum is obtained by minimizing the wavelength-dependent effects of filtering components and of reflective coatings on surfaces. The incoming light is captured by a first prism and directed toward the interfac... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7209289 | Illumination apparatus with polarizing elements for beam shaping Illumination apparatus for forming an output beam, the apparatus comprising: (a) a light source adapted to emit a source beam of linearly-polarized light in a downstream direction along an optical axis, said source beam having a polarization direction transverse to ... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7193774 | Sub-diffraction limit resolution in microscopy A method and apparatus for visualizing sub-micron size particles employs a polarizing microscope wherein a focused beam of polarized light is projected onto a target, and a portion of the illuminating light is blocked from reaching the specimen, whereby to produce a... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7191020 | Output service provision system, virtual object management terminal, mobile object, virtual object management terminal program, mobile object program, and output service provision method This invention provides an output service provision system which is capable of allowing a user to easily receive a provided output service, providing an output service responsive to the user and flexibly coping with situational variations. Upon determining that a vi... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7154659 | Optical depolarizers and DGD generators based on optical delay Techniques and devices for depolarizing light and producing a variable differential group delays in optical signals. In one implementation, an input optical beam is split into first and second beams with orthogonal polarizations. One or two optical reflectors are th... | 12/26/2006 |
| 7151632 | Apparatus for production of an inhomogeneously polarized optical beam for use in illumination and a method thereof An apparatus for producing an inhomogeneously polarized optical beam from a homogeneously polarized input optical beam includes a first phase shifter, a second phase shifter, and one or more polarization beam splitters. The first phase shifter shifts at least one po... | 12/19/2006 |
| 7106452 | Measuring device and measuring method A wavefront measuring device is disclosed which is capable of measuring an average wavefront and the retardation of a lens including birefringence. The measuring device includes a light source for emitting a linearly polarized light; a polarization orientation setti... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7092153 | Temperature-controlled gas microscope The invention enables construction of a microscope that has one or more advantageous characteristics as compared to previous microscopes. The microscope can be small and lightweight and, in particular, sufficiently small and light weight to be portable (e.g., smalle... | 08/15/2006 |
| 7088453 | Optical device having a rotatable birefringent crystal An optical device has a rotatable birefringent crystal. The crystal is rotatable around a first axis (4; 42) and has a crystallographic-optical axis (6; 44) in a plane that is perpendicular to the first axis. In addition, the crystal is rotated around ... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7085410 | Image processing unit for and method of generating a first output image and a second output image and image display apparatus provided with such an image processing unit Disclosed in an image processing unit for generating, based on a plurality of input images, a first output image and a second output image, to be displayed on a stereoscopic display device, wherein a stereoscopic image and a monoscopic image can be displayed. The im... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7081994 | Microscope for reflected-light and transmitted-light microscopy A microscope is disclosed in which a specimen is arranged between two objectives and can be observed with reflected light as well as with transmitted light. In a microscope with field transmission, two objectives have substantially identical optical characteristics ... | 07/25/2006 |
| 7079316 | Microscope and microscopy method for producing overlay images A microscope includes an interference contrast transmitted-light device having an analyzer disposed in the microscope imaging beam path, the analyzer causing a beam deflection. A fluorescence device is provided, the fluorescence device and the interference contrast ... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7072103 | Microscope with objective lens position control apparatus The invention enables construction of a microscope that has one or more advantageous characteristics as compared to previous microscopes. The microscope can be small and lightweight and, in particular, sufficiently small and light weight to be portable (e.g., smalle... | 07/04/2006 |
| 7061532 | Single sensor chip digital stereo camera A digital stereo camera using a single sensor array to take both left and right images for stereo (three-dimensional) image capture. In one embodiment, a micro-lens array is used to focus, at a first instant in time, light (“left light”) from a left lens system ... | 06/13/2006 |
| 7057162 | Apparatus and method for positioning an optical component An apparatus and a method of the present invention positions an optical component among several optical components, which are arranged in a receiving device. The receiving device is rotatable about an axis or movable along a direction in such a way that an optical c... | 06/06/2006 |
| 7046436 | Arrangement and method for polarization-optical interference contrast The invention is directed to a method of differential interference contrast in which the object is illuminated by natural light and the light coming from the object is first polarized after passing through the objective. The observation is carried out with a shearin... | 05/16/2006 |
| 7025454 | Extended depth of field optics for human vision The present invention provides extended depth of field to human eyes by modifying contact lenses, intraocular implants, and/or the surface of the eye itself. This may be accomplished by applying selected phase variations to these optical elements (e.g., by varying s... | 04/11/2006 |
| 6995847 | Methods and systems for substrate surface evaluation A method for determining a surface quality of a substrate sample using a differential interference contrast microscope is described. The microscope includes an eyepiece, an eyepiece focus adjustment, a microscope focus adjustment, a light source, at least one of an ... | 02/07/2006 |
| 6995908 | Methods for reducing aberration in optical systems An optical system includes multiple cubic crystalline optical elements and one or more polarization rotators in which the crystal lattices of the cubic crystalline optical elements are oriented with respect to each other to reduce the effects of intrinsic birefringe... | 02/07/2006 |
| 6975397 | Polarization state conversion in optically active spectroscopy The invention describes a method to eliminate instrumental offset in measurement of optically active scattering and circular dichroism. The method uses the time-average measurement of the light that is systematically transformed by a series of optical devices. The o... | 12/13/2005 |
| 6959385 | Image processor and image processing method To provide a device capable of determining uniquely the direction of rotation applied to an image and extracting digital watermark information correctly even in the case where a registration signal having a symmetric axis is embedded. A device for enabling digital w... | 10/25/2005 |
| 6944322 | Optical tomography of small objects using parallel ray illumination and post-specimen optical magnification A parallel-beam optical tomography system for imaging an object of interest includes a parallel ray beam radiation source that illuminates the object of interest with a plurality of parallel radiation beams. After passing through the object of interest the pattern o... | 09/13/2005 |
| 6927888 | Method and apparatus for imaging using polarimetry and matrix based image reconstruction The present invention provides a method and apparatus for improving the signal to noise ratio, the contrast and the resolution in images recorded using an optical imaging system which produces a spatially resolved image. The method is based on the incorporation of a... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6924893 | Enhancing polarized light microscopy A microscope system for determining optical properties of a specimen includes a source of polarized light, a detector for detecting the intensity of light incident thereon, an optical path extending from the source to the detector, a condenser for providing light fr... | 08/02/2005 |
| 6917468 | Confocal microscope A confocal microscope has an illumination beam path of a light source, a detection beam path of a detector, a scanning device, optics combining and separating the illumination beam path and detection beam path, and an objective, in which both an incident specimen il... | 07/12/2005 |
| 6865013 | High-resolution optical microscope A direct-view optical microscope system is provided which uses high-energy light from a phenomenon known as non-resonant Raman scattering to illuminate a living biological specimen. One embodiment of the system combines two discrete light sources to form a combined ... | 03/08/2005 |
| 6753968 | Optical storage system based on scanning interferometric near-field confocal microscopy A near-field, interferometric optical microscopy system includes: a beam splitter positioned to separate an input beam into a measurement beam and a reference beam; a mask positioned to receive the measurement beam, the mask comprising at least one aperture having a... | 06/22/2004 |
