Abstract:
A transmission grating (5) is used to reduce chromatic aberration in an optical system, wherein the system's chromatic dispersion is offset and substantially canceled by the grating's diffraction-induced dispersion. The grating (5) comprises a Fresnel-type pattern of microscopic facets (4) molded directly into one of the system's refractive optical surface (3). The facets (4) would typically have a profile height of around 4.10-5 inch and a profile width of at least 10-3 inch. In its primary intended application, the invention would function to improve the optical performance of a Fresnel lens used to concentrate direct sunlight into a piped daylight illumination system. For this application, about a ten-fold reduction in chromatic dispersion would be attained with only about a 2 % loss in optical efficiency.
Abstract:
A phase grating which has a trapezoidal waveform cross section on its grating face side, has a trapezoid factor (B/A) of the trapezoidal waveform, is 0.006
Abstract translation:在其光栅面侧具有梯形波形截面的相位光栅具有梯形波形的梯形因子(B / A)为0.006 B / A <1(其中,A为“ 一个完美的梯形“外接梯形波形和”正弦曲线“,刻录”完美梯形“,B是”完美梯形“和”梯形波形“之间的面积差异。 具有梯形横截面的常规相位光栅的较高阶衍射光分量减小,并且在低空间频率区域中的MTF的下降减小。
Abstract:
An optical transmissive component (1) is described, which component has an entrance surface (4) and an exit surface (5) for optical radiation (20), in which one of the surfaces (4; 5) is provided with an anti-reflection grating (10; 15). By providing a second surface (5; 4) with a second anti-reflection grating and by ensuring that the grating strips (11) of the first grating (10) extend essentially perpendicularly to those (16) of the second grating (15) in corresponding areas of the first and the second surface (4; 5), it is prevented that the component is birefringent.
Abstract:
A diffractive device having a surface relief structure which, when illuminated by a light source, generates one or more diffraction images which are observable from particular ranges of viewing angles around the device, wherein at least part of the surface relief structure (1) is arranged in a series of tracks (2), each track (4, 5) having a diffracting surface (3) which generates a component of a diffraction image, such that at least one of the diffraction images generated by the diffractive device is formed from image components generated by a plurality of the tracks.
Abstract:
A pixellated diffractive device includes a multiplicity of pixels (12, 22) in turn divided into multiple sub-pixels (13, 23). The device is related to one or more pixellated diffraction surface structures which when illuminated generate respective corresponding optically variable images. The sub-pixels (13, 23) of each pixel of the diffractive device include diffractive elements (13a, 23a) arranged in one or more groups, the diffractive elements of each group matching diffractive elements of a corresponding single pixel of the respective pixellated diffraction surface structures. In each pixel of the device the diffractive elements (13a, 23a) of the or each said group are intermixed with other sub-pixels and cooperatively contribute a single element of the corresponding optically variable image which is generated on illumination of the diffractive.
Abstract:
A method for manufacturing optical components having a periodic or quasi-periodic structure such as diffraction gratings, volume holograms or distributed feedback mirrors in optical fibres. An optical medium is subjected to acoustic waves which induce periodic or quasi-periodic changes in the optical properties of the medium, the changes being at least partially retained on removal of the waves. The changes may result from stress associated with the antinodes of an acoustic standing wave, alternatively the stress distribution associated with a travelling acoustic wave in an electro-viscous liquid may be semi-permanently retained by the solidification of the material resulting from the application of an electric field.
Abstract:
A modulator (10) for modulating incident rays of light, the modulator having several equally spaced beam elements (18), each having a light reflective planar surface. The beam elements are arranged and supported (12) parallel to each other, with their reflective surfaces parallel. During operation, the elements remain parallel, but the modulator moves the beams so that the perpendicular spacing of their reflective surfaces changes between two configurations. In both configurations, the spacing equals m/4 times the wavelength of incident light. In the first configuration, m equals an even whole number or zero, and the modulator acts to reflect the incident rays of light as a plane mirror. In the second configuration, m equals an odd number and the modulator diffracts the incident rays as they are reflected.
Abstract:
A pixellated diffraction grating in which each pixel of the grating is an individual optical diffraction grating and the pixellated diffraction grating when illumitated generates an optically variable image. The pixels are arrayed in a multiplicity of groups of pixels in each of which the pixels are arranged according to a predetermined rule for the pixellated diffraction grating, whereby to produce a visually observable effect in the optically variable image generated when the pixellated diffraction grating is illuminated.
Abstract:
There is disclosed a diffractive optical element (11) and a method to produce same wherein the element comprises a base (13) and at least one phase zone (14) comprising an arbitrary multiplicity M of steps (22) of generally identical step height, wherein M is not a power of 2. The method includes the steps of defining a basic depth unit equivalent to a zone height divided by M, defining a depth sequence of N depths wherein N is the smallest integer greater than log2M such that each of the M steps can be produced by at least one linear combination of the N depths, defining N masks wherein each mask enables the optical element to be processed to one of the N depths and wherein for each mask, the steps to be processed are those which have the one of the N depths in its linear combination and serially utilizing each of the N masks for processing of the optical element.
Abstract:
A diffractive optical element (11) and a method to produce same is disclosed. The optical element (11) comprises a base (13) and at least first and second phase zones (14) wherein the first phase zone (14) comprises a first multiplicity of steps (22) and the second phase zone comprises a second multiplicity of steps (22) and wherein a distance from an ith step of said first phase zone (14) to said base (13) is different than a distance of an ith step of said second phase (14) zone to said base (13), for at least one value of i. The method to produce the diffractive optical element (11) of the present invention includes the step of defining a collection of masks for creating stepped phase zones (14) wherein at least one of the collection of masks completely masks out at least one step (22) of at least one phase zone (14) such that the at least one step (22) of the at least one phase zone (14) will not be etched.