Refractive ellipsoid optical surface without spherical aberration
US5654831A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 4, 1995 |
| Grant date | Aug 5, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 4, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S5/42
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
According to the present invention, light is provided to an elliptical optical surface (102) separating first and second homogeneous optical media (104), (106) that cause collimated light (108) originating in one of the media to be perfectly focussed either at a primary focus within the second medium or at a virtual focus within the first medium (110). For example, a collimated beam (510) is expanded by refraction in an immersion refractive confocal ellipsoid optic (502) having an input optical surface (504) and output optical surface (506). Further, the elliptical optical surface is used in combination with a second optical surface such that both surfaces share a common optic axis and are separated by an optically transmissive medium such as glass and spaced such that the optical focal points of both surfaces are common to create an immersion optical beam expander. Still further, said optical surface (1112) includes a lens element in a one or two dimensional lens array responsive to light from a light emitting diode or laser diode bar in a diode array.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.