Dual polarization with liquid crystal tunable filters
US8988680B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 15, 2012 |
| Grant date | Mar 24, 2015 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 15, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N21/65
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A high passband transmission ratio is obtained by splitting a light beam from an objective lens into two orthogonally-polarized components processed along distinct paths through two independently controllable liquid crystal tunable filters (LCTFs). The filtered portions may be combined at an imaging plane or may be separately processed without recombining. Using two LCTFs, the arrangements discussed herein may ideally achieve 100% transmission in a single passband when two orthogonal components of a single wavelength are tuned, or 50% transmission at two distinct passbands when two orthogonal components from two different wavelengths (one component from each wavelength) are tuned. The dual polarization configuration described herein may be used to improve contrast or detected signal intensity in various microscopy and spectroscopic/chemical imaging applications and to increase the speed of detection.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.