Illumination – Plural light sources – With support
Patent
1996-10-18
2000-08-15
Sember, Thomas M.
Illumination
Plural light sources
With support
362259, 362252, 362800, 362235, G02B 532
Patent
active
061025526
ABSTRACT:
This invention is a power efficient illuminator and illumination method that provides control of spatial distributions of power density, ray angles, wavelength(s), polarization and temporal behavior (even coherence) to meet specific design specifications across a prescribed target zone (i.e., line, area or volume). This invention utilizes an array (or set) of radiant power or energy sources which can be selected or varied in kind(s), form(s), size(s) number and arrangement. Ancillary reflective, refractive or diffractive optical elements may be used for additional control. The ancillary optics may be one or more shared single optic or may be one or more entire array(s) of elements matched to the array of sources. The ancillary optics may be refractive or reflective, passive or active, self-focusing, or diffractive (e.g., holographic, binary or multistep). The set of individual sources are systematically distributed spatially, and driven individually or together. Each source in the set has a controlled divergence, each emitting a narrowly divergent beam with the beam axes aligned parallel to one another, aligned to converge at a common point, or aligned to diverge from a common (virtual) point. The individual source emitters comprising the set can either be all identical to one another or be made different from one another in a spatially graded way to meet design objectives for specific distribution patterns. The set of sources can be made up of an assembly of otherwise independent sources or all manufactured together in a monolithic array in a common manufacturing sequence (although perhaps with controlled process gradients). The set of sources can be configured in an array, regularly spaced to form a spatial grid, irregularly spaced, or in combination. In a preferred embodiment, the set of sources (emitters) is a monolithic array of vertical cavity surface emitting laser diodes.
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Hewlett--Packard Company
Sember Thomas M.
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