Position-based response to light
First Claim
1. Apparatus comprising:
- a first component that includes one or more films, at least one of the films having a laterally varying transmission property;
the first component, in response to light that includes a shifting wavelength from a light source, transmitting the light and providing output light; and
a second component that receives output light from the first component on a photosensitive surface, the output light provided in response to the shifting wavelength including a respective light spot on the photosensitive surface, the light spot shifting through a sequence of two or more positions on the photosensitive surface, each shift in light spot position being caused by a respective shift in the shifting wavelength;
the second component including;
circuitry that, in response to the light spot, provides a differential output resulting from one or more positions of the light spot on the photosensitive surface and uses the differential output to monitor the shifting wavelength.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Response to light with laterally varying photon energy distribution is based on position, such as position on a detector of a respective light spot or intensity maximum for a wavelength or photon energy subrange. A layered structure such as a coating over the detector can produce the laterally varying distribution, such as due to a laterally varying transmission property. A differential output or quantity can be obtained using sensing results from the detector and can then be used to monitor a light source'"'"'s wavelength. The light source can, for example, be a pulsed or continuous laser, in which case an optical component between the light source and the detector can be structured to prevent inhomogeneities such as speckle and also reflection back to the laser that could cause feedback. A tunable light source can be tuned in response to positions at which its light is detected.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. Apparatus comprising:
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a first component that includes one or more films, at least one of the films having a laterally varying transmission property;
the first component, in response to light that includes a shifting wavelength from a light source, transmitting the light and providing output light; and
a second component that receives output light from the first component on a photosensitive surface, the output light provided in response to the shifting wavelength including a respective light spot on the photosensitive surface, the light spot shifting through a sequence of two or more positions on the photosensitive surface, each shift in light spot position being caused by a respective shift in the shifting wavelength;
the second component including;
circuitry that, in response to the light spot, provides a differential output resulting from one or more positions of the light spot on the photosensitive surface and uses the differential output to monitor the shifting wavelength. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A device comprising:
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a photosensing component that photosenses quantities of photons provided at positions of a photosensing surface;
a layered transmission structure with entry and exit surfaces;
in response to light received at the entry surface, the layered transmission structure providing output light through the exit surface to the photosensing surface, the output light having laterally varying photon energy distribution on the photosensing surface;
in response to light with a changing subrange of photon energy received at the entry surface, the transmission structure providing output light that forms a respective moving light spot on the photosensing surface, the light spot moving through a sequence of two or more positions on the photosensing surface, each move of the light spot between positions in the sequence resulting from a respective change in the subrange'"'"'s photon energy; and
differential quantity circuitry that responds to quantities photosensed by the photosensing component in response to the moving light spot, providing a differential quantity that depends on one or more positions of the moving light spot on the photosensing surface. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system comprising:
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a tunable light source that can provide light within subranges of a photon energy range, each subrange having a respective central energy;
a detector that receives light from the tunable light source;
the detector including a photosensitive surface and a layered structure that responds to the received light by providing light with laterally varying photon energy distributions on the photosensitive surface;
the central energy of the received light'"'"'s subrange having a respective position on the photosensitive surface;
the detector providing sensing results that depend on the central energy'"'"'s position; and
circuitry that can, in response to the sensing results, cause the tunable light source to change the light it provides to be within a different subrange of the photon energy range. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A device comprising:
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a support structure;
mounted on the support structure, a tunable light source that can provide light within subranges of a photon energy range, each subrange having a respective central energy;
the tunable light source responding to tuning signals by changing between subranges with different central energies;
mounted on the support structure, an optical component that includes a single-mode optical fiber positioned to receive light from the light source;
mounted on the support structure, a detector that receives light from the tunable light source through the optical component;
the detector including a photosensitive surface and a layered structure that, in response to the received light, provides light with a laterally varying photon energy distribution on the photosensitive surface;
the detector being positioned relative to the optical component so that, for each of a set of the subranges, the subrange'"'"'s central energy has a respective position on the photosensitive surface;
the detector providing sensing results that depend on the central energy'"'"'s position; and
connection circuitry connected to the tunable light source and to the detector and being connectible to external circuitry that receives the sensing results from the detector through the connection circuitry and, in response, provides the tuning signals to the tunable light source through the connection circuitry;
the single-mode optical fiber being structured to prevent inhomogeneities in the light it provides to the layered structure and to prevent reflected light from the layered structure from reaching the light source. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
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Specification