Multiscale Optical System
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving light from a scene at a collector optic, wherein the collector optic is characterized by an image field;
providing a first optical field from the collector optic, wherein the first optical field is based on the light from the scene;
receiving a first portion of the first optical field at a first optical element, wherein the first portion is characterized by a first localized aberration;
providing a second optical field from the first optical element, wherein the second optical field is based on the first portion of the first optical field, and wherein the magnitude of the first localized aberration in the second optical field is less than the magnitude of the first localized aberration in the first portion of the first optical field;
receiving a second portion of the first optical field at a second optical element, wherein the second portion is characterized by a second localized aberration; and
providing a third optical field from the second optical element, wherein the third optical field is based on the second portion of the first optical field, and wherein the magnitude of the second localized aberration in the third optical field is less than the magnitude of the second localized aberration in the second portion of the first optical field.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A means of enabling an imaging lens system that overcomes some of the costs and disadvantages of the prior art is disclosed. A lens system in accordance with the present invention reduces or eliminates one or more aberrations of an optical input by separating image collection functionality from image processing functionality. As a result, each function can be performed without compromising the other function. An embodiment of the present invention comprises a collection optic that provides a first optical field, based on light from a scene, to a processing optic that comprises a plurality of lenslets. The processing optic tiles the first optical field into a plurality of second optical fields. Each lenslet receives a different one of the plurality of second optical fields, reduces at least one localized aberration in its received second optical field, and provides the corrected optical field to a different one of plurality of photodetectors whose collective output is used to form a spatially correlated sub-image of that corrected optical field. The sub-images are readily combined into a spatially correlated image of the scene.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving light from a scene at a collector optic, wherein the collector optic is characterized by an image field; providing a first optical field from the collector optic, wherein the first optical field is based on the light from the scene; receiving a first portion of the first optical field at a first optical element, wherein the first portion is characterized by a first localized aberration; providing a second optical field from the first optical element, wherein the second optical field is based on the first portion of the first optical field, and wherein the magnitude of the first localized aberration in the second optical field is less than the magnitude of the first localized aberration in the first portion of the first optical field; receiving a second portion of the first optical field at a second optical element, wherein the second portion is characterized by a second localized aberration; and providing a third optical field from the second optical element, wherein the third optical field is based on the second portion of the first optical field, and wherein the magnitude of the second localized aberration in the third optical field is less than the magnitude of the second localized aberration in the second portion of the first optical field. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method comprising:
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tiling a first optical field into a plurality of second optical fields, wherein the first optical field is based on light from a scene; providing a plurality of third optical fields, wherein each of the plurality of third optical fields is based on a different one of the plurality of second optical fields, and wherein the magnitude of a first localized aberration in each of the plurality of third optical fields is less than the magnitude of the first localized aberration in its corresponding second optical field; and forming a plurality of sub-images based on the plurality of third optical fields, wherein the plurality of sub-images and the plurality of third optical fields has a one-to-one correspondence. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An apparatus comprising:
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a collector optic, wherein the collector optic receives light from a scene and provides a first optical field that is based on the light, and wherein the collector optic is characterized by an image field; and a processor optic comprising a plurality of optical elements, wherein each of the plurality of optical elements is dimensioned and arranged to reduce the magnitude of a first localized aberration; wherein the processor optic tiles the first optical field into a plurality of second optical fields, and wherein each of the plurality of optical elements receives a different one of the plurality of second optical fields and provides a third optical field based on its received second optical field; wherein the magnitude of the first localized aberration in each of the plurality of third optical fields is less than the magnitude of the first localized aberration in its corresponding second optical field. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. An apparatus comprising:
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a collector optic, wherein the collector optic receives light from a scene and provides a first optical field that is based on the light, and wherein the collector optic is characterized by an image field; a processor optic comprising a plurality of first optical elements, wherein the plurality of first optical elements is arranged in an arrangement that substantially matches the image field; and a plurality of photodetector arrays, wherein each of the plurality of photodetector arrays receives a portion of the first optical field from a different one of the plurality of first optical elements, and wherein each of the plurality of photodetector arrays provides a sub-image that is based on its received portion of the first optical field. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification