OPTICAL ELEMENT INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF REGIONS

• US 20200133013A1
• Filed: 10/23/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Viavi Solutions, Inc. (Lumentum Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Viavi Solutions, Inc. (Lumentum Holdings Inc.)
• Inventors: SALES, TASSO R. M., MORRIS, GEORGE MICHAEL
• Granted Patent: US 11,442,282 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0927 Systems for changing the beam intensity distribution, e.g. Gaussian to top-hat
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0944 Diffractive optical elements, e.g. gratings, holograms gratings per se G02B5/18; holograms used as optical elements per se G02B5/32
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0961 Lens arrays lens arrays per se G02B3/0006
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/48 Laser speckle optics
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/0215 the surface having a regular structure
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/0221 the surface having an irregular structure G02B5/0226 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/18 Diffraction gratings holographic optical elements G02B5/32, G03H; integrally combined with optical fibres G02B6/02057; for coupling light guides G02B6/34; integrally combined with optical integrated light guides G02B6/12; grating systems G02B27/44
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883

Abstract

An optical element comprising a body having a surface, wherein the surface has a plurality of regions periodically arranged in a tessellation, and wherein each region of the plurality of regions has a random spatial distribution of microstructures is disclosed. An optical system comprises a light source; and the optical element is also disclosed. Methods of making and using the optical element and the optical system are also disclosed.

Claims

1. An optical element comprising:

a body having a surface,

wherein the surface has a plurality of regions periodically arranged in a tessellation, and

wherein each region of the plurality of regions has a random spatial distribution of microstructures.

2. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein each region has an outer geometric boundary.

3. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein two or more regions of the plurality of regions have different outer geometric boundaries.

4. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein each region of the plurality of regions has a same outer geometric boundary.

5. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein each region can be arranged in a repeating sequence in two orthogonal dimensions.

6. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein each region of the plurality of regions has an identical random spatial distribution of microstructures.

7. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein two or more regions of the plurality of regions have different random spatial distributions of microstructures

8. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein the microstructures are saddle shaped.

9. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein the body having a surface includes a first surface and a second surface.

10. The optical element according to claim 9, wherein the second surface is oppositely oriented the first surface.

11. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein the body also has a second surface, wherein the second surface has a plurality of regions periodically arranged in a second tessellation, and wherein each region of the plurality of regions has a random spatial distribution of microstructures.

12. An optical system, comprising:

a light source; and

an optical element including a body having a surface, wherein the surface has a plurality of regions periodically arranged in a tessellation, and wherein each region of the plurality of regions has a random spatial distribution of microstructures.

13. The optical system according to claim 12, wherein the light source is a coherent light source.

14. The optical system according to claim 13, wherein the coherent light source is a laser.

15. The optical system according to claim 13, wherein the optical element projects a target pattern in accordance with the random spatial distribution of microstructures.

16. The optical system according to claim 15, wherein the target pattern is a random distribution of spots over a specified angular range.

17. The optical system according to claim 15, wherein the target pattern is different in two perpendicular directions.

18. The optical system according to claim 12, wherein a period defining the periodic arrangement is smaller than a size of an input beam from the light source in order to increase a contrast of a target pattern and fix speckle.

19. A method of using an optical system, comprising:

projecting an input beam from a light source to an optical element, wherein the optical element includes a body having a surface, wherein the surface has a plurality of regions periodically arranged in a tessellation, and wherein each region of the plurality of regions has a random spatial distribution of microstructures; and

shaping the input beam into a target pattern.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising fixing any speckle from the random spatial distribution of microstructures from varying with any movement of the input beam relative to the optical element.