Optical shield for image sensing device
First Claim
1. An opto-electronic device comprising:
- an array of infrared energy sensing elements arranged in at least one line;
a cold shield having a plurality of apertures which define a respective solid angle of field of view for each of said sensing elements;
said cold shield being supported in front of said array at a distance H from said array;
said apertures being separated by a plurality of partition walls;
said partition walls being arranged perpendicularly to the surface of said array and at least selected ones of said partition walls being arranged transversely to the line of said at least one line of sensing elements; and
said solid angle of the field of view of each of said sensing elements being defined to have a plurality of solid angle segments, by the geometry of said cold shield including the depth and the pitch of said apertures, and by said distance H between said sensing array and said cold shield, so as to provide effectively the same solid angle of the field of view for each said sensing element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An image sensing device is improved by an optical shield having a multi-aperture to provide high signal to noise ratio. The improved optical shield is provided with a plurality of shield elements forming a grid-like or cellular structure. With such a structure, the solid angle of the field of view for each sensing element becomes almost the same, resulting in the reduction of "shading". The distance between the heat shield and the array can be reduced, resulting in miniaturization of the device. Each sensing element is not shielded individually, so the pitch of the shield elements can be larger than that of the sensing elements, which allows easier and less costly fabrication of the shield.
34 Citations
9 Claims
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1. An opto-electronic device comprising:
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an array of infrared energy sensing elements arranged in at least one line; a cold shield having a plurality of apertures which define a respective solid angle of field of view for each of said sensing elements; said cold shield being supported in front of said array at a distance H from said array; said apertures being separated by a plurality of partition walls; said partition walls being arranged perpendicularly to the surface of said array and at least selected ones of said partition walls being arranged transversely to the line of said at least one line of sensing elements; and said solid angle of the field of view of each of said sensing elements being defined to have a plurality of solid angle segments, by the geometry of said cold shield including the depth and the pitch of said apertures, and by said distance H between said sensing array and said cold shield, so as to provide effectively the same solid angle of the field of view for each said sensing element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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Specification