Apparatus for collecting light and its method of manufacture
First Claim
1. An apparatus for collecting light from a common light source which comprises:
- a plurality of individual fiber optic elements one end of each of which is fixed in spaced relation to each other and an other end of each of which is arranged in an indexed array,the plurality of fiber optic elements have a common field of view and a face at the one end of each of which is fixed in a curved surface having a radius of curvature such that the longitudinal axis of each fiber optic element at the one end substantially converges at the common light source which, with respect to each fiber optic element, radiates light normal to a plane which is both tangent to the face of the fiber optic element at the normal axis and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fiber optic element,whereby the light radiating angularly from the light source is received simultaneously at the one end by each fiber optic element and is transmitted to the other end.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A portable scatterometer and/or an angular radiated light measurement instrument that uses a measurement head which includes a double tapered fiber optic bundle with a concave front face to simultaneously collect partial or full hemispherically scattered light reflected from a point on a surface illuminated by a depolarized, telescopically focused, laser diode source, the light rays being received by each fiber normal to its face. The image of the collected light beams is minifled and coupled by the fiber optic bundle into an anti-blooming CID camera with an x-y scanning area array which converts the light beams to electrical signals. In a unique real time, 486-computer-controlled, data acquisition and reconstruction process, a frame grabber and a unique algorithm are used to collect over 200,000 points of light, reconstruct the data into a 2D or 3D scatter profile, and display the results, all within one second. Multiple embodiments of the tapered fiber optic bundle collector include a full hemispherical version with the laser source directed through the boule, a unitary boule fused from two tapered halves, a linear in-plane tapered bundle and a partial taper with imaging lens mode. Alignment mechanisms provide z-translation, azimuth, and focus adjustments. The measurement unit is in a compact, rugged aluminum housing which is adapted to be secured to a production line machine for a variety of services, such as, a quality control inspection device.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. An apparatus for collecting light from a common light source which comprises:
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a plurality of individual fiber optic elements one end of each of which is fixed in spaced relation to each other and an other end of each of which is arranged in an indexed array, the plurality of fiber optic elements have a common field of view and a face at the one end of each of which is fixed in a curved surface having a radius of curvature such that the longitudinal axis of each fiber optic element at the one end substantially converges at the common light source which, with respect to each fiber optic element, radiates light normal to a plane which is both tangent to the face of the fiber optic element at the normal axis and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fiber optic element, whereby the light radiating angularly from the light source is received simultaneously at the one end by each fiber optic element and is transmitted to the other end. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of manufacturing a fiber optic bundle comprising the steps of:
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a) forming a tapered fiber optic bundle, and b) cutting a concave face in the tapered portion of the bundle such that for each fiber in the bundle a plane tangent to the face at the normal axis to the fiber is also perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fiber.
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Specification