Apparatus and method for providing high intensity non-coherent light and for speckle reduction
First Claim
1. Optical system for converting a substantially coherent parent light beam into a plurality of light beams having at least reduced spatial coherence of illumination compared to said coherent parent light source, comprising:
- a beam splitter for splitting a parent beam from said coherent parent light source into an array of incident beams, each beam being focused at a spot;
a moving diffuser arrangement located at or near each said spot, and adapted for presenting a different diffuser part to each focused spot as the diffuser arrangement is moved in a path between at least two positions; and
a collimator arrangement for collimating the light from said coherent light source.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus adapted for confocal imaging of a non-flat specimen comprising a light source for producing a light beam, imaging optics adapted to focus the light beam into at least one spot on a surface of a specimen, and a detector adapted to receive and detect light reflected from the specimen surface. The light source comprises an optical system for converting a coherent beam into a plurality of beams, each of which is modified by a moving diffuser within a range of movement that is correlated to the detector'"'"'s integration time.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. Optical system for converting a substantially coherent parent light beam into a plurality of light beams having at least reduced spatial coherence of illumination compared to said coherent parent light source, comprising:
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a beam splitter for splitting a parent beam from said coherent parent light source into an array of incident beams, each beam being focused at a spot; a moving diffuser arrangement located at or near each said spot, and adapted for presenting a different diffuser part to each focused spot as the diffuser arrangement is moved in a path between at least two positions; and a collimator arrangement for collimating the light from said coherent light source. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A light source for providing a plurality of light beams, comprising:
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a parent coherent light source for providing a parent beam of coherent light; a beam splitter for splitting said parent beam into an array of incident beams, each beam being focused at a spot; a moving diffuser arrangement located at or near each said spot, and adapted for presenting a different diffuser part to each focused spot as the diffuser arrangement is moved in a path between at least two positions and a collimator arrangement for collimating the light from said coherent light source. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus adapted for confocal imaging of a non-flat specimen, said apparatus having an optical axis and a predetermined lateral resolution and comprising a light source for producing a light beam, imaging optics adapted to focus the light beam into at least one spot on a surface of a specimen, and a detector having an integration time and adapted to receive and detect light reflected from said surface;
- said light source comprising;
a parent coherent light source for providing a parent beam of coherent light; a beam splitter for splitting said parent beam into an array of incident beams, each beam being focused at a spot; and a moving diffuser arrangement located at or near each said spot, and adapted for presenting a different diffuser part to each focused spot as the diffuser arrangement is moved in a path between at least two positions. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
- said light source comprising;
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28. A method for converting a coherent light source into a plurality of light sources having reduced spatial coherence of illumination compared to said coherent light source, comprising:
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splitting a parent beam from a coherent light source into an array of incident beams, each beam being focused at a spot; moving a diffuser arrangement that is located at or near each said spot, and presenting a different diffuser part to each focused spot as the diffuser arrangement is moved in a path between at least two positions; and collimating the light from said coherent light source. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method for confocal imaging of a non-flat specimen, the method comprising:
- providing an apparatus comprising a coherent source of light and a detector;
splitting a parent beam from a coherent light source into an array of incident beams, each beam being focused at a spot;
moving a diffuser arrangement at the origin of said array of incident beams, and presenting a different diffuser part to each said incident beam as the diffuser arrangement is moved between at least two positions;
focusing the incident beams into at least one spot on a surface of the specimen by means of imaging optics;
directing light reflected by the surface toward the detector;
detecting the light by the detector;
wherein said diffuser arrangement is moved between said positions within the integration time of the detector. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
- providing an apparatus comprising a coherent source of light and a detector;
Specification