Abstract: A method for an image-based rendering of light in a virtual volume is disclosed, which can provide various lighting effects in the two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional object. Furthermore, the virtual light source can be located at any position corresponding to the three-dimensional object. The light sources in the image are divided into two groups, i.e., the light sources in the rear of the three-dimensional object and the light sources in the front of the three-dimensional object. Then, each image for the illuminating effects of the light sources in the rear of the three-dimensional object is merged in sequence. The merged image of all of the light sources in the rear of the three-dimensional object is merged with the image of the three-dimensional object. Thereafter, each image for the illuminating effects of the light sources in the front of the three-dimensional object is merged in sequence.

Abstract: In order to provide a small-sized and compact optical switch of 1×4 type. Two movable optical fibers are fixed on a substrate by a fixing block disposed in a middle portion of the fibers. Two movable blocks made of a soft magnetic body are mounted to the both ends of the movable optical fibers. Two soft magnetic fixing blocks are arranged on the substrate for fixing one optical fiber so as to oppose to one of the movable block, and for fixing four optical fibers so as to oppose to the movable block, respectively. Two movable blocks can be independently moved with respect to the respective fixing blocks by means of actuators. Further, it is possible to detect a position of each movable block with respect to the fixing block by means of detecting electrodes.

Abstract: A optical body has at least two polymeric materials forming a reflective interface for at least one polarization of light. One optical body is a multilayer optical film that includes birefringent first optical layers and second optical layers interleaved with the first optical layers. Each first optical layer is formed using a polymer, such as a copolymer of polyethylene naphthalate. The second optical layers are formed so that they have a lower in-plane birefringence than the first optical layers for 632.8 nm light. Optical bodies can be used as, for example, polarizers and mirrors. The optical bodies can be formed using polymers that provide better index matching and are more easily protected from UV light without coloring the optical body.

Abstract: A device for forming an autostereoscopic image having n viewpoints, the device including a lens array (RL1) comprising cylindrical lens (10) having longitudinal axes parallel to a direction (zz′) perpendicular to an optical axis (x′x) of the device. The device includes a cylindrical optical assembly whose longitudinal axis is perpendicular to zz′ and to xx′. The lens array (RL1) comprises n cylindrical lens (10). The lens array (RL1) and the cylindrical optical assembly (LC1) share a common focusing plane (P) corresponding to a focusing distance &Dgr;. The absolute value of the ratio between the focal length of the cylindrical optical assembly and that of the lens array is substantially equal to n. Also provided is projection device implementing said image-forming device, and a projector projecting n flat elementary images, and a screen fitted with at least a projection array.

Abstract: A spectrometer measures a spectrum of a light beam supplied from a light source so as to obtain fine information and coarse information of the spectrum easily. This spectrometer has a holographic grating, an Echelle grating, a rotation stage and a line sensor. In the case where a single pass beam is to be detected, a control processing unit controls the rotation stage so as to rotate the Echelle grating from the Littrow arrangement by a predetermined angle &dgr;1. On the other hand, in the case where a double pass beam is to be detected, the control processing unit controls the rotation stage so as to rotate the Echelle grating from the Littrow arrangement by a predetermined angle &dgr;2.

Abstract: A touch panel is constructed of a top sheet member having a resistive membrane on its inner surface and a base sheet member having a resistive membrane on its inner surface, the top and base sheet members facing each other with dot spacers being located in between. The top sheet member is formed by laminating a bulge-resistant film, a polarizing plate, a quarter wavelength plate, and a light isotropic film in this order from above. The base sheet member is constructed of a glass sheet and a reinforcement film whose thermal linear expansion coefficient is almost the same as the thermal linear expansion coefficient of the polarizing plate or the quarter wavelength plate included in the top sheet member, the reinforcement film being adhered to the lower surface of the glass sheet.

Abstract: An optical article, which is a preform for an optical lens, which is isotropic, consisting essentially of silicon oxide or silicon oxide in combination with one or more oxides of elements belonging to Groups III to VI of the Periodic Table, the article having a dimensional precision which has tolerance to surface roughness and profilometric accuracy required in the spectral interval of 200-800 nm of the electromagnetic spectrum, the tolerance being between one-half and one-tenth wavelength corresponding to the range of about 0.350-0.02 &mgr;m.

Abstract: Dual band millimeter-wave and infrared anti-reflecting coatings are presented, which enhance the passage of millimeter-wave and infrared radiation into a substrate material. A substrate is coated with a quarter-wave coating of an infrared anti-reflecting material followed by a quarter-wave coating of a millimeter-wave anti-reflecting material followed by a second quarter-wave coating of an infrared anti-reflecting material. The second infrared anti-reflecting coating enables incident infrared radiation to pass into the millimeter-wave anti-reflecting material, while minimizing reflection. The first infrared anti-reflecting coating enables incident infrared radiation from the millimeter-wave anti-reflecting material to pass into the substrate material, while minimizing reflection. The millimeter-wave anti-reflecting coating enables incident millimeter-wave radiation to pass into the substrate material, while minimizing reflection.

Abstract: In the design of a lens system, lens parameters are determined by minimizing a merit function which is a sum of squares of ray aberrations or wavefront errors at many sampling points. Prior methods often select the parameters which give very narrow tolerances to production errors. The small tolerance increases the difficulty of production. In order to increase the tolerances, states which allot errors ±&dgr; to some chosen parameters are considered. Merit functions corresponding the error-allotted states are made. An integrated merit function is produced by adding the error-allotted merit functions to the non-error allotted normal merit function. Parameters are determined by minimizing the integrated merit function. The optimized parameters will give wider tolerances for the error-allotted parameters. DOE (diffraction optical elements) design includes the steps of considering error-allotted states S1, S2, . . . in addition to a non-error state S0, making merit functions E1, E2, . . . for S1, S2, . . .

Abstract: An optical filter that is tunable over a wide portion of the spectrum, such as the infrared portion. The filter has a core of silica fiber with a first cladding layer of silica fiber disposed thereon. A long period grating is disposed on the core. A second electro-optical cladding layer is disposed on the first cladding layer. The first cladding layer is ultra thin so as to support only a single resonant band over the spectral portion. The resonant band is tunable to different wavelengths in the spectral portion by a voltage applied to the second electro-optic layer. The electro-optic layer is a copolymer that has a refractive index less than that of the silica fiber material. The optical filter has fast tuning speed (nanosecond range), wide tuning range (>50 nm), low insertion loss (<0.1 dB), narrow bandwidth (<0.5 nm), and low sidelobe (<30 dB).

Abstract: A collimating optical device utilizes a reflective beamsplitter in the form of a linear polarizing beamsplitter to achieve a wide field of view. One form of the wide-angle collimating optical device includes, in order from an image source, a first absorptive linear polarizer; a first quarter-wave plate; an optical doublet including a piano-concave singlet, a plano-convex singlet whose convex surface has the same curvature as the curvature of the concave surface, and a first reflective beamsplitter joining the concave surface of the plano-concave singlet to the convex surface of the plano-convex singlet; a second quarter-wave plate; and a second reflective beamsplitter. One of the reflective beamsplitters is a linear polarizing beamsplitter, most preferably a wire grid polarizer.

Abstract: In a diffractive optical element, first and second diffraction gratings of 10 &mgr;m or less in thickness made from materials of respective different Abbe numbers are laminated through an air layer. The grating thickness of the first diffraction grating is made to be 7.5 &mgr;m, and the grating thickness of the second diffraction grating is made to be 6.54 &mgr;m. Glass of the Abbe number of 63.8 is used for the material of the first diffraction grating, and an ultraviolet curable polymer of the Abbe number of 23.0 is used for the material of the second diffraction grating. Accordingly, the diffraction efficiency of the diffractive optical element is improved to 97% or higher throughout the entire visible spectrum.

Abstract: An electrooptic waveplate for changing the state of polarization of light passing therethrough is disclosed. The waveplate provides a substantially constant birefringence when the principle birefringent axes of the electrooptic waveplate are rotated. The waveplate is an electro-optical material having two principle orthogonal birefringent axes that are rotable when suitable voltages are applied. Two related different voltages are applied along sequential or contiguous regions along the length L of the electo-optical waveplate for providing a controllable and varying electric field along the length L, such that retardance of the waveplate of the length L remains substantially constant while the birefringent axes of the elecrooptic waveplate are rotated by varying the voltages. The two different voltages have a phase relationship or a phase and magnitude relationship therebetween.

Abstract: A variable optical wavelength filter for making it possible to control the movement of an optical wavelength filter during a momentary loss of the optical input signal in the same way as when the optical input signal is present. Even when the input of the second direct current signal to an integrator is interrupted because of the momentary loss of the optical input signal, the integrator is able to place a dielectric multilayer filter at the position directly before the momentary loss of the optical input signal because of sustaining the voltage from directly before the momentary loss of the optical input signal.

Abstract: A holographic stereogram printing system to print holographic stereograms with good efficiency and no drop in the operating rate of the imaging system and holographic printer. An imaging system control section of an imaging system comprises an operating section that along with controlling the operation of the camera according to the desired selection of the user such as imaging method, image size selection or image layout, also creates an information management file for the base image based on the control information. A holographic stereogram printer prints out a holographic stereogram according to the information management file provided along a transmission path.

Abstract: A window has at least two surfaces oriented relative to each other at an angle greater than zero. A conductive path is disposed across the two surfaces and renders the window reflective or absorptive to a second predetermined bandwidth of energy, which can be radio frequency energy. The window utilizes window geometry, surface treatments, and bonding techniques to maintain electrical continuity across the surface. The window can be constructed from multiple segmented elements, such as sapphire, or from a unitary body. The window is transmissive to a desired wavelength of energy for the sensor while being reflective, refractive, or absorptive to a desired RF bandwidth of energy. The window provides RF signature management coupled with a substantial sensor Field of Regard and allows for full-time use of an embedded sensor.

Abstract: The invention describes an optical network architecture which uses a limited number of wavelength channels while providing flexible connections between the network nodes. Each node in the network deploys a fixed wavelength transmitter and a fixed wavelength receiver, whose wavelengths are misarranged so that a set of wavelengths of the transmitter differs from the set of wavelengths of the receiver, and wavelengths of transmitters and receivers at different nodes are arranged so that for any pair of nodes there is at least one common wavelength which is the same for one of the transmitter and receiver at one node and one of the respective receiver and transmitter at the other node, thus providing a direct connection between the nodes. The corresponding structure of optical add/drop multiplexer/demultiplexer for use at the network node, and method of providing direct connections between the nodes, are also provided.

Abstract: An optical connector has an optical-connector housing in which a ferrule at an extending end of an optical fiber is incorporated, the optical-connector housing having a coding-key mounting portion. A coding key is mounted at the coding-key mounting portion in a condition in which the extending end of the coding key projects further than the extending end of the ferrule.

Abstract: An optical waveguide structure for distributing light from a light source includes a cylindrical sleeve configured to accommodate and receive light from the light source. The sleeve includes a central axis. A waveguide collar is formed from a solid, planar block of material. The block of material has a central portion configured to accommodate and surround the sleeve. The first and second output arms extend in a plane away from the central portion. The plane is substantially perpendicular to the central axis.

Abstract: This invention presents a novel tunable module that can be incorporated in various optical devices, to provide a tunability and selectivity in a characteristic of an optical signal by effectively modifying its optical path lengths. The present invention also provides an optical isolator that incorporates such a tunable module, so that polarization mode dispersion is minimized to an arbitrarily low level. The present invention further describes methods for incorporating the tunable module in optical devices and for tuning the optical characteristics.