Abstract: The invention relates to a capillary tube holder with a recess for holding a capillary tube. At least one pair of light channels is provided perpendicular to the axial direction of the recess. Each pair of light channels has an incoming light channel to supply light beams to the capillary tube and an outgoing light channel to transmit said light beams to an evaluation device. The light channels extend radially with respect to the recess and lead therein. Light conductors comprising individual fibres are provided in each incoming light channel and each outgoing light channel and are arranged upstream of the capillary tube. The diameter of each individual fibre corresponds at least approximately to the internal diameter of the capillary tube, and a plurality of individual fibres of the light conductors is arranged parallel and/or radially to the longitudinal axis of the capillary tube in the area where the light channels lead into the recess.

Abstract: The invention provides for multi-well plates with greater than 864 wells that comprise a layer of cycloolefin having low fluorescence and high transmittance. These multi-well plates are particularly well suited for fluorescent measurements.

Abstract: An alignment sleeve for precisely aligning a pair of ferrules, such as a pair of multifiber ferrules, is provided along with an associated assembly method. The alignment sleeve includes a sleeve member defining a lengthwise extending cavity opening through opposed ends thereof. The sleeve member can also define at least one window and, more commonly, a plurality of windows opening into the cavity. The alignment sleeve also includes a guide pin extending lengthwise through the cavity and a guide pin engagement member extending at least partially into the window defined by the sleeve member. The guide pin engagement member is bonded, such as by welding, to the guide pin such that the guide pin is retained in a floating relationship within the sleeve member. The sleeve member can also define an expansion window to accommodate expansion of the guide pin that is creating during welding of the guide pin.

Abstract: A readhead for a spectrometer for illuminating a target area and receiving light from said target area is provided with a housing adapted to be incorporated in a spectrometer, a light source mounted in a fixed position relative to the housing, a support mechanism adapted to support a biological sample to be illuminated by the light source, a light-shaping mechanism disposed between the light source and the support for increasing the diameter, intensity, and uniformity of the light beam, and a photodetector mounted in fixed position relative to the housing, the photodetector being adapted to detect light from a biological sample disposed in the target area illuminated light sources. The light sources may be in the form of a light-emitting diode that emits substantially monochromatic light having a first wavelength, and the readhead may also include a second light-emitting diode that is adapted to emit substantially monochromatic light of a second wavelength towards the target area.

Abstract: Fiber optic cable waste is avoided by measuring amplitude oscillations of four-wave mixing products in positive-dispersion and negative-dispersion fiber optic cable to determine the lengths of a first, positive-dispersion cable segment and a second, negative-dispersion cable segment that are used to provide a specified length of fiber optic cable having a specified amount of path-average chromatic dispersion. The integrated dispersion of a positive-dispersion fiber optic cable as a function of length is measured to provide a first set of data, and the integrated dispersion of a negative-dispersion fiber optic cable as a function of length is measured to provide a second set of data. A fiber-optic cable is simultaneously fed with two optical signals, a first at wavelength .lambda..sub.1 and a second at wavelength .lambda..sub.2, and the number of sinusoidal oscillations that occur in the four-wave mixing products of the Stokes (or anti-Stokes) sideband as a function of cable length are measured.

Abstract: An optoelectronic sensor arrangement comprising a light transmitter for the transmission of sequential operational light pulses into a monitored region and with a light receiver unit for the reception of operational light pulses reflected from an object located in the monitored region, wherein the light receiver unit includes at least two photosensitive elements, with a circuit for the suppression of stray light being associated with each photo-sensitive element.

Abstract: The present invention relates to three-dimensional optical imaging techniques and, more particularly, to the detection and three-dimensional imaging of absorbing and/or scattering structures in complex random media, such as human body tissue, by detecting scattered light emerging from the medium.

Abstract: The invention relates to a laser amplifier disc comprising a neodymium-dope phosphate glass and a copper-doped phosphate glass cladding to entrap photons. The two glasses are bonded together using an adhesive film. The adhesive film is an epoxy resin. The invention also relates to a process inspecting the bonding of the laser amplifier disc cladding.

Abstract: An ultra violet light sterilizing apparatus utilizing a silicon carbide (SiC) photodiode sensor is described. The ultraviolet light fluid sterilization apparatus includes a fluid chamber, at least one ultraviolet light source configured to emit ultraviolet light into the fluid chamber, and at least one ultraviolet light sensor that includes a silicon carbide photodiode. Each UV light sensor includes a sealed outer housing having an optically transparent window. A silicon carbide photodiode is located inside the housing adjacent the transparent window. Each UV light sensor also includes a signal amplification unit that includes an amplifier mounted on a printed circuit board located inside the housing. The UV sterilization apparatus also includes a controller configured to receive, as input, a signal from each ultraviolet light sensor.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for detecting a scanning light beam used for writing onto a media. A detector is disposed in the scanning path for sending a signal to a first amplifier. A second amplifier is provided for providing a feed back loop to the first amplifier so as to maintain the first amplifier a predetermined level. A time delay circuit provided between the output of the second amplifier and first amplifier for delaying the signal from said second amplifier to said positive input of said first amplifier such that the output of the first amplifier is forced to a predetermined value when no signal is being produced by the detector.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of optically reading relief carried by the outside wall of a transparent or translucent receptacle. The method of the, invention consists:in illuminating the receptacle by means of an incident light cone supplied by a lighting system placed beneath the receptacle;in adjusting the width of the incident light cone to limit lighting at least to the portion of the outside wall that is provided with relief in order to avoid parasitic reflections;in picking up the reflected light beams by means of the pick-up element disposed beneath the receptacle and suitable for forming a plane image of the wall of the bottle; andin adjusting the field angle of the pick-up element as a function of the characteristics of the receptacle.

Abstract: The invention relates to spatial light modulators (SLM) for amplitude and phase modulation of incident light. A "flexure" hinge which is provided between the SLM's substrate and micromirror comprises integral hinged sections which allow for the micromirror to tilt or to move in a piston-like fashion relative to the substrate in response to an electrostatic force. The hinge is particularly advantageous for large mirrors. In addition, the hinge can provide improved heat sinking capability over previously reported SLM hinge designs based on torsion bars and cantilever beams. The flexure hinge has sufficient mechanical flexibility that the SLM actuation voltage required is not excessively high. The flexure hinge has many applications, the preferred ones being a SLM for modulating high-energy beams and a SLM for optical channel switching.

Abstract: Devices that comprise novel, mesoscopically periodic materials that combine crystalline colloidal array (CCA) self-assembly with the temperature ined volume phase transitions of various materials, preferably poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) are disclosed. In one embodiment, a PNIPAM CCA is formed in an aqueous media and contained within cell means. In another embodiment, a CCA of charged particles is formed and polymerized in a PNIPAM hydrogel. Methods for making these devices are also disclosed. The devices of the present invention are useful in many applications including, for example, optical switches, optical limiters, optical filters, display devices and processing elements. The devices are further useful as membrane filters. All of these devices have the feature of being tunable in response to temperature. Devices that change diffracted wavelength in response to pressure are also disclosed.

Abstract: When a vehicle enters into the lower portion of a shielding member, a headlamp is switched on, and a condition flag is set to Set 1 which represents a waiting state in which the vehicle exterior is estimated to become bright/dark intermittently. When the condition flag is set to Set 1, when the vehicle enters into the lower portion of the shielding member, the condition flag is set from Set 1 to Set 2 which represents an intermittent state in which the vehicle exterior becomes bright/dark intermittently with high possibilities. When the condition flag is set to Set 2, a switch-off extension time CFE and a switch-off delay time CTF make a time until the headlamp is switched off. As a result, the time until the headlamp is switched off is delayed, and the headlamp is required to remain switched on at portions where the vehicle exterior becomes bright/dark intermittently.

Abstract: The invention provides an integrated systolic architecture which can perform both forward and inverse Discrete Wavelet Transforms with a minimum of complexity. A plurality of processing cells, each having an adder and a multiplier, are coupled to a set of multiplexers and delay elements to selectively receive a single input datastream in the forward DWT mode and two datastreams in the inverse DWT mode. In the forward DWT mode, the integrated architecture decomposes the input datastream into two output sequences--a high frequency sub-band output and a low frequency sub-band output. In the inverse DWT mode, the integrated architecture reconstructs the original input sequence by outputting even terms and odd terms on alternating clock cycles. As a result, the architecture can achieve 100% utilization and is suitable to be implemented in VLSI circuitry.

Abstract: A quantity of material is locally deposited on or removed from a substantially flat substrate of a circuit board. The quantity is inspected by carrying out a first measurement of a level of a surface of the material in a direction transversely of the substrate. At least two further measurements are performed of a further level of the substrate in said direction in at least two further locations where the material has not been deposited or removed. A reference level of the substrate is calculated by interpolation between the further measurements to a location of the first measurement. The quantity of material is inspected on the basis of a difference between the first measurement and the reference level.

Abstract: A front windshield 1 having a rain sensor 2 for detecting the adhesion or presence of water drops W upon one side surface thereof, depending upon variation in an amount of reflected light, wherein the rain sensor 2 comprises: a light emitting element 7 for introducing a sensing light beam into the front windshield 1; a light receiving element 8 for detecting the light beam which is propagated by total internal reflection within the front windshield 1; and diffraction gratings 5, 6 formed on a surface of a glass substrate 4, through which the light emitting element 7 and the light receiving element 8 are provided on glass surface, whereby the rain sensor 2 is adhered on the other side surface of the front windshield 1 by means of an adhesive material 3 having a refractive index equivalent to that of the glass substrate 4.

Abstract: Disclosed is an alignment method which includes measuring a deviation between a design position and a measurement position, with respect to some of plural alignment execution points upon an object, to be examined, which alignment execution points have predetermined design positions, respectively, applying design positions of some alignment execution points and measured positional deviations to an approximation formula which approximates the relation between design positions and corrected positional deviations, and determining, with respect to each alignment execution point, a correction formula for calculating a corrected positional deviation on the basis of its design position, and performing an alignment procedure to be done with respect to the alignment execution points in accordance with the determined correction formula, wherein the correction formula includes a second or higher order term of design position.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining spatial aor time intervals in the focused image or focused sequence of images of a lens-diaphragm system and/or of spatial, time-related object-parameters (10), spectral and/or local frequency-specific object parameters, in particular to control automatons and to monitor production sequences, focusing of the incident electromagnetic beams being implemented by the lens-diaphragm system (10), position-specific modulation of the direction of propagation, intensity, wavelength, polarization and/or of the time modulation frequency of the electromagnetic beams (11) being implemented by a 3D modulator (12) present behind the lens-diaphragm system (10) in or near the focal plane of the lens-diaphragm system (10), detection of the modulated electromagnetic beams being carried out by a detection system (13) located to the rear of the 3D modulator (12), and calculation of the spatial and/or time intervals (14) of the electromagnetic beams in the 3D modulato

Abstract: An improved transistor package with superior stability to wave soldering, having a nickel oxide barrier strip formed on the surface of the leads.