Patents Examined by Violeta A Prieto
  • Patent number: 10761014
    Abstract: A method and system for remote sensing using optical orbital angular momentum (OAM)-based spectroscopy for object recognition. The method includes applying an OAM state on a light beam to generate an optical OAM spectrum, transmitting the light beam on a remote object, receiving a reflected optical OAM spectrum associated with the remote object, and providing a high resolution image of the remote object based on the reflected optical OAM spectrum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Neda Cvijetic, Giovanni Milione, Ting Wang
  • Patent number: 10761398
    Abstract: A imaging ellipsometer system is provided including a lens configuration with tunable acoustic gradient index of refraction (“TAG”) lens. The imaging ellipsometer system further includes a light source, a polarizer, a compensator, an analyzer and a camera. Light from the light source passes through the polarizer and is directed toward a workpiece. In various implementations, the compensator is located and configured to elliptically polarize the light either before or after the light is reflected from the workpiece. The lens configuration receives the reflected workpiece light and the TAG lens is controlled to provide a modulation of a focus position. The camera receives workpiece light that passes through the TAG lens and the analyzer during an image exposure and provides a corresponding camera image. An ellipsometry analysis is performed (e.g., to determine at least one of a refraction index, or a thickness of one or more layers of the workpiece, etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: Mitutoyo Corporation
    Inventor: Joseph Andrew Summers
  • Patent number: 10760993
    Abstract: A measurement method for measuring an effective refractive index difference between two propagation modes of a multimode fiber is provided. The method includes: measuring a first Brillouin frequency shift ?1 by specifying a frequency having a lowest-frequency peak out of peaks in a first frequency spectrum of scattered light in a first propagation mode; measuring a second Brillouin frequency shift ?2 by specifying a frequency having a lowest-frequency peak out of peaks in a second frequency spectrum of scattered light in a second propagation mode; and calculating an effective refractive index difference ?neff in accordance with ?neff=(?1??2)/(2kVL) with use of the first Brillouin frequency shift ?1, the second Brillouin frequency shift ?2, a predetermined wave number k of light in a vacuum, and a predetermined constant VL.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignees: Fujikura Ltd., NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION SHIMANE UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Ryo Maruyama, Nobuo Kuwaki, Fumihiko Ito
  • Patent number: 10739272
    Abstract: An inspection system of an embodiment includes: a planar illumination unit that temporally and spatially varies intensities of light in a periodic manner; a time-correlation image generator that generates a time-correlation image with a time-correlation camera or an image capturing system that performs an operation equivalent to that of the time-correlation camera; and a calculation processor that calculates a characteristic from the time-correlation image, the characteristic corresponding to a distribution of normal vectors to an inspection target surface and serving to detect an abnormality based on at least either a difference from a surrounding area or a difference from a reference surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignees: THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO, KOCHI PREFECTURAL PUBLIC UNIVERSITY CORPORATION, RICOH ELEMEX CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toru Kurihara, Shigeru Ando
  • Patent number: 10732036
    Abstract: An apparatus configured to detect a substance, and method of operating and forming the same. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a tunable resonator including an upper Bragg reflector and a lower Bragg reflector separated by a porous matrix. The tunable resonator is configured to be illuminated by a light source and produce a first spectral optical response from a substance absorbed within the porous matrix. The apparatus also includes a detector positioned proximate the tunable resonator configured to provide a first absorption signal representing the first spectral optical response.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: The Texas A&M University System
    Inventors: Pao T. Lin, Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna
  • Patent number: 10733825
    Abstract: A method for creating a secure document, registering the secure document and verifying the authenticity of the secure document includes receiving a print object that has content. A security feature, including an identifier, is created and is associated with the content. The identifier may be a barcode. The barcode may represent a character string. The security feature may include the identifier barcode and a decoy barcode that is not associated with the content. The identifier barcode (or the character string represented by the barcode) and the content are transmitted to a database for storage. Once stored, the identifier and the content are considered to be registered. A print object that includes the security feature and the content is then transmitted to a printer for printing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: TROY GROUP, INC.
    Inventors: Brian Lewis, Xiaorong Cai, Michael R. Riley, David Altfeder
  • Patent number: 10732093
    Abstract: We describe a method of selectively detecting the presence of an analyte, the method comprising: providing at least one waveguide, the waveguide having a core comprising porous material; absorbing an analyte sample into said porous material of said core such that said analyte sample is held within pores of said core; waveguiding radiation along said at least one waveguide to an output to provide output radiation; measuring one or more spectral features of said output radiation due to absorption or scattering of said waveguided radiation by said absorbed analyte sample; selectively identifying the presence of a target analyte in said analyte sample from said one or more spectral features. In embodiments spectral features are measured for multiple different waveguide core regions having different physical/chemical properties modified to provide additional selectivity to the target analyte(s), and these measurements combined to identify the target analyte.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: SENSORHUT LTD.
    Inventor: Tanya Hutter
  • Patent number: 10722153
    Abstract: A medical photometer includes a processor and a memory that stores an instruction readable by a computer. When the instruction is executed by the processor, the medical photometer acquires an intensity of one of a first intensity signal and a second intensity signal, the first intensity signal corresponding to an intensity of a first light beam that has a first wavelength and that is transmitted through or reflected from a tissue of a living body, and a second intensity signal corresponding to an intensity of a second light beam that has a second wavelength and that is transmitted through or reflected from the tissue of the living body acquires an intensity ratio of the first intensity signal and the second intensity signal, and detects an artifact of the living body based on the acquired intensity and the acquired intensity ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: Nihon Kohden Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshinori Ueda, Teiji Ukawa, Kazumasa Ito, Hideki Fujisaki
  • Patent number: 10724961
    Abstract: An inspection apparatus includes an inspection optical system configured to a direct an inspection beam onto a surface of a substrate, the inspection optical system having an objective, a focus measurement optical system configured to receive a focus measurement beam, redirected by the substrate, from the objective, the focus measurement optical system having a movable reflective element configured to receive the focus measurement beam, and a control system configured to cause movement of the reflective element with a direction component along a beam path of the focus measurement beam and configured to determine whether the substrate surface is in the focus of the objective based on the focus measurement beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: ASML Holding N.V.
    Inventors: Yevgeniy Konstantinovich Shmarev, Stanislav Smirnov
  • Patent number: 10724960
    Abstract: An inspection system of an embodiment includes: a planar illumination unit that temporally varies an intensity of light in a periodic manner by spatially moving a stripe pattern of the intensity of light; a time-correlation image generator that generates a time-correlation image with a time-correlation camera or an image capturing system that performs an operation equivalent to that of the time-correlation camera; and a calculation processor that calculates a characteristic from the time-correlation image, the characteristic corresponding to a distribution of normal vectors to an inspection target surface and serving to detect an abnormality based on at least either a difference from a surrounding area or a difference from a reference surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignees: The University of Tokyo, Ricoh Elemex Corporation, Kochi Prefectural Public University Corporation
    Inventors: Toru Kurihara, Shigeru Ando, Michihiko Yoshimura
  • Patent number: 10722154
    Abstract: A medical photometer includes a processor and a memory that stores an instruction readable by a computer. When the instruction is executed by the processor, the medical photometer acquires a first light attenuation of a first light beam that is transmitted through or reflected from a tissue of a living body, and that has a first wavelength, based on a first intensity signal corresponding to an intensity of the first light beam, acquires a second light attenuation of a second light beam that is transmitted through or reflected from the tissue, and that has a second wavelength, based on a second intensity signal corresponding to an intensity of the second light beam, calculates a tissue thickness based on a ratio of the first light attenuation and the second light attenuation, and detects an artifact of the living body based on a temporal variation of the tissue thickness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: NIHON KOHDEN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshinori Ueda, Teiji Ukawa, Kazumasa Ito, Hideki Fujisaki
  • Patent number: 10718664
    Abstract: A micro-fluidic system comprising means for optically trapping a particle and a Raman excitation source for causing Raman scatter from the particle whilst it is in the optical trap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: THE UNIVERSITY COURT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS
    Inventors: Kishan Dholakia, Phillip Ronald Thomas Jess, Michael Mazilu
  • Patent number: 10716476
    Abstract: Methods are proposed to improve axial resolution in optical coherence tomography (OCT). In one aspect, the method comprises: obtaining a k-space interferogram of an OCT spectral image; uniformly reshaping the k-space interferogram to a quasi-stationary interferogram by extracting a source envelope; fitting a spectral estimation model to the quasi-stationary interferogram; and calculating an axial depth profile using the fitted spectral estimation model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Xinyu Liu, Linbo Liu
  • Patent number: 10720354
    Abstract: A workpiece alignment system has a light emission apparatus to direct a beam of light toward a first side of a workpiece through a first polarizer apparatus. A light receiver apparatus positioned on a second side of the workpiece receives the beam of light through a second polarizer apparatus between the workpiece and the light receiver apparatus. A workpiece support supports the workpiece. A rotation device selectively supports and rotates the workpiece support about a support axis. A controller determines a position of the workpiece based on an amount of the beam of light received by the light receiver apparatus. The controller determines a position of the workpiece when the workpiece is supported and rotated based, at least in part, on a rotational position of the workpiece support and at least a portion of the beam of light received by the light receiver apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: Axcelis Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Neil James Bassom
  • Patent number: 10720365
    Abstract: A method of measuring misalignment of chips, a method of fabricating a fan-out panel level package using the same, and a fan-out panel level package fabricated thereby are provided. The measuring method may include obtaining images by scanning chips on a substrate, obtaining absolute offsets of reference chips with respect to the substrate in the images, obtaining relative offsets of subordinate chips with respect to the reference chips in the images, and calculating misalignments of the chips based on the absolute offsets and the relative offsets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Younghoon Sohn, Yusin Yang
  • Patent number: 10718702
    Abstract: A contact angle measurement system includes a housing that can hold a volume of a first fluid having a first density, an adjustable rock sample holder positioned within the housing, a fluid dropper attached to the housing, an image capturing a device, and a computer system. The holder can support a rock sample. An orientation of the holder relative to the housing is adjustable such that an outer surface of the rock sample is at a non-zero angle relative to a lower wall of the housing. When the orientation of the holder relative to the housing is such that the outer surface of the rock sample is at the non-zero angle relative to the lower wall, the fluid droplet traverses the outer surface of the rock sample. The image capturing device can capture images of the fluid droplet as the fluid droplet traverses the outer surface of the rock sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil Company
    Inventors: Amar Alshehri, Abdulkareem AlSofi
  • Patent number: 10718716
    Abstract: An embodiment of a laser induced breakdown system is described that comprises a portable device that includes: a laser configured to produce a beam comprising a plurality of repeating pulses; a processor configured to open a data acquisition window after a delay period, wherein the delay period begins upon production of one of the pulses; one or more optical elements configured to direct the beam at a sample and collect emitted light from a plasma continuum; and an optical detector configured to produce a plurality of signal values from the emitted light from the plasma continuum collected during the data acquisition window, wherein the processor is configured to identify an element from the signal values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: THERMO SCIENTIFIC PORTABLE ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTS INC.
    Inventors: Peidong Wang, Rong Sun, Brendan Falvey, Haowen Li, Yu Shen, Michael E. Dugas
  • Patent number: 10705022
    Abstract: An optical head for a Raman spectroscopy system includes a housing an input configured to allow input radiation of a selected wavelength into the housing, a first lens disposed in an end of the housing to allow the input radiation to emit from the housing through the first lens and to receive reflected radiation including specular reflection and diffuse reflection, and a second lens disposed in the housing and configured to receive reflected radiation from the first lens. The optical head includes an output configured to receive the reflected radiation from the second lens. The optical head includes a blocking mirror disposed in the housing between the first lens and the second lens. The blocking mirror is configured and positioned to direct the radiation from the input to the first lens. The blocking mirror blocks at least a portion of specular reflection from reaching the second lens but allows diffuse reflection to the reach the second lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Goodrich Corporation
    Inventors: David Madsen, Alexander J. Majewski
  • Patent number: 10705018
    Abstract: A method of fuel analysis comprising subjecting a fuel sample comprising a fuel marker and a fuel matrix to fluorescence spectroscopy to generate a measured emission spectrum comprising a first spectral component (type and amount of marker in sample), a second spectral component (spectral perturbation), and a third spectral component (matrix fluorescence); deconvoluting the measured emission spectrum to yield a deconvoluted measured emission spectrum (first and second spectral components) via removal of third spectral component; decoupling the deconvoluted measured emission spectrum to yield a corrected emission spectrum (first spectral component) via a projection function which orthogonally projects the deconvoluted measured emission spectrum onto a subspace devoid of the second spectral component; and determining the amount of fuel marker in the fuel sample from the corrected emission spectrum. The method of fuel analysis comprises temperature corrections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Authentix, Inc.
    Inventors: Olusola Soyemi, Anahita Kyani
  • Patent number: 10697833
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for determining a characteristic number for characterizing the quality of a shade setting of a paint in relation to a color reference, characterized in that colorimetric coordinates of the paint and of the color reference are determined with a spectrophotometer for a number of measurement geometries and wherein respective color differences are calculated and standardized from the colorimetric coordinates of the paint and of the color reference for each measurement geometry of the number of measurement geometries, and where a group of characteristic values calculated from the respective standardized color differences is assigned a scale value for determining the characteristic number by means of an assignment rule to be provided in advance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: BASF Coatings GmbH
    Inventors: Carlos Vignolo, Heinrich Cloppenburg