Patents by Inventor Alan C. G. Nutt

Alan C. G. Nutt has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6937283
    Abstract: An imaging apparatus (50) for generating an image signal from incident light with higher spatial frequencies of the incident light limited to reduce undersampling artifacts. Apparatus (50) includes a detector plane (62) for generating the image signal from an array of photosites, (63) and an optical section having a relatively thin lithium niobate rhomboidal filter (51) interposed in the path of the incident light so as to produce a blurred image on the photosites. A filter configuration is disclosed which produces four spots (58) at the imaging sensors (62) positioned at the corners of a rhombus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2005
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: David Kessler, Alan C. G. Nutt, Russell J. Palum
  • Patent number: 6211997
    Abstract: A modulator for a high optical power printing includes a transparent crystal and a patterned buffer layer formed over one of the surfaces of the crystal. An electrode array is formed so that each electrode of the electrode array is patterned directly on each portion of the patterned buffer layer. In a further feature of the invention, the crystal substrate can be formed so that opposing endfaces through which high optical power laser light passes are at an angle and are antireflection coated. A transparent and electrically insulating overcoat is provided above the electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2001
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Alan C. G. Nutt, Sujatha Ramanujan, Joseph F. Revelli, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6084626
    Abstract: A grating modulator array (40) is comprised of a plurality of modulator sites (41). Each modulator site (41) is comprised of a plurality of first poled regions (50) and a plurality of second poled regions (51) alternating with said first poled regions. A first electrode (48a) is attached to a first end of each of the modulator sites and a second electrode (48b) is attached to a second end of each of the modulator sites and each of the electrode pairs establishes a field in the poled regions of the modulator sites which causes a phase shift in polarized light incident on the modulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2000
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Sujatha Ramanujan, Andrew F. Kurtz, Alan C. G. Nutt
  • Patent number: 6040857
    Abstract: A device is described for a very low cost anti-aliasing filter to be used to suppress aliasing artifacts present in discretely sampled solid-state electronic imaging devices. This device includes a transparent substrate upon which a multiplicity of transparent phase spots are placed. The diameter and thickness of the transparent phase spots are designed in such a way to cause just the right amount of blurring to suppress the aliasing artifacts, yet render a reasonable sharp image for spatial frequencies below the sampling frequency of the imager. This suppression is further accomplished over a broad spectral range. The phase noise filter thus formed can be placed either in object space or in image space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2000
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Jeffrey I. Hirsh, Joseph F. Revelli, Jr., Alan C. G. Nutt
  • Patent number: 6031666
    Abstract: An optical phase noise filter for use with an optical imaging system such as a solid-state imager or the like, including a transparent substrate; and a plurality of transparent spots randomly placed on the transparent substrate for producing a phase difference between a wavefront transmitted through the transparent spots and that portion of the transparent substrate other than the transparent spots to define an optical phase noise filter having a spatial sampling cut-off frequency and wherein the variance of the transparent spot to transparent spot distance between adjacent spots is minimized while maintaining the randomness of transparent spot placement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 29, 2000
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Alan C. G. Nutt, Jeffrey I. Hirsh
  • Patent number: 5991065
    Abstract: An electro-optic modulator is described which uses periodic inverted domain regions to permit it to be able to handle high powered optical light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 23, 1999
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Alan C. G. Nutt, Mool C. Gupta
  • Patent number: 5756263
    Abstract: A method for forming inverted ferroelectric domain regions in a substrate including ferroelectric material and having two major opposite surfaces. The method includes application of controlled electric field in selected regions to inhibit subsequent nucleation and growth of selected domains; applying a conductive electrode over the opposite major surfaces; and providing a voltage to the conductive electrodes having a sufficient magnitude and duration to cause the ferroelectric polarization to invert in selected unmodified regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 26, 1998
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Mool C. Gupta, Alan C. G. Nutt
  • Patent number: 5748361
    Abstract: A method of forming ferroelectric domain regions in a ferroelectric crystal cut so that the polarization direction is in the plane of the crystal and is along the z direction is disclosed. The method includes forming a conductive ground electrode on the surface of the plane and having an edge perpendicular to the z direction or the polarization direction in the crystal plane; and electron beam bombarding the plane of the crystal in particular spots to deposit a charge such that the electric field created between the edge of the electrode and the spots is in a direction opposite to the crystal polarization direction and causing the inversion of the crystal polarization direction between the charge spot and the electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1998
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Mool C. Gupta, Alan C. G. Nutt, Venkatraman Gopalan
  • Patent number: 5715092
    Abstract: A ferroelectric light frequency doubler device has a surface coating on one surface of an initially uniformly poled ferroelectric crystal, the surface coating on the one surface being exposed to a scanning electron beam so as to form a spatially periodically alternating polarity domain structure in the crystal. The surface coating can be of an inorganic material or it can be of a polymeric organic material. The surface coating can be adapted to be patterned to form an optical grating in registrative alignment with the spatially periodically alternating polarity domain structure when such optical grating is desired. Alternatively, the surface coating may remain on the device as a protective coating, or it may be removed upon formation of the alternating polarity domain structure in the crystal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 3, 1998
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Mool C. Gupta, Alan C. G. Nutt
  • Patent number: 5691116
    Abstract: A method for forming lenslets which collect light and focus the light onto photosensitive elements of an electronic imager. The method includes providing a transparent lenslet-forming layer on a substrate or on layers on the substrate, forming a thin etch-stop layer on the transparent lenslet-forming layer and patterning a thin photosensitive resin mask on the etch-stop layer so that the mask pattern corresponds to lenslets to be formed. The method further includes transferring by etching the pattern of the photosensitive resin mask to the thin etch-stop layer to form a thin etch-stop mask, anisotropically plasma etching the transparent lenslet-forming layer according to the patterned thin etch-stop mask, removing the thin etch-stop mask, and thermally reflowing the etched transparent lenslet-forming layer to form the lenslets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1997
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Joseph F. Revelli, Jeffrey I. Hirsh, Joseph Jech, Douglas R. Robello, Stephen P. Barry, Alan C. G. Nutt
  • Patent number: 5605783
    Abstract: A method for forming lenslets which collect light and focuses it onto photosensitive elements of an electronic imager includes providing a transparent lenslet-forming layer on a substrate or on layers on the substrate and forming a thin etch-stop layer on the transparent lenslet-forming layer and patterning the etch-stop layer so that the mask pattern corresponds to lenslets to be formed, The method further includes anisotropically plasma etching the transparent lenslet-forming layer according to the thin etch-stop mask pattern, removing the thin etch-stop mask, and thermally reflowing the patterned transparent layer to form the transparent lenslets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: February 25, 1997
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Joseph F. Revelli, Jeffrey I. Hirsh, Joseph Jech, Douglas R. Robello, Stephen P. Barry, Alan C. G. Nutt
  • Patent number: 5418871
    Abstract: A mulitchannel optical waveguide page scanner has a diode laser and a primary optical channel waveguide. Light is coupled from the diode into the primary channel waveguide. Multiple secondary side channels each have a thin-film electro-optic waveguide modulator. A series of T-branch connectors distribute light from the primary channel to the secondary side channels. Each of the electro-optic waveguide modulators is addressable individually.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 23, 1995
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Joseph F. Revelli, Jr., Alan C. G. Nutt, Jay S. Schildkraut, Eric J. Lim, David A. Roberts, David J. Williams, Douglas R. Robello, Thomas L. Penner, Sanwal Sarraf, Chih-Li Chuang
  • Patent number: 5371817
    Abstract: A mulitchannel optical waveguide page scanner has a diode laser and a primary optical channel waveguide. Light is coupled from the diode into the primary channel waveguide. Multiple secondary side channels each have a thin-film electro-optic waveguide modulator. A series of T-branch connectors distribute light from the primary channel to the secondary side channels. Each of the electro-optic waveguide modulators is addressable individually.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 1993
    Date of Patent: December 6, 1994
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Joseph F. Revelli, Jr., Alan C. G. Nutt, Jay S. Schildkraut, Eric J. Lim, David A. Roberts, David J. Williams, Douglas R. Robello, Thomas L. Penner, Sanwal Sarraf, Chih-Li Chuang
  • Patent number: 5322986
    Abstract: A method for preparing a poled polymer stripe waveguide comprising preparing a polymer waveguide blank, electric field poling the polymer waveguide blank, and photoablating the outline of the stripe waveguide in the waveguide blank. The invention also provides a method for preparing passive polymer stripe waveguides and non-linear optical and passive waveguides produced by the methods of the invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 1992
    Date of Patent: June 21, 1994
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventor: Alan C. G. Nutt