Abstract: A spectrophotometer mouse is provided for making color spectrum measurements of desired areas on a surface over which the mouse is movable. The spectrophotometer mouse includes a housing shaped to conform to the hand of an operator, and a spectrophotometer in the housing having an input (such as a light receiving aperture) for measuring the color spectrum of the target area on the surface. The mouse has a position sensing encoder which is coupled to a programmed computer for identifying the position of the mouse on the surface. This programmed computer may be internal or external of the housing. The computer is used for locating the target area on the surface with reference to a pointer on the mouse, and then detecting when an operator has moved the mouse such that the input of the spectrophotometer is substantially coincident with the located target area.

Abstract: A robust spectrophotometer (also known as a color spectrometer or colorimeter) is self contained in a housing which is adapted to be held-held and has all of the electrical, optical and electro optic elements mounted on a board captured within the housing at one end of which light from a sample is restricted to an object area and projected after being dispersed spectrally, as with a reflection grating, to an image area at a photodetector via a lens which has an optical axis and converges the dispersed light at the image area. The dispersive element is mounted on an arm having a pivot laterally offset from the dispersive element's surface where a diverging beam of light from the object area is incident and is deflected to the image area. The geometry is such that the dispersive element may be rotated to a position where the beam is specularly deflected (zeroth order diffraction), and the spectrometer calibrated when the dispersive element is in the specular reflection/deflection position.

Abstract: A hand held microsurgical instrument for applying laser energy to selected locations (sites) in an area under the skin (or other exposed translucent tissue) to provide localized photothermolysis of underlying tissue at these sites, is described. The laser energy is focused into a spot within the tissue. This spot is of sufficiently small size so that the energy density is sufficient to provide surgical or treatment effects within the tissue without damaging the surface tissue. In dermatology, for example, the technique can be used to destroy endothelial cells in blood vessels which are desired to be removed, such spider veins (nevi) in the skin, hair follicles to prevent hair growth therefrom, or other microsurgical procedures. The area is visualized while the laser beam is steered, using a deflection system, in X and Y coordinates.

Abstract: An electro-optical sensor senses marks on a sheet which travels longitudinally with respect to a printed circuit board, carrying linear arrays of light sources (LEDs) and photodetectors and optics which define zones displaced laterally across the width of a sheet of paper, longitudinal columns of which can contain marks, the presence and absence of which marks is detected by the sensor. The sensor is especially adapted for use in detecting marks which indicate votes on paper ballots in electronic, computerized vote counting apparatus.

Abstract: In order to permanently remove hair growing in subcutaneous (below the skin's surface) tissue and to do so permanently, the hair and its root structure is epilated (vaporized) in an ablation cavity of essentially the same size and shape as the volume occupied by the root structure which includes follicle, the follicle bulb and the dermal papilla. Optical energy is used which is of a wavelength and fluence sufficient to cause epilation in the cavity without relying upon selective photothermolysis thereby limiting damage to tissue outside of the hair root structure. To find and restrict the optical energy to the epilation cavity, an optical system, which may be constituted of a single lens, having a numerical aperture of F/5-5.8 is used. The beam is generated by a laser which may be operated in a pulse mode and contained in a hand piece having the optical system at the end thereof.

Abstract: A multichannel optical head and data storage system employs an integrated-optical read channel. The read channel may be fabricated on a planar waveguide structure that separates the data signals of the multiple lasers. The read channel includes focus error sensors and track error sensors. The optical head may be used for amplitude recording systems such as phase-change erasable and write-once media, ablation media, dye-polymer media, and OD-ROM systems.

Abstract: The objective lens of an optical disk drive has a suitable positioning and numerical aperture so that the light beam will be focused into a spot on the optical media of a first optical disk having a cover plate with a first thickness. When a second optical disk is utilized having a cover plate with a second thickness different from the first thickness, a liquid crystal compensator lens is actuated in the optical path between the light source and the objective lens for focusing the light beam into a spot on the optical media of the second optical disk. A correction signal may be applied to the liquid crystal in the compensator lens for altering a refractive index thereof. This substantially eliminates a wavefront aberration in the reflected light beam which would otherwise occur if the beam were focused onto the optical media of the second optical disk solely by use of the objective lens.

Abstract: Nonlinear optical cavities comprising a single or multiple ring paths for use with diode lasers are presented. In one embodiment, the total internal reflection surface of a monolithic or composite cavity is fabricated into a plurality of nonparallel planes. In another embodiment, a composite cavity with either a single end piece or a plurality of end pieces bound to a nonlinear resonator crystal is used to generate either a single or multiple ring paths. In several of the embodiments, incident laser beams entering one end of the cavity follow the ring paths and transmit from the other end of the cavity as a plurality of second-harmonic beams with a pre-defined spatial layout.

Abstract: A multichannel optical head and data storage system employs an integrated-optical read channel. The read channel may be fabricated on a planar waveguide structure that separates the data signals of the multiple lasers. The read channel includes focus error sensors and track error sensors. The optical head may be used for amplitude recording systems such as phase-change erasable and write-once media, ablation media, dye-polymer media, and OD-ROM systems.

Abstract: A mask is used to remove substantially all of the first order diffraction components of a reflected light beam which are generated as the beam crosses grooved data tracks in an optical media. The mask may comprise a transparent substrate with an opaque layer having a pair of circular apertures or a bow-tie shaped aperture. The apertures are located outside the regions of interference between the diffracted components and the undiffracted component. The layer may be made of a reflective material for reflecting diffracted components of the reflected beam to a tracking error sensor. The layer may be made of a holographic material for deflecting the diffracted components to a tracking error sensor.

Abstract: A multiple beam optical system includes a housing which contains a pair of laser diodes and a pair of optical detectors. The lasers produce overlapping beams of light. The housing includes a beam directing and reflecting member which selectively focuses light from one of the lasers to a corresponding optical detector located in the housing and selectively focuses light from the other laser to its corresponding optical detector located within the housing. The individual power of each of the overlapping laser beams is thereby monitored by the separate detectors.

Abstract: An optical data storage system comprises a multiple data surface medium and optical head. The medium comprises a plurality of substrates separated by a light transmissive medium. Data surfaces are located on the substrate surfaces which lie adjacent a light transmissive medium. The data surfaces are substantially light transmissive. The optical head includes an aberration compensator to allow the head to focus onto the different data surfaces and a filter to screen out unwanted reflected light.

Abstract: A substrate has a pair of overlapping optical couplers for separately coupling a first and a second polarization component of a light beam into a first and a second waveguide channel. The channels are oriented with their longitudinal axis approximately perpendicular to each other. A first and a second optical detector are located in the first and second waveguide channels, respectively, for measuring the light intensity of the first and second polarization components.

Abstract: An improved apparatus and method for detecting the polarization state of an optical wavefront is disclosed, which is especially suitable for use in an integrated magneto-optic recording head. An optically transparent waveguide structure transmits TE and TM modes of the wavefront propagated as a beam coupled into the waveguide by a TE/TM grating coupler. In the waveguide structure is a periodic structure comprising a birefringent mode separator that splits the propagating beam into TE and TM modes. The mode separator comprises an array of uniformly spaced volumes of identical configuration. Photosensitive devices detect the intensity of the light contained within each of the separated beams. The signals from these photosensitive devices are used to determine the state of polarization of the optical wavefront. The periodic structure may, if desired, comprise regions of alternating birefringence, such as a Bragg grating, either in a waveguide layer or a cladding layer.