Abstract: An electronics assembly is provided including a circuit board substrate having a top surface and a bottom surface and a plurality of thermal conductive vias extending from the top surface to the bottom surface. At least one electronics package is mounted to the top surface of the substrate. A heat sink device is in thermal communication with the bottom surface of the substrate. Thermal conductive vias are in thermal communication to pass thermal energy from the at least one electronics package to the heat sink. At least some of the thermal conductive vias are formed extending from the top surface to the bottom surface of the substrate at an angle.

Abstract: An electronics assembly is provided including a circuit board substrate having a top surface and a bottom surface and a plurality of thermal conductive vias extending from the top surface to the bottom surface. At least one electronics package is mounted to the top surface of the substrate. A heat sink device is in thermal communication with the bottom surface of the substrate. Thermal conductive vias are in thermal communication to pass thermal energy from the at least one electronics package to the heat sink. At least some of the thermal conductive vias are formed extending from the top surface to the bottom surface of the substrate at an angle.

Abstract: A hermetic package of a type used to contain a sensing element, such as an infrared sensing element. The package comprises a base having a base wall and sidewalls surrounding the base wall to define a first recess within the base. The sensing element is fabricated on a device chip disposed within the first recess. A lid is hermetically sealed with the base to enclose the sensing element. The lid defines a second recess that communicates with the first recess, such that the first and second recesses define a continuous cavity between the lid and the base and in which the device chip is contained. The depth of the second recess is preferably at least about half the depth of the sensing element within the first recess, such that neither the lid nor the base are required to have a deep recess that defines essentially the entire cavity in which the device chip is contained.

Abstract: A hermetic package of a type used to contain a sensing element, such as an infrared sensing element. The package comprises a base having a base wall and sidewalls surrounding the base wall to define a first recess within the base. The sensing element is fabricated on a device chip disposed within the first recess. A lid is hermetically sealed with the base to enclose the sensing element. The lid defines a second recess that communicates with the first recess, such that the first and second recesses define a continuous cavity between the lid and the base and in which the device chip is contained. The depth of the second recess is preferably at least about half the depth of the sensing element within the first recess, such that neither the lid nor the base are required to have a deep recess that defines essentially the entire cavity in which the device chip is contained.

Abstract: Auto-calibrating spectrometers and methods that measure transmission or reflection versus wavelength of a sample without need for calibration for long periods of time. Reflection and transmission spectrometers along with auto-calibrating methods for use therewith are disclosed. Light is focused onto a sample using a lens or similar optical element that transmits light towards the sample reflects light impinging upon it, and transmits light reflected from the sample. If one monitors the light reflected from the first lens and sample, very useful information is available related to the system response versus time. The present invention monitors the reflected light from the first lens and sample, and corrects for the system changes over time using this reflected light.

Abstract: Auto-calibrating spectrometers and methods that measure transmission or reflection versus wavelength of a sample without need for calibration for long periods of time. Reflection and transmission spectrometers along with auto-calibrating methods for use therewith are disclosed. Light is focused onto a sample using a lens or similar optical element that transmits light towards the sample reflects light impinging upon it, and transmits light reflected from the sample. If one monitors the light reflected from the first lens and sample, very useful information is available related to the system response versus time. The present invention monitors the reflected light from the first lens and sample, and corrects for the system changes over time using this reflected light.

Abstract: An optical system is provided that has an enclosure which is substantially filled with a fluid. The enclosure also has an aperture for receiving an electromagnetic wave that is altered by an optical component contained in the enclosure. The enclosure also has an aperture mask and blocker that are at least partially immersed in the fluid.

Abstract: In a liquid crystal light valve projector, a quarter-wave compensator plate is disposed between a polarization plate and a liquid crystal light valve to compensate for polarization irregularities induced by the off-incident reflections in the cone of light projected onto the LCLV. The quarter-wave compensation plate reverses the phase of the P component of said illumination light with respect to said compensator plate by 180.degree. thereby eliminating P-polarization leakage during the dark state of an LCLV projector. The invention also combines the compensator plate with a heat shield and a low stress-optical coefficient counter electrode substrate to reduce the birefringence of the LCLV thereby also minimizing leakage of P-polarized light onto the projection screen during the dark state of the projector.

Abstract: A reflective liquid crystal light valve includes transparent conductive layers of indium tin oxide (30) employed as an electrode to electrically modulate orientation of molecules of a liquid crystal material that receives a high intensity reading light (40) applied through the transparent electrode. Unwanted double reflection (64,66) from interfaces between the indium tin oxide electrode (30) and adjacent layers (22,32) are minimized by application of broad band anti-reflective coatings (70,72,74,76) formed by one or more pairs of thin layers having alternately high and low indices of refraction.

Abstract: A liquid crystal light valve device exhibiting improved performance capabilities fabricated using a cadmium telluride light blocking layer doped with nitrogen. Because of the incorporation of nitrogen into the cadmium telluride light blocking layer, the layer can be applied using high-speed, low-cost sputtering techniques without resulting in excessive photoconductivity or photoshading. The cost of the addition of nitrogen is minimal. The process of the present invention is amenable to precise control and wide flexibility which results in control of the quality aspects of the light blocking layer such as particulate density.

Abstract: Creation of DC fields in a liquid crystal light valve caused a DC induced transient optical phenomenon in which output brightness level undergoes a change as the DC fields are redistributed within the liquid crystal light valve. Adverse effects of the DC induced transient optical output are minimized by employing a liquid crystal material of greatly decreased resistivity, which reduces the time constant of the liquid crystal device, making it comparable to the response time of the liquid crystal material itself.

Abstract: The telemetering system for electrical power consumed by various users converts the units of electrical consumption for each user into signals which may be transmitted and may be read by the corresponding microprocessors, those of a group of users being sent to a concentrator with its corresponding microprocessor, memory and program in order to go, in a star structure, increasing in scale and volume, to other concentrators or reading equipment and be able to end up in a central computer of the electricity distributing company.