Abstract: An internal gas heating system apparatus enables operation of a large diameter horizontal chemical vapor processing tube reactor in the manufacture of nanomaterials, such as silicon nanowires (SiNWs) or vertically aligned carbon nanotubes on at least one catalytically active substrate. Where the nanomaterials are SiNWs, they may have controlled length, dopant level incorporation, and lower and narrower diameter distribution that on average is not greater than 50% of the average catalytic Au nanoparticle size deposited on the catalytically active substrate(s) before the SiNW growth phase.

Abstract: Fluid reactors include a sealed housing enclosing a reactor core that includes at least one substrate-free multichannel reactor core element. Each reactor core element is made from a non-substrate mounted, open pore cellular network material having an asymmetric, tortuous, bi-continuous two-phase material structure and contains multiple perforating fluid channels. Multiple reactor core elements can be serially and/or parallelly piped in a sealed manner to form a reactor core for a fluid reactor with a higher production capacity.

Abstract: The present invention relates to tools and system designs for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) systems and CVD synthesis used to deposit one or more thin film layers onto a flexible substrate or to grow nano-structured materials on large area flexible substrates and, more particularly, to scalable CVD coating and nanostructure manufacturing including CVD thin films and nano-structured materials such as nanotubes, nanowires and nanosheets.

Abstract: The present invention relates to tools and system designs for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) systems and CVD synthesis used to deposit one or more thin film layers onto a flexible substrate or to grow nano-structured materials on large area flexible substrates and, more particularly, to scalable CVD coating and nanostructure manufacturing including CVD thin films and nano-structured materials such as nanotubes, nanowires and nanosheets.

Abstract: This patent relates to 1) primary tool designs for a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesis system in the form of open tray stacks or more readily accessible, quasi-gas-tight enclosure boxes, to 2) system designs for low volume and high volume CVD graphene production, and to 3) methods for CVD graphene and other two-dimensional (2D) film CVD synthesis. Scaling of higher quality CVD 2D-film production is thereby enabled both in substrate size and productivity and at reduced costs. This invention provides a wider process window for CVD Synthesis of 2D films and, particularly of graphene films, thereby allowing increased film quality and/or production throughput.

Abstract: The use of deposition modules groups for each CVD deposition position including at least two deposition modules, together with a Motion Control System that controls and confines the motion of said deposition modules, enables a quick deposition module exchange at the deposition locations of On-Line or Off-Line CVD coating system. This results in a high volume large area CVD coating system that can increase the commercial viability of a given CVD system design through production throughput increases, production cost reductions, overall higher process flexibility and/or improved film quality.

Abstract: The use of deposition modules groups for each CVD deposition position including at least two deposition modules, together with a Motion Control System that controls and confines the motion of said deposition modules, enables a quick deposition module exchange at the deposition locations of On-Line or Off-Line CVD coating system. This results in a high volume large area CVD coating system that can increase the commercial viability of a given CVD system design through production throughput increases, production cost reductions, overall higher process flexibility and/or improved film quality.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to the design and manufacturing of prealigned, keyed, removable, double end mounted arc lamps that enable, inter alia, end-users to perform an alignment free, bare lamp replacement in a lamp reflector module in the field of projection display systems and fiber optic illumination systems.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a protective lamp delivery system that enables, inter alia, end-users to replace a lamp inside a lamp reflector module in a “safer” way, in particular, this invention pertains to the field of micro display based projection display systems and fiber optic light sources.

Abstract: A reflector for improving front and rear projection systems and fiber optic light sources, comprising a curved optical surface and at least one flange surface having at least two portions of said flange surface rigidly connected at the edge of said optical surface at a high tilt angle, thereby providing a compression and stretching resistance in at least one direction and method for manufacturing the same.

Abstract: The present invention describes an “L”-shaped sub-component for a hollow reflective tube used as integrator and/or angle converter for an illumination system. Furthermore, this invention details methods of manufacturing such hollow reflective tubes comprising (1) the steps of forming “L”-shaped sub-components substrates with or without self-alignment and/or mounting features, (2) applying a reflective coating to the inside of said sub-components (3) and assembling said sub-components into hollow tubes. Preferably both sides of the “L”-shaped sub-components have identical spectral and angular dependent coating performance. A particularly suitable method for manufacturing these sub-components substrates is molding them in plastic and over-coating them with a base coating layer to enhance their specular reflectivity.

Abstract: The present invention describes an “L”-shaped sub-component for a hollow reflective tube used as integrator and/or angle converter for an illumination system. Furthermore, this invention details methods of manufacturing such hollow reflective tubes comprising (1) the steps of forming “L”-shaped sub-components substrates with or without self-alignment and/or mounting features, (2) applying a reflective coating to the inside of said sub-components (3) and assembling said sub-components into hollow tubes. Preferably both sides of the “L”-shaped sub-components have identical spectral and angular dependent coating performance. A particularly suitable method for manufacturing these sub-components substrates is molding them in plastic and over-coating them with a base coating layer to enhance their specular reflectivity.

Abstract: An étendue efficient angle conversion system that operates in a quasi-imaging mode. This system is capable of generating angular and spatial axial asymmetric output beams and is also capable of incorporating therein optional color reformatting capabilities. With the aid of anamorphic beam transformers such asymmetric beams can further be reformatted to spatially and angularily match particular illumination needs of a target. This system can further be applied to the design of fiber optic illumination systems and projection display systems and can further be combined with delivery efficiency maximization concepts. In addition, delivery efficiency improvements of light engines can be obtained with the use of optimized lamp, reflector, integrators, anamorphic beam transformers, coupling optics, etc.

Abstract: A device for “in vivo” diagnosis by means of a photosensibilisator light-induced reaction or a reaction caused by intrinsic fluorescence in biological tissue, having an illumination system, which is provided with at least one light source having a lamp system which generates incoherent light in a wavelength range of at least 380 to 680 nm, a light delivering unit which directs the light of said illumination system at the therapy and/or to-be-diagnosed tissue area, and an imaging, image-recording and image-transmitting unit which images the light coming from said tissue area in a proximal image plane.

Abstract: An electromagnetic radiation source, such as an arc lamp, is located at a point displaced from the optical axis of a concave toroidal reflecting surface. The concave primary reflector focuses the radiation from the source at an off-axis image point that is displaced from the optical axis. The use of a toroidal reflecting surface enhances the collection efficiency into a small target, such as an optical fiber, relative to a spherical reflecting surface by substantially reducing aberrations caused by the off-axis geometry. A second concave reflector is placed opposite to the first reflector to enhance further the total flux collected by a small target. In accordance with one embodiment, the present invention is directed to devices in which the square of the off-axis distance divided by the radius of curvature is equal to or less than the extent of the source of electromagnetic radiation (y02/r≦s0).

Abstract: Method for quantifying optical properties of the human lens. The present invention includes the application of fiberoptic, OMA-based instrumentation as an in vivo diagnostic tool for the human ocular lens. Rapid, noninvasive and comprehensive assessment of the optical characteristics of a lens using very modest levels of exciting light are described. Typically, the backscatter and fluorescence spectra (from about 300- to 900-nm) elicited by each of several exciting wavelengths (from about 300- to 600-nm) are collected within a few seconds. The resulting optical signature of individual lenses is then used to assess the overall optical quality of the lens by comparing the results with a database of similar measurements obtained from a reference set of normal human lenses having various ages. Several metrics have been identified which gauge the optical quality of a given lens relative to the norm for the subject's chronological age.

Abstract: An electromagnetic radiation source, such as an arc lamp, is located at a point displaced from the optical axis of a concave toroidal reflecting surface. The concave primary reflector focuses the radiation from the source at an off-axis image point that is displaced from the optical axis. The use of a toroidal reflecting surface enhances the collection efficiency into a small target, such as an optical fiber, relative to a spherical reflecting surface by substantially reducing aberrations caused by the off-axis geometry. A second concave reflector is placed opposite to the first reflector to enhance further the total flux collected by a small target.

Abstract: A portable endoscope tester determines specific properties of an endoscope optical system and enables comparisons between individual endoscopes to be made. The tester includes a holder for receiving and aligning an endoscope and a target attachable to the holder. The target is held in a plane normal to the optical axis of the endoscope when received in the holder. Opaque indicia indicative of the optical properties of the endoscope appears on the target and include a central disk with either a pinhole or a cross formed at the center, a plurality of field circles including an inner and outer bold ring, an inner and outer group of resolution targets arranged at respective clock positions, each resolution target comprising a plurality of parallel lines of different width and spacing, and rectangular grid centered on the optical axis.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for improving an image received from a endoscope having a flexible fiber optic bundle that produces an interstitial grid overlay due to the dead space between each fiber pixel. The interstitial grid pattern in the image, is substantially eliminated by processing the image through a linear digital filter to attenuate the first-order spatial frequency components that contribute most to the interstitial pattern. The filter employs relatively small convolution kernels that are optimized for specific fiber spacing. The image is then processed through the linear digital filter by convolving the respective pixels in the image by the derived coefficients. The image is improved and the grid pattern may also be reduced by a dilation process which involves processing the image through a dilation algorithm to "grow" the bright center of each fiber pixel in the image so that the effect of the grid pattern is reduced.

Abstract: The present invention provides a variable attenuator for an optical transmission system having a disc-like masking plate with apertures (or image zones) formed in an arcuate control area at the periphery of the plate. Within each aperture, at least one opaque masking member is provided extending outward from the origin to the perimeter of the aperture and having a masking surface with an incremental masking area which continuously increases in magnitude with increasing radial length of the aperture. The perpendicular cross-section of each masking member with respect to the optical axis preferably forms a geometric shape having straight-line edges extending radially outward from the origin of the aperture. In the preferred embodiment, a plurality of masking members are utilized (as a pair or sets of pairs).