A method of operating a multi-axis fiber scanner having a base including a base plane includes providing a source of electromagnetic radiation, directing the electromagnetic radiation through a fiber link that passes through the base plane of the base along a longitudinal axis orthogonal to the base plane, and supporting a retention collar positioned a distance from the base plane. The method also includes actuating a first piezoelectric actuator among a plurality of piezoelectric actuators to decrease the distance between a first side of the base and the retention collar, actuating a second piezoelectric actuator among the plurality of piezoelectric actuators to increase the distance between a second side of the base and the retention collar, and scanning the fiber link in a scanning plane.

An optical device includes: two non-waveguide regions arranged in a second direction intersecting a first direction with a spacing therebetween; an optical waveguide region that is located between the two non-waveguide regions, contains a liquid crystal material, and propagates light in the first direction; and an alignment film that aligns the liquid crystal material. Each of the two non-waveguide regions includes a low-refractive index member having a lower refractive index than the liquid crystal material. The alignment film is located between the liquid crystal material and the low-refractive index members.

A fiber optic element of a fiber scanning system includes a motion actuator having longitudinal side members, an internal orifice, a first support region, a central region, and a second support region. The fiber optic element also includes a first fiber optic cable passing through the internal orifice and having a first fiber joint as well as a second fiber optic cable passing through the internal orifice. The second fiber optic cable has a second fiber joint disposed in the central region and spliced to the first fiber joint, a second coupling region, a light delivery region, and a light emission tip. The light delivery region is characterized by a first diameter and the light emission tip is characterized by a second diameter less than the first diameter.

A device suitable for use as a scanning directional radio receiver or transmitter.

An apparatus for dental confocal imaging comprises an illumination module for generating an array of light beams, an optics system for confocal focusing of the array of light beams and a probe head with a light-guiding part having an entrance face and an exit face. The illumination module, the optics system and the probe head are arranged such that the array of light beams from the illumination module passes through the optics system, enters the light-guiding part via the entrance face and exits the light-guiding part via the exit face. The optics system is configured such that, after having passed through the optics system, the outermost marginal rays of the outermost light beams with respect to the optical axis of the optics system are parallel or divergent to the optical axis.

An image scanning device includes a linear light source to illuminate a linear illumination position of a scan target with light, a lens body, and a sensor. The linear light source includes a light guide, a scatterer, an emitter, a stepped portion, and a light-shielding member. The stepped portion is formed, from the end surface of the transparent body along the main scan direction, on a side of the light guide that is opposite to the illumination position side of the light guide. The light-shielding member covers a portion of the emitter of the light guide, the portion including the end surface of the transparent body, and extends beyond the stepped portion in the main scan direction and has an end portion that is located out of a scan range of the sensor in the main scan direction.

An optical apparatus includes a deflector configured to deflect illumination light from a light source to scan an object, and configured to deflect reflected light from the object, a light guide configured to guide the illumination light form the light source to the deflector, and configured to guide the reflected light from the deflector to a light receiving element, an optical member having a reflective area that makes first light which is part of the illumination light from the deflector incident on the deflector by reflection, and a controller configured to obtain information regarding the deflector on the basis of information of the first light from the reflective area. In a cross-section including the optical path from the reflective area to the light guide, a width of the reflective area is smaller than a width of the illumination light on the reflective area.

A scanning Dielectric Travelling Wave Array (DTWA) device suitable for use as a wideband, tunable, two-dimensional beamformer. The device is formed from a set of planar waveguides, elongated waveguide sections and/or progressive delay layers. By controlling the index of refraction () of the waveguides, waveguide sections, and/or progressive delay layers, the device to aim at a particular angle of incidence of energy arriving on the top face, in both azimuth and elevation. These indi(cies) of refraction may be controlled with a set of varactors. By observing a constraint on the size of the waveguides as related to the bandwidth of the signals of interest, the waveguide can to receive from or transmit to different directions at the same time. The varactors may be provided by continuous strips of material disposed along the top and bottom of each waveguide section, or as a set of discrete controllable sections distributed along the primary axis of each waveguide section. Pairs of adjacent waveguide sections may be fed to provide complementary propagation modes, such as TE1 and TM1 modes. The pair of waveguide sections may be driven in quadrature to provide greater control over the axial ratio.

In order to allow a worker to accurately and repeatedly mark an original plan on a working surface, provided is a nonrestrictive drive-type marking system including a nonrestrictive drive-type marking device, the nonrestrictive drive-type marking system including an input unit configured to receive data of content to be marked; a marking unit configured to mark the content corresponding to the data on a working surface; a driving unit configured to allow at least a part of the nonrestrictive drive-type marking device comprising the marking unit to nonrestrictively move on the working surface; a position detecting unit configured to sense position information of the nonrestrictive drive-type marking device; and a control unit electrically connected to the input unit, the marking unit, the driving unit, and the position detecting unit, and configured to calculate a current position of the at least the part of the nonrestrictive drive-type marking device comprising the marking unit by comparing the position information with the data, to compare the current position with the data, and if the current position does not match with the data and a degree of mismatch thereof is within a preset range, to move at least a part of the marking unit, and to control the nonrestrictive drive-type marking device to mark the content corresponding to the data on the working surface while the nonrestrictive drive-type marking device moves.

An electro-holographic light field generator device is disclosed. The light field generator device has an optical substrate with a waveguide face and an exit face. One or more surface acoustic wave (SAW) optical modulator devices are included within each light field generator device. The SAW devices each include a light input, a waveguide, and a SAW transducer, all configured for guided mode confinement of input light within the waveguide. A leaky mode deflection of a portion of the waveguided light, or diffractive light, impinges upon the exit face. Multiple output optics at the exit face are configured for developing from each of the output optics a radiated exit light from the diffracted light for at least one of the waveguides. An RF controller is configured to control the SAW devices to develop the radiated exit light as a three-dimensional output light field with horizontal parallax and compatible with observer vertical motion.