Speckle contrast method and system that discriminates photons based on their path length in tissue, the method comprising the steps of: directing light from a pulsed light into a sample by optical elements; synchronizing the time between the pulse injection to sample and the detection unit; collecting the photons that have travelled through the sample by optics, and conveying the photons of a single or a limited number of speckles from the sample to one or more detection elements; time-tagging photons thanks to the synchronization of the detector element and/or the time-tagging electronics with the laser pulse emission; estimating each photon time-of-flight by the difference between its time tag and the laser pulse emission; categorizing the detected photons based on the value of the time-of-flight in a certain number of time gates; measuring the speckle contrast

An infrared microscope includes an illumination optical system which guides infrared red to an analysis position on a sample; a connection optical system which guides infrared light, supplied from an infrared spectrophotometer, to said illumination optical system; a visible light source unit which outputs visible light to a region including said analysis position on the sample; an image acquisition unit which inputs visible light from the region including said analysis position on the sample to a detection surface and acquires a visible light image; and a detection unit which detects infrared light from said analysis position on the sample. The connection optical system can be positionally adjusted, and said image acquisition unit is capable of acquiring an infrared light image by inputting infrared light to a detection surface.

The invention provides systems for characterizing a biological sample by analyzing emission of fluorescent light from the biological sample upon excitation and methods for using the same. The system includes a laser source, collection fibers, a demultiplexer and an optical delay device. All references cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety as though fully set forth. Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

An infrared microscope includes an illumination optical system which guides infrared red to an analysis position on a sample; a connection optical system which guides infrared light, supplied from an infrared spectrophotometer, to said illumination optical system; a visible light source unit which outputs visible light to a region including said analysis position on the sample; an image acquisition unit which inputs visible light from the region including said analysis position on the sample to a detection surface and acquires a visible light image; and a detection unit which detects infrared light from said analysis position on the sample. The connection optical system can be positionally adjusted, and said image acquisition unit is capable of acquiring an infrared light image by inputting infrared light to a detection surface.

An optical manufacturing process sensing and status indication system is taught that is able to utilize optical emissions from a manufacturing process to infer the state of the process. In one case, it is able to use these optical emissions to distinguish thermal phenomena on two timescales and to perform feature extraction and classification so that nominal process conditions may be uniquely distinguished from off-nominal process conditions at a given instant in time or over a sequential series of instants in time occurring over the duration of the manufacturing process. In other case, it is able to utilize these optical emissions to derive corresponding spectra and identify features within those spectra so that nominal process conditions may be uniquely distinguished from off-nominal process conditions at a given instant in time or over a sequential series of instants in time occurring over the duration of the manufacturing process.

An example system for inspecting a surface includes a laser, an optical system, a gated camera, and a control system. The laser is configured to emit pulses of light, with respective wavelengths of the pulses of light varying over time. The optical system includes at least one optical element, and is configured to direct light emitted by the laser to points along a scan line one point at a time. The gated camera is configured to record a fluorescent response of the surface from light having each wavelength of a plurality of wavelengths at each point along the scan line. The control system is configured to control the gated camera such that an aperture of the gated camera is open during fluorescence of the surface but closed during exposure of the surface to light emitted by the laser.

An example system for inspecting a surface includes a laser, an optical system, a gated camera, and a control system. The laser is configured to emit pulses of light, with respective wavelengths of the pulses of light varying over time. The optical system includes at least one optical element, and is configured to direct light emitted by the laser to points along a scan line one point at a time. The gated camera is configured to record a fluorescent response of the surface from light having each wavelength of a plurality of wavelengths at each point along the scan line. The control system is configured to control the gated camera such that an aperture of the gated camera is open during fluorescence of the surface but closed during exposure of the surface to light emitted by the laser.

An optical filter including filter regions arrayed two-dimensionally, in which the filter regions include a first region and a second region; a wavelength distribution of an optical transmittance of the first region has a first local maximum in a first wavelength band and a second local maximum in a second wavelength band that differs from the first wavelength band, and a wavelength distribution of an optical transmittance of the second region has a third local maximum in a third wavelength band that differs from each of the first wavelength band and the second wavelength band and a fourth local maximum in a fourth wavelength band that differs from the third wavelength band.

An apparatus for measuring time-resolved optical spectrum includes a light source, a sensor for collecting, forming, manipulating and measuring the intensity of the optical radiation, and a controller coupled to the light source and sensor. The sensor includes at least one optical delay element to provide a time delay to a first portion of the optical radiation. The sensor arrangement further includes an optical spectral disperser to split the delayed first portion and the second portion of the optical radiation into dispersed radiation having a plurality of wavelengths, and a sensor element configured to receive each wavelength of the dispersed radiation on a different spatial region, and measure the light intensity associated with each wavelength of the dispersed radiation. The controller collects the light intensity associated with each wavelength of the dispersed radiation measured by the sensor element to form a time-resolved optical spectrum.

An optical manufacturing process sensing and status indication system is taught that is able to utilize optical emissions from a manufacturing process to infer the state of the process. In one case, it is able to use these optical emissions to distinguish thermal phenomena on two timescales and to perform feature extraction and classification so that nominal process conditions may be uniquely distinguished from off-nominal process conditions at a given instant in time or over a sequential series of instants in time occurring over the duration of the manufacturing process. In other case, it is able to utilize these optical emissions to derive corresponding spectra and identify features within those spectra so that nominal process conditions may be uniquely distinguished from off-nominal process conditions at a given instant in time or over a sequential series of instants in time occurring over the duration of the manufacturing process.