An image capture apparatus is illustrated, which has an image capture element and an optical component layer. The image capture element has a plurality of pixel regions. The optical component layer comprises a microstructure layer and a spatial filter formed on the image capture element in a first direction. The microstructure layer has micro lenses formed on a surface of the microstructure layer. The spatial filter has at least one translucent substrate and at least one light shielding structure, and the light shielding structure has a light absorbing/reflective layer and a reflective layer in the first direction stacked to each other. The light absorbing/reflective layer is another one light reflective layer or a light absorbing layer.

A spatial filter is made by forming a structure comprising a focusing element and an opaque surface, the opaque surface being disposed remotely from the focusing element in substantially the same plane as a focal plane of the focusing element; and by forming a pinhole in the opaque surface at or adjacent to a focal point of the focusing element by transmitting a substantially collimated laser beam through the focusing element so that a point optimally corresponding to the focal point is identified on the opaque surface and imperfection of the focusing element, if any, is reflected on the shape and position of the pinhole so formed.

A spatial filter is made by forming a structure comprising a focusing element and an opaque surface, the opaque surface being disposed remotely from the focusing element in substantially the same plane as a focal plane of the focusing element; and by forming a pinhole in the opaque surface at or adjacent to a focal point of the focusing element by transmitting a substantially collimated laser beam through the focusing element so that a point optimally corresponding to the focal point is identified on the opaque surface and imperfection of the focusing element, if any, is reflected on the shape and position of the pinhole so formed.

An optical system for collecting distance information within a field is provided. The optical system may include lenses for collecting photons from a field and may include lenses for distributing photons to a field. The optical system may include lenses that collimate photons passed by an aperture, optical filters that reject normally incident light outside of the operating wavelength, and pixels that detect incident photons. The optical system may further include illumination sources that output photons at an operating wavelength.

A method forms an image with a reconfigurable array of mirrors. The method includes configuring the array by translating some of the mirrors such that distances of the mirrors of the array from a reference plane have a non-uniform spatial distribution. The method includes illuminating the configured array with a coherent light beam such that part of the light beam is reflected off the array and is projected on a planar viewing screen.

A method forms an image with a reconfigurable array of mirrors. The method includes configuring the array by translating some of the mirrors such that distances of the mirrors of the array from a reference plane have a non-uniform spatial distribution. The method includes illuminating the configured array with a coherent light beam such that part of the light beam is reflected off the array and is projected on a planar viewing screen.

The invention relates to an imaging system parallelizing compressive sensing (CS). The system comprises a linear detector array (109,211) resolving image information along its extent with the help of focusing the incoming radiation on the detector pixels using astigmatic optics (108,212) and in that the image direction perpendicular to the extent of the detector array is resolved by the use of a number of spatial patterns on the spatial light modulator together with compressive sensing processing.

An imaging apparatus includes an imaging device, a first imaging optical system and a second imaging optical system that form respective input images from mutually different viewpoints onto the imaging device, and a first modulation mask and a second modulation mask that modulate the input images formed by the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system. The imaging device captures a superposed image composed of the two input images that have been formed by the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system, modulated by the first modulation mask and the second modulation mask, and optically superposed on each other, and the first modulation mask and the second modulation mask have mutually different optical transmittance distribution characteristics.

Embodiments include 3D display devices and methods of operation. In an example device, a light-emitting layer is provided with an addressable array of light-emitting elements. An optical layer overlays the light-emitting layer. The optical layer includes an array of lenses operative to substantially collimate light from the light-emitting layer. To suppress stay light, an angular filter layer is provided along an optical path from the light-emitting layer to an exterior of the display. The angular filter is operative to substantially block light having an incident angle greater than a threshold angle and to substantially transmit light having an incident angle less than a threshold angle. The angular filter may be a thin-film interference bandpass filter. Different regions of the angular filter may be tuned for different wavelengths of light.

Embodiments include 3D display devices and methods of operation. In an example device, a light-emitting layer is provided with an addressable array of light-emitting elements. An optical layer overlays the light-emitting layer. The optical layer includes an array of lenses operative to substantially collimate light from the light-emitting layer. To suppress stay light, an angular filter layer is provided along an optical path from the light-emitting layer to an exterior of the display. The angular filter is operative to substantially block light having an incident angle greater than a threshold angle and to substantially transmit light having an incident angle less than a threshold angle. The angular filter may be a thin-film interference bandpass filter. Different regions of the angular filter may be tuned for different wavelengths of light.