A camera viewfinder comprises an electronic display apparatus that is configured for the display of images that are recorded by an image sensor of an electronic camera. The camera viewfinder further comprises two mirrors for reflecting the images displayed by the display apparatus, of which at least one mirror is a free-form surface mirror whose reflective surface is formed as a free-form surface that does not have any continuous translation symmetry or rotational symmetry. At least one of the free-form surface mirrors is adjustable to at least partially compensate a vision defect of a user.

A light detection and ranging (LIDAR) device scans through a scanning zone while emitting light pulses and receives reflected signals corresponding to the light pulses. The LIDAR device scans the emitted light pulses through the scanning zone by reflecting the light pulses from an array of oscillating mirrors. The mirrors are operated by a set of electromagnets arranged to apply torque on the mirrors, and an orientation feedback system senses the orientations of the mirrors. Driving parameters for each mirror are determined based on information from the orientation feedback system. The driving parameters can be used to drive the mirrors in phase at an operating frequency despite variations in moments of inertia and resonant frequencies among the mirrors.

The invention relates to a system (1) comprising a deformable surface (2) and a first and a second sensor (C1, C2) designed to provide a first and a second measurement signal (S1, S2) intended to be collected by a processing circuit (12), said system (1) comprising first and second measurement paths (V1, V2) for collecting the first and second measurement signals (S1, S2), said system (1) being characterized in that it comprises a common calibration member (20) for simultaneously injecting into the first and second measurement paths (V1, V2) a calibration signal (S.sub.E), said common calibration member (20) being designed so that the image signals (S′1, S′2, S′n) restored via said measurement paths (V1, V2, Vn) are independent of said movable surface (2). Deformable movable surface systems, of the deformable mirror type.

Jet engine gas lasers are disclosed. A disclosed example apparatus includes a jet engine, and first and second opposing mirrors exposed to an exhaust gas flow path of the jet engine, where at least one mirror of the first and second opposing mirrors is adjustable to generate laser light energy using exhaust gas of the jet engine.

The present invention relates to a deformable mirror, specifically a gimbaled deformable mirror for use with wavefront sensors, which mirror separates the tilt correction from the higher order modes (e.g. defocus, spherical, astigmatism, and coma at higher order aberrations, up to the limits of a particular mirror design) in order to use all of the available mirror deformation stroke for correcting the higher order modes. The separation is done by placing the deformable mirror in a gimbaled structure, so that the deformable mirror can be tilted in two independent, orthogonal axes.

An optical polarization device for a stereoscopic image projector, including: a polarizer optical element including two beam splitter-polarizer plates, joined to one another; first and second optical reflectors configured to modify, respectively, a trajectory of first and second light beams reflected such that the reflected and transmitted light beams are projected to form one and same stereoscopic image; first, second, and third polarization modulators configured to selectively switch the optical polarization, respectively, of a transmitted light beam, of the first and of the second reflected light beams, between the first and second states of optical polarization; and a control circuit for the polarization modulators.

A general method is provided for electronically reconfiguring the internal structure of a solid to allow precision control of the propagation of wave energy. The method allows digital or analog control of wave energy, such as but not limited to visible light, while maintaining low losses, a multi-octave bandwidth, polarization independence, large area and a large dynamic range in power handling. Embodiments of the technique are provided for large-angle beam steering, lenses and other devices to control wave energy.

The present invention provides an imaging system generating a high resolution image using low resolution images taken by a low resolution image sensor. Also, the imaging system generates a wide angle of view image. Enhancement of resolution and enlargement of angle of view are accomplished by optical axis change, utilizing one or more micromirror array lenses without macroscopic mechanical movements of lenses. The imaging system also provides zoom and auto focusing functions using micromirror array lenses.

A deformable mirror comprises a deformable membrane extending at rest in a first plane and having a reflecting front face and a back face opposite the front face, a supporting structure, an actuator having a first and second end, the first end fixed to the supporting structure, the second end displaced relative to the first end on a first axis substantially at right angles to the first plane to exert, on the back face, an axial load on the first axis, to locally deform the deformable membrane. The mirror comprises a plate that is substantially flat in a second plane substantially parallel to the first plane, positioned between the actuator and deformable membrane, linked to the back face and deformed when the actuator exerts the axial load, and the plate is rigid in the second plane to take up loads applied to the mirror in the second plane.

The present invention relates to a beam steering device for steering a beam without a physical movement, the beam steering device comprising: a light source unit for irradiating parallel light; and a phase control array for controlling a reflection angle of the parallel light irradiated from the light source unit, wherein the phase control array comprises a plurality of cells in a region where the parallel light is irradiated, and the reflection angle is controlled by controlling the phase of light reflected by each of the plurality of cells.