In an embodiment an optical arrangement includes a multicore fiber having at least a first fiber core configured to guide a first illumination light and a second fiber core configured to guide a second illumination light, wherein the multicore fiber comprises a fiber scanner configured to deflect the multicore fiber or the multicore fiber is followed by a mirror scanner; and a wavelength dispersive beam combiner configured to spatially superimpose the first illumination light and the second illumination light in an object space.

Embodiments of optical scanners, optical projection systems, and methods of scanning optical waveguides and projecting images are described. The disclosed devices, systems and methods advantageously provide an improvement to the compactness, robustness, simplicity, and reliability of optical scanners and optical projection systems by implementing a thermally driven actuator for inducing oscillations of a cantilever within the optical scanners and optical projection systems. The stability and accuracy of optical scanners and optical projection systems are further enhanced using capacitive sensing, feedback, and phase correction techniques described herein.

An optical fiber scanning apparatus includes an optical fiber whose fixed end is fixed and a free end for emitting illumination light of which vibrates in a first direction (X-axis direction) and a second direction (Y-axis direction), a ferrule including a through hole through which the optical fiber is inserted and including a pair of first fixing sections and a pair of second fixing sections which respectively fix the fixed end of the optical fiber, and piezoelectric elements or a magnet configured to vibrate the optical fiber, in which the optical fiber is sandwiched between the pair of first fixing sections and fixed in the first direction, and is sandwiched between the pair of second fixing sections and fixed in the second direction, and the pair of first fixing sections and the pair of second fixing sections differ in a shape of an abutment portion abutting on the optical fiber.

A light path adjustment mechanism includes a support, a carrier, an optical plate member and a raised structure. The carrier is disposed in the support and connected to the support by a first connection bar and a second connection bar. The optical plate member is disposed on the carrier, and the raised structure is provided on a periphery of the carrier and integrally formed as one piece with the carrier.

According to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus comprising: a first optical fiber in communication with a light source; a second optical fiber in communication with an imaging probe; and a fiber optic rotary joint (FORJ) where a distal end of the first optical fiber and a proximal end of the second optical fiber are positioned coaxially with a gap between the fibers' end faces. The FORJ is adapted to transmit light between the fibers' end faces, and to rotate at least one of first and second optical fibers relative to the other. An actuator is configured to axially translate at least one of the first and second optical fibers relative to the other in a reciprocal motion. A light intensity sensor is adapted to measure light intensity changes due to optical interference between light reflected from the fibers' end faces. And, a control system is configured to receive light intensity measurements from the sensor and to use the light intensity measurements to control the reciprocal motion of the linear actuator to maintain the length of the gap between fibers' end faces substantially constant.

An optical scanning apparatus including: an optical fiber that is configured to guide light from a light source to emit the light from a distal end thereof; a driver that is configured to oscillate the distal end of the optical fiber at a driving frequency in a direction intersecting a longitudinal axis of the optical fiber; a resonance-frequency detector that is configured to detect a resonance frequency of the distal end of the optical fiber; and a driving-frequency adjustor that is configured to adjust the driving frequency so that the ratio between the resonance frequency detected by the resonance-frequency detector and the driving frequency becomes constant.

An optical microscopy probe for scanning microscopy imaging of object has a housing with an optical window at a side position at the distal end of the housing, and an optical guide having an objective lens rigidly coupled to an end portion of the optical guide. The optical guide is displaceably mounted in a transverse direction of the housing so as to enable optical scanning in a region of interest. A relay lens unit is rigidly mounted at the distal end of the probe and it has a first lens, a second lens and a mirror. The relay lens unit is optically arranged relative to the objective lens for allowing scanning microscopy through the optical window at the side of the distal end of the housing.

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.

A virtual image generation system for use by an end user comprises a projection subsystem configured for generating a collimated light beam, and a display configured emitting light rays in response to the collimated light beam to display a pixel of an image frame to the end user. The pixel has a location encoded with angles of the emitted light rays. The virtual image generation system further comprises a sensing assembly configured for sensing at least one parameter indicative of at least one of the emitted light ray angles, and a control subsystem configured for generating image data defining a location of the pixel, and controlling an angle of the light beam relative to the display based on the defined location of the pixel and the sensed parameter(s).

A system includes an optical fiber situated to propagate a laser beam received from a laser source to an output of the optical fiber, a first cladding light stripper optically coupled to the optical fiber and situated to extract at least a portion of forward-propagating cladding light in the optical fiber, and a second cladding light stripper optically coupled to the optical fiber between the first cladding light stripper and the optical fiber output and situated to extract at least a portion of backward-propagating cladding light in the optical fiber.