A method of fabricating a multi-element fiber scanner includes providing a fiber optic cable having a cladding region and a fiber core and focusing a laser beam at a series of predetermined locations inside the cladding region of the fiber optic cable. The method also includes creating a plurality of damage sites at the predetermined locations, exposing the fiber optic cable to an etchant solution, and preferentially etching the plurality of damage sites to form a base having a base plane and a longitudinal axis orthogonal to the base plane, a retention collar disposed a predetermined distance along the longitudinal axis from the base, a first fiber link including the fiber core, passing through the base plane, and joined to the retention collar, and a plurality of additional links joined to the base, extending from the base to the retention collar, and joined to the retention collar.

An optical-scanning-type observation probe is provided with: an imaging optical system that illumination light scanned by an optical scanner enters and that focuses the illumination light in the form of a spot, multiple times; a projection optical system that emits illumination light coming from a focus position focused by the imaging optical system, toward a subject in the form of a spot; and a light-receiver that is provided independently of the imaging optical system and the projection optical system and that receives reflected light of the illumination light, the reflected light coming from the subject, via a light path different from that of the imaging optical system and the projection optical system.

A scanning device, a driving condition setting method, and a scanning display module are provided. The scanning device includes two scanning axes capable of vibrating in a first direction and a second direction. The two scanning axes have different frequency characteristics, and the frequency characteristics of the two scanning axes satisfy that a quantity of significant peaks on a frequency characteristic curve does not exceed a set quantity in a set frequency range.

In an optical device, a mirror surface is provided in a movable portion. A support portion supports the movable portion through an elastic connection portion. A force generator generates force in the movable portion. A drive controller outputs a drive signal that operates the force generator. The movable portion has a resonance frequency higher than a frequency of the drive signal output from the drive controller in a state before the elastic connection portion is heated. The movable portion swings due to the elastic deformation of the elastic connection portion in response to the force of the force generator. A heat controller acquires a signal that indicates a swing state of the movable portion and performs, based on a phase of the acquired signal, feedback control of heating of the elastic connection portion by a heater.

Examples of light projector systems and methods of use. A method can include providing an optical device having a first surface, a second surface normal to the first surface, and a third surface arranged at an angle to the second surface. The third surface can be reflective to light of a first state and transmissive to light of a second state. An input beam having the first state can be normally incident on the first surface. A transmissive diffractive optical element on the first surface can convert the input beam into at least a first diffracted beam directed toward the third surface, where it is reflected by the third surface in a direction substantially parallel to the first surface. The reflected first diffracted beam can be modulated with image information using a spatial light modulator to produce a modulated light beam having the second state.

Disclosed are a waveguide display module, and an image generation module and application corresponding thereto. By wavelength division multiplexing, an image generation unit generates through modulation mixed light beams containing at least two groups of sub-images of different wavelengths. The mixed light beams generated through modulation by the image generation unit are coupled into a waveguide module, which module has in-coupling units arranged in multiple layers and out-coupling units arranged in multiple layers, an in-coupling unit in each layer being configured to couple in light of different wavelength ranges. Emergent images, formed after mixed light beams of an image to be displayed generated by the image generation unit are coupled out by the out-coupling units of the waveguide module, are spliced into the image to be displayed.

Disclosed are a projection device and a spatial imaging method. The projection device includes: an optical fiber scanner array; a light source located on an incident light path of the optical fiber scanner array; and an adjustment and control module assembly configured to couple, according to a virtual scene to be displayed, light emitted by the light source into the optical fiber scanner array, and to control the optical fiber scanner array to project pencil beams to a plurality of virtual object points corresponding to the virtual scene and located in space, such that multiple pencil beams projected to each virtual object point form a bundle of emitting light beams.

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 image projector includes a spatial light modulator (SLM) with a two dimensional array of pixel elements controllable to modulate a property of light transmitted or reflected by the pixel elements. An illumination arrangement delivers illumination to the SLM. A collimating arrangement collimates illumination from the SLM to generate a collimated image directed to an exit stop. The illumination arrangement is configured to sequentially illuminate regions of the SLM, each corresponding to a multiple pixel elements. A controller synchronously controls the pixel elements and the illumination arrangement so as to project a collimated image with pixel intensities corresponding to a digital image.

An optical unit includes a first lens, a second lens, and a holding member. The first lens is formed in a spherical segment having a first flat surface and a first convex spherical surface. The second lens is formed in a spherical segment having a second flat surface and a second convex spherical surface. A holding member has a first end portion that surrounds the first lens and a second end portion that surrounds the second lens. The holding member holds the first lens and the second lens with a frictional force such that the first convex spherical surface and the second convex spherical surface are adjacent to each other between the first end portion and the second end portion. The first end portion is located on the same surface as the first flat surface or closer to the second lens than the first flat surface. The second end portion is located on the same surface as the second flat surface or closer to the first lens than the second flat surface.