This optical scanning actuator can improve yield and assembly efficiency. An optical scanning actuator (10) includes a piezoelectric element (14) that is joined to a displaceably supported emission end (11a) of an optical fiber (11) and displaces the emission end (11a) in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis direction of the optical fiber (11) by expanding and contracting in the optical axis direction. The piezoelectric element (14) includes an identifier (16) for identifying a polarization direction, the identifier (16) being formed physically.

An embodiment is directed to an optical element arrangement including at least one optical element. A first optical element includes a fiber and a curved surface. The fiber emits light beams during oscillation at different angular positions relative to a system axis of the first optical element. The curved surface includes an array of lenslets. Each of the lenslets in the array of lenslets is configured to receive light beams from the fiber that are emitted within a particular range of the first curved surface and to collimate the light beams received by the lenslet at a lenslet-specific field angle relative to the system axis. In other embodiments, one or more additional optical elements with respective fibers can be deployed as part of the optical element arrangement, and any of the optical elements in the optical element arrangement may include multiple curved surfaces with respective lenslet arrays.

A system and methods for base excitation of moderately high vibration of micro-cantilevers are disclosed. A micro-cantilever may be coupled to one or more actuators adjacent its base. The actuators may comprise bulk materials, bridges, or formed wires that expand and contract by application of electric currents, due to, for example, the effect of electro-thermal heating or piezoelectric effects. Single actuators or an array of actuators may be placed around the micro-cantilever to oscillate it and apply actuation pulses. The system and methods, and adjustments of the geometrical parameters, may be performed to yield a nominal natural frequency in the system. The excitation of actuators with signals corresponding to the natural frequency may induce resonance in the system and may result in high amplitude vibrations and displacement of the cantilever tip of the micro-cantilever. Various architectures of the actuators may be implemented to stimulate different frequencies of the beam and induce displacement in different direction and amplitudes.

Provided is an optical-fiber scanner including: an optical fiber; a body fitted on a basal-end side of the optical fiber; piezoelectric elements secured to the body and causing the optical fiber to vibrate; and a securing portion to which the body is fitted at a position that is farther on a basal-end side away from the piezoelectric elements, wherein the body has a columnar portion that is formed of an elastic material to which the piezoelectric elements are attached and that has a through-hole into which the optical fiber can be inserted, and a distal-end portion that is disposed at a distal end of the columnar portion, that supports the optical fiber in a fitted state, and that has a rotator shape in which a cross-sectional area thereof in a radial direction gradually decreases toward a distal end of the optical fiber.

Methods and systems for acquiring and/or projecting images from and/or to a target area are provided. Such a method or system can includes an optical fiber assembly which may be driven to scan the target area in a scan pattern. The optical fiber assembly may provide multiple effective light sources (e.g., via a plurality of optical fibers) that are axially staggered with respect to an optical system located between the optical fiber and the target area. The optical system may be operable to focus and/or redirect the light from the multiple light sources onto separate focal planes. A composite image may be generated based on light reflected from and/or projected onto the separate focal planes. The composite image may have an extended depth of focus or field spanning over a distance between the separate focal planes while maintaining or improving image resolution.

Scatterometry overlay (SCOL) targets as well as design, production and measurement methods thereof are provided. The SCOL targets have several periodic structures at different measurement directions which share some of their structural target elements or parts thereof. An array of common elements may have symmetry directions which are parallel to the measurement directions and thus enable compacting the targets or alternatively increasing the area use efficiency of the targets. Various configurations enable high flexibility in arranging the number of layers in the target and measurement directions, and carrying out respective overlay measurements among the layers.

An optical scanning endoscope device includes: a laser element; an optical fiber that guides laser light from the laser element; a first detector that detects a guided light amount of the laser light in the optical fiber; a second detector that detects light from a subject and outputs a detection signal; a first calculator that calculates an optical coupling ratio between the laser element and the optical fiber on the basis of the guided light amount; a second calculator that calculates a degradation ratio of the laser element on the basis of the guided light amount; a first adjuster that adjusts the magnitude of the detection signal on the basis of the optical coupling ratio; and a second adjuster that adjusts the output light amount of the laser light from the laser element on the basis of the degradation ratio.

An objective lens system for an optical biopsy device has a lens that comprises a first part configured for viewing at a first magnification, and a second part configured for viewing at a second magnification. The second magnification is substantially different from the first magnification. The first magnification enables viewing a larger area of a target and the second magnification enables viewing the target at a cellular level with high sensitivity and specificity. Combining viewing at two different magnifications in a single objective lens results in a compact optical biopsy device.

This optical scanning endoscope apparatus includes an actuator that scans light from a light source over an object with a predetermined scan cycle, a light amount detector that detects the light amount from the light source, and a controller that controls output of the light source based on the light amount detected by the light amount detector. During each scan cycle by the actuator, the controller controls the light source so as to output light according to a predetermined output change pattern, sequentially calculates an integral value of the light amount detected by the light amount detector over a predetermined time period, and controls the maximum of the change in output of the light source due to the output change pattern so that the integral value does not exceed a predetermined standard value.

Image projection devices, high-speed fiber scanned displays and related methods for projecting an image onto a surface and interfacing with the projected image are provided. A method for projecting one or more images and obtaining feedback with an optical input-output assembly is provided. The input-output assembly comprising a light-scanning optical fiber and a sensor. The method includes generating a sequence of light in response to one or more image representations and a scan pattern of the optical fiber, articulating the optical fiber in the scan pattern, projecting the sequence of light from the articulated optical fiber, and generating a feedback signal with the sensor in response to reflections of the sequence of light.