An optical collimating unit is provided that comprises a laser unit, and a lens having three optical surfaces, being a first refractive surface, a second reflective surface and a third refractive surface. Also provided is a light projection device comprising an optical collimating unit that comprises a laser unit, a lens and an optical component configured to shape laser beams being emitted into respective desired light patterns.

A scanning luminescence light microscope for spatial high resolution imaging a structure marked with a luminescent marker comprises a light source for luminescence inhibition light and for further light; a light shaping and aligning device; and a detector registering luminescence light emitted by the luminescent marker. The device, by means of two optical gratings and an objective lens, forms two crossing line gratings of the luminescence inhibition light, and two crossing line gratings of the further light so that local intensity minima of an overall intensity distribution of the luminescence inhibition light are delimited in at least two directions, and that local intensity maxima or local intensity minima of an overall intensity distribution of the further light coincide with the local intensity minima of the luminescence inhibition light. Further, the device moves the overall intensity distributions of the further light and the luminescence inhibition light to scan the structure.

The disclosure provides for structured illumination microscopy (SIM) imaging systems. In one set of implementations, a SIM imaging system may be implemented as a multi-arm SIM imaging system, whereby each arm of the system includes a light emitter and a beam splitter (e.g., a transmissive diffraction grating) having a specific, fixed orientation with respect to the system's optical axis. In a second set of implementations, a SIM imaging system may be implemented as a multiple beam splitter slide SIM imaging system, where one linear motion stage is mounted with multiple beam splitters having a corresponding, fixed orientation with respect to the system's optical axis. In a third set of implementations, a SIM imaging system may be implemented as a pattern angle spatial selection SIM imaging system, whereby a fixed two-dimensional diffraction grating is used in combination with a spatial filter wheel to project one-dimensional fringe patterns on a sample.

A lighting apparatus comprising a single point-like light source, preferably a LED, and a transmissive lens structure optically connected to said light source defining a plurality of optically functional, mutually different segments dedicated for controlling the light, e.g. distribution and direction, originally emitted by said single light source. A corresponding transmissive element is presented.

The present disclosure is directed to compact packaging for optical MEMS devices, such as one- and two-dimensional beam scanners. An embodiment in accordance with the present disclosure includes a light source and a MEMS-based scanning element for steering at least a portion of the light provided by the light source in at least one dimension as an output light signal, as well as one or more optical elements for collimating and/or redirecting light within a sealed chamber defined by the elements of a housing. In some embodiments, the one or more optical elements include a reflective lens that collimates the light provided by the light source while simultaneously correcting phase-front error imparted by the scanning element while steering the output beam.

A vehicle cup holder includes a console substrate defining a cup well. A light source is positioned to emit light into the cup well. An insert is positioned within the cup well and defines a base wall and a side wall. At least one of the base wall and the side wall defines a diffraction grating. A holographic film is positioned between the insert and the console substrate.

Unidirectional grating-based backlighting includes a light guide and a diffraction grating at a surface of the light guide. The light guide is to guide a light beam and the diffraction grating is configured to couple out a portion of the guided light beam using diffractive coupling and to direct the coupled-out portion away from the light guide surface as a primary light beam at a principal angular direction. The unidirectional grating-based backlighting further includes a reflective island in the light guide between the light guide surface and an opposite surface of the light guide to reflectively redirect a diffractively produced, secondary light beam out of the light guide in a direction of the primary light beam.

An apparatus of structured light generation is equipped with a light source and a lens unit. The lens unit is installed in a compact housing of the apparatus of structured light generation. Moreover, the lens unit constructed two different optical path lengths within the housing. By the lens unit, light beams from the light source are collimated and converted into linear light beams. The linear light beams are locally overlapped or globally overlapped. Consequently, the light beam from the light source is shaped into a linear structured light or a linearly-overlapped structured light for detection.

The present invention provides a measuring apparatus for measuring a shape of an object to be measured, comprising an emitting unit configured to emit pattern light, an optical system configured to guide the pattern light emitted from the emitting unit to the object, a deflection unit arranged between the optical system and the object and configured to deflect the pattern light emitted from the optical system, an image sensing unit configured to capture the object via the optical system and the deflection unit, and a processing unit configured to determine the shape of the object based on an image of the object captured by the image sensing unit, wherein the deflection unit comprises a diffraction grating configured to diffract the pattern light emitted from the optical system.

A grating-coupled light guide includes a plate light guide and a grating coupler at an input to the plate light guide. The grating coupler is to receive light from a light source and to diffractively redirect the light into the plate light guide at a non-zero propagation angle as guided light. Characteristics of the grating coupler determine a spread angle of the diffractively redirected guided light.