Methods for design and production of highly sensitive active and passive light detecting devices and systems. Orders of magnitude improvement in optical signal detection is made possible in high noise or low contrast scenes. The current invention creates a small spectral difference between two parts of a split light stream. When recombined, the altered light streams partially correlate, and that generates full amplitude signal oscillation at a frequency that depends on the constituent spectrum. The full amplitude signals and spectrum dependent oscillation make signal discrimination much better than intensity-only methods. The effect of read noise, amplifier noise, dark current noise, and thermal noise due to photo detector shunt resistance, become less important when compared to light detection using prior art methods

Systems, methods, and apparatuses for providing electromagnetic radiation sensing using sequential beam splitting. The apparatuses can include a micro-mirror chip having a plurality of light reflecting surfaces, an image sensor having an imaging surface, and a beamsplitter unit located between the micro-mirror chip and the image sensor. The beamsplitter unit includes a plurality of beamsplitters aligned along a horizontal axis that is parallel to the micro-mirror chip and the imaging surface. The beamsplitters implement the sequential beam splitting. Because of the structure of the beamsplitter unit, the height of the arrangement of the micro-mirror chip, the beamsplitter unit, and the image sensor is reduced such that the arrangement can fit within a mobile device. Within a mobile device, the apparatuses can be utilized for human detection, fire detection, gas detection, temperature measurements, environmental monitoring, energy saving, behavior analysis, surveillance, information gathering and for human-machine interfaces.

A detection system includes a photodetector, a spatial light modulator (SLM) device optically coupled to the photodetector, and a controller. The controller is operatively connected to the SLM device and is disposed in communication with the photodetector and a memory. The memory has instructions recorded on the memory that cause the controller to communicate a SLM pattern sequence to the SLM device, modulate illumination incident on the SLM device according to the SLM pattern sequence to generate an illumination pulse sequence, and receive an intensity-time profile from the photodetector corresponding to the SLM pattern sequence. The instructions also cause the controller to signal, with spatial specificity, presence of flame or gas when the intensity-time profile indicates that flame or gas is present within a field of view of the detection system. Detection methods and computer program products are also described.

An apparatus includes a light senor having directional sensitivity. The light sensor includes multiple light sensitive elements disposed below the same aperture. Each of the light sensitive elements has a respective field of view through the aperture that differs from the field of view of the other light sensitive elements. Signals from the light sensor can facilitate determining the direction of incoming light.

A vehicle window with an anisotropic light sensor, has a first glass layer and a second glass layer, wherein an arrangement of light-sensitive elements is arranged, substantially parallel to the first glass layer, between the first glass layer and the second glass layer, wherein the pane furthermore has an aperture such that light can shine through the second glass layer and the aperture onto at least one of the light-sensitive elements, wherein, depending on the direction of incident light, the sensor provides a signal that is indicative of the direction, wherein the arrangement of light-sensitive elements has a camera chip and wherein the arrangement of light-sensitive elements is arranged on a flexible film.

A light sensor structure and the manufacturing method thereof are disclosed. The light sensor structure includes a substrate with a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other. A light sensing element including a light sensing area is disposed on the first surface. A reflection layer is disposed on the second surface. The reflection layer covers a portion of the second surface aligning with the light sensing area.

A light detection device (1) includes: a pinhole body (10) provided with a through hole (H); and an optical sensor (20) that is provided behind the pinhole body (10) and receives light transmitted through the through hole (H), in which a first aperture (O1) of the through hole (H) arranged on a first surface (111) being a light incident surface side of the pinhole body (10) is smaller than a second aperture (O2) of the through hole (H) arranged on a second surface (122) opposite to the first surface (111).

A system for monitoring ultraviolet (UV) exposure of a wearer. The system comprises a wearable device operable to sense UV radiation levels to which the wearer is exposed, and to transmit UV radiation information. The system further comprises an external computing device in remote communication with the wearable device, operable to receive the UV radiation information from the wearable device and configured to determine the wearer's real-time UV index value and the wearer's daily cumulative percentage of minimal erythema dose based upon the UV radiation information.

The present invention relates to an optical energy meter. Illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure include a system controller, temperature sensing system, vibration sensing system, torque sensing system, graphical display system, climate control system, and vibration control system. The invention measures the radiation pressure of incident high power electromagnetic radiation. The measurement of radiation pressure can be used to determine the power of the radiation; that is, the purposes of the invention are to measure, with high precision and accuracy, and survive the power of an incident high power electromagnetic beam while minimizing size, weight, and power requirements.

A rotating shadowband for shading a pyranometer includes a cylindrical ring and a semicircular shadowband held within the cylindrical ring, a motor configured for rotating the shadowband, at least one solar panel, a rechargeable battery, and a controller having circuitry configured to power the first motor to rotate the semicircular shadowband. The semicircular shadowband may include a window opening, wherein the window opening substantially extends from a center of the band to a first end. The controller rotates the shadowband 0 to 360 degrees about the central axis of the cylindrical ring to alternately shade the pyranometer for making diffuse radiation measurements and expose the pyranometer to direct solar radiation for making global radiation measurements. Alternatively, the shadowband may be solid and rotate pivotally 0 to 180 degrees or 0 to 360 degrees within the cylindrical ring to alternately shade and expose a pyranometer head to and from direct sunlight respectively.