An inspecting apparatus includes a table for supporting a workpiece thereon, a light applying unit for applying light to the workpiece supported on the table, and a light detector for detecting light reflected from the workpiece. The light detector includes a camera and a diffusion plate disposed between the table and the camera.

A biosensor is provided. The biosensor includes a plurality of sensor units. Each of the sensor units includes one or more photodiodes, a first aperture feature disposed above the photodiodes, an interlayer disposed on the first aperture feature, a second aperture feature disposed on the interlayer, and a waveguide disposed above the second aperture feature. The second aperture feature includes an upper grating element and the first aperture feature includes one or more lower grating elements, and a grating period of the upper grating element is less than or equal to a grating period of the one or more lower grating elements. A difference of the absolute values between a first polarizing angle of the upper and lower grating elements in one of the sensor units and a second polarizing angle of the upper and lower grating elements in adjacent one of the sensor units is 90°.

A light distributing device configured for, in use, distributing, over a scene to illuminate light rays that come from an auxiliary light source, and which comprises: a planar waveguide, with a core layer disposed between the two cladding layers; and an extraction set, located in the planar waveguide, and constituted by a plurality of diffraction gratings distributed in the two dimensions of a plane parallel to the plane of the planar waveguide.

The technology disclosed present systems and methods to produce an enhanced resolution image from images of a target using structured illumination microscopy (SIM). The method includes transforming at least three images of the target captured by a sensor in a spatial domain into a Fourier domain to produce at least three frequency domain matrices that each include first blocks of complex coefficients and redundant second blocks of complex coefficients that are conjugates to the first blocks. The method includes reducing computing resources required to produce the enhanced resolution image by using first blocks of complex coefficients to produce at least three phase-separated half-matrices in the Fourier domain. The method includes performing one or more intermediate transformation on the phase-separated half-matrices to produce realigned shifted half-matrices. The method includes calculating complex coefficients of second blocks in the Fourier domain to produce full matrices from half-matrices.

Multifocal photoacoustic imaging systems and methods that implement an ergodic relay to encode photoacoustic signals detected from a plurality of illuminated optical foci regions.

A hyperspectral imaging apparatus based on a monolithic or free space optical spatial heterodyne spectrometer (SHS) design, array detector, electromagnetic radiation source, and optical collection element is described. The apparatus enables the simultaneous acquisition of spatially isolated Fizeau fringe patterns, each having an encoded light product that is decoded to produce a spectral fingerprint of the interrogated object. Features specific to the SHS, such as a large entrance aperture, large acceptance angle, and no moving parts, enable a variety of optical collection schemes including lens arrays, solid-core and hollow core waveguides, and others. In one example, a microlens array (MLA) is configured with the hyperspectral imaging apparatus to simultaneously image many hundred spatially isolated Fizeau fringe patterns while interrogating an object using an electromagnetic radiation source. Each Fizeau fringe pattern recorded by the array detector is decoded to produce a full Raman or laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) spectrum. Compared to prior art, the hyperspectral imaging apparatus overcomes the primary limitations of needing to trade time resolution for both spectral and spatial data density because the imaging apparatus simultaneously acquires both spectral and special information. Based on the selection and configuration of diffraction gratings, the grating aperture size, Littrow wavelength (i.e., heterodyne wavelength), and optical collection configuration, the apparatus can be tailored to produced low or high spectral resolution with a spectral bandpass that covers a portion or the entire Raman spectral range (up to 4200 cm.sup.−1) and for LIBS as well.

A biosensor is provided. The biosensor includes a plurality of sensor units. Each of the sensor units includes one or more photodiodes, a first aperture feature disposed above the photodiodes, an interlayer disposed on the first aperture feature, a second aperture feature disposed on the interlayer, and a waveguide disposed above the second aperture feature. The second aperture feature includes an upper grating element and the first aperture feature includes one or more lower grating elements, and a grating period of the upper grating element is less than or equal to a grating period of the one or more lower grating elements. A difference of the absolute values between a first polarizing angle of the upper and lower grating elements in one of the sensor units and a second polarizing angle of the upper and lower grating elements in adjacent one of the sensor units is 90°.

A method and a system for illuminating a substrate, the system may include an acousto-optic device (AOD); and an etendue expanding optical module. The AOD may include a surface having an illuminated region; wherein the illuminated region is configured to receive a collimated input beam while being fed with a control signal that causes the illuminated region to output illuminated region output beams that are collimated and exhibit deflection angles that scan, during a scan period, a deflection angular range. The etendue expanding optical module is configured to convert the illuminated region output beams to collimated output beams that impinge on an output aperture; wherein a collimated output beam has a width that exceeds a width of an illuminated region output beam; and wherein the etendue expanding optical module comprises a Dammann grating that is configured to output diffraction patterns, each diffraction pattern comprises diffraction orders that cover a continuous angular range.

A device includes a plurality of imaging pixels in a spatial pattern with a formation of features disposed over the pixels. A first and a second feature of the formation of features are disposed over a first pixel. A first luminophore is disposed within or over the first feature. A second luminophore is disposed within or over the second feature. A structured illumination source is to direct at least a portion of first photons in an illumination pattern to the first feature at a first time, and to direct at least a portion of second photons in the illumination pattern to the second feature at a second time. The structured illumination source includes an illumination pattern generator having an illumination pattern generator actuator connected to the illumination pattern generator to cause the illumination pattern to translate or rotate relative to the formation of features.

The invention relates to a diffractive device (18) for chemical and biological analysis based on structured receptors on waveguides, which comprises: a waveguide (1) and a recognition element (3) consisting of a grating with receptors (11) arranged on the waveguide (1) and are intended to interact with target compounds (12) present in a sample; and a radiation source (4) that emits an incident beam (5) propagated through the waveguide (1), interacting with the recognition element (3) and being diffracted according to Bragg's law, thereby generating a reflected beam (6) and a transmitted beam (7), which are collected by optical analysers (8, 17) that record parameters of the reflected beam (6) and of the transmitted beam (7), enabling multiple analyses to be conducted in a simple, fast, sensitive and quantitative manner, label-free and in real time.