661results about How to "Improve directionality" patented technology

A method of visually quantifying a test material along with an imaging apparatus for practicing the method is disclosed. The method comprises: (a) illuminating the test material at a known angle of incidence with diffuse light of a known and adjustable polarization state; (b) receiving light from the test material with a polarization state modified by the test material; (c) measuring an intensity of the polarization components of the received light for each illuminated pixel substantially simultaneously; (d) calculating the Stokes Vector in two dimensions for each illuminated pixel; and (e) creating an image map for the known polarization state. The method may also include adjusting the known polarization or the incident angle of the diffuse light to create additional image maps. The method and apparatus are intended for use in medical imaging including minimally invasive surgery.

A plurality of optical communications systems including a SPW modulator are described. The communications systems include an optical transmitter coupled to an optical fiber communications link which carries a optically modulated information signal to an optical receiver. The laser transmitter includes a laser light source which is optically coupled to a SPW modulator which has been particularly adapted for broadband communications by selecting its transfer characteristic and modulation structure. A broadband signal containing a plurality of information channels, for example CATV channels, is applied to it modulator electrodes. The modulation signal varies the power coupling between the guided laser light source signal and a SPW in the modulator. The result is an intensity modulated optical signal that is output to the optical fiber for transmission to the optical receiver of the system. Alternatively, the communications system includes a high power laser coupled to an optical splitter to divide its output power in two or more optical source outputs. Each optical source output is then used to drive an associated SPW modulator. Each of the modulators receives a broadband signal with which to modulate its optical source. After modulation, the modulated lightwave from a modulator is coupled to a corresponding optical fiber for carriage to an optical receiver. In this manner, several broadband information signals can be communicated over the system using only one laser source. A net benefit from using one higher power laser, rather than several lower power ones, is one of cost, purity and similarity of the several signals. This configuration is enhanced by the lower loss and higher linearity of the SPW modulators. Further, several WDM embodiments including those having serially cascaded SPW modulators are provided. The transfer characteristic of the SPW modulators are tailored to either be more efficient for an analog or a digital modulation signal by adding or subtracting grating effects.

To provide an electrostatic ultrasonic transducer arranged so that sound wave is not radiated from the rear surface while utilizing advantages of a push-pull type electrostatic ultrasonic transducer.

A push-pull type electrostatic ultrasonic transducer includes a vibrating film 11 having a conductive layer and a pair of fixed electrodes 12, 13 provided facing respective surfaces of the vibrating film, and applies a direct current bias voltage to the conductive layer of the vibrating film and applies an alternating current signal between the pair of fixed electrodes so as to allow the vibrating film to generate sound wave and outputting the sound wave generated from the vibrating film from two sound wave output surfaces via through holes provided in the respective pair of fixed electrodes. Plural through holes are provided in the front-side fixed electrode that sandwiches the vibrating film and through holes having the same shapes are provided in the rear-side fixed electrode in positions opposed to the respective through holes provided in the front-side fixed electrode, and a sound absorbing material 16 is provided facing the rear-side fixed electrode.

Examples of the present invention include metamaterials, including metamaterial lenses, having material properties that approximate the behavior of a material with low (0<n<1) effective index of refraction. Metamaterials may be designed and tuned using dispersion engineering to create a relatively wide-band low-index region. A low-index metamaterial lens created highly collimated beams in the far-field from a low-directivity antenna feed.

A display panel with integrated micro-reflectors. The display panel also includes an array of pixel light sources (e.g., micro-LEDs) electrically coupled to corresponding pixel driver circuits (e.g., FETs). The micro-LEDs produce light and the micro-reflectors reduce the divergence of the light produced by the micro-LEDs. Different designs are possible. The micro-reflectors can have different shapes, include the shape of their sidewalls and the shape of their plan cross-section. The array schemes can also vary, including the number of LEDs per micro-reflector. Different fabrication approaches are also possible. In one approach, a support structure is integrated between micro-LEDs. The sides of the support structure are reflective and serve as the reflective sidewalls of the micro-reflector. Alternately, the LED mesa itself can serve as the support structure.

A monolithically integrated MEMS and CMOS substrates provided by an IC-foundry compatible process. The CMOS substrate is completed first using standard IC processes. A diaphragm with stress relief corrugated structure is then fabricated on top of the CMOS. Air vent holes are then etched in the CMOS substrate. Finally, the microphone device is encapsulated by a thick insulating layer at the wafer level. The monolithically integrated microphone that adopts IC foundry-compatible processes yields the highest performance, smallest form factor, and lowest cost. Using this architecture and fabrication flow, it is feasible and cost-effective to make an array of Silicon microphones for noise cancellation, beam forming, better directionality and fidelity.

An illumination system employing an elongated waveguide having a non-round transversal cross-section and having at least a portion of its surface shaped in the form of a linear collimating element. The waveguide further employs at least one array of light extracting features distributed along a longitudinal axis of the waveguide and disposed in the focal area of the respective linear collimating element. Each light extracting feature has an active aperture which is substantially less than the light receiving aperture of the linear collimating element and is configured to redirect light propagating in the waveguide generally towards a normal direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of the waveguide. Light rays redirected by the light extracting features are further collimated by the linear collimating element and exit from the waveguide in the form of a directional beam.

Directional sound acquisition is obtained by combining directional sensitivities in microphones with signal processing electronics to reduce the effects of noise received from unwanted directions. One or more microphones having directional sensitivity including a minor lobe pointing in the particular direction of interest and a major lobe pointing in a direction other than the particular direction are used. Signal processing circuitry reduces the effect of sound received from directions of a microphone major lobe.

A head mounted display device includes a switchable light source that is switched to emit light for generating at least one viewing zone, and a panel illumination unit illuminated by the light source. The panel illumination unit converges the light onto an image panel that selectively transmits light at different pixels to generate image content. An eye monitor measures information pertaining to an eye configuration of a user, and the image content is visible to the user when the eye is aligned with respect to the viewing zone. The panel illumination unit converges the light such that light emitted by the image panel converges into the viewing zone positioned based on the eye configuration information measured by the eye monitor, with limited divergence such that when the display device is worn by the user, the image panel is located at a distance from the user's eye closer than a distance where the eye can focus the pixels.

A monolithic ink-jet printhead includes a substrate which has an ink chamber to be supplied with ink, a manifold for supplying ink to the ink chamber, and an ink channel for providing communication between the ink chamber and the manifold, a nozzle plate including a plurality of passivation layers sequentially stacked on the substrate, a metal layer formed on the passivation layers, and a nozzle, through which ink is ejected from the ink chamber, that penetrates the nozzle plate, a heater provided between adjacent passivation layers, the heater being located above the ink chamber for heating ink within the ink chamber, a conductor provided between adjacent passivation layers, the conductor being electrically connected to the heater for applying a current to the heater, and a hydrophobic coating layer formed exclusively on an outer surface of the metal layer.

A speakerphone having improved echo cancellation and sound output includes at least one directional microphone having at least one axis of sensitivity and at least one zone of insensitivity, and a speaker disposed in the zone of insensitivity of the microphone to radiate sound away from the microphone and towards a reflective surface, such as a desktop or wall, against which the speakerphone is disposed. A baseplate disposed adjacent to the speaker outlet can combine with the housing of the phone to form a flaring, right-angled horn having an inlet coupled to the outlet of the speaker and an outlet terminating at a periphery of the housing. A wallmounting embodiment incorporates a unidirectional microphone with an axis of sensitivity oriented perpendicular to the wall, and a desktop-mounting embodiment includes an array of at least two bi-directional microphones having respective axes of sensitivity oriented parallel to the desktop.

A method of fabricating a liquid crystal display panel is provided, which comprises the steps of providing a substrate; forming a mask layer over the substrate, wherein the mask layer has a reverse-tapered opening exposing a predetermined conductive line area; depositing a metal layer on the substrate within the predetermined conductive line area to form a conductive line with a tapered sidewall by performing an anisotropic deposition process; and removing the mask.

Magnetic field sensor designs that provide both increased directionality and proximate coupling desirable for improved directionality and sensitivity and methods for fabricating them.

The present invention increases the aperture size of a microphone array by introducing a diffracting structure into the interior of a microphone array. The diffracting structure within the array modifies both the amplitude and phase of the acoustic signal reaching the microphones. The diffracting structure increases acoustic shadowing along with the signal's travel time around the structure. The diffracting structure in the array effectively increases the aperture size of the array and thereby increases the directivity of the array. Constructing the surface of the diffracting structure such that surface waves can form over the surface further increases the travel time and modifies the amplitude of the acoustical signal thereby allowing a larger effective aperture for the array.

An aqueous-based UV-curable fluid composition for use in a micro-fluid ejection device. The fluid composition includes a mixture of poly-functional compounds, a colorant compound, a photo-initiator and less than about 50 weight percent water based on a total weight of the fluid composition, wherein the fluid composition is substantially devoid of volatile organic carrier fluids.

A tyre for vehicle wheels having a tread pattern includes: a) two circumferential grooves, which define a first and a second shoulder region, and one central region; b) a plurality of asymmetric transverse grooves having a substantially “V” shape, which extend for the whole width of the tread, including an alternate sequence of a first and a second asymmetric transverse groove defining an alternate sequence of a first and a second asymmetric module; and c) a plurality of lateral transverse grooves, which includes one first lateral transverse groove extending for the whole width of the first shoulder region and for a portion of the central region of the first asymmetric modules, and one second lateral transverse groove extending for the whole width of the second shoulder region and for a portion of the central region of the second asymmetric modules.

A golf club having an increased moment of inertia and improved ball-hitting directionality is provided. A metal hollow golf club head comprises: a face portion; a crown portion; and a sole portion, and when the golf club has a lie angle of 60° with its club head volume being within 470 cm³, a moment of inertia about the axial line centered on the plumb line passing through the golf club head center of gravity is 5000 to 6000 g-cm². In order to increase the moment of inertia, the thickness of the center portion of the crown portion is reduced by chemical etching, and a mass, including the portion of mass reduction, is positioned in the sole portion on the side of the toe portion; moreover, the separation distance from the center of gravity to the mass is increased.

The present invention relates to an ionisation vacuum gauge for measuring the residual pressure of a gaseous material remaining in a container (10), more particularly after operation of a vacuum pump. The gauge comprises an electron-emitting cathode (17), a grid (13) for accelerating the electrons emitted by the cathode and a plate (15) collecting the ions and/or the ionised positive molecules of the gas, wherein said plate is placed outside said grid. Measuring the plate current by a galvanometer allows determining the value of the residual pressure inside the container.