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18752 results about "Microscope" patented technology

A microscope (from the Ancient Greek: μικρός, mikrós, "small" and σκοπεῖν, skopeîn, "to look" or "see") is an instrument used to see objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using such an instrument. Microscopic means invisible to the eye unless aided by a microscope.

Microsurgical robot system

A robot system for use in surgical procedures has two movable arms each carried on a wheeled base with each arm having a six of degrees of freedom of movement and an end effector which can be rolled about its axis and an actuator which can slide along the axis for operating different tools adapted to be supported by the effector. Each end effector including optical force sensors for detecting forces applied to the tool by engagement with the part of the patient. A microscope is located at a position for viewing the part of the patient. The position of the tool tip can be digitized relative to fiducial markers visible in an MRI experiment. The workstation and control system has a pair of hand-controllers simultaneously manipulated by an operator to control movement of a respective one or both of the arms. The image from the microscope is displayed on a monitor in 2D and stereoscopically on a microscope viewer. A second MRI display shows an image of the part of the patient the real-time location of the tool. The robot is MRI compatible and can be configured to operate within a closed magnet bore. The arms are driven about vertical and horizontal axes by piezoelectric motors.
Owner:DEERFIELD IMAGING INC

Systems and methods for additive manufacturing and repair of metal components

Scanning Laser Epitaxy (SLE) is a layer-by-layer additive manufacturing process that allows for the fabrication of three-dimensional objects with specified microstructure through the controlled melting and re-solidification of a metal powders placed atop a base substrate. SLE can be used to repair single crystal (SX) turbine airfoils, for example, as well as the manufacture functionally graded turbine components. The SLE process is capable of creating equiaxed, directionally solidified, and SX structures. Real-time feedback control schemes based upon an offline model can be used both to create specified defect free microstructures and to improve the repeatability of the process. Control schemes can be used based upon temperature data feedback provided at high frame rate by a thermal imaging camera as well as a melt-pool viewing video microscope. A real-time control scheme can deliver the capability of creating engine ready net shape turbine components from raw powder material.
Owner:GEORGIA TECH RES CORP

Techniques to improve polyurethane membranes for implantable glucose sensors

The invention provides an implantable membrane for regulating the transport of analytes therethrough that includes a matrix including a first polymer; and a second polymer dispersed throughout the matrix, wherein the second polymer forms a network of microdomains which when hydrated are not observable using photomicroscopy at 400× magnification or less. In one aspect, the homogeneous membrane of the present invention has hydrophilic domains dispersed substantially throughout a hydrophobic matrix to provide an optimum balance between oxygen and glucose transport to an electrochemical glucose sensor.
Owner:DEXCOM

Apparatus and method for the generation of high-power femtosecond pulses from a fiber amplifier

An apparatus generates femtosecond pulses from laser amplifiers by nonlinear frequency conversion. The implementation of nonlinear frequency-conversion allows the design of highly nonlinear amplifiers at a signal wavelength (SW), while still preserving a high-quality pulse at an approximately frequency-doubled wavelength (FDW). Nonlinear frequency-conversion also allows for limited wavelength tuning of the FDW. As an example, the output from a nonlinear fiber amplifier is frequency-converted. By controlling the polarization state in the nonlinear fiber amplifier and by operating in the soliton-supporting dispersion regime of the host glass, an efficient nonlinear pulse compression for the SW is obtained. The generated pulse width is optimized by utilizing soliton compression in the presence of the Raman-self-frequency shift in the nonlinear fiber amplifier at the SW. High-power pulses are obtained by employing fiber amplifiers with large core-diameters. The efficiency of the nonlinear fiber amplifier is optimized by using a double clad fiber (i.e., a fiber with a double-step refractive index profile) and by pumping light directly into the inner core of this fiber. Periodically poled LiNbO3 (PPLN) is used for efficient conversion of the SW to a FDW. The quality of the pulses at the FDW can further be improved by nonlinear frequency conversion of the compressed and Raman-shifted signal pulses at the SW. The use of Raman-shifting further increases the tuning range at the FDW. For applications in confocal microscopy, a special linear fiber amplifier is used.
Owner:IMRA AMERICA

Camera Adapter Based Optical Imaging Apparatus

The invention describes several embodiments of an adapter which can make use of the devices in any commercially available digital cameras to accomplish different functions, such as a fundus camera, as a microscope or as an en-face optical coherence tomography (OCT) to produce constant depth OCT images or as a Fourier domain (channelled spectrum) optical coherence tomography to produce a reflectivity profile in the depth of an object or cross section OCT images, or depth resolved volumes. The invention admits addition of confocal detection and provides simultaneous measurements or imaging in at least two channels, confocal and OCT, where the confocal channel provides an en-face image simultaneous with the acquisition of OCT cross sections, to guide the acquisition as well as to be used subsequently in the visualisation of OCT images. Different technical solutions are provided for the assembly of one or two digital cameras which together with such adapters lead to modular and portable high resolution imaging systems which can accomplish various functions with a minimum of extra components while adapting the elements in the digital camera. The cost of such adapters is comparable with that of commercial digital cameras, i.e. the total cost of such assemblies of commercially digital cameras and dedicated adapters to accomplish high resolution imaging are at a fraction of the cost of dedicated stand alone instruments. Embodiments and methods are presented to employ colour cameras and their associated optical sources to deliver simultaneous signals using their colour sensor parts to provide spectroscopic information, phase shifting inferometry in one step, depth range extension, polarisation, angular measurements and spectroscopic Fourier domain (channelled spectrum) optical coherence tomography in as many spectral bands simultaneously as the number of colour parts of the photodetector sensor in the digital camera. In conjunction with simultaneous acquistion of a confocal image, at least 4 channels can simultaneously be provided using the three color parts of conventional color cameras to deliver three OCT images in addition to the confocal image.
Owner:UNIVERSITY OF KENT

Tomographic phase microscopy

The present invention relates to systems and methods for quantitative three-dimensional mapping of refractive index in living or non-living cells, tissues, or organisms using a phase-shifting laser interferometric microscope with variable illumination angle. A preferred embodiment provides tomographic imaging of cells and multicellular organisms, and time-dependent changes in cell structure and the quantitative characterization of specimen-induced aberrations in high-resolution microscopy with multiple applications in tissue light scattering.
Owner:MASSACHUSETTS INST OF TECH

Visual inspection and verification system

A method and apparatus for inspecting a photolithography mask for defects is provided. The inspection method comprises providing a defect area image to an image simulator wherein the defect area image is an image of a portion of a photolithography mask, and providing a set of lithography parameters as a second input to the image simulator. The defect area image may be provided by an inspection tool which scans the photolithography mask for defects using a high resolution microscope and captures images of areas of the mask around identified potential defects. The image simulator generates a first simulated image in response to the defect area image and the set of lithography parameters. The first simulated image is a simulation of an image which would be printed on a wafer if the wafer were to be exposed to an illumination source directed through the portion of the mask. The method may also include providing a second simulated image which is a simulation of the wafer print of the portion of the design mask which corresponds to the portion represented by the defect area image. The method also provides for the comparison of the first and second simulated images in order to determine the printability of any identified potential defects on the photolithography mask. A method of determining the process window effect of any identified potential defects is also provided for.
Owner:SYNOPSYS INC

Interferometric back focal plane scatterometry with Koehler illumination

An interference spectroscopy instrument provides simultaneous measurement of specular scattering over multiple wavelengths and angles. The spectroscopy instrument includes an interference microscope illuminated by Koehler illumination and a video camera located to image the back focal plane of the microscope's objective lens while the path-length difference is varied between the reference and object paths. Multichannel Fourier analysis transforms the resultant intensity information into specular reflectivity data as a function of wavelength. This multitude of measured data provides a more sensitive scatterometry tool having superior performance in the measurement of small patterns on semiconductor devices and in measuring overlay on such devices.
Owner:ZYGO CORPORATION

Wave front sensing method and apparatus

A new way of mixing instrumental and digital means is described for the general field of wave front sensing. The present invention describes the use, the definition and the utility of digital operators, called digital wave front operators (DWFO) or digital lenses (DL), specifically designed for the digital processing of wave fronts defined in amplitude and phase. DWFO are of particular interest for correcting undesired wave front deformations induced by instrumental defects or experimental errors. DWFO may be defined using a mathematical model, e.g. a polynomial function, which involves coefficients. The present invention describes automated and semi-automated procedures for calibrating or adjusting the values of these coefficients. These procedures are based on the fitting of mathematical models on reference data extracted from specific regions of a wave front called reference areas, which are characterized by the fact that specimen contributions are a priori known in reference areas. For example, reference areas can be defined in regions where flat surfaces of a specimen produce a constant phase function. The present invention describes also how DWFO can be defined by extracting reference data along one-dimensional (1D) profiles. DWFO can also be defined in order to obtain a flattened representation of non-flat area of a specimen. Several DWFO or DL can be combined, possibly in addition with procedures for calculating numerically the propagation of wave fronts. A DWFO may also be defined experimentally, e.g. by calibration procedures using reference specimens. A method for generating a DWFO by filtering in the Fourier plane is also described. All wave front sensing techniques may benefit from the present invention. The case of a wave front sensor based on digital holography, e.g. a digital holographic microscope (DHM), is described in more details. The use of DWFO improves the performance, in particular speed and precision, and the ease of use of instruments for wave front sensing. The use of DWFO results in instrumental simplifications, costs reductions, and enlarged the field of applications. The present invention defines a new technique for imaging and metrology with a large field of applications in material and life sciences, for research and industrial applications.
Owner:LYNCEE TEC

Confocal self-interference microscopy from which side lobe has been removed

The present invention relates to confocal self-interference microscopy. The confocal self-interference microscopy further includes a first polarizer for polarizing reflected or fluorescent light from a specimen, a first birefringence wave plate for separating the light from the first polarizer into two beams along a polarizing direction, a second polarizer for polarizing the two beams from the first birefringence wave plate, a second birefringence wave plate for separating the two beams from the second polarizer into four beams along the polarizing direction, and a third polarizer for polarizing the four beams from the second birefringence wave plate, in the existing confocal microscopy. Optic-axes of the first and second birefringence wave plates exist on the same plane, optic-axes of the first and second birefringence wave plates are inclined from an optical axis of the entire optical system at a predetermined angle, and self-interference spatial periods of the first and second birefringence wave plates are different from each other.
Owner:KOREA ADVANCED INST OF SCI & TECH

Spectroscopic microscopy with image-driven analysis

In a spectroscopic microscope, a video image of a specimen is analyzed to identify regions having different appearances, and thus presumptively different properties. The sizes and locations of the identified regions are then used to position the specimen to align each region with an aperture, and to set the aperture to a size appropriate for collecting a spectrum from the region in question. The spectra can then be analyzed to identify the substances present within each region of the specimen. Information on the identified substances can then be presented to the user along with the image of the specimen.
Owner:THERMO ELECTRONICS SCI INSTR LLC

Image processing apparatus, imaging system, and image processing system

An image processing apparatus comprises: an image acquisition unit for acquiring a plurality of original images acquired by imaging a specimen including a structure in various focal positions using a microscope apparatus; an image generation unit for generating, on the basis of the plurality of original images, a first image on which blurring of an image of the structure has been reduced in comparison with the original images; and an analysis unit for obtaining information relating to the structure included in the first image by applying image analysis processing to the first image. The image generation unit selects a part of the original images having focal positions included within a smaller depth range than a thickness of the specimen from the plurality of original images obtained from the specimen, and generates the first image using the selected original images.
Owner:CANON KK

Endoscopy device with removable tip

The present invention provides an endoscope for in vivo imaging the cells, tissue, organs or body cavities of humans or other animals to observe and locate, diagnosis and / or treat disease. Illumination sources, image detectors, sensors may be provided alone or in combination on the removable tip allowing functional alterations or optimization for a particular procedure. Endoscope features such as an instrument channel supporting tissue sampling, suction, treatment, micro-surgery, optical computed tomography, confocal microscopy, laser or drug treatments, injections, gene-therapy, marking, implanting or other medical techniques are maintained.
Owner:PERCEPTRONIX MEDICAL

Imaging and display system for guiding medical interventions

An imaging and display system for guiding medical interventions includes a wearable display, such as a goggle display, for viewing by a user. The display presents a composite, or combined image that includes pre-operative surgical navigation images, intraoperative images, and in-vivo microscopy images or sensing data. The pre-operative images are acquired from scanners, such as MRI and CT scanners, while the intra-operative images are acquired in real-time from a camera system carried by the goggle display for imaging the patient being treated so as to acquire intraoperative images, such as fluorescence images. A probe, such as a microscopy probe or a sensing probe, is used to acquire in-vivo imaging / sensing data from the patient. Additionally, the intra-operative and in-vivo images are acquired using tracking and registration techniques to align them with the pre-operative image and the patient to form a composite image for display by the goggle display.
Owner:THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON

System, method and computer-accessible medium for depth of field imaging for three-dimensional sensing utilizing a spatial light modulator microscope arrangement

ActiveUS20150369660A1Efficiently modulate the intensity, phase, and/or polarization of incident radiationSolid-state devicesRadiating elements structural formsElectrical conductorPlanar antennas
Exemplary embodiment can utilize the properties of tunable thin-film, material (e.g., graphene) to efficiently modulate the intensity, phase, and / or polarization of transmitted and / or reflected radiation, including mid-infrared (“mid-IR”) radiation. Exemplary embodiments include planar antennas comprising tunable thin-film material sections and metallic sections disposed in contact with the tunable thin-film material sections, each metallic section having a gap with at least one dimension related to a wavelength of the radiation, which in some embodiments may be less than the wavelength. The metallic layer may comprise rods arrange in one or more shapes, or one or more apertures of one or more shapes. Embodiments of the antenna may also comprise a substrate, which may be a semiconductor or conductor in various embodiments. Embodiments also include systems, computer-implemented methods, devices, and computer-readable media for effectuating desired modulation of incident radiation by, e.g., varying the doping level of the tunable thin-film material.
Owner:THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIV IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK

Super-resolution microscope system and method for illumination

A microscope system comprising an adjusted specimen and a microscope body, wherein the adjusted specimen is dyed with molecule which has three electronic states including at least a ground state and in which an excited wavelength band from the first electron excited state to the second electron excited state overlaps a fluorescent wavelength band upon deexcitation through a fluorescence process from the first electron excited state to a vibrational level in the ground state. There is provided a novel microscope system which is enabled to condense an erase light for exciting a molecule in the first electron excited state to the second electron excited state in an excellent beam profile by using a simple, compact optical system and which has high stability and operability and an excellent super-resolution.
Owner:JAPAN SCI & TECH CORP

Method and device for photothermal examination of microinhomogeneities

InactiveUS20040085540A1Increase sensitivity and resolutionImprove resolutionMaterial analysis by optical meansPhysicsRefractive index
The invention relates to optical microscopy, in particular to methods for photothermal examination of absorbent microinhomogeneities using laser radiation sources and can be widely used in laser engineering, industry and biomedicine for examining relatively transparent objects containing submicron impurities, including the detection of local inclusions and defects in ultrapure optical and semiconductor materials and the non-destructive diagnosis of biological samples on a cellular and subcellular level. The aim of the invention is to increase the sensitivity, spatial resolution and informativity of examination of local absorbent microinhomogeinities in transparent objects and to measure said microinhomogeinities even when they are less than the used emission wavelength. The inventive method consists in radiating a sample with a pumping laser beam. The duration of the radiation is equal to or less than a representative time for cooling the examined microinhomogeinity. The relatively large surface of the sample is radiated, the shape thereof being greater than the wavelength of the used pumping laser. Thermal variations of the refractive index occurring in the sample as a result of absorption produced with the aid of the pumping beam are recorded by measuring parameters of a test laser beam. The diameter of the test beam is chosen in such a way that it is equal to or greater than the diameter of the pumping beam. A diffraction-limited phase distribution along the cross-section of the testing laser beam is transformed into an amplitude image, the microinhomogeinity properties being determined by measuring said amplitude image.
Owner:LAPOTKO TATIANA MS

Rapid Microscope Scanner for Volume Image Acquisition

Apparatus for and method of rapid three dimensional scanning and digitizing of an entire microscope sample, or a substantially large portion of a microscope sample, using a tilted sensor synchronized with a positioning stage. The system also provides a method for interpolating tilted image layers into a orthogonal tree dimensional array or into its two dimensional projection as well as a method for composing the volume strips obtained from successive scans of the sample into a single continuous digital image or volume.
Owner:LEICA BIOSYST IMAGING

Structured plane illumination microscopy

An apparatus includes a light source configured for generating a coherent light beam having a wavelength, λ, a light detector, and beam-forming optics configured for receiving the generated light beam and for generating a plurality of substantially parallel Bessel-like beams directed into a sample in a first direction. Each of the Bessel-like beams has a fixed phase relative to the other Bessel-like beams. Imaging optics are configured for receiving light from a position within the sample that is illuminated by the Bessel-like beams and for imaging the received light onto the detector. The imaging optics include a detection objective having an axis oriented in a second direction that is non-parallel to the first direction, where the detector is configured for detecting light received by the imaging optics. A processor configured to generate an image of the sample based on the detected light.
Owner:HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INST

Wave Front Sensing Method and Apparatus

A new way of mixing instrumental and digital means is described for the general field of wave front sensing. The present invention describes the use, the definition and the utility of digital operators, called digital wave front operators (DWFO) or digital lenses (DL), specifically designed for the digital processing of wave fronts defined in amplitude and phase. DWFO are of particular interest for correcting undesired wave front deformations induced by instrumental defects or experimental errors. DWFO may be defined using a mathematical model, e.g. a polynomial function, which involves coefficients. The present invention describes automated and semi-automated procedures for calibrating or adjusting the values of these coefficients. These procedures are based on the fitting of mathematical models on reference data extracted from specific regions of a wave front called reference areas, which are characterized by the fact that specimen contributions are a priori known in reference areas. For example, reference areas can be defined in regions where flat surfaces of a specimen produce a constant phase function. The present invention describes also how DWFO can be defined by extracting reference data along one-dimensional (1D) profiles. DWFO can also be defined in order to obtain a flattened representation of non-flat area of a specimen. Several DWFO or DL can be combined, possibly in addition with procedures for calculating numerically the propagation of wave fronts. A DWFO may also be defined experimentally, e.g. by calibration procedures using reference specimens. A method for generating a DWFO by filtering in the Fourier plane is also described. All wave front sensing techniques may benefit from the present invention. The case of a wave front sensor based on digital holography, e.g. a digital holographic microscope (DHM), is described in more details. The use of DWFO improves the performance, in particular speed and precision, and the ease of use of instruments for wave front sensing. The use of DWFO results in instrumental simplifications, costs reductions, and enlarged the field of applications. The present invention defines a new technique for imaging and metrology with a large field of applications in material and life sciences, for research and industrial applications.
Owner:LYNCEE TEC

Microscope generating a three-dimensional representation of an object and images generated by such a microscope

A microscope is disclosed which determines a complex three-dimensional representation of an object based on a series of recordings of the light wave diffracted by the object, wherein the direction of the wave lighting of the object varies between two succesive recordings. The diffracted wave interferes with a reference wave on a receiving surface and a frequency representation of the diffracted wave is computed from interference patterns received on the receiving surface. A plurality of frequency representations of diffracted waves are then superimposed yielding a frequency representation of the object. The phase of each frequency representation of a diffracted wave is shifted in order to compensate for variations of the phase difference between the reference wave and the wave lighting of the object.
Owner:LAUER VINCENT

Magnetic signal reproduction system and magnetic signal reproduction method

InactiveUS20090027812A1Stable reproduction propertyDeterioration of reproduction propertyManufacture unitary devices of plural headsRecord information storageIridiumAlloy
The magnetic signal reproduction system comprises a magnetic recording medium comprising a magnetic layer comprising a ferromagnetic powder and a binder on a nonmagnetic support and a reproduction head, wherein a number of protrusions equal to or greater than 10 nm in height on the magnetic layer surface, as measured by an atomic force microscope, ranges from 50 to 2500 / 10,000 μm2, a quantity of lubricant on the magnetic layer surface, denoted as a surface lubricant index, ranges from 0.5 to 5.0, a surface abrasive occupancy of the magnetic layer ranges from 2 to 20 percent, the reproduction head is a magnetoresistive magnetic head comprising a spin-valve layer, the spin-valve layer comprises a magnetization free layer, a magnetization pinned layer and an antiferromagnetic layer, and the antiferromagnetic layer is comprised of alloy comprising iridium and manganese, and the reproduction head comes in sliding contact with the magnetic recording medium during signal reproduction.
Owner:FUJIFILM CORP +1

Trench measurement system employing a chromatic confocal height sensor and a microscope

ActiveUS20060109483A1Mechanical movement can be fastMove fastMicroscopesUsing optical meansLength waveMicroscope
A system for the measurement of high aspect ratio trenches. The preferred embodiment consists of three elements: a) an integrated microscope and optical height sensor, b) an axially dispersive, afocal lens system, which is included in the optical height sensor, and c) an algorithm for processing the optical height sensor data to produce the depth of the high aspect ratio trench. The present invention combines a traditional imaging microscope with a chromatic confocal, single point, height sensor. This combination instantaneously provides an image of the object and the height value at one point in the image. No mechanical movement is necessary anywhere in the system to achieve that result. The chromatic confocal height sensor is integrated with a traditional microscope through the use of separate wavelength bands such as a wavelength band in the visible part of the spectrum, and a wavelength band in the infrared or ultraviolet part of the spectrum.
Owner:ONTO INNOVATION INC

Segmented bar-in-bar target

A target for measurement of critical dimension bias on a substrate formed by a lithographic process comprises three sets of contrasting arrays of elements on the substrate. Each of the arrays has a plurality of spaced parallel elements contrasting with the substrate. Ends of the contrasting elements are aligned along parallel lines forming opposite array edges, with the length of the contrasting elements comprising the array width. The array edges are measurable by microscopy without resolution of individual elements of the array. The three arrays are spaced apart in the X- or Y-direction such that critical dimension bias may be measured by comparing the centerline of a first distance measured from one edge of the first array to one edge of the third array to the centerline of a second distance measured from one edge of the second array to one edge of the third array, with the centerlines being measured without resolution of the individual array elements.
Owner:IBM CORP

Methods and apparatus for imaging with multimode optical fibers

A multimode waveguide illuminator and imager relies on a wave front shaping system that acts to compensate for modal scrambling and light dispersion by the multimode waveguide. A first step consists of calibrating the multimode waveguide and a second step consists in projecting a specific pattern on the waveguide proximal end in order to produce the desire light pattern at its distal end. The illumination pattern can be scanned or changed dynamically only by changing the phase pattern projected at the proximal end of the waveguide. The third and last step consists in collecting the optical information, generated by the sample, through the same waveguide in order to form an image. Known free space microscopy technique can be adapted to endoscopy with multimode waveguide, such as, but not limited to, fluorescence imaging or Raman spectroscopy or imaging, 3D linear scattering imaging or two-photon imaging. Super-resolution, i.e., resolution below the diffraction limit, is achieved for example but not limited to, using the STimulated Emission Depletion microscopy (STED) technique or the Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM) technique or a stochastic illumination based method (PALM, STORM) in combination with the multimode waveguide imaging method.
Owner:ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE (EPFL)
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