Segmented Image-Relay Fiber for High-Resolution Optical Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current optical fiber technologies suffer from distortion and reduced spatial resolution due to unpredictable mixing of spatial modes, leading to image artifacts and limited field of view, especially in multi-core fibers and fiber bundles, which also have lower numerical aperture and higher core diameters compared to single-mode fibers.
Innovation Solution
The use of concatenated image-relay fiber segments with an imaging lens optically coupled between subsegments to accurately reproduce light intensity distributions, reducing distortion and preserving spatial information, and potentially using high-refractive-index coatings and various lens types like diffractive or refractive lenses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multi-core fibers or fiber bundles are used to transmit images, then spatial mode mixing is reduced, but spatial resolution is limited by the larger core diameter and center-to-center spacing
Solution Approach 1:
The fiber is divided into multiple segments along its length, with each segment containing a single-mode fiber core. This segmentation allows the system to maintain the high spatial resolution of single-mode fibers while transmitting multiple pixels simultaneously through parallel segments, effectively resolving the contradiction between image quality and spatial resolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a single-core fiber to a multi-segment structure where segments are arranged in a spatial dimension. This allows the system to multiply the effective pixel capacity without increasing the core diameter of individual fibers, thus maintaining high spatial resolution while improving overall image transmission capability.
2Reliability
If multi-core fibers or fiber bundles are used, then image distortion is reduced, but numerical aperture is lower reducing light collection efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
Each segment in the multi-segment fiber structure functions as an independent single-mode fiber channel. This segmentation allows each segment to maintain a high numerical aperture characteristic of single-mode fibers, thereby improving light collection efficiency while still transmitting multiple pixels through the parallel segment arrangement.
3Reliability
If multi-core fibers or fiber bundles are used, then spatial mode mixing is reduced, but alignment and focusing become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The fiber is segmented into multiple independent single-mode fiber sections. Each segment can be independently aligned and focused, simplifying the overall alignment process compared to aligning multiple cores in a multi-core fiber or fiber bundle. The modular structure allows for easier assembly and reduced alignment sensitivity.
4Productivity
If multi-core fibers or fiber bundles are used, then image transmission is achieved, but computational complexity increases due to signal reconstruction
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the image formation function from complex computational reconstruction processes. By using multiple single-mode fiber segments that naturally preserve spatial information without mode mixing, the system eliminates the need for sophisticated algorithms to reconstruct images from distorted signals, thereby reducing computational complexity while maintaining imaging capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables high-resolution image transfer with minimal loss and distortion, preserving spatial information, and can be applied in micro-endoscopy and communication transmissions, enhancing imaging capabilities and reducing computational complexity.
Implementation Method 1
an imaging lens optically coupled between the first optical fiber subsegment and the second optical fiber subsegment. The imaging lens is configured to relay a light intensity distribution at an input plane of the image-relay fiber segment to an output plane of the image-relay fiber segment
Implementation Method 2
a first optical fiber subsegment, a second optical fiber subsegment optically coupled with the first fiber subsegment
Data Source
AI summary
A segmented image-relay fiber can include concatenating image-relay fiber segments. Each segment can include, or consist of, an optical fiber and an imaging lens. Each segment can accurately reproduce (e.g., with little to no losses or distortion of the image) a light intensity distribution in its input plane at its output plane, while reducing the distortion of the image that occurs in many typical fiber optic image transfers. This approach can be used for a variety of applications, such as micro-endoscopy and communication transmissions that can benefit from spatially preserved information. The recorded images can also be analyzed or processed using various computational methods, including machine learning (e.g., a trained algorithm), to enhance performance.