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US 7,763,841 B1Granted
Optical component for a depth sensor
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorScott McEldowney
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments are disclosed herein related to the construction of optical elements for structured light depth sensor systems. One disclosed embodiment provides a depth sensing system with an optical component comprising a first substrate surface, a first optical element formed in a polymer layer disposed on the first substrate surface, a second substrate surface, and a second optical element formed in a polymer layer disposed on the second substrate surface, wherein the second optical element is optically aligned with the first optical element. The depth sensing further comprises a projector configured to provide light to form a pattern to illuminate a target, and a sensor to acquire an image of the pattern.
Claims19
A depth sensing system comprising:
- a modular optical component comprising:
- a first substrate comprising a first substrate surface;
- a first optical element formed in a polymer layer disposed on the first substrate surface;
- a second substrate comprising a second substrate surface;
- a second optical element formed in a polymer layer disposed on the second substrate surface;
- and
- a spacer, bonded between the first substrate and the second substrate, to maintain spacing and optical alignment between the first optical element and the second optical element;
- a projector configured to provide light to form a pattern to illuminate a target;
- and
- a sensor configured to acquire an image of the pattern as reflected from the target, wherein the modular optical component is coupled to the projector or the sensor.
7 more elements
A method of manufacturing an optical component for a projector assembly of a depth sensor, comprising:
- administering a first amount of polymer onto a first substrate surface of a first substrate;
- applying a first optical feature embossing mold to the first amount of polymer to emboss a collimating lens into the first amount of polymer;
- curing the first amount of polymer to set the collimating lens;
- administering a second amount of polymer onto a second substrate surface of a second substrate;
- applying a second optical feature embossing mold to the second amount of polymer to emboss a diffractive optical element
- curing the second amount of polymer to set the diffractive optical element;
- placing a spacer between the first substrate and the second substrate;
- aligning the first substrate and the second substrate such that the collimating lens is optically aligned with the diffractive optical element;
- bonding the spacer between the first substrate and the second substrate;
- dicing the first substrate and the second substrate to form the optical component comprising the collimating lens and the diffractive optical element;
- and
- coupling the optical component to a projector as a modular unit.
9 more elements
A depth sensing system comprising:
- a projector configured to provide light to form a pattern to illuminate a target;
- a sensor to acquire an image of the pattern;
- a first optical component coupled to the projector as a first modular unit comprising:
- a first substrate comprising a first substrate surface;
- a collimating lens, to focus light provided by the projector, the collimating lens being formed in a polymer layer disposed on the first substrate surface;
- a second substrate comprising a second substrate surface;
- a diffractive optical element, comprising a diffractive grating to receive light focused by the collimating lens to at least partially form the pattern, the diffractive optical element being formed in a polymer layer disposed on the second substrate surface;
- and
- a first spacer, bonded between the first substrate and the second substrate, to maintain optical alignment between the collimating lens and the diffractive optical element, the collimating lens and the diffractive optical element being optically aligned to focus light provided by the projector to form the pattern illuminated on the target;
- and
- a second optical component coupled to the sensor as a second modular unit comprising:
- a third substrate comprising a third substrate surface;
- a first focusing lens formed in a polymer layer disposed on the third substrate surface;
- a fourth substrate comprising a fourth substrate surface;
- a second focusing lens formed in a polymer layer disposed on the fourth substrate surface;
- a second spacer, bonded between the third substrate and the fourth substrate, to maintain optical alignment between the first focusing lens and the second focusing lens;
- an aperture formed on the third substrate surface or the fourth substrate surface;
- and
- a band-pass filter formed on the third substrate surface or the fourth substrate surface that is nearest the sensor, the first focusing lens and the second focusing lens being optically aligned to collectively focus the pattern illuminated on the target through the band-pass filter to be acquired by the sensor.
16 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.