The invention relates to a projection system, comprising a radiation source, an illumination system operable to illuminate a structured mask, and a projection objective for projecting an image of the mask structure onto a light-sensitive substrate, wherein said projection system comprises an optical system comprising an optical axis or a preferred direction given by the direction of a light beam propagating through the optical system; the optical system comprising a temperature compensated polarization-modulating optical element described by coordinates of a coordinate system, wherein one preferred coordinate of the coordinate system is parallel to the optical axis or parallel to said preferred direction; said temperature compensated polarization-modulating optical element comprising a first and a second polarization-modulating optical element, the first and/or the second polarization-modulating optical element comprising solid and/or liquid optically active material and a profile of effective optical thickness, wherein the effective optical thickness varies at least as a function of one coordinate different from the preferred coordinate of the coordinate system, in addition or alternative the first and/or the second polarization-modulating optical element comprises solid and/or liquid optically active material, wherein the effective optical thickness is constant as a function of at least one coordinate different from the preferred coordinate of the coordinate system; wherein the first polarization-modulating optical element comprises optically active material with a specific rotation of opposite sign compared to the optically active material of the second polarization-modulating optical element.

Polarization-modulating optical element

A camera solution includes an image sensor and an image processing and control system. At least two different operating modes are supported, with one of the modes having a higher dynamic range. Control of the dynamic range is provided at the system level. The system supports statically or dynamically selecting an operating mode that determines the dynamic range of a camera. In one implementation, the system supports the use of either a conventional image sensor that does not natively support a high dynamic range or a dual-mode image sensor.

Dual mode camera solution apparatus, system, and method

There is provided an image processing apparatus including an HDR (High Dynamic Range) processing unit inputting images picked up while exposure control that changes an exposure time is being carried out with a predetermined spatial period and a predetermined temporal period on pixels that compose an image sensor, and carrying out image processing. The HDR processing unit generates a first combined image by combining pixel values of a plurality of images with different sensitivities generated by an interpolation process using a plurality of consecutively picked-up images, generates a second combined image by combining pixel values of a plurality of images with different sensitivities generated by an interpolation process that uses a single picked-up image, and generates an HDR image by executing a pixel value blending process on the first combined image and the second combined image in accordance with a blending ratio calculated in accordance with movement detection information.

Image processing apparatus, image pickup apparatus, image processing method, and program

A digital camera includes a CCD imager having an interline transfer scheme. A first charge produced due to first exposure is read from light receiving elements positioned vertically intermittently. A second charge produced due to second exposure is also read from the same light receiving elements to vertical transfer regions. Here, the first charge is vertically moved simultaneously with or prior to reading out the second charge. The moving distance, at this time, is equal to or greater than a distance that the light receiving elements continue in the vertical direction. As a result of this, the second charge will not be mixed with the first charge. The first and second charges are subjected to a compositing process to display a composite image on an LCD.

Digital camera which produces a single image based on two exposures

A solid-state imaging device includes: a pixel unit in which pixels are arranged in a matrix pattern; and a pixel signal read-out unit including an AD conversion unit performing analog-to-digital (AD) conversion of a pixel signal read out from the pixel unit, wherein each pixel included in the pixel unit includes division pixels divided into regions in which photosensitivity levels or electric charge accumulating amounts are different from one another, the pixel signal reading unit includes a normal read-out mode and a multiple read-out mode, and includes a function of changing a configuration of a frame in accordance with a change of the read-out mode, and wherein the AD conversion unit acquires a pixel signal of one pixel by adding the division pixel signals while performing AD conversion for the division pixel signals.

Solid-state imaging device and camera system

Light emitted from a taking lens 20 enters a first birefringent plate 1 a to be spatially divided along a first direction extending perpendicular to the direction in which the light advances to achieve two separate rays L 10 and L 20. The vibrational planes of the two light fluxes L 10 and L 20 emitted from the first birefringent plate 1 a are converted to a circularly polarized light by a phase plate 1 c. The two light fluxes L 10 ′ and L 20 ′ emitted from the phase plate 1 c are each spatially divided into two by a second birefringent plate 1 d along a second direction extending perpendicular to the first direction to achieve four separate rays L 11, L 12. L 21 and L 22, to be guided to an imaging plane 15 a of an imaging device 15. At least either the first birefringent plate or the second birefringent plate is constituted of lithium niobate, rutile, Chilean nitrate, or the like.

Optical filter and optical device provided with this optical filter

An image-capturing element comprises: a plurality of pixels provided in a matrix each of which has a photoelectric conversion element; a plurality of color filters each of which is provided at one of the plurality of pixels; and a read out circuit that adds together electrical charges of pixels within every specific range among the plurality of pixels and enables a sequential read out of added electrical charges.

Image-capturing element, image-capturing circuit for processing signal from image-capturing element, image-capturing device, driving method of image-capturing element

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image-pickup element and an image-pickup device using this which is capable of improving a dynamic range with high sensitivity. SOLUTION: From a color pixel matrix provided with 2m-number of pixels in a horizontal direction and 2n-number of pixels in a vertical direction, the electric charges of four pixels within a group of respective color pixels 6 which are four pixel units with the color filter of the same color component are added on the image-pickup element 10 and outputted. In addition, the reading of one unit of each pixel and the processing of adding and reading by the unit of the group 6 are switch-controlled to switch-output the color image of high resolution and that of quadrupled high sensitivity. COPYRIGHT: (C)1999,JPO

Image pickup element and image pickup device using the same

In order to acquire an image having a plurality of parallaxes, it is necessary to prepare a corresponding number of complex image capturing systems. To solve this problem, provided is an image capturing element comprising photoelectric converting elements that are arranged two-dimensionally and photoelectrically convert incident light into an electric signal; aperture masks that correspond one-to-one with the photoelectric converting elements; and color filters that correspond one-to-one with the photoelectric converting elements. Among n adjacent photoelectric converting elements, where n is an integer no less than three, apertures of the aperture masks corresponding to at least three of the photoelectric converting elements are included within each pattern of a color filter pattern formed from at least two types of the color filters that respectively pass different wavelength bands, and are positioned to respectively pass light from different partial regions within a cross-sectional region of the incident light, and photoelectric converting element groups that are each formed of the n photoelectric converting elements are arranged in series.

Imaging element and imaging device

An image capturing element comprising photoelectric converting elements that are arranged two-dimensionally and photoelectrically convert incident light into an electric signal; aperture masks that correspond one-to-one with the photoelectric converting elements; and color filters that correspond one-to-one with the photoelectric converting elements. Among n adjacent photoelectric converting elements, where n is an integer no less than three, apertures of the aperture masks corresponding to at least three of the photoelectric converting elements are included within each pattern of a color filter pattern formed from at least two types of the color filters that respectively pass different wavelength bands, and are positioned to respectively pass light from different partial regions within a cross-sectional region of the incident light, and photoelectric converting element groups that are each formed of the n photoelectric converting elements are arranged in series.

Kiyoshige Shibazaki

Papers

Optical filter and optical device provided with this optical filter

Image-capturing element, image-capturing circuit for processing signal from image-capturing element, image-capturing device, driving method of image-capturing element

Image pickup element and image pickup device using the same

Imaging element and imaging device

Image sensor and imaging device