Patent ID: 7692131

Claim:
An imaging system, comprising: a sensor comprising pixels, the pixels having a pixel area of about 0.01 microns 2 or more and about 600 microns 2 or less; and an image transfer medium having a diffraction limited spot size area in an object plane of about 0.0003 microns 2 or more and about 600 microns 2 or less, the image transfer medium comprising a Gaussian diffraction limited spot wherein at least about 85% of radiation energy exists in a central peak, the image transfer medium comprising a first lens positioned toward the object plane and a second lens positioned toward the sensor, the first lens sized to have a focal length smaller than the second lens to provide an apparent reduction of the pixels within the object plane, wherein pixels projected through the image transfer medium have a projected pixel area in the object plane of about 0.0003 microns 2 or more and about 600 microns 2 or less, the ratio of the projected pixel area in the object plane to the diffraction limited spot size area in the object plane is from about 5:1 to about 1:12.