Patent ID: 7496245

Claim:
An optical sensor operable to receive an excitation light from a light source, wherein said sensor comprises an internally reflecting shape and a sensing waveguide; wherein said sensing waveguide comprises an input end; wherein said internally reflecting shape and at least said input end of said sensing waveguide are arranged with respect to each other to have a common optical axis; wherein said internally reflecting shape is operable to receive an input of excitation light rays having a range of input propagation angles ω with respect to a Y-axis that is at right angles with respect to said common optical axis; wherein said internally reflecting shape comprises a variable reflected propagation angle θ 0i reflective surface that is operable to receive at least some of said input of excitation light rays and to produce an output of reflected excitation light rays from said variable reflected propagation angle θ 0i reflective surface that are reflected into said input end of said sensing waveguide over a corresponding range of reflected propagation angles θ 0i relative to said common optical axis; wherein said reflected propagation angle θ 0i changes as a function of said input propagation angle ω; wherein at least a portion of said variable reflected propagation angle θ 0i reflective surface has a shape, relative to a position of said light source and relative to said common optical axis, that is described in a polar coordinate system as: r ⁡ ( ω ) = R 90 ⁢ ° ⁡ [ 1 - cos ⁡ ( θ 90 ⁢ ° ) 1 - sin ⁡ ( ω - θ 0 ⁢ i ) ] P ; and wherein said sensing waveguide is operable to produce an output of signal recovery light in response to said output of reflected excitation light rays from said variable reflected propagation angle θ 0i reflective surface, when said sensing waveguide is exposed to a sensed target analyte.