Patent Application: US-201113218563-A

Abstract:
the carbon nanotube imaging system combines many sensor nanotubes into a containment vessel that is utilized as a pixel in a multipixel array that is assembled in a similar row and column configuration as other type of 2d sensors . the individual cnt sensor elements inside this pixel containment vessel may have many different carbon nanotubes with many different spectral frequencies . this will permit much faster acquisition of specific spectral data and the assemblage of spectral data cubes much faster than camera utilizing conventional optomechanical spectrographs or similar acoustic lcd filter gates for the same . the system could also contain emitter carbon nanotubes to emit coherent light back out through the optical lens system to act to provide range information or function as a spectral illuminator for the system .

Description:
in the following detailed description of the embodiments reference is made to the accompanying drawings , that show by way of illustration , specific embodiments of the invention . reference will now be made to the detailed embodiments of the invention . in the drawings , like numerals describe similar components throughout several views . other embodiments may be utilized and structural and logical and electrical changes can be made without departing from the scope of this invention . moreover it is understood that the embodiments of the invention although different are not necessarily mutually exclusive . the following detailed description is therefore , not to be taken in a limiting sense , and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims , along with the full scope of equivalents to which said claims are entitled . this design contains specific elements that are currently available , but it does not limit future technology developments . fig1 sets forth a typical imaging device setup such as a hyperspectral camera , which operates in the manner set forth . the target , 10 which can be any number of objects , be it animate or imamate is scanned by the scanning assembly which takes in light 11 and follows through the path here set . the light passes through the initial lens , 12 and is spread , 13 and focused through a focal plane shutter , 14 . the light exits the focal plane shutter 15 and is passed to the fore lens , 16 . the light then exits the lens and is spread according to the manufacture of the lens 17 , and falls on the spectrograph 18 , here noted as a prism . it could be a prism - grating - prism or other spectrograph configuration . exiting the prism , the light is spread 19 and then falls on the final lens , 20 which again focuses the beam of light 21 and passes it on to the sensor array 22 . the sensor array can be composed of any number of substances , including a ccd , cmos , scmos , carbon nanotube and future iterations . fig2 a illustrates the first embodiment of the invention and the components and processes that are necessary for its operation . the structure is a sensor array that can have one or many pixels arranged in rows and columns . the pixel container ( pixelwell ) represents each pixel . there may be one or many different cnt sensor elements in each pixel container . these are grouped together so that when the data scan occurs it is sequential . it may also be possible to bin groups of pixels together in an ordered way . the pixel container well structure is composed of two parts : the imaging carbon nanotube forward containment assembly 24 and 25 which is the imaging carbon nanotube back assembly with interface circuitry to form the sensor well 26 which is the carbon nanotube containment assembly comprised of carbon nanotubes , assembly and support area for interface electronics . this structure takes in light which is optical radiation entering imaging carbon nanotube containment assembly , 23 and the carbon nanotube sensor elements in the pixel well structure 27 are anchored to the base of the containment assembly 29 either horizontally or vertically by anchors 28 to the containment assembly . these sensor elements are carbon nanotubes and are attached to the bottom of the containment assembly 30 by electronics and other interfaces 31 which is the connection between the nano - circuitry and the high speed bus interface going to the cpu and gpgpu , 32 which is the high speed bus interface that translates the information from nano - size to regular size and pass the data 33 which is the connection between the high speed bus interface to the computer bus attached to a computer with cpu and gpgpu components 34 . in reference to fig2 b a second embodiment , the setup is the same as fig2 a except emitter elements 36 , are added and produce light which is optical radiation exiting from the emitter element 35 . the emitters in each pixel container emit light like an led . each pixel container could contain one or a plurality of these emitters . they may emit electromagnetic radiation in one or a plurality of frequencies . the individual emitters and the individual sensor elements could also be utilized together in calculating the distance from and object back to the imager system and the individual pixel container . it would then be possible to drive exacting distance and positional information similar to the separate operation of a positional system and a separate imaging system . this system could be utilized in ranging in remote sensing aerial systems or in microscope systems and providing exacting ranging and positional information in microscopy systems . in addition , the emitter elements have a different interface which is the attachment to the containment assembly 37 to the well bottom 29 . in 38 , the data is passed from the emitter element via 38 and 39 to the carbon nanotube emitter power management module 42 . the data is then routed via 41 to a power supply 40 . the duplicate numbers will not be included , for reference , refer to fig2 a for explanation . in fig3 a which is the third embodiment of the invention , the initial parts to the entire imaging system with a focal plane shutter 48 , 49 setup are indicated ; in one iteration , the light enters the assembly 43 and passes through the front lens 44 and on to the second lens 45 . as the electromagnetic radiation leaves the second lens it enters the focal plane shutter 48 , 49 which can move in the directions 46 , 47 , 50 , 51 , for size and direction adjustment , and movement of the focus plane . the electromagnetic radiation exits the focal plane assembly 52 and is passed to the rear lens 53 and onto the ordered column of carbon nanotube containment vessels also called cnt pixel elements in a column 54 and the row of same 55 . the entire assembly of these sensor pixel elements is called an imaging sensor with carbon nanotube containment vessels that in turn contain 1 - n carbon nanotube sensor elements 57 . the electromagnetic radiation is then passed through the connection between the nano - interface circuitry , to a large scale high - speed bus interface going to the cpu and gpgpu . the path then goes to the high - speed bus interface which converts the signals from nano - scale to a larger scale . refer to fig2 a for an explanation of 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 . in fig3 b a fourth embodiment of the invention is illustrated , and the explanation is the same as fig3 a except for 58 where the standard focal plane assembly , 48 , 49 is replaced with an iris shutter 58 . the rest of the callouts are the same as fig2 a and are not repeated . the diagram in fig3 c incorporates a fifth embodiment of the invention , where again , the assembly is identical , and the explanations can reference fig2 a , except the focal plane assembly has been removed altogether but the focus plane can be adjusted by moving the lens . the light simply passes from the second lens , 45 to the third lens 53 . this setup is warranted in a variety of settings where a mechanical shutter is impractical . the sixth embodiment of the invention is outlined in fig3 d ; the identical callouts are in reference to 3 a and 3 c . the differences are that this diagram includes the emitter elements 36 and the connection to the emitter control and power 41 and the sensor power management 42 . the diagram in fig4 outlines the same basic design as fig3 a - 3d except that the light source 58 is indicated as well as the path the electromagnetic radiation follows 59 to the row 55 and column 39 configurations of the pixel sensor elements 37 in their configuration 57 . in addition , the circuitry attached to each pixel sensor elements composed of carbon nanotubes , 37 is noted 60 and demonstrated in a layered fashion for which the layout of the substrate is composed . in callouts 61 - 64 individual slices of the elements that make up a datacube , 65 are outlined . each spectral frequency is collected from same onto one or many spectral sensor containers in the sensor . this collection is gathered and sent to the computer which assembles a spectral data cube containing one or many spectral slices ordered the same as the row and column ordering or where sensor containers ( pixels ) are binned together . each spectral layer is a unique spectral frequency 61 . n - number of spectral frequencies 62 , 63 , 64 , represents one to a plurality of spectral frequencies that are represented on the representation 65 . a data cube is a three ( or higher ) dimensional array of values collected individually from pixel containers and the individual sensor elements in each container . this is commonly used to describe a “ timed series ” of image data . in fig5 the elements in the containment vessel are identical to fig2 b . the carbon nanotube sensor elements are linked via 66 and are represented in the nanoscale 67 and attached via 31 to electronics , the carbon nanotube back assembly with circuitry , to the sensor interface circuit , 68 . this circuit contains provisions for operations such as a / d conversion , row and column interface to containment vessels and their sensor elements , and other features necessary for the operation of the sensor . the circuit and the containment vessel together operate on a nano - scale as opposed to a larger scale commonly implemented . in 69 , the sensor interface circuit is connected via 69 to the high - speed bus interface to the cpus and gpgpus 33 . this interface converts the nano - scale information to information read by standard computer interfaces . the connection 32 to the computer 70 which contains many elements , such as a cpu / multicore central processor 71 , gpgpus 72 , other controls for the computer system 73 , emitter control system 74 , sensor control system 75 and the computer bus interface 76 . via 77 the processor system is connected to the human interface devices such as video , keyboard , mouse and other controls 78 . the various embodiments described above are provided by illustration only and should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention . in addition , for more information regarding carbon nanotubes , and implementations that may be used in connection with the present invention , reference may be made to the attached references which form a portion of the underlying patent document and are incorporated herein by reference . from the above embodiments , it becomes evident that a number of advantages become evident . a ) carbon nanotube technology is just starting to be utilized in the mainstream for displays , fet , ring oscillators , biological , mechanical , gaseous sensors , and a host of other applications . b ) sensors have morphed from traditional ccd arrays , to cmos , scmos and ultimately carbon nanotubes . by using these sub - micron units ; that are virtually stronger than steel , impervious to emt pulses , and have shown the capability to both absorb light and produce a voltage as well as receive a voltage and fluoresce , sensors have evolved by leaps and bounds . c ) it has been shown using spectroscopy and raman , that nanotubes can absorb different wavelengths of light depending on the diameter and chirality of the nanotube . this factor in particular makes them a perfect candidate for an optical sensor . a sensor that is combined with an imaging system ; takes in light in a wide range of frequencies and converts the signals and output into a 2d or 3d datacube . d ) by using carbon nanotubes , not only is the sensor very small , but it takes the place of the point that slows the system down , the scanning operation and the spectrograph . by replacing these elements in a system , the light impinges , through a series of lenses , directly with the sensor . e ) the sensor is contained of pixel containers , each which has 1 - n number of sensor elements , which are carbon nanotubes . these nanotubes produce a voltage that is then manipulated by the sensor electronics and fed into a cpu / gpgpu . f ) by using this sensor system , the slow aspects of imaging that sometimes plagues traditional imaging devices , is eliminated , and is replaced by a fast row and column imaging scheme . g ) by using emitters in the system , carbon nanotubes , that with an applied voltage fluoresce , the entire device can receive light , analyze it and collect the data from the emitters enabling lighting and absorption from the same sensor . accordingly , the reader will see that the complete system introduces new technology on a macro and micro - scale . the units are flexible — they are chosen based on the application at hand . they can be used with existing and future technology . they are manufactured with state - of - the are sensors , including scmos and in the future carbon nanotubes . the movement of the focal plane and sensor assembly is under patent consideration . the entire system is enclosed in a compact footprint , under 3 pounds or less . by integrating all of these functions , the system is able to remove the data burden and move it from the external device to the sensor via high - speed bus . although the description above contains much specificity , these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments . for example , as technology progresses the system make up , shape , size and other parameters could change . in addition , as illustrated in figures ( fig3 a , 3 b , 3 c , 3 d ) the complete system remains static in some senses , but incorporates different types of pixel arrays . also the system is boosted by one or a multitude of attached gpus to further speed up the process . the processing unit provides a multitude of functionality within the system ( fig5 ). 1 . phaedon avouris and joerg appenzeller , “ electronics and optoelectronics with carbon nanotubes ”, the industrial physicist , 21 . 2 . carbon nanotube optics and optoelectronics , s . heinze et al ., institute of applied physics , university of hamburg , jungiusstrasse 11 , 20355 , hamburg germany . 3 . achim hartschum “ simultaneous fluorescence and raman scattering from single carbon nanotubes ,” science , 2003 , 301 , 1354 . 4 . a . mohite , s . chakraborty , p . gopinath et al , “ displacement current detection of photoconduction in carbon nanotubes ,” applied physics letters , 2005 , 86 , 061114 . 5 . the science and technology of carbon nanotubes , k . tanaka , t . yamabe , k . fukui ( eds .) elsevier , 1999 . 6 . r . martel et al . “ single - 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