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U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Grants Filter Patents to Ocean Optics

Florida company known for its miniature spectrometers makes a mark in filter technology

Dunedin, Fla., April 2004 -- Ocean Optics, Inc. has been awarded two patents related to applications of its innovative dichroic filter array process, a breakthrough technology that creates filters in patterns precise enough to project still images.

U.S. Patent 6,700,690, �Tunable variable bandpass filter,� provides for a multifunction, or �universal� transmission filter that is especially useful for fluorescence spectroscopy and has potential applications in telecommunications. The filter consists of two optical substrates coated with a linearly variable multilayer interference coating that varies in thickness from end to end. By placing the two filters in a fixture and sliding them across a light source, the user can select both the center wavelength and the bandpass of the light. This flexibility allows Ocean Optics to make one filter that works with virtually all of the fluorescent compounds used as markers in biotechnology, chemical and industrial applications.

U.S. Patent 6,638,668, �Method for making monolithic patterned dichroic filter arrays for spectroscopic imaging,� combines microlithographic techniques with optical filter technology to produce dichroic filter arrays for spectroscopic imaging. When placed on a two-dimensional detector in a camera, an imaging system capable of detecting specific chemicals, wavelength ranges or other spectral criteria is produced. Filter arrays in these cameras can be tuned for applications such as detection of UVA, UVB and UVC solar irradiation; discrimination of chlorophyll pigments in plants; identification of cancerous and non-cancerous tissue; and creation of super high-definition color systems for imaging.

U.S. Patent 6,700,690 was issued March 2, 2004; Philip E. Buchsbaum and James D. Lane are the inventors. U.S. Patent 6,638,668 was issued Oct. 28, 2003; Philip E. Buchsbaum and Michael J. Morris are the inventors.

Ocean Optics is a manufacturer of optical-sensing components such as miniature fiber optic spectrometers, fiber optic accessories, optical fibers, and high-precision thin films and optics. Our palm-sized fiber optic spectrometer, introduced in 1992, has spawned dozens of imitators and helped pave the way for a new approach to optical-sensing applications across hundreds of industries. The company�s thin films and optics division, established in 1999, pioneered an optical coatings production method that combines optical thin film deposition techniques with microlithographic procedures. This patented process enables micron-scale precision patterning of optical thin film dichroic coatings on a single substrate.

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