A novel device to collect, shape, and concentrate light using reflective conical optics.

Method to create a solid cone of light using reflection instead of refraction.

Inventors: Michael Pravica 

He received his Ph.D. in experimental condensed matter physics in 1998 from Harvard University and a B.S. in physics and applied mathematics in 1988 with honors from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). His expertise includes: Explosives, High Pressure Science, Raman, Infrared, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and X-ray Spectroscopies, Accelerator Physics

The Invention: 

We propose using a hollow, internally mirrored cone ending with a small hole to replace the function of a lens which does essentially the same thing: create a solid cone of light. The advantage here is that we use reflection instead of refraction to guide light. By using two opposing cones with different solid angles, we can collect more light in the larger-angled cone and force much of this light into the acceptance angle of the spectrometer. By using reflection optics of a internally mirror surfaced cone to do the same thing that a lens does: create a cone of light, we don't distort the light by passing it through a conical mirror (like pinballs going down a conical hatch) instead of having the light to pass through a lens which suffers from chromatic aberration. This should improve the collection efficiency of the device dramatically and fidelity of the light it is detecting/dispersing.

Benefits:

• The collected light is not distorted due to the dependence of index of refraction with light frequency as it would be by passing through a lens. 
• It is easier to collect light by affixing the cone to the entrance slit of a spectrometer
• Easily concentrate light and thus collect much more of it by using a higher angle for the input cone and smaller angle cone for the output cone. 
• Allows us to easily match the light cone to the f number of the spectrometer resulting in far more light being collected. 

Market Opportunity: 

• The global conical lenses market has been predicated to grow between 2023 and 2031. The increase of various strategies and developments are also contributing to anticipated growth. The evaluation in 2022 was 5052.9M and is expected to grow by a CAGR of 6.3% throughout the forecast period until 2031.

Intellectual property

• Concept