Microscope and recording optical systems utilizing tapered light conducting fiber bundles

Claim 1

A FIBER OPTICAL IMAGE TRANSMITTER OF THE TYPE DESCRIBED COMPRISING A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF THIN COATED OPTICAL FIBERS SECURED TOGETHER IN SIMILAR SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATION SO AS TO FORM A FIBER OPTICAL BUNDLE HAVING AN ENTRANCE SURFACE FOR RECEIVING AN OPTICAL IMAGE AT ONE END THEREOF AND AN EMERGENT SURFACE AT THE OPPOSITE END THEREOF, THE OPTICAL FIBERS FORMING SAID BUNDLE EACH BEING OF A FRUSTO-CONICAL SHAPE INTERMEDIATE ITS OPPOSITE ENDS SO THAT WHEN SAID FIBERS ARE BUNCHED TOGETHER THEY WILL PROVIDE AT ONE END SURFACE OF SAID BUNDLE AN APPRECIABLY LARGER CROSS SECTIONAL AREA THAN AT THE OTHER END THEREOF, THE SMALLER END SURFACE OF SAID BUNDLE BEING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT SURFACE SO AS TO RECEIVE A FLAT OBJECT SURFACE IN JUXTAPOSED RELATION THERETO, AND THE OTHER END SURFACE OF SAID BUNDLE BEING OF A PREDETERMINED CONCAVE CURVATURE SO AS TO COINCIDE SUBSTANTIALLY WITH THE KNOWN CURVATURE OF FIELD OF A LENS TO BE OPTICALLY ALIGNED THEREWITH AND FOCUSED THEREON, EACH OF SAID THIN COATED OPTICAL FIBERS BEING FORMED BY A CORE OF LIGHT TRANSMISSANT DIELECTRIC MATERIAL OF A PREDETERMINED REFRACTIVE INDEX, A FIRST RELATIVELY THIN COATING SURROUNDING SAID CORE AND FORMED OF A DIELECTRIC MATERIAL OF A RELATIVELY LOWER REFRACTIVE INDEX, AND A SECOND RELATIVELY THINNER COATING SURROUNDING SAID FIRST COATING AND FORMED OF A METALLIC MATERIAL, THE SMALLER END OF EACH OF SAID COATED FIBERS BEING OF A CROSS SECTIONAL SIZE NO GREATER THAN APPROXIMATELY THE WAVELENGTH OF THE LIGHT TO BE TRANSMITTED THEREBY, WHEREBY AN IMAGE HAVING IMPROVED RESOLUTION WILL BE TRANSMITTED BY SAID BUNDLE.