THREE DIMENSIONAL IMAGING DEVICE

An imaging device employs a known bidimensional, position sensitive light detector of the CCD type. A converging lens system images points on a target surface onto the detector to generate data on the X and Y coordinates of each point. The invention is characterized by a mask located in the aperture plane of the lens system. This mask either has a pair of spaced apart, separate, circular apertures or an annular aperture symmetrical about the optical axis. In the first instance, the result is to form spaced-apart dots on the detector for each point of the target surface, the distance between these dots being a measure of the Z coordinate of the respective point. When using the annular aperture, rings are formed on the detector, the ring diameter representing the Z data. The arrangement provides a compact and robust device for obtaining three dimensional data on a target surface.