Inspection of nano-sized SNOM-tips by optical far-field evaluation

High resolution optical microscopy has many interesting applications in solid state physics, low temperature physics, biology and semiconductor technology. Unfortunately, the lateral resolution of conventional microscopes is limited by the Rayleigh-limit. “Scanning nearfield optical microscopy” (SNOM) seems to be a promising new approach to characterize the properties of materials optically with a high lateral resolution of 50–100 nm. The most important part of such a microscope is the scanning probe (a special glass fiber tip). However, the quality of the optical fiber tip is of decisive importance. Since the production process of pulled and coated glass fiber tips is still highly empirical and error-prone, a technique would be useful to determine the tips’ quality before they are shipped to the user or mounted in the microscope. The tips’ apertures are smaller than λ/2 and therefore they cannot be measured in a non-destructive way by conventional optical microscopy. This paper discusses an easy and fast method for the optical characterization of common glass fiber SNOM tips. The effective aperture of the tip is measured from the far-field distribution of the emitted intensity recorded by a CCD target. A numerical model is introduced to solve this inverse task and a simple optical setup is presented to detect light emitted by the tip at an angle of up to 90° from the optical axis. Experimental investigation, near/far-field calculations and scanning electron microscope investigations show the working principle of this measurement technique for the analysis and evaluation of a typical nanostructured object.     

Optical Metrology by Fringe Processing on Independent Windows Using a Genetic Algorithm

We present a method to retrieve the phase of a fringe pattern based on the window fringe pattern demodulation technique (WFPD). The overlapped phase similarity criterion is avoided in the proposed method, and it is substituted by a second order smoothness criterion. The fringe processing on independent windows (FPIW) method can measure physical quantities from closed and near sub-sampled fringe patterns by a simplified cost or fitness function. The fringe image is divided into a set of partially overlapping windows. In these sub-images the estimated phase is modelled as a parametric analytic-function, and its parameters are optimized using a genetic algorithm (GA). This analytic-function is used to estimate the phase in the area framed by the window. Phases from all windows are sequentially spliced to retrieve the whole phase field. A media filter is applied over the entire phase field to smooth the irregularities that appear in the junctures between windows.     

Inverse projected-fringe technique based on multi projectors

The inverse projected-fringe technique based on multi projectors is proposed. By an absolute phase measurement on the master object, different inverse fringes are generated, for projectors placed in different directions. During the inspection process, inverse fringes are projected simultaneously. If the test object and the master object are identical, an optimized sine fringe is obtained on the camera. Otherwise, every faulty area of the test object causes distortions of the fringe. The deformations can be evaluated quantitatively by simple Fourier transformation and phase unwrapping. Therefore, we can complete the inspection of complex and discontinuous objects with only one fringe image, and solve the problems of shadow and break to a large extent, and consequently realize the fast on-line inspection. The principle of this technique is expatiated, and we prove the validity of it on the example of a two-projector system. The analysis of error and prerequisites of application are also presented.     

飞秒光梳和碘稳频532nm Nd:YAG激光频率的测量

报道了中国计量科学研究院研制的基于掺钛蓝宝石(Ti:Sapphire)锁模飞秒脉冲激光器的飞秒光学频率梳装置，并利用此装置测量了碘稳频532nm(¹²⁷I₂R(56)32-10) Nd∶YAG固体激光器的频率，结果为 563260223512991±20Hz,相对不确定度为3.6×10^-14.这一数值是直接溯源到铯原子微波频率基准的光学频率测量结果.     

数字散斑法在局域剪切带三维变形研究中的应用

在适当的温度、应变率和预变形下,合金材料的拉伸试验中,将会出现伴随应力锯齿形跌落的雪崩式剪切变形带,即波特文-勒夏特利埃(Portevin-Le Chatelier,PLC)效应。利用高速数字摄像系统(分辨力1000 frames/s)并结合数字散斑干涉法(Digital speckle pattern interferometry,DSPI)和数字散斑相关法设计了一套光学变形测量系统,实现了拉伸试验中对试件表面三维变形的实时、精确测量。利用该光学系统对铝铜合金试件在拉伸试验中产生的跳跃传播的局域剪切带瞬态成核过程进行捕捉。通过结合数字散斑相关法得到的面内变形定量结果和数字散斑干涉法得到的表现离面变形的条纹图,再现了剪切变形带成核和传播瞬间的三维变形过程。     

Two-dimensional windowed Fourier transform for fringe pattern analysis: Principles, applications and implementations

Fringe patterns from optical metrology systems need to be demodulated to get the desired parameters. Two-dimensional windowed Fourier transform is chosen for the determination of phase and phase derivatives. Two algorithms, one based on filtering and the other based on similarity measure, are developed. Some applications based on these two algorithms are explored, including strain determination, phase unwrapping, phase-shifter calibration, fault detection, edge detection and fringe segmentation. Various examples are given to demonstrate the ideas. Finally implementations of these algorithms are addressed. Most of the work has appeared in various papers and its originality is not claimed. Instead, this paper gives an overview and more insights of our work on windowed Fourier transform.     

An Innovative Method for 3-D Shape,Strain and Temperature Full-Field Measurement Using a Single Type of Camera: Principle and Preliminary Results

An innovative technique for measuring both the shape, the displacement, the strain and the temperature fields at the surface of an object using a single stereovision sensor is proposed. The sensor is based on two off-the-shelf low-cost high-resolution uncooled CCD cameras. To allow both dimensional and thermal measurements, the sensor operates in the visible and near infrared (NIR) spectral band (0.7–1.1 μm), and a radiometric and geometric calibration of the sensor is required. This technique leads to a low-cost camera-based simplified instrumentation that gives simultaneously dimensional/kinematical and thermal field measurements.     

Laser metrology — a diagnostic tool in automotive development processes

Laser measurement techniques are widely used in automotive development processes. Applications at Volkswagen are presented where laser metrology works as a diagnostic tool for analysing and optimising complex coupled processes inside and between automotive components and structures such as the reduction of a vehicle's interior or outer acoustic noise, including brake noise, and the combustion analysis for diesel and gasoline engines to further reduce fuel consumption and pollution. Pulsed electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) and holographic interferometry are used for analysing the knocking behaviour of modern engines and for correct positioning of knocking sensors. Holographic interferometry shows up the vibrational behaviour of brake components and their interaction during braking, and allows optimisation for noise-free brake systems. Scanning laser vibrometry analyses structure-born noise of a whole car body for the optimisation of its interior acoustical behaviour.Modern engine combustion concepts such as in direct-injection (DI) gasoline and diesel engines benefit from laser diagnostic tools which permit deeper insight into the in-cylinder processes such as flow generation, fuel injection and spray formation, atomisation and mixing, ignition and combustion, and formation and reduction of pollutants. The necessary optical access inside a cylinder is realised by so-called ‘transparent engines’ allowing measurements nearly during the whole engine cycle. Measurement techniques and results on double-pulse particle image velocimetry (PIV) with a frequency-doubled YAG laser for in-cylinder flow analysis are presented, as well as Mie-scattering on droplets using a copper vapour laser combined with high-speed filming, and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) with an excimer laser for spray and fuel vapour analysis.     

TDLAS波长调制压力测量法参数优化

使用TDLAS技术进行动态压力测量已经成为压力测量领域的研究热点。波长调制法实验装置较为复杂,需要对多个参数进行设置,选择出最优的预设参数能够取得更好的实验效果,获得更高的测量精度。目前波长调制法的实验参数设置基本凭借个人经验,使用Matlab程序仿真结合波长调制法的TDLAS测量技术,能够对实验中需要进行预设的重要参数进行了分析。通过计算4990cm-1波段和6330cm-1波段附近的多条吸收峰,发现4990.09cm-1波段处的吸收峰更适合作为波长调制法的测量波段。以4990.09cm-1处的吸收峰为研究对象,进行了波长调制法压力测量仿真建模,计算了调制度、调谐频率和调制频率对二次谐波幅值和对称性的影响并深入地分析了影响因素,总结了其变化规律。在综合考虑抗噪性能和测量精度的情况下,选择了调制度为2.5,调谐频率30Hz,调制频率5kHz为最佳实验参数。基于Matlab的仿真模型能够快速计算大量参数点,更加直观地分析出对参数的影响趋势,为实验仪器和预设参数的选择提供依据。