Speckle decorrelation study of liquid diffusion

A digital laser speckle decorrelation method is proposed for the study of diffusion in transparent liquid mixtures. The diffusion constants may be deduced by a simple manipulation of the speckle decorrelation patterns recorded during the diffusion process. Theory of the method as well as its application is presented.     

Speckle metrology employing LCTV spatial light modulators

Liquid crystal televisions have been employed as spatial light modulators in a variety of optical image processing applications. We have used such devices to develop techniques in speckle metrology for the electronic addition of speckle patterns and the display of speckle correlation, and also for the real-time display of object motion. Factors which affect the performance in terms of the useful working range and the accuracy of displacement measurement are discussed. Some modifications to the LCTV which should increase the potential of these devices as spatial light modulators, when used in both amplitude and phase modulation, are considered briefly.     

IVUS flow measurements: line spread function and decorrelation pattern

A method to measure transverse blood flow, based on correlation between consecutive radio frequency (RF) signals, has been developed. Currently, we are implementing the method for an intravascular (IVUS) array catheter. In this paper, the acoustical beam (line-spread function, LSF) was experimentally measured and compared with the simulated one. Next, the experimental LSF(E) was convolved with a matrix of white noise to produce RF(E) signals. Decorrelation pattern from the RF(E) signals was compared with the correspondent autoconvolution of the LSF(E) and a good agreement was found. We conclude that the transverse decorrelation pattern of the IVUS array catheter can be assessed from the properties of the acoustical beam.     

Speckle size and decorrelation time; space-time correlation analysis of coherent light dynamically scattered from turbid media

We report on the dependence of the decorrelation time on the spatial intensity correlation of speckles generated in the far-field by back-scattered photons from turbid media. The effects contribute to an explanation of an earlier observation that the average Doppler width of the power spectrum of detector current fluctuations depends on the size of the illuminating laser beam. The space-time correlation of the speckles generated by a particle suspension illuminated by a collimated laser beam is analyzed from serial images taken by a high speed camera. It was found that larger spatial correlation distances, associated with large speckles, exhibit a slower temporal decorrelation.     

Flow field measurements of leading-edge separation vortex formed on a delta wing with vortex flaps

Wind tunnel tests are carried out using a 70 delta wing model with leading-edge vortex flaps. The structure of the leading-edge separation vortex over the leading-edge vortex flap is measured by use of a 5 holes pitot probe, surface pressure measurement technique and oil flow visualization technique. Separation vortices formed on a plain delta wing, on a vortex flap and inboard the vortex flap hinge line are clearly visualized. Results indicate that the flow around the vortex flaps is classified into several different cross flow patterns. The streamwise flap deflection angle is defined to discuss the vortex flap performance. The optimum lift to drag ratio is attained when the amount of the wing angle of attack is not far different from that of the streamwise flap deflection angle, as long as the vortex flap is deflected modestly.     

Application of improved Speckle contouring technique to surface roughness measurements

One of the well known drawbacks in Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI) is the poor fringe density due to electronic and speckle noise and decreasing fringe visibility with increasing speckle decorrelation. As recently reported we suggested improving the fringe density and enlarging the measurement range by the incremental addition of phase images. The technique has already been successfully applied to in-plane and out-of-plane displacement field measurements of carbon-fibre reinforced composites. This paper demonstrates how the technique can be used to improve the sensitivity and to extend the measurement range for speckle contouring applications. The angular correlation of the speckle phase images is used to get the desired 3D information of the investigated object surface. It is demonstrated how the angular speckle contouring techinque can easily be automated with respect, for example, to possible industrial applications. Roughness measurements are carried out on milled Rugo test surfaces. All measurements are performed without the usual vibration isolation, and of course, without the treatment of the surface with fine, white powder for contrast enhancement, which would falsify the results.     

Speckle pattern quality assessment for digital image correlation

To perform digital image correlation (DIC), each image is divided into groups of pixels known as subsets or interrogation cells. Larger interrogation cells allow greater strain precision but reduce the spatial resolution of the data field. As such the spatial resolution and measurement precision of DIC are limited by the resolution of the image. In the paper the relationship between the size and density of speckles within a pattern is presented, identifying that the physical properties of a pattern have a large influence on the measurement precision which can be obtained. These physical properties are often overlooked by pattern assessment criteria which focus on the global image information content. To address this, a robust morphological methodology using edge detection is devised to evaluate the physical properties of different speckle patterns with image resolutions from 23 to 705 pixels/mm. Trends predicted from the pattern property analysis are assessed against simulated deformations identifying how small changes to the application method can result in large changes in measurement precision. An example of the methodology is included to demonstrate that the pattern properties derived from the analysis can be used to indicate pattern quality and hence minimise DIC measurement errors. Experiments are described that were conducted to validate the findings of morphological assessment and the error analysis.     

Laser speckle decorrelation in NDT

The random noise of the laser speckle field which develops at the focusing plane of an imaging system, is, by now, efficiently used in several interferometric techniques as an information carrier of the macroscopic wavefront distortion induced by the surface displacement field of the object under investigation. The actual noise in this kind of techniques is represented by the speckle decorrelation at the image plane — i.e. the destruction of the carrier — which may be caused by the modification of the texture surface (e.g. by yielding under a severe stress state), but it is inherently produced by the same displacement field under measurement. In the paper the phenomenon of laser speckle decorrelation is numerically simulated and experimentally investigated with the aim of estimating its sensitivity to local deformation and assessing a possible field of application. Satisfactory results in the field of NDT of multilayer fiber-reinforced composites were obtained by reducing the diaphragm of the lens to increase the sensitivity of the imaging system to speckle decorrelation induced by local deformation; unfortunately this simple approach requires a considerable amount of laser power for illuminating the object. Different aperture shapes were therefore numerically simulated which provided improved efficiency and sensitivity and whereby a semi-quantitative analysis of the displacement field could be experimented.     

Speckle interferometry methods for displacement and strain measurements using photorefractive crystal

Photorefractive crystals offer several attractive features such as high resolution and in situ processing. As the images are erasable, these crystals are suitable for read–write applications and hence find potential use in speckle photography, image processing and holography. The barium titanate (BaTiO₃) crystal as recording medium has been extensively used as a novelty filter for real-time in-plane displacement measurements employing two-beam coupling configuration. This paper presents new optical configurations in speckle shear photography to measure in-plan displacement and the strain in real time using BaTiO₃ crystal as recording medium. Speckle photography studies are made using a simple two-beam coupling configuration. In speckle shear photography, a diffused object illuminated with two parallel narrow laser beams is imaged inside the crystal, and a pump beam is added at this plane. The speckle patterns due to each beam and the pump beam produce index gratings. When the object is deformed, the speckle patterns shift consequently. We now have four speckle fields: two generated from the interaction of pump beam with the index gratings and two pertaining to deformed states directly transmitted through the crystal. Thus, the fields from respective points on the object interfere after passage through the crystal and produce the Young's fringe patterns. Due to strain, the fringes in each pattern are of different width and orientation, resulting in the generation of a Moiré pattern. The strain is obtained from the width and orientation of the fringes in the Moiré pattern. The experiments are conducted on a specimen with a notch, which is subjected to tensile loading. The in-plane displacement is measured separately in another experiment. The above studies are carried out at Nd–Yag laser.     

The influence of solid bodies on low Mach number vortex sound

The mechanisms of sound generation by unsteady, subsonic flows in the presence of solid boundaries are investigated. For this purpose an alternative integral representation for the radiated pressure field is applied which is different from the generally used integral representation introduced by Lighthill and Curle. The main advantage of the method is that there is a linear dependence of the integrand on the time derivative of the vorticity fluctuations in the hydrodynamic near field; instead of the ordinary Green function a “vector Green function” is used. This vector Green function can be chosen for a given flow field in such a way that surface integrals do not appear. Finally, the theory is illustrated by two- and three-dimensional model flows. Analytical solutions are determined by applying the method of matched asymptotic expansions.     

Electrodynamics of the vortex lattice in untwinned YBaCuO by complex impedance measurements

We report complex impedance measurements in an untwinned YBaCuO crystal. Our broad frequency range covers both the quasi static response and the resistive response of the vortex lattice. It allow us to characterize the irreversibility line without the need of any frequency dependent pinning parameters. We confirm the validity of the two modes model of vortex dynamic, and extract both the surface critical current and the flux flow resistivity around the first order transition T_m. This latter is identified by the abrupt loss of pinning and by an unexpected step of (T) at T_m. Received 22 November 2002 / Received in final form 17 February 2003 Published online 20 June 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: alain.pautrat@ismra.fr RID="b" ID="b"UMR 6508 associée au CNRS     

Spatial decorrelation in broad-area edge-emitting semiconductor amplifiers

We analyze experimentally the spatio-temporal dynamics of the transverse structures appearing in broad area edge-emitting semiconductor amplifiers under CW optical injection. We demonstrate that, in certain conditions, the light reflected by the system exhibits a multipeaked structure whose dependence on the parameters suggests an interpretation in terms of cavity solitons. These structures can exhibit self-pulsations with periods of the order of few milliseconds, which we explain in terms of regenerative thermal oscillations. In a particular device, we generate two single-peak structures which are spatially uncorrelated, as required for cavity solitons. A microscopic model shows good agreement with the main body of the experimental results.     

像面散斑平均尺寸对激光散斑成像的影响

以激光散斑衬比分析为基础的激光散斑成像技术,是一种无需扫描的全场光学成像方法,在监测生理及病理状态下组织血流动态变化中的应用日益广泛.在实际应用中,像面散斑平均尺寸等多种因素影响散斑衬比值,使得该技术在反映血流变化的准确性方面受到影响.采用一种成像散斑计算机模拟方法研究了像面散斑平均尺寸对成像散斑统计特性的影响,分析了成像参数与像面散斑尺寸的定量关系,并通过物理模型实验对模拟结果进行了验证.研究结果确认了合理的像面散斑平均尺寸计算公式,证实了散斑衬比值随像面散斑平均尺寸增大而减小的现象,并为确定合理的成像参数提供了依据.     

Anisotropy of spatiotemporal decorrelation in electrohydrodynamic turbulence

Nonlinear straining and random sweeping spatiotemporal decorrelation properties, originally introduced as the main processes for turbulent fluctuations decorrelation in usual fluid flows, have been observed experimentally in anisotropic electroconvective turbulence generated in a nematic liquid crystal under the action of an external oscillating electric field. A transition between both processes occurs when the instability is driven toward states of increasing complexity, thus showing that decorrelation mechanisms in turbulent media are more universal than naively expected. A model for both decorrelation mechanisms is introduced, its comparison with experimental results providing an estimate of the characteristic sweeping velocity.     

Centroid detectors in metrology

Optical centroid detectors can be used to find the location and orientation of edges, lines, and corners. The measurements vary in accuracy depending on our a priori knowledge, because the centroid detectors tend to have error proportional to their diameters.     

Standardization of transmission quality measurements

The problems of evaluating the phonetic quality of speech and the characteristic features of a speaker’s articulatory base from the data of acoustic-phonetic measurements are considered. The evaluation is recommended to be performed using the GOST 50840-95 standard “Speech Transmission over Varied Communication Channels: Techniques for Measurement of Speech Quality, Intelligibility, and Voice Identification,” which was put into effect in Russia in 1997. Examples of experimental evaluation measurements in speech communication and criminalistic expertise are presented.     

Optimal sample preparation for nanoparticle metrology (statistical size measurements) using atomic force microscopy

Optimal deposition procedures are determined for nanoparticle size characterization by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Accurate nanoparticle size distribution analysis with AFM requires non-agglomerated nanoparticles on a flat substrate. The deposition of polystyrene (100 nm), silica (300 and 100 nm), gold (100 nm), and CdSe quantum dot (2–5 nm) nanoparticles by spin coating was optimized for size distribution measurements by AFM. Factors influencing deposition include spin speed, concentration, solvent, and pH. A comparison using spin coating, static evaporation, and a new fluid cell deposition method for depositing nanoparticles is also made. The fluid cell allows for a more uniform and higher density deposition of nanoparticles on a substrate at laminar flow rates, making nanoparticle size analysis via AFM more efficient and also offers the potential for nanoparticle analysis in liquid environments.     

The influence of magnetic impurities in the vortex core dynamics in magnetic nano-disks

In this work we have used spin dynamics simulations to study the gyrotropic frequency behavior in nano-disks of Permalloy with magnetic impurities. We consider the effect of attractive impurity and repulsive impurity placed near the vortex core gyrotropic trajectory. We observed that the gyrotropic frequency is affected by the presence of impurity. The gyrotropic frequency shift depends on the relative position between the impurity and the vortex core gyrotropic trajectory and if impurity is attractive or repulsive. Our results agree with the analytical model and with experimental behavior for the gyrotropic frequency shown in the literature.