Fiber-optic temperature sensor using low-coherence interferometry

Low-coherence interferometric sensors are an important group of optical fibre sensors. Combining high measurement resolution with broad measurement range, these sensors can measure accurately several physical quantities e.g. temperature. In this article we present the fiber-optic temperature sensor using low-coherent interferometry, which has been designed and elaborated.     

High-performance fiber-optic temperature sensor using low-coherence interferometry

A temperature-sensor system based on low-coherence interferometry with a fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer as a phase modulator was implemented. A measurement range of 20 to 800 degrees C with a resolution of 0.025 degrees C (corresponding to 0.0004 fringe) was achieved with a 1-mm-long fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer as the sensing element.     

Needle-based refractive index measurement using low-coherence interferometry

We present a novel needle-based device for the measurement of refractive index and scattering using low-coherence interferometry. Coupled to the sample arm of an optical coherence tomography system, the device detects the scattering response of, and optical path length through, a sample residing in a fixed-width channel. We report use of the device to make near-infrared measurements of tissues and materials with known optical properties. The device could be used to exploit the refractive index variations of tissue for medical and biological diagnostics accessible by needle insertion.     

Fiber-modes and fiber-anisotropy characterization using low-coherence interferometry

An optical low-coherence interferometry technique has been used to simultaneously resolve the mode profile and to measure the intermodal dispersion of guided modes of a few-mode fiber. Measurements are performed using short samples of fiber (about 50 cm). There is no need for a complex mode-conversion technique to reach a high interference visibility. Four LP mode groups of the few-mode fiber are resolved. Experimental results and numerical simulations show that the ellipticity of the fiber core leads to a distinct splitting of the degenerate high-order modes in group index. For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, it has been demonstrated that degenerate LP11 modes are much more sensitive to core shape variations than the fundamental modes and that intermodal dispersion of high-order degenerate modes can be used for characterizing the anisotropy of an optical waveguide.     

Quantitative strain analysis of flip-chip electronic packages using phase-shifting moiré interferometry

In order to gauge the reliability of electronic packages, it is valuable to analyze thermally induced displacements and strains around bimaterial corners and within interconnections. The increased demand for computing performance has created increasingly complex electronic packages with miniaturized features, making it increasingly difficult to extract these quantities. Often, material properties at these length scales are not fully known, making modeling and simulation problematic. Thus, determining displacements and strains experimentally is attractive. In this study, an advanced flip-chip package with fine interconnection features was analyzed using phase-shifting moiré interferometry (PSMI) in conjunction with image analysis software developed for this purpose. Before the analysis, PSMI was qualified using an isotropic solid undergoing uniform thermal contraction, which yielded a displacement precision of ±4 nm. Then a high-magnification, high-resolution displacement and strain analysis was performed for a small cross-sectional region of the flip-chip package containing 20–100 μm sized features. The analysis quantifies these results and gives displacements and strains obtained by differentiating the displacement data using a strain-energy-based finite element formulation.     

Improved accuracy phase retrieval in spatial phase-shifting interferometry

Algorithms for phase retrieval in spatial phase-shifting interferometry are examined. It is noticed that the classical Carré technique based on four neighbor pixels may introduce shaped phase residuals that affect the accuracy of the reconstruction. A variant of the technique is proposed, taking into consideration five pixels and steering the phase retrieval algorithm to the appropriate subset so that residuals are free of underlying errors. Computational results are presented illustrating the approach and demonstrating the accuracy improvement in a case study.     

Motion imaging of objects in layers hidden by scattering media using low-coherence speckle interferometry

A novel method is proposed for motion imaging of objects in layers hidden by a scattering medium in a depth-resolved manner by means of the intensity difference in a temporal sequence of low-coherence speckle images. Depth-resolved motion imaging was demonstrated with a semi-transparent scattering plate and an aluminum diffusive plate behind Intralipid solution. Experimental results confirmed feasibility of the proposed method for imaging of moving objects by their relative velocity.     

Differential phase measurements in low-coherence interferometry without 2pi ambiguity

Quantitative phase measurements by low-coherence interferometry and optical coherence tomography are restricted by the well-known 2pi ambiguity to path-length differences smaller than lambda/2 . We present a method that overcomes this ambiguity. Introducing a slight dispersion imbalance between reference and sample arms of the interferometer causes the short and long wavelengths of the source spectrum to separate within the interferometric signal. This causes the phase slope to vary within the signal. The phase-difference function between two adjacent sample beam components is calculated by subtraction of their phase functions obtained from phase-sensitive interferometric signal recording. Because of the dispersive effect, the phase difference varies across the interferometric signal. The slope of that phase difference is proportional to the optical path difference, without 2pi ambiguity.     

Geometric phase-shifting for low-coherence interference microscopy

A low-coherence Linnik interference microscope using high numerical aperture optics has been constructed. The system uses a tungsten halogen lamp and Köhler illumination, with separate control over field and aperture stops, so that experiments can be conducted with a range of different operating conditions. The novel feature of the system is the use of an achromatic phase-shifter operating on the principle of the geometric phase, achieved by using a polarising beam splitter, a quarter wave plate and a rotating polariser. Image information is extracted from the visibility of the fringes, the position of the visibility peak along the scanning axis yielding the height of the test surface at the corresponding point.     

An effective optical evaluation technique using visible low-coherence interferometry

An easy and effective path length deviation detection technique is described which uses low-coherent visible light source and Michelson interferometer configuration. This technique uses large-amplitude piezoelectric modulation of a mirror, which probes portions of a complete interferogram. The maximum ambiguity in determining the center position of white light fringes is confined to half the source wavelength. Using this technique, the physical thickness and group index of an optical material are measured with an error around 0.1%. The method of improving the accuracy is also discussed.     

3-D surface profilometry using simultaneous phase-shifting interferometry

Urgent needs for high-speed, non-contact and on-line measurement with high accuracy and repeatability are of great interest for automatic optical inspection (AOI) industries. Therefore, optical phase-shifting interferometry for precision 3-D surface profilometry has become an important metrological method due to its non-contact and high measurement accuracy. Traditional phase-shifting interferometry is very sensitive to vibrations because image acquisition in various phase-shifting sequences could easily introduce measurement errors from environmental influences, such as air disturbance and system structure vibrations. In this paper, we introduce a new simultaneous phase-shifting interferometer for 3-D surface profilometry which employs a single glass plate to generate simultaneous phase-shifted interferograms. Phase reconstruction is performed by using a developed phase-shifting algorithm which uses a three-step phase-shifting method with phase differences of 90°, 180°, and 270° for three interferograms. To verify measurement accuracy and repeatability, the system was employed to measure surface profiles of surface of a flat mirror and set of Mitutoyo gauge blocks. The experiment result shows that the method is proven to be capable of performing one-shot interferometric measurement and minimizing influences from environmental disturbances with measurement repeatability down to 10 nm or less.     

Generalized phase-shifting algorithm for dynamic phase measurement in electron-wave interferometry

A generalized phase-shifting algorithm is implemented in the electron-wave interferometry with a transmission electron microscope, based on simultaneous measurement of the initial phases of the interferograms. The initial phase of each interferogram that has inherent linear carrier fringes is calculated using the Fourier co-efiicients of the interferogram itself corresponding to the carrier-frequency. Taking advantage of this phase-shifting method in both spatial resolution and precision, the phase distribution of a biological weak phase object is successfully measured. This promises to be one of the most spectacular application fields for this new technology.     

Instantaneous quadrature components or Jones vector retrieval using the Pancharatnam-Berry phase in frequency domain low-coherence interferometry

We use the Pancharatnam-Berry phase as a multifunctional tool for low-coherence interferometry. This geometric phase shift enables instantaneous retrieval of the quadrature components of the complex interferometric signal. The phase shift is independent of wavelength and allows for a complex conjugate suppression of 40?dB for an optical bandwidth of 115?nm. Furthermore, this paper investigates the versatility of the geometric phase to perform polarization sensitive measurements. The Jones vector of the sample was obtained numerically, allowing sample birefringence and optical axis calculation.     

Accurate phase-shifting digital interferometry

In phase-shifting interferometry experiments, the accuracy of the phase shift is a major issue. Many experimental and data analyses are done to cancel phase-shift errors inherent to the modulation techniques used. We propose to remove most of the phase-shift error by recourse to a frequency-shifting method. This approach can be applied to both holography and interferometry. We validate the idea with a holographic experiment.     

双散斑场相移数字干涉计量

本文介绍了一种检测散射表面变形的自动测量系统。将相移和数字图像处理技术应用于数字散斑干涉计量中,毋须中间记录过程,在计算机控制下采集数据和计算相位,产生相位条纹而非相关条纹。用图像处理技术消除散斑随机性引起的噪声。文中给出了面内、离面变形的测量结果。     

Punctuated quadrature phase-shifting interferometry

We describe a method and algorithm for reducing the sensitivity of phase-shifting interferometry to external vibrations. Using an interline-transfer camera, a shutter, and a fast phase shifter, we acquire a series of paired interferograms in quadrature, with the pairs spaced to maximize residual phase-error cancellation. The rapid acquisition of quadrature pairs significantly improves resistance of interferometry to low-frequency vibrations.     

一种新的移相干涉技术

本文提出了一种对连续采得的大量移相干涉图通过干涉条纹光强定标或傅里叶变换方法求出被测波前相位分布的新的移相干涉技术。此技术充分利用了近代计算机和ＣＣＤ数字图像处理技术的新成果，不仅可使干涉仪的硬件系统简化，成本降低，还可明显提高仪器的抗干扰能力，促进移相干涉技术的普及和推广应用。     

Measurement of ocular axial length using full-range spectral-domain low-coherence interferometry

We demonstrate a system for measuring the ocular axial length(AL) with high sensitivity and high speed using spectral-domain low-coherence interferometry(SD-LCI). To address the limit in measuring such a large range by using SD-LCI, we propose a full-range method to recognize the positive and negative depths. The reference arm length is changed synchronously with the shift of the focal point of the probing beam. The system provides a composite depth range that is sufficient to cover the whole eye. We demonstrate the performance of the presented system by measuring the ALs of five volunteers. This system can provide the A-scan ocular biometric assessment of the corneal thickness and AL in 0.1 s.     

相移干涉术及广义相移数字全息干涉术

在基础光学框架内说明了传统的相移干涉术及近年来发展的广义相移数字全息干涉术的基本原理;前者要求特殊值等步长相移,而后者则可以采用任意未知相移值.着重介绍了广义相移干涉术中的物波恢复算法,以及基于衍射场统计特性的未知相移提取算法.从一个侧面沟通了基础光学与近代光学之间的关系.     

Fourier-domain low-coherence interferometry for light-scattering spectroscopy

We present a novel method for obtaining depth-resolved spectra for determining scatterer size through elastic-scattering properties. Depth resolution is achieved with a white-light source in a Michelson interferometer with the mixed signal and reference fields dispersed by a spectrograph. The spectrum is Fourier transformed to yield the axial spatial cross correlation between the signal and reference fields with near 1-microm depth resolution. Spectral information is obtained by windowing to yield the scattering amplitude as a function of wave number. The technique is demonstrated by determination of the size of polystyrene microspheres in a subsurface layer with subwavelength accuracy. Application of the technique to probing the size of cell nuclei in living epithelial tissues is discussed.