Profilometry with compact single-shot low-coherence time-domain interferometry

We describe the performance of a compact single-shot low-coherence interferometric scheme that can be capable of measuring three-dimensional surface profiles and shape. This technique utilizes a polarizing Michelson interferometer and a four-channel polarization phase-stepper optics, which is based on a paired wedge prism, a combined wave plate and a Wollaston prism. The coherence gated surface image can be calculated by the simultaneous acquisition of two interferograms and a DC image on a single CCD camera. The image calculation is based on a novel algorithm to calibrate the imbalanced intensity as well as the deviated arbitrary relative phase of each of the imaging channels. The system can display the transverse cross-sectional images in real-time. To demonstrate the feasibility of this system, a Japanese coin is presented as a 3-D shape measurement example with an image size of 4 mm (horizontal) × 4 mm (vertical) × 160 μm (depth).     

A row–column addressed micromachined ultrasonic transducer array for surface scanning applications

Row–column addressed arrays for ultrasonic non-destructive testing (NDT) applications are analyzed and demonstrated in this paper. Simulation and experimental results of a row–column addressed 32 by 32 capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) array are presented. The CMUT array, which was designed for medical imaging applications, has a center frequency of 5.3 MHz. The CMUT array was used to perform C-scans on test objects with holes that have diameters of 1.0 mm and 0.5 mm. The array transducer has an aperture size of 4.8 mm by 4.8 mm, and it was used to scan an area of 4.0 mm by 4.0 mm. Compared to an N by N fully addressed 2-D array, a row–column addressed array of the same number of elements requires fewer (N instead of N²) pairs of interconnection and supporting electronic components such as pulsers and amplifiers. Even though the resulting field of view is limit by the aperture size, row–column addressed arrays and the row–column addressing scheme can be an alternative option of 2-D arrays for NDT applications.     

Micromachined high frequency PMN-PT/epoxy 1-3 composite ultrasonic annular array

This paper reports the design, fabrication, and performance of miniature micromachined high frequency PMN-PT/epoxy 1-3 composite ultrasonic annular arrays. The PMN-PT single crystal 1-3 composites were made with micromachining techniques. The area of a single crystal pillar was 9 × 9 μm. The width of the kerf among pillars was ∼5 μm and the kerfs were filled with a polymer. The composite thickness was 25 μm. A six-element annular transducer of equal element area of 0.2 mm² with 16 μm kerf widths between annuli was produced. The aperture size the array transducer is about 1.5 mm in diameter. A novel electrical interconnection strategy for high density array elements was implemented. After the transducer was attached to the electric connection board and packaged, the array transducer was tested in a pulse/echo arrangement, whereby the center frequency, bandwidth, two-way insertion loss (IL), and cross talk between adjacent elements were measured for each annulus. The center frequency was 50 MHz and −6 dB bandwidth was 90%. The average insertion loss was 19.5 dB at 50 MHz and the crosstalk between adjacent elements was about −35 dB. The micromachining techniques described in this paper are promising for the fabrication of other types of high frequency transducers, e.g. 1D and 2D arrays.     

Improved beamforming using curved sparse 2D arrays in ultrasound

In this work we have investigated the effect of curving phase-steered sparse periodic two-dimensional arrays in one direction, and relate this effect to the geometry of the arrays. We have shown that curving is equivalent to removing some of the element periodicity, thus adding some “randomness” to the layout. Compared to flat phase-steered periodically sparse two-dimensional arrays, curving offers an even greater suppression of grating lobes located at directions along the curvature. The class of arrays yielding improved performance due to this suppression of grating lobes has been characterized.The point spread functions of some previously proposed array layouts, shown to be promising for ultrasonic imaging, have been simulated. The arrays have been simulated with various number of elements as well as various focal points, with array and field parameters typical to those in volumetric cardiac imaging. On a 48 × 48 element grid with a transducer center frequency of 3 MHz and the target at 40 mm, reductions in the peak sidelobe level of up to 12 dB were recorded for some critical steering directions, without significant differences in the beamwidth. The integrated sidelobe ratio was also examined, showing an almost equivalent performance as the flat array. This study shows that, without adding any complexity to the system, the overall image quality of a volumetric imaging system can be improved significantly by curving the array in one direction.     

Design of midwave infrared athermalization optical system with a large focal plane array

Based on the most advanced staring focal plane array which had a format of 640 × 480 and the pixel pitch of 15 μm, a set of all-sphere midwave infrared ahermalization optical system was designed. The working wavelength was in 3–5 μm, the full field of view was 8.58°, the relative aperture was 1/2, the efficient focal length (EFL) was 80 m. The opticalsystem consisted of four lenses with three kinds of material – Ge, ZnSe and Si. All surfaces were sphere, which was easier to process test, making the cost inexpensive, and it could avoid using diffractive surface and aspheric surface. The image quality of the system approaches the diffraction limit in the temperature range −60 °C-180 °C. The design results proved that, the high resolution midwave infrared optical system had compact structure, small volume, high resolution and excellent image quality, meeting the design requirements, so that it could be used for photoelectric detection and tracking system.     

Multi-wavelength laser sensor for intruder detection and discrimination

An intruder detection and discrimination sensor with improved optical design is developed using lasers of different wavelengths to demonstrate the concept of discrimination over a distance of 6 m. A distinctive feature of optics is used to provide additional transverse laser beam scanning. The sample objects used to demonstrate the concept of discrimination over a distance of 6 m are leaf, bark, black fabric, PVC, wood and camouflage material. A camouflage material is chosen to illustrate the discrimination capability of the sensor. The sensor utilizes a five-wavelength laser combination module, which sequentially emits identically-polarized laser light beams along one optical path. A cylindrical quasi-optical cavity with improved optical design generates multiple laser light beams for each laser. The intensities of the reflected light beams from the different spots are detected using a high speed area scan image sensor. Object discrimination and detection is based on analyzing the Gaussian profile of reflected light at the different wavelengths. The discrimination between selected objects is accomplished by calculating four different slopes from the objects' reflectance spectra at the wavelengths 473 nm, 532 nm, 635 nm, 670 nm and 785 nm. Furthermore, the camouflage material, which has complex patterns within a single sample, is also detected and discriminated over a 6 m range by scanning the laser beam spots along the transverse direction.     

微透镜阵列光学相控阵扫描技术研究进展

光学相控阵光束扫描技术在激光雷达、空间光通信和光开关等领域拥有巨大的应用潜力。微透镜阵列光学相控阵可以通过微透镜阵列间μm量级的相对位移同时对多个出射光束的二维倾斜相位进行调制,从而实现大角度二维光束扫描,具有出射口径大、结构简单、体积小、微惯性、多功能等优点。首先介绍了微透镜阵列光学相控阵的扫描原理,之后对微透镜阵列光学相控阵国内外的发展现状、应用和现阶段存在的问题进行了阐述,最后对微透镜阵列光学相控阵的发展趋势进行了展望。     

A polymeric optical switch array based on arrayed waveguide grating structure

A novel 1 × N optical switch array based on arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) structure is presented in this paper. The device is designed for polymeric materials with a large negative thermooptic (TO) coefficient, which is employed to change the imaging effect and to realize optical switching. When input wavelength is located in a special waveband, the optical signal will image at different output channel as temperature changes. The two-dimensional finite difference beam propagation method (FD-BPM) has been used to simulate a 1 × 9 optical switch array. The insertion loss of this switch array is below 1.37 dB and the extinction ratio is better than 31 dB at 1550 nm, when the coupling and propagation loss is neglected. The optimum design and the simulation results show that this structure could be a multiple wavelengths switching at the same time.     

Sound source imaging of low-flying airborne targets with an acoustic camera array

Two-dimensional images of sound source distribution from near-ground airborne sounds are created using an array of 32 microphones and time-domain beamforming. The signal processing is described and array configurations spanning a square area with a side length of 3.45 m, approximately five wavelengths for a 500 Hz sound, are examined. Simulations of a 32-element under-populated log₆ × log₆ spaced array are given for sound sources centered over the array at 250 Hz, 500 Hz, and 1000 Hz. Stochastically optimized array geometry with a simulated annealing algorithm is discussed and a 32-element array optimized for a 500 Hz source is given along with a simulated image for direct comparison with the log₆ spaced array. Images from field testing a 32-element under-populated log₆ × log₆ spaced array are provided for a small aircraft flyover. Results show that this type of acoustic camera generates accurate images of sound source location. Suggested uses include monitoring small aircraft flying too low to be detected by radar as well as monitoring ecological events, such as bird migration.     

Quasi-one-dimensional structures on the Si(1 1 1) surface induced by Ba adsorption

Ba-induced quasi-one-dimensional reconstructions of the Si(1 1 1) surface have been investigated by low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). While the 3 × ‘2’ surface shows double-periodicity along the stripes in STM images consistent with half-order streaks observed in LEED patterns, no sign of the double-periodicity along the chain direction was detected for the 5 × 1 surface. The 5× stripes in STM images show internal structures with multiple rows. The two rows comprising the boundaries of a 5× stripe in the filled-state STM image are found to have 3a × √3/2 spacing across the stripe. The observation of the successive 3× and 2× spacings between the boundary rows supports a structural model proposed for the Ba-induced 5 × 1 Si reconstruction composed of honeycomb chains and Seiwatz chains. The highest coverage 2 × 8 surface does not reveal a quasi-1D row structure in STM images.     

Anatase type titania nanotube arrays direct fabricated by anodization without annealing

In this paper, anatase type titania nanotube arrays were direct fabricated by anodization in dimethyl sulfoxide electrolyte containing 1 wt% HF solution at above 50 °C without subsequently annealing. The length of the nanotubes decreases with increasing anodization temperature from about approximately 15 μm at 40 °C to approximately 4.5 μm at 60 °C. High resolution transmission electron microscope images and selected area electron diffraction pattern confirm the polycrystalline anatase specimen consisting of many nanocrystals with a random orientation.     

Optical phase-based beamformer using MZM SSB modulation combined with crystal polarization optics and a spatial light modulator

The performance of a widely tunable phase-based beamformer for phased array antennas using a new technique to cross-polarized the carrier and the sideband, in order to allow the phase control by means of a spatial light modulator, is experimentally demonstrated. The technique relies on the combination of single sideband amplitude modulation (SSB) using a Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) and birefringence (to cross-polarized the carrier and the sideband). The architecture has the potential of controlling multiple independent beams simultaneously. The beamformer feeds an eight elements array showing an insertion loss and a reset speed of around 12 dB and 70 ms, respectively. Far-field antenna patterns between 7.5 GHz and 8.5 GHz for nine elevation angles within a range of ±20° have been measured showing beam steering capability, amplitude distribution weighting as well as multibeam operation.     

A grating-based optical readout method for microcantilever biosensor

For measuring the deflections of the microcantilever biosensor, a reflective grating microcantilevers based on SOI were designed and fabricated, a high precision optical readout approach based on diffraction spectrum balancing feedback control was presented. The diffraction spectrum image was collected by a 12-bit digital area array monochrome CCD. According to the sum gray value of the image which subtracted each other at the balancing position and bending position to control a high precision motorized rotation stage revolve make the sum gray value remained in the balancing position always, then the motorized rotation stage revolving angle is just the cantilever bend angle. The resolution of motorized rotation stage is 35 × 10⁻⁶ deg, the system practical measurement resolution is 1 × 10⁻⁴ deg, that is to say, for a length of 250 μm microcantilever, the tip measure resolution is up to 0.043 nm. Measurement results clearly demonstrate that this reflective grating microcantilever biosensor and this read out method have a great potential for biological and chemical applications.     

Some experimental data for the design of acoustic arrays

The frequency spectra of resonant vibration of a PZT4 piezoelectric plate was observed, for width-to-thickness ratios ranging from 0·3 to 4·0. The results give useful information for the design of line arrays applicable, for example, to medical diagnostic sonars. The effect of backing and impedance matching on PZT4 ceramic slabs was also studied experimentally.     

Novel ultrasonic real-time scanner featuring servo controlled transducers displaying a sector image

This paper describes a new real-time servo controlled sector scanner that produces high resolution images and has functionally programmable features similar to phased array systems, but possesses the simplicity of design and low cost best achievable in a mechanical sector scanner. The unique feature is the transducer head which contains a single moving part--the transducer--enclosed within a light-weight, hand held, and vibration free case. The frame rate, sector width, stop action angle, are all operator programmable. The frame rate can be varied from 12 to 30 frames s-1 and the sector width from 0 degrees to 60 degrees. Conversion from sector to time motion (T/M) modes are instant and two options are available, a freeze position high density T/M and a low density T/M obtainable simultaneously during sector visualization. Unusual electronic features are: automatic gain control, electronic recording of images on video tape in rf format, and ability to post-process images during video playback to extract T/M display and to change time gain control (tgc) and image size.     

Enhanced imaging of magnetic structures in micropatterned arrays of Co dots and antidots

A specific technique of numerical treatment of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and magnetic force microscopy (MFM) signal has been developed to enhance the quality of raw images, in order both to improve their contrast and to gain better insight on the sample topography and on the local arrangement of the magnetisation vector. Basically, the technique consists in computing the optimum conformal transformation that allows one to superimpose two AFM images of the same area, acquired performing subsequent scans whose fast scan axis were mutually perpendicular, and applying the inverse transform to the second image. After MFM image superposition, the two datasets were either summed or subtracted, in order to improve the magnetic contrast. Computations have been done in a Matlab^® workspace with the help of Image Processing Toolbox 4.2. Improved MFM images obtained on both dots and antidots thin evaporated Co arrays in the demagnetised state (after performing alternate field demagnetisation parallel and perpendicular to the array plane) have been interpreted. Samples consisting of large-size patterns (1×1 mm) of circular dots/antidots with square/hexagonal lattices and minimum diameters of 1 μm were prepared by optical lithography. The magnetic film thickness was chosen depending on resist thickness, and varied between 25 and 150 nm, with a fixed ratio 1:4 between metal/resist film thickness. MFM was exploited to obtain images of either intra-dot or inter-antidot magnetic structures.     

Coherent beam combining of 137 W 2 × 2 fiber amplifier array

We demonstrate coherent beam combining of two-dimensional fiber amplifier arrays with a total of 137 W output power using stochastic parallel gradient descent (SPGD) algorithm. Compact all-fiber polarization-maintained single frequency fiber amplifier chains are developed and four fiber amplifiers are arranged to 2 × 2 laser array with a fill factor of 70% in the near-field. Active phase control is implemented by a digital signal processor (DSP) based SPGD controller. The fringe visibility of the coherent combined beam profile is as high as 81% when the system is closed-loop controlled despite perturbations of the environment.     

Numerical and experimental investigation of kerf depth effect on high-frequency phased array transducer

Background

High-frequency ultrasonic transducer arrays are essential for high resolution imaging in clinical analysis and Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE). However, the structure design and fabrication of the kerfed ultrasonic array is quite challenging when very high frequency (?100 MHz) is required.

Objective and method

Here we investigate the effect of kerf depth on the performances of array transducers. A finite element tool, COMSOL, is employed to simulate the properties of acoustic field and to calculate the electrical properties of the arrays, including crosstalk effect and electrical impedance. Furthermore, Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) deep etching process is used to etch 36°/Y-cut lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) crystals and the limitation of etching aspect ratio is studied. Several arrays with different profiles are realized under optimized processes. At last, arrays with a pitch of 25 μm and 40 μm are fabricated and characterized by a network analyzer.

Results

Kerf depth plays an important role in the performance of the transducer array. The crosstalk is proportional to kerf depth. When kerf depth is more than 13 μm, the array with crosstalk less than −20 dB, which is acceptable for the real application, could provide a desired resolution. Compared to beam focusing, kerf depth exhibits more effect on the beam steering/focusing. The lateral pressure distribution is quantitatively summarized for four types of arrays with different kerf depth. The results of half-cut array are similar to those of the full-cut one in both cases of focusing and steering/focusing. The Full-Width-at-Half-Maximum (FWHM) is 55 μm for the half-cut array, and is 42 μm for the full-cut one. The 5-μm-cut array, suffering from severe undesired lobes, demonstrates similar behaviors with the no-cut one. ICP process is used to etch the 36°/Y-cut LiNbO₃ film. The aspect ratio of etching profile increases with the kerf width decreasing till it stops by forming a V-shaped groove, and the positive tapered profile angle ranges between 62° and 80°. If the mask selectivity does not limit the process in terms of achievable depth, the aspect ratio is limited to values around 1.3. The measurement shows the electrical impedance and crosstalk are consistent with the numerical calculation.

Conclusion

The numerical results indicate that half-cut array is a promising alternative for the fabrication of high-frequency ultrasonic linear arrays. In fact, the minimum pitch that could be obtained is around 25 μm, equivalent to a pitch of 1.6λ, with a kerf depth of 16 μm under the optimized ICP parameters.     

Experimental deduction of In/Si(1 1 1) 2D phase diagram and ab initio DFT modeling of 2√3 phase

We have carried out adsorption and residual thermal desorption experiments of Indium on Si (1 1 1) 7 × 7 reconstructed surface, in the submonolayer regime, in Ultra High Vacuum (UHV) using in situ probes such as Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) and Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED). The coverage information from AES and the surface symmetry from LEED is used to draw a 2D phase diagram which characterizes each observed superstructural phases. The different superstructural phases observed are Si(1 1 1)7 × 7-In, Si(1 1 1)√3 × √3R30°-In, Si(1 1 1)4 × 1-In, Si(1 1 1)2√3 × 2√3R30°-In and Si(1 1 1)√7 × √3-In in characteristic temperature and coverage regime. In addition to the 1/3 ML, √3 × √3-In phase, we observe two additional √3 × √3-In phases at around 0.6 and 1 ML. Our careful residual thermal desorption studies yields the Si(1 1 1)2√3 × 2√3R30°-In phase which has infrequently appeared in the literature. We probe theoretically the structure of this phase according to the LEED structure and coverage measured by AES, assuming that the model for Si(1 1 1)2√3 × 2√3R30°-In is very proximal to the well established Si(1 1 1)2√3 × 2√3R30°-Sn phase, using ab initio calculation based on pseudopotentials and Density Functional Theory (DFT) to simulate an STM image of the system. Calculations show the differences in the atomic position and charge distribution in the Si(1 1 1)2√3 × 2√3R30°-In case.     

Ultrasonic transmission through multiple-sublattice subwavelength holes arrays

The ultrasonic transmission through plates perforated with 2 × 2 or 3 × 3 square array of subwavelength holes per unit cell are studied by numerical simulations. Calculations are obtained by means of a theoretical model under the rigid-solid assumption. It is demonstrated that when the inter-hole distance within the unit cell is reduced, new transmission dips appear resulting from Wood anomalies that have influence on the second and the third order Fabry-Perot peak. When the inter-hole distance within the unit cell is reduced, the transmission spectrum of the multiple-sublattice holes arrays tends to the transmission spectrum of a plate perforated with only one hole in the unit cell.