Measurements of surface coordinates and slopes by shearography

This paper represents an optical method which is based on speckle-shearing interferometry for the measurement of surface coordinates and slopes. The technique enables generation of carrier fringes which measure surface coordinates, or displacement derivative fringes which measure surface slope. The theory of the method as well as some experimental results are presented.     

Detection of acute brain injury by Raman spectral signature

Brain injury can lead to irreversible tissue loss and functional deficit along with significant health care costs. Raman spectroscopy can be used as a non-invasive technique to provide detailed information on the molecular composition of diseased and damaged tissues. This technique was used to examine acute mouse brain injury, focusing on the motor cortex, a region directly involved in controlling execution of movement. The spectral profile obtained from the injured brain tissue revealed a markedly different signature, particularly in the amide I and amide III vibrational region when compared to that of healthy brain tissue. Most noticeably, there was a significant reduction of the amide I vibration at the acute injury site and the appearance of two distinct features at 1586 and 1618 cm(-1). Complementary immunohistochemical analysis of the injured brain tissue showed an abundant expression of Caspase 3 (a cysteine protease marker used for apoptosis), suggesting that the injury-induced specific Raman shifts may be correlated with cell death. Taken together, this study demonstrates that Raman spectroscopy can play an important role in detecting the changes that occur in the injured brain and provide a possible technology for monitoring the recovery process.     

Starch-based gel electrolyte thin films derived from native sago (Metroxylon sagu) starch

Starch-based gel electrolyte (SbGE) thin films were prepared by mixing native sago starch with different amounts of glycerol, and subsequently doped with various types of ionic salts. SbGE thin films showed substantially enhanced mechanical properties and ionic conductivity through incorporating optimal composition of native sago starch, glycerol, and ionic salts. A maximum room temperature ionic conductivity of the order of 10^?3 S cm^?1 was achieved for optimized SbGE thin film consisting of 80 wt% of native sago starch and 20 wt% of glycerol, and doped with 8 wt% of LiCl. SbGE thin films were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Due to their favorable mechanical properties, high ionic conductivity at room temperature, ease of preparation, environmentally benign, and cheap, SbGE thin films show high potential utility as gel electrolyte materials for the fabrication of solid-state electrochemical devices.     

Flaw detection in composites using time-average shearography

Results on flaw detection of glass fibre reinforced plastic beams using time- average shearography are presented here. Detection and sizing of flaws such as debonds or delaminations are successfully carried out using this technique. For easy detection of flaws, the component has to be excited at the resonance frequencies of the flaws. As the flaw gets smaller, a higher frequency is required. For flaws of the same exterior size, a deeper one will also require a higher frequency.     

Synthesis of carbon nitride films by direct current plasma assisted pulsed laser deposition

Carbon nitride films were deposited by pulsed laser ablation of a graphite target under a nitrogen atmosphere at room temperature. A direct current discharge apparatus was used to supply active nitrogen species during the deposition of carbon nitride films. The composition and bonding structure of carbon nitride films were determined by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The incorporation of nitrogen atoms in the films is greatly improved by the using of a dc glow discharge. The ratio N/C can reach 0.34 at the discharge voltage of 400 V. Six peaks centered at 1025 cm^-1, 1226 cm^-1, 1381 cm^-1, 1534 cm^-1, 1629 cm^-1, and 2200 cm^-1 can be clearly distinguished from the FTIR spectra of the deposited films, which indicates the existence of C–N, C=N, and C≡N bonds. The fraction of sp² C, C≡N bonds, and C=N bonds in the deposited films increases with increasing discharge voltage. Deconvolution results of C 1s and N 1s spectra also indicate that nitrogen atoms in the films are chemically bonded to sp¹ C, sp² C, and sp³ C atoms. Most of the nitrogen atoms are bonded to sp² C atoms. Increasing the discharge voltage leads to a decrease of the fraction of nitrogen atoms bonded to sp² C and the fraction of amorphous carbon; however, it leads to an increase of the fraction of nitrogen atoms bonded to sp³ C and the fraction of sp² C and sp³ C atoms bonded to nitrogen atoms. Received: 7 June 2000 / Accepted: 19 February 2001 / Published online: 27 June 2001     

Microscopic surface contouring by fringe projection method

This paper describes the use of optical fringe projection method for 3D surface profile and deformation measurement of micro-components. In this method, sinusoidal linear fringes are projected on a micro-component surface by a grating phase shifting projector and a long working distance microscope (LWDM). The image of the fringe pattern is captured by a high-resolution CCD camera and another LWDM and processed by phase-shifting technique. A simple procedure is described which enables calibration of the optical set-up for subsequent quantitative measurement of micro-components of unknown shapes. This method is relatively simple and accurate, and is capable of conducting fully automated measurements. In this paper, two micro-components, a micro-mirror (0.1 mm×0.1 mm) and a micro-electrode pad are used to demonstrate deformation measurement and microscopic surface contouring.     

Line-addressable digital-deflection programmable micromirror array

We report a novel digital-deflection programmable micromirror array driven by micromechanical digital-to-analog converters that eliminates the need for electrical digital-to-analog converters for analog displacement control, thus simplifying the driving circuitry and reducing the overall system cost. Furthermore, owing to the bistable and hysteretic characteristics of parallel-plate electrostatic actuators, an array of micromirrors can be controlled by means of row- and column-addressing lines, which drastically reduce the number of routing wires and allow array sizes to increase while they maintain high array quality.     

Surface profiling using fringe projection technique based on Lau effect

In this paper, the surface profile of objects is determined by using a grating projection system. The method is based on the concept of self-imaging, namely, the Lau effect. Periodic fringe patterns are generated from the projection of a grating illuminated by multiple mutually incoherent quasi-plane wavefront. The fringe patterns are then projected on to the object surface and the deformed grating image is captured by a CCD camera for subsequent analysis. Phase shifting techniques have been employed to determine the phase value. With suitable calibration of the system and the phase value obtained, the surface profile of the objects can be determined. The phase variation is achieved by using a linear translation stage incorporated to the grating. In this study, two specimens are tested to demonstrate the validity of the method. One is a spherical cap with a height of 4 mm, and the other is a coin. The experimental results are compared with results obtained by mechanical stylus method. In the case of the spherical cap the results are also compared with fringe projection method based on Talbot effect.     

Instantaneous velocity measurement of dynamic deformation by digital holographic interferometry

A novel method for the instantaneous velocity measurement of dynamic deformation by digital holographic interferometry is proposed. During dynamic deformation, a series of digital holograms is recorded by a high-speed camera. At each pixel of the phase difference maps, phase and amplitude information are combined as complex phasor (CP). Each pixel can be then considered as an independent sensor and a sequence of complex phasors of such a sensor is analyzed by short time Fourier transform (STFT) along the time axis. A fast iterative algorithm is developed for the computation of instantaneous velocity. The displacement of each pixel can also be obtained by integration of the instantaneous velocity over time and phase unwrapping process is thus avoided. The performance of the proposed CP method is compared experimentally with the commonly used digital phase subtraction method.