Manufacturing Metrology

Metrology is the science of measurement, which can be divided into three overlapping activities: (1) the definition of units of measurement, (2) the realization of units of measurement, and (3) the traceability of measurement units. Manufacturing metrology originally implicates the measurement of components and inputs for a manufacturing process to assure they are within specification requirements. It can also be extended to indicate the performance measurement of manufacturing equipment. This Special Issue covers papers revealing novel measurement methodologies and instrumentations for manufacturing metrology from the conventional industry to the frontier of the advanced hi-tech industry. Twenty-five papers are included in this Special Issue. These published papers can be categorized into four main groups, as follows: Length measurement: covering new designs, from micro/nanogap measurement with laser triangulation sensors and laser interferometers to very-long-distance, newly developed mode-locked femtosecond lasers. Surface profile and form measurements: covering technologies with new confocal sensors and imagine sensors: in situ and on-machine measurements. Angle measurements: these include a new 2D precision level design, a review of angle measurement with mode-locked femtosecond lasers, and multi-axis machine tool squareness measurement. Other laboratory systems: these include a water cooling temperature control system and a computer-aided inspection framework for CMM performance evaluation

Design and implementation of a control system for use of galvanometric scanners in laser micromachining applications

In the recent years, laser machining technology has been used widely in industrial applications usually with the aim of increasing the production capability of mass production lines - especially for fast marking, engraving type of applications where speed is an important concern - or manufacturing quality of a certain facility by increasing the level of accuracy in material processing applications such as drilling, cutting; or any scientific research oriented work where high precision machining of parts in sub millimeter scale might be required. A galvanometric scanner is a high precision device that is able to steer a laser beam with a mirror attached to a motor, whose rotor angular range is usually limited with tens of degrees in both directions of rotation; and position is controlled either by voltage or current. Due to their lightness, the rotor and the mirror can move very fast, allowing fast marking (burning out) operation with the laser beam. This can be evaluated as a great advantage compared to slower mechanical appliances used for cutting/machining of different materials. This study concentrates on the analysis of galvanometric scanner system components; and the design and implementation of a hardware and software based control system for a dual-axis galvo setup; and their adaptation for use in laser micromachining applications either as a standalone system or a modular subsystem. Analysis part of the thesis work contains: evaluation of dominant laser micromachining techniques, an overview of the galvanometric scanner system based approach and related components (e.g. electromechanical, electrical, optical), understanding of working principles and related simulation work, compatibility issues with the target micromachining applications. Design part of the thesis work includes: the design and implementation of electronic controller board, intermediate drive electronics stage, microcontroller programming for machining control algorithm, interfacing with graphical user interface based control software and production of necessary mechanical parts. The study has been finalized with experimental work and evaluation of obtained results. The results of these studies are promising and motivate the use of laser galvanometric scanner systems in laser micromachining applications

Polaritonics : an intermediate regime between electronics and photonics

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemistry, 2005.Vita.Includes bibliographical references (p. 279-290).This thesis contains the foundational work behind the field of polaritonics. Corresponding to a frequency range from roughly 100 gigahertz up to 10 terahertz, polaritonics bridges the gap between electronics and photonics. In this regime, signals are carried by an admixture of electromagnetic and lattice vibrational waves known as phonon-polaritons, rather than currents or photons. Impulsive stimulated Raman scattering (ISRS) is employed for phonon-polariton generation, whereby lattice vibrations are driven by optical femtosecond laser pulses directed into ferroelectric LiNbO3 or LiTaO3. The vibrational amplitude is proportional to the intensity of the excitation pulses. Due to the high dielectric constants of these crystals, phonon-polaritons travel in a predominantly lateral direction away from the excitation region. Lateral propagation is further facilitated by employing crystals whose thickness is on the order of the phonon-polariton wavelength, such that propagation occurs within one or more of the slab waveguide modes of the crystal. Direct observation of phonon-polaritons is achieved using real-space imaging, which monitors and records the spatiotemporal evolution of phonon-polaritons within a ferroelectric crystal. The details of both broadband and narrowband phonon-polariton generation and propagation in bulk and thin film crystals are presented. Additionally, robust polaritonic waveform generation is illustrated that relies on temporal or spatial shaping of the optical excitation pulses. Guidance, control, and other types of signal processing are demonstrated by patterning of the host crystal using femtosecond laser micromachining.(cont.) Waveguides that direct propagation, resonators that confine polaritonic signals, reflectors that direct, shape, and focus polaritonic waveforms, and periodic photonic crystal structures that restrict phonon-polaritons to a narrow band of frequencies are fabricated and their functionality demonstrated. The details of the laser micromachining employed for fabrication of these structures in a variety of crystal thicknesses are also presented here. Experimental measurements are supported by a novel implementation of finite-difference- time-domain (FDTD) simulations that accurately model both phonon-polariton generation and propagation in bulk, thin film, and patterned crystals. Additionally, numerical experiments are performed to predict functionality that will enable advanced polaritonic bistable devices for use in digital polaritonics and negative refractive polaritonic materials for unique waveform generation, signal processing, and sub-diffraction terahertz imaging. Polaritonics offers lower signal-to-noise than photonics and higher bandwidth signals than electronics, with generation, propagation, guidance, and control integrated into a single all- optical platform. Direct visualization of signal propagation makes device design and testing substantially easier than in either electronics or photonics. With continued development, fabrication of polaritonic materials should prove less demanding than traditional photonic structures, as it requires feature sizes on the order of micrometers rather than nanometers. Due to the high terahertz electric field strengths associated with ISRS phonon-polariton generation and the robust signal processing tool chest presented here, polaritonics promises to be useful in various spectroscopic applications including, but not limited to, linear and nonlinear terahertz spectroscopy and terahertz near field microscopy.by David W. Ward.Ph.D

Optics and Quantum Electronics

Contains table of contents for Section 2 and reports on eleven research projects.Joint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-89-C-0001National Science Foundation Grant EET 87-00474U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Contract F49620-88-C-0089Charles S. Draper Laboratory Contract DL-H-404179National Center for Integrated PhotonicsNational Science Foundation Grant ECS 87-18417NEC Research InstituteNational Science Foundation Grant ECS 85-52701Medical Free Electron Laser Program Contract N00014-86-K-0117National Institutes of Health Grant 5-RO1-GM35459Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Contract B048704U.S. Department of Energy Grant DE-FG02-89-ER14012Columbia University Contract P016310

Systems and Methods for the Spectral Calibration of Swept Source Optical Coherence Tomography Systems

This dissertation relates to the transition of the state of the art of swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) systems to a new realm in which the image acquisition speed is improved by an order of magnitude. With the aid of a better quality imaging technology, the speed-up factor will considerably shorten the eye-exam clinical visits which in turn improves the patient and doctor interaction experience. These improvements will directly lower associated medical costs for eye-clinics and patients worldwide. There are several other embodiments closely related to Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) that could benefit from the ideas presented in this dissertation including: optical coherence microscopy (OCM), full-field OCT (FF-OCT), optical coherence elastography (OCE), optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A), anatomical OCT (aOCT), optical coherence photoacoustic microscopy (OC-PAM), micro optical coherence tomography (µ OCT), among others. In recent decades, OCT has established itself as the de-facto imaging process that most ophthalmologists refer to in their clinical practices. In a broader sense, optical coherence tomography is used in applications when low penetration and high resolution are desired. These applications include different fields of biomedical sciences including cardiology, dermatology, and pulmonary related sciences. Many other industrial applications including quality control and precise measurements have also been reported that are related to the OCT technology. Every new iteration of OCT technology has always come about with advanced signal processing and data acquisition algorithms using mixed-signal architectures, calibration and signal processing techniques. The existing industrial practices towards data acquisition, processing, and image creation relies on conventional signal processing design flows, which extensively employ continuous/discrete techniques that are both time-consuming and costly. The ideas presented in this dissertation can take the technology to a new dimension of quality of service

Positioning Control System for a Large Range 2D Platform with Submicrometre Accuracy for Metrological and Manufacturing Applications

The importance of nanotechnology in the world of Science and Technology has rapidly increased over recent decades, demanding positioning systems capable of providing accurate positioning in large working ranges. In this line of research, a nanopositioning platform, the NanoPla, has been developed at the University of Zaragoza. The NanoPla has a large working range of 50 mm × 50 mm and submicrometre accuracy. The NanoPla actuators are four Halbach linear motors and it implements planar motion. In addition, a 2D plane mirror laser interferometer system works as positioning sensor. One of the targets of the NanoPla is to implement commercial devices when possible. Therefore, a commercial control hardware designed for generic three phase motors has been selected to control and drive the Halbach linear motors.This thesis develops 2D positioning control strategy for large range accurate positioning systems and implements it in the NanoPla. The developed control system coordinates the performance of the four Halbach linear motors and integrates the 2D laser system positioning feedback. In order to improve the positioning accuracy, a self calibration procedure for the characterisation of the geometrical errors of the 2D laser system is proposed. The contributors to the final NanoPla positioning errors are analysed and the final positioning uncertainty (k=2) of the 2D control system is calculated to be ±0.5 µm. The resultant uncertainty is much lower than the NanoPla required positioning accuracy, broadening its applicability scope.<br /

Folded RF-excited CO₂ waveguide lasers

This thesis describes theoretical and experimental work on RF excited CO₂ waveguide lasers and amplifiers.The mode coupling losses at a bend in a folded waveguide have been evaluated as a function of the selectable parameters to determine the low-loss folding geometries. A direct comparison is made between three types of optical arrangement used for folding in a compact, sealed-off, Z-fold CO₂ waveguide laser excited by a transverse RF discharge. In particular, the measured laser output power as a function of discharge conditions and mirror alignment for plane and curved mirror, and partial waveguide folded resonators are compared.The Z-fold laser output power is predicted by incorporating the known and estimated laser parameters into a Rigrod-type analysis. A simultaneous solution of the Rigrod equations predicting the laser powers for different intra-cavity gain lengths is used with the experimental data to derive the discharge and resonator parameters. Experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions, and suggest that a M% power loss per fold has been achieved with partial waveguide folding. Also, the preliminary theoretical results of a multi-mode resonator model predicting the laser output power as a function of the angular mis-alignment of one of the Z-fold laser folding mirrors are in qualitative agreement with the experimental determinations.Experiments related to laser efficiency and frequency stability are discussed briefly. These include an investigation into an automatic impedance matching scheme for dynamic optimisation of the power transfer efficiency between RF generator and the laser head; the Opto-Hertzian effect (RF equivalent to the opto-Galvanic effect) for laser frequency stabilisation; a novel parallel-resonant distributed inductance excitation technique using a multi-start solenoid; and finally, identification of hooting laser resonator modes responsible for impeding heterodyne measurements Mien a clean RF spectrum is required.In addition, theoretical and experimental studies of laser amplification are presented. The suitability of folded waveguide and non-waveguide structures for power amplification or pre-amplification is assessed to determine their applicability to coherent LiDAR. Optical amplification of wideband transmitter and/or receiver signals is considered a favourable way of improving the discrimination of range and velocity determinations.Finally, as a result of this work, up to 53.4 Watts output power in a high quality fundamental Gaussian beam has been obtained from a compact, sealed-off, Z-fold CO₂ waveguide laser with a 115 cm discharge length, which implies a specific power performance of 0.46 W/cm. Efficiencies (laser output power/RF input power) of up to 9.2% have also been observed

Enabling Real-Time Terahertz Imaging With Advanced Optics and Computational Imaging

La bande des térahertz est une région particulière du spectre électromagnétique comprenant les fréquences entre 0.1 THz à 10 THz, pour des longueurs d’onde respectives de 3 mm à 30 um. Malgré tout l’intérêt que cette région a suscité au cours de la dernière décennie, de grands obstacles demeurent pour une application plus généralisée de la radiation THz dans les applications d’imagerie. Cette thèse aborde le problème du temps d’acquisition d’une image THz. Notre objectif principal sera de développer des technologies et techniques pour permettre l’imagerie THz en temps réel. Nous débutons cette thèse avec une revue de littérature approfondie sur le sujet de l’imagerie THz en temps réel. Cette revue commence par énumérer plusieurs sources et détecteurs THz qui peuvent immédiatement être utilisés en imagerie THz. Nous détaillons par la suite plusieurs modalités d’imagerie développés au cours des dernières années : 1) Imagerie THz en transmission, en réflexion et de conductivité, 2) imagerie THz pulsée, 3) imagerie THz par tomographie computationnelle et 4) imagerie THz en champ proche. Nous discutons par la suite plus en détail à propos de technologies habilitantes pour l’imagerie THz en temps réel. Pour cela, nous couvrons trois différents axes de recherche développés en littérature : 1)Imagerie en temps réel de spectroscopie THz dans le domaine du temps, 2) caméras THz et 3) imagerie en temps réel avec détecteur à pixel unique. Nous présentons ensuite le système d’imagerie que nous avons développé pour les démonstrations expérimentales de cette thèse. Ce système est basé sur la spectroscopie THz en temps réel et permet donc d’obtenir des images hyperspectrales en amplitude et en phase. Il utilise des antennes photoconductrices pour l’émission et la détection de la radiation THz. En outre, le détecteur est fibré, ce qui permet de le déplacer spatialement pour construire des images. Nous couvrons aussi brièvement plusieurs techniques de fabrication avancées que nous avons utilisées : impression 3D par filament, stéréolithographie, machinage CNC, gravure/découpe laser et transfert de métal par toner. Nous portons ensuite notre attention à l’objectif principal de cette thèse à travers trois démonstrations distinctes. Premièrement, nous concevons des composants THz à faibles pertes en utilisant des matériaux poreux. L’absence de détecteurs THz ultra-sensibles implique que les pertes encourues dans un système d’imagerie sont hautement indésirables. En effet, un moyennage temporel est généralement fait pour extraire de faibles signaux THz sévèrement enfouis sous le bruit technique. Ceci a pour impact de diminuer le nombre d’images à la seconde. ----------Abstract The terahertz band is a region of the electromagnetic spectrum comprising frequencies between 0.1 THz to 10 THz for respective wavelengths of 3 mm to 30 um. Despite all the interest and potential generated in the past decade for applications of this spectral band, there are still major hurdles impeding a wider use of THz radiation for imaging. This thesis addresses the problem of image acquisition time. Our main objective is to develop technologies and techniques to achieve real-time THz imaging. We start this thesis with a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on the topic of realtime THz imaging. This review begins by listing some off-the-shelf THz sources and detectors that could be readily used in THz imaging. We then detail some key imaging modalities developed in the past years: 1) THz transmission, reflection and conductivity imaging, 2) THz pulsed imaging, 3) THz computed tomography, and 4) THz near-field imaging. We then discuss practical enabling technologies for real-time THz imaging: 1) Real-time THz timedomain spectroscopy imaging, 2) THz cameras, and 3) real-time THz single-pixel imaging. We then present our fiber-coupled THz time-domain spectroscopy imaging setup. This system is used throughout the thesis for experimental demonstrations. We also briefly overview many advanced fabrication techniques that we have used, namely fused deposition modeling,stereolithography, CNC machining, laser cutting/engraving and metal transfer using toner. We then turn to the main objective of this thesis with three distinct demonstrations. First, we design low-loss THz components using porous media. The losses incurred in the imaging system are highly undesirable due to the lack of sensitive THz detectors. Indeed, time averaging is generally performed in order to retrieve THz signals severely buried under noise,which in return reduce the framerate. We propose to use low-refractive index subwavelength inclusions (air holes) in a solid dielectric material to build optical components. We show that these components have smaller losses than their all-solid counterparts with otherwise identical properties. We fabricate a planar porous lens and an orbital angular momentum phase plate, and we use our imaging system to characterize their effects on the THz beam. Second, we demonstrate a spectral encoding technique to significantly reduce the required number of measurements to reconstruct a THz image in a single-pixel detection scheme