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Transient reflectivity measurements are used to probe the strain waves induced by ultrashort laser pulses in bulk [100] germanium. The measurement signals are compared to purely analytical model functions based on the known material parameters for germanium. The modeling includes (i) a derivation of analytical solutions to the wave equation for strain waves coupled to the diffusion equation for heat and charge carriers and (ii) an expression for the impact on reflection coefficients that are caused by perturbations to the dielectric function but extended to cover a non-isotropic, uniaxial dielectric tensorial form. The model is held up against transient reflectivity measurements with an s- and a p-polarized probe and with a probe wavelength in the range of 502–710 nm. Excellent agreement is found when comparing the oscillatory shape of the measurement signals to the models. As for the magnitude of the oscillations, the models reproduce the overall trends of the experiment when using the previously published values for the elasto-optical tensor measured under static strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compensating for the pitch error in the scanning movement is a fundamental issue when conducting large-scale surface shape measurements with deflectometric profilers. This paper presents a new long trace profiler employing a shearing measurement technique. In this setup, the optical head and the mirror under test are mounted on two independent parallel movable air-bearing carriages to enable shearing and scanning movements separately. The distance between the optical head and the tested mirror remains fixed, effectively minimizing the influence of system errors resulting from imperfections in optical devices. Simulation studies show that the double shear measurement method with a low-spatial-frequency filtering process can effectively mitigate high-frequency angular measurement errors introduced by the instability of the air-bearing stage. Experimental tests conducted on flat mirrors demonstrated a precision of less than 50 nrad rms, thereby confirming the robustness of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital fringe projection profilometry based on phase-shifting technology is a reliable method for complex shape measurement, and the phase is one of the most important factors affecting measurement accuracy. The calculation of the absolute phase depends on the calculation of the wrapped phase and encoding technology. In this paper, a technique of obtaining the absolute phase of multi-frequency heterodyne fringe images using the Hilbert transform is presented. Since the wrapped phase can be calculated from only one fringe image of each frequency, the method does not need phase-shifting. The absolute phase can be obtained from the wrapped phase by applying the heterodyne method. The measurement time and computational complexity are dramatically reduced, the measurement efficiency is greatly improved, and this benefit from the number of images is greatly reduced. The experimental results show that the method presented in this paper performs well in the application, and the accuracy is no different from that of the phase-shifting method while the efficiency is greatly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance and lifetime analysis of electrospray thrusters requires accurate knowledge of the mass and charge distributions of the plume. Mass flux and current density distributions were measured for a single capillary electrospray emitter using EMI-Im and found to be substantially different across a wide range of flow rates and emission voltages. Mass flux measurements yield an n ∼ 3 super-Gaussian profile across all flow rates and voltages, while current density measurements change shape from n ∼ 1.5 – 2.5 super-Gaussian profiles monotonically with decreasing flow rate, where n = 1 is Gaussian and higher n values correspond to increasingly more flat-top "super-Gaussian" profiles with steeper drop-off toward higher angles. For increasing flow rate, the mass flux profile grows while maintaining its shape, whereas the current density profile exhibits higher kurtosis, i.e., plumes that distribute proportionately more charge to higher angles. Additionally, higher extraction voltages exhibited tilted emission that led to highly off-axis plumes, ∼ 10 ° , for both mass flux and current density. Lifetime and performance assessments of electrospray thrusters must consider that mass flux and current density in the plume display different distribution shapes and trends in shape across changes in extraction voltage and flow rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When introducing a nanoparticle into an optical trap, its mass and shape are not immediately apparent. We combine a charge-based mass measurement with a shape determination method based on light scattering and an analysis of the damping rate anisotropy, all on the same set of silica nanoparticles, trapped using optical tweezers in vacuum. These methods have previously only been used separately, and the mass determination method has not been applied to asymmetric particles before. We demonstrate that the combination of these classification techniques is required to distinguish particles with similar mass but different shape, and vice versa. The ability to identify these parameters is a key step for a range of experiments on precision measurements and sensing using optically levitated nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-precision free-form surface mirrors are required for synchrotron radiation facilities in the scientific field and semiconductor lithography systems in the industrial field. Previously, we developed a nano-profiler with the goal of achieving a measurement accuracy of 30 nm. The nano-profiler scanned and measured the slope angle of the surface to be measured with laser light and calculated the shape from the angle information. By driving the optical head and surface to be measured with four rotation axes and one translation axis, the surface could be scanned while keeping the optical path length constant. Although the rotation axis was controlled by a high-precision rotary encoder, pitching and yawing errors occurred in the translation axis. In this study, we attempt to eliminate the error of pitching and yawing from the conventional measurement operation of four axes of rotation and one axis of translation to the drive of only four axes of rotation. If the translation drive is eliminated, the optical path length will not be constant, and the sensitivity of the light-receiving element will change. Therefore, we propose a new method to calibrate the sensitivity of the receiving element and perform a comparative measurement with the conventional measurement method. Comparing the measured shapes obtained by both measurement results, it was found that the shapes had a maximum peak to valley difference of 6.2 nm. Thus, the proposed novel measurement method allows a significant reduction in pitching and yawing errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the optical performance and functions of mirrors and lenses requires manufacturing pattern shapes such as those of microlens arrays. In this context, various measuring devices have been developed to accurately measure the depth of shapes with a microscopic interferometer. However, with an interferometer, the number of pixels of a light-receiving element, such as a charge-coupled device, is limited; furthermore, when measuring a pattern shape, the measurement field of view becomes narrow. Thus, measuring a wide range of shapes is not possible. By contrast, if the device can arbitrarily increase the number of measurement points, such as in the case of a three-dimensional measuring machine, in principle, a pattern shape can be measured, while ensuring the measurement capability for a wide range of shapes; however, in this case, the measurement time increases. A nano-profiler previously developed by the authors can measure the shape and slope angle distribution of a surface with a laser beam. In this study, the measurement program was changed to realize continuous high-speed scanning at 1 kHz, and the number of measurement points was increased to verify the compatibility between fine pattern shape measurements and diverse shape measurements. The results measured by the nano-profiler were compared with those obtained using microscopic and Fizeau-type interferometers, which can measure the pattern and overall shapes, respectively. In comparison, the difference in pattern depth and overall shape was 2.1 and 2.9 nm PV, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike interferometers that obtain data from the entire sample, three-dimensional (3D) measuring instruments acquire data from multiple points. A nano-profiler measures slopes at different points on the surface to determine the sample shape, while a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) utilizes contact or non-contact height displacement probes for taking measurements. Therefore, the 3D measurement time increases if the area to be measured is wide. This leads to a reduced measurement accuracy owing to environmental changes. To reduce the 3D measurement time, a nano-profiler that rotates measured objects at a constant velocity and quickly scans each measurement point by following a spiral trajectory was designed. The developed nano-profiler measures angular distribution instead of height distribution. This makes it possible to reduce the drive error during rotation. Compared to an interferometer, the measurement time was reduced from 163 to 17 min with the nano-profiler and a 10 nm peak-to-valley difference was achieved. The slope measurement with spiral scanning was confirmed to be a quick and accurate shape measurement technique that can be used while manufacturing high-precision optical components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a nano-profiler to determine the shape from slope distribution data for highly accurate free-form surface shape measurement; for example, high-precision optical systems are required in the x-ray and semiconductor fields. An accuracy of ±0.2 µrad is required to achieve a shape measurement accuracy of 30 nm. The angle of the rotary stage is controlled by the rotary encoder, and the calibration curve of the rotary encoder is guaranteed by the national standard machine. However, the error associated with assembling the rotary encoder to the device is not included in the national standard machine's calibration data. Therefore, we propose a method that combines self-calibration with six encoder heads and calibration with a national standard machine. Using this method reduces the extent of calibration by the national standard machine and minimizes the influence of the assembly error. Furthermore, to verify whether the calibration in the proposed method is appropriate, a new encoder for evaluation was installed and evaluated. The results revealed that the influence of the assembly error was reduced to the minimum, and the difference in the calibration between the encoder for evaluation and the national standard machine was 0.027 µrad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermodynamic coupling simulation of forging process is the basic work for the formulation of deformation parameters, subsequent recrystallization process, and phase transformation process. Whether the selection of simulation algorithms, elements, and grids can accurately reflect the engineering process has become a work with certain skills. In this paper, the forging upsetting process was simulated by Abaqus software, and the influence of different simulation parameters on the results was discussed. The different simulation results were verified by surface temperature measurement and shape measurement, which provided some simulation technical guidance for the actual forging process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A detailed analysis of the characteristics and stability of the trajectory of a high-speed projectile during water entry is investigated numerically. The Zwart–Gerber–Belamri cavitation model and the shear stress transport k–ω turbulence model based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes method are employed. The numerical method is validated by comparison of its results with the experimental images of cavity shape and with measurements of the penetration distance. Using this numerical method, the influences of rotational speed, initial velocity, and water-entry angle of the projectile on the stability and characteristics of its trajectory are investigated. The variations in projectile trajectory, total drag, and velocity reduction are analyzed. In addition, the cavity characteristics at water entry are presented and analyzed. The results show that the rotation of the projectile has an adverse influence on the stability at water entry, although the magnitude of the rotational speed has little effect on the reduction in projectile velocity. The initial velocity of the projectile has a direct effect on the trajectory stability. It is also found that in practice, there should be a critical water-entry angle for the stability of a projectile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorescent digital image correlation (DIC) has been implemented on monocular and binocular fluorescence microscopes for shape and deformation measurements at the microscale and even the nanoscale by tracking fluorescent particles. This technique, however, has not been used with regular optical imaging systems for DIC measurements at the macroscale so far. In this Letter, by combining the photoluminescence nature of fluorescent materials and bandpass filtering imaging, we discover that fluorescent DIC also features some distinct advantages in macroscale characterizations, e.g., specular reflection elimination, high speckle contrast, and the capability to simultaneously observe superficial/internal surfaces of transparent structures. To show these advantages and reveal the potential applications of fluorescent DIC, comparative experiments, including shape, displacement, and deformation measurements, were carried out. Furthermore, some issues accompanied by employing fluorescent imaging in DIC were discussed. This study indicates that upgrading classic DIC to fluorescent DIC can significantly improve its performance, enhance its functions, and expand its applications without introducing additional problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fringe projection profilometry (FPP) has become a more prevalently adopted technique in intelligent manufacturing, defect detection, and some other important applications. In FPP, efficiently recovering the absolute phase has always been a great challenge. The stereo phase unwrapping (SPU) technologies based on geometric constraints can eliminate phase ambiguity without projecting any additional patterns, which maximizes the efficiency of the retrieval of the absolute phase. Inspired by recent successes of deep learning for phase analysis, we demonstrate that deep learning can be an effective tool that organically unifies phase retrieval, geometric constraints, and phase unwrapping into a comprehensive framework. Driven by extensive training datasets, the neural network can gradually "learn" to transfer one high-frequency fringe pattern into the "physically meaningful" and "most likely" absolute phase, instead of "step by step" as in conventional approaches. Based on the properly trained framework, high-quality phase retrieval and robust phase ambiguity removal can be achieved only on a single-frame projection. Experimental results demonstrate that compared with traditional SPU, our method can more efficiently and stably unwrap the phase of dense fringe images in a larger measurement volume with fewer camera views. Limitations about the proposed approach are also discussed. We believe that the proposed approach represents an important step forward in high-speed, high-accuracy, motion-artifacts-free absolute 3D shape measurement for complicated objects from a single fringe pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional (3D/4D) ultrasound (US) imaging of the tongue has emerged as a useful instrument for articulatory studies. However, extracting quantitative measurements of the shape of the tongue surface remains challenging and time-consuming. In response to these challenges, this paper documents and evaluates the first automated method for extracting tongue surfaces from 3D/4D US data. The method draws on established methods in computer vision, and combines image phase symmetry measurements, eigen-analysis of the image Hessian matrix, and a fast marching method for surface evolution towards the automatic detection of the sheet-like surface of the tongue amidst noisy US data. The method was tested on US recordings from eight speakers and the resulting automatically extracted tongue surfaces were generally found to lie within 1 to 2 mm from their corresponding manually delineated surfaces in terms of mean-sum-of-distances error. Further experiments demonstrate that the accuracy of 2D midsagittal tongue contour extraction is also improved using 3D data and methods. This is likely because the additional information afforded by 3D US compared to 2D US images strongly constrains the possible location of the midsagittal contour. Thus, the proposed method seems appropriate for immediate practical use in the analysis of 3D/4D US recordings of the tongue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When phase-shifting (PS) and temporal-phase-unwrapping algorithms are employed for three-dimensional (3D) shape measurement, the measured object must be kept static during the projection and acquisition. If the measured object is moving, deviation among multiple fringe images will inevitably occur, which results in the 3D measurement error. In this paper, a novel 3D measurement technique for rigid moving objects obtained by using the PS algorithm and the three-pitch heterodyne-unwrapping (TPHU) algorithm is proposed, which consists of six steps. First, the pixel offset is estimated based on a centroid deviation calculation. Second, the phase offsets among multiple fringes are calculated. Third, a novel set of fringes for the projection is generated. Fourth, we offset the captured fringe images according to the pixel offsets to generate a new set of captured fringe images for the phase calculation. Fifth, the wrapped phase is calculated by the PS algorithm. Finally, the unwrapped phase is calculated by the TPHU algorithm. The proposed method can be applied to the 3D shape reconstruction of a rigid movement object with a determined movement trajectory and constant movement speed. This approach not only greatly improves the measurement efficiency but also inherits the high accuracy and robustness of the PS and TPHU algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma source for beryllium spectral line studies in the presence of beryllium dust particles was realised. The guideline during construction was to prevent exposure to formed dust, considering the toxicity of beryllium. Plasma source characterization through determination of optimal working conditions is described. The necessary conditions for Be spectral line appearance and optimal conditions for line shape measurements are found. It is proven experimentally that under these conditions dust appears coincidently with the second current maximum. The electron density measured after discharge current maximum is determined from the peak separation of the hydrogen Balmer beta spectral line, and the electron temperature is determined from the ratios of the relative intensities of Be spectral lines emitted from successive ionized stages of atoms. Maximum values of electron density and temperature are measured to be 9.3 × 1022 m−3 and 16 800 K, respectively. Construction details and testing of the BeO discharge tube in comparison with SiO2 and Al2O3 discharge tubes are also presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on stereomicroscope and three-dimensional (3D) digital image correlation (DIC) method, a non-contact measurement technique is presented to measure the 3D shape and deformation data on miniature specimens and the corresponding microscopic measurement system is developed. A pair of cameras is mounted on a binocular stereo light microscope to acquire pairing micrographs from two different optical paths of a specimen surface spraying with speckle pattern. Considering complex optical paths and high magnification, an accurate equivalent relative calibration method, combining a priori warping functions, is proposed to correct image distortions and optimize the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of stereomicroscope. Then, a fast one-dimensional synchronous stereo matching method, based on the DIC method and image rectification technique, is proposed to search for discontinuous corresponding points in the pairing micrographs. Finally, the 3D shape is reconstructed from the corresponding points, while the temporal micrographs acquired before and after deformation are employed to determine the full-field deformation. The effectiveness and accuracy of the presented microscale measurement technique are verified by a series of experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]