The μPIVOT: an integrated particle image velocimeter and optical tweezers instrument for microenvironment investigations

A novel instrument to manipulate and characterize the mechanical environment in and around microscale objects in a fluidic environment has been developed by integrating two laser-based techniques: micron-resolution particle image velocimetry (μPIV) and optical tweezers (OT). This instrument, the μPIVOT, enables a new realm of microscale studies, yet still maintains the individual capabilities of each optical technique. This was demonstrated with individual measurements of optical trap stiffness (～70 pN μm(-1) for a 20 μm polystyrene sphere and a linear relationship between trap stiffness and laser power) and fluid velocities within 436 nm of a microchannel wall. The integrated device was validated by comparing computational flow predictions to the measured velocity profile around a trapped particle in either a uniform flow or an imposed, gravity-driven microchannel flow (R(2) = 0.988, RMS error = 13.04 μm s(-1)). Interaction between both techniques is shown to be negligible for 15 μm to 35 μm diameter trapped particles subjected to fluid velocities from 50 μm s(-1) to 500 μm s(-1) even at the highest laser power (1.45 W). The integrated techniques will provide a unique perspective toward understanding microscale phenomena including single-cell biomechanics, non-Newtonian fluid mechanics and single particle or particle-particle hydrodynamics.     

压印对正系统中标记图像几何畸变的校正

在综合分析了多种线性及非线性畸变后,建立了三次多项式图像系统畸变模型。采用基于控制点偏差目标函数最小优化法进行畸变模型的求解,并通过计算自标定偏差均方差与互标定偏差均方差对标定结果进行了评定。结果表明,模型求解误差为0.22 μm,通过校正标记图像几何畸变引入的定位误差由2.5 μm降低到0.25 μm,可实现压印对正系统中标记图像几何畸变的校正,实现精确定位。     

基于光栅的快速精确图像拼接

为了提高IC芯片视觉检测中图像拼接的速度和精度,提出一种基于精密光栅运动系统的快速精确图像拼接技术。提出自标定技术解决了传统标定受标准件加工尺寸精度和光强影响的问题,提高了标定的准确度并降低了成本。在准确标定基础上,建立了基于光栅精确定位的拼接模型。实验表明,该方法拼接精度高,拼接平均误差在0.4 μm以内,2 σ为0.872 μm,达到亚像素级精度,而且拼接速度快,两幅图像拼接时间约为10 ms。     

基于三维速度场构建的微流量测量方法研究

采用微流体粒子图像测速仪(microscale particle image velocimetry,micro-PIV)对200μm宽、60μm深的长直通道三维速度场进行了非接触定量可视化测量,并在此基础上计算了通道内的微流量。实验采用二维分层速度场测量方法,将通道沿物镜景深方向划分为11个流体层,通过高精度的位移平台实现流体跨层粒子图像采集。分别针对64×64像素和32×32像素2种判读域,采用micro-PIV系综相关算法对流体层二维速度场进行分析,获得三维全场速度分布,在此基础上利用截面速度离散积分原理计算出截面微流量。实验结果表明,基于微流体粒子图像测速仪的三维速度场分析能够实现对微通道流量的精确测量。对于64×64像素判读域,输入流量在2.481～5.788μL/min范围的测量结果精度较高,最大相对误差为3.87%;对于32×32像素判读域,输入流量在3.307～8.269μL/min范围内均有较高测量精度,最大相对误差为3.69%,表明采用32×32像素判读域的流量测量精度总体上优于64×64像素判读域。     

Imaging with neutral atoms—a new matter-wave microscope

Matter‐wave microscopy can be dated back to 1932 when Max Knoll and Ernst Ruska published the first image obtained with a beam of focussed electrons. In this paper a new step in the development of matter‐wave microscopy is presented. We have created an instrument where a focussed beam of neutral, ground‐state atoms (helium) is used to image a sample. We present the first 2D images obtained using this new technique. The imaged sample is a free‐standing hexagonal copper grating (with a period of about 36 μm and rod thickness of about 8 μm). The images were obtained in transmission mode by scanning the focussed beam, which had a minimum spot size of about 2.0 μm in diameter (full width at half maximum) across the sample. The smallest focus achieved was 1.9 ± 0.1 μm. The resolution for this experiment was limited by the speed ratio of the atomic beam through the chromatic aberrations of the zone plate that was used to focus. Ultimately the theoretical resolution limit is set by the wavelength of the probing particle. In praxis, the resolution is limited by the source and the focussing optics.     

X-ray microradiography in the scanning electron microscope or microanalyser

A technique is described which enables microradiographic examination to be carried out in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) or X-ray microanalyser. Comparison can readily be made between the radiographic image, a conventional scanning electron image or X-ray image. A wide range of materials have been examined in a Cambridge Scientific Instruments Microanalyser Mark 1 and a Stereoscan S1 scanning electron microscope and a resolution of 1 μm has been consistently achieved.     

Water film thickness measurement system for oil-water pipe flow

A new technique development for high spatial and temporal resolution film-thickness measurement in oil-water flow is presented in this work. A capacitance measurement system is proposed to measure thin water films or local water fractions near to the pipe wall. The measurement system is based in a planar sensor which is flexible and can be placed close to and following the curvature of the inner wall of the tube. Experimental results of the capacitive technique showed that the system is able to measure film thickness between 400 μm and 2200 μm. Dispersed and core-annular flows were studied in a vertical 12-m-height glass pipe with 50.8 mm of internal diameter, using mineral oil (860 kg/m3 of density and 220 mPa s of viscosity) and tap water. Local time-domain signals and axial and circumferential distributions of water film thickness near to the pipe wall and 3-D images of water film are presented. The measured film thickness, obtained by the proposed technique, was compared with that obtained through a camera-based imaging technique and the agreement was good, with a deviation less than 20%. The new technique allows the observation and characterization of average interfacial topologies in separated flows, and high frequency phenomena related to dispersed flows that occur in liquid-liquid flow near the pipe wall.     

Development of highly efficient mosaic photodetectors based on arrays of photosensitive elements

This paper substantiates laser scribing conditions for fabricating mosaic photodetectors based on molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) p-type HgCdTe films on GaAs substrates without loss of image information at a spacing of photosensitive elements (10 μm in diameter) of not less than 46 μm. A scribing technique for linear array photosensitive elements of dimension 4×288 p-n junctions spaced at 56 μm intervals is described in which a two-level depth groove is formed in several passes. In the region of p-n junctions, the groove is formed by radiation with an average power of 1.4 mW, and outside this region, it is formed by radiation with an average power of 2 mW. The groove has varying depth: outside the p-n junction region, the grove is 120 μm deep and 22 μm wide, and in the junction region, it is 26 μm deep and 18 μm wide. It is shown that the laser radiation effect does not lead to accelerated degradation of the electrical parameters of the p-n junctions     

The design and use of a simple device for rapid quench-freezing of biological samples

The detailed design of a simple device for rapid quench-freezing of biological samples under reproducible conditions is presented. With spring-augmented descent, sample immersion velocity of 10 m s^?1 into a cryogenic liquid is achieved. Biological samples, loaded in Balzers planchets, Denton holders, or a newly designed ‘titanium envelope’, are suitable for rapid-freezing with this device. Using 4 μm titanium foil, light weight (1 mg) streamlined holders can easily be made to enclose cell suspensions or tissue samples. The foil envelope is designed for efficient heat dissipation while protecting the sample from possible impact or flow distortions occurring from spring-augmented immersion. Human erythrocytes, quench-frozen in the titanium envelope, were prepared for electron microscopy by the freeze-substitution technique. Two opposing 25–30 μm surface zones were frozen in the apparent absence of ice. The extended depth of cryofixation is attributed to the advantages of thin foil in the titanium envelope design and the use of rapid-immersion technique.     

基于超分辨图像复原的显微圆孔孔径测量方法

为提高圆孔的光学显微测量准确性,研究了基于超分辨图像复原的显微圆孔孔径测量方法。该方法通过超分辨图像复原处理圆孔显微图像,提高了传统光学显微系统对圆孔成像的分辨率,确定了以超分辨复原图像灰度值为0.399作为圆孔物理边缘判据,实现对圆孔边缘的准确探测。理论分析表明该方法可准确测量微米级及以上直径圆孔。核孔膜孔径测量实验中,由二值化图像得到孔径测量结果为6.35μm(测量不确定度为0.08μm),与扫描电镜测量结果6.268μm(测量不确定度为0.083μm)相符,测量误差仅0.08μm。该技术有助于实现对圆孔形状的快速、准确在线测量。     

磨粒流研抛伺服阀阀芯喷嘴的冲蚀磨损分析

为了研究固液两相磨粒流对伺服阀阀芯喷嘴的研抛性能,从冲蚀磨损的角度对比分析了不同磨粒硬度下的磨粒流研抛效果。利用计算流体力学方法,求解分析了磨粒流研抛伺服阀阀芯喷嘴时流场中的冲蚀磨损特性,采用电子显微镜以及扫描电镜仪检测伺服阀阀芯喷嘴零件经磨粒流研抛前后的表面粗糙度和表面形貌。实验结果表明:采用碳化硅磨粒和白刚玉磨粒加工后的伺服阀阀芯喷嘴主干通道、交叉孔以及小孔区域的粗糙度分别由1.1μm、0.823μm、0.743μm降低为0.735μm、0.721μm、0.571μm和1μm、0.747μm、0.696μm。在本试验中碳化硅磨粒的加工效果优于白刚玉磨粒,即具有高磨粒硬度的磨粒研抛效果好。检测结果显示,磨粒流研抛技术可有效改善伺服阀阀芯喷嘴的表面质量;提高磨粒硬度可提高磨粒流的研抛效果;伺服阀阀芯喷嘴的交叉孔以及小孔区域的表面质量要高于主干通道的表面质量。     

微细电解加工用中空电极的制备

为了改进加工间隙内电解产物的排出条件和加速电解液的更新,提出了一种嵌套式微细中空电极的精确可控焊接制备工艺。仿真分析了电极的过流特性,优化了电极长度,并进行了性能测试及加工实验。通过穿丝、黏结、嵌套尺寸及位置调整和焊接工序,制备出加工段内径为65μm、外径为130μm、长3.25mm左右,后段便于装夹和连通的嵌套式中空电极。在供液压力为1.15 MPa时,其出口流速可达10m/s左右。利用制备的中空电极,开展微细孔电解加工实验,在0.5mm厚不锈钢片上加工出最小入口孔径约为157μm,出口孔径约为133μm的微细孔,并将其延伸应用于微结构加工中,铣削出了长554μm、宽160μm、深224μm的微细T型槽。实验结果表明:制备的微细中空电极有效提高了加工间隙内电解液的流动特性,且连/导通可靠、装夹方便,适用于高深宽比微结构的电解加工。     

A study on the spray characteristics of a piezo pintle-type injector for DI gasoline engines

We studied the spray flow initiated from a piezo pintle-type injector for DI gasoline engines in an environment supplied by a constant volume vessel by means of laser diagnostics. To fully grasp the effects of the characteristic parameters, including designed spray angle, needle lift, injection pressure (P _inj ) and ambient pressure (P _b ), on the spray atomization and mixture preparation, particle image velocimetry (PIV) and phase Doppler anemometry (PDA) are used in the experiment, respectively. The gas perpendicularly enters into the outer periphery of the conical spray injected through the pintle-type injector activated by piezo, which creates two large-scale vortices: the vortex A and vortex B. The velocity standard deviation of the spray field is introduced to analyze the gas flow motion in the vicinity of nozzle. The droplet information of spray field is also recorded by PDA in variable boundary conditions. The time dividing method is used to study the droplet characteristics in four parts of spray. The injector with 98° designed spray angle has smaller droplet mean diameter (D10 and D32), due to a larger spray distribution. When the droplet velocity of the spray field is close to 0 m/s, the D10 and D32 hold at around 10 μm and 20 μm, respectively, in atmospheric pressure condition, which are about 20 μm and 40 μm, respectively, at ambient pressure of 1.1 MPa.     

Tomographic reconstruction of the cross-sectional refractive index distribution in semi-transparent,birefringent fibres

Optical diffraction tomography (ODT) is used to reconstruct the complex refractive index distribution in cross-sections of semi-transparent, birefringent fibres. The selected fibres were polymer and animal fibres of either circular or non-circular cross-section with average thicknesses in the range 8–110 μm. This choice of samples was made to illustrate the imaging capabilities of ODT, and also to demonstrate some potential applications of the technique. The images representing the reconstructed refractive index distributions have a spatial resolution of about 2 μm, and show noticeable image contrast for refractive index variations of about 0·001. The ODT reconstructions compare well with refractive index information provided with the samples, and with scanning electron micrographs of cross-sections of the same fibre samples. From these results it appears that ODT can be used to reconstruct the complex refractive index distribution in cross-sections of semi-transparent, birefringent fibres.     

基于计算机视觉的微观稀疏离散粒子尺寸的检测

针对场流分离后,微粒处理时存在尺寸不直观等问题,提出了基于图像处理技术检测微粒尺寸的方法。首先用CCD并配合图像处理软件采集微粒图像并进行预处理,然后用阈值化方法分割图像。在测量尺寸时,以小麦粉作为被测量样本,利用动态聚类处理,得出微粒16个、最大半径1.600 μm、最小半径1.000 μm、平均半径1.187 5 μm、半径方差0.661 4等。试验表明,本文提出的检测微粒尺寸参数的方法方便可行。     

Channelling optics for high quality imaging of sensory hair

A long distance microscope (LDM) is extended by a lens and aperture array. This newly formed channelling LDM is superior in high quality, high-speed imaging of large field of views (FOV). It allows imaging the same FOV like a conventional LDM, but at improved magnification. The optical design is evaluated by calculations with the ray tracing code ZEMAX. High-speed imaging of a 2 × 2 mm(2) FOV is realized at 3.000 frames per second and 1 μm per pixel image resolution. In combination with flow sensitive hair the optics forms a wall shear stress sensor. The optics images the direct vicinity of twenty-one flow sensitive hair distributed in a quadratic array. The hair consists of identical micro-pillars that are 20 μm in diameter, 390 μm in length and made from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Sensor validation is conducted in the transition region of a wall jet in air. The wall shear stress is calculated from optically measured micro-pillar tip deflections. 2D wall shear stress distributions are obtained with currently highest spatiotemporal resolution. The footprint of coherent vortical structures far away from the wall is recovered in the Fourier spectrum of wall shear stress fluctuations. High energetic patterns of 2D wall shear stress distributions are identified by proper orthogonal decomposition (POD).     

The effects of the compressibility of the subsonic flow on heat transfer characteristics in a microscale impinging slot jet

We experimentally investigated the effects of both the compressibility and nozzle width on the local heat transfer distribution of microscale unconfmed slot jets impinging on a uniformly heated flat plate. We made heat transfer measurements under the following experimental conditions; Reynolds numbers of Re = 4000~10000, Mach numbers of Ma = 0.13~0.68, nozzle-to-plate distances of H/B = 3~25, lateral distances of x/B = 0~25, and nozzle widths of B = 300~700 μm having a nozzle aspect ratio of y/B = 30. A thermal infrared imaging technique was used to measure the impingement plate temperature. The experimental results show that for all tested Re and H/B values at a nozzle width of B = 300 μm, the Nusselt number maximum occurred nearly at the stagnation point and then monotonically decreased along the downstream. However, at B = 500 and 700 μm, the maximum Nusselt number point shifted toward x/B ≈ 1.5~2.0. And the Nusselt number increased, as x/B increased, from the stagnation point to the shifted maximum point and monotonically decreased afterward. This shifted maximum point may be attributable to vortex rings promoting sudden flow acceleration and entrainment of surrounding air moving along the jet axis. For the same Reynolds number, the Nusselt number in the stagnation region increased as the nozzle width increased due to a momentum increase of the jet flow caused by the formation of vortices. And, the Nusselt numbers for the smallest nozzle width of B = 300 μm (or highest Mach number at a given Reynolds number) at all H/B and Reynolds numbers tested significantly deviated from those for B = 500 and 700 μm in the downstream region corresponding to x/B > 5, suggesting that the compressibility, when it is high, can affect the heat transfer in the downstream region.

     

半导体激光器列阵的smile效应与封装技术

为了减小半导体激光器列阵在封装过程中引入热应力而产生的smile效应,提高半导体激光器列阵光束质量,利用对半导体激光器列阵发光点成像放大的方法,准确测量了半导体激光器列阵的smile效应,测量误差为±0.1μm。由于smile效应的准确测量能客观地比较减小smile效应的各种技术与方法,本文根据分析测量结果,提出了通过优化封装半导体激光器列阵焊接回流曲线的方法,使smile效应值控制在±0.5μm内。该方法减小了半导体激光器列阵的smile效应值,提高了激光器列阵光束质量,为下一步研制小芯径、高光束质量半导体激光器列阵光纤耦合模块提供了基础条件。     

In situ topography measurement in the SEM

An automatic technique for measuring heights in situ in the SEM based on a combination of stereo-metric and focusing methods has been developed. A pair of images of a surface element on the specimen is obtained by tilting the beam electrically in a manner such that the plane containing the tilt axis is coincident with the focal plane of the final lens. Cross-correlation is used to determine the parallax between the image pair which is then used to iteratively correct the height of the tilt axis by changing the lens focus. As a result, the lens focus tracks the specimen topography. With an appropriate specimen surface containing high resolution features for image correlation, the technique is capable of maintaining both its lateral and vertical resolutions over several decades of height displacement up to 100 μm. In an experimental system based on a commercial electron-optical column, spot, line profile, and three-dimensional measurements have been demonstrated.     

A new method to correlate acoustic spectroscopic microscopy (30 MHz) and light microscopy

A powerful new method is used to investigate the correlation between light microscopic and acoustic properties of biological tissues. Specimens of liver were sectioned into successive slices, 250 μm and 10 μm thick. The thick sections were investigated acoustically, the thin sections by means of light microscopy. Markers that could be detected and located, both optically and acoustically, were used to find and reconstruct corresponding regions in the acoustic and optical sections (2·5 × 2·5 mm). Parameter images were reconstructed from the sections investigated acoustically. The acoustic parameters were attenuation at 30 MHz, the slope of the attenuation spectrum (between 10 and 50 MHz), backscattering at 30 MHz, the slope of the backscattering spectrum (between 10 and 50 MHz) and the local ultrasound velocity. Acoustic images were obtained in the frequency range from 10 to 50 MHz, yielding a lateral resolution of about 50 μm. The sections for light microscopy were stained according to the Goldner trichrome staining technique. The histological composition was determined quantitatively, using digital image segmentation techniques. The percentage of collagen-rich fibrous tissue, luminal structure and interstitial spaces, and the number of nuclei were calculated for regions of 250 × 250 μm. These histological features were correlated with the acoustic parameters obtained from the corresponding regions in adjacent sections. It was thus possible to find the histological components responsible for acoustic parameters.