Calibrating the volumetric errors of a precision machine by a laser tracker system

In this paper, a quick solution for measuring the volumetric errors of a precision machine is presented. It requires a laser tracker system and a plate including three caves on it. The laser tracker system can detect the coordinate of a sensor ball anywhere in the working space. The plate is fixed on the machine spindle. After installation, the spindle is moved toward the diagonal of the working space. The real movements are along the x, y, and z-axis directions, respectively; it will back to the diagonal line for one complete cycle motion. In each step movement, the spindle is stopped and the laser tracker detects the coordinates of the three caves by putting the target sensor ball into caves sequentially. By means of the coordinates, the volumetric errors at that position can be derived. The overall volumetric errors can be measured quickly by just one setup and many step movements with laser tracker detections.     

Imaging and colour coding of magnetic domains by kerr scanning optical microscopy

The imaging of ferromagnetic domains by the transverse Kerr effect using a scanning optical microscope (SOM) with two or four directions of light incidence (± x, ± y) allows the digital record of the B_y and B_x components of the magnetic induction B . These components can be used to calculate a two-dimensional colour-coded map of B , which can be superposed by vector arrows.     

Single beam optical tweezers setup with backscattered light detection for three-dimensional measurements on DNA and nanopores

We introduce a versatile and high precision three-dimensional optical tweezers setup with minimal optical interference to measure small forces and manipulate single molecules in the vicinity of a weak reflective surface. Our tweezers system integrates an inverted optical microscope with a single IR-laser beam that is spatially filtered in an appropriate way to allow force measurements in three dimensions with remarkably high precision when operated in backscattered light detection mode. The setup was tested by overstretching a lambda-DNA in x and z directions (perpendicular and along the optical axis), and by manipulating individual lambda-DNA molecules in the vicinity of a nanopore that allowed quantitative single molecule threading experiments with minimal optical interference.     

压电驱动柔性铰链机构传动实现超精密定位

简单介绍压电元件和柔性铰链的概念与特点。列举压电元件与柔性铰链机构结构实现超精密定位的典型例子，包括超精密测量、超精密加工、光学自动聚焦和大行程超精密定位。为使超精密定位工作台的结构紧凑，提出单驱动多自由度运动机构。应用蠕动式的运动原理可合成机构上的多自由度运动，并实现大行程运动。设计了对称结构的柔性铰链机构实现导向功能。制造和装配了微小型平面工作台。     

Design and construction of a two-degree-of-freedom linear encoder for nanometric measurement of stage position and straightness

This paper presents a two-degree-of-freedom (two-DOF) linear encoder which can measure the position along the moving axis (X-axis) and the straightness along the axis vertical to the moving axis (Z-axis) of a precision linear stage simultaneously. The two-DOF linear encoder is composed of a reflective-type scale grating and an optical sensor head. A reference grating, which is identical to the scale grating except the scale length, is employed in the optical sensor head. Positive and negative first-order diffracted beams from the two gratings are superposed with each other in the optical sensor head to generate interference signals. The optical configuration is arranged in such a way that the direction of displacement in each axis can also be detected. A prototype two-DOF linear encoder is designed and constructed. The size of the optical sensor head is about 50 mm (X) × 50 mm (Y) × 30 mm (Z) and the pitch of the grating is 1.6 μm. It has been confirmed that the prototype two-DOF linear encoder has sub-nanometer resolutions in both the X- and Z-axes.     

Calibration of the automated z-axis of a microscope using focus functions

Applications in automated microscopy and three-dimensional microscopy require careful calibration of the microscope system. This paper presents methods for calibration of the motorized z -axis (focus or optical axis) of an automated microscope. Apart from the automated microscope the procedures require a CCD camera and a test slide containing a simple bar pattern. The calibration embraces the following characteristics of the z -axis: (a) measuring the motor step size in nanometres; (b) measuring the mechani-cal backlash in the focus mechanism of the microscope and (c) measuring the reproducibility and the stability of the focus position over time. The measurements employ focus functions to determine the z -position of the microscope stage.     

Accurate measurement of the out-of-plane motion of a tip-scanning atomic force microscope

A tip-scanning atomic force microscope (AFM) can be used as a highly accurate height-measuring instrument for large samples, such as liquid crystal displays. To accurately measure the flatness or surface roughness of large samples, the xy-scanner-induced out-of-plane motion must be known to discriminate scanner artifacts from the measured AFM images. As the topographic signals of AFM measurements contain the hysteresis of the z-scanner piezoelectric actuators, actual movements of the z-scanner were measured using a z-axis sensor glued to the actuator. The actual out-of-plane motion of the xy-scanner was found to be less than 1 nm for a 50-μm scan.     

一种三维质点振速传感器灵敏度测量方法

一种基于近场声全息技术的质点振速传感器灵敏度测量方法,在没有任何特殊声源或声学设备的前提下,通过测量或重建声场中的声压和法向质点振速来计算声阻抗,实现质点振速传感器的灵敏度测量。将该方法扩展至三维质点振速传感器的灵敏度测量,在测量或重建法向质点振速的同时,也测量或重建切向质点振速,实现三维声阻抗的估算,从而同时测量计算3个方向质点振速传感器的灵敏度,并通过实验验证了所提方法的有效性。     

Spherically curved layer (SCL) model for metal 3-D printing of overhangs

Directed energy deposition (DED), equipped with 5-axis tool mechanism and no additional machining process, turned out to be able to deposit overhang/undercut features with no support directly on a part in multiple directions. When performing the deposition, two additional axes of rotating and tilting newly added to the working table where the part is typically fixed need to be precisely controlled using an advanced process management technique. The previous approach for slicing algorithm corresponding with multi-axis tool paths along the part and providing a simple stepwise two dimensional layering process of repetitive ±90 degree tilting of the base table can cause unavoidable process delay whenever the base table needs to be tilted for conforming the geometry of overhang/undercut features. Another clear and present barrier to the approach, in addition, is the physical interferences between the tool and the workpiece moving separately during the build. This study proposes a Spherically curved layer (SCL) model providing interference-free 5-axis tool-part movement, a continuous and synchronized interaction between the tool and the part each separately but precisely controlled while kept contacted together, for the build of overhangs. A methodological approach generating SCL information directly from an STL model, followed by the implementation onto various overhang problems as case studies using the proposed methodology, will be discussed in this paper.     

Micro optical power meter for direct in situ measurement of light transmitted from microscopic systems and focused on micro-samples

This paper reports a micro optical power meter which is able to perform effective and precise measurement on the optical power at the focus of different microscopic systems. The power meter can be easily placed on the stages of different microscopes and even partly immersed into solution to directly measure the optical power transmitted from the microscope objective and focused on the sample suspended in solution. The testing experiments demonstrated that the power meter has the characteristics of high precision, excellent linearity, high sensitivity, good stability, and high responding speed. It can accurately measure power levels from 0.1 to 50 mW in visible wavelength in various conditions and environments, which may encounter in practical applications. The optical power measurements using the power meter performed in some biological cell culturing solutions and in air for the same laser light reveal the first time that the powers measured in solutions were about 5%-8% greater than that measured in air at the same position. This not only suggests the necessity of performing direct measurement in situ in solution to obtain the real optical power projected on the suspended samples, but also indicates that such a micro optical power meter can meet almost all the requirements of optical power measurement in different fields from biomedicine to material sciences.     

A method for producing hollow cone illumination electronically in the conventional transmission microscope.

An electronic device manipulates the primary beam in the conventional transmission microscope to produce a hollow cone of illumination with its apex located at the specimen. The device uses the existing tilt coils of the microscope, and modulates the D.C. signals to both x and y tilt directions simultaneously with various waveforms to produce Lissajous figures in the back-focal plane of the objective lens. Electron diffraction patterns can be recorded which reflect the manner in which the direct beam is tilted during exposure of a micrograph. In the bright-field imaging mode the device provides a microscope transfer function without zeros in all spatial directions and has been used to obtain high resolution images which are also free from the effect of chromatic aberration. A standard second condenser aperture is employed and the width of the cone annulus is readily controlled by defocusing the second condenser lens. The cone azimuthal angle is also controlled electronically; hence the device can also be used in the dark-field imaging mode. This device has been applied to imaging both amorphous and crystalline materials including biomolecular specimens.     

Dynamic etching method for fabricating a variety of tip shapes in the optical fibre probe of a scanning near-field optical microscope

A novel etching method for an optical fibre probe of a scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM) was developed to fabricate a variety of tip shapes through dynamic movement during etching. By moving the fibre in two-phase fluids of HF solution and organic solvent, the taper length and angle can be varied according to the movement of the position of the meniscus on the optical fibre. This method produces both long (sharp angle) and short (wide angle) tapered tips compared to tips made with stationary etching processes. A bent-type probe for a SNOM/AFM was fabricated by applying this technique and its throughput efficiency was examined. A wide-angle probe with a 50 degrees angle at the tip showed a throughput efficiency of 3.3 x 10(-4) at a resolution of 100 nm.     

Defocusing microscopy

Transparent objects (phase objects) are not visible in a standard brightfield optical microscope. In order to see such objects the most used technique is phase-contrast microscopy. In phase-contrast microscopy the contrast observed is proportional to the optical path difference introduced by the object. If the index of refraction is uniform, phase-contrast microscopy then yields a measure of the thickness profile of phase objects. We show that by slightly defocusing an optical microscope operating in brightfield, phase objects become visible. We modeled such an effect and show that the image contrast of a phase object is proportional to the amount of defocusing and proportional to the two-dimensional Laplacian of the optical path difference introduced by the object. For uniform index of refraction, defocusing microscopy then yields a measure of the curvature profile of phase objects. We extended our previous model for thin objects to thick objects. To check our theoretical model, we use as phase objects polystyrene spherical caps and compare their curvature radii obtained by defocusing microscopy (DM) to those obtained with atomic force microscopy (AFM). We also show that for thick curved phase objects one can reconstruct their thickness profiles from DM images. We illustrate the utility of defocusing microscopy in biological systems to study cell motility. In particular, we visualize and quantitatively measure real-time cytoskeleton curvature fluctuations of macrophages (a cell of the innate immune system). The study of such fluctuations might be important for a better understanding of the engulfment process of pathogens during phagocytosis.     

S型折叠式微悬臂梁刚度计算

针对目前没有成熟的设计计算S型折叠式悬臂梁刚度公式的问题,本文利用能量法和胡克定律推导了S型折叠悬臂梁x向、y向和z向的刚度计算公式。推导过程中发现对于复杂的微悬臂梁结构,其转角处的弯矩对最终结果影响较大,不可忽略。在ANSYS中对S型折叠悬臂梁建模,应用有限元法计算了S型悬臂梁的刚度,并和理论公式进行了对比。与有限元法对比显示,公式计算值的相对误差分别为0.67%、1.09%和2.95%,均小于3%。应用图像测位移法对S型悬臂梁进行了x、y向的拉伸实验,实验显示得到的实验值和理论值吻合,表明本文推导的 S型悬臂梁的刚度计算公式合理,能够为该类型悬臂梁的设计和计算提供理论依据。     

Highly uniform and controllable micropatterning of a hydrogel on microcantilevers

This paper reports a novel method for highly controllable local patterning of a hydrogel on microcantilevers. We constructed a dynamic mask lithography setup based on a commercial beam projector and a 3-axis microstage. Dynamic masks generated from the beam projector controlled the shape, size, and position of hydrogel patterns while the 3-axis microstage mainly controlled the thickness of hydrogel patterns. Using the constructed setup, polyethyleneglycol diacrylate (PEGDA) was patterned on microfabricated cantilevers in a highly controlled manner. Currently, the smallest PEGDA patternable is a 5-μm-diameter circle with a thickness of ～10 μm. To confirm thicknesses of patterned PEGDAs, resonance frequencies of microcantilevers were measured before and after each PEGDA patterning. Thicknesses extracted from resonance measurements showed good agreement with measurements using an optical microscope.     

An automated slide scanning system for membrane filter imaging in diagnosis of urogenital schistosomiasis

Traditionally, automated slide scanning involves capturing a rectangular grid of field-of-view (FoV) images which can be stitched together to create whole slide images, while the autofocusing algorithm captures a focal stack of images to determine the best in-focus image. However, these methods can be time-consuming due to the need for X-, Y- and Z-axis movements of the digital microscope while capturing multiple FoV images. In this paper, we propose a solution to minimise these redundancies by presenting an optimal procedure for automated slide scanning of circular membrane filters on a glass slide. We achieve this by following an optimal path in the sample plane, ensuring that only FoVs overlapping the filter membrane are captured. To capture the best in-focus FoV image, we utilise a hill-climbing approach that tracks the peak of the mean of Gaussian gradient of the captured FoVs images along the Z-axis. We implemented this procedure to optimise the efficiency of the Schistoscope, an automated digital microscope developed to diagnose urogenital schistosomiasis by imaging Schistosoma haematobium eggs on 13 or 25 mm membrane filters. Our improved method reduces the automated slide scanning time by 63.18% and 72.52% for the respective filter sizes. This advancement greatly supports the practicality of the Schistoscope in large-scale schistosomiasis monitoring and evaluation programs in endemic regions. This will save time, resources and also accelerate generation of data that is critical in achieving the targets for schistosomiasis elimination.     

Measurements of fibre direction in reinforced polymer composites

High-quality data on the three-dimensional (3-D) spatial distributions of glass and carbon fibres in fibre-reinforced polymer composites are important for both process control and the modelling of the mechanical and thermal properties of these composites. The advent of economical, high-speed, image analyser systems has enabled numerous research groups to measure directional distributions of fibre samples. Specimens are microtomed and polished and, using optical reflection microscopy, thousands of elliptical fibre images may be analysed within a short period of time. From the eccentricity of the fibre images, estimation of the angles (θ, φ) of each fibre relative to the vertical axis and within the measurement plane is deduced. However, this measurement is subject to considerable error. The confocal scanning laser microscope (CSLM), operating in fluorescence mode or reflection mode, is capable of improving the angular resolution (δθ, δφ) for all fibre directions. The ability of the CSLM to optically section glass and carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composites down to depths of 20 or 30 μm allows the user to determine accurate fibre directions from the apparent movement of fibre profiles. The CSLM has the potential for standardizing measurements of 3-D fibre directions in polymer composites and providing the quality directional data which are required for the theoretical modelling of composite processing and composite strength.     

A two-channel four-dimensional image recording and viewing system with automatic drift correction

Four-dimensional image acquisition systems have been described to analyse various developmental processes, for example, the Caenorhabditis elegans cell lineage. A practical problem that is often encountered during recordings is mechanical slippage of the microscope stage, causing the sample to drift out of focus. Furthermore, with the advent of green fluorescent protein (GFP) as an in vivo marker, affordable two-channel imaging systems are needed to correlate gene expression with changes through development. To overcome the mechanical drift a device-independent, software-only solution for the MacOS was devised that can compensate for Z -axis drifts in sample position. The software also allows recording of 4D stacks in two channels. To correct for drift, a small reference object beside the main object to be recorded is kept in focus using a simple autofocus principle, and this automatic drift correction allows for effective 4D recordings. In addition to the Z -axis drives and the shutters of the microscope, a video camera can be computer controlled to switch between two light levels. Second channel live GFP recordings are presently limited by the fact that the high intensity of the blue light heats and kills C. elegans embyros quickly. To view and annotate the stacks a MacOS viewing application was developed.     

高精密滚转角测量干涉仪

现有的各种激光干涉仪可以方便地测量围绕垂直于直线位移方向的两个转角偏移,但是对于围绕运动轴的滚转角偏移,特别是对于大行程运动,缺乏有效的测量方法。针对各种高精密直线运动定位装置,设计一个新型的差分平面干涉仪,并采用一个楔面棱镜和楔面反射镜,组合成为一个几何空间对称四光路系统,构成新型的高精密滚转角激光干涉测量仪。它不需要与行程同长的大反射参考镜,但同样能实现高分辨率,而且简便实用,可以直接溯源米定义。试验证明,几何空间对称四光路滚转角干涉测量仪能够有效地排除其他自由度运动的干扰,利用它可以快速高效地测量各种精密直线位移运动的滚转角。使用普通的2π/360细分相位计,测量分辨率为1.1″,若使用2π/36 000的高精密细分相位计,滚转角的测量分辨率可达到0.01″。