Instrumental noise effect in an optical heterodyne profiler

An optical heterodyne profiler has been developed for measuring surface roughness at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The height measurement sensitivity and lateral resolution are 1.1 ? and 4 μm, respectively, when a 40× objective is used. A Zeeman-split He-Ne laser is the light source. A noncontact measurement system is designed as an optical common-path interferometer. Optical and electronic common-mode rejection techniques are employed to minimize the effects of environmental conditions. The effect of the system noise is analyzed in detail. The effect of varying the number of samples at each sampling point is shown. The comparisons of the system noises with different objectives, 5×, 10×, 20×, and 40×, are presented.     

Metrological characteristics of an optical heterodyne transducer

Literature on the correct definition and utilization of the metrological characteristics of an optical heterodyne transducer operating as an integral part of a laser Doppler velocimeter is reviewed briefly.Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 11, pp. 42–46, November, 1993.     

Noninvasive continuous monitoring of physiological glucose using a monosaccharide-sensing contact lens

We have tested the feasibility of tear glucose sensing using a daily, disposable contact lens embedded with boronic acid-containing fluorophores as a potential alternative to current invasive glucose-monitoring techniques. Our findings show that our approach may, indeed, be suitable for the continuous monitoring of tear glucose levels in the range 50-500 microM, which track blood glucose levels that are approximately 5-10-fold higher. We compare the response of the boronic acid probes in the contact lens to solution-based measurements and can conclude that both the pH and polarity within the contact lens need to be considered with respect to choosing/designing and optimizing glucose-sensing probes for contact lenses.     

Angstrom-range optical path-length measurement with a high-speed scanning heterodyne optical interferometer

A highly accurate method of optical path-length measurement is introduced by use of a scanning heterodyne optical interferometer with no moving parts. The instrument has demonstrated the potential to measure optical path length at angstrom resolution over continuous thickness in the micrometer range. This optical path length can be used to calculate the thickness of any material if the refractive index is known or to measure the refractive index of the material if the thickness is known. The instrument uses a single acousto-optic device in an in-line ultra-stable reflective geometry to implement rapid scanning in the microsecond domain for thickness measurements of the test medium.     

In vitro studies toward noninvasive glucose monitoring with optical coherence tomography

We use optical coherence tomography (OCT) to measure glucose-induced changes in Intralipid and in mouse skin samples in vitro. Mouse skin samples are cultured in a CO2 incubator before measurements are made with different amounts of added glucose concentrations. The results show that the glucose-induced changes in the OCT slope value vary between 20% and 52%/30 mM glucose in different mouse skin samples. This change is much larger than the change in 2% Intralipid (2.1%/30 mM) and in 5% Intralipid (0.86%/30 mM). Hence the results show that OCT has potential to monitor glucose-induced changes in tissues in vitro.     

Three-dimensional point spread functions of an optical heterodyne scanning image processor

We study the three-dimensional (3-D) imaging properties of an optical heterodyne scanning image processor. The image processor is a two-pupil optical system capable of 3-D imaging coherently or incoherently, depending on the detection scheme used. We derive the imaging properties in terms of the two pupils and then show an important 3-D imaging application in scanning holography by deriving its 3-D point spread functions and compare them with conventional 3-D imaging systems.     

Ice structure monitoring with an optical fiber sensing system

Ice has been used as an effective and economical material for constructions of roads and platforms in cold regions. However, the practical applications of this brittle material are limited by the fact that ice structures can suddenly crack due to low tensile strength, be crushed due to excessive compression, melt and become soften as temperature elevates. In this paper, an early warning system is proposed to monitor the strain state and damage characteristic of ice structures. Firstly, both fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and Brillouin optical time domain analysis/reflectometry (BOTDA/R) sensors were installed in an ice block and an ice beam to understand their axial and flexural behaviors under a concentrated load. Secondly, the solution for strain state and damage process of ice structures was derived analytically under test conditions. Finally, an outdoor ice road test bed was built and continuously monitored for 34 h to validate the early warning system and understand the early stage behavior of ice structures. The experimental results agreed well with their corresponding theoretical predictions. The early warning system with optical sensors is effective and practical for long-term monitoring for ice structures.     

Differential phase decoder in a polarized optical heterodyne interferometer

A differential-phase decoder (DPD) together with a polarization common-path optical heterodyne interferometer is set up. Based on this interferometric configuration and a novel balanced-detector scheme, the performance of the quantum-noise-limited differential-phase decoder is demonstrated and analyzed. The minimum-detectable differential phase is on the order of 10(-7) rad/sqrt Hz when a 2.5 mW He-Ne laser is used. Verified experimentally, the DPD is immune to the common-phase noise induced by an electro-optic phase modulator or by thermal disturbance within the interferometer. This signifies that the minimum-detectable differential phase can become 10(-8) rad/sqrt Hz if a 300 mW continuous wave laser is employed instead.     

The effect of misalignment errors in optical elements of VUV polarimeter

We have designed a Vacuum Ultra Violet polarimeter for Indian Synchrotron Radiation Source Indus-1. This polarimeter will be installed on a toroidal grating monochromator-based beamline. Polarimeter consists of four-mirror phase retarder and three-mirror linear polarizer. Three-mirror linear polarizer has glancing angles of incidence 23°, 46° and 23°, working in 200–1100 Å wavelength region, with linear polarizence greater than 90%. Detailed ray-tracing analysis was carried out to find the effect of various misalignment errors in each of the optical element of the polarimeter. It is found that misalignment errors in optical element of the polarimeter affect only the beam spot position and do not affect the spot size, polarization state and photon flux of outgoing beam, substantially. Accuracies in the linear and angular positions of optical elements in phase retarder and linear polarizer must be very precise to perform ellipsometric experiments. Tolerance limit for various misalignment errors has been obtained. Required accuracy in angular position around X-axis is more than that required in angular position around Z-axis.     

Two-wavelength heterodyne interferometer with an expanded measurement range

Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 8, pp. 39–40, August, 1992.     

Fluid velocity measurements in a microchannel performed with two new optical heterodyne microscopes

Two laser Doppler microscopes (LDMs) based on an optical heterodyne interferometer have been developed for measuring fluid velocity in a microchannel. One of LDMs receives light from a Zeeman laser, and one easily obtains the standard heterodyne signal because a polarizer is set in front of a photomultiplier tube. The other LDM, with light from a He-Ne laser, employs a diffractive grating as a frequency shifter that is modulated in a sinusoidal movement by a piezoelectric transducer stack. By this modulation the nonstandard heterodyne signal is further processed by a new synthetic heterodyne algorithm. Finally, the phase shift related to the fluid velocity in both LDMs is demodulated by digital postprocessing in fast-Fourier-transform, bandpass filtering, inverse-fast-Fourier-transform, and arctangent algorithms.     

Affinity-based turbidity sensor for glucose monitoring by optical coherence tomography: toward the development of an implantable sensor

We investigated the feasibility of constructing an implantable optical-based sensor for seminoninvasive continuous monitoring of analytes. In this novel sensor, analyte concentration-dependent changes induced in the degree of optical turbidity of the sensing element can be accurately monitored by optical coherence tomography (OCT), an interferometric technique. To demonstrate proof-of-concept, we engineered a sensor for monitoring glucose concentration that enabled us to quantitatively monitor the glucose-specific changes induced in bulk scattering (turbidity) of the sensor. The sensor consists of a glucose-permeable membrane housing that contains a suspension of macroporous hydrogel particles and concanavalin A (ConA), a glucose-specific lectin, that are designed to alter the optical scattering of the sensor as a function of glucose concentration. The mechanism of modulation of bulk turbidity in the sensor is based on glucose-specific affinity binding of ConA to pendant glucose residues of macroporous hydrogel particles. The affinity-based modulation of the scattering coefficient was significantly enhanced by optimizing particle size, particle size distribution, and ConA concentration. Successful operation of the sensor was demonstrated under in vitro condition where excellent reversibility and stability (160 days) of prototype sensors with good overall response over the physiological glucose concentration range (2.5-20 mM) and good accuracy (standard deviation 5%) were observed. Furthermore, to assess the feasibility of using the novel sensor as one that can be implanted under skin, the sensor was covered by a 0.4 mm thick tissue phantom where it was demonstrable that the response of the sensor to 10 mM glucose change could still be measured in the presence of a layer of tissue shielding the sensor aiming to simulate in vivo condition. In summary, we have demonstrated that it is feasible to develop an affinity-based turbidity sensor that can exhibit a highly specific optical response as a function of changes in local glucose concentration and such response can be accurately monitored by OCT suggesting that the novel sensor can potentially be engineered to be used as an implantable sensor for in vivo monitoring of analytes.     

Noninvasive near-infrared blood glucose monitoring using a calibration model built by a numerical simulation method: Trial application to patients in an intensive care unit

We have applied a new methodology for noninvasive continuous blood glucose monitoring, proposed in our previous paper, to patients in ICU (intensive care unit), where strict controls of blood glucose levels are required. The new methodology can build calibration models essentially from numerical simulation, while the conventional methodology requires pre-experiments such as sugar tolerance tests, which are impossible to perform on ICU patients in most cases. The in vivo experiments in this study consisted of two stages, the first stage conducted on healthy subjects as preliminary experiments, and the second stage on ICU patients. The prediction performance of the first stage was obtained as a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.71 and standard error of prediction (SEP) of 28.7 mg/dL. Of the 323 total data, 71.5% were in the A zone, 28.5% were in the B zone, and none were in the C, D, and E zones for the Clarke error-grid analysis. The prediction performance of the second stage was obtained as an r of 0.97 and SEP of 27.2 mg/dL. Of the 304 total data, 80.3% were in the A zone, 19.7% were in the B zone, and none were in the C, D, and E zones. These prediction results suggest that the new methodology has the potential to realize a noninvasive blood glucose monitoring system using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in ICUs. Although the total performance of the present monitoring system has not yet reached a satisfactory level as a stand-alone system, it can be developed as a complementary system to the conventional one used in ICUs for routine blood glucose management, which checks the blood glucose levels of patients every few hours.     

Noninvasive Raman spectroscopy of human tissue in vivo

We report the first transcutaneous Raman spectrum of human bone in vivo obtained at skin-safe laser illumination levels. The spectrum of thumb distal phalanx was obtained using spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS), which provides chemically specific information on deep layers of human tissue, well beyond the reach of existing comparative approaches. The spectroscopy is based on collecting Raman spectra away from the point of laser illumination using concentric rings of optical fibers. As a generic analytical tool this approach paves the way for a range of uses including disease diagnosis, noninvasive probing of pharmaceutical products, biofilms, catalysts, paints, and in dermatological applications.     

Absolute distance measurement with heterodyne optical feedback on a Yb:Er glass laser

Absolute distance measurement based on optical feedback using a single-frequency Yb:Er glass laser is demonstrated via the combination of heterodyne detection and frequency sweep. The technique allows for the enhancement of the sensitivity of the laser response to self-mixing thanks to resonant excitation close to the relaxation-oscillation frequency peak. The experimental results on noncooperative targets are in good agreement with the theory, and the shape of the resulting signal is analyzed in both the temporal and the frequency domains considering the specific dynamic of the class B solid-state laser. Suggestions are provided for further improvements on the signal processing.     

采用分布式光纤传感技术的土坝模型渗漏监测分析

海底隧道应采取堵水限排的地下水处理方式,为了研究堵水限排海底隧道围岩压力、初期支护水压力和钢拱架内力在施工阶段的变化规律,结合厦门海底隧道工程,对施工现场的围岩压力、初期支护后水压力和钢拱架内力进行实时监测。研究表明,初期支护在施工阶段有较高的安全系数,止水超前注浆和初期支护背后注浆对海底隧道非常有必要。在堵水限排情况下,通过加强注浆等工程措施,初期支护水压力可降至静水压力的1/3。通过对施工现场排水量的监测与分析,提出了排水量控制标准,厦门海底隧道软弱围岩地段的排水量应按照0.25 m3/(m.d)控制。研究成果在厦门海底隧道中得到了验证和应用。