Multibeam scanning optics with single laser source for full-color printers

In the novel optical system described here, four-color toners can be developed in one rotation of the photoconductor, and the color control information is given when the intensities of the laser power levels are changed and the two polarization directions are switched. A polarizing beam splitter between the common scanning optics and the photoconductor enables the laser beam to pass through a common scanning system and to illuminate two positions on the photoconductive material. The laser beam polarization direction is controlled by an electro-optical device immediately behind the laser. In each illuminated position, two-color toners are developed by a three-level (trilevel) photographic process. This simplified optical system eliminates the registration errors that occur with four-color information items and can be useful in high-speed printing systems.     

Low-cost, scalable laser scanning module for real-time reflectance and fluorescence confocal microscopy

We present a low-cost, high-speed, retrofitted laser scanning module for microscopy. The cage-mounted system, with various available fiber-coupled sources, offers a real-time imaging alternative to costly commercial systems with capabilities for conventional or confocal reflectance and fluorescence applications as well as advanced laser scanning microscopy implementations. Reflectance images of a resolution target and confocal images of fluorescent polystyrene beads are presented for system characterization. Confocal fluorescence image stacks of T84 epithelial cancer cells are presented to demonstrate application to biological studies. This laser scanning module is a flexible, scalable, high-speed alternative to commercial laser scanning systems suitable for applications requiring a simple imaging tool and for teaching laboratories.     

Measurement of Refractive Index of Liquids Using Length Standards Traceable to SI Unit

Many workers have published various methods to measure refractive index of various liquids. Mostly, the measurement results are not traceable to SI units. A novel method is developed at CSIR-NPL, India (NPLI) to measure refractive of index of liquids using gauge blocks, metrological microscope and displacement laser interferometer. A vessel with flat bottom is chosen to hold the liquid under test. A pair of gauge blocks of different lengths is fixed in the vessel. The vessel is arranged under a vertically movable microscope. A calibrated displacement laser interferometer is attached to the microscope stage. The microscope is focused to the surface of gauge block before poring liquid. After poring liquid in the vessel, the microscope is moved vertically to regain the focussed image of surface of submerged gauge blocks. The measurement method is simulated mathematically. The refractive index of liquid medium is calculated using this mathematical model. Refractive index of water, isopropyl alcohol is measured. Various error contributing sources are identified. The measurement uncertainty is evaluated.     

Optical profilometry of poly(methylmethacrylate) surfaces after reshaping with a scanning photorefractive keratectomy (SPRK) system

A prototype frequency-quintupled Nd:YAG laser was used with a scanning system to create, on poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) blocks, ablations corresponding to a correction of 6 diopters of myopia by photorefractive keratectomy. The topography of the ablated samples was measured with an optical profilometer to evaluate the smoothness and accuracy of the ablations. The ablation depth was larger than expected. With a 50% to 70% spot overlap, large valleylike variations with a maximum peak-to-peak amplitude of 20 μm were observed. With an 80% spot overlap, the rms surface roughness was 1.3 μm, and the central flattening was 7 diopters. This study shows that optical profilometry can be used to determine precisely the ablation per pulse and the smoothness and accuracy of surface ablations. Knowing the exact ablation per pulse is necessary to produce a smooth and accurate corneal surface by scanning photorefractive keratectomy.     

Development of an algorithm for corneal reshaping with a scanning laser beam

The corneal-ablation rate, the beam-intensity distribution, and the initial and the desired corneal topographies are used to calculate a spatial distribution map of laser pulses. The optimal values of the parameters are determined with a computer model, for a system that produces 213-nm radiation with a Gaussian beam-intensity distribution and a peak radiant exposure of 400 mJ/cm(2). The model shows that with a beam diameter of 0.5 mm, an overlap of 80%, and a 5-mm treatment zone, the roughness is less than 6% of the central ablation depth, the refractive error after correction is less than 0.1 D for corrections of myopia of 1, 3, and 6 D and less than 0.4 D for a correction of myopia of 10 D, and the number of pulses per diopter of correction is 2500 when the beam-intensity distribution is Gaussian and 580 when it is flat.     

Direct-write patterning of indium-tin-oxide film by high pulse repetition frequency femtosecond laser ablation

Ablation of indium oxide doped with tin oxide (ITO) from glass substrates is described. Laser pulse energy and focus spot size were varied in single-pulse, single-spot ablation tests and for ablation of linear features with scanned multiple pulses. The single-pulse ablation threshold of ITO was smaller than that of the glass substrate so the entire thickness of ITO could be removed in a single pulse or with overlying multiple pulses without the possibility of substrate ablation. Linear features could be created at much higher scanning speeds using a high repetition frequency (100 kHz) Yb fiber amplified laser as compared to a lower repetition frequency (2 kHz) laser. An analysis showed that incubation effects lowered ITO ablation thresholds when pulse frequency was high relative to scanning speed, contributing to large feasible scanning speeds for high pulse frequency lasers.     

Laser ablation behaviors of C/SiC composites in air简

Ablation behaviors of silicon carbide (SiC) coated 2D carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide matrix (designated as 2D C/SiC) composites prepared by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) were investigated by a continuous wave CO₂ laser. The 2D C/SiC specimens were exposed under laser for 0.5 s in ambient air, and the laser powers varied from 500 W to 1500 W. A 3D finite element model was established to calculate the temperature distribution in the laser ablation process. The ablation depth, width and profile were measured by Laser Confocal Microscope (LCM). The results indicate that the increase of ablation depth follows a linear relation with the increase of laser power, and the increase of ablation width follows a similar trend with the increase of the isotherm diameter of 1712 ℃. The ablated surface can be distinguished into three different regions by scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation, including ablation center, transition zone and ablation fringe. The ablation behaviors of carbon fibers and SiC matrices in different regions were presented and discussed in the study.     

Modeling of laser scanning system to determine its associated uncertainty of measurement

In the fabrication of fine wires such as filaments of lamps and optical fibers, it is always necessary to measure the diameter in real-time and correct the extrusion process. For metrological purposes, laser beam scanning technique will produce similar results as comparative to diffraction-assisted methods. A computerized laser beam scanning measurement system (LSM) is designed and fabricated. The LSM consists of a low power helium-neon gas laser source, a specially designed collimating lens, a hysteresis synchronous motor, a photo detector and a protective replaceable window along with temperature sensor. The LSM is mathematically modeled to identify various error contributing sources. The LSM is calibrated using a set of national reference standard cylindrical pins and a set of national reference standard slots to determine its relative calibration factor. The uncertainty of measurement achieved in the range of (0–35) mm is ± (0.55 +39.2L/m) μm.     

High-quality liquid phase-pulsed laser ablation graphene synthesis by flexible graphite exfoliation

This work reports a one-pot procedure of laser ablation on a graphite target in a liquid medium, based on the variation of different parameters such as target type, laser wavelength, and ablation medium,to obtain high-quality graphene nanosheets. The morphology of derived products was characterized by the field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM). Then, the morphology and structure of the optimized sample were characterized by transmission electron microscopy(TEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD), ultraviolet-visible-near infrared(UV–vis-NIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). By controlling the laser ablation parameters, we were able to prepare micrometer-sized few-layer graphene nanosheets with mainly less than ten layers. Such synthesized graphene nanosheets were grown at the surface of a flexible graphite target, indicating many potential applications in fundamental research, electrochemical and as hydrophobic surfaces.     

Laser reflectometry in situ measurement of lead zirconate titanate film growth

A convenient method is described for optical characterization of thin films during growth. The method has been demonstrated on lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films deposited by pulsed laser ablation for various temperatures. The optical constants of the PZT films as well as the film growth rate were determined in situ by fitting (with three free parameters) the calculated reflectance as a function of film thickness to the experimental reflectance curve as a function of deposition time, as obtained by unpolarized laser reflectometry. The fitted parameters are the uniform complex PZT refractive index and the layer thickness (assumed proportional to time), with the complex refractive index of the platinum substrate being measured previously. These results compare well with the subsequent ellipsometric measurements made to assess the precision of the reflectometry technique.     

Cross talk and ghost talk in a microbeam free-space optical interconnect system with vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, microlenses, and metal-semiconductor-metal detectors

A diffraction-based beam-propagation model is used to study optical cross talk in microbeam free-space optical interconnection (FSOI) systems. The system consists of VCSEL's, microlenses, and metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) detectors, with the detectors modeled as amplitude gratings with low contrast ratio (based on experimental results). Different possible cross-talk sources are studied. Results show that, in an optimized system, the cross talk caused by diffractive scattering is not an issue. However, in such systems the principal reflection from a MSM detector surface creates two problems: VCSEL coupling and ghost talk. The coupling of the reflected beam into the VCSEL's may cause power oscillation (and increase the bit error rate), whereas ghost talk will limit the distance-bandwidth product of the interconnect system. This optical system is also abstracted in hspice together with the laser driver and receiver circuits to analyze ghost talk in this system. Results show that at high speed (1 Gbit/s or more) these effects negatively affect system performance.     

激光内径测量系统参数校正及算法优化

基于激光位移扫描的大尺寸内径测量系统中,测量数据存在多个系统误差参数并易受到粗大误差的影响.在分析该系统工作原理的基础上,分析了测量传感器安装倾斜误差和回转臂偏心误差,并提出了相应的校正补偿方案.针对动态测量、管壁划痕、斑迹等引入的粗大误差对测量数据的最小二乘圆拟合精度影响较大的问题,提出了一种剔除粗大误差的方法:根据最小平方中值法构建基准圆,剔除孤立点,再用最小二乘法拟合,实验结果表明该算法的精度优于直接最小二乘法5倍.     

Refractive-index patterning of tellurite glass surfaces by laser spot heating

A dot pattern of a refractive-index change was formed by spot heating with laser-beam irradiation on sodium tellurite glasses. The 15Na(2)O . 85TeO(2) (mol. %) glass doped with 2 mol. % of CoO was irradiated by a green light-beam spot (532 nm) ~800 mum in diameter from the second-harmonic generator of a Q-switched pulsed YAG laser. The map of the refractive index of the glass was determined with an He-Ne laser beam by a scanning ellipsometric technique at a resolution of 100 mum x 50 mum, indicating that the spots possessing a refractive index lower by ~0.05 were formed at the region irradiated by the laser beam.     

High-temperature ellipsometer system to determine the optical properties of materials

A high-temperature ellipsometer system was developed that permits determination of the optical properties of solid and liquid bulk samples for temperatures as high as 2300 °C. The angles of incidence may be varied from 40° to 50°. The system was tested with a silicon wafer sample in inert gas environments of helium, argon, and nitrogen. In addition the possible sources of error in the inferred refractive index, especially in the context of Faraday effects, were assessed.     

Evaluation of phase, microstructure and composition of human dentine after Er,Cr:YSGG laser irradiation

This study aims to evaluate the composition, micro-structure and inorganic phase alternations of human dentine irradiated by Er,Cr:YSGG laser with water cooling spray system. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated that the main inorganic phase of dentine before and after laser irradiation were all Hydroxyapatite (HA) structure, approximately 30 nm in size. No significant changes occurred in the average particle size after irradiation in four energy densities (6.18 J/cm2, 8.04 J/cm2, 9.89 J/cm2, 11.1 J/cm2). Atomic force microscope (AFM) phase image and the energy-dispersive spectroscope (EDS) analysis, however, demonstrated that the thermal effects of Er,Cr:YSGG laser with water-cooling spray system on the dentin surface was intense enough to induce notable decrease of the organic matter. Both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and AFM analysis showed that the irradiated dentine presented rough surface morphology. The surface is clean and dentinal tubules are completely open. The ablation rate of both peri- and intertubular dentine increased at higher energy densities but no significant changes of gross appearance took place. Chemical analysis reveals that laser photothermal effect would decrease significantly the organic content of superficial dentinal layer. We conclude that the Er,Cr:YSGG laser, as a new type clinic laser, would not significantly influence the inorganic phase structure of the surface dentine layer, however, thermal ablation was occurred in organic component. Moreover, the rough ablated surface as well as the opened dentinal tubules induced by irradiation, might be advantageous to the infiltration of the adhesive materials, thus the adhesion of dental restoration could be enhanced. Further studies should focus on the correlation between bond strength and Er,Cr:YSGG lased dentine.     

计算机X射线激光扫描仪设计及分析

针对X射线工业检测,设计了一种适合于计算机X射线扫描仪的新型激光扫描系统.用五角棱镜和聚焦物镜组成扫描臂以取代,Fθ镜头,利用影像板的柔性成圆弧形进片.同时扫描臂又用做接收器件来收集激发出的荧光,使系统性能提高,结构简单.根据进片方案,确定了扫描仪的系统控制方法,给出了控制过程时序图.计算了当五角棱镜存在安置误差时,对系统分辨率的影响,表明了设计的激光扫描系统具有一定的容差性和实用性.用实验验证了所设计制造的扫描仪的性能,结果显示图像具有良好的视觉效果,能够满足工业检测要求.     

Wavefront-guided correction of ocular aberrations: are phase plate and refractive surgery solutions equal?

Wavefront-guided laser eye surgery has been recently introduced and holds the promise of correcting not only defocus and astigmatism in patients but also higher-order aberrations. Research is just beginning on the implementation of wavefront-guided methods in optical solutions, such as phase-plate-based spectacles, as alternatives to surgery. We investigate the theoretical differences between the implementation of wavefront-guided surgical and phase plate corrections. The residual aberrations of 43 model eyes are calculated after simulated refractive surgery and also after a phase plate is placed in front of the untreated eye. In each case, the current wavefront-guided paradigm that applies a direct map of the ocular aberrations to the correction zone is used. The simulation results demonstrate that an ablation map that is a Zernike fit of a direct transform of the ocular wavefront phase error is not as efficient in correcting refractive errors of sphere, cylinder, spherical aberration, and coma as when the same Zernike coefficients are applied to a phase plate, with statistically significant improvements from 2% to 6%.     

利用CO2激光法快速制造PMMA基材的微流控分析芯片

提出一种广泛使用的CO2激光法,以直接读写烧蚀的方式,进行快速的聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯（PMMA）基材的微流控分析芯片的制造.利用此方法所制造的微流道,将以扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、原子力显微镜（AFM）及表面轮廓仪进行各项表面性质的分析.本文所发展的CO2激光烧蚀法,提供了一个可广泛使用及具有经济效应的PMMA基材的微流控分析芯片的制造方法.在此激光制程法中,微流控分析芯片的制造图案可由商业的套装软件绘制而成,再传输至激光系统中进行烧蚀微管道,结果显示利用离焦法的激光制程技术,在没有退火处理的情况下,就可以获得表面相当平滑的微流道,表面粗糙度小于4nm.     

Dual-capillary backscatter interferometry for high-sensitivity nanoliter-volume refractive index detection with density gradient compensation

A simple, stable, ultrasensitive dual-capillary dual-bicell (DCDB) microinterferometic backscattering detection (MIBD) system was developed. In DCDB MIBD, a He-Ne laser beam passes through a half-wave plate onto the cross section of two capillaries, one for reference and another for sensing analyte. The position of the backscattered fringe from each capillary, which are in proximity or essentially identical thermal environments, was detected with matched bicell photodetectors. The configuration was found to effectively compensate for thermal drift, which is normally the major source of noise in refractive index (RI) detection systems. It is shown that passive environmental compensation leads to greatly enhanced signal in nanoscale refractometry preformed by MIBD. An order of magnitude improvement in detection limits over single channel configurations is possible. Performance reaches the 10(-9) RIU level for like solvents in the presence in extremely large thermally induced RI gradients. At this level of detectability, DCDB MIBD could facilitate nanoliter-volume, femtomole-level universal detection in applications ranging from mu-HPLC and on-chip CE to scanning microcalorimetry.     

Laser ablation coupled to a flowing atmospheric pressure afterglow for ambient mass spectral imaging

A plasma-based ambient desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (ADI-MS) source was used to perform molecular mass spectral imaging. A small amount of sample material was ablated by focusing 266 nm laser light onto a spot. The resulting aerosol was transferred by a nitrogen stream to the flowing afterglow of a helium atmospheric pressure glow discharge ionization source; the ionized sample material was analyzed by a Leco Unique time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Two-dimensional mass spectral images were generated by scanning the laser beam across a sample surface. The total analysis time for a 6 mm (2) surface, which is limited by the washout of the ablation chamber, was less than 30 min. With this technique, a spatial resolution of approximately 20 microm has been achieved. Additionally, the laser ablation configuration was used to obtain depth information of over 2 mm with a resolution of approximately 40 microm. The combination of laser ablation with the flowing atmospheric pressure afterglow source was used to analyze several sample surfaces for a wide variety of analytes and with high sensitivity (LOD of 5 fmol for caffeine).