Arthur J. Decker

Holographic interferometry with an injection seeded Nd:YAG laser and two reference beams.

The performance of twin injection seeded Nd:YAG lasers is compared with the performance of an argon-ion laser for recording dual-reference-beam holograms in Agfa 8E56 emulsion. Optical heterodyning is used to measure interference and the results are expressed in terms of heterodyning signal level and intensity signal to noise. The Nd:YAG laser system is to be used for optical inspections of structures for cracks, defects, gas leaks, and structural changes.

Three-dimensional computed tomography from interferometric measurements within a narrow cone of views

A theory is presented and tested for recovering a fluid property from measurements of its projections. Viewing comes as small as 10 degrees are evaluated, and the only assumption is that the property is space limited. The results of applying the theory to numerical and actual interferograms of a spherical discontinuity of refractive index are presented. The theory was developed to test the practicality and limits of using three-dimensional computed tomography to process optical diagnostic data for internal fluid dynamics.

A Comparison of Electronic Heterodyne Moire Deflectometry and Electronic Heterodyne Holographic Interferometry for Flow Measurements

Electronic heterodyne moire deflectometry and electronic heterodyne holographic interferometry are compared as methods for the accurate measurement of refractive index and density change distributions of phase objects. Experimental results are presented to show that the two methods have comparable accuracy for measuring the first derivative of the interferometric fringe shift. The phase object for the measurements is a large crystal of KD P, whose refractive index distribution can be changed accurately and repeatably for the comparison. Although the refractive index change causes only about one interferometric fringe shift over the entire crystal, the derivative shows considerable detail for the comparison. As electronic phase measurement methods, both methods are very accurate and are intrinsically compatible with computer controlled readout and data processing. Heterodyne moire is relatively inexpensive and has high variable sensitivity. Heterodyne holographic interferometry is better developed, and can be used with poor quality optical access to the experiment.

Self-aligning optical measurement systems

A paradigm is presented for automating the alignment of the components of optical measurement systems and is tested on a spatial filter.

Sensitivity and calibration of nondestructive evaluation method that uses neural-net processing of characteristic fringe patterns

This paper answers some performance and calibration questions about a non-destructive-evaluation (NDE) procedure that uses artificial neural networks to detect structural damage or other changes from sub-sampled characteristic patterns. The method shows increasing sensitivity as the number of sub-samples increases from 108 to 6912. The sensitivity of this robust NDE method is not affected by noisy excitations of the first vibration mode. A calibration procedure is proposed and demonstrated where the output of a trained net can be correlated with the outputs of the point sensors usded for vibration testing. The calibration procedure is based on controlled changes of fastener torques. A heterodyne interferometer is used as a displacement sensor for a demonstration of the challenges to be handled in using standard point sensors for calibration.

Sources of error in heterodyne moire deflectometry

Alignment problems, and the accompanying errors, in heterodyne moire deflectometry are considered. A change in the x-directed offset between two states of a phase object causes a constant phase error, and it is noted that the relative x coordinate of the two photographic plates (the two states of the phase object) must be positioned typically within 1 micron to avoid a detectable offset. Possible solutions for assuring the relative alignment of the two deflectograms are considered, including a sandwich technique and a two-color double-exposure implementation.

Neural network for image-to-image control of optical tweezers

A method is discussed for using neural networks to control optical tweezers. Neural-net outputs are combined with scaling and tiling to generate 480X480-pixel control patterns for a spatial light modulator (SLM). The SLM can be combined in various ways with a microscope to create movable tweezers traps with controllable profiles. The neural nets are intended to respond to scattered light from carbon and silicon carbide nanotube sensors. The nanotube sensors are to be held by the traps for manipulation and calibration. Scaling and tiling allow the 100X100-pixel maximum resolution of the neural-net software to be applied in stages to exploit the full 480X480-pixel resolution of the SLM. One of these stages is intended to create sensitive null detectors for detecting variations in the scattered light from the nanotube sensors.