Luigi Montalto

Inspection of birefringent media by photoelasticity: from diffuse light polariscope to laser conoscopic technique

Abstract. A reliable and noninvasive measurement method for the inspection of naturally birefringent transparent media is presented in this paper. It allows us to achieve a spatially resolved analysis of the stress state of birefringent materials. The developed system is based on photoelasticity and exploits a controlled laser conoscopy technique and a scanning system to perform local measurements in the volume dimensions of the media, which can be displaced over a grid of points. The configuration of the proposed laser conoscopic system is presented, and a dedicated algorithm, designed to perform digital analysis of the fringe patterns, is also described. The design and the realization of the system are discussed, as well as the advantages of the proposed system over the classic diffuse light polariscope technique. The method has been experimentally validated through laboratory tests on birefringent samples with known induced stress. The system has demonstrated its sensitivity to stress and its capability to achieve a spatial resolution on the order of 0.1 mm to resolve stress gradients (uncertainty on the stress amplitude of ±0.1  MPa).

A photoelastic measurement system for residual stress analysis in scintillating crystals by conoscopic imaging

The assessment of the stress state of scintillating crystals is an important issue for producers as well as users of such materials, because residual stress may arise during growth process. In this paper, a measurement system, based on the use of a photoelastic, conoscopic optical setup, is proposed for the assessment of stress state in scintillating crystals. Local stress values can be measured on the crystal in order to observe their spatial distribution. With the proposed system, it is possible to vary the dimensions of the inspected measurement volume. It has been validated with reference to a known stress state induced in a birefringent crystal sample and it has been tested for the case of loaded and unloaded samples, showing sub-millimetric spatial resolution and stress uncertainty ≤0.25 MPa. The proposed measurement system is a valid method for the inspection of scintillating crystals required by producers and users of such materials.

Photoelastic sphenoscopic analysis of crystals

Birefringent crystals are at the basis of various devices used in many fields, from high energy physics to biomedical imaging for cancer detection. Since crystals are the main elements of those devices, a great attention is paid on their quality and properties. Here, we present a methodology for the photoelastic analysis of birefringent crystals, based on a modified polariscope. Polariscopes using conoscopic observation are used to evaluate crystals residual stresses in a precise but time consuming way; in our methodology, the light beam shape, which impinges on the crystal surface, has been changed from a solid cone (conoscopy) to a wedge (sphenoscopy). Since the polarized and coherent light is focused on a line rather than on a spot, this allows a faster analysis which leads to the observation, at a glance, of a spatial distribution of stress along a line. Three samples of lead tungstate crystals have been observed using this technique, and the obtained results are compared with the conoscopic observation. The samples have been tested both in unloaded condition and in a loaded configuration induced by means of a four points bending device, which allows to induce a known stress distribution in the crystal. The obtained results confirm, in a reliable manner, the sensitivity of the methodology to the crystal structure and stress.

Optimization of the photoelastic fringe pattern processing for the stress evaluation in scintillating anisotropic media

Scintillating media are used in numbers of fields, from the high-energy physics to the biomedical devices, like those for the cancer detection and characterization, passing through the laser technology and industry processes control. Their performances must be enhanced in order to accomplish to the more and more sophisticated needs of the applications. Residual stress conditions are crucial for the correct performance of these materials. Moreover, an accurate study of the internal stress leads to a proper setting of the production process and prevent unwanted fractures of the brittle media. Non-invasive photoelastic methods are particularly suitable for the purpose; producing fringe pattern images which are a signature of the crystal state. These methods have to be supported of algorithms dedicated to the image analysis, so to extract geometrical parameters of the fringe pattern. Here an optimized algorithm to analyze the fringe pattern acquired by a laser based polariscope is discussed. This algorithm has been optimized and automated so to reduce the measurement uncertainty, considering a time saving procedure. The implemented procedure makes the software able to recognize the ROI in the acquired image and reduces the uncertainty by a factor 3.5.

Structural Characterization and Absolute Luminescence Efficiency Evaluation of Gd2O2S High Packing Density Ceramic Screens Doped with Tb3+ and Eu3+ for further Applications in Radiology

Rare earth activators are impurities added in the phosphor material to enhance probability of visible photon emission during the luminescence process. The main activators employed are rare earth trivalent ions such as Ce+3, Tb+3, Pr3+ and Eu+3. In this work, four terbium-activated Gd2O2S (GOS) powder screens with different thicknesses (1049 mg/cm2, 425.41 mg/cm2, 313 mg/cm2 and 187.36 mg/cm2) and one europium-activated GOS powder screen (232.18 mg/cm2) were studied to investigate possible applications for general radiology detectors. Results presented relevant differences in crystallinity between the GOS:Tb doped screens and GOS:Eu screens in respect to the dopant agent present. The AE (Absolute efficiency) was found to rise (i) with the increase of the X-ray tube voltage with the highest peaking at 110kVp and (ii) with the decrease of the thickness among the four GOS:Tb. Comparing similar thickness values, the europium-activated powder screen showed lower AE than the corresponding terbium-activated.