Erbium:yttrium aluminum garnet laser cleaning is a promising technique in endodontic treatment. In our in vitro study, we measured the vapor-bubble dynamics in the root canal by using shadow photography. The canal model was made of a plastic cutout placed between two transparent glass plates. An artificial smear layer was applied to the glass to study cleaning efficiency. In our results, no shock waves have been observed, since the pulp-chamber dimensions have been in the same range as the maximum diameter of the vapor bubble. This leads to the conclusion that shock waves are not the main cleaning mechanism within our model. However, the cleaning effects are also visible in the regions significantly below the bubble. Therefore, it can be concluded that fluid flow induced by the bubble’s oscillations contributes significantly to the canal cleaning. We also proposed a simple theoretical model for cleaning efficiency and used it to evaluate the measured data.
Green emission lines, in addition to the blue and the red, were observed upon 980 nm excitation in yttrium oxide (Y2O3) nanopowder codoped with Yb3+ and Tm3+, synthesized by the chemical combustion method. Upconversion emission studies suggest that the number and characteristics of the green lines are influenced by the annealing temperature as well as by the Yb3+/Tm3+ concentration ratio, opening possibilities for new customized applications. The chromaticity properties of the upconversion spectra were quantified by the Commission Internationale de l’éclairage coordinate analysis.
Optodynamics treats optical manipulation as a superposition of time-developing wave motion induced by a light-matter interaction. When an opaque solid object is manipulated by a pulse of light, various types of mechanical waves are launched from the illuminated surface: ablation-induced waves (AIWs) resulting from material recoil, thermoelastic waves (TEWs), and the light-pressure-induced waves (LIWs) emanating exclusively due to radiation pressure. The manipulated object’s boundaries experience staircase-like displacements with discrete steps caused either by AIWs or LIWs each time these waves are reflected from the interfaces. On the contrary, TEWs cannot translate the center of mass of the manipulated object, but their presence can be inferred from the transient, bi-polar displacements around the equilibrium position.
We treat the light-matter interaction due to radiation pressure in one dimension using the fundamental, nonrelativistic conservation principles of energy and momentum. Additionally, we assume that the center of mass-energy maintains the same uniform motion if the interaction takes place or not. Since we handle solids as elastic objects, the results are consistent with the principle of causality and agree with recent experimental observations. We analyze the problem of reflection of a light pulse from a fully-reflective mirror and show that its reflection gives rise to an elastic wave with a measurable amplitude and a correct Doppler shift of the reflected pulse. We also analyze the problem of light pulse transmission into an anti-reflection coated, non-dispersive and lossless dielectric, where an elastic wave may as well be accompanied by a mechanical wave escorting the light pulse. We show that the Balazs rigid box thought experiment can be also realized in elastic dielectrics where some of the energy of the incident light is transferred to the wave motion. It follows from our approach that the electromagnetic momentum of the light pulse in the dielectric acquires Abraham’s form only when a single type of the mechanical waves accompanies the interaction.
A combined laser tattoo removal treatment, first the ablative fractional resurfacing (AFR) with an Er:YAG laser and then the q-switched (QSW) Nd:YAG laser treatment, was studied. Experiments show that significantly higher fluences can be used for the same tissue damage levels.
When an erbium-laser pulse is directed into water through a small-diameter fiber tip (FT), the absorption of the laser energy superheats the water and its boiling induces a vapor bubble. We present the influence of different FT geometries and pulse parameters on the vapor-bubble dynamics. In our investigation, we use a free-running erbium: yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) (λ = 2.94 μm) laser that was designed for laser dentistry. Its pulse is directed into the water through FTs with a flat and conical geometry. Our results show that in the case of the conical FT, a spherical bubble is induced, while a channel-like bubble develops for the flat FT. The ratio between the mechanical energy of the liquid medium and the pulse energy, which we call the optodynamic energy-conversion efficiency, is examined using shadow photography. The results indicate that this efficiency is significantly larger when a conical FT is used and it increases with increasing pulse energy and decreasing pulse duration. The spherical bubbles are compared with the Rayleigh model in order to present the influence of the pulse duration on the dynamics of the bubble's expansion.
The goal of this research is to use the information contained in the mechanisms occurring during the laser tattoo removal process. We simultaneously employed a laser-beam deflection probe (LBDP) to measure the shock wave and a camera to detect the plasma radiation, both originating from a high-intensity laser-pulse interaction with a tattoo. The experiments were performed in vitro (skin phantoms), ex vivo (marking tattoos on pig skin), and in vivo (professional and amateur decorative tattoos). The LBDP signal includes the information about the energy released during the interaction and indicates textural changes in the skin, which are specific for different skin and tattoo conditions. Using both sensors, we evaluated a measurement of threshold for skin damage and studied the effect of multiple pulses. In vivo results show that a prepulse reduces the interaction strength and that a single strong pulse produces better removal results.
We present a novel method for real-time 3-D body-shape measurement during breathing based on the laser multiple-line triangulation principle. The laser projector illuminates the measured surface with a pattern of 33 equally inclined light planes. Simultaneously, the camera records the distorted light pattern from a different viewpoint. The acquired images are transferred to a personal computer, where the 3-D surface reconstruction, shape analysis, and display are performed in real time. The measured surface displacements are displayed with a color palette, which enables visual feedback to the patient while breathing is being taught. The measuring range is approximately 400×600×500 mm in width, height, and depth, respectively, and the accuracy of the calibrated apparatus is ±0.7 mm. The system was evaluated by means of its capability to distinguish between different breathing patterns. The accuracy of the measured volumes of chest-wall deformation during breathing was verified using standard methods of volume measurements. The results show that the presented 3-D measuring system with visual feedback has great potential as a diagnostic and training assistance tool when monitoring and evaluating the breathing pattern, because it offers a simple and effective method of graphical communication with the patient.
The goal of this research is to use the information contained in the mechanisms occurring during laser tattoo removal
process. We employed a fast laser beam deflection probe (BDP) to measure the cracking sound that originates from the
dye explosions in the process known as selective photothermolysis. The experiments were performed in vitro (skin
phantoms), ex vivo (marking tattoos on pig skin) and in vivo (professional and amateur decorative tattoos on several
patients). The signal includes the information about the energy released during the interaction, specific for different skin
and tattoo conditions.
This contribution investigates the influence of phase shift on the measured displacement error in interferometers based on
quadrature detection. This error was experimentally investigated using a two-detector homodyne quadrature laser
interferometer (HQLI) with two orthogonally polarized signals. Here, the phase shift can be continuously varied by
rotating a wave plate. However, the rotation of the wave plate also produces unequal signal amplitudes and different zero
offsets, both of which can be corrected with an appropriate signal processing. The measured phase-shift error perfectly
agrees with the theoretically determined phase-shift error region. This error is systematic, periodic and severely
asymmetrical around the nominal displacement value. For the robust realization of a HQLI, a slight deviation from the
aligned angle of the wave plate should not shift the phase significantly from the ideal 90°. This may pose a problem if an
additional phase shift originates from the polarization-sensitive light reflections, such as the reflection at the nonpolarizing
beam splitter.
KEYWORDS: Chest, Calibration, Laser systems engineering, Cameras, Lung, Projection systems, 3D acquisition, 3D image processing, 3D displays, Data processing
Novel method for monitoring the entire three-dimensional shape of the chest wall in real time is presented. The system is
based on the multiple-line laser triangulation principle. The laser projector generates a light pattern of 33 equally inclined
light planes directed toward the measured surface. The camera records the illuminated surface from a different
viewpoint, and consequently, the light pattern is distorted by the shape of the surface. The acquired images are
transferred in the personal computer, where contour detection, three-dimensional surface reconstruction, shape analysis,
and displaying are performed in real time. Surface displacements are calculated by subtraction of the current measured
surface from the reference one. Differences are displayed with color palette, where the blue represent the inward
(negative) and the red represent the outward (positive) movement. The accuracy of the calibrated apparatus is ±0.5 mm,
which is calculated as a standard deviation between points of the measured and nominal reference surface. The
measuring range is approximately 400×600×500 mm in width, height and depth. The intention of this study was to
evaluate the system by means of its ability to distinguish between different breathing patterns and to verify the accuracy
of measuring chest wall deformation volumes during breathing. The results demonstrate that the presented 3-d measuring
system has a great potential as a diagnostic and training tool in case of monitoring the breathing pattern. We believe that
exact graphical communication with the patient is much more simple and easy to understand than verbal and/or
numerical.
We propose a small and fast ellipsometer with a basic layout similar to that of conventional ellipsometers using photo-elastic
modulators (PEM) oscillating with 50 kHz. A conventional PEM is rather large, ~10×20×100mm, since it consists
of one piece of glass and an actuator. Both parts are carefully adjusted to the desired frequency and then glued together.
We replace such a standard modulator by a 127 kHz Single Crystal Photo-Elastic Modulator (SCPEM), a LiTaO3-crystal
with a size of 20.6×7.5×5mm. The polarization of light that travels through this crystal is strongly modulated. The
modulated light is reflected from the sample, passes a polarizer and hits a detector. Its signal is split into the dc-value and
the amplitudes of the 1st and 2nd harmonic of the modulation frequency. These values lead via simple formulas to the
ellipsometric parameters. Usually a Lock-In-Amplifier is used here, whereas we propose an automated digital processing
based on a fast analog to digital converter controlled by a highly flexible Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). This
and the extremely compact and efficient polarization modulation allow fast ellipsometric measurements as needed in
high volume manufacturing of optics.
Optical three-dimensional shape measurement of live objects is becoming an important developing and research tool because of its nonintrusive nature and high measuring speed. The current methods are reaching truly high speed in one view configuration, but in the case of the entire object shape measurement, they are limited due to mutual interference between multiple measuring modules. The proposed method overcomes this limitation by using a laser multiple-line triangulation technique, where each of several measuring modules uses a unique laser wavelength. The measuring modules are positioned so that the entire surface of the foot is digitized. This prevents unwanted overlapping between adjacent light patterns. The calibration procedure for each measuring module and for the entire system is based on measurements of the surface of a reference object. The system parameters are determined using an iterative optimization algorithm. The precision of the system is better than ±0.3 mm. The system is capable of measuring objects in motion. The results of the shape of a foot rising on its toes are given as an example.
Three dimensional (3D) face recognition is a topic getting increasing interest in biometric applications. In our
research framework we developed a laser scanner that provides 3D cloud information and texture data. In
a user scenario with cooperative subjects with indoor light conditions, we address three problems of 3D face
biometrics: the face registration, the formulation of a shape space together with a special designed gradient
algorithm and the impact of initial approximation to the convergence of a registration algorithm. By defining
the face registration as a problem of aligning a 3D data cloud with a predefined reference template, we solve the
registration problem with a second order gradient algorithm working on a shape space designed for reducing the
computational complexity of the method.
We present a new optical device for pulse picking and Q-switching based on a LiTaO3-crystal together with polarizers.
LiTaO3 is piezoelectric, hence when a harmonic voltage course with a proper frequency is applied to the crystal it will
start to oscillate resonantly in a mechanical eigenmode. Due to photo-elasticity an artificial modulated birefringent is
induced by this oscillation such that the polarization of trough-going light is modulated. Together with polarizers the
transmission of the whole setup can oscillate between 0 and 100%. The applied voltage amplitude is usually in the order
of below 10 V. With a special choice of the crystal dimensions it is possible that the first shear eigenmode has exactly
three times the frequency of the first longitudinal eigenmode. Both modes have qualitatively the same influence on
polarization, such that with a proper superposition of these two modes a short opening time of the setup can be achieved,
which can be used to enforce pulsed laser operation. The latter was realized with a small end pumped fibre laser. A pulse
sequence with 127 kHz and a ratio of peak power to average power of ~30 was achieved.
The paper presents a new method for on-line acquisition of weld-piece surface topography during pulsed laser welding. The method is based on illumination of the weld-piece surface with multi-line laser projector and imaging of the illuminated surface with a digital camera. The acquired image is processed by a personal computer to get the three-dimensional (3D) weld-piece surface topography. The set-up was applied to minimize weld-piece distortion during laser butt-welding of low-carbon thin steel sheets. Methodology based on Taguchi methods was developed enabling optimization of processing parameters. Root-mean-square (RMS) of surface distortion was used as the scalar parameter quantifying the amount of distortion. The results show that laser pulse duration and welding speed have a major influence on RMS distortion.
This contribution presents a new optical system, which allows real-time distortion measurement of weld-pieces on a laser welding machine. The system is based on simultaneous displacement measurement of several thousand points on a weld-piece surface employing rapid (non-scanning) laser profilometry. Weld-piece is illuminated by laser light, structured into multiple light planes and imaged by a digital camera. The position of the optical measuring system is fixed relative to the measured weld-piece. Acquired image is fed into a personal computer where it is processed to obtain the three-dimensional (3D) shape of imaged weld-piece surface. The maximum real-time measurement rate of the presented system is up to 20 surface measurements per second. We have applied the set-up to study the distortion of low-carbon thin steel sheet samples during Nd:YAG laser welding. In this paper we present characteristic evolution of surface distortion and distortion of the welding edges as a function of time. The produced weld-pieces exhibit characteristic V-shaped angular distortion mixed with longitudinal distortion, which bends down the welding edges at the end of weld. In welding edge distortion study we found out that the weld tends to annihilate vertical misalignment. The results show that the developed optical system allows fast and accurate temporally and spatially resolved evaluation of various types of weld-piece distortion. The presented system is scalable - the size of the measurement area can be adapted to the size of weld-piece.
A system for real-time surface deformations control during various types of laser processing is presented. It is based on a laser triangulation principle, where the laser projector generates multiple lines simultaneously. Three dimensional shape measurement of a surface is performed with a high sampling rate (80 Hz) and high accuracy (±7 μm). Results of steel-plate deformations are presented for laser bending, drilling and engraving. Laser based flattening process of previously deformed plate is demonstrated, where the measurement system is used as a feed-back control.
Laser cleaning is an optodynamic process in which the optically induced removal of a liquid or a solid from a substrate is accompanied by a detectable acoustic signal. In our experiments we used both excimer and Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers and we examined both dry and steam laser-cleaning techniques. For the samples we used various metal, glass and marble specimens that were contaminated with particles, rust or a layer of paint. An acoustic wave, produced by the abrupt heating and detachment of the contaminants, was observed with a probe-beam deflection technique. We determined two characteristic parameters: the amplitude and the time-of-flight of the acoustic signal. The decrease of the amplitude and the velocity of propagation, which approaches sonic speed, indicate that the dynamics during the laser-cleaning process progressively weaken. According to this assumption the cleaning process is over when both parameters reach a constant value. If the irradiation with the laser pulses continues, the amplitude begins to rise again and time-of-flight decreases; and this is accompanied by a perceivable surface damage. No amplitude decrease and propagation-time prolongation were observed when the intensity of the incoming laser pulses was above the damage threshold for the particular substrate.
Surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy is becoming an increasingly important technique in biotechnology and chemical sensing. We present two simple, low cost, high sensitivity devices. The first is laser based mechanical implementation of a Kretschmann setup. Angle sweep is realized in two stages: step motor is used for coarse angle setting, and continuous angle sweep is achieved with a mirror on a floppy disk drive and a cylindrical lens setup. A single detector with AD converter defines resolution of the device through its sampling speed and dynamic range, so high sensitivity can be achieved. Sensor probes are metal- coated microscope slides and sample volume is temperature controlled. Second devices is a disposable cuvette for use in a VIS spectrometer. Specially designed monolithic polycarbonate block provides the required optical path and appropriate incidence angle on a thin metal film, deposited on the block. No equipment is necessary and the cuvette can be used within special cell, such as temperature controlled vessel. Device is also discussed in view of a low cost fiberoptic implementation. Some experimental results are presented to prove the applicability of devices. Disadvantages of technical solutions, used in devices, are also taken into consideration.
Fluorescence lifetime based sensors have long since proven their advantages in several measurement fields, including thermometry[l]. Inherent stability to the source intensity fluctuations and possible reference-free design give them a unique position among optical sensors. However, certain issues, such as experimental design (measurement type, dynamic range) and signal processing to decode information from the fluorescence lifetime, still have to be addressed
KEYWORDS: Signal processing, Luminescence, Sensors, Digital signal processing, Signal to noise ratio, Time metrology, Temperature metrology, Calibration, Analog electronics, Interference (communication)
Low intensity, contributions of background light, reabsorption and amplification can distort the signal and prevent fast and accurate determination of the measured quantity in the fluorescent lifetime based sensors. Methods such as Prony's least-squares method or lock-in phase sensitive techniques are usually employed. They are all prone to errors, as it was shown by several authors. They can be improved, but at the expense of heavy computation. An alternative way to accurately determine decay rate from measurement is a simple digital signal processing technique presented in the article. It is based on modified digital lock-in technique, enabling on-line monitoring. Effects of DC offset, linear and exponential contributions on the proper decay rate determination are discussed in the article and effectively eliminated by the technique. Optimal process parameters are evaluated and experimental confirmation with the basic scheme given. A digital processing was implemented with software, but its simplicity enables simple digital hardware implementation.
Intrinsic advantages of fluorescence lifetime based optical sensors, as referred in the literature, are their stability towards source fluctuations and self-reference. The latter can be interpreted also as non-dependence on geometrical design and other properties of the constructed sensor. In the article presented it is shown this is not the case. The measured fluorescence decay time, which should be unambiguously connected to the measured quantity (temperature, for example), shows an intricate dependence on source, geometrical properties and signal processing technique. Numerical calculations together with theoretical discussion are employed to quantize and interpret this effects, mainly caused by reabsorption. Different sensor designs are compared, an optimal sensor construction suggested and alternative digital signal processing technique introduced.
Because of their unique properties with regard to the absorption in organic tissue, pulsed Er:YAG lasers are of interest for various applications in medicine, such as dentistry, dermatology, and cosmetic surgery. The relatively low thermal side effects, and surgical precision of erbium medical lasers have been attributed to the micro-explosive nature of their interaction with organic tissue. In this paper, we report on preliminary results of our study of the thresholds for tissue ablation, using an opto-acoustic technique. Two laser energy thresholds for the interaction are observed. The lower energy threshold is attributed to surface water vaporization, and the higher energy threshold to explosive ablation of thin tissue layers.
We report noncontact measurement of temperature profiles in fluids by means of a novel laser beam deflection probe. We use optoacoustic generation by a pulsed Nd:YAG laser to emit a short acoustic transient wave within the fluid region under study. Propagation region several times before it reaches the deflection-detecting photodetector. A single oscilloscope trace of the photodetector output gives us then the timing of the acoustic wavefront at several distances from the source. By measuring the acoustic wavefront transit times and the distance between the probe beam segments we can determine local sound velocity and there from the local temperature.
A simple fiber optic microphone was developed. The sensor operates on the well known principle of reflective sensors where the optical fibers are used as a source and modulated light collecting medium. The optical fiber reflective sensor was applied as a vibration detector of a membrane isntrument. The sensor characteristic was found linear for displacement amplitudes up to 0.6 mm for the large core fiber optic sensor. The measured signals were compared to signals from a commercial dynamic microphone. The test results indicate that the fiber optic microphone is capable of detecting lower frequencies that the high quality dynamic audio microphone.
Optoacoustic method is a very useful tool for studying laser induced processes in hard dental tissues. In principle, the method can also be used for on-line monitoring of laser drilling. Our study, however, shows that at high laser energies the optoacoustic energy is not proportional to the volume of the ablated hard dental tissue. In addition, the optoacoustic signal depends critically on the presence of water on the tooth surface. These observations must be taken into account when attempting to use the optoacoustic method for on-line monitoring of the laser drilling process.
Optoacoustic measurements were carried out in order to obtain better understanding of the ablation mechanisms during the illumination of hard dental tissue by Er:YAG laser radiation. A broadband microphone was used to detect laser generated acoustic waves in the ambient air. Correlation analysis of the laser pulse spikes and the response of the optoacoustic probe indicates that each laser spike ablates the hard dental tissue independently of other spikes. This is in agreement with the model of ablation by means of micro explosions. The optoacoustic signal is observed to be approximately linearly related to the ablation efficiency, and is thus demonstrated to be a good measure of the ablation efficiency. The experiments also show a significant difference in optoacoustic signals obtained during ablation in caries, enamel, and dentin.
An interferometric technique for determination of the refractive index of liquids is described. The method is based on measurements of phase variations caused by the relative movement of an optical fiber tip in a liquid sample. The apparatus consists of two independent interferometers. A two-frequency Michelson interferometer is used to measure the liquid sample displacement in the air, while an optical fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer measures the optical path length difference in the moving sample. The liquid sample refractive index is then derived by dividing the fringe counts obtained by both interferometers. The measurements have been performed in different liquids. With the distilled water sample, the statistical error of this method was found to be 5 X 10-5.
The efficiency of optical to acoustical energy conversion during laser-induced optical breakdown has been examined. A point-explosion model has been studied to determine the value of laser-induced shock wave energy. The influence of incoming laser-pulse energy on conversion efficiency has been studied for several absorber materials.
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