Showing papers in "Measurement Science and Technology in 2007"

Induction coil sensors—a review

Abstract: This review describes induction coil sensors, which are also known as search coils, pickup coils or magnetic loop sensors. The design methods for coils with air and ferromagnetic cores are compared and summarized. The frequency properties of coil sensors are analysed and various methods for output signal processing are presented. Special kinds of induction sensors, such as Rogowski coil, gradiometer sensors, vibrating coil sensors, tangential field sensors and needle probes are described. The applications of coil sensors as magnetic antennae are also presented.

A new multi-position calibration method for MEMS inertial navigation systems

Abstract: The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a worldwide navigation system that requires a clear line of sight to the orbiting satellites For land vehicle navigation, a clear line of sight cannot be maintained all the time as the vehicle can travel through tunnels, under bridges, forest canopies or within urban canyons In such situations, the augmentation of GPS with other systems is necessary for continuous navigation Inertial sensors can determine the motion of a body with respect to an inertial frame of reference Traditionally, inertial systems are bulky, expensive and controlled by government regulations Micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) inertial sensors are compact, small, inexpensive and most importantly, not controlled by governmental agencies due to their large error characteristics Consequently, these sensors are the perfect candidate for integrated civilian navigation applications with GPS However, these sensors need to be calibrated to remove the major part of the deterministic sensor errors before they can be used to accurately and reliably bridge GPS signal gaps A new multi-position calibration method was designed for MEMS of high to medium quality The method does not require special aligned mounting and has been adapted to compensate for the primary sensor errors, including the important scale factor and non-orthogonality errors of the gyroscopes A turntable was used to provide a strong rotation rate signal as reference for the estimation of these errors Two different quality MEMS IMUs were tested in the study The calibration results were first compared directly to those from traditional calibration methods, eg six-position and rate test Then the calibrated parameters were applied in three datasets of GPS/INS field tests to evaluate their accuracy indirectly by comparing the position drifts during short-term GPS signal outages

Fatigue crack detection in metallic structures with Lamb waves and 3D laser vibrometry

Abstract: The paper presents the application of ultrasonic guided waves for fatigue crack detection in metallic structures. The study involves a simple fatigue test performed to introduce a crack into an aluminium plate. Lamb waves generated by a low-profile, surface-bonded piezoceramic transducer are sensed using a tri-axis, multi-position scanning laser vibrometer. The results demonstrate the potential of laser vibrometry for simple, rapid and robust detection of fatigue cracks in metallic structures. The method could be used in quality inspection and in-service maintenance of metallic structures in aerospace, civil and mechanical engineering industries.

Capacitance wire-mesh sensor for fast measurement of phase fraction distributions

Abstract: We introduce a new wire-mesh sensor based on capacitance (permittivity) measurements. The sensor can be used to measure transient phase fraction distributions in a flow cross-section, such as in a pipe or other vessel, and is able to discriminate fluids having different relative permittivity (dielectric constant) values in a multiphase flow. We designed and manufactured a prototype sensor which comprises two planes of 16 wires each. The wires are evenly distributed across the measuring cross-section, and measurement is performed at the wire crossings. Time resolution of the prototype sensor is 625 frames per second. Sensor and measuring electronics were evaluated showing good stability and accuracy in the capacitance measurement. The wire-mesh sensor was tested in a silicone oil/water two-phase bubbly flow.

Review of micromachined thermopiles for infrared detection

Abstract: During the last few years, thermopiles have come increasingly under the spotlight of commercial infrared sensing. This growing interest has motivated us to write an overview of micromachined thermopiles. The first part deals with the Seebeck effect and discusses the most important physical parameters with their interactions. We also describe the main noise sources and give a derivation of the figures of merit and their relevance for thermopile detectors. In the second part, a number of material systems, techniques and micromachined structures are discussed on the basis of different examples. We explain the motivation behind miniaturized thermopile detectors and give a functional explanation of physical interrelations. Finally, different applications are presented and discussed in terms of their future potential.

A weighted total least-squares algorithm for fitting a straight line

Abstract: The well-known problem of fitting a straight line to data with uncertainties in both coordinates is revisited An algorithm is developed which treats x- and y-data in a symmetrical way The problem is reduced to a one-dimensional search for a minimum Global convergence and stability are assured by determining the angle of the straight line with respect to the abscissa instead of the slope As opposed to previous publications on the subject, the complete uncertainty matrix is calculated, ie variances and covariance of the fitting parameters The algorithm is tested using Pearson's data with York's weights Although the algorithm is implemented in MATLAB, implementation in a different programming language is straightforward using the formulae presented An application example is given, a calibration line for dosimetry based on electron spin resonance of alanine is investigated

Ultraprecision micro-CMM using a low force 3D touch probe

Abstract: METAS developed a new 3D coordinate measuring machine (CMM) dedicated to traceable measurement for small parts with nanometre accuracy. The innovative design of the touch probe is based on a parallel kinematic structure of flexure hinges in order to minimize the moving mass and ensure an isotropic low stiffness. This head features very weak probing forces, below 0.5 mN, and supports exchangeable probes down to 0.1 mm diameter. It was combined with a highly accurate positioning stage developed at Philips CFT. The machine features a 90 mm × 90 mm × 38 mm air bearing stage with interferometric position measurement with no Abbe offset. The relevant calibration measurements reported here proudly highlight a repeatability of about 5 nm achieved by our micro-CMM. At the reached level of precision, the shape deviation of the probing sphere becomes a major contribution to the uncertainty. Therefore a calibration method for spheres based on error separation techniques was implemented. The result of roundness measurements on three calibration spheres is also presented. In addition, a scanning measurement procedure was implemented without any loss of accuracy, as attested by a comparison using a roundness measuring machine.

Measurement of the dispersion stability of pristine and surface-modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes in various nonpolar and polar solvents

Abstract: A qualitative and rapid measurement technique based on multiple light scattering was employed to analyze the dispersion stability of black multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT) suspensions. Pristine and chemically oxidized CNTs were dispersed in various polar and nonpolar solvents. The change in the transmission of near-infrared light from the suspensions was periodically measured along the height of a sample cell at room temperature. Using this method, it was possible to obtain the variation of the dispersion stability within only a day. Pristine and surface-modified CNTs dispersed in nonpolar media aggregated within 2 h and sedimentation progressively proceeded with time. As the polar component of the solubility parameter and the solubility in water decreased, faster aggregation and severe sedimentation occurred and vice versa. When the CNTs were modified with carboxylic anion groups, the dispersibility in polar solvents was significantly enhanced due to the combination of polar–polar affinity and electrostatic repulsion, with the result that the transmission flux remained unchanged. The origin of electrostatic repulsion can be found from the increased zeta potential and conductivity of CNTs with carboxylic anion groups.

Reference liquids for the calibration of dielectric sensors and measurement instruments

Abstract: A comparative study of microwave complex dielectric permittivity data from different laboratories is provided for liquids. Four liquids—water, cyclohexane, methanol and dimethyl sulphoxide—are recommended as reference materials because their parameter sets from different measurements result in almost identical predictions of their dielectric properties in the frequency range up to 10 GHz. Within the limits of experimental error this agreement includes that of the extrapolated low frequency permittivity with the recently determined static permittivity of the liquids. Parameters for water are given for the frequency range 0–60 °C. For cyclohexane, which does not display relaxation behaviour up to the submillimetre frequency range, the frequency-independent permittivity is represented between 10 and 50 °C. Relaxation and static permittivity data for methanol and dimethyl sulphoxide are presented at 25 °C.

Planar shadow image velocimetry for the analysis of the hydrodynamics in bubbly flows

Abstract: In order to allow for more reliable modelling of microscale processes in turbulent bubbly flows, detailed experiments in a laboratory-scale double loop facility and a bubble column with a diameter of 140 mm were performed. The range of bubble mean diameters considered in the measurements was between 2 and 4 mm. The average gas volume fraction was in the range between 0.5 and 5% for different experiments. To allow simultaneous measurements of bubble size, bubble velocity and liquid velocity field, a combined system of planar shadow imaging, particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) and particle image velocimetry (PIV) for online measurements was developed and applied. The measurements of the liquid phase velocities were realized by seeding the flow with polyamide tracer particles having a mean diameter of 65 μm. A background illumination was established by using an array of 551 LEDs with a size of 160 mm by 100 mm. A double image CCD camera with macro optics was used to record the images of tracers and bubbles simultaneously. Because of the small depth of field of the macro camera optics (<4 mm for the bubbles), it was possible to discriminate between bubbles and tracer particles inside and outside the camera's focal plane using the gradient of grey values. A set of digital image filters was applied to perform phase discrimination between bubbles and tracer particles, i.e. to obtain separate double images for bubbles and tracer, respectively. The contour of in-focus bubbles was determined using an edge detecting Sobel filter and a spline interpolation technique. Thereby, the bubble size, shape and orientation could be derived. The bubble velocity was obtained by applying PTV and the continuous phase velocity field was determined by PIV, using a successive refinement of the interrogation area. By recording and evaluating at least 500 double images, it was possible to determine bubble size distributions and mean as well as fluctuating velocities for both phases. Thereby, detailed data on the hydrodynamics of bubble-driven flows are provided.

Accurate and traceable calibration of two-dimensional gratings

Abstract: Accurate and traceable calibration of lateral standards (1D and 2D gratings) is a basic metrological task for nano- and microtechnology. Both the mean pitch and the uniformity of the gratings should be measured quantitatively. Although optical diffractometers are effective for measuring the mean pitch, they are not able to measure the uniformity of gratings. In this study, the calibration of gratings is performed using a metrological large range scanning probe microscope with optimized measurement strategies. Two different kinds of data evaluation methods, a gravity centre method and a Fourier transform method, have been developed and investigated. Cosine error, a significant error source of the measurement, is analysed and corrected. Calibrations on several 1D gratings have been carried out. The calibrated mean pitch values have an excellent agreement with those measured by optical diffractometry. Nevertheless, irregularities of the gratings were only deduced from the SPM results. Finally, the usage of the 1D/2D gratings for the calibration of a typical SPM is illustrated.

Dielectric spectroscopy of watermelons for quality sensing

Abstract: Dielectric properties of four small-sized watermelon cultivars, grown and harvested to provide a range of maturities, were measured with an open-ended coaxial-line probe and an impedance analyser over the frequency range from 10 MHz to 1.8 GHz. Probe measurements were made on the external surface of the melons and also on tissue samples from the edible internal tissue. Moisture content and soluble solids content (SSC) were measured for internal tissue samples, and SSC (sweetness) was used as the quality factor for correlation with the dielectric properties. Individual dielectric constant and loss factor correlations with SSC were low, but a high correlation was obtained between the SSC and permittivity from a complex-plane plot of dielectric constant and loss factor, each divided by SSC. However, SSC prediction from the dielectric properties by this relationship was not as high as expected (coefficient of determination about 0.4). Permittivity data (dielectric constant and loss factor) for the melons are presented graphically to show their relationships with frequency for the four melon cultivars and for external surface and internal tissue measurements. A dielectric relaxation for the external surface measurements, which may be attributable to a combination of bound water, Maxwell–Wagner, molecular cluster or ion-related effects, is also illustrated. Coefficients of determination for complex-plane plots, moisture content and SSC relationship, and penetration depth are also shown graphically. Further studies are needed for determining the practicality of sensing melon quality from their dielectric properties.

New applications of the nanopositioning and nanomeasuring machine by using advanced tactile and non-tactile probes

Abstract: With the nanopositioning and nanomeasuring machine (NPM-Machine) developed at the Technische Universitat Ilmenau, subnanometre resolution and nanometre uncertainty in a measuring volume of 25 × 25 × 5 mm3 have been demonstrated in the last few years. This machine allows the most various measuring problems to be solved. In practice, however, there are too many different requirements for sensing surfaces or for detecting structures. So, this paper deals with the development and also the improvement of several optical and tactile probes for application in the NPM-Machine. A focus probe with a spot size of approximately 0.5 µm, a working distance of 1.5 mm and a resolution of less than 1 nm was developed and adopted in the NPM-Machine. In the next step, the working distance was improved to exploit the full vertical range of the NPM-Machine of 5 mm. To realize tactile sensing, an atomic force probe and tactile stylus probe were developed on the basis of the focus probe. These probing systems can acquire measuring data only by scanning the surface sequentially and point-by-point. To increase data acquisition, we realized a sensor based on a white-light interference microscope and parallel sampling of 1600 × 1200 data points. First results of fringe evaluation with laser interferometer reference are presented.

Spatial imaging with 3D capacitance measurements

Abstract: Tomographic techniques have been widely accepted as a valuable tool for process control and monitoring. The classic tomographic approach is to reconstruct a 2D image of a process cross section. However, most processes take place in 3D space. Effective imaging in 3D process space can be achieved using 3D image reconstruction in two ways. The first (called 2.5D by the authors) is to use a few independent 2D images and to interpolate them into a 3D image. This method has been widely used in medical applications of tomography for many years already. The second method and the subject of this paper is 'real' three-dimensional reconstruction, where sensors provide three-dimensional measurements and a 3D image is directly obtained during the reconstruction process. The latter method has evolved from classic 2D cross-sectional definition to real and direct 3D imaging. The paper presents the authors' work on a 3D capacitance tomography system including issues such as sensor layout, measurement protocol, data simulation, reconstruction algorithm and 3D visualization.

Analysis of distributed temperature sensing based on Raman scattering using OTDR coding and discrete Raman amplification

Abstract: The behaviour of distributed temperature sensors based on spontaneous Raman scattering and coded OTDR (optical time domain reflectometry) is studied both theoretically and experimentally; in particular a high performance scheme has been implemented using amplitude modulation according to Simplex coding, direct detection and additional use of lumped Raman amplification to further extend the sensing range. An efficient and cost-effective distributed temperature sensing system operating along 30 km of dispersion-shifted fibre with 17 m spatial resolution and 5 K temperature resolution is theoretically demonstrated and experimentally achieved using 255 bit Simplex coding and low-power commercially available laser diodes (80 mW CW power). Use of lumped Raman amplification to produce high-power coded pulses allows further 10 km distance enhancement, resulting in a total measurement range of 40 km.

Resonance ultrasonic vibrations for crack detection in photovoltaic silicon wafers

Abstract: The resonance ultrasonic vibrations (RUV) technique is adapted for non-destructive crack detection in full-size silicon wafers for solar cells. The RUV methodology relies on deviation of the frequency response curve of a wafer, ultrasonically stimulated via vacuum coupled piezoelectric transducer, with a periphery crack versus regular non-cracked wafers as detected by a periphery mounted acoustic probe. Crack detection is illustrated on a set of cast wafers. We performed vibration mode identification on square-shaped production-grade Si wafers and confirmed by finite element analyses. The modelling was accomplished for the different modes of the resonance vibrations of a wafer with a periphery crack to assess the sensitivity of the RUV method relative to crack length and crack location.

Broadband single cell impedance spectroscopy using maximum length sequences: theoretical analysis and practical considerations

Abstract: Measurements of the dielectric (or impedance) properties of cells can be used as a general characterization and diagnostic tool. In this paper, we describe a novel impedance spectroscopy technique for the analysis of single biological cells in suspension. The technique uses maximum length sequences (MLS) for periodic excitation signal in a microfluidic impedance cytometer. The method allows multi-frequency single cell impedance measurements to be made in a short time period (ms). Spectral information is obtained in the frequency domain by applying a fast M-sequence transform (FMT) and fast Fourier transform (FFT) to the time domain response. Theoretically, the impedance is determined from the transfer function of the system when the MLS is a current excitation. The order of the MLS and sampling rate of A/D conversion are two factors that determine the bandwidth and spectral accuracy of the technique. Experimentally, the applicability of the technique is demonstrated by characterizing the impedance spectrum of red blood cells (RBCs) in a microfluidic cytometer. The impedance is measured within 1 ms at 512 discrete frequencies, evenly distributed in the range from 976.56 Hz to 500 kHz. The measured spectrum shows good agreement with simulations.

Temporally resolved PIV for space–time correlations in both cold and hot jet flows

Abstract: Temporally resolved particle image velocimetry (TR-PIV) is the newest and most exciting tool recently developed to support our continuing efforts to characterize and improve our understanding of the decay of turbulence in jet flows—a critical element for understanding the acoustic properties of the flow. A new TR-PIV system has been developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center which is capable of acquiring planar PIV image frame pairs at up to 25 kHz. The data reported here were collected at Mach numbers of 0.5 and 0.9 and at temperature ratios of 0.89 and 1.76. The field of view of the TR-PIV system covered six nozzle diameters along the lip line of the 50.8 mm diameter jet. The cold flow data at Mach 0.5 were compared with hotwire anemometry measurements in order to validate the new TR-PIV technique. The axial turbulence profiles measured across the shear layer using TR-PIV were thinner than those measured using hotwire anemometry and remained centred along the nozzle lip line. The collected TR-PIV data illustrate the differences in the single point statistical flow properties of cold and hot jet flows. The planar, time-resolved velocity records were then used to compute two-point space–time correlations of the flow at the Mach 0.9 flow condition. The TR-PIV results show that there are differences in the convective velocity and growth rate of the turbulent structures between cold and hot flows at the same Mach number.

An adaptive sampling and windowing interrogation method in PIV

Abstract: This study proposes a cross-correlation based PIV image interrogation algorithm that adapts the number of interrogation windows and their size to the image properties and to the flow conditions. The proposed methodology releases the constraint of uniform sampling rate (Cartesian mesh) and spatial resolution (uniform window size) commonly adopted in PIV interrogation. Especially in non-optimal experimental conditions where the flow seeding is inhomogeneous, this leads either to loss of robustness (too few particles per window) or measurement precision (too large or coarsely spaced interrogation windows). Two criteria are investigated, namely adaptation to the local signal content in the image and adaptation to local flow conditions. The implementation of the adaptive criteria within a recursive interrogation method is described. The location and size of the interrogation windows are locally adapted to the image signal (i.e., seeding density). Also the local window spacing (commonly set by the overlap factor) is put in relation with the spatial variation of the velocity field. The viability of the method is illustrated over two experimental cases where the limitation of a uniform interrogation approach appears clearly: a shock-wave–boundary layer interaction and an aircraft vortex wake. The examples show that the spatial sampling rate can be adapted to the actual flow features and that the interrogation window size can be arranged so as to follow the spatial distribution of seeding particle images and flow velocity fluctuations. In comparison with the uniform interrogation technique, the spatial resolution is locally enhanced while in poorly seeded regions the level of robustness of the analysis (signal-to-noise ratio) is kept almost constant.

Gas compositional and pressure effects on thermographic phosphor thermometry

Abstract: In the present study, the influence of gas compositional and pressure conditions on thermographic phosphor thermometry was investigated. A heatable pressurized and optical accessible calibration chamber was built to measure the phosphorescence decay time at different temperatures as well as at different partial and absolute pressures. At room temperature, the absolute pressure could be increased to 30 bar. To vary the gas composition, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, methane, helium as well as water vapour were used. Three different phosphors were investigated: Mg4FGeO6:Mn, La2O2S:Eu and Y2O3:Eu. Phosphorescence was excited by the third and the fourth harmonics of a pulsed Nd:YAG-laser (355 nm and 266 nm, respectively) and recorded temporally resolved by a photomultiplier. Mg4FGeO6:Mn as well as La2O2S:Eu were not influenced significantly by varying partial and absolute pressures. In contrast, Y2O3:Eu showed a strong sensitivity on the oxygen concentration of the surrounding gas phase as well as irreversible changes in the phosphorescence decay time after increasing the absolute pressure.

Contribution to the application of two-colour imaging to diesel combustion

Abstract: The two-colour method (2C) is a well-known methodology for the estimation of flame temperature and the soot-related KL factor. A 2C imaging system has been built with a single charge-coupled device (CCD) camera for visualization of the diesel flame in a single-cylinder 2-stroke engine with optical accesses. The work presented here focuses on methodological aspects. In that sense, the influence of calibration uncertainties on the measured temperature and KL factor has been analysed. Besides, a theoretical study is presented that tries to link the true flame temperature and soot distributions with those derived from the 2C images. Finally, an experimental study has been carried out in order to show the influence of injection pressure, air density and temperature on the 2C-derived parameters. Comparison with the expected results has shown the limitations of this methodology for diesel flame analysis.

Dielectric metrology with coaxial sensors

Abstract: Coaxial sensors are used in applications that require accurate and traceable measurements of complex permittivity. For example, coaxial sensors are often used for measurement of the complex permittivity of tissue equivalent materials (TEMs) used in specific absorption rate (SAR) measurements of exposure to RF fields. It is therefore important that well-founded metrological techniques for their use are developed and published. Although there are many published papers on coaxial sensors, few discuss the experimental techniques required to obtain the most accurate results. In this paper experimental approaches for obtaining the most accurate measurements are described. Common pitfalls with the technique are discussed. A Monte Carlo modelling (MCM) technique is used to provide estimates of uncertainty which are compared to those of measurements on reference liquids made with 3.5 mm, 7 mm and 15.1 mm diameter sensors. The MCM technique allows uncertainties to be estimated when measuring dielectrics for which there are no reference materials that have comparable properties, for example for TEMs at frequencies below 100 MHz.

Multi-photon high-excitation-energy approach to fibre grating inscription

Abstract: Amongst the most important and frequently used fibre devices, fibre Bragg and long-period gratings are conventionally fabricated by low-intensity (I < 107 W cm?2) UV quanta with an energy of about 5 eV, which coincides with the maximum of the absorption band of defects in germanosilicate glass (the usual material of a fibre core). Such a single-quantum photochemical technique produces refractive index changes in the fibre core and not in the fibre cladding. The use of single-quantum excitation with high-energy vacuum UV photons with 157 nm wavelength or two-quantum 193 nm excitation through the real intermediate state results in a higher excitation energy (7.9 and 12.8 eV, respectively) and significantly increases the efficiency of grating inscription. However, neither of these high-energy approaches is free of disadvantages: the 157 nm radiation is strongly absorbed by practically all optical materials and even by air; the application of the second approach is based on the existence of an intermediate state, i.e. presence of absorption at the irradiation wavelength. The new multi-photon high-excitation-energy approach to fibre grating fabrication is based on refractive index change modification by high-intensity (I ~ 1011?1013 W cm?2) femtosecond UV, near-UV or IR laser radiation applied to fibre, which acquires a total excitation energy of about 8?12 eV via two-, three- or even five-photon (through the intermediate virtual state/states) absorption processes. Such a high value of excitation energy exceeds the band-gap energy values for both the fibre core and the cladding, which could result in asymmetric light energy deposition inside the fibre and even inside the fibre core. We will consider the advantages of this novel technique such as grating fabrication in fibres of any content, including photonic crystal ones; the writing of extremely stable gratings with erasing temperatures above 1000 ?C; the point-by-point inscription of Bragg gratings, including non-uniform 'chirped' ones; the creation of fibre gratings with high polarization properties; etc.

External fibre Fabry–Perot acoustic sensor based on a photonic-crystal mirror

Abstract: We demonstrate an acoustic sensor based on a Fabry–Perot interferometer formed by a single-mode fibre and an external silicon photonic-crystal mirror. Measurements in air indicate that this sensor has a relatively uniform frequency response up to at least 50 kHz, and detects pressures as low as 18 μPa Hz−1/2. This limit is four orders of magnitude lower than in similar types of acoustic fibre sensors. The sensor response agrees with mechanical calculations to within a few dB. We predict that this sensor has the potential to detect pressures as low as 600 nPa Hz−1/2, corresponding to the ambient thermal noise level in air at room temperature.

A diode laser sensor for rapid, sensitive measurements of gas temperature and water vapour concentration at high temperatures and pressures

Abstract: A near-infrared diode laser sensor is presented that is capable of measuring time-varying gas temperature and water vapour concentration at temperatures up to 1050 K and pressures up to 25 atm with a bandwidth of 7.5 kHz. Measurements with noise-equivalent-absorbances of the order of 10−3 (10−5 Hz−1/2) are made possible in dynamic environments through the use of wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) with second harmonic detection (2f) on two water vapour spectral features near 7203.9 and 7435.6 cm−1. Laser performance characteristics that become important at the large modulation depths needed at high pressures are accounted for in the WMS-2f signal analysis, and the utility of normalization by the 1f signal to correct for variations in laser intensity, transmission and detector gain is presented. Laboratory measurements with the sensor system in a static cell with known temperature and pressure agree to 3% RMS in temperature and 4% RMS in H2O mole fraction for 500 < T < 900 K and 1 < P < 25 atm. The sensor time response is demonstrated in a high-pressure shock tube where shock wave transients are successfully captured, the average measured post-shock temperature agrees within 1% of the expected value, and H2O mole fraction agrees within 8%.

Relative and absolute intensity calibrations of a modern broadband echelle spectrometer

Abstract: We report on relative and absolute intensity calibrations of a modern broadband echelle spectrometer (type ESA 3000? trademark of LLA Instruments GmbH, Berlin) for use in the diagnostics of low-temperature plasma. This type of device measures simultaneously complete emission spectra in the spectral range from 200 to 800 nm with a spectral resolution of several picometres by using more than 90 spectral orders, causing a strongly structured efficiency function. The assumptions and approximations entering the calibration procedure under these conditions are discussed in section 3. For coping with the strongly structured efficiency function a continuum light source is needed, which covers the entire spectral range. Furthermore, the variation of its intensity must be low enough to ensure that neither statistical errors perturb the calibration in regions with low photon flux and/or low efficiency, nor local memory overflow in regions with high photon flux or high efficiency. In our case this requires that during calibration over the whole spectral range of the spectrometer the counts per pixel in one measurement vary at highest by a factor 10 to 12. Usual broadband light sources do not meet this latter requirement. We, therefore, use an uncalibrated 'composite' source, an adjustable combination of a standard tungsten strip lamp and a deuterium lamp, and calibrate the spectrometer in a two-step process against the tungsten strip lamp and well-known rovibrational intensity distributions in the emission spectra of NO and N2. We adjust the composite source in a way to produce a perturbation-free first approximation of an (uncalibrated) efficiency function, which is then corrected and thus calibrated by comparison with the (secondary) standards mentioned above. For absolute calibration we use the tungsten strip lamp. The uncertainty attained in this way for the relative calibration depends on the wavelength and varies between 5% and 10%. For the absolute calibration we obtained an uncertainty of 12%. We further discuss problems caused by the non-uniform spectral efficiency and dispersion of the spectrometer, which complicate the calibration procedure.

Behaviour of intrinsic polymer optical fibre sensor for large-strain applications

Abstract: This paper derives the phase response of a single-mode polymer optical fibre for large-strain applications. The role of the finite deformation of the optical fibre and nonlinear strain optic effects are derived using a second order strain assumption and shown to be important at strain magnitudes as small as 1%. In addition, the role of the core radius change on the propagation constant is derived, but it is shown to be negligible as compared to the previous effects. It is shown that four mechanical and six opto-mechanical parameters must be calibrated to apply the sensor under arbitrary axial and transverse loading. The mechanical nonlinearity of a typical single-mode polymer optical fibre is experimentally measured in axial tension and is shown to be more significant than that of their silica counterpart. The mechanical parameters of the single-mode polymer optical fibre are also measured for a variety of strain rates, from which it is demonstrated that the strain rate has a strong influence on yield stress and strain. The calibrated constants themselves are less affected by strain rate.

Particle tracking velocimetry applied to estimate the pressure field around a Savonius turbine

Abstract: Particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) is applied to flows around a Savonius turbine. The velocity vector field measured with PTV is utilized to estimate the pressure field around the turbine, as well as to evaluate the torque performance. The main objective of the work is the establishment of the pressure estimation scheme required to discuss the turbine performance. First, the PTV data are interpolated on a regular grid with a fourth-order ellipsoidal differential equation to generate velocity vectors satisfying the third-order spatio-temporal continuity both in time and space. Second, the phase-averaged velocity vector information with respect to the turbine angle is substituted into three different types of pressure-estimating equations, i.e. the Poisson equation, the Navier–Stokes equation and the sub-grid scale model of turbulence. The results obtained based on the Navier–Stokes equation are compared with those based on the Poisson equation, and have shown several merits in employing the Navier–Stokes-based method for the PTV measurement. The method is applied to a rotating turbine with the tip-speed ratio of 0.5 to find the relationship between torque behaviour and flow structure in a phase-averaged sense. We have found that a flow attached to the convex surface of the blades induces low-pressure regions to drive the turbine, namely, the lift force helps the turbine blades to rotate even when the drag force is insufficient. Secondary mechanisms of torque generation are also discussed.

Simultaneous synthetic schlieren and PIV measurements for internal solitary waves

Abstract: Large-amplitude internal solitary waves in a stratification comprising a thick, lower, homogeneous layer separated from a thin, upper, homogeneous layer by a broad gradient region are studied using simultaneous measurements of the density and velocity fields. Density field measurements are achieved through synthetic schlieren, operating in an absolute mode to allow efficient and accurate measurements of density in systems with strong curvatures and large perturbations to the density field. The images used for these density measurements are interleaved with images used for particle image velocimetry by phase locking two video cameras (one configured for the density measurements and the other for the velocity measurements) with a computer-driven LCD monitor, allowing the background texture required for synthetic schlieren to be turned off for the particle image velocimetry measurements on the mid-plane of the experimental tank. The simultaneous measurements of both density and velocity fields not only allow greater insight into the internal wave dynamics, but also allow the velocity measurements to be corrected for the normal errors associated with the refractive index variations. As an illustration of the power of this technique, we determine for the first time in an internal solitary wave the spatial structure of the local gradient Richardson number, finding regions where this falls below the limit for linear stability.

CD characterization of nanostructures in SEM metrology

Abstract: A new algorithm is presented that evaluates the critical dimension (CD) of nanostructures from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The algorithm is based on the physical modelling of the SEM image formation and evaluates both top and bottom CDs. The SEM intensity profile is modelled by a piecewise-defined continuous function which is approximated to the measured profile extracted from images by means of a least-squares fit. The algorithm is tested in a series of Monte Carlo simulations with respect to a variation of the edge-slope angle and the electron probe diameter. The maximum deviation between the modelled and the simulated top and bottom CDs is smaller than 3 nm. As an application example, measurements of silicon line structures are presented.