PFI-RP: High-Throughput Scanner for Non-Destructive Manufacturing Inspection

该创新研究伙伴关系（PFI-RP）项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是推进先进制造业质量控制的非破坏性工业质量仪器。在制造工厂中存在对高吞吐量质量控制系统的需求，以进一步提高生产效率并降低生产成本。此外，在线质量控制系统提供的有价值的反馈可以优化制造过程，以最大限度地减少缺陷并提供高质量的产品。太赫兹成像为各种工业产品的无损评估提供了独特的功能。太赫兹频率还提供比无线电频率更高的分辨率成像，并且它们可以在可见光和红外频率下穿透许多不透明材料。与超声成像相比，太赫兹成像不需要任何耦合器，并且可以实现非接触式评估。与X射线不同，太赫兹波也不会对健康造成危害。虽然这些独特的能力已经知道了很长一段时间，太赫兹质量控制系统尚未在制造工厂中广泛使用，因为缺乏能够以高帧率产生大像素数三维（3D）图像的高性能太赫兹相机。拟议项目旨在通过交叉-大学、工业界和联邦实验室之间的学科研究、教育、发展和商业化伙伴关系。该大学与工业界的合作伙伴关系旨在开发和评估太赫兹相机，用于工业生产环境中的高速和高灵敏度质量控制。所提出的相机利用等离子体纳米天线阵列来解决传统太赫兹探测器在多像素太赫兹成像系统中使用的主要挑战：低信噪比操作和小器件有源区域，这需要复杂的光学器件来缩放到大阵列。拟议的工作可能会扩展太赫兹技术的范围和潜在用途，用于工业制造环境中各种产品的非破坏性质量控制，这在以前是不可能的，因为传统太赫兹扫描仪系统的吞吐量低，灵敏度低，体积大。虽然开发的硬件和数据分析软件为非侵入性材料表征和检测提供了高性能、紧凑的扫描仪，但现场测试和合作伙伴关系使我们能够深入了解实际现场环境中的关键客户需求。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) project is the advancement of non-destructive, industrial-quality instruments for quality control in advanced manufacturing. There is a demand for high-throughput quality control systems in manufacturing plants to further increase production efficiencies and reduce production costs. In addition, valuable feedback provided by in-line quality control systems may enable optimization of the manufacturing processes to minimize defects and provide high-quality products. Terahertz imaging offers unique functionalities for non-destructive evaluation of various industrial products. Teraherz frequencies also offer higher resolution imaging than radio frequencies and they can penetrate through many opaque materials at visible and infrared frequencies. Compared to ultrasound imaging, terahertz imaging does not require any coupler and can enable a non-contact evaluation. Terahertz waves also do not pose health hazards, unlike X-rays. Although these unique capabilities have been known for a long time, terahertz quality control systems are not yet widely utilized in manufacturing plants due to the absence of high-performance terahertz cameras capable of producing large-pixel-count three-dimensional (3D) images with a high frame rate.The proposed project aims to address the technological limitations of using terehertz cameras in high throughput manufacturing through a cross-disciplinary research, education, development, and commercialization partnership between the university, industry, and federal laboratories. This university-industry partnership seeks to develop and assess a terahertz camera for high-speed and high-sensitivity quality control in industrial production settings. The proposed camera utilizes plasmonic nanoantenna arrays to address the main challenges of conventional terahertz detectors for use in a multi-pixel terahertz imaging systems: low signal-to-noise ratio operation and small device active area, which requires complex optics to be scaled to large arrays. The proposed work may extend the scope and potential uses of terahertz technology for non-destructive quality control of various products in industrial manufacturing settings, which were not possible before due to the low throughput, low sensitivity, and the bulky nature of conventional terahertz scanner systems. While the developed hardware and data analysis software provide a high-performance, compact scanner for non-invasive material characterization and inspection, field tests and partnerships provide a deep understanding of the critical customer needs in real-world field settings.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.