STTR Phase I: Gabor-domain optical coherence microscopy for detection of defects in manufacturing

这个小型企业技术转移第一阶段项目将探索Gabor域光学相干显微镜(GD-OCM)仪器在制造过程中对材料进行鉴定的适用性。最先进的干涉仪器具有出色的深度分辨率，可以区分体积内的不同层；光学显微镜提供高横向分辨率，但无法表征样品表面下的特征。GD-OCM提供了结合这两种技术的优势的潜力--干涉测量和显微技术--在整个样品体积中产生无与伦比的三维分辨率。这项工作的主要目标将是展示一种坚固而准确的GD-OCM仪器，用于地下成像和检测制成品中的缺陷。在项目期间，该仪器还将在包括多层材料在内的各种材料上进行测试，以证明其在获取近实时信息方面的有效性和多功能性，用于指导优化制造参数，以获得最佳和可重复的结果。这项研究将解决对快速和坚固的扫描机构的需求，该机构紧凑地集成在光学显微镜中，以采样三维体积并量化材料制造过程中引入的不希望看到的缺陷和缺陷。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是通过工业环境中使用的坚固可靠的仪器，在材料(包括层状材料)的制造过程中有效地提供有关产品质量的信息。工业级高分辨率GD-OCM系统将使材料(例如聚合物、层状玻璃、增强复合材料和先进纺织品)的制造商能够优化制造参数，提高产品产量。GD-OCM的应用已被证明对光学材料制造商特别有价值，例如球形梯度折射率(S-GRIN)聚合物和层状光学结构--包括珠状和棱柱回反射薄膜--否则不可能非破坏性地表征这些光学结构。GD-OCM还将通过提供在不破坏材料样品的情况下成像和光学切片的能力，在广泛的科学领域实现新的进步。这将为推进组织工程和农业疾病管理所需材料的研究提供新的见解，以及用于其他应用的高性能薄膜和层状材料。

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will explore the applicability of a Gabor-domain optical coherence microscopy (GD-OCM) instrument to qualify materials during manufacturing processes. State-of-the-art interferometric instruments yield excellent resolution in depth, discriminating between different layers within a volume; optical microscopy offers high lateral resolution, but cannot characterize the features that are beneath the surface of the sample. GD-OCM offers the potential of combining the advantages of these two technologies - interferometry and microscopy - to produce unparalleled three-dimensional resolution throughout the volume of the sample. The primary objective of this effort will be the demonstration of a robust and accurate GD-OCM instrument for use in subsurface imaging and detection of defects in manufactured materials. During the project, this instrument will also be tested on various materials, including multilayered, in order to demonstrate its effectiveness and versatility in the acquisition of near-real-time information for use in guiding the optimization of manufacturing parameters for optimal and repeatable outcomes. The research will address the need for a rapid and robust scanning mechanism, compactly integrated within the optical microscope, to sample three-dimensional volumes and quantify undesired defects and imperfections introduced during the manufacturing of materials. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to effectively provide information about product quality during the manufacturing process of materials, including layered materials, through a robust and reliable instrument to be used in industrial environments. An industrial-class high-resolution GD-OCM system will enable manufacturers of materials (e.g. polymers, layered glass, reinforced composites, and advanced textiles) to optimize the fabrication parameters, improving the yield of their products. The application of GD-OCM has proven to be especially valuable to manufacturers of optical materials, such as spherical gradient refractive index (S-GRIN) polymers and layered optical structures -- including beaded and prismatic retroreflective films -- that are otherwise impossible to characterize nondestructively. GD-OCM will also enable new advances in a wide variety of scientific fields by offering the capability to image and optically section material samples without destroying them. This will offer new insight into the study of materials needed to advance tissue engineering and agricultural disease management, in addition to high-performance films and layered materials for other applications.