SBIR Phase II: Fast Focus and Zoom in Microscopy

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛影响是，成像系统在聚焦和变焦方面具有完全的灵活性，同时保持样品和所有光学镜头不变。该系统将在没有机械运动的情况下改变放大倍数，允许在制造过程中以100倍的速度对焦和变焦来检查样品。该附件可轻松与台式显微镜集成，用于故障分析、制造、电生理学和低温应用中的质量保证；这些解决方案可用于食品、石油和制药等行业。拟议的SBIR第二阶段项目将开发快速、小直径和大直径的MEMS反射镜，并在用于显微镜的变焦和聚焦系统中进行演示。由于传统的光学分析采用固定焦距的透镜或反射镜，粗略的电子对焦控制能力直到最近才出现，这使得开发新的标准光学设计实践能够最好地利用各种对焦元件并表征成像性能。该技术在相机、广视场、共焦和双光子显微镜、光学相干层析成像和内窥镜成像系统中具有潜在的应用前景。在这个项目中，将开发一系列MEMS反射镜，结合能够快速2倍变焦的标准光学元件，并增加聚焦能力，使典型的20倍光学显微镜能够快速变焦到40倍。技术目标是：1)改进MEMS反射镜的制造和封装工艺；2)自动表征其聚焦范围和动态行为；3)设计小尺寸、大带宽、高电压放大器；以及4)表征完整光学系统的成像性能。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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 of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is an imaging system with complete flexibility in focus and zoom while keeping the sample and all optical lenses stationary. The system will alter magnification without mechanical motion, allowing inspection of samples during manufacturing processes with 100x faster focus and zoom. The attachment will easily integrate with benchtop microscopes for failure analysis, quality assurance in manufacturing, electrophysiology, and cryogenic applications; these solutions can be used in the food, petroleum, and pharmaceutical industries, among others. The proposed SBIR Phase II project will develop fast, small- and large-diameter MEMS mirrors and demonstrate them in a zoom and focus system made for microscopy. Gross electronic focus control capability has only recently become available, enabling the development of new standard optical design practices to best utilize varifocus elements and characterize imaging performance, since traditional optical analyses assume fixed focal length lenses or mirrors. The proposed technology has potential applications in cameras, wide-field, confocal and two-photon microscopes, optical coherence tomography, and endoscopic imaging systems. In this project, a series of MEMS mirrors in combination with standard optics capable of rapid 2x zoom with additional focusing abilities will be developed, enabling a typical 20x optical microscopy to rapidly zoom to 40x. The technical objectives are: 1) improve fabrication and packaging processes on MEMS mirrors; 2) automate characterization of their focusing range and dynamic behavior; 3) design a small form factor, large bandwidth, high-voltage amplifier; and 4) characterize the imaging performance of complete optical systems.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.