Abstract: An apparatus for counting textile cords in a tire reinforcement belt by cutting the reinforcement belt into a plurality of belt units and successively measuring the number of textile cords in each belt unit is provided. The apparatus includes a feed roller having wound therearound a reinforcement belt on which textile cords are arranged along a longitudinal direction of the reinforcement belt; one or more take-up rollers configured to collect the reinforcement belt from the feed roller; a plurality of guide rollers interposed between the take-up rollers and configured to support a top surface or a bottom surface of the reinforcement belt; one or more light sources, each configured to emit a line of light onto a surface of the reinforcement belt that is passing around the guide rollers; and one or more image sensors configured to capture images reflected off the surface of the reinforcement belt.

Abstract: Methods and systems for reducing illumination intensity while scanning over large particles are presented herein. A surface inspection system determines the presence of a large particle in the inspection path of a primary measurement spot using a separate leading measurement spot. The inspection system reduces the incident illumination power while the large particle is within the primary measurement spot. The primary measurement spot and the leading measurement spot are separately imaged by a common imaging collection objective onto one or more detectors. The imaging based collection design spatially separates the image of the leading measurement spot from the image of the primary measurement spot at one or more wafer image planes. Light detected from the leading measurement spot is analyzed to determine a reduced power time interval when the optical power of the primary illumination beam and the leading illumination beam are reduced.

Abstract: A sample cell apparatus for use in spectroscopic determination of an analyte in a body fluid sample includes a first plate member made from an optically clear material and a second plate member made from an optically clear material and opposing the first plate member. A channel extending into a surface of the first plate member and an opposing surface of the second plate member houses a floating seal. The floating seal surrounds a fluid chamber that retains a sample of body fluid for optical measurement. The fluid chamber may be opened for flushing by separating the first plate member from the second plate member. During measurements the fluid chamber is closed to define a repeatable optical path-length therethrough by urging the first plate member against the second plate member without compressing the floating seal between the first plate member and the second plate member.

Abstract: Methods and scatterometry overlay metrology tools are provided, which scan a wafer region, perform focus measurements during the scanning to extract therefrom phase information, and derive depth data of the scanned wafer region from the extracted phase information. The depth information, relating to a dimension perpendicular to the wafer, may be derived along lines or surfaces, providing profilometry and surface data, respectively. The depth data may be used to locate metrology targets, as well as to provide material properties concerning wafer layers, to estimate process variation and to improve the overlay measurements.

Abstract: Methodology of characterizing surface properties and determining refractive index and extinction coefficient of a prism shaped material, including simultaneously for a multiplicity of wavelengths, using an easy to practice technique.

Abstract: One example of the present disclosure relates to an apparatus for spectroscopic analysis of residue. The apparatus includes a surface including a hydrophobic portion and a hydrophilic portion. The hydrophobic portion surrounds the hydrophilic portion. The hydrophilic portion includes a dimension equal to or larger than a width of a first incident non-destructive electromagnetic beam.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for detecting and reconstructing a surface illuminated with spatially structured light such that the light illuminates an area of the surface from which the light is reflected back. The light includes a temporarily varying intensity in the form of successive light modulation patterns. The back-reflected light is detected by an optical sensor including a plurality of pixels. A pixel coordinate is associated to each pixel and each pixel generated a photocurrent proportional to the intensity of the light impinging on a respective pixel, computes a signal related to a photocurrent, and each pixel outputs an address-event merely when a respective signal due to the light impinging on the respective pixel increases by an amount larger than a first threshold or decreases by an amount larger than a second threshold since a last address-event from the respective pixel.

Abstract: A particle detector that includes a housing defining a chamber, and an air stream injector, producing an airstream with entrained particles, in the chamber. A light source produces a light beam that intersects with and is wider than the air stream. A light detection assembly detects light generated by scattering of the light beam, by particles in the air stream. A digitizer produces a sequence of scattering digital values, each representing light detected per a first unit of time duration. Additionally, a summing assembly produces a sequence of summed scattering digital values, each equaling a sum of a sequential set of n of the digital values, and wherein successive summed digital values are offset by a the first unit of time duration and overlap by n?1 of the first units of time duration with a nearest neighbor. Finally, a detection assembly processes the summed scattering digital values to detect particles.

Abstract: The present invention provides a Voigt line shape fitting method, including step 1: Calculate a Gauss line shape function and a Lorentz line shape function, and calculate a Voigt line shape function. Step 2: For determined line shape parameters to be fitted, calculate partial derivatives of the Voigt line shape function with respect to the parameters, convert a partial derivative of the Voigt line shape function with respect to a parameter into a partial derivative of the Gauss line shape function or the Lorentz line shape function with respect to the parameter. Step 3: Substitute the Voigt line shape function and the partial derivative of the Voigt line shape function with respect to the parameter to be fitted, into a least squares algorithm step, perform least squares fitting calculation, and determine whether to terminate the least squares fitting calculation or return to step 1 to perform next iterative calculation.

Abstract: A system for detecting particles, including: a first device to measure concentration of particles, including an electrometer measuring device coupled to a charger and/or to an optical particle counter; a second device to measure concentration of particles, including a condensation nuclei counter; a calculation unit configured to calculate a ratio and/or a difference between a first measurement of the particle concentration in an airflow, to be performed by the first measurement device, and a second measurement of the particle concentration in an airflow, to be performed by the second measurement device, and configured to provide a comparison between the ratio and/or the difference between the first and second measurements and a threshold value to determine presence of particles of interest other than ambient air particles.

Abstract: An optical fiber monitoring system monitors an inter-building optical fiber connecting a first building and a second building. The optical fiber monitoring system includes a first visualization panel provided in the first building and optically connected to an one end of the inter-building optical fiber, a second visualization panel provided in the second building and optically connected to an other end of the inter-building optical fiber, and a monitoring light source provided in the first building to input a monitoring light into the inter-building optical fiber. The first visualization panel includes a first photosensor that partially leaks the monitoring light inputted into the inter-building optical fiber from the monitoring light source and detects an amount of a leaked light. The second visualization panel includes a second photosensor that partially leaks a light from the inter-building optical fiber and detects amount of a leaked light.

Abstract: A contactless, and accurate device and methods of use thereof are provided to calibrate and verify the calibration of a robotic arm and associated attachments. The device uses a laser gauge for calibrating and subsequently verifying the calibration of the robotic arm, digitizer, or robotic tools. An optical transmitter, in communication with an optical receiver is fixed nearly perpendicular to a second optical transmitter in communication with a second optical receiver that form two optical micrometers that are offset a small distance, forming a small gap, d, to create a measuring void having two distinct non-intersecting measurement planes. One measurement plane measures the position and size of an object in a first axis direction and the other measurement plane measures the position and size of an object in a second axis direction. The position and size of an object is measured within the measuring void in both axial directions.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods for producing ultrashort optical pulses are described. A high-power, solid-state, passively mode-locked laser can be manufactured in a compact module that can be incorporated into a portable instrument for biological or chemical analyses. The pulsed laser may produce sub-100-ps optical pulses at a repetition rate commensurate with electronic data-acquisition rates. The optical pulses may excite samples in reaction chambers of the instrument, and be used to generate a reference clock for operating signal-acquisition and signal-processing electronics of the instrument.

Abstract: A measuring apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a support plate and an optical sensor. The support plate has an upper surface on a central portion of which an object is to be mounted, and is rotatable about an axis of rotation extending vertically from the central portion. The optical sensor is disposed above the support plate, and has a light-emitting element configured to irradiate the object with light and a light-receiving element configured to receive reflection light reflected from the object.

Abstract: The present disclosure includes systems and methods for testing bundles of fiber optic fibers, such as fiber optic trunk cables, for correct polarity of connections at each end of the bundle of fibers while preventing the fiber optic fibers from contacting any other components during testing. The systems include a processor, a plurality of signal generators interfaced with a plurality of signal generator ports, a sensor interfaced with a sensor input port, a first selector switch, and a display, the processor operable to stimulate the plurality of signal generators one at a time in a first sequence to produce a signal, the first sequence based on a position of the first selector switch, the processor further operable to cause the display to display an output of the sensor.

Abstract: A method for evaluating a haze of a substrate surface by a particle counter apparatus using scattering light, the method including calibrating a haze value with the use of a standard sample at the time of obtaining the haze value of the substrate surface from scattering light intensity of light which is entered on the substrate surface, and by using a sample having standard particles applied thereto as the standard sample. Consequently, the method for evaluating a haze by which a haze value of the particle counter apparatus can be calibrated with the use of the standard sample for a haze and a measurement accuracy of the haze can be improved.

Abstract: A microcomputer equally divides the circumference of a RGB circle into 6×n (n is an integer of 1 or more) parts, and calculates a RGB value of each divided color. (255, 0, 0) is stored as a reference RGB value of a reference color in a ROM in the microcomputer. The microcomputer 3 converts the reference RGB value depending on an angular difference on the RGB circle between a designated color whose RGB value is to be found and the reference color, and assumes the converted RGB value as a RGB value of the designated color.

Abstract: The system includes a modulatable illumination source configured to illuminate a surface of a sample disposed on a sample stage, a detector configured to detect illumination emanating from a surface of the sample, illumination optics configured to direct illumination from the modulatable illumination source to the surface of the sample, collection optics configured to direct illumination from the surface of the sample to the detector, and a modulation control system communicatively coupled to the modulatable illumination source, wherein the modulation control system is configured to modulate a drive current of the modulatable illumination source at a selected modulation frequency suitable for generating illumination having a selected coherence feature length. In addition, the present invention includes the time-sequential interleaving of outputs of multiple light sources to generate periodic pulse trains for use in multi-wavelength time-sequential optical metrology.

Abstract: An photosensitive device, the sensor comprising: a plurality of photosensitive units distributed in an array, each photosensitive unit configured to receive and convert light signal, wherein the photosensitive unit comprises a detecting element and a polarizer, the detecting element comprises a carbon nanotube structure comprising a plurality of carbon nanotubes oriented along the same direction, and the polarizer is configured to generate polarized light to irradiate a part surface of the carbon nanotube structure; a measuring device configured to measure temperature differences or potential differences generated in the carbon nanotube structure by irradiating; a data processor configured to analyze and calculate the potential differences or the temperature differences to obtain the wavelength of the light signal.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described herein for a self-referencing interferometer. The interferometer can comprise an improved spatial phase shifter that reduces the number of components, size and complexity of the spatial phase shifter and maintains a common path for a combined reference beam and signal beam. The self-referencing interferometer further comprises a single mode fiber shunt for filtering the reference beam and further reducing the size of the interferometer. The angle of the reference beam can be tilted before being recombined with the single beam which further simplifies the spatial phase shifting component of the interferometer.