Identifying and fixing in-plane positioning and stability issues on a microscope using machine-readable patterned position scales.

Investigations of the in-plane positioning capabilities of microscopes using machine-readable encoded patterned scales are presented. The scales have patterns that contain absolute position information, and adequate software accurately determines the in-plane position from the scale images captured by the microscope camera. This makes in-plane positioning experiments simple and fast. The scales and software used in this study are commercially available. We investigated different microscopy systems and found that positioning performance is a system issue that is not determined solely by stage performance. In some cases, our experiments revealed software or hardware glitches that limited the positioning performance, which we easily fixed. We have also shown that it is possible to investigate vibrations using this approach and quantify their impact on image blurring. This is, for example, useful for experimentally determining the settling time after a stage movement.

Confocal Raman microscope with versatile dual polarization snapshot acquisition.

In this paper we propose a new strategy towards simultaneous co- and cross-polarized measurements of Raman spectra in a confocal microscope. One of the advantages of this strategy is that it is immune to polarization-dependent efficiency of diffraction gratings. It is shown via linear angle-resolved and circular polarization measurements that the accuracy of these snapshot polarization measurements on solid and liquid samples are in good agreement with available models and data. The interest of simultaneous acquisition of the total Raman response and the degree of polarization is discussed as well.

Characterization of Angle Accuracy and Precision of 3-Degree-of-Freedom Absolute Encoder Based on NanoGPS OxyO Technology.

An absolute encoder based on vision system nanoGPS OxyO was developed by HORIBA France. This encoder provides three types of position information, namely, two inplane co-ordinates and inplane angular orientation. This paper focuses on the characterization of its angular performance. To this aim, the nanoGPS OxyO system was compared with the national angle standard of the National Metrology Institute of Italy (INRIM) that had evaluated accuracy of about 0.1 µrad. The effect of image size and illumination conditions on angular measurements was studied. Precision better than 10 µrad and accuracy better than 63 µrad over 2π rotation were demonstrated. Moreover, the application of nanoGPS OxyO to the characterization of rotation bearing is presented. Small deviations from pure rotational behavior were evidenced that would have not been possible using laser interferometers. As a consequence of its accuracy and versatility, the nanoGPS OxyO encoder is expected to be useful for laboratory experiments and quality-control tasks.

Easy-to-build Wollaston-like polarization splitter with adjustable beam deviation and tunable chromatic dispersion.

In this paper, we show that it is possible to build a polarization splitter from a pair of commercially available geometrical phase lenses. This optical component splits an incoming beam into two circularly polarized beams, with a separation angle that can be varied by a simple translation or rotation adjustment. Our experiments show that excellent polarization separation is obtained with separation angles ranging from nearly zero up to 120mrad, and for wavelengths ranging from 532nm up to 780nm. The measured properties of this new component are well described by a simple analytical model. However, unlike conventional Wollaston prisms, this component exhibits a very large dispersion with wavelength. It can also be described as a polarization grating with adjustable dispersion.

Evaluation and illustration of the properties of Metamaterials using field summation.

The prediction and the engineering of the electromagnetic properties of metamaterials are increasingly important issues. Recently, several approaches have been proposed to compute these properties through appropriate averages of local fields within the unit cell. In particular, we proposed a Field Summation method that has been used successfully to determine either analytically or numerically the effective properties of different composites and metamaterials. But this method also provides interesting clues for understanding the behaviour of these materials. It helps chose appropriate planes to visualize the fields using electromagnetic simulation software, and understand behaviours leading to either positive or negative effective parameters, with either small or large values. It helps establish whether the materials can be adequately described by effective parameters.

Demonstration of paper cutting using single emitter laser diode and infrared-absorbing ink.

We show that conventional paper can be cut using a 1W laser diode, provided the cutting lines are first traced using a proper ink. The ink should absorb the laser light, and penetrate deep into the paper. An "invisible ink" that is transparent in the visible range and absorbing in the infrared has been successfully tested. The paper is tidily cut. The laser power required to cut the paper is proportional to the displacement speed of the paper. Cutting speeds exceeding 3 cm.s-1.W-1 have been demonstrated. At higher speeds, the paper is not cut through, but easy-tearable lines and easy-folding lines are obtained. The whole inking and laser cutting process may be integrated into next generations of personal inkjet printers and expand document creation abilities.