Measurement and contouring of micro-scale objects through integrated transillumination in a flexible fiber probe system

Abstract

High-resolution measurement and contouring of objects with micro-scale sizes have been two of the research challenges in many areas, such as nondestructive testing and imaging, imaging of artifacts in MEMS, and lab-on-chip devices, as well as in biomedical imaging. In this context, we use a transillumination incorporated fiber probe imaging system to enable imaging of the targeted object in a single shot. It also enables positioning of the probe system to the region of interest for further fine analysis, thereby reducing the long scanning time faced by conventional approaches. The capability of the developed probe is illustrated using standard USAF resolution chart and fluorescent microspheres as test targets. The probe system has axial and lateral resolutions of about 16 μm and 144 lp/mm, respectively. This proposed probe scheme can potentially be employed as a viable diagnostic imaging methodology.