Camera Exposure Time Research Articles

A real-time, full-field, and low-cost velocity sensing approach for linear motion using fringe projection techniques

A velocity sensing approach using the fringe projection technique is presented. The moving object is projected with a sinusoidal fringe pattern. A CCD camera located at a different view angle observes the projected fringes on the dynamic object. The long exposure time of the CCD camera makes the fringes blurred by linear motion. The blurred fringes provide additional information to describe the depth displacement, and therefore the velocity vector can be identified. There is no need to take multiple-shot measurements to address the change in 3D positions at a sequence of time. Only one-shot measurement is required. Consequently, there is no need to perform image registration. The full-field approach also makes it possible to simultaneously inspect several objects.

Wide-range average temperature measurements of convective fluid flows by using a schlieren system.

In the schlieren method, the deflection of light by the presence of an inhomogeneous medium is proportional to the gradient of its refractive index. In the presence of temperature variations in a fluid flow, the refraction index is related to the gas density by the Gladstone-Dale constant, which depends on the nature of the gas and the wavelength of light propagating in the medium. The deflection of light in a schlieren system is represented by intensity variations on the observation plane. Then, for a digital camera, the intensity level registered in each pixel depends mainly on the refractive index variation of the medium and exposure time. Therefore, if we regulate the intensity value of each pixel by controlling the exposure time, it is possible to adjust the temperature value measurements. In this way, a specific exposure time of a digital camera allows us to measure a determined range of temperature values. For that reason, in this study we determine the range of temperatures that can be measured with a digital camera for different exposure times. By doing this, a wide range of average temperature value fields can be obtained by summing up the temperature contribution of each exposure time. The basic idea in our approach to measure temperature by using a schlieren system is to relate the intensity level of each pixel in a schlieren image to the corresponding knife-edge position measured at the exit focal plane of the system. Our approach is applied to the measurement of temperature fields of the air convection caused by a heated rectangular metal plate (7.3 cm×12 cm) and a candle flame. We found that the maximum temperature values obtained for exposure times of 31.3, 15.7, 7.9, 3.9, and 2ms were 67.3°C, 122.6°C, 217.4°C, 364.3°C, and 524.0°C, respectively.

Demonstration of 11-ps exposure time of a framing camera using pulse-dilation technology and a magnetic lens

A framing camera with high temporal and spatial resolution is demonstrated using pulse-dilation technology and a magnetic lens. The magnetic field of the magnetic lens is simulated using LORENTZ-3EM software, and the magnetic field distribution on-axis is similar to a Gaussian function. The temporal and spatial resolutions of the instrument are measured using light at the wavelength of 266 nm from a frequency tripled femtosecond laser. The measured exposure time of this camera is ∼11 ps, and the spatial resolution is better

On-Sky Demonstration of Low-Order Wavefront Sensing and Control with Focal Plane Phase Mask Coronagraphs

The ability to characterize exoplanets by spectroscopy of their atmospheres requires direct imaging techniques to isolate planet signal from the bright stellar glare. One of the limitations with the direct detection of exoplanets, either with ground- or space-based coronagraphs, is pointing errors and other low-order wavefront aberrations. The coronagraphic detection sensitivity at the diffraction limit therefore depends on how well low-order aberrations upstream of the focal plane mask are corrected. To prevent starlight leakage at the inner working angle of a phase mask coronagraph, we have introduced a Lyot-based low-order wavefront sensor (LLOWFS), which senses aberrations using the rejected starlight diffracted at the Lyot plane. In this article, we present the implementation, testing, and results of LLOWFS on the Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics system (SCExAO) at the Subaru Telescope. We have controlled 35 Zernike modes of a H-band vector vortex coronagraph in the laboratory and 10 Zernike modes on-sky with an integrator control law. We demonstrated a closed-loop pointing residual of 0.02 mas in the laboratory and 0.15 mas on-sky for data sampled using the minimal 2-s exposure time of the science camera. We have also integrated the LLOWFS in the visible high-order control loop of SCExAO, which in closed-loop operation has validated the correction of the noncommon path pointing errors between the infrared science channel and the visible wavefront sensing channel with pointing residual of 0.23 mas on-sky.

Characterization of spark-generated N-waves in air using an optical schlieren method.

Accurate measurement of high-amplitude, broadband shock pulses in air is an important part of laboratory-scale experiments in atmospheric acoustics. Although various methods have been developed, specific drawbacks still exist and need to be addressed. Here, a schlieren optical method was used to reconstruct the pressure signatures of nonlinear spherically diverging short acoustic pulses generated using an electric spark source (2.5 kPa, 33 μs at 10 cm from the source) in homogeneous air. A high-speed camera was used to capture light rays deflected by refractive index inhomogeneities, caused by the acoustic wave. Pressure waveforms were reconstructed from the light intensity patterns in the recorded images using an Abel-type inversion method. Absolute pressure levels were determined by analyzing at different propagation distances the duration of the compression phase of pulses, which changed due to nonlinear propagation effects. Numerical modeling base on the generalized Burgers equation was used to evaluate the smearing of the waveform caused by finite exposure time of the high-speed camera and corresponding limitations in resolution of the schlieren technique. The proposed method allows the study of the evolution of spark-generated shock waves in air starting from the very short distances from the spark, 30 mm, up to 600 mm.

The Homeobox Genes of Caenorhabditis elegans and Insights into Their Spatio-Temporal Expression Dynamics during Embryogenesis.

Homeobox genes play crucial roles for the development of multicellular eukaryotes. We have generated a revised list of all homeobox genes for Caenorhabditis elegans and provide a nomenclature for the previously unnamed ones. We show that, out of 103 homeobox genes, 70 are co-orthologous to human homeobox genes. 14 are highly divergent, lacking an obvious ortholog even in other Caenorhabditis species. One of these homeobox genes encodes 12 homeodomains, while three other highly divergent homeobox genes encode a novel type of double homeodomain, termed HOCHOB. To understand how transcription factors regulate cell fate during development, precise spatio-temporal expression data need to be obtained. Using a new imaging framework that we developed, Endrov, we have generated spatio-temporal expression profiles during embryogenesis of over 60 homeobox genes, as well as a number of other developmental control genes using GFP reporters. We used dynamic feedback during recording to automatically adjust the camera exposure time in order to increase the dynamic range beyond the limitations of the camera. We have applied the new framework to examine homeobox gene expression patterns and provide an analysis of these patterns. The methods we developed to analyze and quantify expression data are not only suitable for C. elegans, but can be applied to other model systems or even to tissue culture systems.

Motion deblurring with temporally coded illumination in an LED array microscope.

Motion blur, which results from time-averaging an image over the camera's exposure time, is a common problem in microscopy of moving samples. Here, we demonstrate linear motion deblurring using temporally coded illumination in an LED array microscope. By illuminating moving objects with a well-designed temporal coded sequence that varies during each single camera exposure, the resulting motion blur is invertible and can be computationally removed. This scheme is implemented in an existing LED array microscope, providing benefits of being grayscale, fast, and adaptive, which leads to high-quality deblur performance and a flexible implementation with no moving parts. The proposed method is demonstrated experimentally for fast moving targets in a microfluidic environment.

Sub-μs time resolution in wide-field time-correlated single photon counting microscopy obtained from the photon event phosphor decay

Fast frame rate complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor cameras in combination with photon counting image intensifiers can be used for microsecond resolution wide-field fluorescence lifetime imaging with single photon sensitivity, but the time resolution is limited by the camera exposure time. We show here how the image intensifier's P20 phosphor afterglow can be exploited for accurate timing of photon arrival well below the camera exposure time. By taking ratios of the intensity of the photon events in two subsequent frames, photon arrival times were determined with 300 ns precision with 18.5 μs frame exposure time (54 kHz camera frame rate). Decays of ruthenium and iridium-containing compounds with around 1 μs lifetimes were mapped with this technique, including in living HeLa cells, using excitation powers below 0.5 μW. Details of the implementation to calculate the arrival time from the photon event intensity ratio are discussed, and we speculate that by using an image intensifier with a faster phosphor decay to match a higher camera frame rate, photon arrival time measurements on the nanosecond time scale could be possible.

Performance Measurement of Photoelectric Detection and Target Tracking Algorithm

Abstract To solve the unstable problem of target tracking detection system, this paper proposes an improved mean-shift algorithm for object tracking, establishes object tracking processing model;provides the processing algorithm of object tracking. According to the principal of object tracking, papersets up sky background brightness calculation model in photoelectric tracking optical detection area and detection capability calculation model of space object, analyzes the effect of background illumination on the signal to noise ratio(SNR) of photoelectric tracking system, gives the change curve of detection capability based on the exposure time of CCD camera, SNR threshold of photoelectric detection system and dark current of photoelectric detection system. Through calculation and test , paperprovidesthe comparison results of the improved mean-shift and traditional mean-shift, verifies the correctness of the proposed algorithm and calculation models for photoelectric detection capability in target tracking detection system, the results show the improved mean-shiftobject tracking algorithm and detection capability calculation model are correct.

Structured-Light Based Rapid 3D Measurement of Plant Canopy Structure

Density three dimensional plant canopy structure data has numerous applications in agriculture, but many existing 3D data collection approaches are time-consuming. In this paper, we present a measurement system based on structured-light for plant canopy structure data collection. The structured-light projector projects laser beam reflected by dual-oscillating mirror, arrives to the plant canopy, which is captured by a camera. We propose a new scanning mode, that is, during one exposure time of CCD camera, one mirror keeps moving in high frequency and small angle, while the other one maintains the same position, so that we can get a laser stripe rather than a spot in each image, from which about 100 sub-pixel centers of laser stripe can be extracted. Experiments show that the measurement system can rapid collect three dimensional information of the plant.

Spatial versus temporal laser speckle contrast analyses in the presence of static optical scatterers.

Previously published data demonstrate that the temporal processing algorithm for laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) can improve the visibility of deep blood vessels and is less susceptible to static speckle artifacts when compared with the spatial algorithm. To the best of our knowledge, the extent to which the temporal algorithm can accurately predict the speckle contrast associated with flow in deep blood vessels has not been quantified. Here, we employed two phantom systems and imaging setups (epi-illumination and transillumination) to study the contrast predicted by the spatial and temporal algorithms in subsurface capillary tubes as a function of the camera exposure time and the actual flow speed. Our data with both imaging setups suggest that the contrast predicted by the temporal algorithm, and therefore the relative flow speed, is nearly independent of the degree of static optical scattering that contributes to the overall measured speckle pattern. Collectively, these results strongly suggest the potential of temporal LSCI at a single-exposure time to assess accurately the changes in blood flow even in the presence of substantial static optical scattering.

Wide-field time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) microscopy with time resolution below the frame exposure time

Fast frame rate CMOS cameras in combination with photon counting intensifiers can be used for fluorescence imaging with single photon sensitivity at kHz frame rates. We show here how the phosphor decay of the image intensifier can be exploited for accurate timing of photon arrival well below the camera exposure time. This is achieved by taking ratios of the intensity of the photon events in two subsequent frames, and effectively allows wide-field TCSPC. This technique was used for measuring decays of ruthenium compound Ru(dpp) with lifetimes as low as 1μs with 18.5μs frame exposure time, including in living HeLa cells, using around 0.1μW excitation power. We speculate that by using an image intensifier with a faster phosphor decay to match a higher camera frame rate, photon arrival time measurements on the nanosecond time scale could well be possible.

Efficient illumination for microsecond tracking microscopy.

The possibility to observe microsecond dynamics at the sub-micron scale, opened by recent technological advances in fast camera sensors, will affect many biophysical studies based on particle tracking in optical microscopy. A main limiting factor for further development of fast video microscopy remains the illumination of the sample, which must deliver sufficient light to the camera to allow microsecond exposure times. Here we systematically compare the main illumination systems employed in holographic tracking microscopy, and we show that a superluminescent diode and a modulated laser diode perform the best in terms of image quality and acquisition speed, respectively. In particular, we show that the simple and inexpensive laser illumination enables less than s camera exposure time at high magnification on a large field of view without coherence image artifacts, together with a good hologram quality that allows nm-tracking of microscopic beads to be performed. This comparison of sources can guide in choosing the most efficient illumination system with respect to the specific application.

Double imaging with an intensified visible fast camera to visualize the fine structure of turbulent coherent plasma structures (blobs) in TJ-II

A visible fast camera coupled with an image intensifier was employed to view turbulent coherent plasma structures (blobs) at the gas plume being puffed through a poloidal limiter. The image intensifier amplifies the light intensity thereby allowing the imaging system to be operated at ultra-short exposure times down to 100 ns. The idea behind operating at such low exposure times is to study the features of the turbulent coherent structure at smaller time scales than usual. Possible effects that can distort the blob's characteristics if the camera exposure time is larger than its dynamics are the smoothing effect (averaging of multiple events within the integration time) or the blurring effect (integrating the emission in time during the movement of the blob). This can be especially important when looking for space scales below 1 cm, which we call the fine structure. The image intensifier, however, introduces some grainy noise to the camera image and in the fine structure analysis this noise can sometimes become comparable to the size of the structure itself and may lead to a false interpretation of the image. To distinguish real physical signal from noise we get two simultaneous images with the same view and compare them. We call this the double imaging technique and it allows us to validate the detected blob shape to scales down to a few millimetres, limited by our optical resolution. We have studied the influence of camera exposure time on the blob features and observed that for shorter times more intense bursts are recorded in the TJ-II stellarator. The most intense bursts are smoothed, even using an exposure time of 1 µs. Further, for the low-density electron cyclotron resonance heated (ECRH) plasmas analysed, the detected structures with positive density above the background (blobs) show strong intensity excursions not visible in the negative structures (holes), these however being more numerous at the low–intermediate intensity range. Other results concerning blob characteristics are shown.

Performance evaluation of an overdriven LED for high-speed schlieren imaging

A quantitative comparison of an overdriven light-emitting diode (LED) and a high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp as illumination sources for high-speed schlieren imaging is presented. A custom pulser circuit utilizing a new and improved driver circuit was developed to overdrive the LED by a factor of ten while simultaneously reducing pulse widths to sub-microsecond durations. The LED system has been developed as a simple and inexpensive alternative light source to discharge lamps and pulsed laser systems, which are typical for high-speed schlieren imaging. Image quality of a decaying spherical shock wave, produced from the unsteady release of an under-expanded helium jet, is analyzed to assess comparative performance. The effects of framing rate, camera exposure time, and pulse duration on image quality were assessed and compared for the novel LED and an HID. Framing rates of 10,000 and 50,000 fps and exposure times of 1 and 10 µs were tested. Image quality was assessed qualitatively through side-by-side comparisons of fluid dynamic features such as the resolution of shock waves, compression waves, and shear layers. Quantitative analysis was performed through the comparison of the signal-to-noise ratio at the various conditions. LED performance was found to be superior when imaging fast events and inferior when imaging slower events. Results and potential system improvements indicate that the LED system is ideal for low-cost, high-speed flow imaging.

Quantitatively assessing flow velocity by the slope of the inverse square of the contrast values versus camera exposure time.

The slope of the inverse square of the contrast values versus camera exposure time at multi-exposure speckle imaging (MESI) can be a new indicator of flow velocity. The slope is linear as the diffuse coefficient in Brownian motion diffusion model and the mean velocity in ballistic motion model. Combining diffuse speckle contrast analysis (DSCA) and MESI, we demonstrate theoretically and experimentally that the flow velocity can be obtained from this slope. The calculation results processes of the slop don't need tedious Newtonian iterative method and are computationally inexpensive. The new indicator can play an important role in quantitatively assessing tissue blood flow velocity.

A 3D Shape Measurement Technique that Makes Use of a Printed Line Pattern

The in-house validation of finite element models for bird strike events is currently carried out by means of experimental tests on flat plates. High displacement speeds in these experiments require a low exposure time of the high-speed camera (up to 1/50,000 s). In order to acquire images of sufficient quality, a special, high-intensity light source has to be used, which does not always turn out to be possible. Therefore, the regions with high displacement speeds often result in blurry images. In such cases, a printed line pattern to estimate the shape of the plate during the test, offers major advantages over a speckle pattern in terms of the reconstruction and optimization of the blurry regions. In this article, a stereo vision technique is presented that was developed to reconstructs 3D shape maps using images of impacted plates with printed line patterns. It is shown that two cameras are necessary to calculate accurate shape maps in case of large deflections. The resulting shapes can be used for the validation of numerical simulations.

Suppression of speckle patterns based on temporal angular decorrelation induced by multiple beamlets with diverse optical paths

We investigate an effective technique to alleviate the speckle contrast based on the temporal angular decorrelation induced by multiple beamlets with diverse optical paths. Multiple beamlets with diverse optical paths are generated by using a microlens array incorporating a galvo-mirror at the foci of two spherical lenses. As the multiple beamlets with different optical paths are interfered after the screen, versatile uncorrelated speckle patterns with random phases in the time domain should be induced. The random phases of the versatile uncorrelated speckle patterns can effectively suppress the speckle contrast after averaging all intensities of versatile uncorrelated speckle patterns by accumulating speckle patterns during the exposure time of the CCD camera. The speckle contrast ratios with or without the homogenizer are reduced by 10.2% and 14.2%, respectively, with a low loss of less than 5%. Evidently, the homogenizer can improve the suppression efficiency of the speckle contrast ratio.

Full-field dual-color 100-nm super-resolution imaging reveals organization and dynamics of mitochondrial and ER networks

Most structured illumination microscopes use a physical or synthetic grating that is projected into the sample plane to generate a periodic illumination pattern. Albeit simple and cost-effective, this arrangement hampers fast or multi-color acquisition, which is a critical requirement for time-lapse imaging of cellular and sub-cellular dynamics. In this study, we designed and implemented an interferometric approach allowing large-field, fast, dual-color imaging at an isotropic 100-nm resolution based on a sub-diffraction fringe pattern generated by the interference of two colliding evanescent waves. Our all-mirror-based system generates illumination pat-terns of arbitrary orientation and period, limited only by the illumination aperture (NA = 1.45), the response time of a fast, piezo-driven tip-tilt mirror (10 ms) and the available fluorescence signal. At low µW laser powers suitable for long-period observation of life cells and with a camera exposure time of 20 ms, our system permits the acquisition of super-resolved 50 µm by 50 µm images at 3.3 Hz. The possibility it offers for rapidly adjusting the pattern between images is particularly advantageous for experiments that require multi-scale and multi-color information. We demonstrate the performance of our instrument by imaging mitochondrial dynamics in cultured cortical astrocytes. As an illustration of dual-color excitation dual-color detection, we also resolve interaction sites between near-membrane mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum. Our TIRF-SIM microscope provides a versatile, compact and cost-effective arrangement for super-resolution imaging, allowing the investigation of co-localization and dynamic interactions between organelles--important questions in both cell biology and neurophysiology.

Noninvasive Measurement of Particle-Settling Velocity and Comparison with Stokes’ Law

An image-analysis technique was applied for noninvasive measurements of settling rate of polystyrene latex spheres of 6, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 160 μm diameters in a quiescent environment. A CCD (charged couple device) camera and strobe light were used to capture in situ images of the particles, which were analyzed using image-analysis software. To overcome the challenge of noninvasive measurement of very slow-moving particles, variable pixel resolutions were chosen depending on settling speed so that the separation of the particle images in a given camera exposure time was sufficient to determine the temporal displacements of the particles with precision. Particle-settling behavior was not disrupted for any kind of sample handling, and measurements were made without hindering particle settling and allowing particle movement under gravity alone. Measurements were compared with settling rates calculated with Stokes’ law, and the validity of Stokes’ law under low particle Reynolds number (R<0.1) was investigated for solid and spherical particles. While the smaller particles settled at a rate closely predicted by Stokes’ law, the larger particles settled slightly more slowly than was predicted. This effect is likely due to an increase in the drag coefficient with relatively larger-particle Reynolds number, compared to the value used in Stokes’ law.