Coaxial Source Research Articles

Field ionization intensity used to measure local pressure in gas flows

A coaxial ion source produces an ion beam via field effect in a gas flow through a coaxial microchannel structure. Measuring the intensity of ion emission under an electric voltage condition reveals the pressure at the tip of the coaxial structure, where ionization occurs. The spatial resolution of the measurements is defined by the volume into which the position of the tip fits, here estimated as a cube with an edge of 10 μm. The pressure at the tip is also obtained analytically as a function of the throughput through the coaxial structure. The theoretical and experimental pressure values reported in the present work are in agreement between them within the geometric uncertainties of the coaxial structure itself.

Automatic Defect Detection Instrument for Spherical Surfaces of Optical Elements

In order to realize automatic surface defect detection for large aperture precision spherical optical elements, an automatic surface defect detection instrument has been designed. The instrument consists of a microscopic imaging system, illumination system, motion scanning system, and a software algorithm system. Firstly, a multi-angle channel illumination source and a coaxial illumination source were designed. Bright and dark field images of surface defects were captured by cooperating with an automatic zoom microscope. Then, algorithms for scanning trajectory planning, image stitching, and intelligent defect recognition were designed to achieve full-aperture surface image acquisition and defect quantification detection. The automated defect detection process of the instrument is summarized and introduced. Finally, the experimental platform was constructed, which can work well for the optical elements with a maximum diameter of 400 mm and a relative aperture R/D value of 1. It takes about 15 min to detect an optical element with a diameter of 200 mm in dark-field imaging mode. As a result, the minimum line width of scratch detectable is 2 μm and the minimum diameter of pitting detectable is 4 μm. Clearly, the instrument can realize the automatic detection of surface defects of spherical optical elements, and has the advantages of a high efficiency, stability, reliability, quantification, and data traceability.

Resonant Gas Oscillations in a Closed Tube with a Coaxial Heat Source

Resonant Gas Oscillations in a Closed Tube with a Coaxial Heat Source

Prediction of milling surface roughness based on DGLCM and neural network

With the manufacturing industry’s increasingly automated and intelligent development, traditional workpiece roughness measurement methods can no longer meet the requirements for short time, high efficiency, and online measurement. Therefore, this article proposes a roughness evaluation model for vertical milling workpiece roughness measurement and improves upon the traditional Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) method to achieve high accuracy and robustness in measuring milling surface roughness. First, the milled surface is illuminated by a coaxial light source, and an image is captured using an industrial camera and a telecentric lens. Then, four features of the image are extracted using the Direction Measure-based Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (DGLCM) to construct a feature descriptor. Finally, Finally, create an RBF network to predict surface roughness. Through experimental comparison with traditional GLCM feature extraction methods, our proposed feature extraction method has a prediction error of only 2.01%, which is superior to traditional methods.

Simulation of high frequency short pulse excitation of co-axial xenon excimer source for generation of 172 nm radiation

Simulation of high frequency short pulse excitation of co-axial xenon excimer source for generation of 172 nm radiation

Применение научной визуализации в моделировании низкотемпературной газоразрядной плазмы

This article discusses the importance of developing software and hardware complexes for data visualization and improving methods of presenting them in the modeling of low-temperature gas discharge plasma phenomena and related physical processes. In particular, issues related to creating a specialized distributed environment for solving gas discharge modeling tasks are considered. The use of computer graphics for visualization has allowed for a visual analysis of the obtained data and making necessary adjustments to the modeling process interactively with the data. The paper presents the results of visualizing a model of mercury-argon plasma in a coaxial microwave discharge. The application of local cross-sections of the computational domain for visualization has revealed the internal structure and peculiarities of the distribution of the electric field and electron concentration in the discharge tube. The obtained data served as the basis for creating an experimental prototype of a coaxial gas discharge optical radiation source.

Characterization of a circular arc electron source for a self-neutralizing air-breathing plasma thruster

The paper presents an enhanced version of an arc electron source designed for air ionization applications in a self-neutralizing air-breathing plasma thruster. The arc electron source is specifically suited for the air-breathing plasma thruster, as it allows precise control of mean electron energy levels. This paper focuses on the ionization aspects of air-breathing thrusters through the development of axially magnetized arc electron sources. The sources consist of a circular and coaxial configuration of a metallic arc plasma source coupled with a positively biased grid to extract electrons and control mean electron energy. The average mean electron energy of electrons in the arc electron source is regulated by adjusting the bias voltage of the grid within the range of 0 V – 300 V. To investigate the behavior of ion current density and electron density concerning pressure and mean electron energy, the current probe and magnetic filter were utilized. It was demonstrated that the circular electron source leads to enhanced ionization of airflow by achieving plasma densities greater than 1018 m−3. By utilizing a high-speed camera for the circular arc electron source, the arc spot was seen to move azimuthally due to the magnetic field. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy and a conductance measurement system were employed for the coaxial arc electron source to examine the deposition and conductance of the electron extraction grid. While the grid underwent deposition of about 600 microns, the conductance was observed to increase/saturate with time and bias voltage, indicating an electrically “self-healing material”.

Kinematics of the Upper Eyelid and the Globe During Downward Excursion With Comparative Analysis in Patients With Thyroid Eye Disease.

To analyze the kinematics of the upper eyelid and the globe on downward excursion for potential use in monitoring thyroid eye disease (TED) progression in an objective manner. Ten normal volunteers and 10 patients with TED were studied. A high-speed (240 fps) digital camera with a coaxial light source set at a constant distance from the subjects' eyes was used to record the excursion of the upper eyelid and the globe from extreme upgaze to extreme downgaze. Clinical data, including age, gender, race, thyroid function tests, Vision, Inflammation/Congestion, Strabismus/motility restriction, Appearance/exposure score (primary surgeons' preference of TED grading system), exophthalmometry, and eyelid measurements were collected for all patients with TED. Frame-by-frame analyses of the videos were performed using Python software (version 3.6) and the Open Source Computer Vision Library. Temporal resolution was obtained by measuring the number of frames from initiation of eyelid and globe movement from extreme upgaze (t 0 ) to extreme downgaze (t f ). Spatial resolution was obtained by measuring the number of pixels the eyelid margin and the globe traversed from t 0 to t f . The data were then plotted on a graph to calculate the velocity of the upper eyelid and the globe during downward excursion. Velocimetric calculations using high-speed photography suggests that downward excursion of the upper eyelid, and the globe occurs in 2 phases: the acceleration phase and the deceleration phase. Comparative analysis of slow-motion videography demonstrates that patients with TED were found to have attenuation in the early acceleration phase of upper eyelid excursion compared with normal subjects. In patients with TED, the difference in velocity between the eyelid and the globe occurs in the early deceleration phase. The upper eyelid normally synchronizes intimately with the globe during downward eye movement. Data from this study reveal that attenuation mostly in the early deceleration phase of eyelid movement relative to the globe accounts for the dynamic eyelid lag seen on clinical examination. Further analysis is needed to show if a quantified von Graefe sign can be used as an objective means of monitoring progression in TED.

Coaxial ion source: Pressure dependence of gas flow and field ion emission

We investigated the pressure dependence of the gas flow and the field ion intensity of a coaxial ion source operating at room temperature over a wide pressure range, testing various gases and ionization voltages. Flow conductance measurements taking into account the different gases’ viscosity and molecular mass consistently exhibit a generic pattern. Three different flow regimes appear with increasing upstream pressure. Since the coaxial ion source supplies the gas locally, very near the apex of the tip where ionization occurs, large ionization currents can be obtained without degrading the propagation conditions of the beam. Compared with field ionization in a partial pressure chamber, using the coaxial ion source increases the ion current a hundredfold for the same residual low pressure. We also show that the gas flow regime does not impact the ionization yield. Although a fuller characterization remains to be performed, brightness reaches 3×1011 A/m2/sr at 12 kV extracting voltage.

Infrared All-Dielectric Metasurface Beam Splitter Based on Transflective Structures

Beam splitters are widely applied in various optical systems as a common beam-splitting device. The conventional stereoscopic and flat-type beam splitters greatly limit the packaging and integration of optical systems due to their large size and restricted emitting direction. Recently, beam-splitting devices made of various transmissive or reflective metasurfaces have shown the potential to overcome these challenges. However, in optical systems such as machine vision, these single-ended beam splitters increase the design complexity of the signal feedback link due to the limitation of the beam-splitting path direction. Here, we proposed and numerically simulated a transflective all-dielectric metasurface beam splitter by applying incompletely transmissive structural designs to the metasurface and using the transmission phase modulation mechanism. It can realize the beam separation for arbitrarily polarized incident light on the same side of the normal at both transmissive and reflective ends with a single-layer unit cell arrangement structure and has a similar emergence angle. The results reveal that at 1550 nm, the angular tolerance bandwidth is about 32°, the total splitting efficiency is over 90%, and the splitting ratio is approximately 1:1. After comparison and verification of simulation results, this transflective metasurface beam splitter is hopeful to be applied in new compact optical systems that require real-time signal feedback, such as coaxial light sources and photoelectric sensing.

Numerical study of microwave impact on gas hydrate plugs in a pipeline

Purpose. Development of a technique for the numerical study on the decomposition of gas hydrate plugs in deep-water pipelines under microwave radiation using a coaxial source. Theoretical efficiency evaluation of using such an impact to unblock the pipelines. Methodology. Mathematical modeling and computational experiment. Findings. An original mathematical model is proposed to describe heat transfer processes during the decomposition of gas hydrates in a pipeline under the action of heat sources distributed over the volume. The non-stationary problem of heat transfer was considered in a one-dimensional formulation. An algorithm for numerical computation is proposed. A mathematical expression is obtained for distributed heat sources generated by the microwave radiation from a coaxially located SHF antenna. Parametric numerical studies on temperature fields and decomposition dynamics of a gas hydrate plug are performed for specified parameters of pipe and microwave radiation power. The boundaries of the decomposition area and the dynamics of change in this area are determined. The decomposition time of a gas hydrate plug with a diameter of 0.3 m was determined using a 300 W microwave source. The complete decomposition took approximately 40 hours. Originality. The task of thermal decomposition of a cylindrical gas hydrate plug in a pipeline due to microwave heating using a coaxial microwave power source has been considered for the first time. The process is viewed as a sequence of several stages: heating, heating and decomposition, decomposition after complete heating of the gas hydrate layer. To model the volumetric dissociation of gas hydrate, it was proposed to use special functions that characterize the amount of decomposed gas hydrate. The introduction of such functions makes it possible to construct an efficient computational algorithm taking into account the action of volumetric sources in the decomposition area. The known models mainly consider only surface thermal effect or microwave impact on gas hydrate in porous mediums. The presented model allows describing the decomposition during volumetric heating of a solid hydrate adequately. Practical value. Blocking plugs may occur due to hydrate formation when transporting gas through deep-water pipelines or through pipelines in cold environments. The elimination of such complications is a complex technical task. In particular, a special source of microwave radiation, which was proposed by the authors in previous works, can be used to unblock the pipeline. The device that makes the microwave radiation is located along the pipe axis. The results of this work allow us to evaluate the effectiveness of the microwave method for eliminating the gas hydrate plug. The mathematical model and computational method can be used in the development of appropriate technologies using a coaxial microwave heating source.

Multilayer Soft Photolithography Fabrication of Microfluidic Devices Using a Custom-Built Wafer-Scale PDMS Slab Aligner and Cost-Efficient Equipment.

We present a robust, low-cost fabrication method for implementation in multilayer soft photolithography to create a PDMS microfluidic chip with features possessing multiple height levels. This fabrication method requires neither a cleanroom facility nor an expensive UV exposure machine. The central part of the method stays on the alignment of numerous PDMS slabs on a wafer-scale instead of applying an alignment for a photomask positioned right above a prior exposure layer using a sophisticated mask aligner. We used a manual XYZR stage attached to a vacuum tweezer to manipulate the top PDMS slab. The bottom PDMS slab sat on a rotational stage to conveniently align with the top part. The movement of the two slabs was observed by a monocular scope with a coaxial light source. As an illustration of the potential of this system for fast and low-cost multilayer microfluidic device production, we demonstrate the microfabrication of a 3D microfluidic chaotic mixer. A discussion on another alternative method for the fabrication of multiple height levels is also presented, namely the micromilling approach.

Droplet spatter suppression in laser lap welding of galvanized sheets using additional coaxial annular laser source

This study is to prevent droplet spatter in laser welding of galvanized sheets. Three-dimensional welding simulation model is also established and analyzed to reveal the relationship between keyhole oscillation and flow behavior. It is found major reason for droplet spatter is the impact force of the reflux and eddy of the metal pool toward the keyhole. Keyhole oscillates seriously and reflux impact causes energy exchange discontinuity, making the keyhole opening intermittent closed in traditional Gaussian laser source alone. While certain output proportion of coaxial annular and Gaussian laser source could considerably improve impact resistance on the reflux and suppress droplet spatter obviously. Weld appearance is relatively beautiful and harmonious, with few undercuts, collapses and humps.

Imaging the pediatric retina: An overview.

Recent decade has seen a shift in the causes of childhood blinding diseases from anterior segment to retinal disease in both developed and developing countries. The common retinal disorders are retinopathy of prematurity and vitreoretinal infections in neonates, congenital anomalies in infants, and vascular retinopathies including type 1 diabetes, tumors, and inherited retinal diseases in children (up to 12 years). Retinal imaging helps in diagnosis, management, follow up and prognostication in all these disorders. These imaging modalities include fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, ultrasonography, retinal vascular and structural studies, and electrodiagnosis. Over the decades there has been tremendous advances both in design (compact, multifunctional, tele-consult capable) and technology (wide- and ultra-wide field and noninvasive retinal angiography). These new advances have application in most of the pediatric retinal diseases though at most times the designs of new devices have remained confined to use in adults. Poor patient cooperation and insufficient attention span in children demand careful crafting of the devices. The newer attempts of hand-held retinal diagnostic devices are welcome additions in this direction. While much has been done, there is still much to do in the coming years. One of the compelling and immediate needs is the pediatric version of optical coherence tomography angiography. These needs and demands would increase many folds in future. A sound policy could be the simultaneous development of adult and pediatric version of all ophthalmic diagnostic devices, coupled with capacity building of trained medical personnel.

Size Detection Method of Embedded Ball Based on Aviation Bearing Image

In the aerospace industry, bearing is widely used in various rotating machinery. The performance of bearing affects the operation of the whole machinery and even aviation equipment. The wrongly assembled ball due to size is an important reason for unqualified bearing. To solve this problem, an accurate ball detection method based on the bearing image is proposed. Firstly, according to the imaging characteristics of bearing and light propagation characteristics, an image collection system based on the coaxial light source is designed. Then, aiming at the problem that the embedded ball is occluded by the bearing ring and the cage, only partial ball in the narrow gap can be used to predict the full ball and the high-precision requirement of ball detection, a ball segmentation model based on DeepLab v3+ network is used to segment the local ball, and CBAM is added in the Xception network of the original network. According to the characteristics of the segmentation result, a circle detection algorithm based on circle fitting evaluation designed for incomplete short arc is proposed. Finally, according to the detection results, judge whether the bearing is qualified or not and evaluate the feasibility of this method. Experimental results show that the ball detection accuracy is about 27 microns, and the wrongly assembled ball with a size difference of only 198 microns can be distinguished. The false detection rate of unqualified bearing is 1%. As the last line of defense of bearing quality inspection, this method can achieve zero false detection rate of unqualified bearing in the industry.

Sword/scabbard-shaped asymmetric all-solid-state supercapacitors based on PPy-MWCNTs-silk and hollow graphene tube for wearable applications

Fiber-shaped supercapacitors (FSSCs) have attracted increasing attention for wearable electronics. Herein, an asymmetrical fiber-shaped supercapacitor, AFSSCs-ICS, with an innovative encapsulated core-sheath architecture has been successfully constructed for the first time. The sword-scabbard inspired AFSSCs-ICS was fabricated by simply inserting a ‘sword’ positive electrode, PPy-MWCNTs-silk, into one tubular graphene ‘scabbard’ negative electrode with H2SO4/PVA gel as electrolyte. Notably, our newly designed PPy-MWCNTs-silk electrode had an ultrahigh length specific capacitance of 15.3 mF cm−1 (corresponding to high areal or volumetric capacitance of 676.9 mF cm−2 or 376.3 F cm−3), representing one of the highest levels among the fabric yarn derived electrodes, while the hollow graphene tube depicted a superior linear capacitance of 19.1 mF cm−1, which could match well with that of the PPy-MWCNTs-silk electrode. Benefiting from the innovative yet rational structure, and ideally balanced charges, the AFSSCs-ICS had an extended operating potential of 1.6 V, and an outstanding length specific capacitance of 2.3 mF cm−1 with a very admirable energy density of 0.8 μWh cm−1, dramatically surpassing numerous reported FSSCs. Moreover, the AFSSCs-ICS device also afforded superb electrochemical and mechanical stabilities with retentions of 81% after 3000 charging-discharging cycles and 95–105% under bending degrees from 0 to 150°. This study may pave a new way for constructing coaxial fiber-shaped energy source unit for next-generation wearable and portable miniaturized electronics.

Study on in-situ growth of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) layer on kapton surface and the properties of SiO2/POSS coatings

Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) is used as a transition layer to enhance the adhesion between SiO2 coating and polyimide (Kapton) film in order to solve problems such as cracking and peeling of coatings. Passivation layer on the Kapton surface was removed by 0.05 mol L−1 NaOH solution under hydrothermal conditions, and an amine-POSS layer formed in situ on the surface by γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). Finally, a SiO2 coating was prepared on it by sol-gel method. The surface morphology of samples was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the wettability was measured by a contact angle instrument. Atomic oxygen (AO) erosion test was performed on a coaxial source device. After 6 h AO irradiation of 5.0 eV average energy and 1.53 × 1016 atoms cm−2s−1 beam density, the erosion yield was 3.61 × 10−24 cm3 atom−1 for Kapton and 0.13 × 10−24 cm3 atom−1 for SiO2/POSS/Kapton, which was only 3.6 % as that of the Kapton, demonstrating excellent anti-AO property of the coated sample.

Influence of different loupe systems and their light source on the vision in endodontics

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of Galilean and Keplerian loupes in the endodontic lumen with and without integrated light. Although the use of an operating microscope is widely recommended in endodontics it is uncertain whether an adequate loupe system with coaxial light source might replace the microscope for some endodontic work. Twenty-four dentists (age 27–64 years) underwent a miniaturized visual test inside the endodontic lumen of a natural molar: at the canal entrance, 5 mm inside the canal, and at the apex. The tooth was mounted in a phantom head in a simulated clinical setting. The naked eye (negative) and the microscope 6× (positive) served as control groups, and Galilean loupes 2.5× and Keplerian loupes 4.3× with and without a coaxial light source as experimental groups. A structure of 0.05 mm corresponding to the smallest instrument (06) was the threshold for sufficient vision. The loupe type, coaxial light source and the dentists’ age had a statistically significant influence at all locations. None of the loupes helped to visualize structures at the apex. At the canal entrance, the visual threshold was reached by dentists < 40 years with Galilean loupes, by dentists ≥ 40 years with Keplerian loupes, with and without coaxial light. Dentists < 40 years detected structures < 0.05 mm inside the root canal with Keplerian loupes and coaxial light. The microscope offered highly superior results. The naked eye was insufficient to reach the visual threshold at any location.

Influence of different loupe systems and their light source on the vision in endodontics

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of Galilean and Keplerian loupes in the endodontic lumen with and without integrated light. Although the use of an operating microscope is widely recommended in endodontics it is uncertain whether an adequate loupe system with coaxial light source might replace the microscope for some endodontic work. Twenty-four dentists (age 27–64 years) underwent a miniaturized visual test inside the endodontic lumen of a natural molar: at the canal entrance, 5 mm inside the canal, and at the apex. The tooth was mounted in a phantom head in a simulated clinical setting. The naked eye (negative) and the microscope 6× (positive) served as control groups, and Galilean loupes 2.5× and Keplerian loupes 4.3× with and without a coaxial light source as experimental groups. A structure of 0.05 mm corresponding to the smallest instrument (06) was the threshold for sufficient vision. The loupe type, coaxial light source and the dentists’ age had a statistically significant influence at all locations. None of the loupes helped to visualize structures at the apex. At the canal entrance, the visual threshold was reached by dentists < 40 years with Galilean loupes, by dentists ≥ 40 years with Keplerian loupes, with and without coaxial light. Dentists < 40 years detected structures < 0.05 mm inside the root canal with Keplerian loupes and coaxial light. The microscope offered highly superior results. The naked eye was insufficient to reach the visual threshold at any location.

Influence of different loupe systems and their light source on the vision in endodontics

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of Galilean and Keplerian loupes in the endodontic lumen with and without integrated light. Although the use of an operating microscope is widely recommended in endodontics it is uncertain whether an adequate loupe system with coaxial light source might replace the microscope for some endodontic work. Twenty-four dentists (age 27–64 years) underwent a miniaturized visual test inside the endodontic lumen of a natural molar: at the canal entrance, 5 mm inside the canal, and at the apex. The tooth was mounted in a phantom head in a simulated clinical setting. The naked eye (negative) and the microscope 6× (positive) served as control groups, and Galilean loupes 2.5× and Keplerian loupes 4.3× with and without a coaxial light source as experimental groups. A structure of 0.05 mm corresponding to the smallest instrument (06) was the threshold for sufficient vision. The loupe type, coaxial light source and the dentists’ age had a statistically significant influence at all locations. None of the loupes helped to visualize structures at the apex. At the canal entrance, the visual threshold was reached by dentists < 40 years with Galilean loupes, by dentists ≥ 40 years with Keplerian loupes, with and without coaxial light. Dentists < 40 years detected structures < 0.05 mm inside the root canal with Keplerian loupes and coaxial light. The microscope offered highly superior results. The naked eye was insufficient to reach the visual threshold at any location.