Confocal Raman microscope (CRM) is one of the most powerful analytical instruments. The lateral spatial resolution is one of the key parameters for evaluating its imaging performance. In this paper, a novel knife-edge method is proposed for measuring the lateral resolution of CRMs. A virtual knife-edge phantom is developed by coating a thin layer of chromium pattern on a piece of polished monocrystalline silicon. It can avoid the edge-enhancement effect in conventional knife-edge methods. The edge spread function (ESF) and resolution of a commercial CRM at different configurations are measured to test the performance of the phantom, whose lateral resolution is from 0.8~8 micrometers. The Fermi function is used to fit the experimental data of the ESF and calculate the lateral resolution. Different types of phantoms are also developed and tested for comparison study. It is proved by experimental results that the virtual knife-edge method can be used to measure the ESF and resolution of CRMs and shows better performance than conventional methods.
Cornea is an important part of human eye refractive system. Corneal astigmatism axis, as a key parameter to evaluate the corneal topography, is directly related to visual diagnosis and treatment. In 1997, International Organization for Standardization published the first ISO standard for requirements of corneal parameter measurement. However, due to the limitation of processing and testing technology at that time, the standard of corneal astigmatism axis has been an unsolved technical problem. Research work on corneal astigmatism axis standard was carried out early in 2007 by China National Institute of Metrology. In this paper, first, measurement principle of corneal parameter is described. Then, corneal astigmatism axis standard based on toroidal surface is designed and manufactured, which consists of axial model eye, axial sleeve and measurement support. Axial model eye is a square cylinder whose front surface is toroidal and back surface is scrub plane, which is located in the square through hole of axial sleeve, and axial sleeve is located on the trapezoid groove of measurement support. Next, by accurate measurement and metrological calibration, four axes of 0°, 45°, 90° and 135° are achieved and axis uncertainty U=0.3° (k=2). Finally, measurement results show that the newly developed astigmatism axis standard can realize the evaluation of corneal parameter testing instruments well. Besides, design structure specified in ISO standard is found to be hard for accurately location and infeasible in practice. A proposal for revision of this international standard will be drafted and discussed on ISO meeting of 2019 held in America.
Confocal Raman Microscopy (CRM) has matured to become one of the most powerful instruments in analytical science because of its molecular sensitivity and high spatial resolution. Compared with conventional Raman Microscopy, CRM can perform three dimensions mapping of tiny samples and has the advantage of high spatial resolution thanking to the unique pinhole. With the wide application of the instrument, there is a growing requirement for the evaluation of the imaging performance of the system. Point-spread function (PSF) is an important approach to the evaluation of imaging capability of an optical instrument. Among a variety of measurement methods of PSF, the point source method has been widely used because it is easy to operate and the measurement results are approximate to the true PSF. In the point source method, the point source size has a significant impact on the final measurement accuracy. In this paper, the influence of the point source sizes on the measurement accuracy of PSF is analyzed and verified experimentally. A theoretical model of the lateral PSF for CRM is established and the effect of point source size on full-width at half maximum of lateral PSF is simulated. For long-term preservation and measurement convenience, PSF measurement phantom using polydimethylsiloxane resin, doped with different sizes of polystyrene microspheres is designed. The PSF of CRM with different sizes of microspheres are measured and the results are compared with the simulation results. The results provide a guide for measuring the PSF of the CRM.
Raman spectrometers are usually calibrated periodically to ensure their measurement accuracy of Raman shift. A combination of a piece of monocrystalline silicon chip and a low pressure discharge lamp is proposed as a candidate for the reference standard of Raman shift. A high precision calibration technique is developed to accurately determine the standard value of the silicon's Raman shift around 520cm-1. The technique is described and illustrated by measuring a piece of silicon chip against three atomic spectral lines of a neon lamp. A commercial Raman spectrometer is employed and its error characteristics of Raman shift are investigated. Error sources are evaluated based on theoretical analysis and experiments, including the sample factor, the instrumental factor, the laser factor and random factors. Experimental results show that the expanded uncertainty of the silicon's Raman shift around 520cm-1 can acheive 0.3 cm-1 (k=2), which is more accurate than most of currently used reference materials. The results are validated by comparison measurement between three Raman spectrometers. It is proved that the technique can remarkably enhance the accuracy of Raman shift, making it possible to use the silicon and the lamp to calibrate Raman spectrometers.
A phoropter is one of the most popular ophthalmic instruments used in optometry and the back vertex power (BVP) is
one of the most important parameters to evaluate the refraction characteristics of a phoropter. In this paper, a new laser
differential confocal vertex-power measurement method which takes advantage of outstanding focusing ability of laser
differential confocal (LDC) system is proposed for measuring the BVP of phoropters. A vertex power measurement
system is built up. Experimental results are presented and some influence factor is analyzed. It is demonstrated that the
method based on LDC technique has higher measurement precision and stronger environmental anti-interference
capability compared to existing methods. Theoretical analysis and experimental results indicate that the measurement
error of the method is about 0.02m-1.
High accuracy radius of curvature (ROC) measurement of optical surfaces is usually realized by techniques such as
autocollimation, interferometry and profilometry, with theoretical accuracy as high as 10-6. In practical application,
significant discrepancy may exist in results obtained by different methods owing to figure error of measured surfaces. In
this paper, mathematical models are built up to characterize the relationship between the ROC and the figure error as
well as the aperture angle. Based on the models, equations for calculating the ROC accuracy are derived and tested on
several ROC measuring methods. Experiments are carried out on a set of high quality spheres whose diameters are from
11mm to 93mm and roundness is from 0.03μm to 0.07μm, measured by instruments with top level accuracy, which are a
length measuring machine, a profilometer and a homemade differential confocal system. Uncertainties are calculated and
analyzed against several factors. The reason for the discrepancy between different methods is explained. An approach is
also proposed which could reduce the uncertainty of ROC by 1~2 scales, making it possible to trace the results of ROC
measuring instruments to the primary standard of length via diameter and roundness measurement method.
A new approach based on laser differential confocal technique is potential to achieve high accuracy in radius of curvature
(ROC) measurement. It utilizes two digital microscopes with virtual pinholes on the CCD detectors to precisely locate
the cat's-eye and the confocal positions, which can enhance the focus-identification resolution. An instrumental system
was established and experimental research was carried out to determine how error sources contribute to the uncertainty
of ROC measurement, such as optical axis misalignment, dead path of the interferometer, surface figure error of tested
lenses and temperature fluctuation, etc. Suggestions were also proposed on how these factors could be avoided or
suppressed. The system performance was tested by employing four pairs of template lenses with a serial of ROC values.
The relative expanded uncertainty was analyzed and calculated based on theoretical analysis and experimental
determination, which was smaller than 2x10-5 (k=2). The results were supported by comparison measurement between
the differential confocal radius measurement (DCRM) system and an ultra-high accuracy three-dimensional profilometer,
showing good consistency. It demonstrated that the DCRM system was capable of high-accuracy ROC measurement.
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