Measurement Range Expansion of Chromatic Confocal Probe with Supercontinuum Light Source

Confocal probes have been widely adopted in various industries owing to their depth-sectioning effects. A dual-detector differential chromatic confocal probe using a mode-locked femtosecond laser source is proposed herein, and the measurement range expansion of the probe using a supercontinuum light source is discussed. Supercontinuum light has an extremely wide spectrum. A simulation based on wave optics is performed to evaluate the detection sensitivity and measurable range by considering the chromatic aberration of the lens materials. Additionally, an experimental setup is constructed using a supercontinuum light source, and its feasibility is validated. A measurable range of 200 μm is adopted in the experiment, and three-dimensional surface profile measurements are performed. However, the developed confocal probe has not been used for surface topography measurements. Experiments are conducted to verify the performance of the developed probe.

A Broadband Mid-Infrared Trace Gas Sensor Using Supercontinuum Light Source: Applications for Real-Time Quality Control for Fruit Storage

We present a fully integrated and transportable multi-species trace gas sensor based on a mid-infrared (MIR) supercontinuum light source. The high brightness (surpassing synchrotron) and ultra-broad spectral bandwidth (2–4 μm) of this light source allows simultaneous detection of multiple broadband absorbing gas species. High sensitivity in the sub-ppmv level has been achieved by utilizing an astigmatic multipass cell. A grating-based spectrometer at a scanning rate of 20 Hz is developed employing a balanced detection scheme. A multi-component global fitting algorithm is implemented into a central LabVIEW program to perform real-time data analysis. The obtained concentration values are validated by the standard gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. Field application of the sensor for quality control of stored fruits at a small scale is demonstrated, involving the detection of ethylene, ethanol, ethyl acetate, acetaldehyde, methanol, acetone, and water simultaneously. The sensor also shows promising potentials for other applications, such as environmental monitoring and biomedical research.