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Metals can break either in a ductile or brittle manner if a static or dynamic load is applied to the same material. This depends on a variety of factors, such as the manner in which the load is applied, the shape of the mechanical part, the operating conditions, the nature and structure of the metallic material, and the working temperature. If subjected to variable loads, metallic materials break due to what is called fatigue. The microscopic analysis of fracture surfaces is currently carried out by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We have proposed, for the first time to our knowledge, a new method to analyze fracture surfaces, using a low coherence interferometry technique, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) [Gh. Hutiu, V.-F. Duma, et al., Surface imaging of metallic material fractures using optical coherence tomography, Appl. Opt. 53, 5912-5916 (2014); Gh. Hutiu, V.-F. Duma, et al., Assessment of ductile, brittle, and fatigue fractures of metals using optical coherence tomography, Metals 8, 117 (2018)]. The present paper presents the way we have demonstrated that OCT can replace the gold standard in such assessments, i.e. SEM, despite the fact that OCT has a resolution of 20 to 4 μm (in our investigations), while the SEM we employed has a 4 to 2 nm resolution. A few examples are given in this respect–for different types of fractures. The advantages of OCT versus SEM are discussed. This development opens the way for in situ investigations, for example in forensic sciences, where OCT can be applied (including with handheld scanning probes. as we have developed). In contrast, SEM, TEM, and AFM are lab-based techniques, more expensive, and they require trained operators.

Optical choppers are common components utilized in a wide variety of systems, for the modulation of light, including for generating controlled laser impulses, of as high as possible frequencies and with certain (required) profiles. Classical choppers have rotational disks, but such configurations are limited in terms of chop frequencies to 10 kHz, although issues already appear from around 3 kHz. Solutions to overcome this drawback include the development of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) or of macro-choppers with rotational shafts. To our knowledge, we have introduced the latter solution (patent pending). Our previous studies on choppers with cylindrical and spherical shafts are briefly pointed out in this work, while we approach a third possible solution, of choppers with conical shafts. Optomechanical aspects are discussed, performing the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of the rotational shafts, for a certain range of constructive parameters, and for rotational speeds of up to 60 krpm. The possible limits of the rotational speed at which choppers with such conical shafts are obtained–from the point of view of their structural integrity and level of deformations.

To determine the roughness is an important aspect in both industrial and biomedical applications. We propose and utilize for roughness evaluations, a non-destructive evaluation methods, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). For the metallic surfaces investigated from this point of view, the Ra and Rz parameters are utilized, according to ISO 4287/1988. Also, according to ISO 4280 and ISO 3274 standards, the measurements have been made on 12.5 mm portions. In order to accommodate such evaluations with the specific OCT field-of-view, four consecutive OCT images have been made for each sample, and an appropriate processing of the data collected from the surface profiles has been made. A validation of the results obtained with OCT has been completed with the gold standard for such evaluations, using a contact mechanical method, with a Mitutuyo profiler.

Optical choppers are widely used in laser systems – for light modulation and/or attenuation. In their most used and wellknown configuration, they are built as a rotational wheel with windows, which transforms a continuous-wave laser beam into a series of impulses with a certain frequency and profile. We briefly present the analysis and design we have completed for the classical chopper wheels (i.e., with windows with linear margins) for both top-hat and Gaussian laser beams. Further on, novel chopper wheels configurations, with outward or inward semi-circular (or with other non-linear shaped) margins of the windows is pointed out; we completed for them both analytic functions and simulations, for both top-hat and Gaussian beams, in order to deduce their transmission functions (i.e., the time profile of the laser impulses generated by the device). The stress of the presentation is put on the novel choppers with shafts (patent pending); their transmission functions are pointed out for top-hat laser beams. Finally, an example of such choppers is considered, with regard to the necessary Finite Element Analysis (FEA) that has to be performed for their rotational shaft. Both the mechanical stress and the deformations in the shaft have to be taken into account, especially at high rotational speeds of the mobile element.

Forensic in situ investigations, for example for aviation, maritime, road, or rail accidents would benefit from a method that may allow to distinguish ductile from brittle fractures of metals - as material defects are one of the potential causes of such accidents. Currently, the gold standard in material studies is represented by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). However, SEM are large, lab-based systems, therefore in situ measurements are excluded. In addition, they are expensive and time-consuming. We have approached this problem and propose the use of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in such investigations in order to overcome these disadvantages of SEM. In this respect, we demonstrate the capability to perform such fracture analysis by obtaining the topography of metallic surfaces using OCT. Different materials have been analyzed; in this presentation a sample of low soft carbon steel with the chemical composition of C 0.2%, Mn 1.15%, S 0.04%, P 0.05 % and Fe for the rest has been considered. An in-house developed Swept Source (SS) OCT system has been used, and height profiles have been generated for the sample surface. This profile allowed for concluding that the carbon steel sample was subjected to a ductile fracture. A validation of the OCT images obtained with a 10 microns resolution has been made with SEM images obtained with a 4 nm resolution. Although the OCT resolution is much lower than the one of SEM, we thus demonstrate that it is sufficient in order to obtain clear images of the grains of the metallic materials and thus to distinguish between ductile and brittle fractures. This study analysis opens avenues for a range of applications, including: (i) to determine the causes that have generated pipe ruptures, or structural failures of metallic bridges and buildings, as well as damages of machinery parts; (ii) to optimize the design of various machinery; (iii) to obtain data regarding the structure of metallic alloys); (iv) to improve the manufacturing technologies of metallic parts.

We present a brief overview of our contributions regarding the analysis and design of optical choppers. Their applications range numerous domains, from optical sensing in radiometry or telescopes to laser manufacturing and biomedical imaging – for example for the controlled attenuation of light, the elimination of selected spectral domains, or the switching of optical paths. While these aspects are pointed out, the paper describes our analysis, modeling, and manufacturing of prototypes for choppers with: (a) wheels with windows with linear margins; (b) wheels with windows with non-linear margins (semi-circular or elliptical), outward or inward; (c) rotational shafts with different shapes, with slits or with holes. While variant (a) represents classical choppers, variant (b) represents the “eclipse” choppers that we have developed and also patented for the solution with two adjustable wheels that can produce circular windows. Variant (c), of choppers with shafts is also a patent application. Their transmission functions are discussed, for the shape of the laser pulses produced and for the attenuation coefficients obtained. While this discussion has been completed analytically for top-hat laser beams, it has been modeled using simulations for Gaussian and Bessel beams. Design, manufacturing aspects, and prototypes of the different chopper configurations complete the presentation.

We present some of our recent investigations in Dental Medicine using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). Time Domain (TD), Spectral Domain (SD), and Swept Source (SS) OCT in-house developed systems are being used, for both ex vivo and in vivo investigations in the oral cavity. We study ex vivo the interface between the tooth and the dental sealant and demonstrate the limitations of the X-rays investigations that are now the gold standard for such procedures. Using OCT, defects in the interface that cannot be identified in radiographs can be determined both as position and magnitude. The drilling process of teeth can also be characterized in real time using OCT, to monitor the remaining dentin thickness (RDT) in order to avoid opening the pulp chamber. We demonstrate in this respect that an RDT of 0.5 mm is the minimum value to assure the integrity of the dentin wall between the drilled cavity and the pulp chamber; at an RDT of 0.3 mm or less a fracture is initiated, the dentin is punctured and endodontic treatment must follow. In vivo OCT investigations in the oral cavity were also performed (i.e., for metalloceramic prostheses and for ceramic inlay tooth interfaces), with the low cost, light weight and versatile handheld probes with 1D galvoscanners that we have developed and applied for a range of in-house developed OCT systems, in various clinical applications. They are briefly discussed, as well as some of our current and future work in the field, including for studies of soft tissue in the mouth. © (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

We present the handheld scanning probes that we have recently developed in our current project for biomedical imaging in general and for Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in particular. OCT is an established, but dynamic imagistic technique based on laser interferometry, which offers micrometer resolutions and millimeters penetration depths. With regard to existing devices, the newly developed handheld probes are simple, light and relatively low cost. Their design is described in detail to allow for the reproduction in any lab, including for educational purposes. Two probes are constructed almost entirely from off-the-shelf components, while a third, final variant is constructed with dedicated components, in an ergonomic design. The handheld probes have uni-dimensional (1D) galvanometer scanners therefore they achieve transversal sections through the biological sample investigated - in contrast to handheld probes equipped with bi-dimensional (2D) scanners that can also achieve volumetric (3D) reconstructions of the samples. These latter handheld probes are therefore also discussed, as well as the possibility to equip them with galvanometer 2D scanners or with Risley prisms. For galvanometer scanners the optimal scanning functions studied in a series of previous works are pointed out; these functions offer a higher temporal efficiency/duty cycle of the scanning process, as well as artifact-free OCT images. The testing of the handheld scanning probes in dental applications is presented, for metal ceramic prosthesis and for teeth. © (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) applications can be divided into biomedical and industrial, the latter covering non-destructive testing of non-reflective materials (e.g. optical glass) or for profilometry of metallic surfaces. Irrespective of the areas mentioned above, it is important to translate the technology from lab to clinical and industrial environments, depending on the case. This paper presents handheld probes with 1D galvoscanners developed in our groups to achieve this goal. These probes have been designed to be as simple, light weight, and low-cost as possible. Their optomechanical construction is described in different variants. Advantages regarding galvoscanners use are discussed, as compared to probes equipped with MEMS. The optomechanical aspects are completed with a discussion on optical design and on other scanning systems that may be utilized in such probes. Several applications of the probes developed are presented, such as in optical metrology.

As part of the ongoing effort of the biomedical imaging community to move Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) systems from the lab to the clinical environment and produce OCT systems appropriate for multiple types of investigations in a medical department, handheld probes equipped with different types of scanners need to be developed. These allow different areas of a patient’s body to be investigated using OCT with the same system and even without changing the patient’s position. This paper reviews first the state of the art regarding OCT handheld probes. Novel probes with a uni-dimensional (1D) galvanometer-based scanner (GS) developed in our groups are presented. Their advantages and limitations are discussed. Aspects regarding the use of galvoscanners with regard to Micro-Electro- Mechanical Systems (MEMS) are pointed out, in relationship with our studies on optimal scanning functions of galvanometer devices in OCT. These scanning functions are briefly discussed with regard to their main parameters: profile, theoretical duty cycle, scan frequency, and scan amplitude. The optical design of the galvoscanner and refractive optics combination in the probe head, optimized for various applications, is considered. Perspectives of the field are pointed out in the final part of the paper. © (2015) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Three simple and low-cost configurations of handheld scanning probes for optical coherence tomography have been developed. Their design and testing for dentistry applications are presented. The first two configurations were built exclusively from available off-the-shelf optomechanical components, which, to the best of our knowledge, are the first designs of this type. The third configuration includes these components in an optimized and ergonomic probe. All the designs are presented in detail to allow for their duplication in any laboratory with a minimum effort, for applications that range from educational to high-end clinical investigations. Requirements that have to be fulfilled to achieve configurations which are reliable, ergonomic—for clinical environments, and easy to build are presented. While a range of applications is possible for the prototypes developed, in this study the handheld probes are tested ex vivo with a spectral domain optical coherence tomography system built in-house, for dental constructs. A previous testing with a swept source optical coherence tomography system has also been performed both in vivo and ex vivo for ear, nose, and throat—in a medical environment. The applications use the capability of optical coherence tomography to achieve real-time, high-resolution, non-contact, and non-destructive interferometric investigations with micrometer resolutions and millimeter penetration depth inside the sample. In this study, testing the quality of the material of one of the most used types of dental prosthesis, metalo-ceramic is thus demonstrated.

We present our experience regarding the establishing of an interdisciplinary group with Optics as one of its main topic at the Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad (UAVA) – linked with the improvement through research of our educational activities. The 3OM Group (in Opto-Mechatronics, Optical Metrology, and Optics and Mechanics) is described in its evolution from optomechanics to photonics, the latter with a focus on OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) – with the national and the international collaborations established, with universities from Romania, Europe and USA. While the research directions of the 3OM Group are presented, they are linked with the educational components implemented in the various subjects we teach, for both undergraduate and graduate students, both in Mechanical and in Electrical Engineering. The main effort is to integrate education and research, to move teaching beyond the classical aspects to put the stress on hands-on-experiments, as well as on research-based activities – even with undergraduates. The main goals of this approach are to obtain an early orientation towards innovation and discovery, with a taste for novelties and with a clear focus on international standards. While this account is only one of many, it offers our experience in passing through the difficulties of developing both research and education in Optics in a young university in an emergent economy in Eastern Europe.

We present our efforts in establishing a Research Pole in Photonics in the future Arad-Timisoara metropolitan area projected to unite two major cities of Western Romania. Research objectives and related training activities of various institutions and groups that are involved are presented in their evolution during the last decade. The multi-disciplinary consortium consists principally of two universities, UAVA (Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad) and UMF (Victor Babes Medicine and Pharmacy University of Timisoara), but also of the Arad County Emergency University Hospital and several innovative SMEs, such as Bioclinica S.A. (the largest array of medical analysis labs in the region) and Inteliform S.R.L. (a competitive SME focused on mechatronics and mechanical engineering). A brief survey of the individual and joint projects of these institutions is presented, together with their teaching activities at graduate and undergraduate level. The research Pole collaborates in R&D, training and education in biomedical imaging with universities in USA and Europe. Collaborative activities, mainly on Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) projects are presented in a multidisciplinary approach that includes optomechatronics, precision mechanics and optics, dentistry, medicine, and biology.

The paper presents some of our current investigations in the multi-disciplinary field of optomechatronics, based in part on different applications of the theory of mechanisms. Classical mechanism applications approached mostly with undergraduate students are presented in the first part of the paper. Scanners, choppers and attenuators—optomechatronic devices, in general—are considered in the second part, with both kinematical and dynamical aspects, and some of our relevant results in the field are pointed out. Student involvement (both under and postgraduate) in these researches is presented, as well as some of the implementation of the results and expertise gained through research in the curricula of the Mechanical and Electrical Engineers in our university.

We present our main contributions and current work regarding one of the most used mechatronic devices for optical applications: the choppers. The issues of the macroscopic choppers with rotating wheels are presented, with a focus on the chopping frequency and on the profile of the transmitted flux (the modulation function) generated. The profiles we have investigated theoretically for the classical chopper wheels, with linear margins, and for top hat light beam distributions are discussed. The new configuration of the “eclipse choppers” (with windows with circular margins) we have introduced to produce approximate triangular series of impulses is presented, and the modulation functions produced are characterized. An insight in the experimental part of the study we are currently working on is provided, from the prototype wheels we have manufactured to the optical setup built for the testing of the different geometrical configuration of wheels, and to the first results.

We present in this paper our results regarding the modeling of the modulation functions of the light flux of optical choppers working with top-hat (constant) light beam distributions. Two configurations of chopper wheels are considered: with windows with linear and with circular margins (the latter, to the best of our knowledge, we have introduced, works as an "eclipse" chopper). A rigorous analytical modeling has been performed for each type of device. For the first configuration, of windows with linear margins, all the four possible relationships between the diameter of the beam in the plane of the wheel and the dimensions of the window of the chopper have been considered and are discussed: (i) large wing and focused beam [in the plane of the wheel]; (ii) large wing and beam of finite diameter in the plane of the wheel, but with a wing large enough to cover the section of the beam; (iii) narrow wing, finite diameter beam and large windows, so there is only one wing at a time in front of the beam section; (iv) narrow wings and windows, so there are more wings at a time in front of the beam section. A recent study covered experimentally case (ii) presented above, obtaining a particular signal function (with an approximate trapezoidal profile). The second and more general wheel configuration that we have proposed in a previous study, with windows with circular margins (for which by example choppers with circular windows are a particular case) is also discussed. Both outwards and inwards circular margins are considered. The modulation functions of this second type of devices are also derived, studied and compared to those for the first, classical types of wheels (with windows with linear margins), which are but a particular case of this second type of chopper. From this study, the various profiles of the function of the transmitted flux are obtained: rectangular, approximate trapezoidal, approximate triangular, sinusoidal, and with nonnull values. The possible geometries of chopper wheels that may generate a required modulation function are thus concluded. An insight in the experimental part we are currently working on, with the stall we have developed to study the different configurations of chopper wheels, is also presented.