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1. High-speed 3D optical sensing for manufacturing research and industrial sensing applications

   https://doi.org/10.32397/tesea.vol3.n2.490  

   Li, Beiwen (July 2022, Transactions on Energy Systems and Engineering Applications)

   This paper presents examples of high-speed 3D optical sensing for research and applications in the manufacturing community. Specifically, this paper will focus on the fringe projection technique as a special technology that can be extremely beneficial to manufacturing applications, given its merits of simultaneous high-speed and high-accuracy 3D surface measurements. This paper will introduce the basic principles of 3D optical sensing based on the fringe projection technique as well as the enabled manufacturing research applications, including both in-situ/in-process monitoring and post-process quality assurance. 

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2. Tape nanolithography: a rapid and simple method for fabricating flexible, wearable nanophotonic devices

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-018-0031-4  

   Wang, Qiugu; Han, Weikun; Wang, Yifei; Lu, Meng; Dong, Liang (October 2018, Microsystems & Nanoengineering)

   Abstract This paper describes a tape nanolithography method for the rapid and economical manufacturing of flexible, wearable nanophotonic devices. This method involves the soft lithography of a donor substrate with air-void nanopatterns, subsequent deposition of materials onto the substrate surface, followed by direct taping and peeling of the deposited materials by an adhesive tape. Without using any sophisticated techniques, the nanopatterns, which are preformed on the surface of the donor substrate, automatically emerge in the deposited materials. The nanopatterns can then be transferred to the tape surface. By leveraging the works of adhesion at the interfaces of the donor substrate-deposited material-tape assembly, this method not only demonstrates sub-hundred-nanometer resolution in the transferred nanopatterns on an area of multiple square inches but also exhibits high versatility and flexibility for configuring the shapes, dimensions, and material compositions of tape-supported nanopatterns to tune their optical properties. After the tape transfer, the materials that remain at the bottom of the air-void nanopatterns on the donor substrate exhibit shapes complementary to the transferred nanopatterns on the tape surface but maintain the same composition, thus also acting as functional nanophotonic structures. Using tape nanolithography, we demonstrate several tape-supported plasmonic, dielectric, and metallo-dielectric nanostructures, as well as several devices such as refractive index sensors, conformable plasmonic surfaces, and Fabry-Perot cavity resonators. Further, we demonstrate tape nanolithography-assisted manufacturing of a standalone plasmonic nanohole film and its transfer to unconventional substrates such as a cleaved facet and the curved side of an optical fiber. 

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3. Towards AI-Assisted Smart Training Platform for Future Manufacturing Workforce

   Wang, Weichao; Wu, Xintao; Wang, Pu; Maybury, Mark; Lu, Aidong (March 2020, AAAI 2020 Spring Symposium, AI in Manufacturing)

   With the fast development of Industry 4.0, the ways in which manufacturing workers handle machines, materials, and products also change drastically. Such changes post several demanding challenges to the training of future workforce. First, personalized manufacturing will lead to small batch and fast changing tasks. The training procedure must demonstrate agility. Second, new interfaces to interact with human or robots will change the training procedure. Last but not least, in addition to handling the physical objects, a worker also needs to be trained to digest and respond to rich data generated at the manufacturing site. To respond to these challenges, in this paper we describe the design of an AI-assisted training platform for manufacturing workforce. The platform will collect rich data from both machines and workers. It will capture and analyze both macro and micro movement of trainees with the help of AI algorithms. At the same time, training for interaction with robot/cobot will also be covered. Mixed reality will be used to create in-situ experiences for the trainee. 

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4. Predictive models for the Strehl ratio of diamond-machined optics

   Hamidreza, A; Liang, K; Alonso, M; Suleski, T (April 2019, Applied optics)

   This paper provides a practical connection between the Strehl ratio as an optical performance metric and manufacturing parameters for diamond-machined optics. The choice of fabrication parameters impacts residual midspatial frequency groove structures over the part’s surface, which reduce optical performance. Connections between the Strehl ratio and the fabrication parameters are studied using rigorous Rayleigh–Sommerfeld simulations for a sample optical system. The connections are generalized by incorporating the shape of diamond-machined groove structures and the effects of optical path differences for both transmissive and reflective optics. This work validates the analytical representation of the Strehl ratio as a Fourier transform of a probability density that relates to surface errors. The result is a practical tool that can be used to guide the choice of machining parameters to achieve a targeted optical performance. © 2019 Optical Society of America https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.58.003272 

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5. Curvature polishing for light-weight, thin reflective optics

   https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2691385  

   Romer, Nikolas; Kuhn, Jeff R; Rolland, Jannick P (November 2023, Joint poster session at Optica Design and Fabrication)

   DeGroote_Nelson, Jessica; Unger, Blair L (Ed.)

   Traditional optical manufacturing techniques such as abrasive polishing and diamond turning create precise surfaces by removing material from the optical surface of a mirror. Such techniques often require many cycles of removal and metrology and can leave surface roughness or tool marks that negatively affect the straylight properties of an optical system. These residual artifacts often necessitate expensive postprocessing such as ion beam finishing. Limiting straylight is particularly crucial in the design of reflecting coronagraphs or optical systems that are sensitive to scattered light, for example for exoplanet detection, where even low-level scattering can degrade contrast ratios below the sensitivity needed to detect exoplanets. We introduce a non-contact method for shaping thin front-surface mirrors to avoid tool artifacts. Using laser techniques to alter local surface stresses, we deterministically introduce ≥ 8 waves (632.8 nm) of shape to 2 mm thick substrates. A deterministic method for creating arbitrary surface figures is under development and calibration. 

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