Investigating layer thicknesses with terahertz time-domain spectroscopy usually requires the refractive index of the layer of interest. The refractive index is either investigated beforehand by independent measurements or it is measured simultaneously. The challenge of a simultaneous determination is that measuring two unknown values requires the use of two linearly independent equations. To address this challenge, our approach is to combine transmission and re ection time-of-flight measurements. By combining these measurements, we obtain a system of two linearly independent equations for the two unknown values: thickness and average refractive index. We experimentally validate our simultaneous estimation approach by measuring calibration foils of different thicknesses.
Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy has the potential to revolutionize quality inspection by allowing contactfree and non-destructive measurements. However, since most currently available spectrometers only measure one location point per measurement, a raster scan procedure is necessary to obtain an image. Depending on the size of the object and the desired density of measurement points, even fully automated raster scans are timeconsuming. Often, a defect on the surface can be seen with the bare eye. In such a case, the goal of a terahertz analysis is to identify the type of defect below the surface. To fill this gap, we have developed a demonstrator with a collaborative robot (cobot) that allows interactive measurements to be performed where the measurement system can be guided by hand. In this case, however, it is no longer possible to stop to perform a measurement, so measurements must be taken during the movement. This places special demands on the simultaneous acquisition of measurement data and the robot position from the two subsystems: robot and terahertz spectrometer. In this paper, we describe a way to synchronize and combine the data from the two subsystems to form a 2D image. These imaging results are displayed in real time in a web-based user interface.
This work addresses simulations of terahertz waves for the determination of layer thicknesses, in particular to analyze the top layers of multilayer coatings. For such analyses, a relatively short measuring time window is possible, which leads to time savings. However, not every simulation method takes time limitations of measuring windows into account. Therefore, we compare different simulation methods and adapt one of them to our application.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.