SBIR-STTR Award

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will explore the applicability of a Gabor-domain optical coherence microscopy (GD-OCM) instrument to qualify materials during manufacturing processes. State-of-the-art interferometric instruments yield excellent resolution in depth, discriminating between different layers within a volume; optical microscopy offers high lateral resolution, but cannot characterize the features that are beneath the surface of the sample. GD-OCM offers the potential of combining the advantages of these two technologies - interferometry and microscopy - to produce unparalleled three-dimensional resolution throughout the volume of the sample. The primary objective of this effort will be the demonstration of a robust and accurate GD-OCM instrument for use in subsurface imaging and detection of defects in manufactured materials. During the project, this instrument will also be tested on various materials, including multilayered, in order to demonstrate its effectiveness and versatility in the acquisition of near-real-time information for use in guiding the optimization of manufacturing parameters for optimal and repeatable outcomes. The research will address the need for a rapid and robust scanning mechanism, compactly integrated within the optical microscope, to sample three-dimensional volumes and quantify undesired defects and imperfections introduced during the manufacturing of materials. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to effectively provide information about product quality during the manufacturing process of materials, including layered materials, through a robust and reliable instrument to be used in industrial environments. An industrial-class high-resolution GD-OCM system will enable manufacturers of materials (e.g. polymers, layered glass, reinforced composites, and advanced textiles) to optimize the fabrication parameters, improving the yield of their products. The application of GD-OCM has proven to be especially valuable to manufacturers of optical materials, such as spherical gradient refractive index (S-GRIN) polymers and layered optical structures -- including beaded and prismatic retroreflective films -- that are otherwise impossible to characterize nondestructively. GD-OCM will also enable new advances in a wide variety of scientific fields by offering the capability to image and optically section material samples without destroying them. This will offer new insight into the study of materials needed to advance tissue engineering and agricultural disease management, in addition to high-performance films and layered materials for other applications. PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH Patrice Tankam Anand P. Santhanam Kye-Sung Lee Jungeun Won Cristina Canavesi Jannick P. Rolland. "Parallelized multi?graphics processing unit framework for high-speed Gabor-domain optical coherence microscopy," Journal of Biomedical Optics, v.19, 2014, p. 071410.

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will explore the applicability of a Gabor-domain optical coherence microscopy (GD-OCM) instrument to image and evaluate optical materials as part of the manufacturing process. The immediate broader impact of this project is to effectively provide both qualitative and quantitative information about product quality in manufacturing, with an initial focus on contact lens manufacturing. Providing high-speed, industrial, micrometer-level resolution in all three dimensions, GD-OCM enables contact lens manufacturers to replace multiple inspection steps with a single measurement done automatically, reducing the opportunity for damaging the samples and human error, and ultimately leading to increased productivity and yield. The resulting improvements in contact lens performance and extended wear effects are poised to have a positive impact on a significant percentage of the population. Recent evaluations of GD-OCM have indicated its ability to provide a new wealth of characterization methods for quality control of various materials that are otherwise impossible to characterize nondestructively, including gradient refractive index polymers, glass and layered structures. Additionally, GD-OCM will enable new advances in a wide variety of scientific fields via its capability to non-invasively optically section samples of a variety of material types. The objective of this Phase II project is to establish the effectiveness of the emerging GD-OCM technology for nondestructive on-line metrology of contact lenses in manufacturing. Quality control and detection of product-significant defects, and a corresponding increase in production yield, represent the value proposition for the introduction of GD-OCM instrumentation into the contact lens production environment. The project will result in two major outcomes: 1) implementation of a robust production-environment instrument to effectively provide micrometer-level resolution in all three dimensions and quantification of yield-relevant contact lens quality metrics not previously available in a single instrument; and 2) demonstration of the technology for inspection in a production environment to rapidly and accurately monitor defects and quantify contact lens quality using product relevant metrics. This nondestructive, on-line optical inspection system can have significant impact not only on the process control and thereby yield of contact lenses, but also in manufacturing of layered materials in general, including polymers, plastics, and glass. Longer-term, the technology offers new paths for tissue imaging, guided surgery, and monitoring of eye disease.