Dissertation Defense: Silicon Carbide and Agile Optics based Sensors for Power Plant Gas Turbines, Laser Beam Analysis and Biomedicine
CREOL 102 November 6, 2009
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Announcing the Final Examination of Mumtaz Sheikh for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Optics.
Sensors are critical measurement tools for laser beam analysis, biomedicine, and power plants. This dissertation presents innovations in sensors for these three applications that are developed using laser beams and electronically-controlled agile optics. The dissertation presentation focuses on novel optical design and experimental results dealing with laser beam measurements and microscopy for biomedical imaging. To truly recover arbitrary laser beam profiles, one must typically use over 10,000 repeatable pinhole positions for profiling that should be maintained over repeated operations of the beam profiler instrument over its life-time. To overcome this challenge, a Texas Instruments (TI) Digital Micro-mirror Device (DMD)-based on digital Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology is used to demonstrate a 100% repeatable laser beam pinhole profiler. Next, Electronically Controlled Variable Focus Lenses (ECVFLs) based on different technologies such as liquids and liquid-crystals are shown to simplify laser beam propagation analysis and confocal microscopy systems. Unlike prior analyzers that require profiling the beam at multiple locations along the light propagation axis, the proposed analyzer profiles the beam at the same plane, thus eliminating beam profiler assembly motion. Similarly, the proposed microscopy system within aberration limits has the potential to eliminate the sample or objective motion-caused mechanical forces that can distort the original sample structure and lead to imaging errors. The dissertation also further investigates Silicon Carbide (SiC) as an important high temperature material useful for designing extreme temperature optical sensors for use in power plant gas turbines. Such sensors have the potential to replace thermocouples in next generation greener gas turbines operating at temperatures in excess of 1600 °C. Signal processing and data analysis for such SiC sensors is presented leading to high dynamic range high resolution measurements.
Graduate Students
Dissertation Defense: Silicon Carbide and Agile Optics based Sensors for Power Plant Gas Turbines, Laser Beam Analysis and Biomedicine
