Coma measurement of projection optics in lithographic tools based on relative image displacements at multiple illumination settings

In this paper, we propose a novel method for measuring the coma aberrations of lithographic projection optics based on relative image displacements at multiple illumination settings. The measurement accuracy of coma can be improved because the phase-shifting gratings are more sensitive to the aberrations than the binary gratings used in the TAMIS technique, and the impact of distortion on displacements of aerial image can be eliminated when the relative image displacements are measured. The PROLITH simulation results show that, the measurement accuracy of coma increases by more than 25% under conventional illumination, and the measurement accuracy of primary coma increases by more than 20% under annular illumination, compared with the TAMIS technique. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.

A high-speed image sensing technique with adjustable frame rate based on an ordinary CCD

In the sinusoidal phase modulating interferometer technique, the high-speed CCD is necessary to detect the interference signals. The reason of ordinary CCD's low frame rate was analyzed, and a novel high-speed image sensing technique with adjustable frame rate based on ail ordinary CCD was proposed. And the principle of the image sensor was analyzed. When the maximum frequency and channel bandwidth were constant, a custom high-speed sensor was designed by using the ordinary CCD under the control of the special driving circuit. The frame rate of the ordinary CCD has been enhanced by controlling the number of pixels of every frame; therefore, the ordinary of CCD can be used as the high frame rate image sensor with small amount of pixels. The multi-output high-speed image sensor has the deficiencies of low accuracy, and high cost, while the high-speed image senor with small number of pixels by using this technique can overcome theses faults. The light intensity varying with time was measured by using the image sensor. The frame rate was LIP to 1600 frame per second (f/s), and the size of every frame and the frame rate were adjustable. The correlation coefficient between the measurement result and the standard values were higher than 0.98026, and the relative error was lower than 0.53%. The experimental results show that this sensor is fit to the measurements of sinusoidal phase modulating interferometer technique. (c) 2007 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Adaptive image sequence coding based on global and local compensability analysis

Our study of a novel technique for adaptive image sequence coding is reported. The number of reference frames and the intervals between them are adjusted to improve the temporal compensability of the input video. The bits are distributed more efficiently on different frame types according to temporal and spatial complexity of the image scene. Experimental results show that this dynamic group-of-picture (GOP) structure coding scheme is not only feasible but also better than the conventional fixed GOP method in terms of perceptual quality and SNR. (C) 1996 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Optical microwave generation based on DFB lasers

A new device of two parallel distributed feedback ( DFB) laser integrated monolithically with Y-branch waveguide coupler was fabricated by means of quantum well intermixing. Optical microwave signal was generated in the Y-branch waveguide coupler through frequency beating of the two laser modes coming from two DFB lasers in parallel, which had a small difference in frequency. Continuous rapidly tunable optical microwave signals from 13 GHz to 42 GHz were realized by adjusting independently the driving currents injected into the two DFB lasers.

Status and trends of short pulse generation using mode-locked lasers based on advanced quantum-dot active media

In this review, the potential of mode-locked lasers based on advanced quantum-dot ( QD) active media to generate short optical pulses is analysed. A comprehensive review of experimental and theoretical work on related aspects is provided, including monolithic-cavity mode-locked QD lasers and external-cavity mode-locked QD lasers, as well as mode-locked solid-state and fibre lasers based on QD semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors. Performance comparisons are made for state-of-the-art experiments. Various methods for improving important characteristics of mode-locked pulses such as pulse duration, repetition rate, pulse power, and timing jitter through optimization of device design parameters or mode-locking methods are addressed. In addition, gain switching and self-pulsation of QD lasers are also briefly reviewed, concluding with the summary and prospects.

Blind image restoration based on the theory of high-dimensional space geometry

In practical situations, the causes of image blurring are often undiscovered or difficult to get known. However, traditional methods usually assume the knowledge of the blur has been known prior to the restoring process, which are not practicable for blind image restoration. A new method proposed in this paper aims exactly at blind image restoration. The restoration process is transformed into a problem of point distribution analysis in high-dimensional space. Experiments have proved that the restoration could be achieved using this method without re-knowledge of the image blur. In addition, the algorithm guarantees to be convergent and has simple computation.

The image coding scheme based on neural network and SVM

This paper applies data coding thought, which based on the virtual information source modeling put forward by the author, to propose the image coding (compression) scheme based on neural network and SVM. This scheme is composed by "the image coding (compression) scheme based oil SVM" embedded "the lossless data compression scheme based oil neural network". The experiments show that the scheme has high compression ratio under the slightly damages condition, partly solve the contradiction which 'high fidelity' and 'high compression ratio' cannot unify in image coding system.

A novel image restoration algorithm based on high-dimensional space geometry

A novel image restoration approach based on high-dimensional space geometry is proposed, which is quite different from the existing traditional image restoration techniques. It is based on the homeomorphisms and "Principle of Homology Continuity" (PHC), an image is mapped to a point in high-dimensional space. Begin with the original blurred image, we get two further blurred images, then the restored image can be obtained through the regressive curve derived from the three points which are mapped form the images. Experiments have proved the availability of this "blurred-blurred-restored" algorithm, and the comparison with the classical Wiener Filter approach is presented in final.

A novel image restoration approach based on point location in high-dimensional space geometry

The goal of image restoration is to restore the original clear image from the existing blurred image without distortion as possible. A novel approach based on point location in high-dimensional space geometry method is proposed, which is quite different from the thought ways of existing traditional image restoration approaches. It is based on the high-dimensional space geometry method, which derives from the fact of the Principle of Homology-Continuity (PHC). Begin with the original blurred image, we get two further blurred images. Through the regressive deducing curve fitted by these three images, the first iterative deblured image could be obtained. This iterative "blurring-debluring-blurring" process is performed till reach the deblured image. Experiments have proved the availability of the proposed approach and achieved not only common image restoration but also blind image restoration which represents the majority of real problems.

A novel image restoration algorithm based on high-dimensional space geometry

A novel image restoration approach based on high-dimensional space geometry is proposed, which is quite different from the existing traditional image restoration techniques. It is based on the homeomorphisms and "Principle of Homology Continuity" (PHC), an image is mapped to a point in high-dimensional space. Begin with the original blurred image, we get two further blurred images, then the restored image can be obtained through the regressive curve derived from the three points which are mapped form the images. Experiments have proved the availability of this "blurred-blurred-restored" algorithm, and the comparison with the classical Wiener Filter approach is presented in final.

A Novel Geometric Algorithm for Blind Image Restoration Based on High-Dimensional Space

A novel geometric algorithm for blind image restoration is proposed in this paper, based on High-Dimensional Space Geometrical Informatics (HDSGI) theory. In this algorithm every image is considered as a point, and the location relationship of the points in high-dimensional space, i.e. the intrinsic relationship of images is analyzed. Then geometric technique of "blurring-blurring-deblurring" is adopted to get the deblurring images. Comparing with other existing algorithms like Wiener filter, super resolution image restoration etc., the experimental results show that the proposed algorithm could not only obtain better details of images but also reduces the computational complexity with less computing time. The novel algorithm probably shows a new direction for blind image restoration with promising perspective of applications.

Synthesis Gas Generation by Chemical-Looping Reforming Using Ce-Based Oxygen Carriers Modified with Fe, Cu, and Mn Oxides

Chemical-looping reforming (CLR) is a technology that can be used for partial oxidation and steam reforming of hydrocarbon fuels. It involves the use of a metal oxide as an oxygen carrier, which transfers oxygen from combustion air to the fuel. Composite oxygen carriers of cerium oxide added with Fe, Cu, and Mn oxides were prepared by co-precipitation and investigated in a thermogravimetric analyzer and a fixed-bed reactor using methane as fuel and air as oxidizing gas. It was revealed that the addition of transition-metal oxides into cerium oxide can improve the reactivity of the Ce-based oxygen carrier. The three kinds of mixed oxides showed high CO and H-2 selectivity at above 800 degrees C. As for the Ce-Fe-O oxygen carrier, methane was converted to synthesis gas at a H-2/CO molar ratio close to 2:1 at a temperature of 800-900 degrees C; however, the methane thermolysis reaction was found on Ce-Cu-O and Ce-Mn-O oxygen carriers at 850-900 degrees C. Among the three kinds of oxygen carriers, Ce-Fe-O presented the best performance for methane CLR. On Ce-Fe-O oxygen carriers, the CO and H-2 selectivity decreased as the Fe content increased in the carrier particles. An optimal range of the Ce/Fe molar ratio is Ce/Fe > 1 for Ce-Fe-O oxygen carriers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that the microstructure of the Ce-Fe-O oxides was not dramatically changed before and after 20 cyclic reactions. A small amount of Fe3C was found in the reacted Ce-Fe-O oxides by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis.