A wide range turbidity measurement system based on the light scattering method and light transmission method was developed to measure the turbidity of liquids. In order to solve the problem of accuracy attenuation of the light scattering method in the case of measuring high turbidity and the light transmission method in the case of measuring low turbidity, and meet the requirements of large-scale measurement in one system, it is proposed to use the light scattering method to measure low turbidity and the Beer-Lambert law of light transmission method to measure high turbidity methods. Use an avalanche photodiode (APD) to detect the intensity of scattered light or transmitted light, and convert the intensity of light into the number of photons based on single-photon counting technology. In order to obtain a reasonable measurement range of the light scattering method and the light transmission method in this system, a series of experiments were carried out. Under a specific incident light intensity, the experimental results show that the reasonable detection range of the light scattering method is 1 NTU-324 NTU, within this range, the system exhibits good stability. The reasonable detection range of the light transmission method is 325NTU-815NTU, within this range, the system still shows good stability. The widerange turbidity measurement system in this article has broad applicability and can be used to monitor urban drinking water, factory sewage discharge, and other industries.
A turbidity measurement system based on single photon detection technology has been developed to measure the turbidity of high turbidity water in industrial wastewater. The transmitted light measurement based on the Beer-Lambert principle is used to expand the measurement range. The avalanche photodiode (APD) based highly sensitive single photon detection technology is used to obtain the total intensity of transmitted light and quantize it to the corresponding photon number, which can improve the sensitivity and response speed of the proposed system. In order to maximize the turbidity measurement range and improve accuracy, different incident optical powers are used for the measurement of low turbidity and high turbidity respectively. It has been experimentally verified that the turbidity in the range of 100 NTU to 4000 NTU can be effectively measured when the incident optical power is 10 mw. When the low turbidity is measured, the incident light power should be set as low as 0.3mw, which is suitable for the turbidity measure between 10NTU to 100NTU.The proposed turbidity measurement system has a strong applicability and can be applied to industrial water turbidity measurement.
A high-resolution fiber turbidity sensor has been developed to measure the wide dynamic range of turbidity. To improve the accuracy of measurements, the high sensitive single-photon detection technique is adopted in the sensor by using an avalanche photodiode (APD) to detect the total intensity of transmitted light and quantize it to the corresponding number of photons. A theoretical model for turbidity measurement is proposed by combining the B-L transmission law with the single photon counting theory. In order to cover a wide dynamic range measurement based on only one measurement system, an optimal optical power for the sensor must be chosen. Therefore, an experiment is designed to measures the different turbidity solutions by gradually changing the power of incident light. The test results show that, with the increasement of light intensity, the measured data fit better with the theoretical one when the measured turbidity is lower than 0.1NTU. However, the light intensity cannot be increased without limit in high turbidity region, especially when the turbidity is high than 1NTU, since there is a corresponding upper limit for the detection of avalanche photodiode (APD). After the processing and analysis of test data, the test results indicated the sensor can obtain the best measurement accuracy when the optical power of incident light at 11mW. The measured turbidity range is as wide as 50dB from 0.01 to 1000NTU. The proposed fiber sensor is robust and can be used for the wide dynamic turbidity detection for drinking water or some remote monitoring of water pollution.
An all-fiber structure detection system based on single photon detection technique(SPDT) has been developed to measure the ultra-low turbidity ofliquids. To assure the measurement accuracy,the total intensity of transmission light has been detected and quantified as number of photons by avalanche photodiode (APD) which has the advantage of high sensitivity.A fresh all-fiber structure optical fiber probe based on SPDT is applied in the system to reduce the volume and fluctuation of traditional transmission-light measurement system,in which the all-fiber structure probe is used to delivery and collection of transmission light.On the basis of Beer-Lambert (B-L) transmission law,a test system has been established and carried out a series of experiments.By combining B-Llaw with the principle of SPDT,a novel model for detecting turbidity has been proposed to explain the experimental results.The results have shown a well exponential relationship over the range of 0.01–1NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Units).It also has showna good linear relationship with a resolution as high as 0.01NTUin the range of 0.01-0.09 NTU.When it is 1 secondofthe sampling time,the mean error of measurement result can be controlled within 5% of full scale.In addition,the new detection structure proposed in this paper, which makes the system more compact and more suitable in the small special space.
Laser ranging has become an important method for both distance measurements and acquisition of threedimensional (3D) images. In this paper, a laser ranging system based on Time-Correlated Single-Photon Counting technology (TCSPC) is developed. A Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode (G-APD), which has the ability of detecting single-photon events, is used to capture the weak light scattered from the long-range target. In order to improve the ranging resolution of TCSPC based measurement system, a high repetition frequency of subnanosecond narrow pulse generator circuit based on the avalanche effect of RF-BJT is designed and applied as the light source. Moreover, some optimized optical light designs have been done to improve the system signal to noise rate (SNR), including using a special aspherical lens as projecting lens, adopting a telephoto camera lens with small view angle and short depth of field before detector. Experimental tests for evaluation of the laser raging system performance are described. As a means of echo signal analysis, three different algorithms have been introduced, in which the cross-correlation algorithm was demonstrated to be the most effective algorithm to determining the round trip time to a target, even based on histograms with a significant amount of background noise photons. It was found that centimeter ranging resolution can be achieved thanks to the use of Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) with picosecond resolution and the Cross-Correlation algorithm. The proposed laser ranging system has advantages of high range resolution, short response time and simple structure, which was potential applications for 3D object recognition, computer vision, reverse engineering and virtual reality.
To meet the need of long distance transmission in low turbidity measurement system for low-loss, a new optical structure with wavelength 1310nm and 1550nm as the incident light is employed. In this research, experiments have been done for different optical length of the two wavelength light sources. The results show that: first, the transmitted light intensity has big difference under the circumstance of same concentration and optical length, though the loss has no remarkable difference transmitted in optical fiber between 1310nm and 1550nm. Second, the optimized optical length for better absorbance has been determined for 1310nm and 1550nm and it is irrelevant to the incident intensity. Third, the intensity of the two transmitted light decreases exponentially with the increase of optical length. For example, when the range of the optical length of 1310nm is 0.5mm-2mm, the transmitted intensity is about 60%-79% and the absorbance is 0.12-0.42. The transmitted intensity is about 5%-44%. When the range of the optical length of 1550nm is 0.5mm-2mm and the absorbance is still 0.12-0.42. Our experimental data provides the basis both for the optical length selection of these two light sources in water and the near-infrared spectral wavelength selection.
KEYWORDS: Signal to noise ratio, Photons, Laser range finders, Pulsed laser operation, Laser systems engineering, Signal processing, Sensors, Signal detection, Picosecond phenomena, Precision measurement
A time-of-flight (TOF) laser range finder based on time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) has been developed. By using a Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode (G-APD) with the ability of detecting single-photon events and Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) with picosecond resolution, a good linearity with 4.5 cm range precision can be achieved in the range of 1-10 m. This paper highlights a significant advance in improving the key parameters of this system, including the range precision and measurement dynamic range. In our experiments, it was found that both of the precision and the measurement dynamic range were limited by the signal to noise rate (SNR) and the inherent jitter of system. The range precision can be improved by enhancing the SNR of system. However, when the SNR is high enough, the main factors affecting the range precision will turn into the inherent jitter, which makes the range precision can not be improved infinitely. Moreover, the inherent jitter generated by pulsed laser and the signal processing module has been measured, and its influence on the system performance has also been discussed. Taking all of these factors into account, some optimized designs have been proposed to improve range precision and dynamic range simultaneously. The final experiment results show that, after all of these optimization designs, the range precision of system is better than 1.2 cm and the measurement dynamic range is enlarged to 54 m when the sampling time is as short as 1 ms, which is sufficient for many applications of 3D object recognition, computer vision, reverse engineering and virtual reality.
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Range imaging, Light emitting diodes, Image sensors, Phase measurement, Distance measurement, Time metrology, Signal to noise ratio, Signal processing, Receivers
A LED-array-based range imaging sensor using Time-of-Flight (TOF) distance measurement was developed to capture
the depth information of three-dimensional (3-D) object. By time-division electronic scanning of the LED heterodyne
phase-shift TOF range finders in array, the range images were fast obtained without any mechanical moving parts. The
design of LED-array-based range imaging sensor was adequately described and a range imaging theoretical model based
on photoelectric signal processing was built, which showed there was mutual restriction relationship among the
measurement time of a depth pixel, the bandwidth of receiver and the sensor's signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In order to
improve the key parameters of sensor such as range resolution and measurement speed simultaneously, some optimized
designs needed to be done for the proposed range imaging sensor, including choosing proper parameters for the filters in
receiver, adopting special structure feedback automatic gain control (AGC) circuit with short response time, etc. The
final experiment results showed the sensor after optimization could acquire the range images at a rate of 10 frames per
second with a range resolution as high as ±2mm in the range of 50-1200mm. The essential advantages of the proposed
range imaging sensor were construction with simple structure, high range resolution, short measurement time and low
cost, which was sufficient for many robotic and industrial automation applications.
An LED-array-based range imaging system is proposed for three-dimensional (3-D) shape measurement. The range image
is obtained by time-division electronic scanning of the LED Time-of-Flight (TOF) range finders in array, and no
complex mechanical scanning is needed. By combining with a low cost CCD/CMOS sensor for capturing the twodimensional
(2-D) image, the proposed range imaging system can be used to accomplish a high quality 3-D imaging. A
sophisticated co-lens optical path is designed to assure the natural registration between the range image and 2-D image.
Experimental tests for evaluation of the imaging system performance are described. It was found that the 3-D images can
be acquired at a rate of 10 frames per second with a depth resolution better than 5mm in the range of 50 - 1000mm,
which is sufficient for many practical applications, including the obstacle detection in robotics, machine automation, 3-D
vision, virtual reality games and 3-D video.
A high-resolution, real-time range imaging system based on a LED array phase-shift range finder was developed to measure three-dimensional surface profiles. The range image is captured by a time-division scanning LED array heterodyne phase-shift range finder. The phase measurement used for obtaining depth is implemented by using the fast "four-bucket" algorithm. The design of a fast automatic gain control circuit obviously reduces the feedback response time and improves system measurement speed. Experimental tests for evaluation of the imaging system performance are described. Based on the theoretical analysis, a simplified signal-to-noise ratio model is proposed for guiding the design of this imaging system. Last, some issues requiring attention on constructing a large-pixel version of the system are also discussed. It was found that the range images can be acquired at a rate of 10 frames per second with a depth resolution better than ±5 mm in the range of 50 to 1000 mm.
KEYWORDS: Modulation, Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers, Signal processing, Ranging, Laser range finders, Phase shift keying, Digital signal processing, Analog electronics, Distortion, Complex systems
The paper proposes a small modulation and high precision laser range finder using the self-mixing effect in a
single-mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). According to the characteristic curve of single-mode
VCSEL, the nonlinear distortion of Δλ/ΔI is severe and related with the modulation current ΔI, which worsens the system
ranging accuracy obviously. In this paper, by applying small current to modulate single-mode VCSEL and specific
circuits to process photoelectric signal, the system ranging accuracy is improved obviously. The experiment results show
that, using small modulation current ΔI= 0.28 mAp-p, modulation frequency fm = 500 Hz to modulate single-mode
VCSEL, and applying difference frequency analog phase-locked loop (APLL) to process the self-mixing beat frequency
signals that exist phase abrupt changes, when the sampling time is 0.1 s, the measurement dynamic range is as large as 50
~ 500 mm, and the ranging accuracy is better than 2 mm.
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