Building Electro–Optical Systems: Making It all W ork, Second Edition

Philip C. D. Hobbs, PhD , is Principal of ElectroOptical Innovations, a consultancy in Briarcliff Manor, New York.

Preface. Acknowledgments. 1. Basic Optical Calculations. 1.1 Introduction. 1.2 Wave Propagation. 1.3 Calculating Wave Propagation in Real Life. 1.4 Detection. 1.5 Coherent Detection. 1.6 Interferometers. 1.7 Photon Budgets and Operating Specifications. 1.8 Signal Processing Strategy. 2. Sources and Illuminators. 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 The Spectrum. 2.3 Radiometry. 2.4 Continuum Sources. 2.5 Interlude: Coherence. 2.6 More Sources. 2.7 Incoherent Line Sources. 2.8 Using Low Coherence Sources: Condensers. 2.9 Lasers. 2.10 Gas Lasers. 2.11 Solid State Lasers. 2.12 Diode Lasers. 2.13 Laser Noise. 2.14 Diode Laser Coherence Control. 3. Optical Detection. 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 Photodetection in Semiconductors. 3.3 Signal to Noise Ratios. 3.4 Detector Figures of Merit. 3.5 Quantum Detectors. 3.6 Quantum Detectors with Gain. 3.7 Thermal Detectors. 3.8 Image Intensifiers. 3.9 Silicon Array Sensors. 3.10 How Do I Know Which Noise Source Dominates? 3.11 Hacks. 4. Lenses, Prisms, and Mirrors. 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Optical Materials. 4.3 Light Transmission. 4.4 Surface Quality. 4.5 Windows. 4.6 Pathologies of Optical Elements. 4.7 Fringes. 4.8 Mirrors. 4.9 Glass Prisms. 4.10 Prism Pathologies. 4.11 Lenses. 4.12 Complex Lenses. 4.13 Other Lens-like Devices. 5. Coatings, Filters, and Surface Finishes. 5.1 Introduction. 5.2 Metal Mirrors. 5.3 Transmissive Optical Coatings. 5.4 Simple Coating Theory. 5.5 Absorptive Filters. 5.6 Beam Dumps and Baffles. 5.7 White Surfaces and Diffusers. 6. Polarization. 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 Polarization of Light. 6.3 Interaction of Polarization with Materials. 6.4 Absorption Polarizers. 6.5 Brewster Polarizers. 6.6 Birefringent Polarizers. 6.7 Double-Refraction Polarizers. 6.8 TIR Polarizers. 6.9 Retarders. 6.10 Polarization Control. 7. Exotic Optical Components. 7.1 Introduction. 7.2 Gratings. 7.3 Grating Pathologies. 7.4 Types of Gratings. 7.5 Resolution of Grating Instruments. 7.6 Fine Points of Gratings. 7.7 Holographic Optical Elements. 7.8 Retroreflective Materials. 7.9 Scanners. 7.10 Modulators. 8. Fiber Optics. 8.1 Introduction. 8.2 Fiber Characteristics. 8.3 Fiber Theory. 8.4 Fiber Types. 8.5 Other Fiber Properties. 8.6 Working with Fibers. 8.7 Fiber Devices. 8.8 Diode Lasers and Fiber Optics. 8.9 Fiber Optic Sensors. 8.10 Intensity Sensors. 8.11 Spectrally Encoded Sensors. 8.12 Polarimetric Sensors. 8.13 Fiber Interferometers. 8.14 Two-Beam Fiber Interferometers. 8.15 Multiple-Beam Fiber Interferometers. 8.16 Phase and Polarization Stabilization. 8.17 Multiplexing and Smart Structures. 8.18 Fiber Sensor Hype. 9. Optical Systems. 9.1 Introduction. 9.2 What, Exactly, Does a Lens Do? 9.3 Diffraction. 9.4 Aberrations. 9.5 Representing Aberrations. 9.6 Optical Design Advice. 9.7 Practical Applications. 9.8 Illuminators. 10. Optical Measurements. 10.1 Introduction. 10.2 Grass on the Empire State Building. 10.3 Detection Issues: When Exactly Is Background Bad? 10.4 Measure the Right Thing. 10.5 Getting More Signal Photons. 10.6 Reducing the Background Fluctuations. 10.7 Optically Zero Background Measurements. 10.8 Electronically Zero Background Measurements. 10.9 Labelling Signal Photons. 10.10 Closure. 11. Designing Electro-Optical Systems. 11.1 Introduction. 11.2 Do You Really Want To Do This? 11.3 Very Basic Marketing. 11.4 Classes of Measurement. 11.5 Technical Taste. 11.6 Instrument Design. 11.7 Guiding Principles. 11.8 Design for Alignment. 11.9 Turning a Prototype into a Product. 12. Building Optical Systems. 12.1 Introduction. 12.2 Build What You Designed. 12.3 Assembling Lab Systems. 12.4 Alignment and Testing. 12.5 Optical Assembly and Alignment Philosophy. 12.6 Collimating Beams. 12.7 Focusing. 12.8 Aligning Beams with Other Beams. 12.9 Advanced Tweaking. 12.10 Aligning Laser Systems. 12.11 Adhesives. 12.12 Cleaning. 12.13 Environmental Considerations. 13. Signal Processing. 13.1 Introduction. 13.2 Analogue Signal Processing Theory. 13.3 Modulation and Demodulation. 13.4 Amplifiers. 13.5 Departures from Linearity. 13.6 Noise and Interference. 13.7 Frequency Conversion. 13.8 Filtering. 13.9 Signal Detection. 13.10 Reducing Interference and Noise. 13.11 Data Acquisition and Control. 14. Electronic Building Blocks. 14.1 Introduction. 14.2 Resistors. 14.3 Capacitors. 14.4 Transmission Lines. 14.5 Transmission Line Devices. 14.6 Diodes and Transistors. 14.7 Signal Processing Components. 14.8 Digitizers. 14.9 Analogue Behaviour of Digital Circuits. 15. Electronic Subsystem Design. 15.1 Introduction. 15.2 Design Approaches. 15.3 Perfection. 15.4 Feedback Loops. 15.5 Signal Detectors. 15.6 Phase-Locked Loops. 15.7 Calibration. 15.8 Filters. 15.9 Other Stuff. 15.10 More Advanced Feedback Techniques. 15.11 Hints. 15.12 Linearizing. 15.13 Digital Control and Communication. 15.14 Miscellaneous Tricks. 15.15 Bulletproofing. 16. Electronic Construction Techniques. 16.1 Introduction. 16.2 Circuit Strays. 16.3 Stray Coupling. 16.4 Ground Plane Construction. 16.5 Technical Noise and Interference. 16.6 Product Construction. 16.7 Getting Ready. 16.8 Prototyping. 16.9 Surface Mount Prototypes. 16.10 Prototyping Filters. 16.11 Tuning, or, You Can't Optimize What You Can't See. 17. Digital Post Processing. 17.1 Introduction. 17.2 Elementary Post Processing. 17.3 Dead Time Correction. 17.4 Fourier Domain Techniques. 17.5 Power Spectrum Estimation. 17.6 Digital Filtering. 17.7 Deconvolution. 17.8 Resampling. 17.9 Fixing Space-Variant Instrument Functions. 17.10 Finite Precision Effects. 17.11 Pulling Data Out of Noise. 17.12 Phase Recovery Techniques. 18. Front Ends. 18.1 Introduction. 18.2 Photodiode Front Ends. 18.3 Key Idea: Reduce the Swing Across C D . 18.4 Transimpedance Amplifiers. 18.5 How to Go faster. 18.6 Advanced Photodiode Front Ends. 18.7 Other Types of Front End. 18.8 Hints. 19. Bringing Up The System. 19.1 Introduction. 19.2 Avoiding Catastrophe. 19.3 Debugging and Troubleshooting. 19.4 Getting Ready. 19.5 Indispensable Equipment. 19.6 Analogue Electronic Troubleshooting. 19.7 Oscillations. 19.8 Other Common Problems. 19.9 Debugging and Troubleshooting Optical Subsystems. 19.10 Localizing the Problem. Appendix A: Good Books. Topic Index.