Abstract:
Techniques include receiving a design of an integrated computational element (ICE) including (1) specification of a substrate and multiple layers, their respective target thicknesses and refractive indices, adjacent layer refractive indices being different from each other, and a notional ICE fabricated based on the ICE design being related to a characteristic of a sample, and (2) indication of target ICE performance; forming one or more of the layers of an ICE based on the ICE design; in response to determining that an ICE performance would not meet the target performance if the ICE having the formed layers were completed based on the received ICE design, updating the ICE design to a new total number of layers and new target layer thicknesses, such that performance of the ICE completed based on the updated ICE design meets the target performance; and forming some of subsequent layers based on the updated ICE design.
Abstract:
Systems and methods of engineering the optical properties of an optical Integrated Computational Element device using ion implantation during fabrication are provided. A system as disclosed herein includes a chamber, a material source contained within the chamber, an ion source configured to provide a high-energy ion beam, a substrate holder to support a multilayer stack of materials that form the Integrated Computational Element device, a measurement system, and a computational unit. The material source provides a material layer to the multilayer stack, and at least a portion of the ion beam is deposited in the material layer according to an optical value provided by the measurement system.
Abstract:
Systems and methods of controlling a deposition rate during thin-film fabrication are provided. A system as provided may include a chamber, a material source contained within the chamber, an electrical component to activate the material source, a substrate holder to support the multilayer stack and at least one witness sample. The system may further include a measurement device and a computational unit. The material source provides a layer of material to the multilayer stack and to the witness sample at a deposition rate controlled at least partially by the electrical component and based on a correction value obtained in real-time by the computational unit. In some embodiments, the correction value is based on a measured value provided by the measurement device and a computed value provided by the computational unit according to a model.
Abstract:
Technologies are described for monitoring characteristics of layers of integrated computational elements (ICEs) during fabrication using an in-situ spectrometer operated in step-scan mode in combination with lock-in or time-gated detection. As part of the step-scan mode, a wavelength selecting element of the spectrometer is discretely scanned to provide spectrally different instances of probe-light, such that each of the spectrally different instances of the probe-light is provided for a finite time interval. Additionally, an instance of the probe-light interacted during the finite time interval with the ICE layers includes a modulation that is being detected by the lock-in or time-gated detection over the finite time interval.
Abstract:
Systems and methods of in-situ measuring the physical properties of an integrated computational element (ICE) device using surface acoustic wave (SAW) spectroscopy during fabrication are provided. The system includes a measurement device having a pump source providing an excitation pulse generating a SAW on the outer surface of the ICE. The system provides a probe radiation to be interacted with the outer surface of the ICE device and to form an interacted radiation, and an optical transducer configured to receive the interacted radiation and form a signal. An analyzer receives the signal from the optical transducer and determines a property of a material layer on the outer surface of the ICE device, and a second measurement device using at least one of optical monitoring, ellipsometry, and optical spectroscopy, is configured to measure a second property in the ICE device.
Abstract:
An optical computing device including a detector having a non-planar semiconductor structure is provided. The detector may include one or more structures having structure characteristics that may be optimized to respond to and weight predetermined wavelengths of light radiated from a sample that are related to characteristics of the sample. The detector may include an array of the one or more structures, wherein each of the structure units may be individually addressable to program or tune the detector to respond to and weight a spectra of light and generate an output signal based on the weighted spectra of light that is proportional to the characteristics of the sample.