A synthetic diagnostics platform for microwave imaging diagnostics in tokamaks

Interpreting experimental diagnostics data in tokamaks,while considering non-ideal effects,is challenging due to the complexity of plasmas.To address this challenge,a general synthetic diagnostics(GSD)platform has been established that facilitates microwave imaging reflectometry and electron cyclotron emission imaging.This platform utilizes plasma profiles as input and incorporates the finite-difference time domain,ray tracing and the radiative transfer equation to calculate the propagation of plasma spontaneous radiation and the external electromagnetic field in plasmas.Benchmark tests for classical cases have been conducted to verify the accuracy of every core module in the GSD platform.Finally,2D imaging of a typical electron temperature distribution is reproduced by this platform and the results are consistent with the given real experimental data.This platform also has the potential to be extended to 3D electromagnetic field simulations and other microwave diagnostics such as cross-polarization scattering.

The application of back-scattered electron imaging for characterization of pearlitic steels

The microstructures of pearlitic steel wire rods and steel wires are commonly characterized by secondary electron imaging (SEI)technique using scanning electron microscopy(SEM).In this work,a back-scattered electron imaging(BSEI)method is proposed to determine the microstructures of undeformed and deformed pearlitic steels with nanometer scale pearlite lamellae.The results indicate that BSEI technique can characterize the pearlite lamellas veritably and is effective in quantitative measurement of the mean size of pearlite interlamellar spacing.To some extent,BSEI method is more suitable than SEI technique for studying undeformed and not severely deformed pearlitic steels.

Electron Cyclotron Emission Imaging on the EAST Tokamak

An upgraded electron cyclotron emission imaging （ECEI） system consisting of new optics lenses with necessary electronics for receiving and processing signals for two dimension （2D） ECEI diagnostics was installed on EAST. Hyperboloid lens were adopted in the new system to optimize the spatial resolutions. The mixers array of sixteen elements measured the plasma electron cyclotron emission at eight frequencies simultaneously, and the profiles of the electron temperature and its fluctuation in an area of 20 cm （vertical） × 6 cm （horizontal） could then be analyzed. Evolution of sawtooth precursor and crash in EAST was observed.

Applications of Secondary Electron Composition Contrast Imaging Method in Microstructure Studies on Heterojunction Semiconductor Devices and Multilayer Materials

The principle, imaging condition and experimental method for obtaining high resolution composition contrast in secondary electron image were described. A new technique of specimen preparation for secondary electron composition contrast observation was introduced and discussed. By using multilayer P+Si1-xGex/pSi heterojunction internal photoemission infrared detector as an example, the applications of secondary electron composition contrast imaging in microstructure studies on heterojunction semiconducting materials and devices were stated. The characteristics of the image were compared with the ordinary transmission electron diffraction contrast image. The prospects of applications of the imaging method in heterojunction semiconductor devices and multilayer materials are also discussed.

Electron temperature fluctuation in the HT-7 tokamak plasma observed by electron cyclotron emission imaging

The fluctuation of the electron temperature has been measured by using the electron cyclotron emission imaging in the Hefei Tokamak-7 （HT-7） plasma. The electron temperature fluctuation with a broadband spectrum shows that it propagates in the electron diamagnetic drift direction, and the mean poloidal wave-number kθ is calculated to be about 1.58cm^-1, or k^-θρs ≈ 0.34. It indicates that the fluctuation should come from the electron drift wave turbulence. The linear global scaling of the electron temperature fluctuation with the gradient of electron temperature is consistent with the mixing length scale qualitatively. Evolution of spectrum of the fluctuation during the sawtooth oscillation phases is investigated, and the fluctuation is found to increase with the gradient of electron temperature increasing during most phases of the sawtooth oscillation. The results indicate that the electron temperature gradient is probably the driver of the fluctuation enhancement. The steady heat flux driven by electron temperature fluctuation is estimated and compared with the results from power balance estimation.

One-Dimensional Vertical Electron Cyclotron Emission Imaging Diagnostic for HT-7 Tokamak

At the first stage of the electron cyclotron emission imaging （ECEI） diagnostic project on HT-7, a 16-channel vertical-resolved ECEI diagnostic has been developed and installed on HT-7 tokamak to measure electron cyclotron emission with a temporal resolution of 0.5 usec. The system works at a fixed frequency of 97.5 GHz. The sample volumes of the system are aligned vertically with a vertical channel spacing of 11 mm, and can be shifted across the plasma cross-section by varying the toroidal magnetic field. The high spatial resolution of the system is achieved by utilizing a low-cost linear mixer/receiver array and an optical imaging system. The focus location may be shifted horizontally when translating one of the optical imaging elements. The details of the system design and laboratory testing of the ECEI optics are presented together with the preliminary experimental results.

Electron Cyclotron Emission Imaging Observations of m/n=1/1 and Higher Harmonic Modes during Sawtooth Oscillation in ICRF Heating Plasma on EAST

The m/n = 1/1 and its higher harmonic modes are observed in sawtooth oscillations by using the novel high- resolution 2D ECE imaging system on the experimental advanced superconducting Tokamak （EAST）. Higher harmonic modes are appearing for a short time during the crash phase of sawtooth oscillation in lower βp plasma, which is not the preferabie position in the poloidal cross section. These modes generate sharp pressure points on the inversion radius during the crash phase of sawtooth oscillation. Furthermore, reconnection events proceed in two distinctive phases. In the first phase, a small amount of heat is expelled through the weak reconnection while in the second phase the remaining large quantity of heat and particles emerged rapidly from the hot core to the peripheral region of the inversion radius. In addition, these harmonic modes are only found before and after the ICRF pulse, while in the ICRF pulse only the （1,1） mode exists in the sawtooth oscillation.

Wireless Preamplifier for the Specimen Current Mode Detector in a SEM

Using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) in the back-scattered electron (BSE) mode the composition of multi-element specimens may be determined based on the strong dependence of emission coefficient η on the average atomic number of elements Z. The output video signal of the usual BSE detectors is produced from their sensors, and the larger proportion of high-energy electrons with modified spectrum is added. Since η = is/ip (is and ip currents of specimen and probe), better accuracy must be achieved by direct measurements those currents on the specimen surface. Here, an experimental model of a current detector for a presented specimen is described. The cage is mounted on the carousel of the moving specimen stage. The input of the preamplifier is connected to the specimen holder in the form of a disk, the diameter of which is 12 mm. When the probe along its surface scanned, the input potential begins to pulsate with a negative polarity. The output of this preamplifier is connected to a small light-emitting diode, which creates intensity-modulated radiation in the chamber. Thus created the light video signal will be picked up by the photomultiplier of the E-T detector. The modes of true SE and BSE are set by applying tens bias volts of various polarities to the specimens or the cage itself.

Electronic image stabilization system based on global feature tracking

A new robust electronic image stabilization system is presented, which involves feature-point, tracking based global motion estimation and Kalman filtering based motion compensation. First, global motion is estimated from the local motions of selected feature points. Considering the local moving objects or the inevitable mismatch, the matching validation, based on the stable relative distance between the points set is proposed, thus maintaining high accuracy and robustness. Next, the global motion parameters are accumulated for correction by Kalman filteration. The experimental result illustrates that the proposed system is effective to stabilize translational, rotational, and zooming jitter and robust to local motions.

Vehicular Electronic Image Stabilization System Based on a Gasoline Model Car Platform

Noise,vibration and harshness(NVH)problems in vehicle engineering are always challenging in both traditional vehicles and intelligent vehicles.Although high accuracy manufacturing,modern structural roads and advanced suspension technology have already significantly reduced NVH problems and their impacts;off-road condition,obstacles and extreme operating condition could still trigger NVH problems unexpectedly.This paper proposes a vehicular electronic image stabilization(EIS)system to solve the vibration problem of the camera and ensure the environment perceptive function of vehicles.Firstly,feature point detection and matching based on an oriented FAST and rotated BRIEF(ORB)algorithm are implemented to match images in the process of EIS.Furthermore,a novel improved random sampling consensus algorithm(i-RANSAC)is proposed to eliminate mismatched feature points and increase the matching accuracy significantly.And an adaptive Kalman filter(AKF)is applied to improve the adaptability of the vehicular EIS.Finally,an experimental platform based on a gasoline model car was established to validate its performance.The experimental results show that the proposed EIS system can satisfy vehicular performance requirements even under off-road condition with obvious obstacles.

A system for detection of cervical precancerous in field emission scanning electron microscope images using texture features

This study develops a novel cervical precancerous detection system by using texture analysis of field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM)images.The processing scheme adopted in the proposed system focused on two steps.The first step was to enhance cervical cell FE-SEM images in order to show the precancerous characterization indicator.A problem arises from the question of how to extract features which characterize cervical precancerous cells.For the first step,a preprocessing technique called intensity transformation and morphological operation(ITMO)algorithm used to enhance the quality of images was proposed.The algo-rithm consisted of contrast stretching and morphological opening operations.The second step was to characterize the cervical cells to three classes,namely normal,low grade intra-epithelial squamous lesion(LSIL),and high grade intra-epithelial squamous lesion(HSIL).To differen-tiate between normal and precancerous cells of the cervical cell FE-SEM images,human papillomavirus(HPV)contained in the surface of cells were used as indicators.In this paper,we investigated the use of texture as a tool in determining precancerous cell images based on the observation that cell images have a distinct visual texture.Gray level co-occurrences matrix(GLCM)technique was used to extract the texture features.To confirm the system's perfor-mance,the system was tested using 150 cervical cell FE-SEM images.The results showed that the accuracy,sensitivity and specificity of the proposed system are 95.7%,95.7%and 95.8%,respectively.

Electronic stabilization of catadioptric panoramic image

An effective algorithm of electronic image stabilization （EIS） of catadioptric panoramic imaging system for track robots is presented. The key techniques of this algorithm are as follows：① A model of electronic image stabilization is built by analyzing the imaging theory and the principle of EIS, and the image shift function of unwrapped panoramic image is deduced;② The relationship equation between motion estimation parameters of annular panoramic image and motion estimation parameters of unwrapped panoramic image is developed according to the constrained aspect ratio of real objects, motion parameters of annular panoramic image are firstly estimated, and then motion parameters among the image shift function are carried out according to the relationship equation;③ An excessive stabilization threshold is presented to prevent the phenomena of excessive stabilization, and the Kalman filtering is adopted to smooth the image sequences. Numerical experimental results show that this algorithm can effectively smooth out the unwanted motion and follow the intentional camera movement under certain resolutions.

Accurate electron affinity of atomic cerium and excited states of its anion

Electron affinities(EA)of most lanthanide elements still remain unknown owing to their relatively lower EA values and the fairly complicated electronic structures.In the present work,we report the high-resolution photoelectron spectra of atomic cerium anion Ce−using the slow electron velocity-map imaging method in combination with a cold ion trap.The electron affinity of Ce is determined to be 4840.62(21)cm^-1 or 0.600160(26)eV.Moreover,several excited states of Ce(^4H9/2,^4I9/2,^2H9/2,^2G9/2,^2G7/2,^4H13/2,^2F5/2,and ^4I13/2)are observed.

Mechanics of bioinspired imaging systems

Imaging systems in nature have attracted a lot of research interest due to their superior optical and imaging characteristics, Recent advancements in materials science, mechanics, and stretchable electronics have led to successful development of bioinspired cameras that resemble the structures and functions of biological light-sensing organs. In this review, we discuss some recent progresses in mechanics of bioinspired imaging systems, including tunable hemispherical eyeball camera and artificial compound eye camera. The mechanics models and results reviewed in this article can provide efficient tools for design and optimization of such systems, as well as other related optoelectronic systems that combine rigid elements with soft substrates.

Evaluation of the systematic set-up errors using electronic portal image device in the radiotherapy procedures

Objective： The aim of this work was to quantify the extent of set-up errors to conduct a quality assurance （QA） aspect of treatment delivery, verification of the treatment field＇s position on different days using electronic portal. Methods： This study was carried out on 12 patients, treated for pelvis tumor; and total of 240 images obtained by electronic portal image device （EPID） were analyzed. The EPIs acquire using EPID attached to the Siemens linear accelerator. The anatomy match- ing software （Theraview） was used and displacement in two dimensions were noted for each treatment field to study patient setup errors. Results： The percentages of mean deviations less than 5 mm in X direction were 65% ＆ 92%, from 5-10 mm were 31% ＆ 19% and more than 10 mm were 11% ＆ 9% forNP and lateral direction respectively. The percentages of mean deviations less than 5 mm in Y direction were 65% ＆ 63%, from 5-10 mm were 33% ＆ 28% and more than 10 mm were 22% ＆ 29%. The mean deviations in 2D-vector errors were 〈 5 mm in 47% and 46%, 5-10 mm in 36% and 37% and 〉 10 mm in 37% and 37% of images in the NP and lateral direction respectively. Conclusion： The results revealed that the ranges of set up errors are immobilization method to improve reproducibility. The observed variations were not within the limits..

A cross-type imaging electron spectrometer

Energetic electron measurement is of great significance to theoretical space physics research and space weather applications.Current energetic electron detectors must cooperate with a spin-stabilized satellite platform to achieve high angular resolution in pitch angle distribution and three-dimensional(3D)imaging measurement of energetic electrons.This article introduces a cross-type quasi-3D imaging electron spectrometer(IES)based on pinhole imaging technology developed in the laboratory.The imager is composed of five imaging units,including a nine-pixel area array Si-PIN detector imaging unit in the middle and four three-pixel linear array Si-PIN detector imaging units placed in a cross-shape around it.The combination of five imaging units forms two orthogonal nine-pixel linear array detectors(with a common pixel in the middle).There are four pixels with a view angle of 20°×20°in the 45°oblique directions of the cross-type detection array.There are 21 imaging pixels in the entire crosstype sensor head,corresponding to 21 directions.Two multichannel integrated preamplifier ASICs are integrated in the sensor head to realize particle signal readout from 21 pixels.With a back-end electronics system,each pixel can achieve high energy resolution detection of 50–600 keV electrons.Radioactive sources and electron accelerators are used to calibrate the cross-type imaging sensor head,and the results demonstrate its good energy and directional detection characteristics(the energy resolution reaches 6.9 keV for the incident 200 keV electron beam).We performed simulations on the imaging sensor head’s ability to measure the electron pitch angle distribution on the three-axis stabilized platform,and the results show that the sensor head can perform quasi-three-dimensional detection of electrons incident within 2πsolid angles on the three-axis stabilized satellite platform,with an average angular resolution of the electron pitch angle distribution of less than 6°.

The Journey of SRS: An Initial Experience of Starting Sterotactic Radiosurgery Facility at Purbanchal Cancer Hospital—First in Nepal

Introduction: Radiotherapy (RT) is a vital cancer treatment modality for both curative and palliative purposes. Nepal is a developing country with a population of around 30 million people. Cancer affects 100 - 120 people out of every 100,000, and the figure is increasing. The number of radiation facility machines in the country is still countable in fingers. Purbanchal Cancer Hospital, Nepal is the first comprehensive cancer facility capable of performing stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Our facility has cutting-edge Varian Truebeam Linear Accelerators with millennium MLC, which makes SRS and SRT’S for intracranial lesions such as small benign and malignant tumors much easier. In addition to SRS, we are the pioneers of SBRT for lung using 4DCT, interstitial & intraluminal brachytherapy, RPM Gated & DIBH modalities in Nepal. Methods & Materials: The purpose of this study is to share our experience in establishing an SRS facility in the country, which includes training the RT team on the importance of process accuracy, patient selection, patient assessment, mould preparation, and describing image data acquisition, target, and organ at risk delineation on CT and MRI images, treatment planning process, and quality assurance. Results & Discussion: The plans for all SRS and SRT cases are based on target coverage, OAR sparing, hotspot inside the target, conformity index, heterogeneity index, and dose fall off. To select the final plan, we used strict passing criteria such as a conformity index Paddick (CIPaddick) more than 0.85, a falloff between 100% and 50% of less than 5.5 mm (maximum 6 mm in irregular targets), and a hotspot inside the target between 115 to 140 percent, as per clinical standards. In addition, we determined the CILomax and CIRTOG for each case. Passing criteria for verification plans are set as minimum of 95% for a 2% percentage dose difference (% DD) and a 2-mm distance to an agreement (DTA). We also gathered demographic data from patients treated in the first year, such as diagnosis, lesion size, dose fraction, heterogeneity index (HI), conformity index (CI) and gamma index. SRS/SRT treatment was successfully implemented, and over 40 patients were treated with positive clinical outcomes. Conclusion: SRS now has a wider range of alternatives, thanks to technology advancements in recent years. SRS’s dosimetric advantages have steadily been extended to extracranial locations. Purbanchal Cancer Hospital, Birtamode, Nepal established a comprehensive cancer facility with qualified workforce with the goal of providing high-quality treatment to the people of Nepal.

Evaluation of Sub-microstructure in Concrete with Low Water-binder Ratio by SEM-BSE Image Analysis

The coarse pore system, interfacial transition zone （ITZ） between aggregate and paste matrix and volume fraction of unhydrated cement in concrete （w/c=0.3） containing mineral admixtures were quantitatively characterized by the scanning electron microscope-backscattered electron （SEM-BSE） image analysis technique. The experimental results show that compound addition of slag and fly ash decreases the coarse porosity from 10.17% to 3.74% and the threshold diameter of coarse pore size from 345 μm to 105 μm compared with concrete （w/c=0.30） without mineral admixtures; Moreover with compound addition of fly ash and slag, the volume proportion of unhydrated cement in paste matrix is reduced by 30%, the maximum amount of coarse pores in the ITZ between aggregate and paste decreases from 13.11% to 5.57% and the thickness of ITZ is reduced by 37% , compared with concrete without mineral admixtures.

Probing electron and lattice dynamics by ultrafast electron microscopy: Principles and applications

Microscale charge and energy transfer is an ultrafast process that can determine the photoelectrochemical performance of devices.However,nonlinear and nonequilibrium properties hinder our understanding of ultrafast processes;thus,the direct imaging strategy has become an effective means to uncover ultrafast charge and energy transfer processes.Due to diffraction limits of optical imaging,the obtained optical image has insufficient spatial resolution.Therefore,electron beam imaging combined with a pulse laser showing high spatial–temporal resolution has become a popular area of research,and numerous breakthroughs have been achieved in recent years.In this review,we cover three typical ultrafast electron beam imaging techniques,namely,time-resolved photoemission electron microscopy,scanning ultrafast electron microscopy,and ultrafast transmission electron microscopy,in addition to the principles and characteristics of these three techniques.Some outstanding results related to photon–electron interactions,charge carrier transport and relaxation,electron–lattice coupling,and lattice oscillation are also reviewed.In summary,ultrafast electron beam imaging with high spatial–temporal resolution and multidimensional imaging abilities can promote the fundamental under-standing of physics,chemistry,and optics,as well as guide the development of advanced semiconductors and electronics.

Anti-proton contamination design of the imaging energetic electron spectrometer based on Geant4 simulation

The measurement of energetic particles plays an important role in the space environment monitoring and space weather forecasting.The accuracy of the energetic electron measurement is seriously influenced by the proton contamination.An anti-proton contamination design for the sensor of imaging energetic electron spectrometer is introduced in this paper.According to the electron and proton spectrum on the typical satellite orbits calculated by the radiation belt models,the efficiency of the anti-proton contamination design is estimated by the Geant4 simulation and the design is optimized based on the simulation results.