Detection and Characterization of Defects in Additive Manufacturing by Polarization-Based Imaging System

Additive manufacturing (AM) technology such as selective laser melting (SLM) often produces a high refection phenomenon that makes defect detection and information extraction challenging. Meanwhile, it is essential to establish a characterization method for defect analysis to provide sufcient information for process diagnosis and optimization. However, there is still a lack of universal standards for the characterization of defects in SLM parts. In this study, a polarization-based imaging system was proposed, and a set of characterization parameters for SLM defects was established. The contrast, defect contour information, and high refection suppression efect of the SLM part defects were analyzed. Comparative analysis was conducted on defect characterization parameters, including geometric and texture parameters. The experimental results demonstrated the efects of the polarization imaging system and verifed the feasibility of the defect feature extraction and characterization method. The research work provides an efective solution for defect detection and helps to establish a universal standard for defect characterization in additive manufacturing.

Laser-based defect characterization and removal process for manufacturing fused silica optic with high ultraviolet laser damage threshold

Residual processing defects during the contact processing processes greatly reduce the anti-ultraviolet(UV)laser damage performance of fused silica optics,which significantly limited development of high-energy laser systems.In this study,we demonstrate the manufacturing of fused silica optics with a high damage threshold using a CO_(2)laser process chain.Based on theoretical and experimental studies,the proposed uniform layer-by-layer laser ablation technique can be used to characterize the subsurface mechanical damage in three-dimensional full aperture.Longitudinal ablation resolutions ranging from nanometers to micrometers can be realized;the minimum longitudinal resolution is<5 nm.This technique can also be used as a crack-free grinding tool to completely remove subsurface mechanical damage,and as a cleaning tool to effectively clean surface/subsurface contamination.Through effective control of defects in the entire chain,the laser-induced damage thresholds of samples fabricated by the CO_(2)laser process chain were 41%(0%probability)and 65.7%(100%probability)higher than those of samples fabricated using the conventional process chain.This laser-based defect characterization and removal process provides a new tool to guide optimization of the conventional finishing process and represents a new direction for fabrication of highly damage-resistant fused silica optics for high-energy laser applications.

Defect Detection in Raw Si Substrates Using Transmission Polarimetry

Inline characterization for fabrication of silicon wafer PV （photovoltaic） devices may be used to optimize device efficiencies, reduce their performance variance, and their cost of production. In this article, the frozen in strain from a variety of extended defects in silicon is shown to effect the polarization of light transmitted through a silicon substrate due to the photo-elastic effect. Transmission polarimetry on pre-fabricated silicon substrates may be used for identification of extended defects in the materials using a polarization analysis instrument. Instrumentation is proposed for detection of defects in raw silicon wafers for applications like raw silicon wafer sorting, scanning silicon bricks, and inline inspection prior to solar cell metallization. Such analysis may assist with gettering of silicon solar cells, may be implemented in the sorting and rejection procedures in PV device fabrication, and in general shows advantages for detection of defects in silicon wafer solar cell materials and devices.

Vacancy defect engineering in semiconductors for solar light‐driven environmental remediation and sustainable energy production

The introduction of vacancy defects in semiconductors has been proven to be a highly effective approach to improve their photocatalytic activity owing to their advantages of promoting light absorption,facilitating photogenerated carrier separation,optimizing electronic structure,and enabling the production of reactive radicals.Herein,we outline the state-of-the-art vacancy-engineered photocatalysts in various applications and reveal how the vacancies influence photocatalytic performance.Specifically,the types of vacancy defects,the methods for tailoring vacancies,the advanced characteri-zation techniques,the categories of photocatalysts with vacancy defects,and the corresponding photocatalytic behaviors are presented.Meanwhile,the methods of vacancies creation and the related photocatalytic performance are correlated,which can be very useful to guide the readers to quickly obtain in-depth knowledge and to have a good idea about the selection of defect engineering methods.The precise characterization of vacancy defects is highly challenging.This review describes the accurate use of a series of characterization techniques with detailed comments and suggestions.This represents the uniqueness of this comprehensive review.The challenges and development prospects in engineering photocatalysts with vacancy defects for practical applications are discussed to provide a promising research direction in this field.

Cracking evolution behaviors of lightweight materials based on in situ synchrotron X-ray tomography： A review

Damage accumulation and failure behaviors are crucial concerns during the design and service of a critical component, leading researchers and engineers to thoroughly identifying the crack evolution. Third-generation synchrotron radiation X-ray computed microtomo- graphy can be used to detect the inner damage evolution of a large-density material or component. This paper provides a brief review of studying the crack initiation and propagation inside lightweight materials with advanced synchrotron three-dimensional （3D） X-ray imaging, such as aluminum materials. Various damage modes under both static and dynamic loading are elucidated for pure aluminum, aluminum alloy matrix, aluminum alloy metal matrix composite, and aluminum alloy welded joint. For aluminum alloy matrix, metallurgical defects （porosity, void, inclusion, precipitate, etc.） or artificial defects （notch, scratch, pit, etc.） strongly affect the crack initiation and propagation. For aluminum alloy metal matrix composites, the fracture occurs either from the particle debonding or voids at the particle/matrix interface, and the void evolution is closely related with fatigued cycles. For the hybrid laser welded aluminum alloy, fatigue cracks usually initiate from gas pores located at the surface or sub-surface and gradually propagate to a quarter ellipse or a typical semi-ellipse profile.