SBIR Phase II: A Sensitive Integrated Multi-Speckle Laser Interferometer for Industrial Applications

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project describes an innovative Approach for development of a high sensitivity laser ultrasonic receiver for Application in industrial environment. A high sensitivity classic reference beam interferometer with the ability to efficiently overcome the limitation caused by the speckle light generated from the reflection from rough surface will be developed. The interferometer should be well suited for demanding industrial applications where low cost, sensitive and rugged receiver is needed. Because the proposed interferometer takes advantage of the high integration level of current state-of-the-art in electronic packaging, the system can be made very compact and will be the key element of an ultrasonic system. The robustness, high sensitivity and lower cost of this ultrasonic receiver is hoped to enable laser based ultrasonic inspection to become a cost effective and reliable solution. The commercial market for this type of laser ultrasonic receiver is targeted at process control and in-service inspection applications where high reliability and low inspection cost is required. The steel industry has expressed strongly a desire to have a system dedicated to the in-process wall-thickness measurement of seamless tube