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Novel system for simultaneously measuring the thickness and refractive index of a transparent plate with two optical paths

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Abstract

This study designs and characterizes a novel optical system for simultaneously measuring the thickness (> 1 mm) and refractive index of a transparent plate with two optical paths. The proposed optical system is based on triangulation methods. In contrast to exiting optical system based on triangulation methods for simultaneous measurements of thickness and refractive index of a transparent plate, the proposed optical system can measure a greater thickness with a simpler structure and lower cost. The two optical paths are combined using a self-written measurement processing algorithm to simultaneously calculate the thickness and refractive index. The principle and measurement methodology of the proposed optical system are analyzed and explained. The performance of the proposed optical system is then verified and evaluated experimentally using a laboratory-built prototype. The experimental results show that the measured thicknesses and refractive indexes for Sample B (the thickness > 1 mm) are in good agreement with those determined by a commercial instrument with the maximum deviation of 0.019% for the thickness d and 0.007% for the refractive index n, respectively.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided to this study by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan under Grant Nos. MOST 106-2628-E-194-001-MY3, 106-2622-E-194-005-CC3, 106-2622-E-194-004-CC2, 106-2218-E-194-002, 106-3114-8-194-001, 105-2221-E-194-013-MY5, 105-2218-E-194-004, 105-2218-E-194-003, and 103-2221-E-194-006-MY3.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No.1, University Road, Tainan, 70101, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Chien-Sheng Liu

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Advanced Institute of Manufacturing with High-tech Innovations, National Chung Cheng University, No.168, University Road, Minhsiung Township, Chiayi County, 62102, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Tse-Yen Wang & Yu-Ta Chen

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  1. Chien-Sheng Liu
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  2. Tse-Yen Wang
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  3. Yu-Ta Chen
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Correspondence to Chien-Sheng Liu.

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Liu, CS., Wang, TY. & Chen, YT. Novel system for simultaneously measuring the thickness and refractive index of a transparent plate with two optical paths. Appl. Phys. B 124, 180 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-018-7052-4

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