New Swiss spin-off company unveils high resolution tomographic and topographic imaging system
New Swiss spin-off company unveils high resolution tomographic and topographic imaging system
Keywords: Image sensors
Heliotis AG, a Zürich-based company, spun-out of the Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique in 2005, has just announced a unique imaging system based on parallel optical low-coherence tomography technology. This is a non-invasive, non-contacting imaging technique which uses interferometry to acquire high resolution 3D surface relief (i.e. topographic) or internal slice(tomographic) images in real-time (Plate 3).
Plate 3The Heliotis scanning imaging system (Heliotis AG)
The system comprises a Twyman-Green interferometer, a superluminescent diode,a smart 2D CMOS sensor array and its associated electronics and a linear stage. The CMOS array consists of 144 × 90 smart pixels sensors that feature integrated electronics and so can perform the initial signal pre-processing. A sweep of the interferometer's reference beam scans the sample at 200 mm/s. and creates a topographic or tomographic image, depending on whether or not the sample is transparent to visible or NIR light. Trials have demonstrated that the vertical resolution is presently 10-12 μm but the company claims that 2-3μm will be possible, as one arrangement has already yielded a resolution of 5μm. It is this level of resolution, combined with real-time image acquisition that makes the system unique. With aspirations to become a world leader in micron- resolution, real-time imaging, the company has recently received first round funding and is negotiating with investors for further funding for 2006.
For more information, contact: Heliotis AG, Badenerstrasse 569, CH-8048 Zürich,Switzerland. Tel: +41 44 497 1498; E-mail: info@heliotis.ch;web site: www.heliotis.ch
