A Novel Auto-Focus Method for Image Processing Using Laser Triangulation

Limitations of the pinhole method and astigmatic defocus detection have difficulties in determining the direction of defocus and a restricted linear correction range. Here, a distance-measuring approach based on the laser triangulation principle is proposed with a corresponding mathematical model to...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xiaobo Zhang, Fumin Fan, Mehdi Gheisari, Gautam Srivastava
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2019-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8703430/
_version_ 1819179221540405248
author Xiaobo Zhang
Fumin Fan
Mehdi Gheisari
Gautam Srivastava
author_facet Xiaobo Zhang
Fumin Fan
Mehdi Gheisari
Gautam Srivastava
author_sort Xiaobo Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Limitations of the pinhole method and astigmatic defocus detection have difficulties in determining the direction of defocus and a restricted linear correction range. Here, a distance-measuring approach based on the laser triangulation principle is proposed with a corresponding mathematical model to overcome these problems and to satisfy the requirements of an industrial thin-film transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD) inspection microscope system in active auto-focus applications. The approach combines infrared light at a wavelength of 808 nm with visible light. The light reflected from the surface of the object reaches a CCD camera and forms a spot via a set of optical devices. To control a PZT to achieve real-time auto-focusing, a Gaussian curve fitting method is used to process the spot information with the presented mathematical model giving the relationship between the detection value and the defocus value focus error signal (FES). The preliminary experiments with a 50× objective lens show that the measured values are consistent with the theoretical values, have good linearity and possess a focusing accuracy of 0.2 μm within ±30 μm of the focal plane. The analysis of the experimental results proves the feasibility of using this method in industrial applications. Compared with the traditional method of microscope focus correction, this method has the advantages of high accuracy, good linearity, and fast focus speed for the actual requirements of industrial inspection processes. This method has been applied to the circuit board component defect detection in our laboratory.
first_indexed 2024-12-22T21:55:00Z
format Article
id doaj.art-c23f3957b2e346669f32430b3cc4a6c3
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2169-3536
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-22T21:55:00Z
publishDate 2019-01-01
publisher IEEE
record_format Article
series IEEE Access
spelling doaj.art-c23f3957b2e346669f32430b3cc4a6c32022-12-21T18:11:15ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362019-01-017648376484310.1109/ACCESS.2019.29141868703430A Novel Auto-Focus Method for Image Processing Using Laser TriangulationXiaobo Zhang0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2797-6700Fumin Fan1Mehdi Gheisari2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5643-0021Gautam Srivastava3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9851-4103Faculty of Automation, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, ChinaFaculty of Automation, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Computer Science and Cyber Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Mathematics and Computer Science, Brandon University, Brandon, CanadaLimitations of the pinhole method and astigmatic defocus detection have difficulties in determining the direction of defocus and a restricted linear correction range. Here, a distance-measuring approach based on the laser triangulation principle is proposed with a corresponding mathematical model to overcome these problems and to satisfy the requirements of an industrial thin-film transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD) inspection microscope system in active auto-focus applications. The approach combines infrared light at a wavelength of 808 nm with visible light. The light reflected from the surface of the object reaches a CCD camera and forms a spot via a set of optical devices. To control a PZT to achieve real-time auto-focusing, a Gaussian curve fitting method is used to process the spot information with the presented mathematical model giving the relationship between the detection value and the defocus value focus error signal (FES). The preliminary experiments with a 50× objective lens show that the measured values are consistent with the theoretical values, have good linearity and possess a focusing accuracy of 0.2 μm within ±30 μm of the focal plane. The analysis of the experimental results proves the feasibility of using this method in industrial applications. Compared with the traditional method of microscope focus correction, this method has the advantages of high accuracy, good linearity, and fast focus speed for the actual requirements of industrial inspection processes. This method has been applied to the circuit board component defect detection in our laboratory.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8703430/Optical imageslaser triangulationauto-focusGaussian curve fitting
spellingShingle Xiaobo Zhang
Fumin Fan
Mehdi Gheisari
Gautam Srivastava
A Novel Auto-Focus Method for Image Processing Using Laser Triangulation
IEEE Access
Optical images
laser triangulation
auto-focus
Gaussian curve fitting
title A Novel Auto-Focus Method for Image Processing Using Laser Triangulation
title_full A Novel Auto-Focus Method for Image Processing Using Laser Triangulation
title_fullStr A Novel Auto-Focus Method for Image Processing Using Laser Triangulation
title_full_unstemmed A Novel Auto-Focus Method for Image Processing Using Laser Triangulation
title_short A Novel Auto-Focus Method for Image Processing Using Laser Triangulation
title_sort novel auto focus method for image processing using laser triangulation
topic Optical images
laser triangulation
auto-focus
Gaussian curve fitting
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8703430/
work_keys_str_mv AT xiaobozhang anovelautofocusmethodforimageprocessingusinglasertriangulation
AT fuminfan anovelautofocusmethodforimageprocessingusinglasertriangulation
AT mehdigheisari anovelautofocusmethodforimageprocessingusinglasertriangulation
AT gautamsrivastava anovelautofocusmethodforimageprocessingusinglasertriangulation
AT xiaobozhang novelautofocusmethodforimageprocessingusinglasertriangulation
AT fuminfan novelautofocusmethodforimageprocessingusinglasertriangulation
AT mehdigheisari novelautofocusmethodforimageprocessingusinglasertriangulation
AT gautamsrivastava novelautofocusmethodforimageprocessingusinglasertriangulation