Binocular vision

Binocular vision is vision in which both eyes are used together. The word binocular comes from two Latin roots, bini for double, and oculus for eye. Having two eyes confers at least four advantages over having one. First, it gives a creature a spare eye in case one is damaged. Second, it gives a wider field of view. For example, humans have a maximum horizontal field of view of approximately 200 degrees with two eyes, approximately 120 degrees of which makes up the binocular field of view (seen by both eyes) flanked by two uniocular fields (seen by only one eye) of approximately 40 degrees Third, it gives binocular summation in which the ability to detect faint objects is enhanced. Fourth it can give stereopsis in which parallax provided by the two eyes' different positions on the head give precise depth perception.

Binocular summation
Binocular summation means that the detection threshold for a stimulus is lower with two eyes than with one. There are two forms. First, when trying to detect a faint signal, there is a statistical advantage of using two detectors over using one. Mathematically, the advantage is equal to the square root of 2, about 1.41. Second, when some cells in the visual cortex receive input from both eyes simultaneously, they show binocular facilitation, a greater level of activity than the sum of the two activities evoked separately from each eye.

Binocular interaction
Apart from binocular summation, the two eyes can influence each other in at least three ways. Pupillary diameter. Light falling in one eye affects the diameter of the pupils in both eyes. One can easily see this by looking at a friend's eye while he or she closes the other: when the other eye is open, the pupil of the first eye is small; when the other eye is closed, the pupil of the first eye is large. Accommodation and vergence. Accommodation is the state of focus of the eye. If one eye is open and the other closed, and one focuses on something close, the accommodation of the closed eye will become the same as that of the open eye. Moreover, the closed eye will tend to converge to point at the object. Accommodation and convergence are linked by a reflex, so that one evokes the other. Interocular transfer. The state of adaptation of one eye can have a small effect on the state of light adaptation of the other. Aftereffects induced through one eye can be measured through the other.

Stereopsis

Stereopsis (from stereo- meaning "solid" or "three-dimensional", and opsis meaning view or sight) is the process in visual perception leading to the perception of depth from the two slightly different projections of the world onto the retinas of the two eyes. The differences in the two retinal images are called horizontal disparity, retinal disparity, or binocular disparity. The differences arise from the eyes' different positions in the head. Stereopsis is commonly referred to as depth perception. This is inaccurate, as depth perception relies on many more monocular cues than stereoptical ones, and individuals with only one functional eye still have depth perception except in artificial cases (such as stereoscopic images) where stereopsis differentiates the media from their two dimensional counterparts.

Geometrical basis for stereopsis

Stereopsis appears to be processed in the visual cortex in binocular cells having receptive fields in different horizontal positions in the two eyes. Such a cell is active only when its preferred stimulus is in the correct position in the left eye and in the correct position in the right eye, making it a disparity detector. When a person stares at an object, the two eyes converge so that the object appears at the center of the retina in both eyes. Other objects around the main object appear shifted in relation to the main object. In the following example, whereas the main object (dolphin) remains in the center of the two images in the two eyes, the cube is shifted to the right in the left eye's image and is shifted to the left when in the right eye's image. Because each eye is in a different horizontal position, each has a slightly different perspective on a scene yielding different retinal images. Normally two images are not observed, but rather a single view of the scene, a phenomenon known as singleness of vision. Nevertheless, stereopsis is possible with double vision. This form of stereopsis was called qualitative stereopsis by Kenneth Ogle. If the images are very different (such as by going cross-eyed, or by presenting different images in a stereoscope) then one image at a time may be seen, a phenomenon known as binocular rivalry.

Holography.
Holography is a technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that it appears as if the object is in the same position relative to the recording medium as it was when recorded. The image changes as the position and orientation of the viewing system changes in exactly the same way as if the object were still present, thus making the recorded image (hologram) appears three dimensional. The technique of holography can also be used to optically store, retrieve, and process information. While it has been possible to create a 3-D holographic picture of a static object since the 1960s, it is only in the last few years that arbitrary scenes or videos can be shown on a holographic volumetric display.

Theory

Holographic recording process

Though holography is often referred to as 3D photography, this is a misconception. A better analogy is sound recording where the sound field is encoded in such a way that it can later be reproduced. In holography, some of the light scattered from an object or a set of objects falls on the recording medium. A second light beam, known as the reference beam, also illuminates the recording medium, so that interference occurs between the two beams. The resulting light field generates a seemingly random pattern of varying intensity which is recorded in the hologram. It can be shown that if the hologram is illuminated by the original reference beam, the reference beam is diffracted by the hologram to produce a diffracted light field which is identical to the light field which was scattered by the object or objects. Thus, someone looking into the hologram "sees" the objects even though they are no longer present. There are a variety of recording materials which can be used, including photographic film.

2.1 What is a Hologram? A hologram is a record of the interaction of two beams of coherent light, in the form of microscopic pattern of interference fringes. It is a photographic registration of the interference pattern formed by two laser beams of coherent light. One beam goes straight from the light source and the other is scattered from a physical object. The photographic film or plate is exposed by two laser beams and is processed in such way that when illuminated appropriately a three-dimensional image is produced. People often seem to think of a hologram simply as some sort of a three-dimensional photograph. Certainly, both photography and holography make use of photographic film, but that is about all they have in common. The most important difference is the way the image is produced. A photographic image produced by a camera lens can be described fairly accurately using a simple geometric or ray model for the behaviour of light, whereas the holographic image cannot be described by this simple ray model. Its existence depends on diffraction and interference, which are wave phenomena.

Construction of Hologram The method involves directing first and second separate illuminating beams towards a photosensitive film from separate fixed apparent beam source positions respectively in such a manner that the beams are caused to overlap at the point of incidence at the photosensitive film. Stationary interference fringes are generated and the beams are caused to scan in a raster type pattern over the photosensitive film in such a manner whereby overlapping of the beams is maintained throughout the exposure of the film. The apparatus in one embodiment involves the generation of a third illuminating beam which is used to control means to control an associated scanner to effect synchronised movement of the second beam with the first beam. A further embodiment involves memorising the scanning movement of beam in a memory and using the memorised scanning pattern to control the scanner to maintain beam overlap.

2.3.1 Transmission hologram In the figure 2-1 is depicted the set-up for recording transmission hologram. To make a hologram we need two coherent light waves, laser light. One beam is reflected from the object and carries information about the object. This wave is called the object beam. The other one is a plane wave without information, which is called reference beam. The object beam (OB) and the reference beam (RB), generate an interference pattern which is recorded in the form of a hologram on film emulsion. Absolutely stable conditions are required during the exposure of the film. If we have an instability of one tenth or more of a wavelength (633 nm), the result will be low diffraction efficiency and a weak image reconstruction. This type of hologram is called transmission hologram because the light passes through the holographic plate. Another characteristic of transmission holograms is that the object beam and the reference beam come in from the same side of the holographic film plate during the exposure.

Figure 2-1 Recording transmission hologram

Figure 2-2 Transmission hologram reconstruction To reconstruct the holographic image, we develop the hologram and place it in its original position in the reference beam as during its recording. If we look along the reconstructed object beam we see a replica of the object, and as we shift viewpoints we see object from different perspectives. Thus the object appears to be three-dimensional (3D). The light does not actually pass through the image, but only generates a wavefront that makes it appear as though the light had been generated in the position of the object. This image is called virtual image. In contrast to the virtual image, an image that light has actually passed through is called a real image. The difference between the real image and the virtual image is that the real image can be caught on a screen placed in its plane without additional lenses. The real image is used in the two-step process which really is a hologram of a hologram. The real image is focused just in front of the recorded filmplate and so a reflection hologram can be produced. Figure 2-3 and figure 2-4 shows us the virtual and the real image of a transmission hologram.

Figure 2-3 Virtual image in a transmission hologram In figure 2-4 the hologram is turned 180 degrees.

Figure 2-4 Real image of a transmission hologram To get a 3 dimensional image of the object, we have to recreate the original wavefront. That means that the hologram must be illuminated by a wave like one of the original waves which was used during the exposure. When the developed film is illuminated, diffraction and interference will give rise to a new wavefront which is quite like the original wavefront. The result is that, it is difficult to see the difference between the object and the image. The image appears to us as though it is formed at a distance behind the filmplate as shown in figure 2-3. The plane of the image is called the holographic window. This image is the virtual image.

Applications of holograms Holography represents one of the most fascinating examples of recombining of scattered radiation to produce pictures. It has been a well used method to produce image, and a important tool in science and technology. Holography is now spreading from the research laboratory to industry, and finds wider employment in communication and other engineering problems. A hologram can store numerous quantities of information. In the computer technique one can make a memories which are much larger and faster than in today's computers, but this has still not been realised even if the improvement are fast. The use of small holograms in credit cards, which are made to prevent falsification, has made holograms a well known concept. Holograms show up more and more often on tickets and on original covers on software computer programs. An example of an important area of application is bar-code readers in shops, warehouses, libraries and so on. A code reader like this is based on the application of holographic components like optical gratings. This large important industry has contributed to make holography an industrial success. In the aircraft industry head-up displays (HUD) are an important example of holographic technology. HUD helps the pilots so they do not need to look down onto the instrument panels, because the instruments are projected onto the windscreen with help of holographic technology, and thus make flying easier. Holography is also in use for making holographic optical elements (HOE), based on interference. The HOE are optical diffraction gratings, mirror, lenses and so on. This technique is used in bar-code readers

Laser diode
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Semiconductor laser)

A laser diode is a laser where the active medium is a semiconductor similar to that found in a light-emitting diode. The most common type of laser diode is formed from a p-n junction and powered by injected electric current. The former devices are sometimes referred to as injection laser diodes to distinguish them from optically pumped laser diodes.

THEORY OF OPERATION
A laser diode is formed by doping a very thin layer on the surface of a crystal wafer. The crystal is doped to produce an n-type region and a p-type region, one above the other, resulting in a pn junction, or diode. Laser diodes form a subset of the larger classification of semiconductor p-n junction diodes. Forward electrical bias across the laser diode causes the two species of charge carrier holes and electrons

to be "injected" from opposite sides of the p-n junction into the depletion region. Holes are injected from the p-doped, and electrons from the n-doped, semiconductor. (A depletion region, devoid of any charge carriers, forms as a result of the difference in electrical potential between n- and p-type semiconductors wherever they are in physical contact.) Due to the use of charge injection in powering most diode lasers, this class of lasers is sometimes termed "injection lasers," or "injection laser diode" (ILD). As diode lasers are semiconductor devices, they may also be classified as semiconductor lasers. Either designation distinguishes diode lasers from solid-state lasers.

Applications of laser
Laser diodes are numerically the most common type of laser, with 2004 sales of approximately 733 million diode lasers, as compared to 131,000 of other types of lasers. Laser diodes find wide use in telecommunication as easily modulated and easily coupled light sources for fiber optics communication. They are used in various measuring instruments, such as rangefinders. Another common use is in barcode readers. Visible lasers, typically red but later also green, are common as laser pointers. Both low and high-power diodes are used extensively in the printing industry both as light sources for scanning (input) of images and for very high-speed and high-resolution printing plate (output) manufacturing. Infrared and red laser diodes are common in CD players, CD-ROMs and DVD technology. Violet lasers are used in HD DVD and Blu-ray technology. Diode lasers have also found many applications in laser absorption spectrometry (LAS) for highspeed, low-cost assessment or monitoring of the concentration of various species in gas phase. Highpower laser diodes are used in industrial applications such as heat treating, cladding, seam welding and for pumping other lasers, such as diode pumped solid state lasers.

Many applications of diode lasers primarily make use of the "directed energy" property of an optical beam. In this category one might include the laser printers, bar-code readers, image scanning, illuminators, designators, optical data recording, combustion ignition, laser surgery, industrial sorting, industrial machining, and directed energy weaponry. Some of these applications are emerging while others are well-established. Laser medicine: medicine and especially dentistry have found many new applications for diode lasers. The shrinking size of the units and their increasing user friendliness makes them very attractive to clinicians for minor soft tissue procedures. The 800 nm 980 nm units have a high absorption rate for hemoglobin and thus make them ideal for soft tissue applications, where good haemostasis is necessary.

Applications which may make use of the coherence of diode-laser-generated light include interferometric distance measurement, holography, coherent communications, and coherent control of chemical reactions. Open Top Sanitary cans which deliver canned food to your table, are now safer and defect free when welded using Laser beam welding technology popularly referred to as LBW than the traditional stitch welding and other tig welding methods. This is how modern technological advancements in process technology has made a difference to our lives. Planes that we fly are safer why because the technology used in manufacturing or building plane is so good and advanced. Welding specially is very critical to building a plane. This is where LBW technology has eased this operation and besides made it defect free. Laser beam welding as the name suggests high energy beam that is excited to emit a single wavelength of concentrated heat and is directed to one focal point or spot specially narrow and deep spots where reach is difficult. The lazer used with gas may also use filler metals. Laser beam welding application can be used to various metals like stainless steel, aluminium, tin alloys, copper and other alloys. The wide range of application in industrial use especially in conjunction with Computer Controlled Machining centres has found itself indispensable in modern industrial manufacturing processes especially in the field of automobiles, aerospace etc. Laser Beam welding technology specially helps where the volume of welding requirement is very high with need for process and quality control and precision. The fields where laser beam welding is highly used are many. Besides Automobiles and Space Craft building, Defence is another area besides Medical and instrumentations. Any manufacturing related industry today has adapted to this technology. There are many types of laser beam welding techniques available with the most common type being Nd: YAG and CO2 and Diode laser. While nd: YAG uses a crystal, CO2 uses gas as medium. The advantage of this superior technology is what makes it popular technology. Laser beam welding can reach places and spots where the depth is more and is difficult to access and where the contours on sheet metals are to be welded. The ability to control the beam makes it possible to concentrate on welding spots with control even when the size of spot is as small as 0.005 mm .The heat exposure to other than the spot being welded is controlled and avoided. High speed and no distortion ensure defect free welding with process control. Combined with robotic controls, this technology yields tremendous productivity in high volume welding applications. Carbon dioxide lasers have the ability to cleanly, neatly, and easily cut through human tissue. The hot beam cauterizes (seals off) open blood vessels making the surgery bloodless. The ability of the laser to be used in the medical field was a great surprise. Today, lasers are used in dentistry, dermatology, surgery, endoscopy, angioplasty, hyperthermia of tumours, and photodynamic therapy. Lasers have the ability to remove the plaque from blocked arteries. In this procedure, called laser angioplasty, two optic fibers are entered into the body and manouvered to the blocked artery. One fiber is connected to a television camera while the other carries the burst of light. At the blocked artery, this laser is fired, destroying the plaque. The debris is sucked up out of the body by a hole in one of the fibers. Dermatologists can refer patients for cosmetic surgery using lasers to do many things, even remove birthmarks. Birthmarks are able to be removed by lasers because they absorb all the colours except red. A low power green beam of light will therefore be absorbed by the birthmark and burn it away. Since the surrounding skin absorbs different colours it will not be harmed.

The principal that cavities are softer than the enamel (hard portion of tooth) is used to treat cavities using lasers. To remove the cavities a laser that is strong enough to destroy the cavity yet too weak to hurt the enamel is used. This procedure is painless and bloodless. Lasers are used to treat many things in the medical field including removing kidney stones, in chromosome manipulation, and to find a pulse.

Laser Show
A laser lighting display or laser light show involves the use of laser light to entertain an audience. A laser light show may consist only of projected laser beams set to music, or may accompany another form of entertainment, typically a dance concert or other musical performance. Laser light is useful in entertainment because the coherent nature of laser light allows a narrow beam to be produced, which allows the use of optical scanning to draw patterns or images on walls, ceilings or other surfaces including theatrical smoke and fog without refocusing for the differences in distance, as is common with video projection. This inherently more focused beam is also extremely visible, and is often used as an effect. Sometimes the beams are "bounced" to different positions with mirrors to create laser sculptures. Laser scanners consist of small mirrors which are mounted on galvanometers to which a control voltage is applied. The beam is deflected a certain amount which correlates to the amount of voltage applied to the galvanometer scanner. Two galvanometer scanners can enable X-Y control voltages to aim the beam to any point on a square or rectangular raster. This enables the laser lighting designer to create patterns such as Lissajous figures (such as are often displayed on oscilloscopes); other methods of creating images through the use of galvanometer scanners and X-Y control voltages can generate letters, shapes, and even complicated and intricate images. (The use of X-Y raster scanning to create images is also used in television picture tubes.) A planar or conical moving beam aimed through atmospheric smoke or fog can display a plane or cone of light known as a "laser tunnel" effect. Laser Fusion A second technique for confining the plasma is called inertial confinement. It involves compressing a fuel pellet by "zapping" it from all sides by laser beams (or particle beams), thus compressing it and increasing its temperature and particle density so that thermonuclear fusion can occur. By comparison with devices such as the tokamak, inertial confinement invovles working with much higher particle densities for much shorter times. Laser fusion is being investigated in many laboratories in the United States and elsewhere. At the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, the laser pulses are designed to deliver, in total, some 200 kJ of 14 energy to each fuel pellet in less than a nanosecond. This is a delivered power of about 2 X 10 W during the pulse, which is roughly 100 times the total sustained electric power generating capacity of the world! The feasibility of laser fusion as the basis of a thermonuclear power reactor has not been demonstrated as of yet, but research is continuing at a vigorous pace.