Non-invasive Estimation of the Powder Size Distribution from a Single Speckle Image

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Abstract Non-invasive characterization of powders may take one of two approaches: imaging and counting individual particles; or relying on scattered light to estimate the particle size distribution (PSD) of the ensemble. The former approach runs into practical difficulties, as the system must conform to the working distance and other restrictions of the imaging optics. The latter approach requires an inverse map from the speckle autocorrelation to the particle sizes. The principle relies on the pupil function determining the basic sidelobe shape, whereas the particle size spread modulates the sidelobe intensity. We recently showed that it is feasible to invert the speckle autocorrelation and obtain the PSD using a neural network, trained efficiently through a physics-informed semi-generative approach. In this work, we eliminate one of the most time-consuming steps of our previous method by engineering the pupil function. By judiciously blocking portions of the pupil, we sacrifice some photons but in return we achieve much taller enhanced sidelobes and, hence, higher sensitivity to the change of the size distribution. The result is a 60× reduction in total acquisition and processing time, or 0.25 seconds per frame in our implementation. Almost real-time operation in our system is not only more appealing toward rapid industrial adoption, it also paves the way for quantitative characterization of complex spatial or temporal dynamics in drying, blending, and other chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing processes.
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Non-invasive Estimation of the Powder Size Distribution from a Single Speckle Image | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Non-invasive Estimation of the Powder Size Distribution from a Single Speckle Image Qihang Zhang, George Barbastathis, Ajinkya Pandit, Zhiguang Liu, and 10 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4082496/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 21 Aug, 2024 Read the published version in Light: Science & Applications → Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Non-invasive characterization of powders may take one of two approaches: imaging and counting individual particles; or relying on scattered light to estimate the particle size distribution (PSD) of the ensemble. The former approach runs into practical difficulties, as the system must conform to the working distance and other restrictions of the imaging optics. The latter approach requires an inverse map from the speckle autocorrelation to the particle sizes. The principle relies on the pupil function determining the basic sidelobe shape, whereas the particle size spread modulates the sidelobe intensity. We recently showed that it is feasible to invert the speckle autocorrelation and obtain the PSD using a neural network, trained efficiently through a physics-informed semi-generative approach. In this work, we eliminate one of the most time-consuming steps of our previous method by engineering the pupil function. By judiciously blocking portions of the pupil, we sacrifice some photons but in return we achieve much taller enhanced sidelobes and, hence, higher sensitivity to the change of the size distribution. The result is a 60× reduction in total acquisition and processing time, or 0.25 seconds per frame in our implementation. Almost real-time operation in our system is not only more appealing toward rapid industrial adoption, it also paves the way for quantitative characterization of complex spatial or temporal dynamics in drying, blending, and other chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Optical techniques/Imaging and sensing Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Other photonics/Optical metrology Full Text Additional Declarations (Not answered) Supplementary Files pupilspecklesupplementaryfinal.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 21 Aug, 2024 Read the published version in Light: Science & Applications → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: revise 11 May, 2024 Review # 4 received at journal 23 Apr, 2024 Reviewer # 4 agreed at journal 11 Apr, 2024 Reviewer # 3 agreed at journal 11 Apr, 2024 Review # 2 received at journal 29 Mar, 2024 Review # 1 received at journal 18 Mar, 2024 Reviewer # 2 agreed at journal 16 Mar, 2024 Reviewer # 1 agreed at journal 16 Mar, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 16 Mar, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 15 Mar, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 12 Mar, 2024 First submitted to journal 12 Mar, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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