This paper proposes a novel Depth From Defocus (DFD) technique based on the property that two images having different focus settings coincide if they are reblurred with the opposite focus setting, which is referred to as the “cross reblurring” property in this paper. Based on the property, the proposed technique estimates the block-wise depth profile for a target object by minimizing the mean squared error between the cross-reblurred images. Unlike existing DFD techniques, the proposed technique is free of lens parameters and independent of point spread function models. A compensation technique for a possible pixel disalignment between images is also proposed to improve the depth estimation accuracy. The experimental results and comparisons with the other DFD techniques show the advantages of our technique.

We observed Ga focused-ion-beam (FIB) irradiation effect onto diamond-like carbon (DLC) free-space nanowiring (FSW) fabricated by focused-ion-beam chemical vapor deposition (FIB-CVD). A bended FIB-CVD FSW completely strained after Ga-FIB irradiation with raster scanning. This is probably caused by generation of compression stresses onto the surface of FSW, because the surface state of the nanowire changed with Ga-FIB irradiation. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) study indicates that Ga of FSW core part disappeared after Ga-FIB irradiation and a near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) analysis revealed C-Ga bond formation onto the surface. This is attributed to a movement of Ga from the core region to the surface, and/or an adsorption of Ga onto the surface by Ga-FIB scanned irradiation. The transformation of FSW is not only fascinating as physical phenomenon, but also effective for fabricating various 3-dimensional nanodevices equipped with nanowires utilized as electric wiring.

The field electron emission characteristics of a p-type Si emitter sharpened by a spirally scanned Ga focused-ion-beam milling process were investigated. Saturated Fowler--Nordheim (F--N) plots, which are unique phenomena of p-type semiconductor emitters, were observed. The slight increase of the emission current in the saturated F--N plots region was discussed in terms of the depletion layer width in which electron generation occurs. The temperature dependence of the field electron emission current was also discussed. The activation energy of carrier generation was determined to be 0.26,eV, ascribable to the surface states that accompany the defects introduced by the Ga ion beam. When the emitter was irradiated by a 650-nm-wavelength laser, the increase in the emission current, i.e., the photoexcited emission current, was observed in the saturated region of the F--N plots. The photoexcited emission current was proportional to the laser intensity.

Recently, array speaker products have received attention in the field of consumer electronics, and control technologies for arrayed speaker units, including beamforming and wave field synthesis (WFS), have been developed for various purposes. An important application of these algorithms is focused source reproduction. The focused source reproduction capability is strongly coupled with the array length. The array length is a very important design factor in consumer products, but it is very short in home entertainment systems, compared with ideal WFS systems or theater speaker systems. Therefore, a well-defined measure for the maximum focusing range is necessary for designing an array speaker product. In this paper, a maximum focusable range measure is proposed and is analyzed by simulation of a small array speaker. The analysis results show that the proposed maximum focusable range has properties strongly related to the capability for focused source reproduction.

We propose a novel phased array-fed dual-reflector antenna that reduces performance degradation caused by multiple reflection. The marked feature of the proposed configuration is that different reflector profiles are employed for the two orthogonal directions. The reflector profile in the beam-scanning section (vertical section) is set to an imaging reflector configuration, while the profile in the orthogonal non-beam-scanning section (horizontal section) is set to a ring-focus Cassegrain antenna configuration. In order to compare the proposed antenna with the conventional antenna in which multiple reflection was problematic, we designed a prototype antenna of the same size, and verified the validity of the proposed antenna. The results of the verification were that the gain in the designed central frequency increased by 0.4 dB, and the ripple of the gain frequency properties that was produced by multiple reflection was decreased by 1.1,dB. These results demonstrated the validity of the proposed antenna.

Objective: The virtual slides are high-magnification whole digital images of histopathological tissue sections. The existing virtual slide system, which is optimized for scanning flat and smooth plane slides such as histopathological paraffin-embedded tissue sections, but is unsuitable for scanning irregular plane slides such as cytological smear slides. This study aims to develop a virtual slide system suitable for cytopathology slide scanning and to evaluate the effectiveness of multi-focus image fusion (MF) in cytopathological diagnosis. Study Design: We developed a multi-layer virtual slide scanning system with MF technology. Tumors for this study were collected from 21 patients diagnosed with primary breast cancer. After surgical extraction, smear slide for cytopathological diagnosis were manufactured by the conventional stamp method, fine needle aspiration method (FNA), and tissue washing method. The stamp slides were fixed in 95% ethanol. FNA and tissue washing samples were fixed in CytoRich RED Preservative Fluid, a liquid-based cytopathology (LBC). These slides were stained with Papanicolaou stain, and scanned by virtual slide system. To evaluate the suitability of MF technology in cytopathological diagnosis, we compared single focus (SF) virtual slide with MF virtual slide. Cytopathological evaluation was carried out by 5 pathologists and cytotechnologists. Results: The virtual slide system with MF provided better results than the conventional SF virtual slide system with regard to viewing inside cell clusters and image file size. Liquid-based cytology was more suitable than the stamp method for virtual slides with MF. Conclusion: The virtual slide system with MF is a useful technique for the digitization in cytopathology, and this technology could be applied to tele-cytology and e-learning by virtual slide system.

In this letter, we propose a novel search approach to blur kernel estimation for defocused image restoration. An adaptive binary search on consensus is the main contribution of our research. It is based on binary search and random sample consensus set (RANSAC). Moreover an evaluating function which uses a histogram of gradient distribution is proposed for assessing restored images. Simulations on an image benchmark dataset shows that the proposed algorithm can estimate, on average, the blur kernels 15.14% more accurately than other defocused image restoration algorithms.

After brief introduction of our new microscope unit with an immersion objective and ionic liquid used as a refractive index matching medium, in this paper, we describe the studies on dipole orientation imaging of single molecules under high vacuum conditions as one of the important applications of our microscope.

The present paper introduces a new approach to the construction of a sequence set with a zero-correlation zone (ZCZ), which is referred to as a ZCZ sequence set. The proposed sequence construction generates a ZCZ sequence set from a ZCZ sequence set. The proposed method can generate an almost optimal ZCZ sequence set, the member size of which approaches the theoretical bound, when an almost optimal ZCZ sequence is used for the sequence construction. The proposed sequence set consists of NO subsets, where a ZCZ sequence set Z(LO, NO, ZO is used in sequence construction. The correlation function of the sequences of a pair of different subsets, referred to as the inter-subset correlation function, has a ZCZ with a width that is about times that of the correlation function of sequences of the same subset (intra-subset correlation function) for integers Λ ≥ 1, T, and m ≥ 0. Wide inter-subset zero-correlation enables improved performance during application of the proposed sequence set.

The present paper introduces a new approach to the construction of a sequence set with a zero-correlation zone (ZCZ). This sequence set is referred to as a ZCZ sequence set. The proposed sequence construction generates a ZCZ sequence set from a perfect sequence pair or a single perfect sequence. The proposed method can generate an optimal ZCZ sequence set, the member size of which reaches the theoretical bound.

For the acquisition of visual information, the nonuniform sampling process by photoreceptors on the retina occurs at the earliest stage of visual processing. From objects of interest, the human eye receives high visual resolution through nonuniform distribution of photoreceptors. Therefore, this paper proposes auto exposure and focus algorithms for the real-time video camera system based on the visual characteristic of the human eye. For given moving objects, the visual weight is modeled for quantifying the visual importance and the associated auto exposure and focus parameters are derived by applying the weight to the traditional numerical expression, i.e., the DoM (Difference of Median) and Tenengrad methods for auto focus.

Several problems in built-in-jitter-measurement (BIJM) system designs have been identified in recent years. The problems are associated with the external low-jitter sampling clock, chip area, timing resolution, or the measurement range via the process voltage temperature (PVT) variation effect. In this work, there are three proposed approaches and one conventioanl method that improve BIJM systems. For the system level, a proposed real equivalent-signal sampling technique is utilized to clear the requirement of the external low-jitter sampling clock. The proposed Vernier caliper structure is applied to reduce chip area cost for the designated timing resolution. At the circuit level, the proposed auto focus technique eliminates the PVT variation effect for the measurement range. The stepping scan technique is the conventional method that employed to minimize the area cost of counter circuits. All of these techniques were implemented in the 0.35 µm CMOS process. Furthermore, these techniques are successfully verified in 14 ps circuit resolution and a 500*750 µm chip area for the 100-400 MHz measurement range.

Liquid crystal (LC) lenses that have hole-patterned electrodes and are driven by two voltages used as imaging devices are reported. Two different LC lenses are applied in image formation systems. One LC lens is used with a polarizer in a relay lens scope, and another LC lens that is polarization independent is used in a TV lens. Both LC lenses play roles of focusing elements in lens systems; objects are separately brought into focus by the LC lenses. Very sharp black-and-white and color images are formed by the systems.

In this paper, we describe a novel focusing mechanism that uses a varifocal mirror and its application to measuring the shape of solder bumps arrayed on an LSI package board based on the shape-from-focus technique. We used a copper-alloy mirror deformed by a piezoelectric actuator as a varifocal mirror to build a simple yet fast focusing mechanism. The varifocal mirror was situated at the focal point of the image-taking lens in image space so that the lateral magnification was constant during focusing and an orthographic projection was perfectly established. The focused plane could be shifted along the optical axis with a precision of 1.4 µm in a depth range of 1.3 mm by driving the varifocal mirror. A magnification of 1.97 was maintained during focusing. Evaluating the curvature of field and removing its effect from the depth data reduced errors. The shapes of 208 solder bumps, 260 µm high and arrayed at a pitch of 500 µm on the board, were measured. The entire 10 mm10 mm board was segmented into 34 partly overlapping sections. We captured 101 images in each section with a high-resolution camera at different focal points at 15 µm intervals. The shape of almost the entire upper hemisphere of a solder bump could be measured. The error in measuring the bump heights was less than 12 µm.

This paper describes a method of free iris and focus image generation based on transformation integrating multiple differently focused images. First, we assume that objects are defocused by a geometrical blurring model. And we combine acquired images on certain imaging planes and spatial information of objects by using a convolution of a three-dimensional blur. Then, based on spatial frequency analysis of the blur, we design three-dimensional filters that generate free iris and focus images from the acquired images. The method enables us to generate not only an all-in-focus image corresponding to an ideal pin-hole iris but also various images, which would be acquired with virtual irises whose sizes are different from the original one. In order to generate a certain image by using multiple differently focused images, especially very many images, conventional methods usually analyze focused regions of each acquired image independently and construct a depth map. Then, based on the map, the regions are merged into a desired image with some effects. However, generally, it is so difficult to conduct such depth estimation robustly in all regions that these methods cannot prevent merged results from including visible artifacts, which decrease the quality of generated images awfully. In this paper, we propose a method of generating desired images directly and robustly from very many differently focused images without depth estimation. Simulations of image generation are performed utilizing synthetic images to study how certain parameters of the blur and the filter affect the quality of generated images. We also introduce pre-processing that corrects the size of acquired images and a simple method for estimating the parameter of the three-dimensional blur. Finally, we show experimental results of free iris and focus image generation from real images.

Our investigation of diamond-like carbon (DLC) nano-springs with a 130 nm spring-section diameter, which were fabricated by focused-ion-beam chemical vapor deposition (FIB-CVD), showed for the first time that nanosprings can be stretched. We observed large displacements of the FIB-CVD nanosprings using in situ optical microscopy; in other words, the nanosprings showed behavior similar to that of macroscale springs. In addition, we investigated the dependence of the spring constant of DLC nanosprings on spring diameter. The spring constants, measured using commercially available cantilevers, ranged from 0.47 to 0.07 N/m. The diameter dependence of spring constant can be accurately expressed by the conventional formula for a coil spring. The estimated shear modulus of the DLC nano-springs was about 70 GPa. This value is very close to the value of conventional coil springs made of steel. Furthermore, we measured the stiffness of a DLC nanospring annealed at 1000 in vacuum. The stiffness was decreased to approximately half of the stiffness of the nanospring without annealing.

In this paper, we propose a fixed monocular camera, which changes the focus cyclically to recognize completely the three-dimensional translational motion of a rigid object. The images captured in a half cycle of the focus change form a multi-focus image sequence. The motion in depth or the focus change of the camera causes defocused blur. We develop an in-focus frame tracking operator in order to automatically detect the in-focus frame in a multi-focus image sequence of a moving object. The in-focus frame gives a 3D position in the motion of the object at the time that the frame was captured. The reconstruction of the motion of an object is performed by utilizing non-uniform sampling theory for the 3D position samples, of which information were inferred from the in-focus frames in the multi-focus image sequences.

It is a critical design process to estimate the fractional errors of the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) processor before implementation. The contribution of this paper is to identify the chief sources and types and to suggest an estimation technique for overall fractional errors of the space-based SAR processor using Range-Doppler Algorithm (RDA). Also, simulation is performed to the Experimental-SAR (E-SAR) processor to examine the practicability and efficiency of the technique, the results are discussed, and the solutions for problems are recommended. Therefore, this technique can be used to estimate the fractional errors of the space-based SAR processor using RDA.

We propose a new method for Depth from Defocus (DFD) using wavelet transform. Most of the existing DFD methods use inverse filtering in a transform domain to determine the measure of defocus. These methods suffer from inaccuracies in finding the frequency domain representation due to windowing and border effects. The proposed method uses wavelets that allow performing both the local analysis and windowing with variable-sized regions for images with varying textural properties. Experimental results show that the proposed method gives more accurate depth maps than the previous methods.

A new approach to 3-D profilometry for the white light interferometric (WLI) is presented. The proposed method is the extended depth from focus (EDFF) that determine the zero optical path difference (OPD) from the quantity of fringe contrast degradation of white light interferometer. In the method, the variance of the mismatch function and the modified local variance function are used as the focus measures. The method has a theoretically unlimited range and can profile with subpixel accuracy both optically rough and smooth surfaces without changing algorithm.