A protein crystallization trial is automatically analyzed by capturing images of the protein drops in the trial. A machine-learned model, such as a neural network, is applied to classify the images. The model generates a predicted classification from among a set of possible classifications which includes one or more crystal type classifications and one or more non-crystal type classifications. Users may be notified automatically of newly identified crystals (e.g., drops that are classified as a crystal type). The notification may include a link to a user interface that includes results of the trial.

A method of analysing a component formed from a metal alloy to identify a possible defect, wherein the metal alloy comprises a first crystal grain region and the possible defect comprises a second crystal grain region aligned to a different axis to the first crystal grain region, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining a first image of the component illuminated using a first polarisation state of light, the first image comprising first polarisation data; obtaining a second image of the component illuminated using a second polarisation state of light different to the first polarisation state, the second image comprising second polarisation data; determining a difference in polarisation data for plural pixels of the first image between each pixel of the first image and a corresponding pixel of the second image; and identifying pixels corresponding to the second crystal grain region based on the difference in polarisation data.

A system and method includes acquisition of a plurality of images depicting a respective scintillator crystal, determination of a plurality of categories based on the plurality of images, determination of a crystal quality value associated with each of the plurality of categories, training of a network to receive an input image and output an indication of one of the plurality of categories based on the input image, the training based on the plurality of images and the at least one category associated with each pf the plurality of images, operation of the trained network to receive a first image of a first scintillator crystal and output a first one of the plurality of categories based on the first image, and determination of a quality of the first scintillator crystal based on the first one of the plurality of categories and a first crystal quality value associated with the first one of the plurality of categories.

Disclosed herein is a super resolution imaging method and system for obtaining an image in a crystal material and/or device.

The present disclosure relates a method of purifying diamond by removing carbon contaminants from diamond grains in the diamond by a plasma cleaning process at a temperature at which metal inclusion contaminants in the diamond grains crack the diamond grains from within, and removing metal contaminants from the diamond in a chemical or electrochemical cleaning process.

A laser irradiation apparatus includes: a laser generation apparatus configured to generate first laser light for performing heat treatment of an object to be processed; a measurement-laser emission unit configured to emit linearly-polarized second laser light toward an irradiation area on the object to be processed to which the first laser light is applied; a first polarizing plate configured to let, of the whole reflected light of the second laser light reflected by the object to be processed, a part of the reflected light that has a first polarization direction pass therethrough; and a measurement-laser detection unit configured to detect the reflected light that has passed through the first polarizing plate.

Provided herein is technology relating to sensors for detecting an analyte and particularly, but not exclusively, to liquid crystal sensors, methods of producing liquid crystal sensors, and methods of using liquid crystal sensors.

A facet region detecting method for detecting a facet region of an SiC single crystal ingot includes: an irradiation step of irradiating a first surface of the SiC single crystal ingot with light; a fluorescence intensity detection step of detecting the intensity of fluorescence generated from the first surface of the SiC single crystal ingot by the light; and a determination step of determining a region of the first surface where the fluorescence intensity is comparatively low as a facet region and determining a region where the fluorescence intensity is comparatively high as a non-facet region.

A polarimeter and a method of analyzing and imaging microstructural material orientation of a sample are disclosed. The polarimeter, which is a partial Mueller-matrix polarimeter (pMMP), accesses multiple independent polarization channels by employing two independent polarization modulators configured to switch serially among multiple independent settings, wherein the combination of the settings of the first and second polarization modulators defines an independent polarization channel, and wherein an imaging detector produces a set of spatially registered images that are synchronized with the channels formed by the polarization modulators; and wherein a processor connected with a memory executes a classification algorithm stored in the memory that maps the set of images to one or more material orientation images by mapping the set of values for each detector pixel corresponding to the set of spatially registered images to a value of material orientation at each pixel coordinate using a machine-learning model, an electrodynamic model, or a combination thereof. The invention can thereby create material microstructural orientation images of diverse anisotropic materials, for instance polymer domains, fiber bundles or plys, and metallic crystalline grains.

A crystal orientation detecting apparatus for detecting a crystal orientation of a nonlinear optical crystal substrate includes a laser beam applying unit applying a linearly polarized laser beam to a surface of the nonlinear optical crystal substrate, a harmonic detecting unit detecting a harmonic produced from the nonlinear optical crystal substrate due to a nonlinear optical effect, a recording unit recording the relationship between the angular displacement through which the plane of polarization of the laser beam and the nonlinear optical crystal substrate are rotated relatively to each other, and the intensity of the harmonic, and a crystal orientation detecting unit detecting the crystal orientation of the nonlinear optical crystal substrate based on the recorded relationship.