A system for inspection includes an ultrasound transmitter, an ultrasound receiver, an isolator, and a control system. The ultrasound transmitter, the ultrasound receiver, and the isolator are coupled to an exterior of a metal pipeline. The control system is configured to provide an input signal to the ultrasound transmitter; receive a received signal using the ultrasound receiver; and provide a result based at least in part on the received signal.

A method of calibrating an ultrasound probe having a coupling element for engaging the surface of an object to be inspected, in which the ultrasound probe and a calibration artefact are provided on a positioning apparatus having at least one axis about which the relative orientation of the ultrasound probe and calibration artefact can be changed, the method including, in any suitable order: i) for a plurality of different relative orientations between the ultrasound probe and the calibration artefact about the at least one axis, measuring the signal received by the ultrasound probe; and ii) from the measurements, determining at least one calibration parameter which is indicative of at least one axis of optimum signal of the ultrasound probe, and recording the at least one calibration parameter for subsequent use.

A method for evaluating a target, the target having a surface, includes pulsing a defined, energetic particle beam through the surface and into the target such that particle energy deposition from the particle beam is concentrated in a subsurface target volume within a target medium of the target. The deposited particle energy induces a thermoelastic expansion of the target medium in the target volume that generates a corresponding acoustic wave. The method further includes detecting the acoustic wave from the target medium.

A variable angle transducer interface block apparatus and related systems and methods are disclosed. The variable angle transducer interface block apparatus has an interface block having a mounting receiver. The interface block is positioned proximate to a material wall. A curved mounting structure is movably connected to the mounting receiver. A transducer is mounted on the curved mounting structure, wherein an angle of an acoustic signal transmitted by the transducer into the material wall is adjustable by movement of the curved mounting structure relative to the mounting receiver.

The present disclosure provides a non-destructive detecting method for weld residual stress and a probe using the same, in the above method, detecting is performed by an ultrasonic detecting probe in contact with a detected portion of a workpiece to be detected, wherein when the weld residual stress of an intersecting curve weld bead of surfaces of cylinders is detected, for the same position of the intersecting curve weld bead, one of the residual stress of an axial direction of the cylinders and the residual stress of a circumferential direction of the cylinders is detected as a principal stress. For the surface of the cylinder at one side of the intersecting curve weld bead, the detecting of the weld residual stress of the surface of the cylinder can be realized only by using an ultrasonic detecting probe having one type of curved surface.

An ultrasonic inspection device according to an embodiment includes: an ultrasonic transducer which includes at least one oscillator group having a plurality of oscillators in a plurality of regions, each region disposing at least one oscillator; a selector which selects at least one region having one or more of the oscillators to be driven from among the plurality of regions; and a driver which individually drives one or more of the oscillators of the at least one region being selected.

A multilayer ultrasonic transducer of an embodiment includes: a plurality of stacked oscillators; external electrodes disposed on outer exposed surfaces of two oscillators disposed in the outermost layers out of the plurality of oscillators; and a plurality of internal electrodes each disposed between two of the plurality of oscillators. There are provided electrode regions in which the plurality of internal electrodes are arranged such that the number of layers of the internal electrodes in a direction in which the oscillators are stacked gradiently increases from an inner region toward an outer peripheral region of the plurality of oscillators, and ultrasonic waves emitted from the plurality of oscillators are focused toward at least the inner region.

A collimated beam (23) of a surface acoustic wave propagates on a piezoelectric substrate (22) while passing through sensitive film (25) to adsorb a sensing gas. Signal processing unit (40) transmits an exciting burst signal to sensor electrode (24) to excite the collimated beam (23), receives first and second returned burst signals after the collimated beam (23) has propagated, and calculates a target gas parameter by a target leakage factor of the background gas and a relation between reference gas parameters and reference leakage factors of reference gases, the leakage factor is provided by first and second attenuations of the first and second returned burst signals, respectively, using waveform data of the first and second returned burst signals.

A photoacoustic and optical microscopy combiner. The combiner is configured to support a transducer defining an axis. The combiner includes a body including a base and an opening extending through the base, and a glass member at least partially positioned within the opening. The glass member includes a surface positioned at an angle relative to the base and the axis of the transducer. A sample slide is supported on the body and at least partially over the opening. The sample slide is positioned such that a sample on the sample slide is configured to receive light from a laser and redirect the light to an ultrasound transducer to generate a real-time image of a sample.

A sensor apparatus comprising an acoustic assembly arranged to transmit an acoustic signal to a substrate and receive at least part of the acoustic signal after the acoustic signal has interacted with the substrate, a transducer arranged to convert the at least part of the acoustic signal to an electronic signal, and, a processor configured to receive the electronic signal and determine both a topography of at least part of the substrate and a position of a target of the substrate based on the electronic signal. The sensor apparatus may for part of a lithographic apparatus or a metrology apparatus.