A photoacoustic remote sensing system for imaging a subsurface structure in a sample, comprising exactly one laser source configured to generate a pulsed or intensity-modulated excitation beam configured to generate ultrasonic pressure signals in the sample at an excitation location, and an interrogation beam incident on the sample at the excitation location, a portion of the interrogation beam returning from the sample that is indicative of the generated ultrasonic pressure signals, an optical system configured to focus the excitation beam and the interrogation beam below a surface of the sample, a detector configured to detect the returning portion of the interrogation beam, and a processor configured to calculate an image of the sample based on a detected intensity modulation of the returning portion of the interrogation beam from below the surface of the sample.

A method for sourcing plants includes performing nondestructive near-infrared (NIR) scans on selected plants, determining a predicted value of a characteristic for the selected plants based on evaluation of spectral data from the NIR scans against a characteristic model, and utilizing the predicted values for purchasing, processing, and/or financial forecasting. A method of sorting and processing plants includes determining a predicted value of a characteristic in gathered plants and determining a process to recover a primary product and/or a byproduct of the plants based on the predicted value. A method for forecasting includes determining a composite value of a characteristic in plants from a prior time period, correlating source data of plants to be gathered in the later time period with a predicted value of the characteristic in those plants, and determining a predicted composite value of the characteristic in the plants to be gathered in the later time period.

Disclosed are a method of inspecting a printing quality of a 3D printing object using a femtosecond laser beam during a 3D printing process, and an apparatus and a 3D printing system for the same. A laser beam is irradiated from a femtosecond laser source disposed coaxially with a 3D printing laser source to inspect a state of the printing object. The laser beam generated by the femtosecond laser source is separated into a pump laser beam and a probe laser beam. The printing laser beam irradiated from a 3D printing laser source or the pump laser beam is irradiated onto a printing object to generate ultrasonic waves. To measure the ultrasonic waves, a probe laser beam is irradiated onto the printing object. The probe laser beam reflected by the printing object is detected. The quality of the printing object is inspected by analyzing the reflected probe laser beam.

A system and method for authentication of objects, which includes directing a laser beam onto a surface of an object to induce a thermoelastic excitation in bulk material of the object without altering the surface of the object, wherein the laser beam is pulsed. A surface ultrasonic wave at the surface of the object caused by the thermoelastic excitation is detected using a detector. A detection signal is generated using the detected surface ultrasonic wave. Digital data is generated using the detection signal. Authenticity of the object is determined by comparing the digital data and reference data stored in a database.

A camera-based photoacoustic remote sensing system (C-PARS) for imaging a subsurface and deep structures in a sample, has an excitation beam configured to generate ultrasonic signals in the sample at an excitation location; an interrogation beam incident on the sample at the excitation location, a portion of the interrogation beam returning from the sample that is indicative of the generated ultrasonic signals; a camera to map the returning portion of the interrogation beam over the entire field of view.

A system and a method for sensing an object using two-stage photo-acoustic excitation are provided herein. The method may include: scanning the object at a first resolution by alternately and repeatedly photo-acoustically exciting and sensing each of multiple first regions on the object to yield multiple first outputs; determining, based on the multiple first outputs, at least one first region of the multiple first regions that includes at least one zone and a specific depth of the at least one zone below a surface of the object; scanning the first region that includes the at least one zone at a second resolution by alternately and repeatedly photo-acoustically exciting and sensing each of multiple second regions in the at least one first region thereof to yield multiple second outputs; and determining, based on at least one of the multiple second outputs, specified parameters of the at least one zone.

A thermoacoustic probe with an electromagnetic (EM) energy applicator, a thermoacoustic transducer, and a housing containing the applicator and thermoacoustic transducer and enabling an EM exit window and a transducer front face to be held flush with respect to each other. A first acoustic absorbing material is placed between the EM applicator and the transducer, between the EM applicator and the housing, and between the transducer and the housing as spacers; and a second acoustic absorbing material is injected between the EM applicator and the transducer, between the EM applicator and the housing, and between the transducer and the housing in the spaced gaps, wherein the first acoustic absorbing material and the second acoustic absorbing material are combined to form a sleeve covering the applicator sides and the transducer sides. The acoustic absorbing materials mitigate sound artifacts and noise resulting in cleaner signal data. In a preferred embodiment the applicator is a radio-frequency applicator, the transducer is a piezoelectric transducer, and the probe is utilizable for tissue imaging.

Method of determining an overlay error between device layers of a multilayer semiconductor device using an atomic force microscopy system, wherein the semiconductor device comprises a stack of device layers comprising a first patterned layer and a second patterned layer, and wherein the atomic force microscopy system comprises a probe tip, wherein the method comprises: moving the probe tip and the semiconductor device relative to each other for scanning of the surface; and monitoring motion of the probe tip with tip position detector during said scanning for obtaining an output signal; during said scanning, applying a first acoustic input signal to at least one of the probe or the semiconductor device; analyzing the output signal for mapping at least subsurface nanostructures below the surface of the semiconductor device; and determining the overlay error between the first patterned layer and the second patterned layer based on the analysis.

A device and a method for simultaneously inspecting defects of a surface and a subsurface of an optical element are provided. Combined with laser-induced ultrasound and laser scattering inspection technologies, through generating acoustic sound waves on the surface and the subsurface of the optical element to be tested by lasers, a static light scattering effect of subsurface defects under modulation of the acoustic sound wave is observed and analyzed; through analyzing amplitude and phase changes of scattered light intensity and reflected light intensity, inspection for the defects of the surface and the subsurface of the optical element is realized. The present invention can be applied in quality inspection of precise optical elements, especially in finished product inspection of ultra-precise optical elements having strict requirements on the subsurface defects.

An optical device includes a first axicon lens to which collimated light is incident and which is configured to form diverging ring-shaped light; a lens to which the ring-shaped light formed by the first axicon lens is incident and which is configured to form ring-shaped collimated light; and a condensing mirror that is configured to condense the ring-shaped collimated light formed by the lens. A photoacoustic microscope includes the optical device described above and a detector that is configured to detect an acoustic wave caused by light condensed by the condensing mirror.