Detection of blemish for fiber-optic imaging elements

The existence of blemishes deteriorates the imaging quality of fiber-optic imaging elements and reduces the yield of finished products in factories. The effective detection of blemishes is a prerequisite for analyzing the causes of blemishes and preventing their generation. An independently developed detection device for fiber-optic imaging elements based on machine vision is implemented to detect blemishes automatically and accurately. The blemish distributions of three typical fiber-optic imaging elements, including a fiber-optic plate (FOP), a fiberoptic inverter (FOI), and a fiber-optic taper (FOT), are compared with each other, and the causes of blemishes in fiber-optic imaging elements are analyzed. The distribution of blemishes in the FOP is random, and the average number (AN) of blemishes in the first zone (central zone) and the second zone (outer zone) with the same area is similar. The AN of blemishes for the FOI prepared by twisting the FOP at high-temperature increases from 272.8 (FOP) to 2125.0, and the AN in the outer zone is 1542.5, higher than that in the central zone. More blemishes are generated by the twisting process, and the distribution of these blemishes is close to the outer zone. A significant amount of chicken wires is found in the outer zone, but the majority of blemishes are still spots. The AN of blemishes for the FOT prepared by stretching the FOP increases from 383.0 (FOP) to 515.0, which is attributed to the increase of the number of blemishes in the first zone from 190.8 to 427.0, but the AN of blemishes in the second zone decreases from 192.3 to 88.0. The stretching process stimulates the formation of blemishes with a distribution that is close to the central ring. These blemishes are randomly distributed inside or at the boundary of the multifiber. Most of the blemishes are still spots. (C) 2020 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)