Investigation of polymer and polymer/fibre composite materials with optical coherence tomography
Publication, 2008
Outline
D. Stifter, E. Schlotthauer, K. Wiesauer, J. Kastner, M. Wurm - Investigation of polymer and polymer/fibre composite materials with optical coherence tomography - MEASUREMENT SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Vol. 19, No. 74011, 2008, pp. 1-8
Abstract
Optical coherence tomography (OCT), a technique originally proposed for applications in the
field of biomedical diagnostics, is shown to be an efficient measurement technique for a
multitude of problems posed in technical engineering and material research. Especially
advanced OCT modifications, involving ultrahigh-resolution (UHR) imaging and fast
Fourier-domain (FD) techniques, show promising potential, as successfully demonstrated in
this paper by a variety of applications from the field of polymer materials. Thin polymer films
and multilayer structures as well as polymer blends and fibre-reinforced polymer composites
are successfully evaluated by means of UHR-OCT and FD-OCT performed at different
wavelengths. In addition, comparative measurements have been performed with confocal
microscopy and synchrotron computed tomography to show the potential and advantages of
the OCT measurement technique.