Dr. Alain Courteville Profile

Dr. Alain Courteville

Intellectual Property & Innovation Manager at FOGALE nanotech

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Author

Publications (19)

Proceedings Article | 21 November 2017 Open Access

Absolute metrology for space interferometers

Yves Salvadé, Alain Courteville, René Dändliker

Proceedings Volume 10569, 1056905 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2307951

KEYWORDS: Interferometry, Interferometers, Metrology, Nd:YAG lasers, Calibration, Wavelength tuning, Space telescopes, Distance measurement, Heterodyning, Laser stabilization

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Proceedings Article | 10 July 2008 Paper

Optical phasing of a segmented mirror with sub-nanometer precision: experimental results of the APE Internal Metrology

Rainer Wilhelm, Bruno Luong, Alain Courteville, Sébastien Estival, Frédéric Gonté

Proceedings Volume 7012, 701212 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.787377

KEYWORDS: Metrology, Mirrors, Segmented mirrors, Calibration, Charge-coupled devices, Cameras, Sensors, Interferometry, Image segmentation, Actuators

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Proceedings Article | 18 June 2007 Paper

On-axis, non-contact measurement of glass thicknesses and airgaps in optical systems with submicron accuracy

Rainer Wilhelm, Alain Courteville, Fabrice Garcia, François de Vecchi

Proceedings Volume 6616, 66163P (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.725972

KEYWORDS: Distance measurement, Collimators, Optical testing, Interferometry, Optics manufacturing, Metrology, Mirrors, Interferometers, Laser metrology, Sensors

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This paper presents the fibre-optics low coherence interferometric sensor LISE and its applications in the optics manufacturing industry. The sensor works as a comparator of optical group delays. The group delay along the optical axis of the probe interferometer arm containing an object, for example a lens assembly, is compared with the group delay of the reference arm containing a movable delay line. The light source is a super luminescent diode (SLD) emitting at 1.31 &mgr;m with a coherence length of typically 25 &mgr;m. Thanks to the limited temporal coherence of the source, multiple surfaces of the object can be detected during a single scan of the delay line. Measurement ranges are between a few mm up to 600 mm (optical thickness). The measurement range can be placed at a working distance of up to several meters away from the instrument's exit. Two classes of accuracy exist. While the standard system has an absolute accuracy of ±1 &mgr;m for position and distance measurements, the second generation, high-accuracy system reaches an accuracy of better than ±200 nm for distance measurements while maintaining the ±1 &mgr;m accuracy for position measurements. The paper starts by explaining the measurement principle in Section 1. The following Section 2 describes the system design and the individual system components. The definition and validation of the absolute accuracy are discussed in Section 3, followed by a description of the complete detection procedure for the high accuracy system in Section 4. In its final Section 5 the paper gives examples of applications in the optics manufacturing industry. This description ranges from the centre thickness measurement of lenses to the "global" on-axis metrology of completely mounted optical systems such as objectives where all lens thicknesses and airgaps are measured without touching or disassembling the optical system. Practical considerations concerning alignment, focusing of the measurement beam, model-based signal identification, dispersion and longitudinal resolution are discussed.

Proceedings Article | 14 May 2007 Paper

On-axis, non-contact measurement of glass thicknesses and airgaps in optical systems with submicron accuracy

Rainer Wilhelm, Alain Courteville, Fabrice Garcia, François de Vecchi

Proceedings Volume 10316, 103160X (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.723546

KEYWORDS: Collimators, Optics manufacturing, Metrology, Sensors, Optical testing, Interferometers, Signal detection, Interferometry, Mirrors, Glasses

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Proceedings Article | 15 September 2006 Paper

A novel low-coherence fibre optic interferometer for position and thickness measurements with unattained accuracy

Alain Courteville, Rainer Wilhelm, Fabrice Garcia

Proceedings Volume 6341, 63411Q (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.695458

KEYWORDS: Distance measurement, Interferometers, Mirrors, Interferometry, Glasses, Semiconducting wafers, Zerodur, Metrology, Signal detection, Fiber optics

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This paper presents the second generation LISE-LI of the fibre-optics Low coherence Interferometric Sensor (LISE), recently developed by FOGALE nanotech. Based on the proven concept of low coherence interferometry, the LISE system works as a comparator of optical group delays. The group delay along the optical axis in the probe interferometer arm containing the object to be measured is compared with the group delay along the optical axis of the reference interferometer arm containing a delay line. The latter consists of a mirror that can be linearly displaced on a translation stage. The light source is a super luminescent diode emitting at a near infrared wavelength (typically 1.31 μm) with a spectral bandwidth of a few tens of nm. Thanks to the limited temporal coherence of the source, multiple surfaces of the object can be detected during a single scan of the delay line. Measurement ranges are between a few mm up to 600 mm (optical thickness). The measurement zone can be placed at a working distance of up to several meters away from the instrument's exit. Applications in industry and in research laboratories include thickness measurements of individual optical elements (e.g. lenses), technical multi-layer glasses, display cover glasses, semiconductor wafers, and position measurements of multiple elements of an optical system (e.g. a photographic lens). Compared to the first generation of the system, the absolute accuracy of the second generation system is about ten times better, reaching a level of ±100 nm for thickness measurements over the full measurement range. Following an introductory description of the measurement principle, the first part of the paper focuses on the key elements in the system design, both in hardware and detection algorithm, that ensure the high accuracy level. The second part of the paper presents an experimental validation of the achieved accuracy level. We present results of thickness measurements on distance pieces made of Zerodur. The measured results demonstrate the absolute accuracy over the measurement range as well as the excellent long-term stability of the system.

Proceedings Article | 23 June 2006 Paper

Results from the capacitive edge sensing system for the active alignment of the SALT primary mirror

Hitesh Gajjar, John Menzies, Jian Swiegers, Didier Rozière, Alain Courteville, Sebastien Buous, Bruno Luong

Proceedings Volume 6267, 626737 (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.672103

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Mirrors, Sensing systems, Humidity, Temperature metrology, Control systems, Simulation of CCA and DLA aggregates, Actuators, Environmental sensing, Large telescopes

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Proceedings Article | 23 June 2006 Paper

Shape measurements of a segmented mirror with nanometer accuracy: the APE internal metrology

Rainer Wilhelm, Alain Courteville, Sébastien Estival, Alexis Bietti, Virginie Seiller, Frédéric Gonté

Proceedings Volume 6267, 626731 (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.672780

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Mirrors, Interferometry, Light sources, Calibration, Metrology, Segmented mirrors, Interferometers, Modulators, Phase measurement

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Proceedings Article | 25 April 2006 Paper

A novel low coherence fibre optic interferometer for position and thickness measurements with unattained accuracy

Rainer Wilhelm, Alain Courteville, Fabrice Garcia

Proceedings Volume 6189, 618918 (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.663654

KEYWORDS: Distance measurement, Interferometry, Interferometers, Mirrors, Zerodur, Laser metrology, Glasses, Refractive index, Interfaces, Optical testing

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This paper presents the second generation LISE-LI of the fibre-optics Low coherence Interferometric Sensor (LISE), recently developed by FOGALE nanotech. Based on the proven concept of partial coherence interferometry, the LISE system works as a comparator of optical group delays. The group delay along the optical axis in the probe interferometer arm containing the object to be measured is compared with the group delay along the optical axis of the reference interferometer arm containing a delay line. The latter consists of a mirror that can be linearly displaced on a translation stage. The light source is a super luminescent diode emitting at near infrared wavelength (typically 1.31 μm) with a spectral bandwidth of a few tens of nm. Thanks to the limited temporal coherence of the source, multiple surfaces of the object can be detected during a single scan of the delay line. Measurement ranges are between a few mm up to 600 mm (optical thickness). The measurement zone can be placed at a working distance of up to several meters away from the instrument's exit. Applications in industry and in research laboratories include thickness measurements of individual optical elements (e.g. lenses), technical multi-layer glasses, glue and varnish layers deposited on various substrates, Si or GaAs wafers, and position measurements of multiple elements of an optical system (e.g. a photographic lens). Compared to the first generation of the system, the absolute accuracy of the second generation system is about ten times better, reaching a level of ±100 nm for thickness measurements over the full measurement range. Following an introductory description of the measurement principle, the first part of the paper focuses on the key elements in the system design, both in hardware and detection algorithm, that ensure the high accuracy level. The second part of the paper presents an experimental validation of the achieved accuracy level. We present results of thickness measurements on distance pieces made of Zerodur^®. The measured results demonstrate the absolute accuracy over the measurement range as well as the excellent long-term stability of the system.

Proceedings Article | 25 April 2006 Paper

New concept of low-intrusion quasi-distributed optical fibre extensometer

Alain Courteville, Marie Delaveau, Sylvie Delepine-Lesoille, Lionel Quétel, Yves Gautier, Stéphane Dubroca, John Dumoulin

Proceedings Volume 6189, 61890L (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.663656

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Fiber Bragg gratings, Interferometers, Optical fibers, Bridges, Temperature metrology, Optical resonators, Fiber optics sensors, Temperature sensors, Interferometry

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Proceedings Article | 20 October 2005 Paper

Contact-free on-axis metrology for the fabrication and testing of complex optical systems

Alain Courteville, Rainer Wilhelm, Marie Delaveau, Fabrice Garcia, François de Vecchi

Proceedings Volume 5965, 596510 (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.625200

KEYWORDS: Metrology, Interferometry, Interferometers, Collimators, Interfaces, Signal processing, Optical testing, Sensors, Distance measurement, Mirrors

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This paper presents a fibre-based low coherence interferometric sensor developed by FOGALE nanotech. Based on the proven principle of partial coherence interferometry the sensor works as a comparator of optical path lengths. The optical path lengths along the optical axis in the measurement interferometer arm containing a target object are compared with the optical path lengths in an internal delay line. Multiple, partially reflecting surfaces of the target can be detected during one scan of the delay line. Standard measurement ranges are between a few mm up to 400 mm (optical thickness). Longer measurement ranges are available on request. The measurement zone can be placed at a distance of up to several meters away from the instrument's exit. The sensor reaches an absolute accuracy on position measurements down to ±100 nm over the full measurement range. The system has been successfully applied in industry (glass and optical) as well as in research environments, e.g. for the dimensional metrology of large astronomical telescopes. This paper focuses on an innovative application of the sensor in the optics manufacturing industry. The paper starts with a description of the measurement technique, the system hardware concept, the detection and signal processing scheme. We present a modeling-based approach for the dimensional metrology of optical components (e.g. single lenses, windows, prisms) or complete, mounted systems where the positions of all individual elements can be detected. A comprehensive propagation model including dispersion and phase effects is used to extract the distances from the optical path differences. Prior to a measurement, the optimum tailoring of the measurement beam is obtained by a simulation of the beam propagation through the target object. This ensures that each surface to be measured delivers a sufficiently strong signal. To illustrate our approach we present its application in the fabrication process of complex optical systems where "global" metrology of complete systems can be performed with a very high accuracy in a short time.

Proceedings Article | 18 August 2005 Paper

APE: the Active Phasing Experiment to test new control system and phasing technology for a European Extremely Large Optical Telescope

F. Gonte, N. Yaitskova, F. Derie, C. Araujo, R. Brast, B. Buzzoni, B. Delabre, P. Dierickx, C. Dupuy, R. Esteves, C. Frank, S. Guisard, R. Karban, E. Koenig, J. Kolb, M. Nylund, L. Noethe, I. Surdej, A. Courteville, R. Wilhelm, L. Montoya, M. Reyes, S. Esposito, E. Pinna, K. Dohlen, M. Ferrari, M. Langlois

Proceedings Volume 5894, 58940Z (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.616925

KEYWORDS: Image segmentation, Sensors, Segmented mirrors, Telescopes, Control systems, Mirrors, Stars, Metrology, Cameras, Active optics

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Proceedings Article | 13 June 2005 Paper

Dimensional metrology for the fabrication of imaging optics using a high accuracy low coherence interferometer

Rainer Wilhelm, Alain Courteville, Fabrice Garcia

Proceedings Volume 5856, (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.612563

KEYWORDS: Interferometers, Interferometry, Metrology, Interfaces, Collimators, Mirrors, Signal processing, Sensors, Signal detection, Coherence (optics)

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Proceedings Article | 23 May 2005 Paper

New optical fibre coating meant for embedding distributed sensors into concrete

Sylvie Delepine-Lesoille, Erick Merliot, Marie Delaveau, Alain Courteville, Lionel Quetel

Proceedings Volume 5855, (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.623600

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Optical fibers, Composites, Coating, Interferometry, Finite element methods, Interfaces, Fiber Bragg gratings, Calibration, Mirrors

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Proceedings Article | 29 September 2004 Paper

Positioning of optical payload: SALT Telescope

Alain Courteville, Fabrice Garcia, Leon Nel

Proceedings Volume 5495, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.552596

KEYWORDS: Mirrors, Interferometers, Telescopes, Collimators, Distance measurement, Scanners, Optical components, Optical testing, Ranging, Sensors

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Proceedings Article | 29 September 2004 Paper

Position sensors for segmented mirror

Didier Roziere, Sebastien Buous, Alain Courteville

Proceedings Volume 5495, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.552605

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Electronics, Mirrors, Humidity, Segmented mirrors, Telescopes, Electrodes, Manufacturing, Position sensors, Nanotechnology

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Proceedings Article | 28 September 2004 Paper

APE: a breadboard to evaluate new phasing technologies for a future European Giant Optical Telescope

Frederic Gonte, Natalia Yaitskova, Philippe Dierickx, Robert Karban, Alain Courteville, Achim Schumacher, Nicholas Devaney, Simone Esposito, Kjetil Dohlen, Marc Ferrari, Luzma Montoya

Proceedings Volume 5489, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.553236

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Mirrors, Control systems, Segmented mirrors, Telescopes, Metrology, Wavefront sensors, Active optics, Turbulence, Cameras

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SPIE Journal Paper | 1 May 2002

Optimization of single-mode fiber coupling efficiency with an adaptive membrane mirror

Frederic Gonte, Alain Courteville, Rene Daendliker

OE, Vol. 41, Issue 05, (May 2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.1466462

KEYWORDS: Mirrors, Electrodes, Evolutionary algorithms, Single mode fibers, Optimization (mathematics), Optical fibers, Zernike polynomials, Wavefronts, Deformable mirrors, Beam splitters

Proceedings Article | 5 July 2000 Paper

Absolute metrology for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI)

Yves Salvade, Alain Courteville, Rene Daendliker

Proceedings Volume 4006, (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.390235

KEYWORDS: Interferometers, Calibration, Metrology, Interferometry, Stars, Laser stabilization, Telescopes, Laser metrology, Distance measurement, Wavelength tuning

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SPIE Journal Paper | 1 July 1998 Open Access

Noncontact MMG sensor based on the optical feedback effect in a laser diode

A. Courteville, Tijani Gharbi, J. Cornu

JBO, Vol. 3, Issue 03, (July 1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.429891

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Semiconductor lasers, Skin, Tissue optics, Acoustics, Modulation, Optical sensors, Interferometry, Calibration, Biomedical optics

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