9360173 Seaver This research is to demonstrate the accuracy and micro-radian resolution of a two-dimensional stress-optic scanner. In the production of Pharmaceuticals, both the workpiece and the packaging are too small for conventional bar codes. Of particular importance is the use of Automatic Identification to verify the correct labeling of Pharmaceuticals. Mislabeling has been a persistent safety problem and labeling production lines are closely regulated and inspected. Producers of semiconductor wafers, semiconductor chips, and printed circuit boards are shifting to two-dimensional codes due to lack of space for the amount of data that needs to be encoded. The most reliable, accurate and fastest technique for reading two-dimensional codes would be a solid-state scanning approach; of the various techniques available stress-optics, using an imposed stress in photoelastic materials, is the best for small beams and fast, precise scanning through relatively small sweep angles. Stress can produce a such greater index change in some glasses than can an electric field in electro-optical materials. And response rates up to megahertz are possible. Also, the imposition of a stress to optical glass does not increase its already low-loss, and the response is non-dispersive. Finally, optical glasses are generally more rugged and environmentally stable and cost less than do the materials used in other approaches. The manufacturability of the basic stress-optics sandwich is straight forward and this would make it significantly cheaper than electro- optical equivalent devices. These last two advantages are considered to be very important in the matrix code reader market.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP)
Type
Standard Grant (Standard)
Application #
9360173
Program Officer
Ritchie B. Coryell
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
1994-01-15
Budget End
1994-12-31
Support Year
Fiscal Year
1993
Total Cost
$74,851
Indirect Cost
Name
Seaver (Sealite) Engineering
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Cataumet
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02534