Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100319456 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR DETECTING DEFECTS IN WELDED STRUCTURES - A method for processing ultrasonic response signals collected from a plurality of measurement locations along a weld of a test sample to determine the presence of defects in the weld may include filtering an ultrasonic response signal from each measurement location to produce a plurality of filtered response signals for each measurement location, wherein each filtered response signal corresponds to specific types of defects. Thereafter, a plurality of energy distributions may be calculated for the weld based on the plurality of filtered response signals for each measurement location. The plurality of energy distributions may be compared to corresponding baseline energy distributions to determine the presence of defects in the weld. | 12-23-2010 |
20120033198 | High Speed Autofocus Interferometric Inspection Systems And Methods - High speed autofocus interferometric inspection systems and methods are discussed in this application. In accordance with some embodiments, an inspection system can generally include a laser module, an interferometer module, and a system controller. The laser can produce laser pulses to excite a device such as a silicon wafer, chip capacitor or chip packaged/silicon die containing a plurality of solder bumps into vibration. The interferometer module can be disposed to receive reflected laser energy from the device to sense vibration displacements created in the device with the laser pulses. The system controller to receive vibration data from the interferometer, the system controller configured to output a control signal for adjusting a relative distance and position between the laser module and the device. Other aspects, features, and embodiments are also claimed and discussed. | 02-09-2012 |
20120111115 | Non-Contact Microelectronic Device Inspection Systems And Methods - Non-contact microelectronic device inspection systems and methods are discussed and provided. Some embodiments include a method of generating a virtual reference device (or chip). This approach uses a statistics to find devices in a sample set that are most similar and then averages their time domain signals to generate the virtual reference. Signals associated with the virtual reference can then be correlated with time domain signals obtained from the packages under inspection to obtain a quality signature. Defective and non-defective devices are separated by estimating a beta distribution that fits a quality signature histogram of inspected packages and determining a cutoff threshold for an acceptable quality signature. Other aspects, features, and embodiments are also claimed and described. | 05-10-2012 |
20130047731 | LASER GENERATION OF NARROWBAND LAMB WAVES - A system and method for providing laser generated ultrasound technique utilizing superimposed line sources is presented. The system and method can generate narrowband Lamb waves with a dominant wavelength by superimposing signals of line sources at the pitch corresponding to the desired wavelength. The superposition can be performed in software after data are collected to permit flexibility in the wavelength selected. Selecting the dominant wavelength in signals can reduce signal complexity and the speeds and frequencies of wave modes with the selected wavelength can be determined through dispersion curves. One or more additional techniques including, but not limited to, two-dimensional Fourier transforms and wavelet analysis can be used to further reduce the complexity of the signals. The system and method can be used, for example, for defect detection in thin plates. | 02-28-2013 |
20130228560 | IN-PROCESS WELD GEOMETRY METHODS & SYSTEMS - In-process weld geometry methods and systems are discussed, enabled, and provided. Some embodiments include in-process welding devices to compensate for error associated with detected weld penetration depth. Exemplary devices can generally include an ultrasonic energy source, an ultrasonic receiving sensor, and a controller. The ultrasonic energy source can be disposed to generate ultrasonic energy through a first specimen being welded to a second specimen. A weld seam can be used to join the first specimen to the second specimen. The ultrasonic sensor can be disposed on an opposite side of the weld seam from the ultrasonic energy source, and configured to detect ultrasonic energy propagated from the first specimen side of the weld seam to the second specimen side of the weld seam. The controller can be disposed to receive data from the ultrasonic sensor, configured to determine time of flight signal data corresponding to arrival of the ultrasonic energy detected by the ultrasonic sensor, and configured to compare the determined time of flight signal data to a model to compute error associated with the determined time of flight signal data due to a dynamic welding environment. Other aspects, embodiments, and features are claimed and described. | 09-05-2013 |
20140172399 | WELD ANALYSIS USING LASER GENERATED NARROWBAND LAMB WAVES - A system and method for measuring various weld characteristics is presented. The system and method can comprise a means to measure penetration depth of butt welds in thin plates, for example, using laser generated ultrasounds. Superimposed line sources (SLS) can be used to generate narrowband ultrasounds. A signal processing procedure that combines wavenumber-frequency (k-ω) domain filtering and synthetic phase tuning (SPT) is used to reduce the complexity of Lamb wave signals. The reflection coefficients for different wavelengths corresponding to each wave mode can be calculated. Regression analysis that can include stepwise regression and corrected Akaike's information criterion (AIC) can be performed to build prediction models that use the reflection coefficients as predictors. | 06-19-2014 |