Koala Acquisition & Analysis Software
The proprietary software Koala Acquisition & Analysis is the master software of the DHM® instrument by Lyncée Tec. It controls all the hologram acquisition parameters, loads these from files acquired previously, and extract and represents 3D information. It also controls the laser source, the electronic and peripheral equipment such as the motorized stage, and the stroboscopic module. This Koala software contains many of the innovating concepts of the DHM technology. Koala also offers a large variety of standard tools and advanced features for data processing, measurements and external controls, in a flexible and user-friendly environment.
Koala Acquisition & Analysis exploits the latest IT technology like graphics processing unit (GPU) calculation and parallelization. It is composed of user-friendly windows which are refreshed in real-time. Each window is adjustable in size and contains icons for quick access to measurement tools. Every image includes digital zoom, lateral and vertical scale imprints and may be displayed using several color palettes. All axial scales can be displayed in degrees and nanometers. The interactive window layout gives a comfortable working environment. Data can be exported as images, or graphics, and can be read by other standard programs for advanced analysis.
Koala software specifications
| Technology | Based on C++ and .NET |
| Environment | Microsoft Windows |
| Administration | Multi-user configurations with individual passwords and restriction levels |
| Personalization |
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| Operating modes | |
| Live reconstruction |
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| Offline reconstruction |
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| Sequence |
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| Stroboscopic (option) |
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| Vertical scanning (option) | Specifications dependent on objective and hardware |
| Production (option) | Customized integrated interface for specific applications |
| Unique tools | |
| Digital focusing | Vertical focusing range up to 50x depth of field (objective dependent) |
| Digital sample tilt compensation | On a simple mouse click |
| Phase monitoring |
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| Stitching |
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| Roughness measurements |
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| Surface leveling | Different fit models available (polynomial, Zernike, spherical, cylindrical, etc.) |
| Form factor suppression | Surface flattering for increased visibility of surface details and deformation |
| Profiles | Precise axial and lateral measurements using cursors |
| Configuration | |
| Data compatibility | Recorded and reconstructed images exportable in .tif format or .txt array |
| Camera configuration | Image size: 1024 x 1024 pixels, regions of interest selection tool included |
| Control of reference path length |
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Koala Acquisition & Analysis Software includes several operating modes to meet various users’ needs of making dynamical analysis of a sample, characterize a large surface with high lateral resolution, synchronize MEMS movements with topography measurement, perform automated measurement of a wafer, or of a multi-well plate, etc.
These operating modes provide the flexibility of performing various tasks to measure and analyze a large collection samples with the same instrument. The main operation modes are described here after.
Live reconstruction mode
- Reconstruction of holograms in true real-time
- Provides live 3D optical topography of the specimen with additional powerful tools for precise measurements
Sequence mode
- Acquisition, reconstruction and replay of time sequences of holograms. Allows fast acquisition or long term investigations, with the possibility to create movies (avi format)
Stitching mode
- Automatic and fast procedure to combine images to increase the field of view with high lateral resolution
Stroboscopic mode (optional)
- It requires the stroboscopic unit for the synchronization of the hologram acquisition with external hardware or software. Allows measurement of periodic motions up to 25 MHz. Analog and digital input for external event recording included
- The stroboscopic mode can be combined with the stitching mode for dynamical characterization of large devices requiring the use of high magnification objectives
Production mode (optional)
- It requires the remote TCP/IP control module to overtake control of the system with other programs
- Allows integration of DHM® with external hardware and software. Offers possibility to customize interfaces for specific applications, e.g. quality control, automated analysis, etc. Additionally it allows to write scripts for automated measure
Vertical Scanning mode (optional)
- Extension of the vertical measurement range. This mode is similar to vertical scanning in white light interferometry
Koala Acquisition & Analysis Software does not only provide measurements using several operating modes but also offers for each of them many tools for data analysis. The analysis results are refreshed in true real time by continuously extracting 3D data from the holograms. This unique live data analysis opens new possibilities for sample characterization and inspection. The unique digital processing tools exploiting the strength of digital holography and the standard topography characterization tools available with Koala are described here below:
Digital focusing
- Improves the depth of view of up to 50x compared to classical optical microscopy. Enables accurate and simple fine tuning of image focus without specimen translation
Digital sample tilt compensation
- Simple mouse-click for tilt compensation of sample avoids time consuming and impractical specimen orientation adjustments by mechanical means
Adjustable phase offset
- User defined zero referencing with on-line stabilization providing outstanding measurement stability in standard environments
Digital aberrations compensations
- Allows accurate and artefact-free phase measurements in non-conforming optical situations
Numerous data display modes and options
- 1D profiles
- 2D and 3D images with contour lines and various color palettes presentation
- 3D dynamical topography movies
- etc.
Profile extraction in any direction
- Step height measurements
- Extract critical lateral and vertical dimensions from 3D measurements
- Advanced leveling using polynomial fit up to degree 6
- Lateral and longitudinal averaging over profiles
- Save profiles as graphic (png) or as raw data (csv)
Phase monitoring
- Records dynamical response of a sample. Powerful tool for time-lapse biological imaging and to investigate MEMS resonant frequencies
- User-friendly selection of area to track. User-specific definition in location and size down to 1 pixel
- Monitor up to 6 areas simultaneously
Computation of surface texture parameters in accordance with ISO standards
- Roughness and waviness measurements
- Form removal and surface fitting
Mouse driven interaction
- Pilots your 3D images for rotation, translation, scaling and zoom
Koala offline software enables to analyze the data acquired with DHM on any other PC, which does not need to be connected to a DHM instrument. This software offers the flexibility to have multiple users sharing the same instrument, the DHM for instance in a clean room and to work on the data acquired separately.
This optional software enables to load previously recorded holograms or sequences of holograms, and then retrieve the complete 3D data as well as using any operating and analysis tool from Koala except the live acquisition feature. If necessary, thanks to the strength of digital holography, sharp focus on the sample can be performed as post-processing with digital focusing. No data are lost due to poor focusing during initial acquisition. Moreover, sample tilt and tip correction, aberration compensation, form removal, and many other operations can be performed for deeper post-analysis.
The acquisition of hologram is limited by the camera but Koala software can compute holograms much larger than 1024 x 1024 pixels. Therefore the Koala software in conjunction with Remote TCP/IP module can be used on academic and R&D digital holographic set-up to allow scientists to concentrate on the development of their application.
The Koala Offline module can be installed on any office PC with Windows 10, 64-bit, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4Go GDDR5 – micro-architecture : Pascal.
