Tuesday 26 May 2020

TeraCota (Terahertz Coating thickness analysis)


TeraCota is a non-contact, multi-layer coating thickness sensor that uses pulsed terahertz light. The operating principles of this sensor are similar to those of pulsed ultrasound, without the need for coupling fluid.
This sensor uses a broadband pulse of terahertz light to illuminate the coated surface from a short distance. The reflected signal contains reflections at the interface of adjacent coating layers, and it is analysed to determine the thickness of each layer.
The automotive paint process is the initial application area to determine the thickness of individual paint layers following baking. For this application, a successful operation has been demonstrated on all types of basecoats encountered: solid, metallic, and pearlescent.
For qualification, the results are compared with the values obtained from standard thickness sensing modalities (optical microscopy, magnetic gauge, and pulse ultrasound). This article also presents the results of initial field trials carried out in a production environment with a demonstrator system, which is the precursor to handheld and robot-mounted production-ready systems.

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