Optical and Laser Scanning: Systems and Applications

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

Optical and laser scanning is utilized in a myriad of applications, from commercial (from barcode scanning to printers) to industrial (including laser manufacturing, 3D printing, and optical metrology) and high-end, with the latter in biomedical imaging (including confocal microscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT)), non-destructive testing (NDT), remote sensing, and security and defense. All such applications involve aspect passive scanning (for sensing in different fields) or active scanning (for modifying properties of the scanned objects).

Scanning systems include the most common galvanometer scanners, fast-rotational polygon mirrors, and refractive systems such as scanners with lenses or prisms (the latter with the most utilized Risley prisms). Other scanners such as acousto- or electro-optical are of interest as well. The tendency to miniaturize such devices has imposed the development of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), which is a hot topic.

Scanning can be 1D, 2D, 3D, and even 4D, with the latter being time-included. Scanning modalities include common raster scanning, Lissajous, spiral, Risley-based, or, lately, adaptive scanning, to mention just a few.

Scanning is a multi-disciplinary field, as it involves several domains: optics and photonics, for the analyses and development of the optical parts and systems, as well as for the necessary laser components; electronics, for the development of appropriate drivers and motors, for example; mechanical engineering (including material studies), for the construction of systems; finite element analyses (FEA), for assessment of structural integrity and deformation issues of (fast) moving parts; control and automation, for monitoring and controlling the positioning and movement of elements; and medical fields that benefit from laser scanning, especially in surgery or imaging, with the latter including hot topics such as OCT, often correlated with other techniques, such as X-ray imaging, CT or micro-CT, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), etc. In this respect, scanning is a perfect example of systems that fall under the large umbrella of the 3OM concept, in optomechatronics, optomechanics, and optical metrology.

All the above have resulted in the creation of this Topic on optical and laser scanning and defined its aims. The different fields pointed out above can all be addressed for the analysis, development, and optimization of scanning systems. Researches are welcome to address theoretical aspects, simulations, and experimental works, as well as a wide range of applications.

While this Topic is opened up to all researchers, it also provides a selection of papers presented at the different editions of the International Conference “Advances in 3OM: Opto-Mechatronics, Opto-Mechanics, and Optical Metrology”, organized every other year in December in Timisoara, Romania, the European Capital of Culture in 2023.

Prof. Dr. Virgil-Florin Duma
Prof. Dr. Guillermo Garcia-Torales
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Applied Sciences applsci	2.9	6.1	2011	15 Days	CHF 2400	Submit
Materials materials	3.7	7.0	2008	14.4 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
Medicina medicina	2.9	4.6	1920	17.4 Days	CHF 2200	Submit
Micromachines micromachines	3.5	7.1	2010	16.6 Days	CHF 2100	Submit
Optics optics	1.8	2.6	2020	19.6 Days	CHF 1400	Submit
Photonics photonics	2.1	3.9	2014	13.9 Days	CHF 2400	Submit
Sci sci	4.1	5.4	2019	28.2 Days	CHF 1400	Submit
Sensors sensors	4.0	9.4	2001	17.8 Days	CHF 2600	Submit

Preprints.org is a multidisciplinary platform offering a preprint service designed to facilitate the early sharing of your research. It supports and empowers your research journey from the very beginning.

MDPI Topics is collaborating with Preprints.org and has established a direct connection between MDPI journals and the platform. Authors are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity by posting their preprints at Preprints.org prior to publication:

1. Share your research immediately: disseminate your ideas prior to publication and establish priority for your work.
2. Safeguard your intellectual contribution: Protect your ideas with a time-stamped preprint that serves as proof of your research timeline.
3. Boost visibility and impact: Increase the reach and influence of your research by making it accessible to a global audience.
4. Gain early feedback: Receive valuable input and insights from peers before submitting to a journal.
5. Ensure broad indexing: Web of Science (Preprint Citation Index), Google Scholar, Crossref, SHARE, PrePubMed, Scilit and Europe PMC.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Order results

Content type Publication Date

Result details

Normal Extended Compact

Journals

All Applied Sciences Materials Medicina Optics Photonics Sci Sensors Micromachines

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Plain Text BibTeX BibTeX (without abstracts) Endnote Endnote (without abstracts) Tab-delimited RIS

Error

Oops... you haven't selected anything for export.

Ok

clear

21 pages, 11093 KB  

Open AccessArticle

A Lightweight RGB-LiDAR Feature Recalibration Network for Large-Scale 3D Scene Understanding

by Weifeng Zhai and Zexi Tan

Optics 2026, 7(4), 59; https://doi.org/10.3390/opt7040059 - 13 Aug 2026

Viewed by 367

Abstract

Semantic segmentation of large-scale 3D point clouds is a fundamental task in robotic perception, semantic mapping, and urban scene understanding. Existing methods mainly rely on geometric information, which limits their ability to distinguish semantic categories with similar spatial structures. To address this issue, [...] Read more.

Semantic segmentation of large-scale 3D point clouds is a fundamental task in robotic perception, semantic mapping, and urban scene understanding. Existing methods mainly rely on geometric information, which limits their ability to distinguish semantic categories with similar spatial structures. To address this issue, this paper proposes a lightweight cross-modal feature learning framework that adaptively integrates geometric coordinates and RGB color information. By exploiting the complementary characteristics of spatial structure and visual appearance during feature encoding, the proposed method enhances feature discriminability while maintaining a compact model scale. Experiments on the Semantic3D dataset show that the proposed method achieves an mIoU of 87.1%, outperforming the original RandLA-Net and several representative approaches. Additional runtime and LiDAR-only cross-dataset experiments indicate the potential of the proposed structure for online outdoor point cloud perception. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Optical and Laser Scanning: Systems and Applications)

►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 5272 KB  

Open AccessArticle

Measurement Method of Fuel Nozzle Cone Angle Based on Point Cloud Slicing

by Yeni Li, Zusheng Lin and Xiaodong Tang

Micromachines 2026, 17(6), 706; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17060706 - 9 Jun 2026

Viewed by 426

Abstract

To address the issues of low efficiency and large errors in traditional dimensional measurement strategies for fuel nozzles, this paper proposes an improved region-constrained Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) circle fitting method for high-precision measurement of the inner hole cone angle. Three-dimensional point clouds [...] Read more.

To address the issues of low efficiency and large errors in traditional dimensional measurement strategies for fuel nozzles, this paper proposes an improved region-constrained Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) circle fitting method for high-precision measurement of the inner hole cone angle. Three-dimensional point clouds are extracted using a shape-from-focus method. The point cloud slices are then projected onto a two-dimensional plane, and the slice edges are extracted. Based on the edge shape distribution, the candidate point selection strategy of RANSAC is optimized: the initial circle is divided into eight sector regions, and three points are randomly selected from three distinct regions to fit candidate circles. After multiple iterations, the optimal fitting circle is obtained. A comparative analysis is conducted among the least squares method, standard RANSAC, and the proposed algorithm, with three quantitative metrics—residual standard deviation (σ), root mean square error (RMSE), and inlier ratio (ε)—introduced to evaluate the fitting quality. Experimental results show that the proposed region-constrained RC-RANSAC method achieves the best performance among the three, yielding σ = 2.826 px, RMSE = 2.826 px, and ε = 95.2%, and attains a cone angle deviation of only 1.0°, which closely agrees with Keyence ultra-depth measurements (error 0.8°). This method provides a new approach for accurate and robust cone angle measurement of fuel nozzle inner holes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Optical and Laser Scanning: Systems and Applications)

►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 3797 KB  

Open AccessArticle

Optical System of a Prism–Grating Short-Wave Infrared Spectrometer for Single-Pixel Imaging

by Yuxuan Meng, Xiaoyang Pan, Mingzhong Pan, Jin Yang and Hongxing Qi

Optics 2026, 7(3), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/opt7030039 - 29 May 2026

Viewed by 706

Abstract

To circumvent the prohibitive cost of large-format infrared focal plane arrays and the significant spatial–spectral mismatch caused by spectral smile in conventional long-slit configurations, this work develops a low-cost short-wave infrared (SWIR, 1000–2500 nm) hyperspectral imaging system utilizing digital micromirror device (DMD) scanning [...] Read more.

To circumvent the prohibitive cost of large-format infrared focal plane arrays and the significant spatial–spectral mismatch caused by spectral smile in conventional long-slit configurations, this work develops a low-cost short-wave infrared (SWIR, 1000–2500 nm) hyperspectral imaging system utilizing digital micromirror device (DMD) scanning paired with a single-element detector. A comprehensive analytical model for a prism–reflection grating (P-RG) compound dispersive element is established, enabling the joint optimization of the prism apex angle and grating period to achieve quantitative compensation of spectral distortion across the entire waveband. Based on this model, the optical system is integrated and optimized, while a centroid localization algorithm is implemented to facilitate online calibration of model parameters and real-time reconstruction of the hyperspectral data cube at the DMD plane. Experimental results demonstrate that both smile and keystone distortions are suppressed below $5\mathsf{\mu }\mathrm{m}$ throughout the 1000–2500 nm range, which is superior to the single DMD pixel pitch of $7.6\mathsf{\mu }\mathrm{m}$. The full-field modulation transfer function (MTF) at the Nyquist frequency (32.9 lp/mm) exceeds 0.7, approaching the diffraction limit. Characterization confirms that the system provides 510 spectral channels with an average resolution of 3.57 nm and a spatial resolution of 2.5 $\mathsf{\mu }\mathrm{m}$. By effectively eliminating spectral overlap and cross-column crosstalk on the DMD encoding surface, this system provides a high-fidelity optical front-end for single-pixel imaging, offering a viable technical pathway for the development of affordable SWIR hyperspectral instrumentation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Optical and Laser Scanning: Systems and Applications)

►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

attachment

Supplementary material:
Supplementary File 1 (ZIP, 828 KB)

13 pages, 1676 KB  

Open AccessArticle

Femtosecond Laser Microfabrication and Magnetic Manipulation of Functional Magnetic Microspheres

by Jingwen Wang, Shuang Zhang, Wei Cheng, Zhixue Xing, Shengying Fan, Galina Melnikova, Vasilina Lapitskaya, Shoufa Di and Jincheng Ni

Optics 2026, 7(3), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/opt7030030 - 24 Apr 2026

Viewed by 732

Abstract

The precise fabrication and controllable actuation of magnetic microspheres hold significant application value in biomedicine, microfluidic chips and other fields. Based on femtosecond laser two-photon polymerization technology (FLTPP), two methods are adopted to prepare magnetic microspheres in this study. Magnetic microspheres are fabricated [...] Read more.

The precise fabrication and controllable actuation of magnetic microspheres hold significant application value in biomedicine, microfluidic chips and other fields. Based on femtosecond laser two-photon polymerization technology (FLTPP), two methods are adopted to prepare magnetic microspheres in this study. Magnetic microspheres are fabricated via photoresist modification and post-treatment processes. Meanwhile, a 3D magnetic actuation system composed of a three-axis movable magnetic drive module and a real-time imaging system is constructed, enabling the flexible 3D actuation and real-time dynamic monitoring and visualized observation of magnetic microspheres. The results demonstrate that the magnetic microspheres exhibit sensitive magnetic response characteristics. The constructed magnetic actuation system features large travel range (XY: ±6.5 mm, Z: 10 mm), high precision (20 μm) and flexible manipulation, enabling stable locomotion of the microrobots in straight channels, L-shaped channels, and square channels. This study provides a technical reference for the fabrication and manipulation of magnetic micro/nano devices, and lays a foundation for their subsequent integrated applications in microfluidic systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Optical and Laser Scanning: Systems and Applications)

►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Plain Text BibTeX BibTeX (without abstracts) Endnote Endnote (without abstracts) Tab-delimited RIS

 

Error

Oops... you haven't selected anything for export.

Ok

clear

Displaying articles 1-4