Complex-mask coronagraphs destructively interfere unwanted starlight with itself to enable direct imaging of exoplanets. This is accomplished using a focal plane mask (FPM); a FPM can be a simple occulter mask, or in the case of a complex-mask, is a multi-zoned device designed to phase-shift starlight over multiple wavelengths to create a deep achromatic null in the stellar point spread function. Creating these masks requires microfabrication techniques, yet many such methods remain largely unexplored in this context. We explore methods of fabrication of complex FPMs for a Phased-Induced Amplitude Apodization Complex-Mask Coronagraph (PIAACMC). Previous FPM fabrication efforts for PIAACMC have concentrated on mask manufacturability while modeling science yield, as well as assessing broadband wavelength operation. Moreover current fabrication efforts are concentrated on assessing coronagraph performance given a single approach. We present FPMs fabricated using several process paths, including deep reactive ion etching and focused ion beam etching using a silicon substrate. The characteristic size of the mask features is 5 mu m with depths ranging over 1 mu m. The masks are characterized for manufacturing quality using an optical interferometer and a scanning electron microscope. Initial testing is performed at the Subaru Extreme Adaptive Optics testbed, providing a baseline for future experiments to determine and improve coronagraph performance within fabrication tolerances.

Cette thèse est une monographie de l'œuvre romanesque de Colson Whitehead (1969– ) replacée dans la perspective de la tradition littéraire noire américaine. Elle pose une question d'ordre esthétique et politique : Whitehead est-il un écrivain postracial ? Dans The Intuitionist (1999), la rivalité entre les personnages noirs et le jeu de masques mettent à mal une politique identitaire qui repose sur la race. La déconstruction du discours mythique qui célèbre le sacrifice d'un travailleur acharné désacralise le héros noir de John Henry Days (2001). Apex Hides the Hurt (2006) offre une réflexion sur le langage, son rapport au pouvoir et à l'appartenance raciale. La deuxième partie explore le paradoxe de l'identité « postblack » face aux stéréotypes raciaux dans Sag Harbor (2009). Enfin, la dernière partie signale un effort de redéfinition de l'humain dans Zone One (2011) où l'invasion des zombies permet de transcender la construction binaire Noir/Blanc dans un monde post-apocalyptique. L'analyse s'appuie sur la critique postmoderne car la notion de « race » et le racisme y sont abordés à travers l'ironie d'un texte qui met en scène et joue avec l'idée d'une société américaine postraciale. / This dissertation is a monograph on Colson Whitehead's fiction and nonfiction from the perspective African American literary tradition. It raises an aesthetic and political question: is Whitehead a postracial writer? In The Intuitionist (1999), the rivalry between black characters and the game of camouflage undermine racial identity politics. The deconstruction of the myth celebrating the sacrifice of a relentless worker desacralizes the black hero of John Henry Days (2001). Apex Hides the Hurt (2006) offers a reflection on language, its relationship to power and racial belonging. The second part explores the paradox of a “postblack” identity with regards to racial stereotypes in Sag Harbor (2009). Finally, the last part signals an effort to redefine the human in Zone One (2011) where an invasion of zombies enables the transcendence of the Black/White binary construct in a post-apocalyptic world. The analysis relies on postmodern criticism since the notion of “race” and racism are addressed through the irony of a text that dramatizes and plays with the idea of a postracial American society.

Litteraturen beskriver larynxmask som ett skonsamt alternativ till intubation med endotrakealtub. Tidigare studier visar dock att det inte är ovanligt med halsbesvär postoperativt, i form av halsont och/eller heshet. Syftet med studien var att undersöka förekomst och karaktär av halsbesvär postoperativt efter användning av två olika larynxmasker. Författarna genomförde en pilotstudie där nitton vuxna patienter, både män och kvinnor, som erhållit Pro-Breathe® eller I-gel® larynxmask under anestesin ingick. Patienterna intervjuades 60 minuter respektive 24 timmar efter uttagandet av larynxmasken. Intervjun bestod av två slutna frågor om halsont och heshet samt en öppen fråga om hur det kändes i halsen. Den öppna frågan visade att andra typer av halsbesvär förekommer, bland annat irritabilitet, svårigheter att svälja, torrhet och svullnadskänsla. Pilotstudiens metod lämpade sig att använda och svarade mot studiens syfte. Resultatet visade att olika typer av halsbesvär var vanligt postoperativt. Åtta av tio patienter som haft Pro-Breathe® samt sju av nio patienter som haft I-gel® hade någon typ av halsbesvär. / The literature describes the laryngeal mask as a gentle alternative to intubation with endotracheal tube. Previous studies show that it is not unusual with throat discomfort postoperatively, in terms of sore throat and/or hoarseness/dysphonia. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and nature of throat discomfort postoperatively after the use of two different laryngeal masks. The authors conducted a pilot study in which nineteen adult patients, both men and women, who received Pro-Breathe® or I-gel® laryngeal mask during anesthesia was included. The patients were interviewed 60 minutes and 24 hours after the laryngeal mask were removed. The interview consisted of two sealed questions about sore throat and hoarseness/dysphonia and one open question about how it felt in the throat. The open question showed that other types of throat discomforts occurred, including irritability, difficulty swallowing, dryness and swelling sensation. The method of the pilot-study was suitable to use and responded to the study's purpose. The results showed that different types of throat discomfort were common postoperatively. Eight out of ten patients who received Pro-Breathe® and seven out of nine patients who received I-gel® had some type of throat discomfort.

In the response priming paradigm, a small briefly presented visual stimulus (i.e., prime) is followed by a larger visible stimulus (i.e., mask) that renders the prime invisible and specifies the target location. According to the rapid-chase theory, the initial portion of the movement is dictated by the prime (initiation criterion) while the later portion is dictated by the mask (takeover criterion) and the prime is initially processed independently from the mask (independence criterion). The purpose of the first experiment was to determine if the processing of the prime and mask fit the predictions of the rapid-chase theory when the prime and mask are presented during an ongoing movement. The second experiment was designed to examine the impact of the prime when it is presented at various times throughout the execution of the movement. Participants initiated rapid pointing movements to a center target. On 1/3 of the trials, participants had to correct their movements to the left (or right) target in response to a left-pointing (or right-pointing) mask arrow, which was preceded by a neutral, left-, or right-pointing prime arrow. In Experiment 1, the prime was presented at movement onset and the mask randomly appeared 33, 50, or 67 ms after prime onset. In Experiment 2, the prime followed movement onset with a delay of 17, 33, or 50 ms and the mask was presented 50 ms after prime onset. In both experiments, participants first modified their movements in the direction indicated by the prime before completing their movements to the correct target in the majority of trials; thus, supporting the initiation and takeover criteria. However, the spatial priming effects did not follow the time course predicted by the independence criterion. Overall, the rapid-chase theory does not seem to apply to movement execution, but the prime is still able to influence the movement despite being presented later in the pointing trajectory.

Réalisée entre décembre 2009 et décembre 2012 au sein de STMicroelectronics Crolles dans l’équipe RET (résolution enhancement techniques), et en partenariat avec le laboratoire Hubert Curien Saint Etienne de l’université de Lyon, cette thèse s’intitule "Impact de la modification de la source dans l’utilisation de la méthode de cooptimisation masque source en lithographie optique, et application au nœud technologique 20 nm". Durant cette étude, nous avons pu étudier la technique d’optimisation de la source optique en lithographie, appelée généralement SMO afin de l’appliquer aux problématiques de l’industrie. Une première partie du manuscrit traitant de la lithographie optique permettra de mieux comprendre les problématiques liées à cette étude, en présentant les techniques utilisées. En effet, afin de permettre à la lithographie optique de continuer la miniaturisation des composants de microélectronique, il est nécessaire d’optimiser au maximum de nombreux éléments de la lithographie. La forme de la source optique utilisée n’échappe pas à cette règle et l’utilisation de sources étendues, hors axe et plus ou moins complexe permet aujourd’hui la production des technologies de pointes. Une seconde partie s’attardera plus sur l’optimisation de la source à proprement parler. Dans un premier temps, la théorie de la diffraction sera étudiée afin de permettre une meilleure compréhension du problème. Des simulations et des mesures SEM ou microscope électronique à balayage seront présentées pour montrer l’efficacité de la méthode SMO, de l’anglais "Source Mask Optimization". Cette étude donnant lieu au développement de nouvelles méthodes rapides et innovantes d’optimisation de la source, l’étude prendra soin de présenter des résultats obtenus dans le cadre de cette thèse. Ainsi, la méthode de SMO interne basée sur le phénomène de diffraction et créée durant cette thèse sera présentée dans cette étude et les résultats en découlant seront étudiés. L’application de l’optimisation de la source à des problématiques industrielles sera également présentée à travers différentes applications des solutions proposées. Finalement, un legs de connaissance nécessaire sera effectué par la présentation des différents outils développés durant cette thèse. Une troisième partie concernera l’étude de l’outil Flexray permettant la génération des sources optimisées. La thèse ayant donné lieu à une nouvelle technique de décomposition de la source en polynôme de Zernike, cette techniques sera présentée ici. Elle sera ensuite utilisée pour modéliser la dégradation d’une source, ainsi que pour corréler la différence de source avec la divergence du modèle empirique de simulation. L’étude des sources a été mise en place suivant un aspect industrielle, afin de contrôler l’évolution du scanner de façon rapide. De plus, des simulations peuvent être utilisées pour compléter cette étude. Finalement, une dernière partie traitera de la cooptimisation entre la source et différents éléments tels que le masque et la forme final du motif souhaité. En effet, si la forme initiale du motif souhaité joue un rôle important dans la définition de la source, il est possible de modifier cette dernière, ainsi que la forme du masque en lui appliquant un OPC afin d’obtenir de meilleurs résultats. Ces modifications seront étudiées durant le dernier chapitre / Conducted between December 2009 and December 2012 within the RET (resolution enhancement technology) team at STMicroelectronics Crolles and in partnership with Saint-Etienne laboratory Hubert Curien of the University of Lyon, this thesis entitled "Impact of changing the source while using the source mask optimization technique within optical lithography, and application to 20 nm technology node. ". In this thesis, Alleaume Clovis studied the optimization of the source used in optical lithography, technique usually called SMO (for source mask optimization) and applied the technique to the industry through several problems. The first part of the manuscript describe the optical lithography generalities, in order to allow a better understanding of the issues and the techniques used in this study. Indeed, to allow optical lithography to continue the miniaturization of microelectronic components, it is necessary to optimize many aspects of the lithography. The shape of the light source used is no exception to this rule and the use of extended sources, off-axis and more or less complex now enables the production of advanced technologies. The second part will then focus on the source modification and optimization. In a first step, the diffraction theory will be examined to demonstrate the theoretical interest of the thesis, and to allow a better understanding of the problem. Simulations and SEM measurements will be presented to show the effectiveness of SMO method. As this study gave birth to several innovative source optimization techniques, they will be presented. Thus, the method of internal SMO based on the phenomenon of diffraction and created during this thesis will be presented and the results would be studied. The application of the source optimization to industrial problems will also be presented through different applications. Finally, a legacy of knowledge will be done by presenting the different tools developed during this thesis. A third part will deal with the study of tool which generate the source inside the scanner allowing the use of optimized and complex sources. The thesis has given rise to a new source decomposition technique using Zernike polynomial. It will be used in this study to model the degradation of a source, and for correlating the impact of a source modification due to SMO technique on the empirical model stability. The study of sources has been implemented according to industrial aspect to monitor the scanner with a quick method. In addition to the Zernike decomposition method, simulations can be used to complete this study. The forth chapter of this study will talk about this implementation. Finally, the last part of the study will talk about the co-optimization of the source with several elements, such as the mask OPC and the final shape of the desired pattern. Indeed, if the initial shape of the desired pattern plays an important role in defining the source, it is possible to modify the latter design shape, as well as the shape of the mask in order to optimize both the source and the target shape. These changes will be discussed in the last chapter

On March 2015 an L'-band vortex coronagraph based on an Annular Groove Phase Mask made up of a diamond sub-wavelength grating was installed on NIRC2 as a demonstration project. This vortex coronagraph operates in the L' band not only in order to take advantage from the favorable star/planet contrast ratio when observing beyond the K band, but also to exploit the fact that the Keck II Adaptive Optics (AO) system delivers nearly extreme adaptive optics image quality (Strehl ratios values near 90%) at 3.7 mu m. We describe the hardware installation of the vortex phase mask during a routine NIRC2 service mission. The success of the project depends on extensive software development which has allowed the achievement of exquisite real-time pointing control as well as further contrast improvements by using speckle nulling to mitigate the effect of static speckles. First light of the new coronagraphic mode was on June 2015 with already very good initial results. Subsequent commissioning nights were interlaced with science nights by members of the VORTEX team with their respective scientific programs. The new capability and excellent results so far have motivated the VORTEX team and the Keck Science Steering Committee (KSSC) to offer the new mode in shared risk mode for 2016B.

In recent years, the tech is moving towards a more automized and smarter software. To achieve smarter software the implementation of AI is a step towards that goal. The forest industry needs to become more automized and decrease the manual labor. Decreasing manual labor will both have a positive impact on both the cost and the environment. After doing a literature study the conclusion was to use Mask R-CNN to be able to make the AI learn about the pattern of the different stands. The different stands were extracted and masked for the Mask R-CNN. First there was a comparison between the usage of a computer versus Google Colab, and the results show that Google Colab did deliver the results a little faster than on the computer. Using a smaller area with fewer stands gave a better result and decreased the risk of the algorithm crashing. Using 42 areas with about 10 stands in each gave better results than using one big area with 3248 stands. Using 42 areas gave the result of an average IoU of 42%. Comparing this to 6 areas with about 10 stands each gave the result of 28% IoU. The result of increasing the data split to 70/30 did gave the best IoU with the value of 47%.

<p>Buildings are one of the fundamental sources of geospatial information for urban planning, population estimation, and infrastructure management. Although building extraction research has gained considerable progress through neural network methods, the labeling of training data still requires manual operations which are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Aiming to improve this process, this thesis developed an automated building extraction method based on the boundary following technique and the Mask Regional Convolutional Neural Network (Mask R-CNN) model. First, assisted by known building footprints, a boundary following method was used to automatically best label the training image datasets. In the next step, the Mask R-CNN model was trained with the labeling results and then applied to building extraction. Experiments with datasets of urban areas of Bloomington and Indianapolis with 2016 high resolution aerial images verified the effectiveness of the proposed approach. With the help of existing building footprints, the automatic labeling process took only five seconds for a 500*500 pixel image without human interaction. A 0.951 intersection over union (IoU) between the labeled mask and the ground truth was achieved due to the high quality of the automatic labeling step. In the training process, the Resnet50 network and the feature pyramid network (FPN) were adopted for feature extraction. The region proposal network (RPN) then was trained end-to-end to create region proposals. The performance of the proposed approach was evaluated in terms of building detection and mask segmentation in the two datasets. The building detection results of 40 test tiles respectively in Bloomington and Indianapolis showed that the Mask R-CNN model achieved 0.951 and 0.968 F1-scores. In addition, 84.2% of the newly built buildings in the Indianapolis dataset were successfully detected. According to the segmentation results on these two datasets, the Mask R-CNN model achieved the mean pixel accuracy (MPA) of 92% and 88%, respectively for Bloomington and Indianapolis. It was found that the performance of the mask segmentation and contour extraction became less satisfactory as the building shapes and roofs became more complex. It is expected that the method developed in this thesis can be adapted for large-scale use under varying urban setups.</p>

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With the rapid worldwide spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19 and COVID-20), wearing face masks in public becomes a necessity to mitigate the transmission of this or other pandemics. However, with the lack of on-ground automated prevention measures, depending on humans to enforce face mask-wearing policies in universities and other organizational buildings, is a very costly and time-consuming measure. Without addressing this challenge, mitigating highly airborne transmittable diseases will be impractical, and the time to react will continue to increase. Considering the high personnel traffic in buildings and the effectiveness of countermeasures, that is, detecting and offering unmasked personnel with surgical masks, our aim in this paper is to develop automated detection of unmasked personnel in public spaces in order to respond by providing a surgical mask to them to promptly remedy the situation. Our approach consists of three key components. The first component utilizes a deep learning architecture that integrates deep residual learning (ResNet-50) with Feature Pyramid Network (FPN) to detect the existence of human subjects in the videos (or video feed). The second component utilizes Multi-Task Convolutional Neural Networks (MT-CNN) to detect and extract human faces from these videos. For the third component, we construct and train a convolutional neural network classifier to detect masked and unmasked human subjects. Our techniques were implemented in a mobile robot, Thor, and evaluated using a dataset of videos collected by the robot from public spaces of an educational institute in the U.S. Our evaluation results show that Thor is very accurate achieving an F_{1} score of 87.7% with a recall of 99.2% in a variety of situations, a reasonable accuracy given the challenging dataset and the problem domain.