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Optical coherence tomography and non-linear
microscopy for paintings – a study of the
complementary capabilities and laser
degradation effects
HAIDA LIANG,1,* MEROPI MARI,2 CHI SHING CHEUNG,1 SOTIRIA KOGOU,1
PHILLIP JOHNSON,1 AND GEORGE FILIPPIDIS2
1School of Science & Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham NG11 8NS, UK
2Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, P.O. Box
1527, 71110, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
*Haida.liang@ntu.ac.uk
Abstract: This paper examines for the first time the potential complementary imaging
capabilities of Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and non-linear microscopy (NLM) for
multi-modal 3D examination of paintings following the successful application of OCT to the
in situ, non-invasive examination of varnish and paint stratigraphy of historic paintings and
the promising initial studies of NLM of varnish samples. OCT provides image contrast
through the optical scattering and absorption properties of materials, while NLM provides
molecular information through multi-photon fluorescence and higher harmonics generation
(second and third harmonic generation). OCT is well-established in the in situ non-invasive
imaging of the stratigraphy of varnish and paint layers. While NLM examination of
transparent samples such as fresh varnish and some transparent paints showed promising
results, the ultimate use of NLM on paintings is limited owing to the laser degradation effects
caused by the high peak intensity of the laser source necessary for the generation of non-
linear phenomena. The high intensity normally employed in NLM is found to be damaging to
all non-transparent painting materials from slightly scattering degraded varnish to slightly
absorbing paint at the wavelength of the laser excitation source. The results of this paper are
potentially applicable to a wide range of materials given the diversity of the materials
encountered in paintings (e.g. minerals, plants, insects, oil, egg, synthetic and natural
varnish).
©2017 Optical Society of America
OCIS codes: (110.4500) Optical coherence tomography; (180.4315) Nonlinear microscopy; (190.1900) Diagnostic
applications of nonlinear optics; (140.7090) Ultrafast lasers; (110.0180) Microscopy; (140.3330) Laser damage.
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Vol. 25, No. 16 | 7 Aug 2017 | OPTICS EXPRESS 19641
1. Introduction
As imaging and sensing technology advances with the availability of new lasers and
detectors, non-invasive examination of cultural heritage is increasingly being explored for
material identification, 3D surface structure and subsurface microstructure imaging. Non-
invasive examination is often the only allowed scientific analysis of culturally significant
historical objects. As each individual imaging modality matures, it is natural to explore multi-
modal imaging approaches that exploit the complementary characteristics of each modality.
In this paper, we compare two 3D optical tomographic imaging techniques, optical coherence
tomography (OCT) and non-linear microscopy (NLM), and explore their complementary
application on materials encountered in historic polychromic objects and in particular, historic
paintings.
While Michelson’s white light interferometry was invented in the 19th century, the first
imaging Michelson interferometer, that is OCT, was only demonstrated in 1991 [1].
Similarly, while the concept of non-linear multi-photon fluorescence has been around since
1931 [2], the first non-linear microscope was only invented in 1990 [3]. In both cases, the
first 3D tomographic applications were in biomedical imaging.
OCT is based on the Michelson interferometer where the sample arm probing depth is
obtained through white light interferometry by combining the signals reflected from the
sample and reference arms. The intensity of an OCT image reflects the optical scattering and
absorption properties of the material. Since scattering and reflection is a result of refractive
index changes, OCT is particularly sensitive to refractive index inhomogeneity in a material.
Currently, the majority of OCT applications are in biomedical imaging of the eye and other
biological tissues such as the skin [4,5]. Since 2004, OCT has been successfully applied to a
variety of cultural heritage [6–9] from traditional portable paintings, illuminated manuscripts
on parchments, wall paintings, vitreous materials, leathers, papers to jade and carved rock art
panels [10,11].
Non-linear image contrast modalities are well-established techniques for biological
research [12], however at the same time, they have been shown to be powerful diagnostic
tools for cultural heritage studies. Specifically, recent studies have demonstrated the potential
of these techniques for depth resolved imaging of materials in cultural heritage such as
varnishes [13,14], lining glues [15,16], historical coatings [17], parchments [18], paint [19]
and corrosion layer in metal-based artefacts [20]. The non-linear microscopy modalities
employed were multi-photon excitation fluorescence, second and third harmonic generation.
Multi-photon excitation fluorescence is a non-linear optical procedure where the nonlinear
process depends on the intensity of the incident laser irradiation. Multi-photon excitation
fluorescence measurements are able to give some indication of the chemical composition of
artefacts. The simplest case is two-photon excitation fluorescence. During two-photon
excitation fluorescence, one photon having energy approximately equal to half the energy
difference between the excited and the ground state of a fluorescent molecule interacts with
the electron in order to excite it to an intermediate virtual state where it will remain for an
extremely short time (1 femtosecond). If the spatial and temporal density of the incident beam
is high enough, there is a finite probability that a second photon will interact with the electron
of the virtual state resulting in the transition of the electron to the excited state. The
consequent de-excitation of the electron returning to the ground state emits a single
fluorescent photon of higher energy to the incident photons.
In western European paintings, varnish layers are commonly applied to a painting to
improve aesthetic properties as well as for the protection of the paint layer [21]. Most of the
varnish layers are highly transparent in the visible and near infrared (NIR) region of the
spectrum, while the paint layers can absorb at the excitation laser wavelength (usually in the
NIR ~1064 nm). Therefore, in contrast to the varnishes where multi-photon absorption is the
predominant mechanism for fluorescence emission, the fluorescence from painting materials
can be the result of a combination of single and multi-photon absorption processes. These
Vol. 25, No. 16 | 7 Aug 2017 | OPTICS EXPRESS 19642
different absorption properties of the above components have also an impact on the nature of
their respective damage mechanisms. It is relatively more probable to cause unwanted photo-
damage effects when paint layers are examined.
Optical second or third harmonics generation are coherent scattering phenomena that have
a non-linear dependence on the incident light beam intensity. If N number of photons (2 for
the case of second harmonic generation and 3 for third harmonic generation) of energy hω
interact within the focal volume of a material, they can be combined effectively to emit a
photon of energy Nhω. The N-th harmonic generation intensity scales with the intensity of the
fundamental incident radiation I as IN. During these non-linear scattering phenomena, no
energy is deposited in the medium and the new photons are generated through a single step
quantum process [22]. Thus, the interacting material acts as an energy converter of the
incident photons. Second harmonic generation is produced only in non-centrosymmetric
molecules (starch granules, collagen) and hence providing material information and a unique
image contrast [23]. On the other hand, third harmonic generation occurs in any medium and
is therefore more versatile. However, third harmonic generation is sensitive to local
inhomogeneities such as in the third order non-linear susceptibility χ(3), refractive index and
dispersion. Third harmonic generation signal arises when the laser beam is focused at the
interface of two optically different materials [24]. This property allows the third harmonic
generation to distinguish and image structural inhomogeneities within the confocal parameter
limitation, avoiding the use of fluorescent dyes. Consequently, third harmonic generation
constitutes a high resolution diagnostic tool for structural and morphological information of
different samples.
Non-linear imaging microscopy shows many advantages compared to other microscopy
methods. It is capable of intrinsic three dimensional (3D) subsurface sectioning while still
avoiding damage to objects through photobleaching or phototoxicity phenomena in the out-
of-focus area. NLM harmonic generation in the second and third harmonic generation ensure
minimal sample disturbance, as they are scattering phenomena with little energy being
deposited in the sample. However, the same high intensity beam that enables second and third
harmonic generation, may also be absorbed through other non-linear processes such as multi-
photon excitation fluorescence which can cause laser induced damage.
A significant advantage of NLM is that, all the aforementioned signals are generated
simultaneously in the focal volume of the examined object. Thus, they provide unique
complementary information related to the chemical composition of the sample such as the
centrosymmetry of its molecules (through second harmonic generation measurements) and
the structural delineation of the material. In general, non-linear imaging modalities present
limited depth information, but better transverse resolution and similar axial resolution when
compared to OCT. OCT can give the same high lateral resolution as NLM when using the
same objective lens. This kind of OCT is sometimes called optical coherence microscopy.
Beaurepaire et al. [25] were the first to achieve complementary measurements of NLM
and OCT for biomedical imaging, noting that OCT gives the structural information from the
backscattered photons while NLM gives the functional information through the non-linear
fluorescence generation. Tang et al. [26] demonstrated the combined application of two-
photon excitation fluorescence, second harmonic generation and OCT in one system for tissue
imaging using a 12-fs laser. The combination of NLM and OCT in one system is natural,
since the fs laser provides both the necessary high peak intensity for the generation of non-
linear effects such as two-photon excitation fluorescence and second harmonic generation,
and the necessary broad bandwidth for the high axial resolution requirements of an OCT.
They demonstrated that two-photon excitation fluorescence was from cellular structure, while
second harmonic generation signal came from extracellular matrix structure. In comparison,
OCT signals were collected from the back-scattered photons from variations in refractive
indices, and thus gave the full structure of both the cell and the extracellular matrix. In
addition, OCT images showed more collagen than the second harmonic generation image. It
Vol. 25, No. 16 | 7 Aug 2017 | OPTICS EXPRESS 19643
was also noted that there is an optimum pulse width for OCT and NLM operation, since the
broad source bandwidth (i.e. shorter pulse) to improve OCT axial resolution may reduce the
efficiency of two photon absorption, especially if the bandwidth is larger than the
fluorescence emission bandwidth. Wu et al. [27] also demonstrated an integrated NLM/OCT
system for the study of mechanical properties of cornea; Xi et al. [28] developed an integrated
endoscopic system combining NLM/OCT. More recently, Alex et al. [29] have combined 3D
scanning of OCT and two-photon excitation fluorescence for dermatology and demonstrated
the advantages of exploiting the complementary contrast of the two techniques. In this paper,
we will examine for the first time the complementary imaging capabilities offered by OCT
and NLM for non-biological materials such as a diverse range of painting materials.
While the effects of laser induced degradation due to both NLM and OCT have been
examined in biomedical applications extensively, they have not been examined systematically
in cultural heritage applications. Some of these studies have used visual examination with
optical microscope to examine obvious damages or simply quoting the results in biomedical
applications. However, many changes in materials are not readily discernible using an optical
microscope and the susceptibility to laser damage in biomedical material may be totally
different from those of cultural heritage. In this paper, we will examine systematically the
potential effects of laser degradation in these two imaging modalities.
2. Imaging systems
2.1 Optical coherence tomography systems
An in-house developed ultra-high resolution spectrometer-based Fourier domain OCT at a
central wavelength of 810 nm with an axial resolution of 1.2 microns (in varnish or paint) and
transverse resolution of 7 microns was used to image the more transparent samples [30],
while an in-house developed longer wavelength spectrometer-based Fourier domain OCT at a
central wavelength of 1960 nm with an axial resolution of 6 microns (in varnish or paint) and
transverse resolution of 17 microns was used to image the more opaque (i.e. high scattering or
absorption coefficient) samples [31]. The 810 nm OCT used a NKT SuperK versa
supercontinuum source [30] and the 1960nm OCT used a custom built supercontinuum source
[31]. Details of the OCT systems were described in previous papers [30, 31]. In both cases,
the power incident on the sample was ~1 mW. It took 10 ms for a cross-section scan (500
depth profiles or A-scans) using the OCT at 810nm, while it takes 200 ms for the same scan
using the long wavelength OCT at 1960 nm. The integration times per depth profile were
10μs and 100μs for the 810 nm and 1960 nm OCTs respectively. The OCT images presented
in this paper were taken without any averaging unless otherwise specified.
2.2 Non-linear microscopy set-up
Tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses represent ideal sources for non-linear microscopy
applications. A single 200 fs laser beam at 1028 nm (Amplitude systems) was used for the
performance of the non-linear measurements (multi-photon excitation fluorescence, second
harmonic generation, third harmonic generation). The in-house developed apparatus
employed has been described in previous papers [14,16,19]. An average power of 25 mW at
the sample plane was used (energy per pulse 0.5nJ). Multi-photon excitation fluorescence
signals were collected in the backward direction using a photomultiplier tube (PMT
Hamamatsu R4220).
Third harmonic generation signals can be detected simultaneously with the multi-photon
excitation fluorescence signal emitted in the forward direction, by employing a colored glass
filter (U 340nm Hoya) and a second PMT. Typical time duration for a single spot non-linear
measurement is of the order of a few seconds; while a cross-sectional scanning takes just
under 2 min. A 20x, 0.80 numerical aperture (NA) objective lens (Carl Zeis, Plan
Vol. 25, No. 16 | 7 Aug 2017 | OPTICS EXPRESS 19644
Apochromat) was employed for the tight focusing of the laser beam onto the sample. The
transverse and axial resolutions of our setup are ~770 nm and 2μm, respectively.
3. Materials
A range of historic artist’s paints prepared on a variety of substrates were examined by both
OCT and NLM. These include inorganic pigments, i.e. minerals, organic pigments derived
from plants and insects, binding medium such as oil and egg as well as natural and synthetic
varnish. The pigments were selected to have low absorption at the laser excitation wavelength
of 1028 nm for the NLM to minimize potential laser degradation effects. Table 1 shows the
list of 28 pigments thus selected that were mixed with linseed oil or egg tempera. These were
painted in 2006 by the National Gallery in London on both glass microscope slides and
boards sized with chalk in rabbit skin glue [32]. Samples of pure binding media including
linseed oil, egg tempera, animal glue and gum Arabic were also applied on glass. Samples of
varnish applied on glass including fresh mastic, dammar, regalrez, paraloid B72 and a couple
of artificially and naturally aged mastic varnish samples that has yellowed and gone hazy
were also tested.
Table 1. Pigment samples
Pigment Binder Pigment Binder
Art. Ultramarine Oil Indigo Oil & egg
Smalt (light) Oil & egg Chrome Red Oil & egg
Vermilion 3 Oil & egg Sappanwood Lake Oil
Lapis Lazuli Oil Italian Golden Ochre Oil
Red Ochre Oil Cochineal Lake Oil & egg
Red Lead Oil & egg Lac Lake Oil
Lead White Oil Cadmium Red Oil
Lemon Yellow Oil & egg Cobalt Yellow Oil
Lead Tin Yellow Oil Dyer’s broom Lake* Oil
Chrome Yellow Oil & egg Naples Yellow (light)* Oil
Cadmium Yellow (light) Oil Viridian Green Oil & egg
Azurite grade1 Oil Zinc White* Oil
Cobalt blue Oil Weld Lake Oil
Titanium White Oil Rose Madder Oil & egg
*indicate no fluorescence detected with the NLM
4. Complementary imaging using OCT and NML
OCT measures optical thickness and to convert to real thickness, we need to divide by the
refractive index. In contrast, for the NLM, the real thickness is roughly equal to the measured
thickness multiplied by the refractive index. Refractive indices of the materials can be
accurately measured with OCT using those samples on flat glass substrates. As expected, the
refractive indices for the varnish samples were all measured to be ~1.5 at 810nm. Figure 1
shows an example of OCT and NLM imaging of a multi-layer varnish sample. The layers of
mastic and vinavil varnish are distinguished by their optical scattering properties in the OCT
image. Vinavil is moderately scattering, while mastic is transparent in the OCT image. In the
two-photon excitation fluorescence image as in the OCT image, the vinavil layer is ~2 times
as thick as the mastic varnish layer. The combined thickness of the two layers of varnish vary
between 78 and 95 microns over the OCT field of view of 5mm which is consistent with the
third harmonic generation measured thickness of 90-95 microns over a field of view of 150
microns. The vinavil layer fluoresces less than the mastic layer in the two-photon excitation
fluorescence image. While it is impossible to distinguish the fresh mastic layer from the glass
layer in the OCT image apart from the interface between the two layers, the NML shows clear
difference since mastic shows strong fluorescence but glass does not. Similar to OCT, third
harmonic generation is sensitive to refractive index discontinuities and hence the interfaces
between the different media are clearly delineated. Third harmonic generation signals from
Vol. 25, No. 16 | 7 Aug 2017 | OPTICS EXPRESS 19645
the interfaces between the different media offers more precise measurements of the thickness
of mastic, vinavil and glass layers than two-photon excitation fluorescence. It should be noted
that vinavil is not a common varnish for paintings, but in this case it was convenient to use
this example to contrast the different imaging modalities.
Fig. 1. a) OCT image of two layers of different varnish (vinavil on mastic) painted on a thin
glass slide. b) NLM multi-modal image of the same sample where the multi-photon excitation
fluorescence (red) and third harmonic generation (yellow) images are superposed. Note that
the OCT image aspect ratio is not 1:1, but the NLM images are 1:1 in aspect ratio.
Most fresh natural varnishes, such as dammar and mastic, are completely transparent in
OCT images and therefore impossible to tell the difference. However, their multi-photon
excitation fluorescence intensities are rather different as shown in Fig. 2, with mastic more
strongly fluorescent than dammar, even though both dammar and mastic give 3 photon
fluorescence [14]. While this information is useful on fresh varnish samples, the behavior of
aged varnish samples is much more complex. The intensity of single photon fluorescence is
known to increase with the ageing of the varnish, while it has been observed from multi-
photon excitation fluorescence imaging that the intensity of fluorescence increases with depth
as varnish ages [14].
Vol. 25, No. 16 | 7 Aug 2017 | OPTICS EXPRESS 19646
Fig. 2. a) Fluorescence intensity versus depth for samples of dammar and mastic varnish on
glass; the thicknesses of dammar (red curve) and mastic (black curve) are measured from
multi-photon excitation fluorescence images of b) fresh mastic and c) fresh dammar. The
images have 1:1 aspect ratios.
When the paint samples on glass (Table 1) were imaged with NLM and OCT, it was
found that in general OCT was able to penetrate deeper into the sample. Figure 3 shows the
multi-photon excitation fluorescence image of sappanwood lake in oil painted on a glass slide
compared with the OCT image of the same sample. The 810 nm OCT image shows the full
thickness of the layer to be 100-200 microns with clear interface between the paint layer and
the glass substrate, while the multi-photon excitation fluorescence only revealed the top 70
micron of the layer with gradually diminishing signal with increased depth. Figure 4 shows
that the full depth of the lapis lazuli layer to be ~100-150 microns as measured with the
1960nm OCT, while the multi-photon excitation fluorescence image only shows the top 30
micron. Most pigments become more transparent in the near infrared at longer wavelength
[32], therefore the longer the central wavelength the better depth of penetration for OCT
imaging, which was why the full thickness of the lapis lazuli sample was revealed in the
1960nm OCT but not in the 810nm OCT image (Fig. 4(c)). In the case of multi-photon
excitation fluorescence imaging, even if the excitation wavelength is in the near infrared at a
long wavelength and therefore likely to penetrate deeper into the sample to excite
fluorescence, the multi-photon fluorescence emission would still be at a much shorter
wavelength in the visible range and therefore likely to be absorbed or scattered by the
material above where it originated and not be detected. This may explain why the multi-
photon excitation fluorescence image of the sappanwood lake sample (a red lake pigment
which absorbs light at wavelength <650nm) did not show the full depth even though it is
transparent at the laser excitation wavelength of 1028nm.
In some cases, NLM showed signs of laser induced degradation. It was particularly
obvious in the case of vermilion and red lead where a black spot was found after the scanning.
In the following section, we will examine the effect of the laser beam on these common
pigments that are selected for their low absorption at the laser excitation wavelength of 1028
nm.
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Fig. 3. Sappanwood lake in oil painted on glass: a) multi-photon excitation fluorescence image
(1:1 aspect ratio) showing the top ~70 microns of the paint layer and b) 810nm OCT image
(average of 10 frames) showing the paint layer thickness of 100-200 microns.
Fig. 4. Lapis Lazuli in oil painted on glass: a) multi-photon excitation fluorescence image (1:1
aspect ratio) showing a thickness of ~30 microns; b) 1960 nm long wavelength OCT image
showing a thickness of ~100-150 microns and c) 810 nm UHR OCT image showing the paint
layer on glass (left most side shows the bare glass surface but the paint/glass interface is not
seen due to absorption).
5. Laser induced degradation
While laser induced degradation effects were examined for OCT and NLM in detail in
biomedical applications, no systematic experiments have been conducted for cultural heritage
materials yet. The precautions taken and safe use of these techniques were guided by
experience in biomedical applications. In the case of OCT, estimates of the intensity and
fluence were also used to justify the safety of the method and indeed to date there has not
been any known laser damage produced as a result of OCT imaging on samples or on any real
objects. In NLM, visual observation is often used to confirm that no damage is done.
However, degradation is sometimes more subtle than what is visually perceptible under a
microscope. Table 2 compares the intensity and fluence of typical laser sources used in OCT,
NLM, micro-Raman as well as the Xenon light source used in the well-known (in
preventative conservation) in situ accelerated light ageing technique microfade [33–35].
Detailed studies of laser induced damage for micro-Raman spectroscopy has been conducted
Vol. 25, No. 16 | 7 Aug 2017 | OPTICS EXPRESS 19648
(e.g. Burgio et al. [36]) and the tabulated values for micro-Raman are the maximum intensity
normally used to avoid laser induced damage. Both Raman and OCT normally use continuous
wave laser sources (or near continuous wave in the case of supercontinuum lasers) and it is
clear that while OCT intensity is only slightly lower than micro-Raman, the fluence is at least
5 orders of magnitude lower due to the rapid scanning process and the high sensitivity of the
technique. Compared with the broadband white light source used in microfade, the intensity
of the laser source in OCT is 3 orders of magnitude higher but the fluence is at least 4 orders
of magnitude lower. In comparison, NLM is 3 to 7 orders of magnitude higher in intensity
depending on whether we take the peak or average pulse intensity and 3 orders of magnitude
less in fluence compared with micro-Raman. Both intensity and fluence affect the light
induced damage, but wavelength is another important factor. For the laser-based techniques,
we can compare the effects at similar wavelength, but the light source in microfade is usually
broadband covering the entire visible range. Narrow band wavelength dependent fading
behavior of pigments have also been studied using microfade providing comparison with a
non-laser based source (e.g [35]). Both OCT and NLM tend to operate in the near infrared,
unlike microfade and some Raman microscopes.
Table 2. Light intensity and fluence comparison
Pav
(mW)
Pmax
(W)
Spot size
(µm)
dwell time
(s)
Iav
(W/cm2)
Imax
(W/cm2)
fluence
(J/cm2)
Microfade 2 500 600 1 600
OCT 1 10 5
10− 1.3 × 103 0.013
Raman 1 5 1 5.1 × 103 5100
NLM* 25 2500 1.5 4 × 10−6 1.3 × 106 1.3 × 1011 5.2
ns-pulsed
laser**
2 × 104
to
1 × 107
3000 5 × 10−9
2.8 × 105
-
1.4 × 108
0.0014
to
0.7
*The fluence per pulse for NLM is 0.026 J/cm2. In each spot we have 200 pulses so the total fluence is
calculated at 5.2 J/cm2 for our NLM measurements.
**Continuum Nd:Yag laser 1064nm, 5ns pulse width, delivering one pulse at a time with maximum 50
mJ/pulse and minimum 0.1 mJ/pulse; here we give the corresponding range of fluence for 1 pulse; 8 pulses
gives the same fluence as one of our NLM scan (i.e. 200 pulses per spot)
5.1. Nonlinear microscopy
Ideally laser induced damage due to NLM should have been measured with the NLM setup
using the same laser, however, the space constraint at the objective and the detection side of
the NLM made it difficult to have a stable setup. As an alternative, the setup in Fig. 5 was
used where a collimated 3 mm diameter beam of Nd:Yag ns-pulsed laser at 1064 nm was
used to irradiate a sample at normal incidence pulse by pulse while a probe with a spot size
0.45 0.75× mm2 on the sample is aligned at ~45° angle to the laser beam to collect the
reflectance spectrum within the laser irradiated spot of the sample after each pulse. The probe
collects the reflectance spectrum in a retro-reflection configuration using a low power
Tungsten light. The parameters of this laser is given in Table 2 and it can be seen that 8 pulses
of this laser at maximum energy per pulse give the same fluence as 200 pulse of the fs laser
used in the NLM to illuminate one spot in a NLM scan. The peak intensity of this ns-pulsed
laser is 3 orders of magnitude lower than the NLM laser. The slight difference in wavelength
Vol. 25, No. 16 | 7 Aug 2017 | OPTICS EXPRESS 19649
between this laser (1064nm) and the NLM laser (1028nm) should not influence the results as
none of the samples tested had narrow absorption features near 1028 nm or 1064 nm. After
each irradiation of the laser pulse, a reflectance spectrum is collected by the Ocean Optics
HR2000 spectrometer with a low intensity Tungsten light as the illumination source. Figure
6(a) shows the stability of the spectrometer, probe and Tungsten light system over a period
longer than the test period of laser damage experiments per sample.
Fig. 5. Experimental setup for measuring laser induced degradation in the paint and varnish
samples.
Amongst the glass substrate samples, the relatively transparent materials such as fresh
binding media, fresh varnish and some of the lake pigments in oil binder did not change after
exposure to 8 pulses (e.g. Fig. 6(b)). However, all samples that are significantly scattering,
from the highly scattering samples, such as titanium white and zinc white, to the less
scattering aged varnish which had a hazy appearance, showed significant changes in their
reflectance spectra after the laser irradiation at full power (e.g. Fig. 6(c)). All samples that are
significantly absorbing also showed signs of degradation. It is interesting that a transparent
lake pigment in oil painted on a board prepared by a white chalk in rabbit skin glue ground
layer also showed significant change after the laser irradiation. This is presumably because
the paint layer is transparent and therefore the laser beam did not lose much energy inside the
paint before it reached the highly scattering white chalk layer beneath and thus degrading the
chalk layer. This would suggest that special care must be taken when we use NLM on any
real paintings and polychromic objects, since the paint layers that are highly scattering or
absorbing are susceptible to laser damage and those that are transparent exposes the lower
layers to laser damaged.
Vol. 25, No. 16 | 7 Aug 2017 | OPTICS EXPRESS 19650
Fig. 6. Difference spectra for reflectance of a) a white standard without laser irradiation over a
period of 10 mins showing the stability of the spectrometer system; b) a cochineal oil paint on
a glass slide after each Nd:Yag laser pulse at full power; c) a cochineal egg tempera paint on a
glass slide after each laser pulse at full power. The insets are 810nm OCT images of the
samples showing the cochineal oil paint is fairly transparent but the cochineal in egg tempera
paint is much more scattering.
After performing NLM on the red lead oil paint sample, burnt out black spots were
observed in the sample, therefore we also examined the damage threshold intensity on a red
lead oil paint using the setup in Fig. 5. Damage was detected by the changes to the reflected
spectrum after the exposure to just one pulse of the ns-pulsed laser at 2% of the full pulse
energy, but when the pulse energy was reduced to 0.6% of the maximum energy, that is an
intensity of 6
0.8 1 0× W cm−2, no damage was detected even after 100 pulses (Fig. 7)
suggesting that the damage fluence is much lower for higher intensity irradiation. This
damage threshold in intensity at 1064 nm is consistent with the red lead threshold for Raman
at the same wavelength using a continuous wave laser [36].
Fig. 7. Reflectance spectra of a layer of red lead oil paint on a glass slide after irradiation with
the Nd:Yag ns pulsed laser: a) after 1 to 100 pulses at 0.3 mJ per pulse (or 0.6% of full power),
b) after 1 to 4 pulses at 1 mJ per pulse (or 2% of full power).
Finally, it was interesting to examine if there was any laser induced damage using the ns
pulsed laser on fresh parchment since there has been reports of NLM examination of historic
parchment [18]. It was found that, at least for fresh new parchments, no laser induced damage
was detected after 8 pulses at full power. This is perhaps not surprising as parchment is made
of skin and we know from biomedical applications that NLM does not cause damage to skin
tissues. Significant reduction in laser induced damage can be expected i) if more sensitive
detectors are used to reduce the integration time and faster scanners (e.g. lower inertia
galvanometric mirrors) are used to reduce the scanning time; and ii) having shorter pulse
Vol. 25, No. 16 | 7 Aug 2017 | OPTICS EXPRESS 19651
incident at the sample plane achieved by using a shorter fs pulsed laser and implementing
appropriate pulse dispersion compensation. Shorter pulse means higher peak intensity for the
same pulse energy and therefore higher efficiency at generating NLM signal 1
()t−
∝ [37]. For
transparent solids, it is known that the damage fluence threshold also decreases with shorter
pulses and higher peak intensity as m
t, where ~0.5m for ns and ps pulses, however, for
shorter pulses 0.5m< [38]. Therefore, it is likely that the NLM signal generation increases
much faster with decreasing pulse duration than the likelihood of damage due to higher
intensity pulses, especially for shorter fs pulses. This means that by employing shorter fs
pulses, we may be able to reduce the fluence to keep it below the damage threshold while still
gather enough NLM signals at the same signal to noise ratio. It is important to note that laser
damage due to the shorter fs laser pulses are fundamentally different from the ns pulsed
lasers. The ns laser damage tends to affect a larger area through heat damage such as melting,
while the shorter fs laser damage tend to be restricted to the very center of the beam
dominated by collisional and multi-photon ionization [38]. Short pulse fs laser induced
damage is often harder to detect due to the small size of the damage, and therefore it is best to
incorporate laser damage monitoring within the NLM to allow the reflectance spectra from
the irradiated spot to be measured through the same objective or exam the scanned area
afterwards with a scanning electron microscope (SEM).
5.2 Optical coherence tomography
Some of the most light sensitive pigments such as realgar and Prussian blue were examined
[34,35]. The samples were repeatedly scanned with the 810nm OCT (the spectral range of the
supercontinuum source incident on the sample is 600-1000 nm) for 400 times in an area equal
to the spot size of our fibre-optic spectrometer probe (3 mm diameter). The mismatch
between the OCT spot size (7 microns) and the spot size of the spectrometer meant that it was
necessary to scan the OCT over the area of the spectrometer probing spot size. No change
was detected by the spectrometer even after 400 times the normal exposure for OCT imaging.
6. Conclusions
OCT is a relatively mature technique for the non-invasive 3D imaging of subsurface
microstructure of materials in cultural heritage compared with NLM. The axial resolution of
OCT and NLM are similar, while OCT in general is used with lower transverse resolution and
larger transverse field of view. The transverse resolution of NLM by nature needs to be high
in order to have high axial resolution and high intensity for the generation of non-linear
phenomena. OCT is typically 3 to 4 orders of magnitude faster in image acquisition and has
larger penetration depth than NLM. In this paper, the applicability of NLM to the non-
invasive imaging of polychromic objects, such as historic paintings, was examined and
compared with OCT imaging. Both OCT and third harmonic generation are sensitive to
refractive index discontinuity at layer interfaces. Multi-photon excitation fluorescence by
nature offers image contrast between layers with different non-linear fluorescence properties,
while OCT image contrast is given by the difference in optical scattering and absorption
properties between the layers. As an example, it was demonstrated that while OCT cannot
distinguish between two types of equally transparent varnish, multi-photon excitation
fluorescence signal showed an intensity variation between these varnishes.
This paper also examines in detail, for the first time, the potential laser induced damage
for OCT and NLM. It was found that the usual laser intensity employed in OCT imaging does
not cause any damage even after the same spot is illuminated for 400 times longer than
necessary to collect the image. In contrast, NLM was found to cause laser-induced damage
even for samples selected specifically for their low absorption at the laser excitation
wavelength. A ns-pulsed Nd:Yag laser with maximum intensity three orders of magnitude
less than the NLM fs-laser was used to irradiate the paint and varnish samples a pulse at a
Vol. 25, No. 16 | 7 Aug 2017 | OPTICS EXPRESS 19652
time, until the fluence was equal to the exposure per spot of the NLM scans (200 pulses). It
was found that except for those samples that are transparent such as fresh varnish and some
lake glazes, laser-induced degradation was detected. All samples that showed optical
scattering, even aged hazy varnish (i.e. increased optical scattering), were found to degrade
under the laser irradiation. It was found that change was detected when a transparent layer is
painted above a white ground (i.e. strong scattering layer) or carbon black underdrawing (i.e.
high absorption). This shows that in practice the use of NLM on real painted objects is limited
due to likely laser induced degradation caused by the high intensity of the laser required to
generate non-linear phenomena. It is hoped that the unwanted degradation effects might be
reduced by employing shorter pulse duration lasers and more sensitive detectors and faster
scanning mechanisms. In the future, we can modify the NLM to use a 20 fs pulsed laser with
appropriate dispersion compensation and incorporate a monitoring reflectance spectroscopy
system that shares the same objective as the NLM for laser damage monitoring to find the
optimum parameters for NLM imaging of painted objects.
Funding
EU Horizon 2020 program LASERLAB-EUROPE (H2020-INFRAIA-654148); EU Horizon
2020 program IPERION-CH (H2020-INFRAIA- 654028); UK Arts and Humanities Research
Council (AHRC) and Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Science
& Heritage Program (Interdisciplinary Research Grant AH/H032665/1).
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge K. Melessanaki of FORTH for her expert assistance in the
preparation of varnish samples and the National Gallery in London for the painted samples.
Funding has been provided by EU Horizon 2020 programs LASERLAB-EUROPE (H2020-
INFRAIA-654148), IPERION-CH (H2020-INFRAIA- 654028) and UK AHRC and EPSRC
Science & Heritage Program (Interdisciplinary Research Grant AH/H032665/1). Phillip
Johnson is grateful for a Nottingham Trent University Physics Undergraduate Research
Scholarship. Sotiria Kogou is grateful for a Nottingham Trent University PhD scholarship.
Vol. 25, No. 16 | 7 Aug 2017 | OPTICS EXPRESS 19653
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