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Optical Review

Finite-difference time-domain analysis of refractive index grating on planar light waveguide circuit with optically trapped gold particles

Fri, 2010-02-05 20:14 — Guest
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Abstract  The super-resolution capability of scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) with a gold particle is studied by the two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (2D FDTD) method. We obtain SNOM signals by integrating the far field within the numerical aperture of an objective lens for a refractive index grating by scanning optically trapped gold particles with different diameters illuminated by focused laser light at the wavelength of 515 nm. The signal is strong at a high refractive index of the grating and exhibits similar behavior to that obtained in the experiment with the grating fabricated on a planar light waveguide circuit with a period of 1060 nm. Furthermore, the signal modulation increases as the gold particle diameter decreases and reaches 0.82 at a diameter of 50 nm.

Digital Holographic Particle Tracking Velocimetry for 3-D Transient Flow around an Obstacle in a Narrow Channel

Thu, 2009-12-03 20:14 — Guest
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Abstract  Digital holographic particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) is developed by single high-speed camera and single double pulsed laser with high frequency pulses. This system can directly capture 1000 hologram fringe images for 1 second through a camera computer memory. The 3-D particle location is made of the reconstruction by using a computer hologram algorithm in a personal computer.

Observation of multi-path interference in broad-area semiconductor lasers with optical feedback

Sun, 2009-10-04 07:44 — Guest
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Abstract  Multi-path interference effects induced by optical feedback in broad-area semiconductor lasers is experimentally studied. An external mirror and an internal laser cavity form a closed composite optical feedback loop. For a very small tilt of the external mirror for the exit facet along the stripe width of the active layer, the light emitted from the laser undergoes multi-path reflections in the composite cavity, and we therefore observe multi-path interference effects of the laser oscillations for a small mirror tilt. The laser output power always shows the fundamental mode of the single feedback loop together with an oscillation of a certain higher multi-path loop. The laser oscillation and the beam profile are strongly dependent on the tilt. We observed up to a nine-fold multi-path interference in the experiment.

Design of optical coupling systems between two-dimensional quasi-stadium laser diodes and single-mode optical fibers

Sun, 2009-10-04 07:44 — Guest
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Abstract  Optical coupling systems between a two-dimensional quasi-stadium laser diode and single-mode optical fibers using gradient-index rod lenses are designed for both stable and unstable laser resonators for the first time. A novel numerical approach using a combination of the extended Fox-Li calculation method and Gaussian beam transformations is proposed. In the case of a stable laser resonator, two kinds of beam propagation modes appear, namely the axis mode, in which an optical beam propagates along the cavity axis, and the ring mode, in which optical beams propagate along the diamond-shaped trajectory. The coupling efficiencies are found to be 54% for the axis mode and 52% for the ring mode. In contrast, an unstable laser resonator exhibits complicated modes, in which several highly directional beams are emitted from the end mirrors. The total coupling efficiency for these output beams is calculated to be 9.6%. The 3-dB tolerances for the lens pitch and alignment angles of the gradient-index rod lenses are also discussed.

Wavefront reconstruction of high power laser diode array

Sun, 2009-10-04 07:44 — Guest
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Abstract  A new method for the wavefront measurement of high power laser diode array with large dynamic ranges is presented. The wavefront sensor has a large dynamic range of −π/2 to π/2 and high precision on the measured wavefront slopes (±1′). According to the measurements of the slopes and intensity of the high power laser diode array, complex amplitudes can be obtained and the wavefront can be reconstructed. The reconstructed wavefront of high power laser diode array can be used in designing a laser beam shaping system in future work.

Two-dimensional birefringence measurement system with a polarization modulator and a rotating analyzer

Fri, 2009-07-31 20:12 — Guest
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Abstract  The measuring system of two-dimensional birefringence distribution with a polarization modulator and a rotating analyzer using a rotating analyzer method is presented. The system simply consists of a laser diode, two polarizers, two quarter wave plates and a CCD camera. Thanks to an imaging system, the mechanism to scan a sample is unnecessary and two-dimensional measurement is possible and easy. The birefringence of retardation and orientation of the optic axis can be determined by the azimuth angle of an elliptically polarized light passing through a sample. The azimuth angle is obtained by applying the phase shifting algorithm to measure the polarization properties; by improving the calculation algorithm, wide range measurement is accomplished. The measurement procedure and a number of results are described.

Power line monitoring system using fiber optic power supply

Mon, 2009-06-08 10:23 — Guest
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Abstract  We propose a novel power-line-monitoring system using optical fibers for transmitting power as well as signal. The principle is experimentally confirmed with a system composed of a monitoring side with a 1.5-μm laser diode, transmission line of a single mode fiber, and a sensing side having an efficient photovoltaic (PV) cell, electrical junction sensor, and low power liquid crystal optical modulator (LCOM). The PV cell generates the electrical power in the sensing side with a conversion efficiency of 20%. The LCOM is driven with low power of less than 50 μW, modulates the laser light with a signal indicating the power line condition, and transmits the optical signal. The developed sensing unit produces an optical signal having an extinction ratio of 15 dB with low optical power of 1.8 mW. Five systems were in operation for two years, faithfully monitoring the oil pressure in electrical cables every 20 min without incident.

Controlling spontaneous emission with the local density of states of honeycomb photonic crystals

Mon, 2009-06-08 10:23 — Guest
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Abstract  We calculated the local density of state for various positions in a photonic crystal of honeycomb lattice to study how the spontaneous emission rate of a radiating dipole is altered in the presence of the photonic crystal. The local density of states is found to be position-sensitive and its value can be enhanced or depressed relative to the density of states, depending on the location of the dipole. Our study shows that the density of states tends to underestimate the effect of a photonic crystal on the prohibition of light propagation, while on the contrary tends to overestimate the effect on the enhancement of light emission. The calculations also indicate that it is possible to tailor the spontaneous emission of an active medium by careful selecting its location in the photonic crystal. The results are helpful in determining the insertion location of the active medium and in evaluating the efficiency of active photonic crystal devices such as light-emitting diodes or lasers.

Hologram recording in glass and direct reconstruction using visible-wavelength laser beam

Mon, 2009-06-08 10:23 — Guest
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Abstract  We propose a method of hologram recording in a glass plate by corona charging. The holographic recording materials used in this study are conventional soda-lime glass and azobenzene polymer film. A Fourier transform hologram on an azobenzene polymer film coated on the glass plate is recorded in the glass plate by corona charging. After removing the polymer film, the hologram recorded in the plate can be reconstructed using a visible-wavelength laser beam. The first-order diffraction efficiency of the hologram at a wavelength of 532 nm is 0.03%; the efficiency depends on the depth of the surface relief structure on the azobenzene polymer film and the corona-charging time. The hologram recorded in the glass plate has high environmental resistance.

Statistics of dynamic speckles in application to distance measurements

Thu, 2009-04-09 09:14 — Guest
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Abstract  We present an analysis of statistical properties of dynamic speckles to estimate the limiting accuracy of measurements achievable in a distance sensor using spatially filtered dynamic speckles. The main reason for inaccurate measurements using dynamic speckles is their stochastic nature. It is shown that the average lifetime of dynamic speckles is the key factor defining the measurement accuracy. Main conclusions of the theoretical analysis were confirmed in an experiment carried out with a fast moving rough surface. Special attention is paid to a recently proposed range sensor using dynamic speckles generated by a fast-deflecting laser beam. It is shown that this sensor possesses the best combination of accuracy and response time.
  • Content Type Journal Article
  • Category Regular Papers
  • DOI 10.1007/s10043-009-0027-2
  • Authors
    • Alexei A. Kamshilin, University of Kuopio Department of Physics P.O.

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