Modulated Laser Light Research Articles

Fiber-optic trace gas sensing based on graphite excited photoacoustic wave

A fiber-optic trace gas sensing system based on photoacoustic (PA) effect of solids is reported. The modulated laser light absorbed by the gas is incident on a graphite sheet. The graphite sheet and cantilever are enclosed together to form an optical power detector based on PA effect of solids. This scheme is different from the traditional PA trace gas detection, achieving the separation of the gas chamber and the PA detector, thereby isolating the interference of airflow and environmental noise. In addition, due to the large size of the graphite sheet, the laser incident on the graphite sheet does not need to be converged through a lens, which makes it much easier to adjust the optical path. The PA pressure wave generated by the graphite sheet leads to the vibration of the optical interferometric cantilever. A fiber-optic white-light interferometer is used for high-resolution cantilever readout to detect the PA signal generated by solid excitations. The trace acetylene gas is used to verify the system performance. The experimental results indicate that when the averaging time is 100 s, the minimum detection limit (MDL) is 24 ppb. The normalized noise equivalent absorption (NNEA) coefficient of the designed PA system is 5.4×10−9 cm−1·W·Hz−1/2. This gas sensing system has the characteristics of intrinsic safety and high sensitivity, which can realize remote measurement of corrosive, flammable and explosive gases.

Quantum biology in regenerative medicine

This review explores the potential of Quantum Biology in the understanding of the activation of hVSEL stem cells using a QiLaserTM. There is a focus on the quantum mechanics of the interaction of modulated laser light from the QiLaserTM on the hVSEL stem cell surface antigen CXCR4-EPI-X4 complex. Understanding cell biology and the action of the QiLaserTM at the quantum level may allow significant advances in physiology, pathology and treatment.

TaSe2 nanosheets for harmonic mode-locked fiber laser

• It is the first time to achieved a harmonic mode-locking fiber laser based on TaSe 2 . • 128th harmonic mode-locked pulses at 908.8 MHz repetition rate are stably generated. • The work provides a new solution for generating high repetition frequency pulses. Passively harmonic mode locking of an erbium-doped fiber laser based on TaSe 2 nanosheets saturable absorber (SA) is demonstrated. The TaSe 2 nanosheets are prepared by the liquid phase exfoliation technology and then deposited onto side surface of a D-shaped fiber to form a fiber-compatible TaSe 2 SA. The balanced twin-detector method is utilized to measure nonlinear absorption characterization of the fabricated SA, which gives saturable absorption, nonsaturable absorption, and saturation intensity as 5.49%, 24.6%, and 89.2 MW/cm 2 , respectively. Then, TaSe 2 SA is inserted into a passively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser, and the fiber laser is demonstrated with a fundamental frequency of 7.1 MHz. By adjusting the polarization controller and pump power, harmonic mode-locking operation is realized. As the pump power increases to 380 mw, 128th harmonic mode-locked pulses at 908.8 MHz repetition rate are stably generated. The results confirm that TaSe 2 is indeed a very desirable photonic material, which can be used in photonics, fiber optic communication, laser material processing and light modulators.

Effect asymmetry of diffraction efficiency in LC cells with different command surfaces

We report the new results on the measurements of diffraction efficiency in liquid crystal (LC) cells with different orienting surfaces in the presence of a DC electric field. Diffraction gratings were recorded in combined cells with E7 liquid crystal. We used LC cells with thickness of ∼10 µm. Gold nanoparticles, chalcogenide and ITO nano-surfaces were used as command surfaces. Diffraction gratings were formed during irradiation of LC cells by 2-beam spatially modulated laser light (λ = 532 nm) with linear p-polarization in experiments of two-wave mixing. As a result, we found an asymmetry in the diffraction efficiency of the recorded gratings in different cells, which depends on the type of command surface and the polarity of applied voltage. The obtained results are appropriately described in the terms of surface-induced photorefractive mechanism, when a diffraction grating arises due to the formation of an unstable charge in pure liquid crystal. We believe that unstable charge depends on a surface on which different types of charge carriers are excited by light.

Two-tone Doppler cooling of radial two-dimensional crystals in a radio-frequency ion trap

We study the Doppler-cooling of radial two-dimensional (2D) Coulomb crystals of trapped barium ions in a radiofrequency trap. Ions in radial 2D crystals experience micromotion of an amplitude that increases linearly with the distance from the trap center, leading to a position-dependent frequency modulation of laser light in each ion's rest frame. We use two tones of Doppler-cooling laser light separated by approximately 100 MHz to efficiently cool distinct regions in the crystals with differing amplitudes of micromotion. This technique allows us to trap and cool more than 50 ions populating four shells in a radial 2D crystal, where with a single tone of Doppler cooling light we are limited to 30 ions in three shells. We also individually characterize the micromotion of all ions within the crystals and use this information to locate the center of the trap and to determine the Matthieu parameters ${q}_{x}$ and ${q}_{y}$.

Acoustic Steering Using Thermally Induced Optical Reflection of Sound (THORS)

Using the recently discovered THermally induced Optical Reflection of Sound (THORS) phenomenon, it is possible to generate optically induced, local density barriers in air by the absorption of intense, modulated laser light (the THORS phenomenon), which results in abrupt differences in compressibility of the air at these barriers that can efficiently reflect incident acoustic waves. In this note, we demonstrate the ability to optically manipulate and reflect acoustic waves in air as well as optimize the functional parameters (optical modulation and acoustic frequency) and characterize the effects of common physical parameters, including localized thermal gradients and incident angle of reflection on the efficiency of the resulting acoustic reflection. Finally, the ability to efficiently steer acoustic waves around a physical obstruction using THORS is also demonstrated.

Control and readout of a superconducting qubit using a photonic link.

Delivering on the revolutionary promise of a universal quantum computer will require processors with millions of quantum bits (qubits)1-3. In superconducting quantum processors4, each qubit is individually addressed with microwave signal lines that connect room-temperature electronics to the cryogenic environment of the quantum circuit. The complexity and heat load associated with the multiple coaxial lines per qubit limits the maximum possible size of a processor to a few thousand qubits5. Here we introduce a photonic link using an optical fibre to guide modulated laser light from room temperature to a cryogenic photodetector6, capable of delivering shot-noise-limited microwave signals directly at millikelvin temperatures. By demonstrating high-fidelity control and readout of a superconducting qubit, we show that this photonic link can meet the stringent requirements of superconducting quantum information processing7. Leveraging the low thermal conductivity and large intrinsic bandwidth of optical fibre enables the efficient and massively multiplexed delivery of coherent microwave control pulses, providing a path towards a million-qubit universal quantum computer.

In2Se3 nanosheets for harmonic mode-locked fiber laser

Two-dimensional materials with a sheet structure have excellent optical, electrical and mechanical properties, and have attracted much attention in recent years, especially In2Se3 (the N-type semiconductor compound), which has a rapid development in the fields of materials science and optical communication. In this paper, the nonlinear saturation absorption characteristics of In2Se3 are studied. The In2Se3 nanosheet dispersion can be used in ultrafast photonics applications. The nonlinear absorption is measured by power dependent method, and the modulation depth and saturation intensity are 3.8% and 246.6 MW cm−2, respectively. More importantly, In2Se3 is used as a saturable absorber (SA) in a passively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser. The proposed mode-locked fiber laser is demenstrated with a center wavelength of 1529.4 nm, a fundamental frequency of 5.9 MHz, a spectral width of 3.96 nm, a pulse width of 1.38 ps, and a signal-to-noise ratio of 55 dB. For the first time, harmonic mode-locking with a high-repetition rate of 431 MHz is achieved when the pump power is 360 mW corresponding to 73rd-order harmonic mode locking. It can be seen that In2Se3 is indeed a new excellent photonic material, which can be used in fiber optic communication, SAs photonics, laser material processing and light modulators.

Tunable Microlasers Modulated by Intracavity Spherical Confinement with Chiral Liquid Crystal

AbstractManipulation of laser emission offers promising opportunities for the generation of new spatial dimensions and applications, particularly in nanophotonics, super‐resolution imaging, and data transfer devices. However, the ability to control laser modes and wavelength in a microcavity remains challenging. Here, a novel approach is demonstrated to control laser modes by manipulating the 3D‐optical confinement, chirality, and orientations in a Fabry−Pérot microcavity with cholesteric liquid crystal droplets. Different configurations of intracavity micro‐/nanostructures generate versatile dimensions of laser modes, while the significantly reduced laser mode volume further leads to single‐mode lasing. Theoretical analysis is carried out to support this interesting discovery. Finally, switchable lasing wavelength with various surface anchoring forces and pH interactions is demonstrated. This novel concept not only provides a simple yet highly versatile method to manipulate laser emissions, but deepens insight into how molecules interact with and modulate laser light, laying the foundation for the development of tunable photonic devices at the molecular level. Promising applications include highly selective laser devices, laser‐emission imaging, and bioinspired sensing.

Combined modulation of incident laser light by multiple surface scratches and their effects on the laser damage properties of KH2PO4 crystal.

Manufacturing-induced surface defects are deemed as a potential source, leading the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of the actual KDP crystal optics to be much lower than the intrinsic one. However, the underlying mechanisms have not been fully recognized. We explore the combined modulation of incident laser light by multiple scratches and their effects on laser damage performance of KDP optics by modeling the light intensifications and performing a laser damage test. Under the combined modulation of multiple scratches, enhanced hot spots are generated due to the focusing effects of convex lens profiles surrounded by the neighboring scratches. The combined modulation actions are much stronger than that of a single scratch. The relative light intensities (IRs) caused by multiple scratches can reach up to two times, and the number of hot spots (IPs) are four times as large as those by a single scratch. The IRs exhibit a general, increasing tendency as the scratch density increases. But for the case of double total reflections of rear-surface scratches, the totally reflected lights are transmitted through neighboring scratches, resulting in decreasing tendency of IRs. The tested LIDTs and optical transmittances of multiple scratches present a gradual, decreasing tendency with the increase of scratch density, which agrees with the simulation results. Besides, the simulated light intensifications could well explain the locations of laser damage, which further verify the role of multiple scratches in lowering the laser damage resistance.

Photo-activated raster scanning thermal imaging at sub-diffraction resolution

Active thermal imaging is a valuable tool for the nondestructive characterization of the morphological properties and the functional state of biological tissues and synthetic materials. However, state-of-the-art techniques do not typically combine the required high spatial resolution over extended fields of view with the quantification of temperature variations. Here, we demonstrate quantitative far-infrared photo-thermal imaging at sub-diffraction resolution over millimeter-sized fields of view. Our approach combines the sample absorption of modulated raster-scanned laser light with the automated localization of the laser-induced temperature variations imaged by a thermal camera. With temperature increments ∼0.5–5 °C, we achieve a six-time gain with respect to our 350-μm diffraction-limited resolution with proof-of-principle experiments on synthetic samples. We finally demonstrate the biological relevance of sub-diffraction thermal imaging by retrieving temperature-based super-resolution maps of the distribution of Prussian blue nanocubes across explanted murine skin biopsies.

Novel nonlinear optical push\u2013pull fluorene dyes chromophore as promising materials for telecommunications

Two principally novel chromophores A, B based on fluorene electron donor were synthesized and explored by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and MS spectra. The delocalized energy levels have been estimated by UV–Vis absorption spectra. The principal innovation consists in modification by addition of amino group. The titled materials have demonstrated a high solubility in common organic solvents, good compatibility with polymers. The maximally achieved electro-optic efficiency of the poled film possessing 25 wt% of A doped in PMMA (25 wt% A/PMMA) achieved a value of 18 pm/V at wavelength 1310 nm, and 25 wt% B/PMMA possessed an electrooptical coefficient equal to 43 pm/V. This one open a perspective of their direct application in optoelectronic telecommunication devices for laser light modulation.

28‐4: Fabrication and Operation of an Energy‐Harvesting Color Projector

We have fabricated a 50mm x 50mm x 10mm waveguide that contained an array of stripe‐shaped luminescent materials for three primary colors. By exciting these stripes with a modulated blue laser light, color images are displayed. Solar cells attached to its edge surface generate electric power by collecting photoluminescence photons not utilized for displaying images. The first device recovers only a very small fraction of the incoming optical power (about 1/4000) because the photons are scattered and lost during wave‐guiding. This fraction would approach the theoretical limit of 0.75 by eliminating the scattering event.

Superbunching pseudothermal light with intensity modulated laser light and rotating groundglass

Pseudothermal light by scattering laser light from rotating groundglass has been extensively applied to study optical coherence in both classical and quantum optics since its invention in the 1960s. In this paper, we will show that by replacing the intensity invariant laser light in pseudothermal light source with intensity modulated laser light, superbunching pseudothermal light can be obtained. Two-photon superbunching is experimentally observed by employing common instruments in optical laboratory. Two-photon interference in Feynman’s path integral theory is employed to interpret the results. The proposed superbunching pseudothermal light is helpful to understand the physics of two-photon bunching and superbunching.

Performance Analysis of Free Space Optical Link Under Various Attenuation Effects

Free Space Optics (FSO) is useful where a fiber optic cable is impractical. It is similar to fiber optic communications in that data is transmitted by modulated laser light. Instead of containing the pulses of light with in a glass fiber, these are transmitted in a narrow beam through the atmosphere. This article discusses the main architectural details of the FSO communication system.. The major FSO Parameters discussed are wavelength selection, features of different wavelength windows and optical channel model. The article investigates the Performance of Free Space Optical Link under Various Attenuation Effects like rain, fog using Optiwave.

Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser sources for gigahertz-bandwidth, multiwavelength frequency-domain photon migration.

.Frequency-domain photon migration (FDPM) uses modulated laser light to measure the bulk optical properties of turbid media and is increasingly applied for noninvasive functional medical imaging in the near-infrared. Although semiconductor edge-emitting laser diodes have been traditionally used as miniature light sources for this application, we show that vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) exhibit output power and modulation performance characteristics suitable for FDPM measurements of tissue optical properties at modulation frequencies exceeding 1 GHz. We also show that an array of multiple VCSEL devices can be coherently modulated at frequencies suitable for FDPM and can improve optical power. In addition, their small size and simple packaging make them an attractive choice as components in wearable sensors and clinical FDPM-based optical spectroscopy systems. We demonstrate the benefits of VCSEL technology by fabricating and testing a unique, compact VCSEL-based optical probe with an integrated avalanche photodiode. We demonstrate sensitivity of the VCSEL-based probe to subcutaneous tissue hemodynamics that was induced during an arterial cuff occlusion of the upper arm in a human subject.

Accurate control of optoelectronic amplitude to phase noise conversion in photodetection of ultra-fast optical pulses.

When illuminating a photodiode with modulated laser light, optical intensity fluctuations of the incident beam are converted into phase fluctuations of the output electrical signal. This amplitude to phase noise conversion (APC) thus imposes a stringent constraint on the relative intensity noise (RIN) of the laser carrier when dealing with ultra-low phase noise microwave generation. Although the APC vanishes under certain conditions, it exhibits random fluctuations preventing efficient long-term passive stabilization schemes. In this paper, we present a digital coherent modulation-demodulation system for automatic measurement and control of the APC of a photodetector. The system is demonstrated in the detection of ultra-short optical pulses with an InGaAs photodetector and enables stable generation of ultra-low phase noise microwave signals with RIN rejection beyond 50 dB. This simple system can be used in various optoelectronic schemes, making photodetection virtually insensitive to the RIN of the lasers. We utilize this system to investigate the impact of the radiofrequency (RF) transmission line at the output of the photodetector on the APC coefficient that can affect the accuracy of the measurement in certain cases.

Electro-optic modulation of a laser at microwave frequencies for interferometric purposes.

A multi-point microwave interferometer (MPMI) concept was previously proposed by the authors for spatially-resolved, non-invasive tracking of a shock, reaction, or detonation front in energetic media [P. Specht et al., AIP Conf. Proc. 1793, 160010 (2017).]. The advantage of the MPMI concept over current microwave interferometry techniques is its detection of Doppler shifted microwave signals through electro-optic (EO) modulation of a laser. Since EO modulation preserves spatial variations in the Doppler shift, collecting the EO modulated laser light into a fiber array for recording with an optical heterodyne interferometer yields spatially-resolved velocity information. This work demonstrates the underlying physical principle of the MPMI diagnostic: the monitoring of a microwave signal with nanosecond temporal resolution using an optical heterodyne interferometer. For this purpose, the MPMI concept was simplified to a single-point construction using two tunable 1550 nm lasers and a 35.2 GHz microwave source. A (110) ZnTe crystal imparted the microwave frequency onto a laser, which was combined with a reference laser for determination of the microwave frequency in an optical heterodyne interferometer. A single, characteristic frequency associated with the microwave source was identified in all experiments, providing a means to monitor a microwave signal on nanosecond time scales. Lastly, areas for improving the frequency resolution of this technique are discussed, focusing on increasing the phase-modulated signal strength.

Laser diagnostics for urea-water solution spray characterization

In this study, we summarize the laser techniques used for urea-water solution (UWS) spray characterization at the Institute of Heat Engineering (ITC), Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering at Warsaw University of Technology. In presented studies several techniques for both, global and local spray characterization were used. Shadowgraphy-based long distance microscopy was used to visualize individual droplets and primary breakup. High speed imaging of Mie scattering (scattering on the gas-liquid interface) signal was used for global spray characterization. Combination of LIF (Laser Induced Fluorescence) and Mie scattering allowed to determine qualitative droplet size distribution across the whole spray cloud. The structured illumination technique used to modulate laser light sheet allowed to minimize the effects of multiple scattering in detection of Mie signal, what indicated huge potential of this technique in characterization of UWS sprays. The results presented here prove the importance of laser diagnostics in SCR systems development.

선형 레이저 광 영상기반 다면 3차원 스캐너

In light of recently developed 3D printers for rapid prototyping, there is increasing attention on the 3D scanner as a 3D data acquisition system for an existing object. This paper presents a prototypical 3D scanner based on a striped laser light image. In order to solve the problem of shadowy areas, the proposed 3D scanner has two cameras with one laser light source. By using a horizontal rotation table and a rotational arm rotating about the latitudinal axis, the scanner is able to scan in all directions. To remove an additional optical filter for laser light pixel extraction of an image, we have adopted a differential image method with laser light modulation. Experimental results show that the scanner’s 3D data acquisition performance exhibited less than 0.2 mm of measurement error. Therefore, this scanner has proven that it is possible to reconstruct an object’s 3D surface from point cloud data using a 3D scanner, enabling reproduction of the object using a commercially available 3D printer.