Orthogonal Polarization Directions Research Articles

Photonic joint radar and communication system using a chirp-polarity coded LFM waveform

A photonic joint radar and communication system using a frequency improved, bandwidth doubled, chirp-polarity coded linear frequency modulation (LFM) waveform is proposed and demonstrated. In the scheme, a dual-polarization modulator is driven by a repetitive LFM waveform and an RF signal to generate different optical sidebands in two orthogonal polarization directions. Then, the orthogonally polarized optical sidebands are filtered and polarization modulated to achieve chirp-polarity coding. The generated signal is employed to simultaneously perform dual functions. Both the radar echo and the communication reception are processed based on optical de-chirping. The approach is demonstrated by simulation. A chirp-polarity coded LFM waveform with central frequency of 24 GHz, bandwidth of 8 GHz, bit rate of 10 Mbit/s is generated and processed for dual functions. The radar range resolution, unambiguous range, and range-Doppler resolution are investigated. The optical demodulation of the communication is verified, and the speed improvement of communication is discussed.

The Most Sensitive SETI Observations Toward Barnard's Star with FAST

Search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has been mainly focused on nearby stars and their planets in recent years. Barnard’s star is the second closest star system to the Sun and the closest star in the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) observable sky which makes the minimum Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power required for a hypothetical radio transmitter from Barnard’s star to be detected by FAST telescope a mere 4.36 × 108 W. In this paper, we present the FAST telescope as the most sensitive instrument for radio SETI observations toward nearby star systems and conduct a series of observations to Barnard’s star (GJ 699). By applying the multibeam coincidence matching strategy on the FAST telescope, we search for narrow-band signals (∼Hz) in the frequency range of 1.05–1.45 GHz, and two orthogonal linear polarization directions are recorded. Despite finding no evidence of radio technosignatures in our series of observations, we have developed predictions regarding the hypothetical extraterrestrial intelligence signal originating from Barnard’s star. These predictions are based on the star’s physical properties and our observation strategy.

Flexible dynamic quantitative phase imaging based on division of focal plane polarization imaging technique.

This paper proposes a flexible and accurate dynamic quantitative phase imaging (QPI) method using single-shot transport of intensity equation (TIE) phase retrieval achieved by division of focal plane (DoFP) polarization imaging technique. By exploiting the polarization property of the liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM), two intensity images of different defocus distances contained in orthogonal polarization directions can be generated simultaneously. Then, with the help of the DoFP polarization imaging, these images can be captured with single exposure, enabling accurate dynamic QPI by solving the TIE. In addition, our approach gains great flexibility in defocus distance adjustment by adjusting the pattern loaded on the LC-SLM. Experiments on microlens array, phase plate, and living human gastric cancer cells demonstrate the accuracy, flexibility, and dynamic measurement performance for various objects. The proposed method provides a simple, flexible, and accurate approach for real-time QPI without sacrificing the field of view.

Mechanical Properties and Toughening Mechanisms of Promising Zr-Y-Ta-O Composite Ceramics

ZrO2-YO1.5-TaO2.5 (ZYTO) composite ceramics are considered to be a candidate for next-generation thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) due to their excellent thermal stability and low thermal conductivity in high temperatures; however, the mechanical properties and fracture toughness of the ZYTO system may be shortcomings compared with 7-8YSZ: the traditional TBC. In this study, ZYTO composite ceramics were successfully prepared by chemical coprecipitation reaction, and the microstructure of resulting composites was studied as a function of the doping of M-YTaO4. Mechanical properties, including the density, porosity, hardness and Young’s modulus, were all determinate; the toughening mechanism was verified by the crack growth behavior of the Vickers indentation test. The results suggest that M-YTaO4 refined the fluorite phase grain and strengthened the grain interface in the composite ceramic. The thermal mismatch between the second phase and matrix produced residual stress in the bulk and affected the crack propagation behavior. With the increase in M-YTaO4 doping, the grain coarsening and ferroelastic domains were observed in the experiments. The ferroelastic domains with orthogonal polarization directions near the crack tip evidenced the ferroelastic toughening mechanism. The competition among these crack behaviors, such as crack deflection, bridging and bifurcation, dominated the actual fracture toughness of the composite. The best toughening formula was determined in the two-phase region, and the highest indentation fracture toughness was about 42 J/m2, which was very close to 7-8YSZ’s 45 ± 5 J/m2.

Modulating anti-dark vector bisolitons

Theoretical simulations about modulating anti-dark vector bisolitons are reported in this manuscript. The modulation bases on an optical fiber modulation system, and four kinds of soliton parameters are considered for variation. The input central wavelengths in orthogonal polarization directions are assumed to be same or slightly different, corresponding to polarization locked state or group-velocity locked state. The modulated pulse shapes or optical spectra at output port will show their own characteristics, depending on different modulation parameters. For example, modulated bisolitons in orthogonal directions demonstrate obvious pulse oscillations when projection angle varies, in the condition of different central wavelengths. These simulations are useful to study modulating optical fiber vector bisolitons out of fiber laser oscillator, and have potential applications in optical fiber vector soliton communication, quantum information processing and so on.

Multibeam Blind Search of Targeted SETI Observations toward 33 Exoplanet Systems with FAST

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is to search for technosignatures associated with extraterrestrial life, such as engineered radio signals. In this paper, we apply the multibeam coincidence matching (MBCM) strategy, and propose a new search mode based on the MBCM which we call the MBCM blind search mode. In our recent targeted SETI research, 33 exoplanet systems are observed by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). With this blind search mode, we search for narrowband drifting signals across 1.05–1.45 GHz in two orthogonal linear polarization directions separately. There are two special signals, one of which can only be detected by the blind search mode while the other can be found by both blind and targeted search modes. This result reveals huge advantages of the new blind search mode. However, we eliminate the possibility of the special signals being ETI signals based on much evidence, such as the polarization, drift, frequency, and beam coverage characteristics. Our observations achieve an unprecedented sensitivity and our work provides a deeper understanding to the polarization analysis of extraterrestrial signals.

Anisotropic exciton–polaritons in 2D single-crystalline PEA2PbBr4 perovskites at room temperature

Two-dimensional (2D) single-crystalline perovskites are a suitable material for investigating the strong exciton–photon interaction due to the large exciton binding energy. Here, we grow high-quality 2D single-crystalline PEA2PbBr4 thin film in situ in between a pair of distributed Bragg reflectors and construct an anisotropic exciton–polariton microcavity. Clear evidence for strong exciton–photon coupling is observed and represented by a large coupling strength of 211.8 meV. The observed transverse electric–transverse magnetic splitting at the point where the in-plane wave vector is zero indicates crystal birefringence. The effective refractive indices for these two orthogonal polarization directions are derived to have a large difference, corresponding to a material index difference of 0.28, and then an in-plane refractive index ellipse is built for the material. This work shows that the 2D anisotropic perovskite microcavity can not only behave as a platform for characterizing the anisotropic properties of a material but also as a promising room-temperature polaritonic device.

The Event Horizon Telescope Image of the Quasar NRAO 530

We report on the observations of the quasar NRAO 530 with the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) on 2017 April 5−7, when NRAO 530 was used as a calibrator for the EHT observations of Sagittarius A*. At z = 0.902, this is the most distant object imaged by the EHT so far. We reconstruct the first images of the source at 230 GHz, at an unprecedented angular resolution of ∼20 μas, both in total intensity and in linear polarization (LP). We do not detect source variability, allowing us to represent the whole data set with static images. The images reveal a bright feature located on the southern end of the jet, which we associate with the core. The feature is linearly polarized, with a fractional polarization of ∼5%–8%, and it has a substructure consisting of two components. Their observed brightness temperature suggests that the energy density of the jet is dominated by the magnetic field. The jet extends over 60 μas along a position angle ∼ −28°. It includes two features with orthogonal directions of polarization (electric vector position angle), parallel and perpendicular to the jet axis, consistent with a helical structure of the magnetic field in the jet. The outermost feature has a particularly high degree of LP, suggestive of a nearly uniform magnetic field. Future EHT observations will probe the variability of the jet structure on microarcsecond scales, while simultaneous multiwavelength monitoring will provide insight into the high-energy emission origin.

A Single-Layer Circularly Polarized Reflectarray Antenna with High Aperture Efficiency for Microwave Power Transmission

In this article, a single-layer circularly polarized reflectarray antenna (RA) with a linearly polarized feed is proposed for microwave power transmission. The unit cell of the reflectarray is composed of a rectangular patch surrounded by four groups of E-shaped structures, which feature a very low level of cross-polarization. Simulation results demonstrate that the phase of its reflection coefficient can be tuned continuously in a range of 500° by adjusting the lengths of the E-shaped structures. In response to a normally incident plane wave, the phase values of the reflection coefficient associated with two orthogonal linear polarization directions of the reflected wave can be tuned independently, which makes it possible to convert a linearly polarized incident wave to a circularly polarized beam. A reflectarray with 15 × 15 unit cells is fabricated and tested. The measurement results demonstrate a 3-dB axial ratio bandwidth of more than 2 GHz around the center frequency of 5.8 GHz. The measured gain value of the fabricated reflectarray is 25.4 dBi, corresponding to an aperture efficiency of 52.5%.

Three-Dimensional Broadband Electric Field Sensor Based on Integrated Lithium Niobate on Insulator

A three-dimensional (3D) electric field sensing scheme is proposed and experimentally demonstrated based on an integrated lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) platform. The 3D measurement is realized by packing three LNOI-based sensor chips in a triangular-prism-type clamp. For each sensor chip, the optical waveguide has an asymmetrical Michelson interferometer architecture, and the tapered dipole antenna is inclined to the optical waveguide. By finely placing the three sensor chips in the clamp, the three pairs of inclined tapered dipole antennas are mutually orthogonal and can be applied to measure the electric field in three orthogonal polarization directions. The volume of the packaged 3D sensor is 9.5 cm3. In the experiment, a flat response in the frequency range of 10 MHz to 3 GHz is demonstrated. In addition, a 3 × 3 response calibration matrix is obtained and utilized to reduce the measurement error. After calibration, the relative measurement error of the electric field amplitude is smaller than 5.1% for every polarization direction.

Experimental investigation of degree of cross-polarization for an electromagnetic Gaussian-Schell model beam.

We investigate the properties of the degree of cross-polarization (DOCP) for an electromagnetic Gaussian-Schell model (EMGSM) beam in the radial direction of the cross section of the beam. The coherence and polarization features of a partially coherent light beam are engineered to construct the isotropic and non-isotropic EMGSM beams, and the resulting changes in the DOCP are examined. For experimental realization, a double-slit interferometer is utilized at the output to probe the coherence properties for different polarization components across the beam diameter of an electromagnetic source. Experimental observations infer that variation in DOCP does not become apparent for isotropic coherence widths in the orthogonal polarization directions, whereas the variation can be apparent only once both the coherence widths are distinct. Furthermore, experimentally, a special case is also investigated for which the value of DOCP goes beyond unity. The DOCP finds application in areas such as second-order intensity interference, imaging, and characterization of non-homogeneously polarized beams.

Photonic Generation of a Windowed Phase-Coded Microwave Waveform With Suppressed Spectrum Sidelobes

An approach to photonic generation of a windowed binary phase-coded microwave waveform with suppressed spectrum sidelobes is proposed and demonstrated. An optical double sideband plus carrier signal with the carrier and the two sidebands being orthogonally polarized is generated by a dual-polarization quadrature phase shift keying (DP-QPSK) modulator, with the generated signal sent to a phase modulator (PM) where phase coding is performed. The PM can support phase modulation in two orthogonal polarization directions. The phase-modulated signals are projected to one polarization direction and detected at a photodetector (PD). Switching the polarity of the coding signal, a π phase shift is introduced. Since the amplitude of the generated signal is dependent on the amplitude of the input coding signal, a windowing function is applied to the generated waveform by using a windowed input phase coding signal, to suppress the sidelobes in the spectrum of the generated microwave waveform. The key features of the proposed waveform generator include all-optical generation without the need of electronic components and optical filters, thus ensuring a wide operating frequency range. The proposed phase-coded microwave waveform generator also has the ability to switch between the fundamental and harmonic carrier frequency by controlling the modulator bias voltages. Experimental results show that, using a windowed 64-bit Gaussian pseudo-random binary sequence coding signal, a phase-coded microwave waveform is generated with the sidelobes of the spectrum largely suppressed by 20 dB and a pulse compression ratio as large as 133. Generation of binary phase-coded microwave waveforms at the 2nd harmonic carrier frequencies is also demonstrated experimentally.

Planar Pattern Manipulation Surfaces Using Dual-Polarized Pin-Loaded Patch Resonating Elements

This article proposes a novel design concept to realize planar pattern manipulation surfaces (PPMSs) using dual-polarized pin-loaded patch resonating elements. First, the resonant frequency and reflection coefficient of the pin-loaded patch element are investigated through its equivalent circuit model. By changing the positions of shorting pins, the reflection phase of such a patch element can be appropriately adjusted while maintaining the reflection magnitude unchanged. Additionally, varying the positions of shorting pins possesses a significant property of polarization independence. Then, the dual-polarized pin-loaded patch element is employed to design the proposed PPMS. In this way, the incident wave is manipulated for different reflection angles with the dual-polarization response by adjusting the position distributions of shorting pins in two orthogonal polarization directions. To prove our presented design concept, two prototypes with reflection angles of ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta ^{r} = 45^{\circ }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> , <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\phi ^{r} = 0^{\circ }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) and ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta ^{r} = 45^{\circ }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> , <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\phi ^{r} = 45^{\circ }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) are finally implemented, fabricated, and measured. Measurements and calculations agree well with each other, which indicates that the reflection angle is experimentally obtained as predicted in theory. Thus, the proposed PPMS can be apparently viewed as a promising candidate to efficiently customize the radio environment in future wireless networks.

Sensitive Multibeam Targeted SETI Observations toward 33 Exoplanet Systems with FAST

As a major approach to looking for life beyond the Earth, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is committed to searching for technosignatures such as engineered radio signals that are indicative of technologically capable life. In this paper, we report a targeted SETI campaign employing an observation strategy named multibeam coincidence matching at the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope toward 33 known exoplanet systems, searching for ETI narrowband drifting signals across 1.05–1.45 GHz in two orthogonal linear polarization directions separately. A signal at 1140.604 MHz detected from the observation toward Kepler-438 originally piqued our interest because its features are roughly consistent with assumed ETI technosignatures. However, evidences such as its polarization characteristics are able to eliminate the possibility of an extraterrestrial origin. Our observations achieve an unprecedented sensitivity because the minimum equivalent isotropic radiated power we are able to detect reaches 1.48 × 109 W.

Surface plasmon polariton phase retrieval via nanoscale surface roughness induced cross-polarization scattering

This article demonstrates an elegant method for experimental retrieval of the buried phase information of optical phenomena at metallic-dielectric interfaces, especially surface plasmon polaritons (SPP), employing a model explicitly based on roughness-induced cross-polarization scattering. This inherent roughness of the interfaces within typical SPP Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) setups leads to two interlinked phenomena: Angular broadening and cross-polarization scattering. The microscopic interface features generate altered polarization vectors which are comparably weak but, because of their orthogonal polarization direction, appreciable within the specularly reflected light. The information contained in this s-polarized light enables us to retrieve the phase information of SPPs through the interference model of cross-polarization scattering described here. On that basis, this article demonstrates the retrieval of phase shifts for multiple silver thicknesses of SPPs generated within an ATR geometry. Additionally, the method permits the evaluation of surface roughness parameters, characterization of the angular broadening of reflection, and determination of the thicknesses of the metallic layers.

Z+: Neutron cross section separation from wide-angle uniaxial polarization analysis.

We introduce a simple method to extract the nuclear coherent and isotope incoherent, spin incoherent, and magnetic neutron scattering cross section components from powder scattering data measured using a single neutron beam polarization direction and a position-sensitive detector with large out-of-plane coverage. The method draws inspiration from polarized small-angle neutron scattering and contrasts with conventional so-called "xyz" polarization analysis on wide-angle instruments, which requires measurements with three orthogonal polarization directions. The viability of the method is demonstrated on both simulated and experimental data for the classical "spin ice" system Ho2Ti2O7, the latter from the LET direct geometry spectrometer at the ISIS facility. The cross section components can be reproduced with good fidelity by either fitting the out-of-plane angle dependence around a Debye-Scherrer cone or grouping the data by angle and performing a matrix inversion. The limitations of the method and its practical uses are discussed.

Designing high efficiency asymmetric polarization converter for blue light: a deep reinforcement learning approach.

Conventional polarization converters selectively preserve the required polarization state by absorbing, reflecting or refracting light with unwanted polarization state, leading to a theoretical transmittance limit of 0.5 for linearly polarized light with unpolarized light incidence. In the meanwhile, due to the high-dimensional structure parameters and time-consuming numerical simulations, designing a converter with satisfactory performance is extremely difficult and closely relies on human experts' experiences and manual intervention. To address these open issues, in this paper, we first propose an asymmetric polarization converter which shows both high transmittance for one linearly polarized light and high transmittance for the orthogonal linearly polarized light with 90° rotation in blue wavelength region. To maximize the performance of the proposed structure, a deep reinforcement learning approach is further proposed to search for the optimal set of structure parameters. To avoid overly long training time by using the numerical simulations as environment, a deep neural network is proposed to serve as the surrogate model, where a prediction accuracy of 96.6% and 95.5% in two orthogonal polarization directions is achieved with micro-second grade simulation time respectively. With the optimized structure, the average transmittance is larger than 0.5 for the wavelength range from 444 to 466 nm with a maximum of 0.605 at 455 nm, which is 21% higher than the theoretical limit of 0.5 of conventional polarization converters.

A Survey of Ternary Optical Computer Research

Abstract TOC, as a new type of computer, uses the state of light: it uses the non light state and two polarized light states with orthogonal polarization directions to represent information, and uses a rotator and polarizer to change the three light states, thus completing ternary logic operations. This new type of computer has the advantages of numerous processor bits, independent use of processor bits in groups, and reconfigurable computing functions of processor bits; After more than 20 years of development, we have achieved fruitful results. In this paper, the research progress of ternary optical computer is comprehensively and thoroughly analyzed and summarized, from the concept of TOC theory to the kilobit processor being studied so far. Firstly, the theory of ternary optical computer is summarized. Secondly, according to the core theory of ternary optical computer and the achievements that have been made, ternary optical computer has also made some progress in software and data calculation, such as operation result file generation software, addition routine, multiplication routine, etc. Finally, the future research directions of ternary optical computer are analyzed and prospected. Firstly, the structure of ternary optical computer is introduced, and the existing research results are summarized. Finally, the future research directions of ternary optical computer are analyzed and prospected.

Dynamic wavefront measurement with a point diffraction interferometer based on birefringence polarization beam splitting.

In this study, we proposed a point diffraction interferometer based on birefringence polarization beam splitting (BPBS-PDI) for transmission wavefront measurements. Using the polarization beam splitting property of birefringent crystals and a specially designed calcite crystal as a polarization beam splitter, two beams of linearly polarized light with orthogonal polarization directions and a small angular separation can be obtained to produce the reference and test beams with perpendicular polarization directions through a pinhole point diffraction plate. By introducing spatial synchronization phase-shifting technology, influencing factors such as environmental vibrations on the measurement results, are reduced. Subsequently, the birefringent crystal and system error calibration methods were studied. Finally, a BPBS-PDI experimental device was set up to obtain the wavefront distribution of the lens to be tested. The experimental results are consistent with those of the ZYGO interferometer, indicating that the BPBS-PDI wavefront measurement method can be used to measure a lens transmission wavefront with high accuracy.

Spin pumping in noncollinear antiferromagnets

The ac spin pumping of noncollinear antiferromagnets is theoretically investigated. Starting from an effective action description of the spin system, we derive the Onsager coefficients connecting the spin pumping and spin-transfer torque associated with the dynamics of the SO(3)-valued antiferromagnetic order parameter. Our theory is applied to a kagome antiferromagnet resonantly driven by a uniform external magnetic field. We demonstrate that the reactive (dissipative) spin-transfer torque parameter can be extracted from the pumped ac spin current in-phase (in quadrature) with the driving field. Furthermore, we find that the three spin-wave bands of the kagome AF generate spin currents with mutually orthogonal polarization directions. This offers a unique way of controlling the spin orientation of the pumped spin current by exciting different spin-wave modes.