Stable Light Source Research Articles

Compact and High-Power Mode-Locked Fiber Laser for Three-Dimensional Optical Memory

We developed a compact and high-power mode-locked fiber laser for three-dimensional optical memory. Fiber lasers have the potential to be compact and stable light sources that can replace bulk solid-state lasers. To generate high-power pulses, we used stretched-pulse mode locking. The average power and pulse width of the output pulse from the fiber laser that we developed were 109 mW and 2.1 ps, respectively. The dispersion of the output pulse was compensated with an external single-mode fiber of 2.5 m length. The pulse was compressed from 2.1 ps to 93 fs by dispersion compensation. The pulse emitted from this fiber laser has an energy sufficient to generate two photon recording effectively, so the fiber laser we have developed is possible to use as a light source of three-dimensional optical memory.

Design of Stable Single-Mode Chaotic Light Source Using Antiresonant Reflecting Optical Waveguide Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers

The influence of external optical feedback (EOFB) on the lasing characteristics of 1.55-mum antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide (ARROW) vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with various core radii are analyzed theoretically. It is found that ARROW VCSELs with large core radii (i.e., > 4 mum) respond more sensitively to EOFB than that with small core radii (i.e., les 4 mum). Furthermore, strong EOFB-driven ARROW VCSELs with large radii show more difficult to sustain single-mode chaotic oscillation than those with small radii. This is because radiation loss margin of ARROW reduces with the increase of core radii so that the presence of carrier spatial-hole burning deteriorates the stable single-mode operation of VCSELs. However, if the dimensions of ARROW as well as the radius of injection current aperture can be selected appropriately, stable single-mode chaotic light sources can be obtained from EOFB-driven ARROW VCSELs with large core radius.

A modified light transmission visualization method for DNAPL saturation measurements in 2-D models

In this research, a light transmission visualization (LTV) method was used to quantify dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPL) saturation in two-dimensional (2-D), two fluid phase systems. The method is an expansion of earlier LTV methods and takes into account both absorption and refraction light theories. Based on this method, DNAPL and water saturations can rapidly be obtained point wise across sand-packed 2-D flow chambers without the need to develop a calibration curve. A single point calibration step is, however, needed when dyed DNAPL is used to account for the change in the transmission factor at the dyed DNAPL–water interface. The method was applied to measure, for the first time, undyed DNAPL saturation in small 2-D chambers. Known amounts of DNAPL, modeled by tetrachloroethylene (PCE), were added to the chamber and these amounts were compared to results obtained by this LTV method. Strong correlation existed between results obtained based on this method and the known PCE amounts with an R 2 value of 0.993. Similar experiments conducted using dyed PCE showed a stronger correlation between results obtained by this LTV method and the known amounts of dyed PCE added to the chamber with an R 2 value of 0.999. The method was also used to measure dyed PCE saturation in a large 2-D model following sparging experiments. Results obtained from image analyses following each sparging event were compared to results obtained by two independent techniques, namely gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analyses and carbon column extraction. There was a good agreement between the results obtained by this LTV method and those obtained by the two independent techniques when experiments were carried out under stable light source conditions and errors in mass balance were minor. The method presented here can be expanded to measure fluid contents in three fluid phase systems and provide a non-destructive, non-intrusive tool to investigate changes in DNAPL architecture and flow characteristics in laboratory experiments.

Quality Control Studies of Wavelength Shifting Fibers for a Scintillator-Based Tail Catcher Muon Tracker for Linear Collider Prototype Detector

Detailed measurements of the wavelength shifting fiber response to a stable and reliable light source are presented. Particulars about materials, a double reference method, and measurement technique are included. The fibers studied were several hundred Kuraray, Y-11, multiclad, 1.2-mm outer diameter wavelength shifting fibers, each cut from a reel to about one meter length. The fibers were polished, mirrored, and the mirrors were UV epoxy protected. Each fiber passed quality control requirements before installation. About 94% of the fibers tested have a response within 1% of the overall mean

Toward 1% Photometry: End‐to‐End Calibration of Astronomical Telescopes and Detectors

We review the systematic uncertainties that have plagued attempts to obtain high precision and high accuracy from ground-based photometric measurements using CCDs. We identify two main challenges in breaking through the 1% precision barrier: 1) fully characterizing atmospheric transmission, along the instrument's line of sight, and 2) properly identifying, measuring and removing instrumental artifacts. We discuss approximations and limitations inherent in the present methodology, and we estimate their contributions to systematic photometric uncertainties. We propose an alternative conceptual scheme for the relative calibration of astronomical apparatus: the availability of calibrated detectors whose relative spectral sensitivity is known to better than one part in $10^3$ opens up the possibility of in situ relative throughput measurements, normalized to a precision calibrated detector, using a stable but uncalibrated narrowband light source. An implementation scheme is outlined, which exploits the availability of tunable lasers to map out the relative wavelength response of an imaging system, using a flatfield screen and a calibrated reference photodiode. The merits and limitations of this scheme are discussed. In tandem with careful measurements of atmospheric transmission, this approach could potentially lead to reliable ground-based photometry with fractional uncertainties below the percent level.

Output characteristics of a simple FP-LD/FBG module

We propose a simple laser diode module that consists of a Fabry–Perot laser diode (FP-LD) and a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) for a compact, stable and low-cost wavelength division multiplexing light source. The spectral bandwidth of the laser output from the FP-LD/FBG module was measured to be 0.024 nm. The side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) was 44.42 dB at the injected electric current of 14 mA and at 25 °C. Both the BER characteristics and the eye diagram were measured, and they confirmed that the present laser diode module could be used as an alternative configuration for a low-cost light source.

A High-Sensitivity Femtosecond to Microsecond Time-Resolved Infrared Vibrational Spectrometer

We describe an apparatus that provides, for the first time, a seamless bridge between femtosecond and microsecond time-resolved Raman and infrared vibrational spectroscopy. The laser system comprises an actively Q-switched sub-nanosecond pulsed kilohertz laser electronically synchronized to an ultrafast titanium sapphire regenerative amplifier to within 0.2 ns. The ultrafast amplifier provides the stable probe light source enabling high-sensitivity infrared vibrational spectroscopy of transients. Time-resolved infrared spectra of the excited-state relaxation dynamics of metal carbonyl compounds are presented to illustrate the capability of the apparatus, and transient data is resolved from 1 picosecond to over 100 microseconds. The results are compared to conventional nanosecond Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and laser based flash photolysis time-resolved infrared technology.

Bandwidth-Flexible WDM System Based on Homodyne Detection and Power Splitting Configuration

Conventional WDM systems multiplex channels with different signal bandwidths using fixed and equal channel spacing. As a result, their spectral efficiency is rather poor. If the wavelength and the bandwidth of each channel in a WDM system could be freely changed as needed, a variety of services with different signal bandwidths could be accommodated efficiently. This is expected to yield high spectral efficiency. For this purpose, this paper proposes a WDM optically amplified system that combines optical power splitting with homodyne detection; its use in three configurations, point to point, ring (center to remote nodes), and peer to peer, is described. Coherent optical systems generally need a frequency stable local light source in addition to a sending light source in each WDM channel. We improve cost effectiveness by proposing that the output of one light source be divided to yield the local light for frequency selection by homodyne detection and the sending light source whose output is externally modulated by transmission signal. In this configuration, the local light level is low to permit high levels of sending power. The key problem is how to get high SNR with limited low-level local lights. This paper derives the optimum receiving loss condition that can maximize the SNR with local light levels as low as -20 dBm for the point to point configuration. For the ring configuration, the system overcomes the optical power loss created by splitting numbers over 1,000 even if the local lights are as low as OdBm. The ring configuration can, therefore, flexibly accommodate many users and services. We also elucidate the relation between SNR and BER for DPSK homodyne detection in a bandwidth-flexible system.

Thermoreflectance based thermal microscope

Thermal images of active semiconductor devices are acquired and processed in real time using visible light thermoreflectance imaging with 34mK sensitivity. By using a 16×16 alternating current coupled photodiode array with synchronous frequency domain filtering a dynamic range of 123dB is achieved for 1s averaging. Thus with a stable and higher power light source, fundamentally the camera can reach 6mK sensitivity over a submicron area. The number of pixels in the image is increased to 160×160 by multiple frame image enhancement and submicron spatial resolution is achieved. The photodiode array system has a maximum 40kHz frame rate and generates a synchronous trigger for recovery of the phase signal. Amplitude and phase images of the thermoreflectance signal for 50×50 micron square active SiGe based microcoolers are presented.

Acousto-Optic Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy for Atmospheric Measurement of Nitrogen Dioxide in Hong Kong

Measurement of the atmospheric concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) pollutant was demonstrated by differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) using a visible acousto-optic tunable filter. In a traditional spectral scanning DOAS system for atmospheric concentration monitoring, a highly stable light source is required. When the light intensity fluctuates during scanning, the concentration retrieval will be inaccurate. In order to reduce the error due to intensity fluctuations, a modified DOAS system has been developed by introducing a broadband light intensity monitoring channel. Using the measured intensity of the broadband channel as the intensity of the light source, the spectrum can be de-biased and the residual intensity variation will primarily result from atmospheric extinction. In addition, by employing the lock-in detection technique, the background light interference is also removed in the modified DOAS system. The atmospheric NO(2) concentration measurement was performed at the campus of City University of Hong Kong, and the results were compared with the concentration reported from a nearby monitoring station in Sham Shui Po, operated by the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department.

Tuneable, stabilised diode lasers for compact atomic frequency standards and precision wavelength references

We describe the ongoing activities in Observatoire Cantonal de Neuchâtel in the fields of precision laser spectroscopy and metrology of Rb atomic vapours. The work is motivated by the potentials of highly stable and narrowband laser light sources for a variety of technical and scientific applications. We describe the use of extended-cavity diode lasers for the realisation of such narrowband light sources and the basic schemes under study for their stabilisation, with focus on Doppler and sub-Doppler laser spectroscopy. The resulting laser systems offer good frequency stabilities and can be effectively miniaturised. This makes them interesting for direct applications of these techniques, as well as the presently developed precision instruments: compact atomic frequency standards for ground and space applications (GALILEO satellite positioning system), secondary optical frequency standards, transportable extended cavity diode lasers as seeding lasers, and others.

Subpixel sensitivity maps for a back-illuminated charge-coupled device and the effects of nonuniform response on measurement accuracy

A measurement program designed to investigate the varia- tions in sensitivity of focal plane arrays on a subpixel scale has produced such information for a front-illuminated CCD device, results for which have been previously presented. New measurements have been made to provide information on sensitivity variations within a single pixel for a back-illuminated CCD. The measurements were made using a stable broadband light source and two high-precision translation stages. The pixel scans were obtained using four different spectral filters (three broadband and one narrowband). These results are compared to the pixel response functions of the front-illuminated CCD. These experimen- tally measured pixel response functions were used to determine their effect on photometric and astrometric measurements. The uncertainty introduced into such measurements, especially when using under- sampled CCD data, is significant. It was also found that the form of the subpixel response is dependent on the wavelength of illuminating light. Therefore, the position of the optical center of weight of a pixel varies with wavelength. © 2002 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Low-frequency dynamics of a Nd-doped glass laser

We study a Nd-doped microchip glass laser that emits in two polarizations and in many longitudinal modes. Saturation of the inversion by standing waves causes spatial inhomogeneity of both the longitudinal and azimuthal distributions of the laser gain. These nonlinear inhomogeneities couple the modes and result in low-frequency oscillations (10\char21{}500 kHz) of the light flux in the individual laser modes. These oscillations are steadily driven by quantum noise and appear as 15% fluctuations of the power in each mode. In-phase fluctuations in the laser modes appear at the frequency of the main relaxation oscillation of the total laser power. Antiphase fluctuations appear at other frequencies in individual longitudinal and polarization laser modes only. The dominant frequency of these fluctuations is determined by the light power in the mode. Numerical simulations of rate equations, including Langevin forces, satisfactorily reproduce the experimental results. These phenomena must be taken into account when lasers are applied as stable coherent optical light sources, and also with sensitive absorption measurements in the laser cavity.

Scanning optical microscopy with an electrogenerated chemiluminescent light source at a nanometer tip.

Electrogenerated chemiluminescence at electrodes with effective diameters down to 155 nm was used as a stable light source for near-field scanning optical microscopy imaging of an interdigitated array and a submicrometer size test substrate. Light was generated in a thin (approximately 500 microm) layer of an aqueous solution of 15 mM Ru(bpy)3(2+) and 100 mM tri-n-propylamine in a pH 7.5 buffer. The resolution obtained was compared to that found with a micrometer size electrode. The shear force from the tip attached to a quartz tuning fork was used to monitor and control the tip-to-substrate separation within the near field regime.

Improvement in Diffusion Length Estimation using the Photocurrent-Capacitance Method in CuInSe2-based Cells

ABSTRACTThe experimental technique in the photocurrent-capacitance method of estimating minority diffusion lengths, as applied to CuInSe2-based photovoltaic cells, has been improved, principally by replacing the earlier chopped light and monochromator technique by one employing a steady strong stable light source and a long pass optical filter. The filter requires an absorption edge at an appropriate wavelength to provide the penetrating light at sufficient intensity, which has been found to be 1.1 μm for CuInSe2 cells and 1.0 μ for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 cells. In addition, the parallel capacitance is determined with reverse bias under the same illumination as that during the photocurrent measurements and at a suitable frequency, such as 10 kHz. With these changes, the technique has been found to be more tolerant to cell imperfections and reproducible estimates of diffusion length have been obtained on CuInSe2 and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 cells.

Development of Phase-lock System between Two Single-Mode Lasers for Optical-Optical Double Resonance Spectroscopy

The difference frequency between two single-mode CW lasers was stabilized to a microwave (MW) frequency reference by using an optical phase-lock loop (PLL). The long-term frequency jittering of the beat spectrum was much suppressed by this method. The difference frequency was able to be continuously scanned from 0.1 to 18 GHz by changing the microwave reference frequency. It was also possible to scan the two lasers synchronously keeping the difference frequency constant. This stable and flexible light source would be an ideal light source for optical-optical double resonance (OODR) spectroscopy and resonance laser Raman experiments. For the demonstration, this new system was applied to an OODR experiment using a Rubidium atom. The hyperfine structures in the D2 line were observed in the sub-Doppler condition.

Spectral Response Based Calibration Method of Tristimulus Colorimeters.

A new method is described to calibrate tristimulus colorimeters for high accuracy color measurements. Instead of traditional lamp standards, modern, high accuracy detector standards are suggested for calibration. After high accuracy absolute spectral response determination of the tristimulus receivers, color (spectral) correction and peak (amplitude) normalization can minimize uncertainties caused by imperfect realizations of the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage (CIE) color matching functions. As a result of the corrections, stable light sources of different spectral power distributions can be measured with an accuracy dominated by the sub tenths of a percent uncertainty of novel spectral response determinations.

A simple, highly stable scintillator light source for ultraviolet absorption-based sensors

A light source consisting of radioactive and scintillating materials is evaluated for use in absorption measurements in the ultraviolet (UV) spectral region. The UV light source demonstrates the qualities necessary for chemical sensors. It is inexpensive, simple, reliable, compact, and does not require an external power supply. Since the light source is based upon radionuclear events that are completely random in time, its output is extremely stable if averaged over even moderate time periods. This stability allows simple, single-beam optical arrangements to be used as demonstrated by detection of gaseous ozone and the anesthetic gas halothane. Detection limits, using a prototype instrument, are 1.7 and 160 ppm for the two gases, respectively.

マグネトロン直結型マイクロ波誘起プラズマ光源の試作とその発光特性

マグネトロン直結型マイクロ波誘起プラズマ光源の試作とその発光特性

Solid-state diode laser-induced fluorescence detection in high-performance liquid chromatography.

The need to measure ultralow levels of pharmaceuticals in biological matrices at femtogram and attogram levels presents a significant challenge to bioanalysts. Liquid chromatography has proven to be a versatile and valuable tool for separating analytes from complex biological matrices and fluorescence detection provides both the sensitivity and the selectivity required to measure femtogram and attogram levels of analytes. Solid-state diode lasers have been used primarily in printers, compact disc recorders, and bar code scanners but have recently been adapted for use as light sources for fluorescence detection. Excellent spectral features in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum, together with low cost and ruggedness, make diode lasers an attractive alternative for use as light sources in analytical measurement. Biological matrices demonstrate minimal background signals in the far-red regions of the spectrum which diode lasers emit and diode lasers are among the most stable light sources available. These facts along with expected developments in labeling systems make the potential for use of diode lasers in LC-detection quite promising. This paper reviews characteristics of diode lasers, the properties of potential visible and near-infrared fluorescent probes, instrumental aspects of diode laser fluorometers, and future trends that can be expected in this exciting field of bioanalytical research.