Temporal Waveform Research Articles

Engineered zero-dispersion microcombs using CMOS-ready photonics

Normal group velocity dispersion (GVD) microcombs offer high comb line power and high pumping efficiency compared to bright pulse microcombs. The recent demonstration of normal GVD microcombs using CMOS foundry-produced microresonators is an important step toward scalable production. However, the chromatic dispersion of CMOS devices is large and impairs the generation of broadband microcombs. Here, we report the development of a microresonator in which GVD is reduced due to a coupled-ring resonator configuration. Operating in the turnkey self-injection locking mode, the resonator is integrated in a hybrid manner with a semiconductor laser pump to produce high-power efficiency combs spanning a bandwidth of 9.9 nm (1.22 THz) centered at 1560 nm, corresponding to 62 comb lines. Fast, linear optical sampling of the comb waveform is used to observe the rich set of near-zero GVD comb behaviors, including soliton molecules, switching waves (platicons), and their hybrids. Tuning of the 20 GHz repetition rate by electrical actuation enables servo locking to a microwave reference, which simultaneously stabilizes the comb repetition rate, offset frequency, and temporal waveform. This integrated hybrid system could be used in coherent communications or for ultrastable microwave signal generation by two-point optical frequency division.

Optimized weights spectrum autocorrelation: A new and promising method for fault characteristic frequency identification for rotating Machine fault diagnosis

Since fault characteristic frequencies (FCFs) and their harmonics are closely connected with specific fault types of rotating machines, identification of FCFs and their harmonics is a very crucial step for signal processing-based rotating machine fault diagnosis. Nowadays, Hilbert transform (HT) based square envelope spectrum (SES) and spectral coherence (SC) based SES are two main tools for FCF identification. Since the HT demodulates signals by calculating envelope signals in the time domain and the SC is based on the temporal instantaneous autocorrelation function of demodulated signals, the temporal waveform of a demodulated signal must be purified by using fault signature extraction methods, e.g., fast kurtogram, blind deconvolution, and their variants, etc. However, it has been extensively reported that these fault signature extraction methods are prone to be affected by interference components such as impulsive noise. Unlike the HT and SC which demodulate from the time domain, this paper aims to demodulate signals from the frequency domain to identify FCFs and their harmonics for rotating machine fault diagnosis. Firstly, it is demonstrated that Fourier spectrum autocorrelation is possible to indicate FCFs and their harmonics. Nevertheless, a troublesome problem is that interference spectral lines and noise spectral lines of real-world signals in the frequency domain will severely affect the performance of the Fourier spectrum autocorrelation. To solve such problem, this paper introduces a recently developed optimized weights spectrum (OWS) and innovatively designs an adaptive threshold method to respectively eliminate an influence of interference spectral lines and noise spectral lines. Thus, a new FCF identification method named optimized weights spectrum autocorrelation (OWSAC) is accordingly proposed. One main merit of the proposed OWSAC is that it does not need any fault signature extraction methods to do signal preprocessing. Two experimental case studies respectively on incipient bearing and gearbox diagnosis validate the effectiveness of the proposed OWSAC. The proposed OWSAC can achieve satisfactory performance respectively in two case studies and it is superior to five methods including HT-based SES, SC-based SES, optimized SES, fast kurtogram guided SES, and Fourier spectrum autocorrelation.

Spatiotemporal Acoustic Communication by a Single Sensor via Rotational Doppler Effect.

A longstanding pursuit in information communication is to increase transmission capacity and accuracy, with multiplexing technology playing as a promising solution. To overcome the challenges of limited spatial information density and systematic complexity in acoustic communication, here real-time spatiotemporal communication is proposed and experimentally demonstrated by a single sensor based on the rotational Doppler effect. The information carried in multiplexed orbital-angular-momentum (OAM) channels is transformed into the physical quantities of the temporal harmonic waveform and simultaneously detected by a single sensor. This single-sensor configuration is independent of the channel number and encoding scheme. The parallel transmission of complicated images is demonstrated by multiplexing eight OAM channels and achieving an extremely-low bit error rate (BER)exceeding 0.02%, owing to the intrinsic discrete frequency shift of the rotational Doppler effect. The immunity to inner-mode crosstalk and robustness to noise of the simple and low-cost communication paradigm offers promising potential to promote relevant fields.

Research on collinear double pulse generation method of electro-optical Q-switched Nd:YAG laser

This letter introduces the collinear double-pulse generation method of the electro-optical Q-switched Nd:YAG laser and the rate equations describing its pulse formation dynamics. The two pulses share the same resonator and thus have a natural and highly coaxial characteristic. The effect of the voltage applied on the electro-optic crystal on the pulse energy and temporal waveform was studied. The time interval of the double-pulse laser can be tuned from 80 ns to 10 μs, thus satisfying the needs of a general double-pulse laser. This method is ideal for obtaining a collinear double-pulse laser and can be extended to other lasers.

How to compress ultrashort vortex pulses.

Potential applications of ultrashort vortex pulses (ultrashort pulses with helical wavefronts) require compact tools to compensate for dispersion during their generation and propagation. In this work, a global simulated-annealing optimization algorithm, based on analysis of the temporal properties and waveforms of femtosecond vortex pulses, is used to design and optimize chirped mirrors. Performances of the algorithm through different optimization approaches and chirped mirror designs are presented.

Investigation of the multiple characteristics of the self-mixing effect subject to a single particle.

As a compact interferometry technique, self-mixing interferometry (SMI) is a promising tool for micro particle detection in biochemical analysis and the monitoring of laser manufacturing processing, and currently SMI based micro particle detection is attracting increasing attention. However, unlike the typical displacement or vibration measurement driven by a macro target, only a small amount of literature has targeted the SMI effect induced by a single micro moving particle. In this paper, two numerical models were investigated to describe the characteristics of the signal sparked by individual particle. We compared the measurement results with the two models' simulations in three signal characteristic aspects: the temporal waveform, frequency spectrum, and phase profile. From these results, we established that both amplitude modulation and frequency modulation effects apply under different conditions in the self-mixing process. And for the first time, we analyzed the effect of the laser illumination spot size on the particle-induced SMI signal features with two optical arrangements. When the laser beam size is larger than the particle size, the signal bursts are likely to result from frequency modulation, and vice versa. Our results can improve the capability of SMI technology in particle size discrimination and particle sorting.

Signal distortion awakened from optical memory estimated using a calculation method with spatiotemporal separation.

The fidelity of photonic storage and retrieval is an essential criterion in long-distance all-optical network nodes. However, the recovered signals from optical memories based on the photon echo (PE) protocol are accompanied by undesired waveform variation and temporal drift. In this study, we use a numerical calculation method with spatiotemporal separation to investigate the essence of signal distortion. The results show that the asynchronous evolution of the macroscopic population difference and the macroscopic dipole moment with time is responsible for echo signal real distortion caused by phase shifts at the in-phase point of the recorded information. The constructive interference of the dipoles at the moment of reaching the in-phase point induces the photon emission, and this point with a nonspecific phase will be naturally accompanied by waveform changes, a small amount of time advance and delay of the PE signal, which is actually a false signal distortion. Such radiation mechanism of the inhomogeneous broadening media provides a perspective to accurately and correctly recognize the temporal drift and waveform variation of the recovered optical signal.

High temporal waveform fidelity stimulated Brillouin scattering phase conjugate mirror using Novec-7500.

A high temporal waveform fidelity stimulated Brillouin scattering phase conjugate mirror (SBS-PCM) with high energy efficiency, based on a novel medium, Novec-7500, is proposed and practically achieved in this study. A theoretical analysis reveals that the temporal-domain waveform distortion is caused by the inherent pulse duration compression effect of the SBS, and this undesirable phenomenon can be significantly suppressed by decreasing the compression coefficient (CC afterwards), which is defined as the gain coefficient divided by the phonon lifetime, which coefficient and is identified as the key parameter for high waveform-fidelity in SBS-PCM. The feasibility of this approach was demonstrated experimentally, in which a reflected pulse with waveform symmetry equals to the pump and an average pulse duration of 0.974 τp (τp is the duration of pump) with an energy efficiency of over 90% was achieved using Novec-7500.

Effect of Vibrotactile Stimulation on Auditory Timbre Perception for Normal-Hearing Listeners and Cochlear-Implant Users.

The study tests the hypothesis that vibrotactile stimulation can affect timbre perception. A multidimensional scaling experiment was conducted. Twenty listeners with normal hearing and nine cochlear implant users were asked to judge the dissimilarity of a set of synthetic sounds that varied in attack time and amplitude modulation depth. The listeners were simultaneously presented with vibrotactile stimuli, which varied also in attack time and amplitude modulation depth. The results showed that alterations to the temporal waveform of the tactile stimuli affected the listeners' dissimilarity judgments of the audio. A three-dimensional analysis revealed evidence of crossmodal processing where the audio and tactile equivalents combined accounted for their dissimilarity judgments. For the normal-hearing listeners, 86% of the first dimension was explained by audio impulsiveness and 14% by tactile impulsiveness; 75% of the second dimension was explained by the audio roughness or fast amplitude modulation, while its tactile counterpart explained 25%. Interestingly, the third dimension revealed a combination of 43% of audio impulsiveness and 57% of tactile amplitude modulation. For the CI listeners, the first dimension was mostly accounted for by the tactile roughness and the second by the audio impulsiveness. This experiment shows that the perception of timbre can be affected by tactile input and could lead to the developing of new audio-tactile devices for people with hearing impairment.

Single-shot measurement of wavelength-resolved state of polarization dynamics in ultrafast lasers using dispersed division-of-amplitude

Characterization of the state of polarization (SOP) of ultrafast laser emission is relevant in several application fields such as field manipulation, pulse shaping, testing of sample characteristics, and biomedical imaging. Nevertheless, since high-speed detection and wavelength-resolved measurements cannot be simultaneously achieved by commercial polarization analyzers, single-shot measurements of the wavelength-resolved SOP of ultrafast laser pulses have rarely been reported. Here, we propose a method for single-shot, wavelength-resolved SOP measurements that exploits the method of division-of-amplitude under far-field transformation. A large accumulated chromatic dispersion is utilized to time-stretch the laser pulses via dispersive Fourier transform, so that spectral information is mapped into a temporal waveform. By calibrating our test matrix with different wavelengths, wavelength-resolved SOP measurements are achieved, based on the division-of-amplitude approach, combined with high-speed opto-electronic processing. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, we reveal the complex wavelength-dependent SOP dynamics in the build-up of dissipative solitons. The experimental results show that the dissipative soliton exhibits far more complex wavelength-related polarization dynamics, which are not shown in single-shot spectrum measurement. Our method paves the way for single-shot measurement and intelligent control of ultrafast lasers with wavelength-resolved SOP structures, which could promote further investigations of polarization-related optical signal processing techniques, such as pulse shaping and hyperspectral polarization imaging.

Quantum arbitrary waveform generator.

Controlling the temporal waveform of light is the key to a versatile light source in classical and quantum electronics. Although pulse shaping of classical light is mature and has been used in various fields, more advanced applications would be realized by a light source that generates arbitrary quantum light with arbitrary temporal waveforms. We call such a device a quantum arbitrary waveform generator (Q-AWG). The Q-AWG must be able to handle various quantum states of light, which are fragile. Thus, the Q-AWG requires a radically different methodology from classical pulse shaping. Here, we invent an architecture of Q-AWGs that can operate semi-deterministically at a repetition rate over gigahertz in principle. We demonstrate its core technology via generating highly nonclassical states with temporal waveforms that have never been realized before. This result would lead to powerful quantum technologies based on Q-AWGs such as practical optical quantum computing.

Understanding the effects of temporal waveform modulation of laser emission power in laser powder bed fusion: Part II - Experimental investigation

The laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process has historically been operated with high-brilliance fibre laser sources with continuous wave (CW) emission. Nonetheless, temporal waveform modulation of the laser emission power at high-frequency levels can provide a means to enhance the deposition process by modifying the melt dynamics and solidification mechanisms. In order to disclose the effect of different waveform shapes and their parameters, an experimental study using an open LPBF system was conducted. This paper is the second part of an investigation on this topic, which aims to validate the analytical model proposed in the first part of the work. The LPBF system that was developed enabled the power emission profiles to be programmed during single-track depositions. Four different waveform shapes were tested (namely square wave, ramp up, ramp down and triangle wave) at different levels of waveform amplitude (ΔP= 200–400 W) and different frequencies (fw = 2–4–6–8 kHz) during the single-track deposition of stainless steel AISI316L. High-speed imaging acquisitions allowed the melt dynamics to be disclosed and the melt-oscillation frequency to be identified. Larger waveform amplitudes and waveforms with sudden variations of emission power generated melt ejections and process instabilities. Stable conditions could be identified when employing ramp up and triangle waveforms with ΔP = 200. Melt-surface oscillation frequency corresponded to the values imposed via the modulation of the laser emission power, thus validating the analytical model of Part I, which correlated the melt-surface temperature to the recoil pressure induced over the molten pool. Optical microscopy images and metallographic cross-sections confirmed the high-speed video observations. Three-dimensional reconstructions of the depositions via focus variation microscopy allowed the build rates and roughness of the single tracks to be determined. Build rates obtained in stable deposition conditions with waveform modulation are analogous to values obtainable with CW emission, and beneficial effects over the roughness were reported.

Mode-Locking Dynamics in an All-PM Figure-Nine Tm-Doped Fiber Laser

We report a study on pulse dynamics in figure-nine Tm-doped all-polarization maintaining fiber laser. We analyzed laser operation from self-starting with multi-pulse dynamic to single-pulse operation by decreasing the pump power from the mode-locking threshold. By choosing a reliable setting of waveplates, our laser was generating pulses at the central wavelength of 1985 nm with a half-width of the spectrum, pulse duration, and pulse energy equal 6.4 nm, 650 fs, 177 pJ for the output port and 19.2 nm, 1279 fs, 57 pJ for the reject port in the single-pulse state. In the multi-pulse state, we recorded optical spectra, temporal waveforms, and average power at both exit ports. By analyzing temporal traces and output to reject port ratio power, we can distinguish between eight states of operation which follow an exact pattern. In the case of the single-pulse regime, we performed a further laser characterization, including relative intensity noise.

Preferential Loss of Contrast Decrement Responses in Human Glaucoma.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine whether glaucoma in human patients produces preferential damage to OFF visual pathways, as suggested by animal experimental models, patient electroretinogram (ERG), and retinal imaging data.MethodsSteady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) were recorded monocularly from 50 patients with glaucoma and 28 age-similar controls in response to equal Weber contrast increments and decrements presented using 2.73 hertz (Hz) sawtooth temporal waveforms.ResultsThe eyes of patients with glaucoma were separated into mild (better than −6 decibel [dB] mean deviation; n = 28) and moderate to severe (worse than −6 dB mean deviation, n = 22) groups based on their Humphrey 24-2 visual field measurements. Response amplitudes and phases from the two glaucoma-severity groups were compared to controls at the group level. SSVEP amplitudes were depressed in both glaucoma groups, more so in the moderate to severe glaucoma group. The differences between controls and the moderate-severe glaucoma groups were more statistically reliable for decrements than for increments. Mean responses to decremental sawtooth stimuli were larger than those to increments in controls and in the mild glaucoma but not in the moderate to severe glaucoma group at the first harmonic. OFF/decrement responses at the first harmonic were faster in controls, but not in patients.ConclusionsThe observed pattern of preferential loss of decremental responses in human glaucoma is consistent with prior reports of selective damage to OFF retinal ganglion cells in murine models and in data from human ERG and retinal imaging. These data motivate pursuit of SSVEP as a biomarker for glaucoma progression.

Understanding the effects of temporal waveform modulation of the laser emission power in laser powder bed fusion: Part I - Analytical modelling

The architecture of contemporary fiber laser sources enables users a wide choice in terms of spatial and temporal profiles during the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process. Given the range of possibilities, the need for analytical modelling approaches to predict the consequences of waveform modulation in terms of both thermal and fluid-dynamic aspects over the powder bed, process dynamics and resulting part quality is of great interest. Within the present investigation a moving point source analytical model was developed to study the effect of temporally modulated laser beams over the temperature distribution and recoil pressure induced over the molten region during single track LPBF depositions. This study configures as the first part of an investigation on the topic presented with the aim of developing the modeling framework to predict the effects of temporal waveform modulation in the LPBF process. The model developed was implemented numerically to simulate the single track LPBF deposition of stainless steel AISI316L with different waveform shapes ranging from the conventional Square Wave emission to Ramp Up, Ramp Down and Triangle waveforms. Modulation at different amplitude levels and different waveform frequencies were also investigated. Results show that temperature variations followed the temporal profile of the power exposed over the material. Consequently, recoil pressure oscillations over the melt region exhibited a periodic profiles correlated to the waveform modulation of the laser power indicating that melt flow may be controlled by means of such techniques. Peak values of recoil pressure, which might be symptomatic of melt pool instabilities, could be reduced employing higher levels of modulation frequency or lower oscillation amplitudes between non-zero values of the emission power.

Photonic-Assisted Arbitrary Waveform Generation for Uplink Applications in Beyond 5G Taking Advantage of Low Frequency Technology

We present a photonic-assisted arbitrary waveform generation for uplink applications in beyond 5G taking advantage of low frequency technology and it has a potential to upgrade signal frequency from MHz to more than tens GHz retaining the high ENOB of conventional low frequency electrical technology competitive to the state of the arts of tens GHz class AWG. In machine-to-machine communications over uplink traffic as one of application scenario examples, massive multi-data should be accommodated and be conveyed to beyond GHz region in the era of beyond 5G. The proposed photonic assistance for temporal waveform compression has a potential to upgrade signal frequency from MHz to more than tens GHz retaining the high ENOB of the low frequency technology and surpass the state of the arts of tens GHz class AWG. We successfully demonstrate the principle of the proposed approach in experiment and the potential of achievable ENOB over 12 bit at 50 GHz in simulation.

Deterministic Loading of Microwaves onto an Artificial Atom Using a Time-Reversed Waveform.

Loading quantum information deterministically onto a quantum node is an important step toward a quantum network. Here, we demonstrate that coherent-state microwave photons with an optimal temporal waveform can be efficiently loaded onto a single superconducting artificial atom in a semi-infinite one-dimensional (1D) transmission-line waveguide. Using a weak coherent state (the number of photons (N) contained in the pulse ≪1) with an exponentially rising waveform, whose time constant matches the decoherence time of the artificial atom, we demonstrate a loading efficiency of 94.2% ± 0.7% from 1D semifree space to the artificial atom. The high loading efficiency is due to time-reversal symmetry: the overlap between the incoming wave and the time-reversed emitted wave is up to 97.1% ± 0.4%. Our results open up promising applications in realizing quantum networks based on waveguide quantum electrodynamics.

Design of Pulse Forming Systems for Pulsed Electromagnetic Manufacturing Applications

Electromagnetic (EM) manufacturing techniques are currently being used to manufacture several industrial components with both tubular and sheet metal workpieces. The deformation behavior of the workpiece in an EM manufacturing process is governed by the spatial distribution and the temporal behavior of the magnetic pressure acting on it. This article considers the specific inverse problem of pulsed power source design from the output objective temporal force waveform required for final mechanical deformation in the workpiece. It presents a novel method using direct transcription formulation to calculate the necessary input needed to generate the desired temporal variation in the magnetic pressure on the workpiece. The required controlling parameters for the rise time control, the peak pressure control, and the fall time control are identified. A model waveform has been proposed for the temporal variations of the EM force on the workpiece, followed by the technique to synthesize the tooling coil current using direct collocation methods. The suitable pulsed power circuit topology is then identified, and a curve fitting method is proposed to exactly achieve the desired temporal features of the force profile. Without loss of generality, the technique is experimentally validated for the free-forming process of sheet metal using a uniform pressure tooling coil (UPTC).

Clinical, Experimental, and Computational Validation of a New Doppler-Based Index for Coarctation Severity Assessment

Long-term morbidity including hypertension often persists in coarctation patients despite current guidelines. Coarctation severity can be invasively assessed via peak-to-peak catheter pressure gradient (PPCG), which is estimated noninvasively via simplified Bernoulli equation and conventionally reported as peak instantaneous Doppler gradient (PIDG). However, underlying simplifications of the equation limit diagnostic accuracy. We studied the diagnostic performance of a new Doppler-based diastolic index called the continuous flow pressure gradient (CFPG) versus conventional indices in assessing coarctation severity. In a rabbit model mimicking human aortic coarctation, temporal blood pressure waveforms revealed the diastolic instantaneous pressure gradients and spectral Doppler features impacted by coarctation severity. We therefore hypothesized that CFPG provides superior correlation with coarctation gradients measured invasively. PIDG and CFPG were quantified using color flow echocardiography in humans and rabbits with discrete coarctations. Results were compared with PPCG in rabbits (n=34) and arm-leg systolic gradients (n=25) in humans via 1-way analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation, linear regression, and Bland-Altman analysis. A threshold of CFPG ≥ 4.6mm Hg was identified via the Youden index as representative of PPCG ≥ 20mm Hg (the current guideline value for coarctation intervention) in rabbits, while a CFPG ≥1.0mm Hg represented an arm-leg systolic gradient ≥20mm Hg in humans. Accuracy measures revealed superior correlation of CFPG (R2>0.80) and mild receiver operating characteristic improvement (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.94-0.95) compared with PIDG (R2<0.63; area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.89-0.95). Inter-/intraobserver variability tested by intraclass correlation coefficient revealed measurement reliability with differences ≤8.2% and 10.7%, respectively. Computational simulations of anesthetized versus conscious hemodynamics showed parameters were minimally impacted by isoflurane inherent in the dataused to derive CFPG. These results confirm the potential diagnostic accuracy of CFPG in echocardiography-based coarctation severity assessment. We are optimistic that CFPG will be useful for translation of results from preclinical studies that revisit current guidelines to limit morbidity in humans with aortic coarctation.

Impact of finite bandwidth on PRBS-modulated optical spectra.

Applying a pseudo-random binary sequence (PRBS) to phase modulators is a recent development in the broadening of optical spectra of laser sources to defeat stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). The theoretical underpinning of this method relies on alternating the phase of the optical signal between its native value and an out-of-phase value (i.e., imposing a binary phase shift of 0 or π in a pseudo random manner) to prevent coherent buildup of the SBS acoustic grating. In real physical systems, realizing such a binary shift is impossible due to the finite response times of the electronics and electro-optic components. The influence of these effects is investigated in this work, specifically the finite bandwidth of the electronic PRBS generator and the frequency-dependent response of the phase modulator, on the resultant temporal waveforms of the PRBS signal and its RF optical spectra. It is found that the optimal SBS suppression in real systems is achieved when the phase modulator is driven at a voltage beyond V π, even though driving at V π has been deemed as ideal. Moreover, both the SBS suppression and spectral broadening are always weaker than what is predicted by analytical results since any degradation of the sharp edges of the PRBS signal result in loss of high-frequency content in the RF spectrum of the PRBS signal. Lastly, it is noticed that the typical ways of measuring spectral width are not relevant when applied to the complex PRBS RF optical spectrum. An 'equivalent spectral width' is defined to accurately quantify the correlation between spectral width an SBS suppression.