Physics Commons^™

Short Terahertz Pulses From Semiconductor Surfaces: The Importance Of Bulk Difference‐Frequency Mixing, Peter N. Saeta, Benjamin I. Greene, Shun Lien Chuang

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

The crystallographic orientation dependence of the far‐infrared (FIR) light generated at the (001) surface of a zincblende semiconductor is shown to derive principally from bulk difference‐frequency mixing. A strong modulation is observed for 1‐GW/cm² pulses on InP, which demonstrates that the radiated FIR wave produced by bulk optical rectification is comparable to that generated by the transport of photoinjected carriers. Using the bulk rectification light as a clock, we show that more than 95% of the light produced from an InP (111) crystal by 100‐fs, 100‐μJ pulses is generated in a time shorter than the excitation pulse.

Sensitivity Improvement Of A 1-Μm Ladar System Incorporating An Active Optical Fiber Preamplifier, Michael S. Salisbury, Paul F. Mcmanamon, Bradley D. Duncan

Electro-Optics and Photonics Faculty Publications

In an effort to increase the SNR of a continuous wave, 1-μm all solid state ladar system, a rare-earth-doped optical fiber amplifier is investigated as a preamplifier for ladar return signals. The experimental system is detailed and a theoretical analysis of the fiber amplifier's effect on both heterodyne and direct detection schemes is provided. Beginning with the optical powers incident on the detector, the signal and noises are analyzed, through the detector electronics, to predict the SNR. The SNR is then plotted as a function of the return signal power, and a SNR threshold is defined to determine a minimum …

Coherent Versus Incoherent Ladar Detection At 2.09 Μm, Jay A. Overbeck, Martin B. Mark, Scott H. Mccraken, Paul F. Mcmanamon, Bradley D. Duncan

Electro-Optics and Photonics Faculty Publications

A 2.09-μm ladar system is built to compare coherent to incoherent detection. The 2.09-μm wavelength is of interest because of its high atmospheric transmission and because it is eyesafe. The 2.09-μm system presented is capable of either a coherent or incoherent operational mode, is tunable in a small region around 2.09 μm, and is being used to look at the statistical nature of the ladar return pulses for typical glint and speckle targets. To compare coherent to incoherent detection the probability of detection is investigated as the primary performance criterion of interest. The probability of detection is dependent on both …

Electronic Simulation Of The Temporal Characteristics Of Photon Memory Echoes And Some Related Applications, Yuwen Kuo, Monish Ranjan Chatterjee

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The characteristics of nonlinear photon memory echoes are investigated by means of SPICE simulations using equivalent resonator ensembles. By developing implicit nonlinear circuit models in the memory echo domain, the triple product formalism of electronic holography, involving correlation and convolution, is tested for the storage and recall of arbitrary signals and/or data bit streams in both time-inverted and nontime-inverted modes. Furthermore, a few specific optical data processing applications are also simulated in which the mixed binary multiplication of two or more binary bit streams is achieved.

Higher order products, optical pattern recognition, and other possible applications are also discussed. It …

Photopolarimeter Based On Planar Grating Diffraction, R. M.A. Azzam, K. A. Giardina

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications

A division-of-amplitude photopolarimeter (DOAP) is described that employs a diffraction grating in the conventional spectrometer orientation with the grating grooves normal to the plane of incidence. Four coplanar diffracted orders are used for polarimetric analysis to determine all four Stokes parameters of incident light simultaneously and virtually instantaneously (with the speed being determined solely by the photodetectors and their associated electronics); a fifth order is used for alignment by autocollimation or by use of a position-sensing quadrant detector. To sensitize the instrument for the +45° and -45° azimuths of incident linearly polarized light and for the handedness of incident circular …

Measurement Of The Casimir-Polder Force, C. I. Sukenik, M. G. Boshier, S. Cho, V. Sandoghdar, E. A. Hinds

Physics Faculty Publications

The authors have studied the deflection of ground-state sodium atoms passing through a micron-sized parallel-plate cavity by measuring the intensity of a sodium atomic beam transmitted through the cavity as a function of cavity plate separation. This experiment provides clear evidence for the existence of the Casimir-Polder force, which is due to modification of the ground-state Lamb shift in the confined space of a cavity. The results confirm the magnitude of the force and the distance dependence predicted by quantum electrodynamics.

Properties Of Photon Density Waves In Multiple-Scattering Media, Bruce J. Tromberg, Lars O. Svaasand, Tsong-Tseh Tsay, Richard C. Haskell

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

Amplitude-modulated light launched into multiple-scattering media, e.g., tissue, results in the propagation of density waves of diffuse photons. Photon density wave characteristics in turn depend on modulation frequency (ω) and media optical properties. The damped spherical wave solutions to the homogeneous form of the diffusion equation suggest two distinct regimes of behavior: (1) a highfrequency dispersion regime where density wave phase velocity V_p has a ω dependence and (2) a low-frequency domain where V_p is frequency independent. Optical properties are determined for various tissue phantoms by fitting the recorded phase (Φ) and modulation (m) response to …

Hysteresis And Anchoring Energy In Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals, Yuri Panarin

Articles

The frequency dispersion of the coercive force of Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals (FLC) cells has been detected and examined in the range of infralow (lower than 0.1 Hz) frequencies. To clarify the low-frequency dispersion, the model has been suggested, based on the arrangement of free charges and well describing the experimental curves. The method for determination of the energy of FLC anchoring at the surface, developed on the basis of the static hysteresis loop, has been proposed. The dependence of bistability and the anchoring energy upon the orientant layer thickness has experimentally been investigated.