Slow Light In Flight Imaging,
2017
Heriot-Watt University
Slow Light In Flight Imaging, Kali Wilson, Bethany Little, Genevieve Gariepy, Robert Henderson, John C. Howell, Daniele Faccio
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
Slow-light media are of interest in the context of quantum computing and enhanced measurement of quantum effects, with particular emphasis on using slow light with single photons. We use light-in-flight imaging with a single-photon avalanche diode camera array to image in situ pulse propagation through a slow-light medium consisting of heated rubidium vapor. Light-in-flight imaging of slow-light propagation enables direct visualization of a series of physical effects, including simultaneous observation of spatial pulse compression and temporal pulse dispersion. Additionally, the single-photon nature of the camera allows for observation of the group velocity of single photons with measured single-photon fractional delays …
Strain-Induced Spectral Tuning Of The Whispering Gallery Modes In A Cylindrical Micro-Resonator Formed By A Polymer Optical Fiber,
2017
Technological University Dublin
Strain-Induced Spectral Tuning Of The Whispering Gallery Modes In A Cylindrical Micro-Resonator Formed By A Polymer Optical Fiber, Vishnu Kavungal, Arun Mallik, Gerald Farrell, Qiang Wu, Yuliya Semenova
Articles
A mechanical strain assisted technique for spectral tuning of whispering gallery modes (WGM) in a cylindrical micro-resonator formed by a polymer optical fiber (POF) is investigated. WGMs in the POF based micro-cylinder are excited by evanescent light coupling using a tapered single mode silica fiber. WGMs observed in the transmission spectrum of the silica fiber taper have a high extinction ratio of up to 19 dB and a Q-factor of up to 2.64 × 104. The application of tensile axial strain (μɛ) in the range from 0 to 1746 μɛ (0.17 %) to the POF micro-resonator results in …
Practical Guide To The Realization Of A Convertible Optical Trapping System,
2017
University of Dayton
Practical Guide To The Realization Of A Convertible Optical Trapping System, Chenglong Zhao
Physics Faculty Publications
In this article, we provide a detailed guide to the construction of a convertible optical trapping system for either single-beam or counter-propagating trap. The single-beam trap maintains all the functionalities that a conventional optical tweezer has. While the counter-propagating trap allows for the trapping of particles that single-beam trap cannot handle. The counter-propagating trap can be easily switched to a single-beam trap, and vice versa. Therefore, this convertible optical trapping system allows for the trapping and manipulation of particles with a wide variety of sizes and materials.
Block Matching And Wiener Filtering Approach To Optical Turbulence Mitigation And Its Application To Simulated And Real Imagery With Quantitative Error Analysis,
2017
University of Dayton
Block Matching And Wiener Filtering Approach To Optical Turbulence Mitigation And Its Application To Simulated And Real Imagery With Quantitative Error Analysis, Russell C. Hardie, Michael Armand Rucci, Barry K. Karch, Alexander J. Dapore
Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications
We present a block-matching and Wiener filtering approach to atmospheric turbulence mitigation for long-range imaging of extended scenes. We evaluate the proposed method, along with some benchmark methods, using simulated and real-image sequences. The simulated data are generated with a simulation tool developed by one of the authors. These data provide objective truth and allow for quantitative error analysis. The proposed turbulence mitigation method takes a sequence of short-exposure frames of a static scene and outputs a single restored image. A block-matching registration algorithm is used to provide geometric correction for each of the individual input frames. The registered frames …
Optical Forces Generated By Plasmonic Nanostructures,
2017
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Optical Forces Generated By Plasmonic Nanostructures, Matthew A. Moocarme
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
For millennia, scientists have sought to uncover the secrets of what holds the world together. Optical physicists are often at the forefront, unraveling material properties through investigations of light-matter interactions. As the field has progressed, the smallest unit at which matter can be probed and manipulated has subsequently decreased. The resulting sub-field nanophotonics- which reflects the processing of light at the nanoscale- has blossomed into a vast design space for both applied and theoretical researchers. Plasmonics, the phenomena by which the electron-density of a material oscillates in response to incident electromagnetic radiation, is a subject that has excited nanophotonics researchers …
Simulation Of Anisoplanatic Imaging Through Optical Turbulence Using Numerical Wave Propagation With New Validation Analysis,
2017
University of Dayton
Simulation Of Anisoplanatic Imaging Through Optical Turbulence Using Numerical Wave Propagation With New Validation Analysis, Russell C. Hardie, Jonathan D. Power, Daniel A. Lemaster, Douglas R. Droege, Szymon Gladysz, Santasri Bose-Pillai
Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications
We present a numerical wave propagation method for simulating imaging of an extended scene under anisoplanatic conditions. While isoplanatic simulation is relatively common, few tools are specifically designed for simulating the imaging of extended scenes under anisoplanatic conditions. We provide a complete description of the proposed simulation tool, including the wave propagation method used. Our approach computes an array of point spread functions (PSFs) for a two-dimensional grid on the object plane. The PSFs are then used in a spatially varying weighted sum operation, with an ideal image, to produce a simulated image with realistic optical turbulence degradation. The degradation …
Synchronous Generation And Coherent Control Of Extreme Wavelength Radiation And Ultrafast Spectroscopy,
2017
University of New Mexico
Synchronous Generation And Coherent Control Of Extreme Wavelength Radiation And Ultrafast Spectroscopy, Aram Gragossian
Optical Science and Engineering ETDs
Recent progress in ultrafast laser science has made it possible to synthesize and control complex electromagnetic waveforms down to sub-femtosecond timescales. These tailored ultrashort laser pulses can generate coherent bursts of electromagnetic radiation in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and terahertz spectral regions with durations reaching the attosecond regime in the XUV region. This is accomplished by coherently controlling electronic motion in gas plasma targets. With these novel radiation sources, ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy can be performed on a large variety of materials. Knowledge of the spectral phase of an ultrashort pulse is crucial for many applications. There are a variety of …
Picosecond Yb-Doped Fiber Amplifier,
2017
University of Central Florida
Picosecond Yb-Doped Fiber Amplifier, Weibin Zhu
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Due to its versatility, rare earth doped fiber amplifier (RDFA) has attracted a lot of researchers worldwide in recent years. Depends on different kinds of rare earth ion, RDFA can be categorized into neodymium doped fiber amplifier (NDFA), erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), thulium doped fiber amplifier (TDFA), and so forth. Among many kinds of RDFA, the ytterbium doped fiber amplifier (YDFA) has received even more interest, especially in high power application, mainly because of its broad gain bandwidth and high conversion efficiency which are due to its relatively simple electronic structure. The purpose of this research is to study …
Design And Verification Of A Multi-Terawatt Ti-Sapphire Femtosecond Laser System,
2017
University of Central Florida
Design And Verification Of A Multi-Terawatt Ti-Sapphire Femtosecond Laser System, Patrick Roumayah
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Ultrashort pulse lasers are well-established in the scientific community due to the wide range of applications facilitated by their extreme intensities and broad bandwidth capabilities. This thesis will primarily present the design for the Mobile Ultrafast High Energy Laser Facility (MU-HELF) for use in outdoor atmospheric propagation experiments under development at the Laser Plasma Laboratory at UCF. The system is a 100fs 500 mJ Ti-Sapphire Chirped-Pulse Amplification (CPA) laser, operating at 10 Hz. Some background on the generation of very high intensity optical pulses is also presented, alongside an overview of the physics of filamentation. As part of the design …
High Performance Liquid Crystals For Displays And Spatial Light Modulators,
2017
University of Central Florida
High Performance Liquid Crystals For Displays And Spatial Light Modulators, Fenglin Peng
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Liquid crystals (LCs) are an amazing class of soft materials which have been widely used in the visible, infrared (IR), millimeter wave, and terahertz spectral regions. Both amplitude modulation (e.g. displays) and phase modulation (e.g. spatial light modulators (SLMs) for adaptive optics and adaptive lens) have been investigated extensively. Thin-film-transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs) have become ubiquitous in our daily lives. Its widespread applications span from TVs, monitors, tablets, smartphones, augmented reality, virtual reality, to vehicle displays. LCD shows advantages in 1) high resolution, 2) long lifetime, 3) vivid colors using quantum dots backlight, and 4) high dynamic contrast ratio …
Thermal And Waveguide Optimization Of Broad Area Quantum Cascade Laser Performance,
2017
University of Central Florida
Thermal And Waveguide Optimization Of Broad Area Quantum Cascade Laser Performance, Matthew Suttinger
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Quantum Cascade Lasers are a novel source of coherent infrared light, unique in their tunability over the mid-infrared and terahertz range of frequencies. Advances in bandgap engineering and semiconductor processing techniques in recent years have led to the development of highly efficient quantum cascade lasers capable of room temperature operation. Recent work has demonstrated power scaling with broad area quantum cascade lasers by increasing active region width beyond the standard ~10 ?m. Taking into account thermal effects caused by driving a device with electrical power, an experimentally fitted model is developed to predict the optical power output in both pulsed …
Photothermal Lensing In Mid-Infrared Materials,
2017
University of Central Florida
Photothermal Lensing In Mid-Infrared Materials, Justin Cook
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A thorough understanding of laser-materials interactions is crucial when designing and building optical systems. An ideal test method would probe both the thermal and optical properties simultaneously for materials under large optical loads where detrimental thermal effects emerge. An interesting class of materials are those used for infrared wavelengths due to their wide spectral transmission windows and large optical nonlinearities. Since coherent sources spanning the mid-wave and long-wave infrared wavelength regions have only become widely available in the past decade, data regarding their thermal and optical responses is lacking in literature. Photothermal Lensing (PTL) technique is an attractive method for …
High Dynamic Range Display Systems,
2017
University of Central Florida
High Dynamic Range Display Systems, Ruidong Zhu
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
High contrast ratio (CR) enables a display system to faithfully reproduce the real objects. However, achieving high contrast, especially high ambient contrast (ACR), is a challenging task. In this dissertation, two display systems with high CR are discussed: high ACR augmented reality (AR) display and high dynamic range (HDR) display. For an AR display, we improved its ACR by incorporating a tunable transmittance liquid crystal (LC) film. The film has high tunable transmittance range, fast response time, and is fail-safe. To reduce the weight and size of a display system, we proposed a functional reflective polarizer, which can also help …
Novel Photonic Resonance Arrangements Using Non-Hermitian Exceptional Points,
2017
University of Central Florida
Novel Photonic Resonance Arrangements Using Non-Hermitian Exceptional Points, Hossein Hodaei
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In recent years, non-Hermitian degeneracies also known as exceptional points (EPs) have emerged as a new paradigm for engineering the response of optical systems. EPs can appear in a wide class of open non-Hermitian configurations. Among different types of non-conservative photonic systems, parity-time (PT) symmetric arrangements are of particular interest since they provide an excellent platform to explore the physics of exceptional points. In this work, the intriguing properties of exceptional points are utilized to address two of the long standing challenges in the field of integrated photonics- enforcing single mode lasing in intrinsically multimode cavities and enhancing the sensitivity …
Enhanced Ablation By Femtosecond And Nanoseond Pulses,
2017
University of Central Florida
Enhanced Ablation By Femtosecond And Nanoseond Pulses, Haley Kerrigan
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Laser ablation of GaAs by a combination of femtosecond and nanosecond pulses is investigated as a means of enhancing material removal by a femtosecond pulse in the filamentation intensity regime. We demonstrate for the first time increased ablation of GaAs by ultrafast laser pulse plasmas augmented by nanosecond pulse radiation from a secondary laser. Material removal during laser ablation is a complex process that occurs via multiple mechanisms over several timescales. Due to different pulse durations, ablation by femtosecond and nanosecond pulses are dominated by different mechanisms. Ablation can be enhanced by optimally combining a femtosecond and nanosecond pulse in …
Laser-Induced Crystallization Mechanisms In Chalcogenide Glass Materials For Advanced Optical Functionality,
2017
University of Central Florida
Laser-Induced Crystallization Mechanisms In Chalcogenide Glass Materials For Advanced Optical Functionality, Laura Sisken
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Glass-ceramics (GC) are promising candidates for gradient refractive index (GRIN) optics. These multi-phase, composite materials also exhibit improved physical properties as compared to the parent base glass resulting from the formation of a secondary crystalline phase(s). Nanocrystal phase formation in a multi-component chalcogenide glass (ChG), (GeSe2-3As2Se3)(1-x)-(PbSe)x glass where x = 0-40 has been investigated, and the role of the starting material morphology has been correlated to the resulting composite's optical properties including refractive index, transmission, dispersion, and thermo-optic coefficient. Optical property evolution was related to the type and amount of the crystal phases formed, since through control of the local …
Advanced Liquid Crystal Displays With Supreme Image Qualities,
2017
University of Central Florida
Advanced Liquid Crystal Displays With Supreme Image Qualities, Haiwei Chen
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Several metrics are commonly used to evaluate the performance of display devices. In this dissertation, we analyze three key parameters: fast response time, wide color gamut, and high contrast ratio, which affect the final perceived image quality. Firstly, we investigate how response time affects the motion blur, and then discover the 2-ms rule. With advanced low-viscosity materials, new operation modes, and backlight modulation technique, liquid crystal displays (LCDs) with an unnoticeable image blur can be realized. Its performance is comparable to an impulse-type display, like cathode ray tube (CRT). Next, we propose two novel backlight configurations to improve an LCD's …
Generation Of High-Flux Attosecond Pulses And Towards Attosecond-Attosecond Pump-Probe Experiments,
2017
University of Central Florida
Generation Of High-Flux Attosecond Pulses And Towards Attosecond-Attosecond Pump-Probe Experiments, Yang Wang
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
At present, the energy of a single isolated attosecond pulse is limited to nanojoule levels. As a result, an intense femtosecond pulse has always been used in combination with a weak attosecond pulse in time-resolved experiments. To reach the goal of conducting true attosecond pump-attosecond probe experiments, a high flux laser source has been developed that can potentially deliver microjoule level isolated attosecond pulses in the 50 eV range, and a unique experimental end station has been fabricated and implemented that can provide precision control of the attosecond-attosecond pump-probe pulses. In order to scale up the attosecond flux, a unique …
Design Of A Hydrogen-Filled Hollow-Core Fiber Raman Laser,
2017
University of Central Florida
Design Of A Hydrogen-Filled Hollow-Core Fiber Raman Laser, Yangyang Qin
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this study is to investigate the design of a Raman fiber laser based on a molecule hydrogen-filled hollow-core fiber with non-touching single ring of capillaries structure. O-hydrogen vibrational frequency shift of 4155 cm-1 and rotational frequency shift of 587 cm-1 were employed to generate Raman scattering from a 1064nm pump source. A thorough exploration was made to show how all Raman fiber laser components made up: gas chamber, hollow-core fibers, windows. The whole process of chamber design, modification and fabrication were demonstrated. Besides, two kinds of anti-resonant hollow-core fibers were studied and tested. The transmission and loss …
System For Metal Coated Fiber Fabrication,
2017
University of Central Florida
System For Metal Coated Fiber Fabrication, Da Zhang
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
For many specific applications, such as sensors, aerospace, chemical industry, deep-well oil-field industry, metal-coated fiber shows strong abilities to satisfy people's requirement. With in-line coating technology, we are able to coat Aluminum on the fibers. Using electromagnetic induction, we can easily heat an electrically conducting thing such as a metal with the eddy current. This process is defined as Induction heating. And we will melt the Aluminum by this induction heating during drawing the fibers on the tower. Introduce the fiber tower system. The drawing process of in-line technology is formed of the following steps: Position, Melting, Forming into fibers, …
