Electromagnetics and Photonics Commons^™

Absorptive And Refractive Optical Nonlinearities In Organic Molecules And Semiconductors, Davorin Peceli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of this dissertation to investigate photophysical properties, third order nonlinearity and free carrier absorption and refraction in organic materials and semiconductors. Special emphasis of this dissertation is on characterization techniques of molecules with enhanced intersystem crossing rate and study of different approaches of increasing triplet quantum yield in organic molecules. Both linear and nonlinear characterization methods are described. Linear spectroscopic characterization includes absorption, fluorescence, quantum yield, anisotropy, and singletoxygen generation measurements. Nonlinear characterization, performed by picosecond and femtosecond laser systems (single and double pump-probe and Z-scan measurements), includes measurements of the triplet quantum yields, excited-state absorption, two-photon …

Non-Degenerate Two Photon Gain In Bulk Gallium Arsenide, Brendan Turnbull

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the nonlinear phenomena known as doubly-stimulated, non-degenerate two-photon emission (ND-2PE) in Gallium Arsenide (GaAs). 2PE refers to the simultaneous emission of two-photons as electrons move from the conduction band in a direct gap semiconductor to the valence band. Following the same path for describing one-photon emission (1PE) we describe 2PE as a product of the irradiance, and the negative of the loss which in this case is two-photon absorption, , the negative coming from the population inversion. We attempt to observe 2PE by using a frequency non-degenerate pump-probe experiment in which a …

Properties Of High Energy Laser Light Transmission Through Large Core Optical Cables, Christopher Kennedy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Laser induced damage is of interest in studying the transmission of large amounts of optical energy through step-index, large core multimode fibers. Optical fibers often have to be routed around objects when laser light is being transmitted between two locations which require the fiber to bend into a curve. Depending on how tight the bend is, this can result in transmission losses or even catastrophic damage when the energy density of the laser pulse exceeds the damage threshold of silica glass. The purpose of this study is to: Establish a minimum bend radius that would allow high energy (GW/cm2 ) …

Beam Deflection, Matthias Münnich,

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In order to fully understand the third order nonlinear optical response of materials under high irradiance excitation it is necessary to study the temporal and polarization dependence of nonlinear refraction and absorption. There are several existing approaches such as Z-scan and pump-probe techniques to determine those responses. As part of this work, these approaches will be briefly outlined before presenting beam deflection, applied from photothermal beam deflection, as an alternative experimental technique to determine the nonlinear refraction with its temporal and polarization dynamics. This technique measures the angle of the probe beam deflected via the index gradient of the material …

Wavelength Scale Resonant Structures For Integrated Photonic Applications, Matthew Weed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An approach to integrated frequency-comb filtering is presented, building from a background in photonic crystal cavity design and fabrication. Previous work in the development of quantum information processing devices through integrated photonic crystals consists of photonic band gap engineering and methods of on-chip photon transfer. This work leads directly to research into coupled-resonator optical waveguides which stands as a basis for the primary line of investigation. These coupled cavity systems offer the designer slow light propagation which increases photon lifetime, reduces size limitations toward on-chip integration, and offers enhanced light-matter interaction. A unique resonant structure explained by various numerical models …

The Impact Of Growth Conditions On Cubic Znmgo Ultraviolet Sensors, Ryan Boutwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cubic Zn1-xMgxO (c-Zn1-xMgxO) thin films have opened the deep ultraviolet (DUV) spectrum to exploration by oxide optoelectronic devices. These extraordinary films are readily wet-etch-able, have inversion symmetric lattices, and are made of common and safe constituents. They also host a number of new exciting experimental and theoretical challenges. Here, the relation between growth conditions of the c-Zn1-xMgxO film and performance of fabricated ultraviolet (UV) sensors is investigated. Plasma-Enhanced Molecular Beam Epitaxy was used to grow Zn1-xMgxO thin films and formation conditions were explored by varying the growth temperature, Mg source flux, oxygen flow rate, and radio-frequency (RF) power coupled into …

Development Of Laser Spectroscopy For Elemental And Molecular Analysis, Yuan Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) and Raman spectroscopy are still growing analytical and sensing spectroscopic techniques. They significantly reduce the time and labor cost in analysis with simplified instrumentation, and lead to minimal or no sample damage. In this dissertation, fundamental studies to improve LIBS analytical performance were performed and its fusion with Raman into one single sensor was explored. On the fundamental side, Thomson scattering was reported for the first time to simultaneously measure the electron density and temperature of laser plasmas from a solid aluminum target at atmospheric pressure. Comparison between electron and excitation temperatures brought insights into the …

Optically Isotropic Liquid Crystals For Display And Photonic Applications, Jin Yan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For the past few decades, tremendous progress has been made on liquid crystal display (LCD) technologies in terms of stability, resolution, contrast ratio, and viewing angle. The remaining challenge is response time. The state-of-the-art response time of a nematic liquid crystal is a few milliseconds. Faster response time is desirable in order to reduce motion blur and to realize color sequential display using RGB LEDs, which triples the optical efficiency and resolution density. Polymer-stabilized blue phase liquid crystal (PS-BPLC) is a strong candidate for achieving fast response time because its self-assembled cubic structure greatly reduces the coherence length. The response …

Inverse Problems In Multiple Light Scattering, John Broky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The interaction between coherent waves and material systems with complex optical properties is a complicated, deterministic process. Light that scatters from such media gives rise to random fields with intricate properties. It is common perception that the randomness of these complex fields is undesired and therefore is to be removed, usually through a process of ensemble averaging. However, random fields emerging from light matter interaction contain information about the properties of the medium and a thorough analysis of the scattered light allows solving specific inverse problems. Traditional attempts to solve these kinds of inverse problems tend to rely on statistical …

Reduced Susceptibility Of Deformation Due To Vibrational And Gravitational Effects On A Focus Variable Adaptive Lens, Victoriya Relina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Orthodox optical devices, such as lenses, mirrors, and prisms, are composed of solidstate materials, which although well studied and implemented ubiquitously are severely limited in their adaptable properties. An arguably new field of adaptive optics has emerged to further expand photonic manipulation competences of optical components. Fluid-based adaptive optical components were introduced as early as 1968 [1]; such components have the ability to change the shape of their interface surface, thus allowing for a variable curvature profile. The method of manipulation varies greatly, as does the range of surface deformations. A solid-state optical component is affected by system vibration variation …

Ytterbium-Doped Fiber-Seeded Thin-Disk Master Oscillator Power Amplifier Laser System, Christina Willis-Ott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lasers which operate at both high average power and energy are in demand for a wide range of applications such as materials processing, directed energy and EUV generation. Presented in this dissertation is a high-power 1 μm ytterbium-based hybrid laser system with temporally tailored pulse shaping capability and up to 62 mJ pulses, with the expectation the system can scale to higher pulse energies. This hybrid system consists of a low power fiber seed and pre-amplifier, and a solid state thin-disk regenerative amplifier. This system has been designed to generate high power temporally tailored pulses on the nanosecond time scale. …

High Energy, High Average Power, Picosecond Laser Systems To Drive Few-Cycle Opcpa, Andreas Vaupel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The invention of chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) in 1985 led to a tremendous increase in obtainable laser pulse peak intensities. Since then, several table-top, Ti:sapphire-based CPA systems exceeding the 100 TW-level with more than 10 W average power have been developed and several systems are now commercially available. Over the last decade, the complementary technology of optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) has improved in its performance to a competitive level. OPCPA allows direct amplification of an almost-octave spanning bandwidth supporting few-cycle pulse durations at center wavelengths ranging from the visible to the mid-IR. The current record in peak power from a …

Pulsed Tm-Fiber Laser For Mid-Ir Generation, Pankaj Kadwani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The thulium fiber laser has gained interest due to its long emission wavelength, large bandwidth (~1.8 – 2.1 µm), high efficiencies (~60 %), and high output power levels both in cw as well as pulsed regimes. Applications like remote sensing, machining, medical tissue ablation, and mid-infrared generation benefit from high peak power thulium laser sources. Pulsed thulium fiber laser systems are advancing rapidly towards higher peak power levels and are becoming the preferred sources for these applications. This dissertation work describes the development of novel nanosecond pulsed thulium fiber laser systems with record high peak power levels targeting mid-infrared generation. …

Tunable Fano Resonances Based On Two-Beam Interference In Microring Resonator, Ting Hu, Ping Yu, Chen Qui, Huiye Qui, Fan Wang, Mei Yang, Xiaoqing Jiang, Hui Yu, Jianyi Yang

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

In this paper, a resonant system is demonstrated on silicon-on-insulator wafer to achieve tunable Fano resonances. In this system, the Fano resonance originates from the interference of two beams resonant in the microring resonator. The shapes of the Fano resonances are tunable through controlling the phase difference of the two beams. Both large slope and high extinctionratio (ER) are obtained when the phase difference is 0.5π or 1.5π. Experimental results show that Fano resonances with steep slope and ER over 20 dB are achieved in the whole free spectral range by controlling the microheaters to meet the phase condition.

Dielectric And Complex Impedance Properties Of Tetravalent Hafnium (Hf 4+) Integrated Cobalt Ferrite, Luis Javier Sanchez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The work presented in this thesis was carried out to understand the effects of tetravalent hafnium (Hf4+) ion on the crystal structure and phase, surface morphology, electrical, dielectric and complex impedance properties of cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4; CFO). Hafnium incorporated cobalt ferrite, CoFe2-xHfxO4, with x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.075, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20 were prepared by the standard solid state ceramic synthesis method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterizations were performed to determine the structural properties. Most important aspect of this study is to explore the dielectric and complex impedance properties as a function of variable temperature (T=300-1000 …

3d Printed Impedance Elements By Micro-Dispensing, Ubaldo Robles Dominguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Micro-dispensing allows electric circuits to be "3D printed," which can be used to give 3D printed systems electronic and electromagnetic functionality. The focus of this thesis is using micro-dispensing to fabricate capacitors and inductors. 3D printed impedance elements are capable of being more easily embedded, can be used to create structural electronics, and will have extensive applications in antennas, metamaterials, frequency selective surfaces, and more. This is the first known effort to print and measure impedance elements by micro-dispensing which holds great potential for manufacturing multi-material devices.

Antenna Designs For Wireless Medical Implants., Conor P. Conran

Masters

Active medical implants are devices that are surgically implanted inside the body. They have been developed to treat a wide range of ailments and many require some form of communications link with the outside world for maintenance and for remote medical diagnostics. Radio links promise a wide range of benefits over the traditional low frequency inductive coupling method.

Body tissue is a challenging environment, both for the device and for the radio signal that it transmits. Innovation in medical technology is creating a demand for high bandwidth links, and this in turn is driving the development of implantable antennas.

Many …

Development Of Mems-Based Corrosion Sensor, Feng Pan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research is to develop a MEMS-based corrosion sensor, which is used for monitoring uniform, galvanic corrosion occurring in infrastructures such as buildings, bridges. The corrosion sensor is made up of the composite of micro/nano metal particles with elastomers. The mechanism of corrosion sensor is based on the mass transport of corrosive species through the sensor matrix. When the metal particles in the matrix corrode, the electrical resistivity of the material increases due to increasing particle resistances or reduction of conducting pathways. The corrosion rate can be monitored by detecting the resistivity change in sensing elements. The life span of …

Conductive Concrete For Electromagnetic Shielding – Methods For Development And Evaluation, Aaron P. Krause

Department of Computer Electronics and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This research investigates the development and evaluation innovative methods for the use of conductive concrete as an electromagnetic shield. New testing methods are developed to determine the best conductive components to use in the design of a concrete mixture for shielding that shows the best promise. The conductive concrete mixture has the potential to provide electromagnetic shielding that is cost-effective in terms of construction, operation, and maintenance compared to conventional approaches. Two testing methods, Small Sample Testing and Large Slab Testing, are developed based on standardized testing methods that have been modified for the testing of conductive concrete mixtures. As …

Energy Harvesting Of Human Kinetic Movement, David Marusiak, Julia Carrillo

Electrical Engineering

Development of kinetic energy scavenging applications from the human body necessitates additional research to assist in designating a mounting position for a potential device. A data acquisition system adequately provides a parametric average power comparison among four locations on the body (waist, upper arm, hand, and calf) for both a male and female subject. Experimentally, the hand-held device provided the highest average power. Thus, subsequent investigation at set speeds provides further analysis of the output’s characteristically linear behavior. The physical energy-harvesting device features a plastic tube casing wrapped with the stationary coiled wire through which a neodymium magnet oscillates. While …