Electromagnetics and Photonics Commons^™

New Laser Technologies Analysis Of Quantum Dot And Lithographic Laser Diodes, Abdullah Demir

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The first part of this dissertation presents a comprehensive study of quantum dot (QD) lasers threshold characteristics. The threshold temperature dependence of a QD laser diode is studied in different limits of p-doping, hole level spacing and inhomogeneous broadening. Theoretical analysis shows that the threshold current of a QD laser in the limit of uniform QDs is not temperature independent and actually more temperature sensitive than the quantum well laser. The results also explain the experimental trends of negative characteristic temperature observed in QD lasers and clarify how the carrier distribution mechanisms inside and among the QDs affect the threshold …

Application Of Antenna Synthesis And Digital Signal Processing Techniques For Active Millimeter-Wave Imaging Systems, Wilson Ariel Caba

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Millimeter-wave imaging has gathered attention in recent years for its ability to penetrate clothing, thin layers of soils, and certain construction materials. However, image quality remains a challenge that needs to be addressed. One way of improving image quality is by increasing the dimensions of the collecting aperture. A sparse array can be used to synthesize a larger aperture with a limited set of relatively small detectors. In this research we design, build, and test a test-bed having an active source at 94 GHz and an array of coherent detectors, mounted on arms that extend radially on a rotary table. …

Modeling And Design Of A Photonic Crystal Chip Hosting A Quantum Network Made Of Single Spins In Quantum Dots That Interact Via Single Photons, Hubert P. Seigneur

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, the prospect of a quantum technology based on a photonic crystal chip hosting a quantum network made of quantum dot spins interacting via single photons is investigated. The mathematical procedure to deal with the Liouville-Von Neumann equation, which describes the time-evolution of the density matrix, was derived for an arbitrary system, giving general equations. Using this theoretical groundwork, a numerical model was then developed to study the spatiotemporal dynamics of entanglement between various qubits produced in a controlled way over the entire quantum network. As a result, an efficient quantum interface was engineered allowing for storage qubits …

Design And Simulation Of Silica-On-Silicon Pump/Signal Multiplexer For Hybrid Passive-Active Optical Devices., Alvin Law Wen Pin

Student Works (2010-2019)

This dissertation describes the design and simulation of silica-on-silicon pump/signal multiplexer for hybrid passive-active optical devices. Uniform symmetric directional couplers and planar Bragg gratings were utilized in this work, forming the essential building blocks in a waveguide amplifier. Several designs in relation to the multiplexers are presented in this work, with the simplest application for the directional coupler as a pump/signal multiplexer. A 980/1550 nm and an 800/1310 nm pump/signal multiplexers for erbium doped and bismuth doped waveguide amplifier, respectively were modeled. These couplers were designed and simulated in Rsoft BeamPROP environment, utilizing 3D Finite Difference Beam Propagation Method (FD-BPM) …

Nonlinear Fiber Lasers Using Bismuth Based Erbium Doper Fiber Amplifier., Sharifeh Shahi

Student Works (2010-2019)

A thorough study on Bismuth-based Erbium-doped fiber (Bi-EDF) is presented for wide-band amplifiers and multi-wavelength fiber laser applications. This fiber allows high Erbium ions concentration to be doped without a significant concentration quenching effect. The high refractive index characteristic in the Bi-EDF has broadened the emission spectrum of Erbium ions to achieve a broader gain spectrum up to extended L-band region compared to normal silica-based Erbium-doped fiber (EDF). The Bi-EDFA performances have been investigated in terms of power conversion efficiency (PCE), quantum conversion efficiency (QCE), gain and noise figure. The highest QCE and PCE for a 215 cm long of …

Reflective And Beam-Through Types Of Fiber Optic Sensor For Displacement Measurement., Walaa Fawzi Al–Masri

Student Works (2010-2019)

This dissertation proposes and demonstrates fiber-optic displacement sensor (FODS) theoretically and experimentally using the intensity modulation technique to measure a displacement from a probe and target. The sensor uses a multimode plastic bundled fiber as a probe and He-Ne laser as a source. The performance of the sensor is compared for different type of probe and target. For a pair type bundled fiber, both the experimental and theoretical results exhibit the same type of characteristic features. The front slope sensitivities are obtained at 1.71 and 1.0 mW/μm for the theoretical and experimental approaches respectively, while the back slope sensitivities are …

Harvesting Single Ferroelectric Domain Stressed Nanoparticles For Optical And Ferroic Applications, Gary Cook, J. L. Barnes, S. A. Basun, Dean R. Evans, Ron F. Ziolo, Arturo Ponce, Victor Yu. Reshetnyak, Anatoliy Glushchenko, Partha P. Banerjee

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We describe techniques to selectively harvest single ferroelectric domain nanoparticles of BaTiO3 as small as 9 nm from a plethora of nanoparticles produced by mechanical grinding. High resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging shows the unidomain atomic structure of the nanoparticles and reveals compressive and tensile surface strains which are attributed to the preservation of ferroelectric behavior in these particles.

We demonstrate the positive benefits of using harvested nanoparticles in disparate liquid crystal systems.

Characterization Of Atmospheric Turbulence Effects Over 149 Km Propagation Path Using Multi-Wavelength Laser Beacons, Mikhail Vorontsov, Gary W. Carhart, Venkata S. Rao Gudimetla, Thomas Weyrauch, Eric Stevenson, Svetlana Lachinova, Leonid A. Beresnev, Jony Jiang Liu, Karl Rehder, Jim F. Riker

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We describe preliminary results of a set of laser beam propagation experiments performed over a long (149 km) near-horizontal propagation path between Mauna Loa (Hawaii Island) and Haleakala (Island of Maui) mountains in February 2010. The distinctive feature of the experimental campaign referred to here as the Coherent Multi-Beam Atmospheric Transceiver (COMBAT) experiments is that the measurements of the atmospheric-turbulence induced laser beam intensity scintillations at the receiver telescope aperture were obtained simultaneously using three laser sources (laser beacons) with different wavelengths (λ1 = 0.53 μm, λ2 = 1.06 μm, and λ3 = 1.55 μm). The presented experimental results on …

Development Of Optical Coherence Tomography For Tissue Diagnostics, Panomsak Meemon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Microvasculature can be found in almost every part of the human body, including the internal organs. Importantly, abnormal changes in microvasculature are usually related to pathological development of the tissue cells. Monitoring of changes in blood flow properties in microvasculature, therefore, provides useful diagnostic information about pathological conditions in biological tissues as exemplified in glaucoma, diabetes, age related macular degeneration, port wine stains, burn-depth, and potentially skin cancer. However, the capillary network is typically only one cell in wall thickness with 5 to 10 microns in diameter and located in the dermis region of skin. Therefore, a non-invasive flow imaging …

Characterization Of An Inductively Coupled Plasma Produced In Argon At 13.56 Mhz., Lim Ai Nuan

Student Works (2010-2019)

The electrical and plasma characteristics of radio frequency (13.56 MHz) inductively coupled argon plasma (RF ICP) were studied in this project. On the electrical breakdown properties, the breakdown voltage has a general appearance of Paschen’s curve and the minimum is achieved at 0.1 mbar. After ignition, two modes of discharge exist, namely, the E mode at low RF power and H mode at high RF power. Mode transition that occurs is accompanied by abrupt changes in both electrical and plasma characteristics. Hysteresis is observed in the mode transitions and has a minimum at 0.1 mbar. The resistance reflected into the …

The Development Of Scalable Pump Techniques For Gg Iag Fiber Lasers And Passive Athermalization Techniques For Solid State Laser, William Hageman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two parts: research pertaining to the development of scalable pump techniques for gain guided index-antiguided fiber lasers and research relating to the development of passive athermalization schemes for solid state lasers. The first section primarily details the development of a side pump scheme that allows for power scaling of gain-guided index anti-guided fibers. While these fibers have been demonstrated in past research, none have used a pump technology capable of pumping with the efficiencies, uniformity, and necessary length to allow for scaling of the fiber lasers to high output powers. The side pumped scheme developed in …

Freeform Reflector Design With Extended Sources, Florian Fournier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reflector design stemmed from the need to shape the light emitted by candles or lamps. Over 2,000 years ago people realized that a mirror shaped as a parabola can concentrate light, and thus significantly boosts its intensity, to the point where objects can be set afire. Nowadays many applications require an accurate control of light, such as automotive headlights, streetlights, projection displays, and medical illuminators. In all cases light emitted from a light source can be shaped into a desired target distribution with a reflective surface. Design methods for systems with rotational and translational symmetry were devised in the 1930s. …

Quantum Dot Based Mode-Locked Semiconductor Lasers And Applications, Jimyung Kim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, self-assembled InAs/InGaAs quantum dot Fabry-Perot lasers and mode-locked lasers are investigated. The mode-locked lasers investigated include monolithic and curved two-section devices, and colliding pulse mode-locked diode lasers. Ridge waveguide semiconductor lasers have been designed and fabricated by wet etching processes. Electroluminescence of the quantum dot lasers is studied. Cavity length dependent lasing via ground state and/or excited state transitions is observed from quantum dot lasers and the optical gain from both transitions is measured. Stable optical pulse trains via ground and excited state transitions are generated using a grating coupled external cavity with a curved two-section device. …

Electro-Optical And All-Optical Switching In Multimode Interference Waveguides Incorporating Semiconductor Nanostructures, Nathan Bickel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The application of epitaxially grown, III-V semiconductor-based nanostructures to the development of electro-optical and all-optical switches is investigated through the fabrication and testing of integrated photonic devices designed using multimode interference (MMI) waveguides. The properties and limitations of the materials are explored with respect to the operation of those devices through electrical carrier injection and optical pumping. MMI waveguide geometry was employed as it offered advantages such as a very compact device footprint, low polarization sensitivity, large bandwidth and relaxed fabrication tolerances when compared with conventional single-mode waveguide formats. The first portion of this dissertation focuses on the characterization of …

Accelerating Optical Airy Beams, Georgios Siviloglou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the years, non-spreading or non-diffracting wave configurations have been systematically investigated in optics. Perhaps the best known example of a diffraction-free optical wave is the so-called Bessel beam, first suggested and observed by Durnin et al. This work sparked considerable theoretical and experimental activity and paved the way toward the discovery of other interesting non-diffracting solutions. In 1979 Berry and Balazs made an important observation within the context of quantum mechanics: they theoretically demonstrated that the Schrodinger equation describing a free particle can exhibit a non-spreading Airy wavepacket solution. This work remained largely unnoticed in the literature-partly because such …

Misalignment Induced Nodal Aberration Fields And Their Use In The Alignment Of Astronomical Telescopes, Tobias Schmid

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Following the foundation of aberration theory for rotationally symmetric optical systems established by Seidel, Schwarzschild, Burch, Conrady, Buchdahl, and in its most useful form H.H. Hopkins, Shack, Buchroeder, Thompson, and Rogers developed a vectorial form of the wave aberration theory that enables addressing optical systems without symmetry. In this research, a vectorial theory is utilized and extended for the alignment of two- and three-mirror astronomical telescopes, including the effects of pointing changes and astigmatic figure errors. Importantly, it is demonstrated that the vectorial form of aberration theory, also referred to as nodal aberration theory, not only provides valuable insights but …

Near-Field Optical Interactions And Applications, David Haefner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The propagation symmetry of electromagnetic fields is affected by encounters with material systems. The effects of such interactions, for example, modifications of intensity, phase, polarization, angular spectrum, frequency, etc. can be used to obtain information about the material system. However, the propagation of electromagnetic waves imposes a fundamental limit to the length scales over which the material properties can be observed. In the realm of near-field optics, this limitation is overcome only through a secondary interaction that couples the high-spatial-frequency (but non-propagating) field components to propagating waves that can be detected. The available information depends intrinsically on this secondary interaction, …

Epitaxial Growth, Characterization And Application Of Novel Wide Bandgap Oxide Semiconductors, Jeremy Mares

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this work, a body of knowledge is presented which pertains to the growth, characterization and exploitation of high quality, novel II-IV oxide epitaxial films and structures grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The two compounds of primary interest within this research are the ternary films NixMg1-xO and ZnxMg1-xO and the investigation focuses predominantly on the realization, assessment and implementation of these two oxides as optoelectronic materials. The functioning hypothesis for this largely experimental effort has been that these cubic ternary oxides can be exploited - and possibly even juxtaposed - to realize novel wide band gap optoelectronic technologies. The …

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (Mems) And Agile Lensing-Based Modules For Communications, Sensing And Signal Processing., Syed Reza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation proposes the use of the emerging Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and agile lensing optical device technologies to design novel and powerful signal conditioning and sensing modules for advanced applications in optical communications, physical parameter sensing and RF/optical signal processing. For example, these new module designs have experimentally demonstrated exceptional features such as stable loss broadband operations and high > 60 dB optical dynamic range signal filtering capabilities. The first part of the dissertation describes the design and demonstration of digital MEMS-based signal processing modules for communication systems and sensor networks using the TI DLP (Digital Light Processing) technology. Examples of …

Fast Response Dual Frequency Liquid Crystal Materials, Qiong Song

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dual frequency liquid crystal (DFLC) exhibits a positive dielectric anisotropy at low frequencies and negative dielectric anisotropy at high frequencies. The frequency where dielectric anisotropy is zero is called crossover frequency. DFLC can achieve fast rise time and fast decay time with the assistance of applied voltage. However, one drawback of DFLC is that it has dielectric heating effect when driven at a high frequency. Thus, the first part of this dissertation is to develop low crossover frequency DFLC materials. The dielectric relaxation and physical properties of some single- and double-ester compounds were investigated. Experimental results indicate that the double-ester …

Experimental And Theoretical Approaches To Characterization Of Electronic Nonlinearities In Direct-Gap Semiconductors, Claudiu Cirloganu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The general goal of this dissertation is to provide a comprehensive description of the limitations of established theories on bound electronic nonlinearities in direct-gap semiconductors by performing various experiments on wide and narrow bandgap semiconductors along with developing theoretical models. Nondegenerate two-photon absorption (2PA) is studied in several semiconductors showing orders of magnitude enhancement over the degenerate counterpart. In addition, three-photon absorption (3PA) is studied in ZnSe and other semiconductors and a new theory using a Kane 4-band model is developed which fits new data well. Finally, the narrow gap semiconductor InSb is studied with regard to multiphoton absorption, free-carrier …

Silicon-Sensitized Erbium Excitation In Silicon-Rich Silica For Integrated Photonics, Oleksandr Savchyn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is widely accepted that the continued increase of processor performance requires at least partial replacement of electronic interconnects with their photonic counterparts. The implementation of optical interconnects requires the realization of a silicon-based light source, which is challenging task due to the low emission efficiency of silicon. One of the main approaches to address this challenge is the use of doping of silicon based matrices with optical centers, including erbium ions. Erbium ions incorporated in various hosts assume the trivalent state (Er3+) and demonstrate a transition at 1.54 μm, coinciding with optical transmission windows in both silicon and silica. …

Near-Field Radiative Transfer: Thermal Radiation, Thermophotovoltaic Power Generation And Optical Characterization, Mathieu Francoeur

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on near-field radiative transfer, which can be defined as the discipline concerned with energy transfer via electromagnetic waves at sub-wavelength distances. Three specific subjects related to this discipline are investigated, namely nearfield thermal radiation, nanoscale-gap thermophotovoltaic (nano-TPV) power generation and optical characterization. An algorithm for the solution of near-field thermal radiation problems in one-dimensional layered media is developed, and several tests are performed showing the accuracy, consistency and versatility of the procedure. The possibility of tuning near-field radiative heat transfer via thin films supporting surface phononpolaritons (SPhPs) in the infrared is afterwards investigated via the computation of …

Nonlinear Fiber Lasers Using Bismuth Based Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier., Sharifeh Shahi

Student Works (2010-2019)

A thorough study on Bismuth-based Erbium-doped fiber (Bi-EDF) is presented for wide-band amplifiers and multi-wavelength fiber laser applications. This fiber allows high Erbium ions concentration to be doped without a significant concentration quenching effect. The high refractive index characteristic in the Bi-EDF has broadened the emission spectrum of Erbium ions to achieve a broader gain spectrum up to extended L-band region compared to normal silica-based Erbium-doped fiber (EDF). The Bi-EDFA performances have been investigated in terms of power conversion efficiency (PCE), quantum conversion efficiency (QCE), gain and noise figure. The highest QCE and PCE for a 215 cm long of …

Design Of Acousto-Optic Chaos Based Secure Free-Space Optical Communication Links, Anjan K. Ghosh, Pramode K. Verma, Samuel Cheng, Robert C. Huck, Monish Ranjan Chatterjee, Mohammed A. Al-Saedi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We discuss the design of an acousto-optic cell based free space optical communication link where the data beam is made secure through chaos encryption. Using external signal modulation of the diffracted light from a hybrid acousto-optic cell chaos (or directly via incorporation in the sound-cell driver's bias voltage) encryption of data is possible. We have shown numerically that decryption of the encoded data is possible by using an identical acousto-optic system in the receiver.

Analysis And Application Of The Bi-Directional Scatter Distribution Function Of Photonic Crystals, Robert B. Lamott

Theses and Dissertations

Photonic crystals (PCs) are periodic structures built from materials with different refractive indices repeated at sub-wavelength intervals, which results in unusual optical characteristics, including narrowband laser protection, and zero reflectance and high absorption anomalies. Most of the research into the optical properties of PCs has concentrated only on the small range of wavelengths and angles where these effects occur. To better understand where all light leaving a PC is scattered, a Complete Angle Scatter Instrument was used to analyze the scatter from three Guided Mode Resonance Filters designed for laser protection. In the plane of incidence, measurements of the scatter …

Power Scaling Of Large Mode Area Thulium Fiber Lasers In Various Spectral And Temporal Regimes, Timothy Mccomb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

High power thulium fiber lasers are interesting for a myriad of applications due to their potential for high average output power, excellent beam quality, compactness, portability, high operating efficiency and broad, eye-safe spectral range from 1.8-2.1 microns. Currently, the majority of thulium laser research effort is being invested into scaling average output powers; however, such output powers are being scaled with no degree of control on laser system output spectrum or temporal behavior. Thulium fiber laser technology is not useful for many of its most important applications without implementation of techniques enabling tunable, narrow spectral widths with appropriate pulse durations …

Monoclinic Optical Constants, Birefringence, And Dichroism Of Slanted Titanium Nanocolumns Determined By Generalized Ellipsometry, Daniel Schmidt, Benjamin Booso, Tino Hofmann, Eva Schubert, Andrew Sarangan, Mathias Schubert

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Generalized spectroscopic ellipsometry determines the principal monoclinic optical constants of thin films consisting of slanted titanium nanocolumns deposited by glancing angle deposition under 85° incidence and tilted from the surface normal by 47°. Form birefringence measured for wavelengths from 500 to 1000 nm renders the Ti nanocolumns monoclinic absorbing crystals with c-axis along the nanocolumns, b-axis parallel to the film interface, and 67.5° monoclinic angle between the aand c-axes. The columnar thin film reveals anomalous optical dispersion, extreme birefringence, strong dichroism, and differs completely from bulk titanium. Characteristic bulk interband transitions are absent in the spectral range investigated.

Application And Extension Of Glauber Ising-Spin Dynamics In The Context Of A Single Chain Magnet System, Ryan Tucker Kristensen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Glauber Ising-spin dynamic with a local equilibrium approximation is applied to infinite and finite one-dimensional (anti-)ferromagnetic Ising chains with classic nearest neighbor interactions. The application of the Glauber dynamic and local equilibrium approximation is then extended to the one-dimensional ferrimagnetic chain with nearest neighbor interactions. Time dependant behavior and equilibrium states of the one-dimensional ferrimagnetic chain are then discussed in terms of the single chain magnet referred to as CoPhOMe, whose behavior empirical data to date suggest is consistent with a one-dimensional Ising ferrimagnet.

Feynman’S Relativistic Electrodynamics Paradox And The Aharonov-Bohm Effect, Adam Caprez, Herman Batelaan

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

An analysis is done of a relativistic paradox posed in the Feynman Lectures of Physics involving two interacting charges. The physical system presented is compared with similar systems that also lead to relativistic paradoxes. The momentum conservation problem for these systems is presented. The relation between the presented analysis and the ongoing debates on momentum conservation in the Aharonov-Bohm problem is discussed.