Electromagnetics and Photonics Commons^™

The Design And Evaluation Of A 5.8 Ghz Laptop-Based Radar System, Kevin Chi-Ming Teng

Open Access Theses

This project involves design and analysis of a 5.8 GHz laptop-based radar system. The radar system measures Doppler, ranging and forming Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images utilizing Matlab software provided from MIT Open Courseware and performs data acquisition and signal processing. The main purpose of this work is to bring new perspective to the existing radar project by increasing the ISM band frequency from 2.4 GHz to 5.8 GHz and to carry out a series of experiments on the implementation of the radar kit. Demonstrating the radar at higher operating frequency is capable of providing accurate data results in Doppler, …

Surface Plasmonic Lens Driven Photoelectron Source For Multi-Beam Applications, Heon Joon Choi

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Surface plasmon polariton (SPP) assisted photoelectron source array is proposed for use in distributed multiple electron beam lithography applications. Individual source is composed of a metal/dielectric surface structure with concentric circular grooves of subwavelength width surrounding a sub-wavelength aperture. Such optical power concentrators, called "plasmonic lenses", collect light incident over a broad area by converting it to surface electromagnetic waves, specifically SPP's, through diffraction by the sub-wavelength grooves surrounding the aperture. Through constructive interference of the generated SPPs between neighboring grooves, controlled by the periodicity of the grooves, high optical power densities can be achieved at the center of the …

Graphics Processing Unit Acceleration Of Computational Electromagnetic Methods, Matthew Joseph Inman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The use of Graphical Processing Units (GPU's) for scientific applications has been evolving and expanding for the decade. GPU's provide an alternative to the CPU in the creation and execution of the numerical codes that are often relied upon in to perform simulations in computational electromagnetics. While originally designed purely to display graphics on the users monitor, GPU's today are essentially powerful floating point co-processors that can be programmed not only to render complex graphics, but also perform the complex mathematical calculations often encountered in scientific computing. Currently the GPU's being produced often contain hundreds of separate cores able to …

Study Of N Incorporation In Insb On Gaas By Molecular Beam Epitaxy For Long Wavelength Infrared Devices, Nimai Chand Patra

Dissertations

The distinguishing features of dilute nitride III-V semiconductors lie in the large simultaneous reduction in the band gap and lattice parameter when N is incorporated in small amounts in an otherwise wide band gap III-V material. In particular, N incorporation in InSb is attracting great attention due to its potential applications in the long wavelength infrared (LWIR) applications. However, the relatively small atomic size of N with respect to Sb makes the growth of good quality InSbN layers challenging with effective N incorporation. In this dissertation we present a correlation of the molecular beam epitaxial growth parameters on the type …

Injection Locking Of Semiconductor Mode-Locked Lasers For Long-Term Stability Of Widely Tunable Frequency Combs, Charles Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Harmonically mode-locked semiconductor lasers with external ring cavities offer high repetition rate pulse trains while maintaining low optical linewidth via long cavity storage times. Single frequency injection locking generates widely-spaced and tunable frequency combs from these harmonically mode-locked lasers, while stabilizing the optical frequencies. The output is stabilized long-term with the help of a feedback loop utilizing either a novel technique based on Pound-Drever-Hall stabilization or by polarization spectroscopy. Error signals of both techniques are simulated and compared to experimentally obtained signals. Frequency combs spaced by 2.5 GHz and ~10 GHz are generated, with demonstrated optical sidemode suppression of unwanted …

Mesoscale Light-Matter Interactions, Kyle Douglass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mesoscale optical phenomena occur when light interacts with a number of different types of materials, such as biological and chemical systems and fabricated nanostructures. As a framework, mesoscale optics unifies the interpretations of the interaction of light with complex media when the outcome depends significantly upon the scale of the interaction. Most importantly, it guides the process of designing an optical sensing technique by focusing on the nature and amount of information that can be extracted from a measurement. Different aspects of mesoscale optics are addressed in this dissertation which led to the solution of a number of problems in …

Fabrication Of Metallic Antenna Arrays Using Nanoimprint Lithography, Yu-Wei Lin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This Thesis describes the development of a cost-effective process for patterning nanoscale metal antenna arrays. Soft ultraviolet (UV) Nanoimprint Lithography (NIL) into bilayer resist was chosen since it enables repeatable large-scale replication of nanoscale patterns with good lift-off properties using a simple low-cost process. Nanofabrication often involves the use of Electron Beam Lithography (EBL) which enables the definition of nanoscale patterns on small sample regions, typically < 1 mm 2 . However its sequential nature makes the large scale production of nanostructured substrates using EBL cost-prohibitive. NIL is a pattern replication method that can reproduce nanoscale patterns in a parallel fashion, allowing the low-cost and rapid production of a large number of nanopatterned samples based on a single nanostructured master mold. Standard NIL replicates patterns by pressing a nanostructured hard mold into a soft resist layer on a substrate resulting in exposed substrate regions, followed by an optional Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) step and the subsequent deposition of e.g. metal onto the exposed substrate area. However, non-vertical sidewalls of the features in the resist layer resulting from an imperfect hard mold, from reflow of the resist layer, or from isotropic etching in the RIE step iii may cause imperfect lift-off. To overcome this problem, a bilayer resist method can be used. Using stacked resist layers with different etch rates, undercut structures can be obtained after the RIE step, allowing for easy lift-off even when using a mold with non-vertical sidewalls. Experiments were carried out using a nanostructured negative SiO2 master mold. Various material combinations and processing methods were explored. The negative master mold was transferred to a positive soft mold, leaving the original master mold unaltered. The soft mold consisted of a 5 m thick top Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), or Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) layer, a 1.5 mm thick Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) buffer layer, and a glass supporting substrate. The soft mold was pressed into a bilayer of 300 nm PMMA and 350 nm of silicon based UV-curable resist that was spin-coated onto a glass slide, and cured using UV radiation. The imprinted patterns were etched using RIE, exposing the substrate, followed by metal deposition and lift-off. The experiments show that the use of soft molds enables successful pattern transfer even in the presence of small dust particles between the mold and the resist layer. Feature sizes down to 280 nm were replicated successfully

Volume Phase Masks In Photo-Thermo-Refractive Glass, Marc Segall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In many applications such as beam shaping, mode conversion, and phase encoding it is necessary to alter the spatial phase profile of a beam via a phase mask. Conventional techniques to accomplish this either involve surface relief profiling in thin films such as PMMA or refractive index modulation in bulk photorefractive crystals such as lithium niobate. These materials have been used extensively for the past several decades and perform admirably in low power conditions. However, in high power systems these materials will be destroyed, requiring a new means of producing phase masks. In this dissertation a method for producing robust …

Phase-Locking Stability Of A Quasi-Single-Cycle Pulse, Nathan Bodnar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is increasing interest in the generation of very short laser pulses, even down to attosecond (10-18 s) durations. Laser systems with femtosecond pulse durations are needed for these applications. For many of these applications, positioning of the maximum electric field within the pulse envelope can affect the outcome. The peak of the electric field relative to the peak of the pulse is called the Carrier Envelope Phase (CEP). Controlling the position of the electric field becomes more important when pulse duration approaches single-cycle. This thesis focuses on the stabilization of a quasi-single-cycle laser facility. Improvements to this already-established laser …

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 …

Growth And Characterization Of Zno Based Semiconductor Materials And Devices, Ming Wei

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wide band gap semiconductors such as MgxZn1-xO represent an excellent choice for making optical photodetectors and emitters operating in the UV spectral region. High crystal and optical quality MgxZn1-xO thin films were grown epitaxially on c-plane sapphire substrates by plasma-assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy. ZnO thin films with high crystalline quality, low defect and dislocation densities, and sub-nanometer surface roughness were achieved by applying a low temperature nucleation layer. The critical growth conditions were discussed to obtain a high quality film: the sequence of Zn and O sources for initial growth of nucleation layer, growth temperatures for both ZnO nucleation and …

Surface Plasmon Polaritons And Waveguide Modes At Structured And Inhomogeneous Surfaces, Javier Polanco

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In chapter 1, properties of a p-polarized surface plasmon polariton are studied, propagating circumferentially around a portion of a cylindrical interface between vacuum and a metal, a situation investigated earlier by M. V. Berry (J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 8, (1975) 1952). When the metal is convex toward the vacuum this mode is radiative and consequently is attenuated as it propagates on the cylindrical surface. An approximate analytic solution of the dispersion relation for this wave is obtained by an approach different from the one used by Berry, and plots of the real and imaginary parts of its wave number …

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.

Mode-Division Multiplexed Transmission In Few-Mode Fibers, Neng Bai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As a promising candidate to break the single-mode fiber capacity limit, mode-division multiplexing (MDM) explores the spatial dimension to increase transmission capacity in fiberoptic communication. Two linear impairments, namely loss and multimode interference, present fundamental challenges to implementing MDM. In this dissertation, techniques to resolve these two issues are presented. To de-multiplex signals subject to multimode interference in MDM, Multiple-InputMultiple-Output (MIMO) processing using adaptive frequency-domain equalization (FDE) is proposed and investigated. Both simulations and experiments validate that FDE can reduce the algorithmic complexity significantly in comparison with the conventional time-domain equalization (TDE) while achieving similar performance as TDE. To further …

Development Of Thulium Fiber Lasers For High Average Power And High Peak Power Operation, Robert Sims

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

High power thulium fiber lasers are useful for a number of applications in both continuous-wave and pulsed operating regimes. The use of thulium as a dopant has recently gained interest due to its large bandwidth, possibility of high efficiency, possibility of high power and long wavelength ~1.8 – 2.1 μm. The longer emission wavelength of Tm-doped fiber lasers compared to Yb- and/or Er-doped fiber lasers creates the possibility for higher peak power operation due to the larger nonlinear thresholds and reduced nonlinear phase accumulation. One primary interest in Tm-doped fiber lasers has been to scale to high average powers; however, …

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.