Optics Commons^™

Investigation Of The Production Technology Of Environmentally Safe Urethane Oligomers Based On Local Raw Materials, Bakhtiyor Kudratovich Shaykulov, Dilafruza Ruziboevna Akbarova Gulboeva, Fayzulla Nurmuminovich Nurqulov

Technical science and innovation

This paper investigates the step-by-step poly condensation pathway for synthesizing environmentally friendly, non-isocyanate urethane oligomers derived from local and safe raw materials: urea and ethylene glycol. The influence of thermodynamic parameters on the target product yield was systematically evaluated to determine the optimum technological matrix. Specifically, a 1:2 reactant mass ratio, a stable stationary temperature of 150-155 °C, and a reaction duration of 2 hours under an inert nitrogen atmosphere resulted in a sustainable and reproducible yield of 72%. Thermal degradation and competitive side-product condensations were activated above 160 °C, leading to a sharp drop in overall chemical efficiency. The …

Visualizing The Invisible: Simulating Electromagnetic Field In 3d Space With Matlab, Aashman Gupta, Eliane Dean, Riley Esperanca, Hailey Grabinski, Jacob Summerhays, Ameya Sute

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Electromagnetic field behaviours in free space are defined by Maxwell’s Equations, which couple the temporal and spatial variations of electric and magnetic fields through partial derivatives. These derivatives quantify the rate of change of each field’s vector component with respect to position and time in a 3D lattice, forming the basis for numerical field analysis. This research will develop a mathematical and computational framework using multivariable calculus to model, simulate, and visualize electromagnetic wave propagation in free space using MATLAB. Gradient, divergence, and curl operations are implemented to compute local field variations and energy transfer. The resulting data are used …

Single Fluorogens And Orientation-Localization Microscopy For Quantifying Chemical And Biomolecular Dynamics At The Nanoscale, Yiyang Chen, Yuanxin Qiu, Matthew D. Lew

Electrical & Systems Engineering Publications and Presentations

Many chemical systems look uniform only because ensemble measurements average over their most interesting molecules. Electron-transfer rates vary across electrode surfaces; lipid membranes contain nanodomains with distinct packing and fluidity; peptide aggregates exhibit local polymorphism; and biomolecular condensates contain transient networks of interactions that are blurred in ensemble images. A central challenge in chemical imaging is not simply to see smaller structures, but to measure chemical variables such as polarity, redox potential, and molecular confinement at the single-molecule level. In this Account, we describe how fluorogens, molecules whose brightness, blinking, spectral shifts, orientation, rotational mobility, and motion are directly shaped …

Macroscopic Classical And Quantum Models Of Inverse Compton Scattering, Emerson Penn Rogers

Physics Theses & Dissertations

Inverse Compton sources — in which a relativistic electron beam scatters a laser pulse to produce tunable, collimated, high-energy radiation—have emerged as among the most promising compact radiation sources, with applications ranging from nuclear photonics to medical and nanoscale imaging and metrology. The most viable current tabletop configuration couples laser-wakefield acceleration with inverse Compton scattering, producing GeV-scale electron beams over millimeter distances. As laser intensities increase and electron energies grow, the interaction enters the radiation reaction regime, where the energy radiated by the electron becomes a significant fraction of its kinetic energy. Predicting the scattered electron energy spectrum — the …

Rapid-Prototyping Nanofabrication: Lcd-Based Projection Lithography And Physical Vapor Deposition, Sabeel Saleem Mohammmed

University Honors Theses

The semiconductor industry's continued growth, driven in large part by demand for artificial intelligence hardware, has highlighted the need for greater workforce development in regions adjacent to major fabrication centers like Oregon's Silicon Forest. This capstone project lays the groundwork for a small scale and student led semiconductor fabrication lab at Portland State University by demonstrating two of the core steps in chip manufacturing: photolithography and thin film deposition. Rather than relying on conventional fixed reticles, this work explores a unique, low cost approach to patterning that uses an ultraviolet-compatible liquid crystal display (LCD) as a programmable reticle, allowing arbitrary …

Matching Two Long Interferometric Pathlengths Using Low Temporal Coherence Light For Finding Hong–Ou–Mandel Dip, Keith A. Wyman, Noah S. Everett, Anil K. Patnaik

Faculty Publications

Hong–Ou–Mandel (HOM) dip from a biphoton source in a two-photon interferometer provides a myriad of quantum tools for quantum communication and sensing. But the stringent requirements for spatial coherence between the photon pair makes it prohibitively difficult to observe high-fidelity HOM dip in long-distance free-space implementations, e.g., for the photon pairs involved in quantum communication need to match the two path lengths within a few 10 s of micron because of the short coherence width of the two-photon wave-packet. While many techniques for the pathlength balancing of two interferometric arms have been studied and applied extensively, such balancing is further …

Design And Simulation Of Anti-Resonant Hollow-Core Fiber For Sensing Applications, Pravallika Kante

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the design and simulation of an 8-tube single-ring anti-resonant hollow-core fiber for sensing applications, with particular emphasis on methane gas detection at the fundamental absorption wavelength of 3.3 µm. Conventional solid-core silica optical fibers exhibit strong multi-phonon material absorption beyond 2.5 µm, rendering them fundamentally unsuitable for efficient light guidance and direct gas sensing at mid-infrared wavelengths. Anti-resonant hollow-core fibers overcome this limitation by guiding light predominantly through an air-filled hollow core via the anti-resonant reflecting optical waveguide mechanism, in which the thin silica glass walls of the cladding tubes act as Fabry-Pérot etalons that confine the …

Characterizing Atmospheric Turbulence With The Lunar Step Response Method, Patrick D. Carattini, Caleb J. Stilp, Katelyn M. Atkinson, Stephen C. Cain

Faculty Publications

Most methods that astronomers use to characterize the strength of atmospheric turbulence in and around their observatories use differential image motion monitors observing a star to provide the necessary data for the measurement. With the Moon becoming a greater national priority, the need to characterize atmospheric paths between observatories on Earth and the Moon is potentially going to grow in the future. To this end, the differential image motion monitor is not an ideal instrument for characterizing turbulence along paths between observatories and the Moon as the bright Moon makes it difficult to detect and locate stars in its vicinity. …

Sensing Negative-Cone Rotational Diffusion Of Dipole-Like Emitters, Yuanxin Qiu, Kaizhi A. Nie, Matthew D. Lew

Electrical & Systems Engineering Publications and Presentations

Fluorescence anisotropy and single-molecule orientation-localization microscopy (SMOLM) are powerful techniques that quantify the rotational diffusion of dipole-like emitters, which is important for sensing molecular interactions and chemical environments at the nanoscale. Numerous theoretical and experimental studies have thoroughly characterized single-molecule rotations even when those rotations are much faster than the detector integration time. Here, we extend the theory of measuring rotational diffusion to situations where a single dipole rotates uniformly everywhere outside of an isotropic cone of a certain size, termed a negative cone. This scenario corresponds to negative fluorescence anisotropy 𝑟 and has been observed in emitters exhibiting strong …

Proposed Methodology For Correcting Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Field-Of-View Scene-Change Artifacts, Kody A. Wilson, Michael L. Dexter, Benjamin F. Akers, Anthony L. Franz

Faculty Publications

Fourier-transform spectrometers are widely used for spectral measurements. Changes in the field of view during measurement introduce oscillations into the measured spectra known as scene-change artifacts. Field-of-view changes also introduce uncertainty about which target the measured spectrum represents. Though scene-change artifacts are often present in dynamic data, their significance is disputed in the current literature. This work presents a theoretical framework and experimental validation for scene-change artifacts. Field-of-view changes introduce variable interferogram offsets, which standard processing techniques assume are constant. The error between the interferogram offset and its estimate is Fourier-transformed, yielding scene-change artifacts, often confused with noise, in the …

Connecting The Existing Fiber Infrastructure To The Future With Antiresonant Hollow Core Fibers, Timothy Bate

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Optical fiber systems based on solid-core silica waveguides underpin modern telecommunications, high-power laser delivery, precision sensing, and coherent optical systems. However, nonlinear effects, material absorption, and thermal limitations within silica increasingly constrain further scaling in both optical power and transmission performance. Antiresonant hollow-core fibers provide a promising alternative by guiding light predominantly in air, substantially reducing nonlinear interactions, latency, and optical damage while enabling transmission regimes inaccessible to conventional solid-core fibers. Despite rapid advances in antiresonant hollow-core fiber attenuation and power handling, one of the largest remaining barriers to widespread adoption is reliable integration with the existing solid-core fiber ecosystem. …

Design, Fabrication Modeling, And Optical Metrology Of Mwir Silicon Metalenses, Weiyu Chen

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Mid-wave infrared (MWIR) optical systems require compact, broadband, manufacturable components whose performance can be predicted and measured reliably. Silicon metalenses are attractive because silicon combines high refractive index, MWIR transparency, and semiconductor-compatible fabrication. This dissertation develops a scale-bridging design–fabrication-modeling–metrology framework for MWIR silicon metalenses.

A shared full-aperture framework connects meta-atom libraries, physical layout generation, angular-spectrum propagation, point-spread-function calculation, and focal-plane energy metrics. Building on this foundation, the Dispersive Sweatt Model (DSM) incorporates meta-atom dispersion into conventional ray-tracing software, enabling broadband co-optimization of metasurfaces and refractive elements. A process-aware design framework then incorporates scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-measured height–radius relationships produced by …

Detection And Discrimination Of Targets In Infrared Imagery, Adam T. Cuellar

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Automated infrared (IR) imagery analysis is essential for persistent surveillance, defense, and security, yet it remains difficult when sensors move and when unknown objects appear. This dissertation addresses two fundamental problems: (1) detecting small moving targets amid platform-motion induced parallax and (2) distinguishing between known stationary targets and out-of-distribution (OOD) objects.   For detecting moving targets while the platform itself is in motion, auxiliary Global Positioning System and Inertial Navigation System data are combined with image analysis. Direction Cosine Matrices from calibrated inertial measurements enable sub-pixel frame alignment unattainable with purely image-based registration. The stabilized sequence is processed by a Reed–Xiaoli …

High-Efficiency And Compact Virtual Reality Displays, Zhenyi Luo

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies are revolutionizing the way humans interact with digital information. However, current near-eye display systems still face critical challenges regarding optical efficiency, image quality, and device weight. This dissertation focuses on addressing these limitations through innovative liquid-crystal (LC) optics and system-level design strategies to achieve high-efficiency and compact VR displays.

First, to solve the longstanding problem of severe chromatic aberrations in ultrathin LC optics, I proposed an achromatic diffractive LC device. By stacking three LC layers with specifically designed spectral responses and polarization selectivity, I successfully reduced the chromatic aberrations. This idea enables …

Impact Of Ethanol On The Evolution Of One-Step Synthesized Gold Nanoplates And Nanostars And Their Effects On Raman Signal Enhancement, Ananda Fania, Nonni Soraya Sambudi, Kirana Yuniati Putri, Yuliati Herbani, Affi Nur Hidayah

Makara Journal of Science

Gold nanoplates and nanostars were synthesized from a gold metal salt solution (HAuCl₄) using a one-step synthesis method of ultraviolet C (UVC) light irradiation. The gold salt solution was mixed with ethanol in 6 mL with the following ratios: (1.5:4.5, 3:3, and 4.5:1.5), and subsequently irradiated with UVC light. Changes in localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) shifts were observed in real time at 30-min intervals for 2 h. The synthesis process produces gold nanoplates. While gold nanostars were synthesized from a solution of gold salt combined with ethanol, ascorbic acid, and AgNO₃, maintaining a consistent ratio …

Single-Molecule Orientation And Localization Microscopy, Sophie Brasselet, Matthew D. Lew

Electrical & Systems Engineering Publications and Presentations

Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) offers enhanced spatial resolution in optical microscopy, providing detailed insights into the spatial organization of proteins in cells at the nanoscale. Over the past decade, SMLM has progressively incorporated the capability to retrieve the orientations of single molecules using their polarized dipolar emission pattern. Here we explore recent advancements in single-molecule orientation and localization microscopy (SMOLM), which yields super-resolved images of molecular three-dimensional (3D) orientations, wobble and 3D positions. This advancement opens possibilities to explore the nanoscale organization and conformation of biological molecules as well as to monitor and design local 3D optical fields in nanophotonics. …

Method For Target Detection In A High Noise Environment Through Frequency Analysis Using An Event-Based Vision Sensor, Will Johnston, Shannon Young, David Howe, Rachel Oliver, Zachary Theis, Brian Mcreynolds, Michael L. Dexter

Faculty Publications

Event-based vision sensors (EVSs), often referred to as neuromorphic cameras, operate by responding to changes in brightness on a pixel-by-pixel basis. In contrast, traditional framing cameras employ some fixed sampling interval where integrated intensity is read off the entire focal plane at once. Similar to traditional cameras, EVSs can suffer loss of sensitivity through scenes with high intensity and dynamic clutter, reducing the ability to see points of interest through traditional event processing means. This paper describes a method to reduce the negative impacts of these types of EVS clutter and enable more robust target detection through the use of …

A Study On The Propagation And Exploitation Of Structured Light In Underwater Turbulence, Jaxon P. Wiley

All Dissertations

The development and optimization of optical systems will play a pivotal role in the continued exploration and exploitation of the world’s underwater environments. These systems offer advantages in many sectors, and includes applications in areas such as high-speed communication, advanced sensing and imaging, and environmental characterization and monitoring. Underwater environments offer a plethora of challenges, however, and mitigating these obstacles remains an arduous task. In this work, the inherent advantages of structured light are leveraged to optimize optical system performance through non-ideal underwater conditions. Additionally, fundamental relationships between the generation of specified structured modes and their interactions with complex environments …

Advancing Real-World Implementation Of The Well Optimized Linear Finder (Wolf) High-Speed Atmospheric Turbulence Compensation Method, Timothy Evan Coon

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation advances the real-world implementation of the Well Optimized Linear Finder (WOLF) method for high-speed Atmospheric Turbulence Compensation (ATC). Atmospheric turbulence introduces phase aberrations into optical wavefronts and degrades image quality in terrestrial imaging systems. Traditional phase diversity methods are computationally intensive and poorly suited to real-time operation. The WOLF method addresses these limitations through a novel, point-wise formulation of the optical transfer function (OTF) as a structured autocorrelation of the generalized pupil function (GPF). This formulation enables the estimation of phase aberrations at individual spatial coordinates with distributed computational complexity.

The research begins by developing a MATLAB-based simulation …

3d Solid Models, Bradley M. Ratliff

Model Desert Terrain Monochromatic DoT Dataset

3D solid models for model vehicles, target panels, objects, and the desert terrain model in STL file format.

Ground Truth Images, Bradley M. Ratliff

Model Desert Terrain Monochromatic DoT Dataset

Laboratory and scenario ground truth images for the Model Desert Terrain Monochromatic DoT dataset.

Polarimetric Data: Scenario 01, Bradley M. Ratliff

Model Desert Terrain Monochromatic DoT Dataset

Polarimetric data Scenario 01 collected within the Automated Remote Sensing Solar Simulation Lab at the University of Dayton. The data were collected using a visible monochromatic division-of-time imaging polarimeter. The dataset is parameterized across different sensor, scene, and illumination geometries that mimic outdoor solar irradiance conditions.

Dataset Description, Bradley M. Ratliff

Model Desert Terrain Monochromatic DoT Dataset

Polarimetric dataset containing data collected within the Automated Remote Sensing Solar Simulation Lab at the University of Dayton. The data were collected using a visible monochromatic division-of-time imaging polarimeter. A model desert terrain model was constructed and imaged for eight different scenarios consisting of different model panel and vehicle targets. The dataset is parameterized across different sensor, scene, and illumination geometries that mimic outdoor solar irradiance conditions.

Data Annotations, Bradley M. Ratliff

Model Desert Terrain Monochromatic DoT Dataset

Pixel-wise object masks for each polarimetric scene in ASL file format for the Model Desert Terrain Monochromatic DoT data.

Rotating Scatter Mask System Optimization Study For Determining Optimal Image Recreation, Seth L. Grover

Theses and Dissertations

The Rotating Scatter Mask (RSM) system is a radiation imaging technology currently limited by the mask design and governing identification algorithm parameters. To optimize the RSM design, Dakota—an optimization software—was integrated with a ray tracing code that simulates particle interactions with the RSM detector, and with the Locally Competitive Algorithm (LCA), which reconstructs the source image based on the ray tracing code’s Detector Response Matrix (DRM). Since the original ray tracing code was developed in MATLAB, it was translated into Python to improve compatibility with both Dakota and LCA. The Python version of the ray tracing code was then integrated …

Power-Beaming: Wireless Energy Transfer Using Lasers, Spencer L. Barnett

ATU Scholars Symposium

The objective of the project is to implement a wireless energy transfer system utilizing laser technology. This system involves modulating the laser’s beam profile and spatial distribution through precise optical manipulation. The energy transmitted by the laser is captured by a photovoltaic array, commonly referred to as a solar panel, which is engineered to convert incident photons into direct current (DC) electrical power. The current challenge is to develop a reliable wireless energy transfer mechanism capable of operating over extended distances, thereby overcoming the constraints imposed by wired connections, particularly in environments where wiring is impractical, such as in space. …

Painting Rich Six-Dimensional Pictures Using Polarized Fluorescence Microscopy, Matthew D. Lew

Electrical & Systems Engineering Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Solar Angle And Cloud Shadows On 3d Reconstruction Of Rolling Stock Cargo, Carlina M. Ostrand, Adam D. Reiman, Frank W. Ciarallo, Scott L. Nykl, Clark N. Taylor, Joshua F. Krutz

Faculty Publications

Meeting the relentless demand for more efficient air cargo transportation is of paramount importance for commercial needs and military missions. This study describes an experiment to test an innovative approach that harnesses cutting-edge stereoscopic vision technology to create 3D point clouds of rolling stock cargo across varying solar angles and cloud shadow conditions. Virtual cargo point clouds are generated by calibrating and systematically organizing the depth and location points from an RGB-D camera and then reprojecting them in a virtual environment. Measurement accuracy was rigorously tested across six camera positions in various combinations of weather conditions against physical ground truth …

Metasurfaces And Their Applications In Photonic Devices, Shuwei Guo

Dissertations and Theses

Metasurfaces are flat artificial optical elements composed of dielectric and/or metallic nanostructures. They can manipulate light in unprecedented ways by altering amplitude, phase, and polarization at subwavelength scales. The ability of these two-dimensional elements to perform multiple optical functions within compact optical systems—while offering high functionality, small form factors, and easy integration into optoelectronic devices—has sparked significant interest across various fields and industries. These applications span imaging, sensing, nonlinear and quantum optics, optical computing, automotive technology, augmented and virtual reality, and more.

In this dissertation, we explore and design new multifunctional metasurfaces with a focus on manipulating spectral responses. First, …

Real-Time Synthesis Of A Nonuniformly Correlated, Partially Coherent Beam Using An Optical Coordinate Tansformation, Milo W. Hyde Iv

Faculty Publications

We design, build, and validate an optical system for generating light beams with complex spatial coherence properties in real time. Beams of this type self-focus and are resistant to turbulence degradation, making them potentially useful in applications such as optical communications. We begin with a general theoretical analysis of our proposed design. Our approach starts by generating a Schell-model (uniformly correlated or shift-invariant) source by spatially filtering incoherent light. We then pass this light through an optical coordinate transformer, which converts the Schell-model source into a nonuniformly correlated field. After the general analysis, we discuss system engineering, including trade-offs among …