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Full-Text Articles in Optics

Modelling Hoe Performance With An Extended Source; Experimental Investigation Using Misaligned Point Sources, Jorge Lasarte, Kevin Murphy, Izabela Naydenova, Jesús Atencia, Mª Victoria Collados, Suzanne Martin May 2023

Modelling Hoe Performance With An Extended Source; Experimental Investigation Using Misaligned Point Sources, Jorge Lasarte, Kevin Murphy, Izabela Naydenova, Jesús Atencia, Mª Victoria Collados, Suzanne Martin

Conference Papers

Holographic Optical Elements (HOEs) have the potential to enable more compact, versatile and lightweight optical designs, but many challenges remain. Volume HOE’s have the advantage of high diffraction efficiency but they present both chromatic selectivity and chromatic dispersion which impact on their use with wide spectrum light sources. Single-colour LED sources have a narrow spectrum that reduces these issues and this makes them better suited for use with volume HOEs. However, the LED source size must be taken into consideration for compact volume HOE-LED systems. To investigate the design limits for compact HOE-LED systems, a theoretical and experimental study was …


Fabrication And Characterisation Of Large Area, Uniform And Controllable Surface Relief Patterns In Photopolymer Material, Owen Kearney, Izabela Naydenova Jan 2023

Fabrication And Characterisation Of Large Area, Uniform And Controllable Surface Relief Patterns In Photopolymer Material, Owen Kearney, Izabela Naydenova

Conference Papers

As the risk of antibiotic resistant pathogens increases, development of convenient point of care devices is essential. Such devices would help avoid infection – ensure cleanliness of environments and assist in bacteria analysis. The ultimate aim of the research presented here is to develop a compact, cost effective, easy to use optical device which is capable of detecting and quantifying bacteria in an aqueous sample. The surface relief patterns have a dual role, they provide a diffracted light signal, and control the adhesion of the bacteria to the surface. The strength of the diffracted signal is expected to provide a …


Design And Fabrication Of Volume Holographic Optical Couplers For A Range Of Non-Normal Incidence Angles, Dipanjan Chakraborty, Rosen Georgiev, Sinead Aspell, Izabela Naydenova, Suzanne Martin Jan 2023

Design And Fabrication Of Volume Holographic Optical Couplers For A Range Of Non-Normal Incidence Angles, Dipanjan Chakraborty, Rosen Georgiev, Sinead Aspell, Izabela Naydenova, Suzanne Martin

Conference Papers

A theoretical model has previously been developed to calculate the holographic recording beam angles required in air (at any recording wavelength) to produce a Volume Holographic Optical Element (VHOE) for operation as a coupler for different input and output angles. In this paper, the experimental study is extended to further validate the VHOE coupler design and fabrication approach for additional incident beam angles, comparing -40° -45° and -50° (in air). The output angle for each VHOE is +45° within the medium and the coupler operational wavelength is 633nm. Holographic recording in Bayfol HX 200 photopolymer at 532nm is used to …


Mult-Spectral Imaging Of Vegetation With A Diffractive Plenoptic Camera, Tristan R. Naranjo Mar 2020

Mult-Spectral Imaging Of Vegetation With A Diffractive Plenoptic Camera, Tristan R. Naranjo

Theses and Dissertations

Snapshot multi-spectral sensors allow for object detection based on its spectrum for remote sensing applications in air or space. By making these types of sensors more compact and lightweight, it allows drones to dwell longer on targets or the reduction of transport costs for satellites. To address this need, I designed and built a diffractive plenoptic camera (DPC) which utilized a Fresnel zone plate and a light field camera in order to detect vegetation via a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). This thesis derives design equations by relating DPC system parameters to its expected performance and evaluates its multi-spectral performance. …


A Rotating Aperture Mask For Small Telescopes, Edward L. Foley Nov 2019

A Rotating Aperture Mask For Small Telescopes, Edward L. Foley

Master's Theses

Observing the dynamic interaction between stars and their close stellar neighbors is key to establishing the stars’ orbits, masses, and other properties. Our ability to visually discriminate nearby stars is limited by the power of our telescopes, posing a challenge to astronomers at small observatories that contribute to binary star surveys. Masks placed at the telescope aperture promise to augment the resolving power of telescopes of all sizes, but many of these masks must be manually and repetitively reoriented about the optical axis to achieve their full benefits. This paper introduces a design concept for a mask rotation mechanism that …


Near-Field Effects On Partially Coherent Light Scattered By An Aperture, Milo W. Hyde Iv, Michael J. Havrilla Aug 2019

Near-Field Effects On Partially Coherent Light Scattered By An Aperture, Milo W. Hyde Iv, Michael J. Havrilla

Faculty Publications

We investigate how the near field affects partially coherent light scattered from an aperture in an opaque screen. Prior work on this subject has focused on the role of surface plasmons, and how they affect spatial coherence is well documented. Here, we consider other near-field effects that might impact spatial coherence. We do this by examining the statistics of the near-zone field scattered from an aperture in a perfect electric conductor plane—a structure that does not support surface plasmons. We derive the near-field statistics (in particular, cross-spectral density functions) by applying electromagnetic equivalence theorems and the Method of Moments. We …


The Talbot Effect, Malia Kawamura Jan 2014

The Talbot Effect, Malia Kawamura

Honors Theses

The goal of this project is to experimentally investigate the optical Talbot effect and the electron Talbot effect. The Talbot effect is a near-field diffraction effect which occurs when plane waves are incident upon a grating. The Talbot effect creates full grating revivals at integral Talbot lengths and revivals with greater spatial periodicity at fractional Talbot lengths. We use a green helium neon laser and Ronchi rulings to take CCD camera images of the fractional Talbot revivals directly. Additionally, a photodiode records light intensity as a function of time as a second identical grating is moved to verify the presence …


Diffraction-Based Techniques For High Contrast X-Ray Imaging, Lubna Naseem Peerzada Jan 2014

Diffraction-Based Techniques For High Contrast X-Ray Imaging, Lubna Naseem Peerzada

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Two X-ray diffraction based techniques for high contrast were explored to improve contrast in radiology: diffraction enhanced imaging (DEI) and coherent scatter imaging.


Projection Of Diffracted Optical Atom Traps, Jeremy Kruger Sep 2011

Projection Of Diffracted Optical Atom Traps, Jeremy Kruger

Physics

Theoretical calculations were performed for the projection of a diffraction pattern created by a pinhole through a single-lens system using vector diffraction theory and a combination of programs (MathCAD, Igor, etc.). The projected diffraction patterns were then experimentally created, recorded, and analyzed. This work is part of a larger collaboration with Dr. Kat Gillen, to trap and manipulate atoms in a Magneto Optical Trap (MOT) and to make further steps in the direction of Quantum Computing using trapped neutral atoms.


Theoretical Study Of Beam Transformations By Volume Diffraction, Sergiy V. Mokhov Jan 2011

Theoretical Study Of Beam Transformations By Volume Diffraction, Sergiy V. Mokhov

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Laser beams can be manipulated by volume diffractive elements in addition to conventional optical elements like mirrors, lenses, and beam splitters. Conventional optical elements can be described by applying the basic laws of reflection and refraction at the surfaces of the elements. Even diffraction by surface gratings utilizes relatively simple mathematics. This is to be contrasted with the volume diffraction, which requires coupled wave theory in the slowly varying envelope approximation (SVEA) to obtain accurate results. Efficient spatially distributed diffraction of laser beams is possible due to the high coherence of laser light, and it occurs at specific resonant Bragg …


Application Of X-Ray Diffraction To Material Analysis And Medical Imaging, Wei Zhou Jan 2010

Application Of X-Ray Diffraction To Material Analysis And Medical Imaging, Wei Zhou

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Powder diffraction is commonly used to determine the structures of both inorganic and organic materials. The angle and intensity of the diffraction (also called coherent scatter) peak depends on the nanostructure of the material. When no x-ray optic is used, the peak width broadens, and hence the resolution worsens, as the sample area is increased. However, a small sample area gives low diffracted signal intensity, particularly for thin films and for organic materials, which have low diffraction cross sections. X-ray optics can be used in x-ray powder diffraction to increase the diffraction intensity, thus decreasing exposure times. For a small …


Light Beaming From A Single Subwavelength Metal Slit, Pengyu Chen Dec 2009

Light Beaming From A Single Subwavelength Metal Slit, Pengyu Chen

All Theses

In this thesis, light transmission through a single sub-wavelength slit in a silver thin film with periodic gratings at the exit side of the slit has been studied in both the visible and mid-infrared wavelength ranges.
In the visible wavelength range, we first investigate the enhancement of plasmonic light beaming efficiency by near field resonance in a subwavelength metallic slit-groove beaming structure. We show that by varying the film thickness and the separation distance of the beaming grating, the intensity of the near field can be greatly enhanced by resonance, which leads to the increase of the beaming efficiency. Moreover, …


Femtosecond Laser Written Volumetric Diffractive Optical Elements And Their Applications, Jiyeon Choi Jan 2009

Femtosecond Laser Written Volumetric Diffractive Optical Elements And Their Applications, Jiyeon Choi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the first demonstration of femtosecond laser written waveguides in 1996, femtosecond laser direct writing (FLDW) has been providing a versatile means to fabricate embedded 3-D microstructures in transparent materials. The key mechanisms are nonlinear absorption processes that occur when a laser beam is tightly focused into a material and the intensity of the focused beam reaches the range creating enough free electrons to induce structural modification. One of the most useful features that can be exploited in fabricating photonic structures is the refractive index change which results from the localized energy deposition. The laser processing system for FLDW can …


Ultrashort Laser Pulse Interaction With Photo-Thermo-Refractive Glass, Leo Siiman Jan 2008

Ultrashort Laser Pulse Interaction With Photo-Thermo-Refractive Glass, Leo Siiman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass is an ideal photosensitive material for recording phase volume holograms. It is a homogeneous multi-component silicate glass that demonstrates all the advantages of optical glass: thermal stability, high laser damage threshold, and a wide transparency range. Moreover the ability to record phase patterns (i.e. spatial refractive index variations) into PTR glass has resulted in the fabrication of volume holograms with diffraction efficiency greater than 99%. The conventional method of recording a hologram in PTR glass relies on exposure to continuous-wave ultraviolet laser radiation. In this dissertation the interaction between infrared ultrashort laser pulses and PTR glass is …


Design And Optimization Of Nano-Optical Elements By Coupling Fabrication To Optical Behavior, Raymond Rumpf Jan 2006

Design And Optimization Of Nano-Optical Elements By Coupling Fabrication To Optical Behavior, Raymond Rumpf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Photonic crystals and nanophotonics have received a great deal of attention over the last decade, largely due to improved numerical modeling and advances in fabrication technologies. To this day, fabrication and optical behavior remain decoupled during the design phase and numerous assumptions are made about "perfect" geometry. As research moves from theory to real devices, predicting device behavior based on realistic geometry becomes critical. In this dissertation, a set of numerical tools was developed to model micro and nano fabrication processes. They were combined with equally capable tools to model optical performance of the simulated structures. Using these tools, it …


Predicting Surface Scatter Using A Linear Systems Formulation Of Non-Paraxial Scalar Diffraction, Andrey Krywonos Jan 2006

Predicting Surface Scatter Using A Linear Systems Formulation Of Non-Paraxial Scalar Diffraction, Andrey Krywonos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Scattering effects from rough surfaces are non-paraxial diffraction phenomena resulting from random phase variations in the reflected wavefront. The ability to predict these effects is important in a variety of applications including x-ray and EUV imaging, the design of stray light rejection systems, and reflection modeling for rendering realistic scenes and animations of physical objects in computer graphics. Rayleigh-Rice (small perturbation method) and Beckmann-Kirchoff (Kirchhoff approximation) theories are commonly used to predict surface scatter effects. In addition, Harvey and Shack developed a linear systems formulation of surface scatter phenomena in which the scattering behavior is characterized by a surface transfer …


A Diffraction-Based Model Of Anisoplanatism Effects In Adaptive Optic Systems, Steven E. Troxel Jun 1994

A Diffraction-Based Model Of Anisoplanatism Effects In Adaptive Optic Systems, Steven E. Troxel

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a new model for computing the angle dependent performance measures of an adaptive-optics system. By incorporating diffraction caused by the index-of-refraction variations of the atmosphere, the phase and amplitude fluctuations of the propagating wave are computed. New theory is presented, that uses the diffraction-based propagation model to yield optical transfer function (OTF) expressions that are more accurate as compared to current theory that neglects diffraction. An evaluation method for calculating the OTF is presented that utilizes a layered atmospheric model and normalized OTF expressions. The diffraction model is also used to present the first OTF signal-to-noise ratio …