Optics Commons^™

Measurement And Mitigation Of Optical, Recombination And Resistive Losses In Silicon Photovoltaics, Mohammad Jobayer Hossain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Today, most of the photovoltaic cells in the market are made of silicon. Great achievements are being attained every year in terms of reducing the price of this kind of cells and improving their efficiency, reliability and durability. However, further improving the cell performance is a challenging task because of the presence of optical, recombination and resistive loss mechanisms in the cell. This work is focused on the measurement and mitigation of these losses. Mitigation of the optical, recombination and resistive losses at first require quantifying those losses and their impacts on the cell performance metrics accurately. Traditionally, solar cells …

On The Information Content In Unresolved Imaging, Zhean Shen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Imaging is almost synonymous with optics. Imaging is the process of using light to form a tangible or visible representation, an imitation (imitari) of a material property. There are many situations, however, where one can only aspire to 'sense making' rather than forming an image per se. In other words, objects cannot be directly resolved by conventional intensity-based imaging, a situation commonly referred to as 'unresolved imaging'. However, there is still information retained in other properties of light, which can be exposed by other means. In this thesis I will discuss two typical situations: subwavelength and multiple scattering, which are …

Dales Objects: A Large Scale Benchmark Dataset For Instance Segmentation In Aerial Lidar, Nina M. Singer, Vijayan K. Asari

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We present DALES Objects, a large-scale instance segmentation benchmark dataset for aerial lidar. DALES Objects contains close to half a billion hand-labeled points, including semantic and instance segmentation labels. DALES Objects is an extension of the DALES (Varney et al., 2020) dataset, adding additional intensity and instance segmentation annotation. This paper provides an overview of the data collection, preprocessing, hand-labeling strategy, and final data format. We propose relevant evaluation metrics and provide insights into potential challenges when evaluating this benchmark dataset. Finally, we provide information about how researchers can access the dataset for their use at go.udayton.edu/dales3d.

Tunable Optical Filter Using Phase Change Materials For Smart Ir Night Vision Applications, Remona Heenkenda, Keigo Hirakawa, Andrew Sarangan

Electro-Optics and Photonics Faculty Publications

In this paper we present a tunable filter using Ge2Sb2Se4Te1 (GSST) phase change material. The design principle of the filter is based on a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) cavity operating in the reflection mode. This is intended for night vision applications that utilize 850nm as the illumination source. The filter allows us to selectively reject the 850nm band in one state. This is illustrated through several daytime and nighttime imaging applications.

Multi-Functional Fluorescence Microscopy Via Psf Engineering For High-Throughput Super-Resolution Imaging, Jinhan Ren

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Image-based single cell analysis is essential to study gene expression levels and subcellular functions with preserving the native spatial locations of biomolecules. However, its low throughput has prevented its wide use to fundamental biology and biomedical applications which require large cellular populations in a rapid and efficient fashion. Here, we report a 2.5D microcopy (2.5DM) that significantly improves the image acquisition rate while maintaining high-resolution and single molecule sensitivity. Unlike serial z-scanning in conventional approaches, volumetric information is simultaneously projected onto a 2D image plane in a single shot by engineering the fluorescence light using a novel phase pattern. The …

Development Of Quantitative Intensity-Based Single-Molecule Assays, Benjamin Croop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Fluorescence microscopy has emerged as a popular and powerful tool within biology research, owing to its exceptional signal contrast, specificity, and the versatility of the various microscope designs. Fluorescence microscopy has been used to study samples across orders of magnitude in physical scale ranging from tissues to cells, down to single-molecules, and as such has led to breakthroughs and new knowledge in a wide variety of research areas. In particular, single-molecule techniques are somewhat unique in their ability to study biomolecules in their native state, which enables the visualization of short-lived interactions and rare events which can be highly relevant …

High Speed Modulation Characteristics Of Semiconductor Nanolasers And Coupled Ring Laser Systems, Chi Xu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Optical communication systems require light sources that can be modulated with high speeds. However, the modulation bandwidth of laser diodes is typically limited by an intrinsic value, its relaxation resonance frequency. In order to circumvent this limitation, a number of methods have been proposed to boost the modulation speed, including optical injection locking, quantum dots lasers with large differential gain, push-pull modulation in composite lasers. This dissertation explores two new approaches for enhancing the direct modulation bandwidth of semiconductor quantum well laser diodes. Lasers with strong spontaneous emission have been shown to exhibit a high-speed performance theoretically. It is expected …

Therapy And Medical Imaging Applications Of Focusing Polycapillary X-Ray Optics, Weiyuan Sun

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Focusing polycapillary optics yield high gains in intensity and increased spatial resolution for a variety of clinical, lab-based, synchrotron, or in situ analysis applications. In this dissertation we investigate the extension of two applications of focusing polycapillary optics. The first is the application of polycapillary optics in radiation therapy. This discussion includes measurements and calculation of dose for focused beam orthovoltage therapy. A system has been designed to investigate whether the polycapillary optics can produce an X-ray beam which can give more accurate dose painting due to the higher dose concentration at the focal spot. X-ray exposures were measured with …

Dynamics Of Transmission In Disordered Topological Insulators, Yuhao Kang, Yiming Huang, Azriel Genack

Publications and Research

Robust transmission in topological insulators makes it possible to steer waves without attenuation along bent paths within imperfectly fabricated photonic devices. But the absence of reflection does not guarantee the fidelity of pulsed transmission which is essential for core photonic functionalities. Pulse transmission is disrupted by localized modes in the bulk of topological insulators which coexist with the continuum edge mode and are pushed deeper into the band gap with increasing disorder. Here we show in simulations of the Haldane model that pulse propagation in disordered topological insulators is robust throughout the central portion of the band gap where localized …

Directional Link Management Using In-Band Full-Duplex Free Space Optical Transceivers For Aerial Nodes, A F M Saniul Haq

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Free-space optical (FSO) communication has become very popular for wireless applications to complement and, in some cases, replace legacy radio-frequency for advantages like unlicensed band, spatial reuse, and enhanced security. Even though FSO can achieve very high bit-rate (tens of Gbps), range limitation due to high attenuation and weather dependency has always restricted its practical implementation to indoor application like data centers and outdoor application like Project Loon. Building-to-building communication, smart cars, and airborne drones are potential futuristic wireless communication sectors for mobile ad-hoc FSO networking. Increasing social media usage demands high-speed mobile connectivity for applications like video call and …

Understanding The Effects Of Water Vapor And Temperature On Aerosol Using Novel Measurement Methods, Tyler Jacob Capek

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Aerosol and water are inexorably linked, and both are ubiquitous within our atmosphere and required components for cloud formation. Relative humidity (RH), a temperature dependent quantity, can have a significant influence on the size, shape, and ultimately, the optical properties of the aerosol. RH can vary substantially on small spatial and short temporal scales in turbulent conditions due to rapid fluctuations in temperature and water vapor mixing ratio. Accurate assessment of optical enhancements due to an increase in RH is key for determining the particles’ impact on the climate and visibility.

A humidity-controlled cavity attenuated phase-shift albedometer (H-CAPS-PM_SSA) …

Asymmetry In Mie Scattering By A Homogeneous Sphere, Samuel Hanna

Honors Program Theses

Azimuthal asymmetry is present in the Mie scattering pattern of light scattered by a homogeneous sphere within a uniform medium. This asymmetry is predicted by Mie theory, which describes such scattering mathematically using solutions to Maxwell's equations. This thesis shows that the asymmetry in Mie scattering patterns is related to the polarization of the light incident on the scatterer. This relationship is reflected in the mathematics of Mie theory. Furthermore, this thesis demonstrates empirically that the polarization of the incident light is related to the asymmetry in Mie scattering patterns. Mie scattering by single polystyrene beads was recorded using an …

Ieee Access Special Section Editorial: Trends And Advances In Bio-Inspired Image-Based Deep Learning Methodologies And Applications, Peter Peer, Carlos M. Travieso-Gonzalez, Vijayan K. Asari, Malay Kishore Dutta

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Many of the technological advances we enjoy today have been inspired by biological systems due to their ease of operation and outstanding efficiency. Designing technological solutions based on biological inspiration has become a cornerstone of research in a variety of areas ranging from control theory and optimization to computer vision, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Especially in the latter few areas, biologically relevant solutions are becoming increasingly important as we look for new ways to make artificial systems more efficient, intelligent, and overall effective.

Evaluation Of Postoperative Refractive Error Correction After Cataract Surgery, Ellen Konadu Antwi-Adjei, Emmanuel Owusu, Emmanuel Kobia-Acquah, Emmanuella Esi Dadzie, Emmanuel Anarfi, Seth Wanye

Articles

Suboptimal cataract surgery outcomes remain a challenge in most developing countries. In Ghana, about 2 million people have been reported to be blind due to cataract with about 20% new cases being recorded yearly. The aim of this study was to evaluate postoperative correction of refractive errors after cataract surgery in a selected eye hospital in Ashanti Region, Ghana. This was a retrospective study where medical records of patients (aged 40–100) who reported to an eye hospital in Ghana from 2013–2018 were reviewed. Included in the study were patients aged ≥40 years and patients with complete records. Data on patient …

Optically Transparent Microwave Absorber Based On Water-Based Moth-Eye Structures, H Kwon, G D’Aguanno, Andrea Alù

Advanced Science Research Center

We propose an approach to realize an optically transparent microwave absorber based on water-based moth-eye metamaterial structures. The absorber is made of a periodic array of properly shaped glass caps infiltrated with distilled water. Analytical calculations and numerical simulations show that the water-based metamaterial absorbs electromagnetic waves over a wide spectral band ranging from 4GHz to well above 120GHz, showing absorption levels close to 100% for incident radiation that ranges from normal to grazing angles, for both TE and TM polarizations. Yet, the structure is optically transparent, offering exciting opportunities in a variety of civil and military applications, such as …

Combined Experimental And Modeling Analysis For Thedevelopment Of Optical Materials Suitable To Enhance Theimplementation Of Plasmonic-Enhanced Luminescent Down-Shifting Solutions On Existing Silicon-Based Photovoltaic Devices, James Walshe, Mihaela Girtan, Sarah Mccormack, John Doran, George Amarandei

Articles

The development of highly efficient solar collectors requires modulating the light interactions with the semiconducting materials. Incorporating luminescent species and metal nanoparticles within a semitransparent polymeric material (e.g., polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)) leads to the formation of a plasmon-enhanced luminescent down-shifting (PLDS) layer, which offers a retrofittable approach toward expanding the wavelength range over which the conversion process can effectively occur. Adding antireflection coatings (ARCs) further controls the spectral response. However, with each additional component comes additional loss pathways. In this study, the losses related to light interactions with the PMMA and the ARCs have been investigated theoretically using a transfer …

Fabrication Of Metal-Silicon Nanostructures By Reactive Laser Ablation In Liquid, Eric J. Broadhead

Theses and Dissertations

Metal-silicon nanostructures are a growing area of research due to their applications in multiple fields such as biosensing and catalysis. In addition, silicon can provide strong support effects to metal nanoparticles while being more cost effective than traditionally used supports, like titania. Traditional wet-chemical methods are capable of synthesizing metal-silicon nanostructures with a variety of composition and nanoparticle shapes, but they often require high temperatures, toxic solvents, strong reducing agents, or need capping agents added to stabilize the nanoparticles. Laser processing is an emerging technique capable of synthesizing metal-silicon composite surfaces that offers a faster, simpler, and greener synthesis route …

Live Cell Biomass Tracking For Basic, Translational, And Clinical Research, Graeme Murray

Theses and Dissertations

Single cell mass is tightly regulated throughout generations and the cell cycle, making it an important marker of cell health. Abnormal changes in cell size can be the first indication of dysfunction in response to environmental stimuli such as cytotoxic drugs. Described here is the further development of high-speed live cell interferometry (HSLCI) to concurrently measure the changes in single cell mass of thousands of cells over time. Critically, the high-throughput nature of HSLCI provides realistic pictures of tumor heterogeneity. This throughput enabled HSLCI to correctly predict in vivo carboplatin sensitivity of three triple negative breast cancer patient derived xenografts, …

Optical Metasurfaces, Fatih Balli

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

Traditional optical elements, such as refractive lenses, mirrors, phase plates and polarizers have been used for various purposes such as imaging systems, lithographic printing, astronomical observations and display technology. Despite their long-term achievements, they can be bulky and not suitable for miniaturization. On the other hand, recent nanotechnology advances allowed us to manufacture micro and nanoscale devices with ultra-compact sizes. Metasurfaces, 2D engineered artificial interfaces, have emerged as candidates to replace traditional refractive lenses with ultra-thin miniaturized optical elements. They possess sub-wavelength unit cell structures with a specific geometry and material selection. Each unit cell can uniquely tailor the phase, …

Direct Multiplexing Of Low Order Aberration Modes In A Photopolymerbased Holographic Element For Analog Holographic Wavefront Sensing, Emma Branigan, Suzanne Martin, Matthew Sheehan, Kevin Murphy

Conference Papers

The fabrication of an analog holographic wavefront sensor, capable of detecting the low order defocus aberration, was achieved in an acrylamide-based photopolymer. While other implementations of holographic wavefront sensors have been carried out digitally, this process utilises a recording setup consisting only of conventional refractive elements so the cost and complexity of holographic optical element (HOE) production could be much reduced. A pair of diffraction spots, corresponding to a maximum and minimum amount of defocus, were spatially separated in the detector plane by multiplexing two HOEs with different carrier spatial frequencies. For each wavefront with a known aberration that was …