Optics Commons^™

Characterization Of The Atmospheric Effects On The Transmission Of Thermal Radiation, Mohamed E. Hanafy

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Atmospheric scattering plays a crucial rule in degrading the performance of electro optical imaging systems operating in the visible and infra-red spectral bands, and hence limits the quality of the acquired images, either through reduction of contrast or increase of image blur. The exact nature of light scattering by atmospheric media is highly complex and depends on the types, orientations, sizes and distributions of particles constituting these media, as well as wavelengths, polarization states and directions of the propagating radiation. Here we follow the common approach for solving imaging and propagation problems by treating the propagating light through atmospheric media …

Optical And Hybrid Imaging And Processing For Big Data Problems, Khan Iftekharuddin, Abdul A. S. Awwal, S. Susan Young, Ghaleb M. Abdulla

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) The scientific community has been dealing with big data for a long time. Due to advancement in sensing, networking, and storage technology, other domains such as business, health, and social media followed. Data are considered the gold of the 21st century and are being collected, stored, and analyzed at a rapid pace. The amount of data being collected creates a compelling case for investing in hardware and software research to support generating even more data from new sensors and with better quality. It also creates a compelling case for investing in research and development of new hardware and …

Magneto-Optical Effects And Precision Measurement Physics: Accessing The Magnetic Faraday Effect Of Polarized 3He With A Triple Modulation Technique, Gretchen Phelps

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

This work is comprised of the study of two magneto-optical phenomena: the Kerr effect and the Faraday effect. Neutron physics experiments often utilize polarized neutrons, and one method to generate or guide polarized neutrons involves the use of a system of magnetic super-mirrors. Experience shows that the magnetization of the super-mirror may decay with time; therefore, we implemented the surface magneto-optical Kerr effect (SMOKE) to study the temporal behavior of the magnetization of a magnetized remnant super-mirror sample, where a sensitivity of 0.1 mrad was obtained. Unique to our set-up was the method in which the various magnetization directions were …

Photonic Crystal Fiber Half-Taper Probe Based Refractometer, Pengfei Wang, Ming Ding, Lin Bo, Chunying Guan, Yuliya Semenova, Weimin Sun, Libo Yuan, Gilberto Brambilla, Gerald Farrell

Articles

A compact singlemode - photonic crystal fibre - singlemode fibre tip (SPST) refractive index sensor is demonstrated in this paper. A CO₂ laser cleaving technique is utilsed to provide a clean-cut fibre tip which is then coated by a layer of gold to increase reflection. An average sensitivity of 39.1 nm/RIU and a resolvable index change of 2.56×10^-4 are obtained experimentally with a ~3.2 µm diameter SPST. The temperature dependence of this fiber optic sensor probe is presented. The proposed SPST refractometer is also significantly less sensitive to temperature and an experimental demonstration of this reduced sensitivity is …

Holographic Sensors: Three-Dimensional Analyte-Sensitive Nanostructures And Their Applications, Ali K. Yetisen, Izabela Naydenova, Fernando Da Cruz Vasconcellos, Jeffrey Blyth, Christopher R. R. Lowe

Articles

Holographic sensors are analytical devices that systematically diffract narrow-band light in the ultraviolet to near-infrared range for application in the detection and quantification of analytes and/or physical parameters. They can be functionalized with analyte-responsive materials to construct highly sensitive optical sensors for use in testing, where a visual readout, fast turnaround time, and reversibility are needed. Holography allows fabrication of disposable sensors that are lightweight for miniaturization and multiplexing purposes.3 Holographic sensors offer three capabilities on a single analytical device: (i) label-free analyte-responsive polymer, (ii) real-time, reversible quantification of the external stimuli, and (iii) three-dimensional visual image display.

Investigation Of The Sensitivity To Humidity Of An Acrylamide-Based Photopolymer Containing N-Phenylglycine As A Photoinitiator, Tatsiana Mikulchyk, Suzanne Martin, Izabela Naydenova

Articles

Sensitivity of holographic recording materials to the relative humidity (RH) of the environment often restricts their use in fabrication of holographic optical elements and other applications. It is important to develop materials with little or no sensitivity to humidity. In this paper the humidity response of transmission gratings recorded in an acrylamide-based photopolymer containing N-phenylglycine (NPG) as a photoinitiator is studied at RH = 20 – 90 %. The hologram is found to be completely insensitive to humidity at RH below 70 % and its diffraction efficiency remains constant. A decrease in diffraction efficiency is observed at RH = 80 …

Mechanism Of Multiple Grating Formation In High-Energy Recording Of Holographic Sensors, Ali K. Yetisen, Yunuen Montelongo, Nicholas M. Farandos, Izabela Naydenova, Christopher R. Lowe, Seok Hyun Yun

Articles

We report numerical analyses of Bragg diffraction by Denisyuk reflection holograms recorded by a high-energy pulsed laser. An intensity threshold must be passed to pattern a multilayer reflection and transmission hologram, which exhibits a nonlinear fringe structure. Numerical evaluations are provided for the laser light intensity, readout diffraction offset angle, transmission of the layer, and thickness of the polymer matrix during hologram recording. A non-sinusoidal surface pattern is formed at the top of the multilayer structure, and its effect on the diffraction properties of the structure becomes significant when the recording tilt angle is increased. Experimental results show that the …

An Investigation Of Electro-Optical 1/F Noise Reduction In An Open-Path Tunable Diode Laser Spectrometer, Samira Adnan Mahdi

Theses and Dissertations

A mobile spectrometer system has been designed to scan the near-surface atmosphere for ammonia gas over a wide range of distances (10 m to 1 Km). Since the system is designed for space applications, it needs to be small, light weight, and low power, which dictates the use of relatively low frequency measurement scans. The spectrometer uses a diode laser, which is subject to a large of electro-optical 1/f noise component at these low frequencies. In this work, digital signal processing techniques are developed to reduce the effects of 1/f noise in gas measurements. A Double Fast Fourier Transform-Based Filter …

Direct Coupling Of Photonic Modes And Surface Plasmon Polaritons Observed In 2-Photon Peem, Robert Campbell Word, Joseph Fitzgerald, Rolf Könenkamp

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report the direct microscopic observation of optical energy transfer from guided photonic modes in an indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film to surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) at the surfaces of a single crystalline gold platelet. The photonic and SPP modes appear as an interference pattern in the photoelectron emission yield across the surface of the specimen. We explore the momentum match between the photonic and SPP modes in terms of simple waveguide theory and the three-layer slab model for bound SPP modes of thin metal films. We show that because the gold is thin (30- 40 nm), two SPP …

Temperatures In The Mid-Latitude Mesosphere During Sudden Stratospheric Warmings As Determined From Rayleigh Lidar Data, Leda Sox, Vincent B. Wickwar, Chad Fish, Joshua P. Herron

Graduate Student Posters

Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSWs) are major disturbances in the polar region of the winter hemisphere that cause major changes in stratospheric temperature and circulation. SSWs are characterized by a temperature increase of tens of degrees Kelvin, averaged over 60°-90° latitude, and a weakening of the polar vortex that persists for the order of a week at the 10 hPa level (roughly 32 km) [Labitzke and Naujokat, 2000]. The polar vortices are cyclones centered on both of the Earth’s poles that are present from the mid-troposphere to the lower stratosphere. Eastward zonal winds define the strong polar vortices in the winter. …

Infrared Skin Damage Thresholds From 1319-Nm Continous-Wave Laser Exposures, Jeffrey W. Oliver, Revecca Vincelette, Gary Noojin, Clifton D. Clark, Corey Harbert, Kurt J. Schuster, Aurora D. Schingledecker, Semih S. Kumru, Justin Maughan, Naomi Kitzis, Gavin D. Buffington, David J. Stolarski, Robert J. Thomas

Physics Faculty Publications

A series of experiments were conducted in vivo using Yucatan miniature pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) to determine thermal damage thresholds to the skin from 1319-nm continuous-wave Nd:YAG laser irradiation. Experiments employed exposure durations of 0.25, 1.0, 2.5, and 10 s and beam diameters of ∼0.6 and 1 cm. Thermal imagery data provided a time-dependent surface temperature response from the laser. A damage endpoint of fifty percent probability of a minimally visible effect was used to determine threshold for damage at 1 and 24 h postexposure. Predicted thermal response and damage thresholds are compared with a numerical model of opticalthermal interaction. …

Analysis Of Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar And Passive Visible Light Polarimetric Imaging Data Fusion For Remote Sensing Applications, Sanjit Maitra

Theses

The recent launch of spaceborne (TerraSAR-X, RADARSAT-2, ALOS-PALSAR, RISAT) and airborne (SIRC, AIRSAR, UAVSAR, PISAR) polarimetric radar sensors, with capability of imaging through day and night in almost all weather conditions, has made polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) image interpretation and analysis an active area of research. PolSAR image classification is sensitive to object orientation and scattering properties. In recent years, significant work has been done in many areas including agriculture, forestry, oceanography, geology, terrain analysis. Visible light passive polarimetric imaging has also emerged as a powerful tool in remote sensing for enhanced information extraction. The intensity image provides information …

Stimulated Raman Scattering In Micro Sphere Resonators, Ruoyu Zhang

All Theses

Micro sphere resonators that hold optical whisper gallery modes (WGMs) provide an innovative option for implementing micro optical resonators. The unique properties of the micro sphere resonator make it capable to introduce resonance for various optical phenomenon, like stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), in micron scale.

This thesis illustrates the characteristics of micro sphere resonators and demonstrates the resonance-enhanced SRS in micro sphere resonators with reduce threshold power. Both theoretical and experimental results are presented. Coupling model for WGM is derived in transfer matrix method. Simulation analyses for mode pattern of WGMs are solved based on mathematic model and finite element …

Steady-State Switching And Dispersion/Absorption Spectroscopy Of Multistate Atoms Inside An Optical Ring Cavity, Jiteng Sheng

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis mainly focuses on the experimental investigations of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) related phenomena in various systems involving multilevel atoms inside an optical ring cavity. Semiclassical methods, e.g. density-matrix equations, are used through out this thesis to simulate the experimental results. First, the cavity transmission spectrum can be significantly modified when multilevel atoms are placed inside an optical ring cavity. Such coupled atom-cavity systems are well explained by the intracavity dispersion/absorption properties. Specifically, three-level lambda-type, four-level N-type and double-lambda-type atoms inside an optical ring cavity are investigated by examining their cavity transmission spectra. Second, optical multistability (OM) has been …

Design And Fabrication Of An Infrared Optical Pyrometer Asic As A Diagnostic For Shock Physics Experiments, Jared Gordon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Optical pyrometry is the sensing of thermal radiation emitted from an object using a photoconductive device to convert photons into electrons, and is an important diagnostic tool in shock physics experiments. Data obtained from an optical pyrometer can be used to generate a blackbody curve of the material prior to and after being shocked by a high speed projectile. The sensing element consists of an InGaAs photodiode array, biasing circuitry, and multiple transimpedance amplifiers to boost the weak photocurrent from the noisy dark current into a signal that can eventually be digitized. Once the circuit elements have been defined, more …

Physics-Based Surface Energy Model Optimization For Water Bodies In Cold Climates Using Visible And Calibrated Thermal Infrared Imagery, May V. Casterline

Theses

When tasked with accurately modeling a water body in a cold climate environment, the complexity of the system being simulated and the numerous parameters affecting the observable outcome pose an arduous task for any modeling effort. The task is increasingly complicated when the body of water is serving as a cooling pond for a power plant and can become partially frozen. The introduction of a heat effluent into the water creates a highly dynamic system whose physical state is not only reactionary to the surrounding environmental conditions, but the industrial facility's operating parameters as well. Both calibrated thermal and visible …

Molecular Fluorescence In The Vicinity Of A Charged Metallic Nanoparticle, H. Y. Chung, P. T. Leung, D. P. Tsai

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The modified fluorescence properties of a molecule in the vicinity of a metallic nanoparticle are further studied accounting for the possible existence of extraneous charges on the particle surface. This is achieved via a generalization of the previous theory of Bohren and Hunt for light scattering from a charged sphere, with the results applied to the calculation of the various decay rates and fluorescence yield of the admolecule. Numerical results show that while charge effects will in general blue-shift all the plasmonic resonances of the metal particle, both the quantum yield and the fluorescence yield can be increased at emission …

Characterization Of Planar Wave Guides By Angle-Dependent Excitation Of Guided Modes, Edward D. Lunde

Physics

In this project a high resolution rotation stage was used to measure the angle of coupling of light into planar waveguide modes. Control of the stage and acquisition of light intensity data was done using the commercially available programming environment, MATLAB. Reliable, repeatable excitation of modes was done using prism coupling. We also investigated coupling using a surface grating on the waveguide.

Global Fossil Energy Markets And Climate Change Mitigation: An Analysis With Remind, Nico Bauer, Ioanna Mouratiadou, Gunnar Luderer, Lavinia Baumstark, Robert J. Brecha, Ottmar Edenhofer, Elmar Kriegler

Physics Faculty Publications

We analyze the dynamics of global fossil resource markets under different assumptions for the supply of fossil fuel resources, development pathways for energy demand, and climate policy settings. Resource markets, in particular the oil market, are characterized by a large discrepancy between costs of resource extraction and commodity prices on international markets. We explain this observation in terms of (a) the intertemporal scarcity rent, (b) regional price differentials arising from trade and transport costs, (c) heterogeneity and inertia in the extraction sector. These effects are captured by the REMIND model. We use the model to explore economic effects of changes …

Multi-Level Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering Using AgoX Thin Film, Ming Lun Tseng, Chia Min Chang, Bo Han Cheng, Pin Chieh Wu, K. S. Chung, M. K. Hsiao, H. W. Huang, D. W. Huang, Hai-Pang Chiang, P.T. Leung, D. P. Tsai

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Ag nanostructures with surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activities have been fabricated by applying laser-direct writing (LDW) technique on silver oxide (AgOx) thin films. By controlling the laser powers, multi-level Raman imaging of organic molecules adsorbed on the nanostructures has been observed. This phenomenon is further investigated by atomic-force microscopy and electromagnetic calculation. The SERS-active nanostructure is also fabricated on transparent and flexible substrate to demonstrate our promising strategy for the development of novel and low-cost sensing chip.