Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030270
Authors: Weiping Chen Lei Yuan Bo Zhang Qianqin Yu Zhenggang Lian Yabin Pi Chongxin Shan Perry Ping Shum
The rapid development of information and communication technology has driven the demand for higher data transmission rates. Multi-core optical fiber, with its ability to transmit multiple signals simultaneously, has emerged as a promising solution to meet this demand. Additionally, due to its characteristics such as multi-channel transmission, high integration, spatial flexibility, and versatility, multi-core optical fibers hold vast potential in sensing applications. However, the manufacturing technology of multi-core fiber is still in its early stages, facing challenges such as the design and fabrication of high-quality cores, efficient coupling between cores, and the reduction of crosstalk. In this paper, an overview of the current status and future prospects of multi-core fiber manufacturing technology has been presented, and their limitations will be discussed. Some potential solutions to overcome these challenges will be proposed. Their potential applications in optical fiber sensing will also be summarized.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030269
Authors: Yanlin Chen Jing Zhang Xiaolang Qiu Suo Wang Chuanchuan Li Haiyang Yu Xin Wei
A single-frequency narrow linewidth green laser at 510 nm is a vital component for the study of Cesium Rydberg atoms. Here, we demonstrate a 510 nm laser based on single-pass second-harmonic generation (SHG) and sum-frequency generation (SFG) via waveguide Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate (PPLN) seeded with a common C-band laser (1530 nm). The final linewidth measured using the delayed self-heterodyne method reaches a narrow linewidth of 4.8 kHz. And, the optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is up to 13.1% and reaches an output power up to 200 mW.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030268
Authors: David L. Bakker Yannick Jong Bob P. F. Dirks Gustavo C. Amaral
The design and operation of quantum networks are both decisive in the current push towards a global quantum internet. Although space-enabled quantum connectivity has already been identified as a beneficial candidate for long-range quantum channels for over two decades, the architecture of a hybrid space–ground network is still a work in progress. Here, we propose an analysis of such a network based on a best-path approach, where either fiber- or satellite-based elementary links can be concatenated to form a repeater chain. The network consisting of quantum information processing nodes, equipped with both ground and space connections, is mapped into a graph structure, where edge weights represent the achievable secret key rates, chosen as the figure of merit for the network analysis. A weight minimization algorithm allows for identifying the best path dynamically, i.e., as the weather conditions, stray light radiance, and satellite orbital position change. From the results, we conclude that satellite links will play a significant role in the future large-scale quantum internet, in particular when node distances exceed 500 km, and both a constellation of satellites—spanning 20 or more satellites—and significant advances in filtering technology are required to achieve continuous coverage.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030267
Authors: Chung-Chih Lin Audrey Na Yi-Kuei Wu Likarn Wang Neil Na
Grating couplers are essential components in silicon photonics that facilitate the coupling of light between waveguides and fibers. Optimization of the grating couplers to reach <1 dB loss when coupling to single-mode fibers (SMFs) has been reported in the literature, but this was based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides supporting multi-modes. In this paper, using a deep-learning model combined with an inverse-design process, we achieve <1 dB losses for grating couplers implemented over single-mode SOI waveguides, i.e., a maximum efficiency of 80.5% (−0.94 dB) for gratings constrained with e-beam (EB) lithography critical dimension (CD), and a maximum efficiency of 77.9% (−1.09 dB) for gratings constrained with deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography CD. To verify these results, we apply covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy (CMA-ES) and find that while CMA-ES yields slightly better results, i.e., 82.7% (−0.83 dB) and 78.9% (−1.03 dB) considering e-beam and DUV, respectively, the spatial structures generated by CMA-ES are nearly identical to the spatial structures generated by the deep-learning model combined with the inverse-design process. This suggests that our approach can achieve a representative low-loss structure, and may be used to improve the performance of other types of nanophotonic devices in the future.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030266
Authors: Alec Xu Camron Nourshargh Patrick S. Salter Steve J. Elston Stephen M. Morris Martin J. Booth
We present extended capabilities in simple liquid crystal-based devices that are applicable to adaptive optics and other related fields requiring wavefront manipulation. The laser-written devices can provide complex phase profiles, but are extremely simple to operate, requiring only a single electrode pair tuned between 0 and 10 V RMS. Furthermore, the devices operate in the transmissive mode for easy integration into the optical path. We present here as examples three such devices: the first device reproduces the defocus Zernike polynomial; the second device reproduces a seventh-order Zernike polynomial, tertiary coma; and the last example is of a primary spherical aberration. All devices offer wavelength-scale wavefront manipulation up to more than 2π radians peak-to-peak phase at a wavelength of 660 nm. The coma correction device is significantly more complex, reproducing a mode two orders higher than previous demonstrations, while the spherical device is nearly a full order of magnitude larger, measuring 2 mm in diameter.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030265
Authors: Yuchen Chen Jifang Qiu Zhenli Dong Lihang Wang Lan Wu Suping Jiao Hongxiang Guo Jian Wu
Inverse-designed devices with thousands of degrees of freedom could achieve high performance in compact footprints, but typically have complex structure topologies that contain many irregular and tiny features and sharp corners, which tend to lead to a poor robustness to fabrication errors. In order to effectively transform the structure of inverse-designed nanophotonic devices into simple structure topologies that have high robustness to fabrication errors without sacrificing device performance, in this paper, we propose a structure adjustment method that innovatively adjusts the structures of inverse-designed devices by introducing their structural sensitivity to the optical performance, extracting the device substructures with high sensitivity and eliminating those with low sensitivity, and, finally, transforming the device structures into simple structure topologies with high robustness and better performance. Two devices (90° crossing and T-junction) were designed and fabrication tolerance simulation was conducted to verify the method. The results show that the devices designed using the proposed method achieved better performance and were more robust to under/over-etched errors.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030264
Authors: Fan Zhang Huacheng Xu Qing Yang Yu Lu Guangqing Du Feng Chen
Over millions of years of evolution, arthropods have intricately developed and fine-tuned their highly sophisticated compound eye visual systems, serving as a valuable source of inspiration for human emulation and tracking. Femtosecond laser processing technology has attracted attention for its excellent precision, programmable design capabilities, and advanced three-dimensional processing characteristics, especially in the production of artificial bionic compound eye structures, showing unparalleled advantages. This comprehensive review initiates with a succinct introduction to the operational principles of biological compound eyes, providing essential context for the design of biomimetic counterparts. It subsequently offers a concise overview of crucial manufacturing methods for biomimetic compound eye structures. In addition, the application of femtosecond laser technology in the production of biomimetic compound eyes is also briefly introduced. The review concludes by highlighting the current challenges and presenting a forward-looking perspective on the future of this evolving field.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030263
Authors: Mansi Baliyan Naveen K. Nishchal
The orbital angular momentum (OAM) associated with structured singular beams carries vital information crucial for studying various properties and applications of light. Determining OAM through the interference of light is an efficient method. The interferogram serves as a valuable tool for analyzing the wavefront of structured beams, especially identifying the order of singularity. In this study, we propose a modified Mach–Zehnder interferometer architecture to effectively determine the topological charge of Bessel–Gaussian (BG) beams. Several numerically generated self-referenced interferograms have been used for analysis. Moreover, this study examines the propagation property and phase distribution within BG beams after they are obstructed by an aperture in the interferometer setup.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030262
Authors: Laura G. Martinez-Ramirez Iván Hernández-Romano Cipriano Guzmán-Cano Sigifredo Marrujo-García Arturo A. Fernandez-Jaramillo Julian M. Estudillo-Ayala Roberto Rojas-Laguna Juan M. Sierra-Hernandez
A fiber curvature sensor based on a Mach–Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) constructed using the waist-enlarged technique to splice a segment of non-zero dispersion-shifted fiber (NZ-DSF) between two segments of single mode fiber (SMF) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. All fabricated sensors presented an improvement in their curvature sensitivity when they were coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer. The sensor that exhibited the best performance was 6.5 cm long, with a curvature sensitivity of 8.27 nm/m−1 in a range of 0.69 m−1 (from 1.08 to 1.77 m−1). This sensitivity is 3.22 times higher than that of the sensor without polymer. Additionally, the sensor coated with polymer exhibited cross-sensitivity that is 2.23 times smaller than the sensor without polymer. The easy fabrication and notable performance of this device makes it alluring for structural health monitoring.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030261
Authors: Mingyuan Xue Haojiang Tong Hao Dong Meijia Wang
To overcome the limitation of dynamic reciprocity, a new method for designing broadband on-chip optical isolators is proposed and demonstrated based on saturated gain, which is able to support simplex and duplex operation modes. By connecting a saturated gain waveguide to an appropriate linear loss waveguide, broadband isolation is predicted and proved theoretically through saturated gain-induced non-reciprocal transmission. The proposed isolator is numerically demonstrated with an operating band of 59 nm and an isolation ratio of −20 dB at the central wavelength of 1550 nm. It is noteworthy that when the current pump changes, the isolator still works well and keeps the high isolation ratio at a different input power. The footprint of the whole device is 465 μm × 0.35 μm which satisfies the requirement of photonic integrated circuits. The proposed isolator, with the combined advantages of compact footprint, broadband, duplex operation and high isolation, can enable on-chip unidirectional transmission and complex topological routing designation.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030260
Authors: Naomi L. Gaggi Nathaniel Lewis Roy Xiaotong Song Anna Leigh Peterson Dan V. Iosifescu Ramon Diaz-Arrastia Paolo Cassano Junghoon J. Kim
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common cause of neurologic morbidity for which few effective therapies exist, especially during the chronic stage. A potential therapy for chronic TBI is transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM). tPBM is a noninvasive neuromodulation technique that uses light to stimulate the cortex and increase blood flow and metabolism while also enhancing cognition and improving affect. There has been much work focusing on the efficacy of tPBM in acute TBI in small animals, but much less work has focused on chronic TBI. Patients with chronic TBI manifest microvascular injury, which may serve as a modifiable treatment target for tPBM. There is a need to study and improve tPBM, as the currently implemented protocols targeting microvascular injury have been relatively unsuccessful. This review includes 16 studies, which concluded that after tPBM application, there were improvements in neuropsychological outcomes in addition to increases in cerebral blood flow. However, these conclusions are confounded by differing tPBM parameters, small sample sizes, and heterogenous TBI populations. While these results are encouraging, there is a need to further understand the therapeutic potential of tPBM in chronic TBI.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030259
Authors: Mengying Wu Haiyang Yu Wenyu Wang Shaojie Li Yulian Cao Jianguo Liu
Additional Affiliations [...]
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030258
Authors: Jun Wang Shaoyang Tan Ye Shao Wuling Liu Kun Tian Yao Xiao Zhicheng Zhang Yudan Gou Lihong Zhu Bangguo Wang Shouhuan Zhou
Improving the output power and efficiency of broad-area diode lasers is a prerequisite for the further development of fiber lasers, solid-state laser industries, and direct semiconductor laser applications. At present, the large amount of Joule heat generated by large drive currents and limited wall-plug efficiency presents the largest challenge for improving these lasers. In this paper, a multi-junction cascade laser with low Joule heat generation is demonstrated, showing large power and conversion efficiency. We fabricated devices with different junction numbers and compared their output power. We present double-junction lasers emitting at ~915 nm with an emitter width of 500 μm, delivering 132.5 W continuous wave output power at 70 A, which is the highest power reported so far for any single-emitter laser. The power conversion efficiencies are 66.7% and 60%, at 100 W and 132 W, respectively.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030257
Authors: Yuri Balega Oleg Bolshakov Aleksandr Chernikov Aleksandra Gunbina Valerian Edelman Mariya Efimova Aleksandr Eliseev Artem Krasilnikov Igor Lapkin Ilya Lesnov Mariya Mansfeld Mariya Markina Evgenii Pevzner Sergey Shitov Andrey Smirnov Mickhail Tarasov Nickolay Tyatushkin Anton Vdovin Vyacheslav Vdovin
The article presents a brief review of cooling systems that ensure various temperature levels (from 0.1 K to 230 K) for radio astronomical receivers of photonic and electronic (or optical and radio) devices. The features of various cooling levels and the requirements for the design of the cooling systems are considered in detail, as well as the approaches to designing interfaces for cooled receivers: vacuum, cryogenic, electrical, mechanical, optical, and other interfaces required for effective operation. The presented approaches to design are illustrated by a series of joint developments of the authors carried out over the past 45 years, including those produced over the past year.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030256
Authors: Qiwen Zhao Ying He Yanfang Yang Huifang Zhang Yi Xu
The generation of second-order sidebands and its associated group delay is an important subject in optical storage and switch. In this work, the efficiency of second-order sideband generation in a coupled optomechanical cavity system with a cubic nonlinear harmonic oscillator is theoretically investigated. It is found that the efficiency of second-order sideband generation can be effectively enhanced with the decrease in decay rate of optomechanical cavity, the increase in coupling strength between two cavities and the power of probe field. The slow light effect (i.e., positive group delay) is also observed in the proposed optomechanical cavity system, and can be controlled with the power of control field.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030255
Authors: Hongpeng Li Lidan Lu Guang Chen Shuai Wang Jianzhen Ou Lianqing Zhu
For the silicon optical computing chip, the optical convolution unit based on the micro-ring modulator has been demonstrated to have high integration and large computing density. To further reduce power consumption, a novel, simple Fano resonant thermo-optic modulator is presented with numerical simulation and experimental demonstration. This designed Fano resonator comprises double T-shaped waveguides and a micro-ring with a radius of 10 μm. Compared with the free use of bus waveguides, our double T-shaped waveguides generate a phase shift, along with a Fano-like line shape. The experimental results show that the resonant wavelength shift of the designed modulator is 2.4 nm with a driven power of 20 mW. In addition, the maximum spectral resolution and the extinction ratio are 70.30 dB/nm and 12.69 dB, respectively. For our thermo-optic modulator, the optical intensity power consumption sensitivity of 7.60 dB/mW is three times as large as that of the micro-ring modulator. This work has broad potential to provide a low-power-consumption essential component for large-scale on-chip modulation for optical computing with compatible metal oxygen semiconductor processes.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030254
Authors: Zhengshuyi Feng Yilong Zhang Weiyi Jiang Weichen Wang Chunhui Li Zhihong Huang
Increased stiffness of tissues has been recognised as a diagnostic feature of pathologies. Tissue stiffness characterisation usually involves the detection of tissue response from mechanical stimulation. Air-puff optical coherence elastography (OCE) can generate impulse surface acoustic waves (SAWs) on tissue surface without contact and evaluate the mechanical properties of tissue. This study endeavours to explore the optimal excitation angle for air-puff OCE, a parameter that lacks standardisation at present, by investigating the relationship between the frequency bandwidth and peak-to-peak signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of SAWs for different excitation angles (relative to the normal surface) of air-puff on the sample, from 5° to 85°, with an interval of 5° applied on the phantom. Due to the unevenness of human hands, 20°, 45° and 70° angles were employed for human skin (10 healthy adults). The results show that a smaller excitation angle could produce higher wave frequency bandwidth; a 5° angle generated an SAW with 1747 Hz frequency bandwidth, while an 85° angle produced an SAW with 1205 Hz. Significant differences were not shown in peak-to-peak SNR comparison between 5° and 65° on the phantom, but between 65° and 85° at the excitation position, a reduction of 48.6% was observed. Furthermore, the group velocity of the SAWs was used to evaluate the bulk Young’s modulus of the human tissue. The outcomes could provide essential guidance for air-puff-based elastography studies in clinical applications and future tissue research.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030252
Authors: Xi Yang Liguo Wang Jared Maxson Adam Christopher Bartnik Michael Kaemingk Weishi Wan Luca Cultrera Lijun Wu Victor Smaluk Timur Shaftan Sean McSweeney Chunguang Jing Roman Kostin Yimei Zhu
Driven by life-science applications, a mega-electron-volt Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (MeV-STEM) has been proposed here to image thick frozen biological samples as a conventional Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) may not be suitable to image samples thicker than 300–500 nm and various volume electron microscopy (EM) techniques either suffering from low resolution, or low speed. The high penetration of inelastic scattering signals of MeV electrons could make the MeV-STEM an appropriate microscope for biological samples as thick as 10 μm or more with a nanoscale resolution, considering the effect of electron energy, beam broadening, and low-dose limit on resolution. The best resolution is inversely related to the sample thickness and changes from 6 nm to 24 nm when the sample thickness increases from 1 μm to 10 μm. To achieve such a resolution in STEM, the imaging electrons must be focused on the specimen with a nm size and an mrad semi-convergence angle. This requires an electron beam emittance of a few picometers, which is ~1000 times smaller than the presently achieved nm emittance, in conjunction with less than 10−4 energy spread and 1 nA current. We numerically simulated two different approaches that are potentially applicable to build a compact MeV-STEM instrument: (1) DC (Direct Current) gun, aperture, superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities, and STEM column; (2) SRF gun, aperture, SRF cavities, and STEM column. Beam dynamic simulations show promising results, which meet the needs of an MeV-STEM, a few-picometer emittance, less than 10−4 energy spread, and 0.1–1 nA current from both options. Also, we designed a compact STEM column based on permanent quadrupole quintuplet, not only to demagnify the beam size from 1 μm at the source point to 2 nm at the specimen but also to provide the freedom of changing the magnifications at the specimen and a scanning system to raster the electron beam across the sample with a step size of 2 nm and the repetition rate of 1 MHz. This makes it possible to build a compact MeV-STEM and use it to study thick, large-volume samples in cell biology.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030253
Authors: Shujie Liu Philipp Kästner Roland Donatiello Anup Shrivastava Marek Smolarczyk Mustaqim Siddi Que Iskhandar Md Kamrul Hasan Giuseppe Caruso Jiahao Chen Basma Elsaka Shilby Baby Dennis Löber Thomas Kusserow Jost Adam Hartmut Hillmer
This work provides an overview on micromirror arrays based on different material systems such as dielectrics, element silicon, compound semiconductors, metals, and novel 2D materials. The goal is to work out the particular strength of each material system to enable optimum performance for various applications. In particular, this review is intended to draw attention to the fact that MEMS micro-mirrors can be successful in many other material systems besides silicon. In particular, the review is intended to draw attention to two material systems that have so far been used less for MEMS micromirror arrays, that have been less researched, and of which fewer applications have been reported to date: metallic heterostructures and 2D materials. However, the main focus is on metallic MEMS micromirror arrays on glass substrates for applications like personalized light steering in buildings via active windows, energy management, active laser safety goggles, interference microscopy, and endoscopy. Finally, the different micromirror arrays are compared with respect to fabrication challenges, switching speed, number of mirrors, mirror dimensions, array sizes, miniaturization potential for individual mirrors, reliability, lifetime, and hinge methodology.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030251
Authors: Jiachen Liu Yingying Zeng Haifeng Hu Ni Zhang Qiwen Zhan Xiaogang Chen
We present a simulation-based study on a 3D heterogeneous photonic integration scheme based on a vertical microring coupler (VμRC). Our research introduces a more compact and efficient layout of photonic devices in the vertical direction, surpassing the limitations of traditional planar integration methods. This investigation focuses on optimizing the performance of the VμRC by analyzing critical parameters such as the dimensions of the microring and the waveguide and the refractive indices of surrounding materials, which serve as the guideline for future manufacturing of the device. The simulation results demonstrate that the careful selection and optimization of these parameters significantly impact the transmittance and coupling characteristics of the VμRC. To demonstrate the validity of this simulation model, we applied it to a few practical cases and achieved comparable results with our previous experiments.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030249
Authors: Yuxi Chen Yongchang Ding Haowen Yu Xueyan Li
Dispersion control is a critical aspect in nano-optical systems. Moreover, chromatic aberration significantly impacts image quality. Despite metasurfaces being a novel approach to tackle chromatic aberration in diffractive lenses, numerous challenges hinder their practical implementation due to the complexity of 3D fabrication techniques and high manufacturing costs. In contrast, ultra-thin graphene oxide lenses are simpler and less expensive to manufacture. The optical performance of graphene oxide lenses, such as high focusing efficiency, large depth of field, wide bandwidth, and zooming capability, depends on the design of the positional arrangement of reduced graphene oxide regions. In this study, we utilized the self-constructed datasets to train machine learning models based on the structure of the graphene oxide lens and combined it with intelligent optimization algorithms. This approach facilitated the design of the graphene oxide achromatic lens in multi-wavelengths with high-performance. Experimental results substantiate that the designed ultra-thin graphene oxide lens, with a thickness of ~200 nm, effectively controls dispersion across multiple incident wavelengths (450, 550, and 650 nm) and achieves super resolution with consistent intensity at the focal point. Our graphene oxide lens holds the potential for integration into micro-optical systems that demand dispersion control, providing broad applications in optical imaging, optical communication, the biomedical field, and beyond.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030250
Authors: Benjamin R. Anderson Natalie Gese Pranav Nawani Hergen Eilers
Fluorescence-based phosphate sensing using phosphate-sensitive phosphors is a promising approach for in situ monitoring of phosphate pollution in waterways and reservoirs. To date, the most sensitive phosphor developed for this purpose is Tb(cpboda)(DMF)2, where cpboda = (3,3′-((5-Carboxy-1,3-phenylene)bis(oxy))dibenzoic acid). In this study, we further improve this sensitivity by replacing the Tb3+ ions with Eu3+ ions to make Eu(cpboda)(DMF)2 and find concentration-independent phosphate-sensitivity of 1570 ± 120, which is ≈8× more sensitive than the Tb-version. This improvement is attributed to Eu3+ having a hypersensitive transition, while Tb3+ does not. Additionally, we characterize the phosphor’s optical properties, photodegradation, and water solubility. We find that the phosphor presents challenges with regards to both photodegradation and solubility, as it is found to be poorly soluble in water and is quickly photodegraded under UV radiation <360 nm. However, these obstacles can, in theory, be overcome with the use of direct excitation of the Eu3+ ions at 394 nm and careful design of an analysis instrument to reduce concentration variations.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030248
Authors: Xia Zhang Yi Wu Siao Cai Guoying Feng
Using tight focusing light, optical tweezers (OT) are tools that can manipulate and capture microscopic particles and biological cells as well as characterize a wide range of micro and nanomaterials. In this paper, we focused on fibroblasts, which are widely used in the biomedical area for a variety of purposes, including promoting human wound healing and preventing the early proliferation of tumor cells. We first built an optical tweezer experimental platform, using an 808 nm continuous-wave laser as the capture light source, to confirm that the device can precisely control the movement of single or multiple particles as well as fibroblasts. Then, a 1030 nm femtosecond laser was employed as the capture light source to study the manipulation of microparticles and fibroblasts at different powers. Lastly, a protracted manipulation protocol was used to prevent the fibroblasts from adhering to the wall. This method can be used to isolate and precisely block adherent growth of fibroblasts in cell populations. This experimental result can be further extended to other biological cells.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030247
Authors: Lu Chen Yang Li Houkun Liang Han Wu
In this paper, we present a new scheme to generate ultrawide tunable random fiber lasers (RFLs) covering the S-, C- and L-band by combining the broadband Raman gain in tellurite fibers and the active gain in erbium-doped fibers. A numerical simulation based on the power-balance model is conducted to verify the feasibility of the ultrawide tunable random fiber lasing generation. Pumped by a 1450 nm laser, the tunable random Raman fiber laser in the ranges of 1480–1560 nm and 1590–1640 nm can only be realized with a tellurite fiber. To further fill in the emission gap in the range of 1560–1590 nm, the erbium-doped fiber is incorporated in the cavity, which can provide efficient erbium-doped gain in the C- and L-band. By combining a 100 m long tellurite fiber and an 8 m long erbium-doped fiber, an ultrawide tunable RFL based on hybrid erbium–Raman gain can be realized with a wavelength tuning range (1480 nm–1640 nm) covering the S-, C- and L-band at 3.5 W pump power. Such a widely tunable RFL is of great importance in applications such as optical communication, sensing and imaging.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030246
Authors: Christophe Louot Félix Sanson Arnaud Motard Thierry Ibach Inka Manek-Hönninger Antoine Berrou Nicolas Dalloz Thierry Robin Benoit Cadier Anne Hildenbrand-Dhollande
We present a thulium-doped single-oscillator monolithic fiber laser emitting successively at three wavelengths, especially at unusual long wavelengths as 2.09 µm and even at 2.12 µm. The 793 nm core absorption of 8.42 dB/m allows for achieving a slope efficiency higher than 43% both at 1.94 µm and 2.09 µm. The operation of the laser at 1.94 µm, 2.09 µm, and 2.12 µm is compared by using different fiber Bragg gratings to push the limit of thulium ions emission above 2.05 µm. This is the first demonstration of emission exceeding wavelengths of 2.1 µm of an only thulium-doped fiber laser, to the best of our knowledge.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030245
Authors: Nahed H. Solouma Noura Negm Hafsah Ahmad Yusuf Gamal
Normal vision is a precious gift to mankind. Any vision defect or degradation is actually an intimidating problem for individuals and societies. Therefore, researchers are continually working to find effective solutions for vision disorders. In some retinal diseases such as Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), visual aids are required to improve vision ability and/or stop the progress of the disease. Recently, augmented vision techniques have been used to provide aid to people suffering from retinal impairment. However, in such techniques, the images of real scenes are electronically deformed to compensate for vision impairment. Therefore, the natural scene is displayed as an electronic image on glasses. Intuitively, it is annoying to the patient to see electronic rather than natural scenes. Moreover, these visual aids are bulky and produce electric fields that might be harmful with continuous use. In this work, a novel optical solution to provide a visual aid to patients with central vision loss has been proposed. The proposed optical solution deforms the wavefront of the scene to entirely fall on the healthy parts of the retina. This, in turn, conveys all scene information to the brain to be perceived by the patient. As it provides optical processing, the proposed solution overcomes all drawbacks of the electronic solutions. To prove the validity of the proposed solution, three lenses were designed, fabricated, and tested to visualize simple shapes, reading, and obtaining aid during walking and driving. Obtaining the expected results from these tests, they were tried by three volunteers to clinically prove the validity and feasibility of the proposed optical aid. The feedback from the three patients was promising since all of them could recognize some of the details they used to miss with at least one of the lenses.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030244
Authors: Er’el Granot
The scattering pattern from a narrow absorbing/amplifying grating is investigated. A simple model of a narrow amplifying grating is solved exactly numerically and approximately analytically for the regime where the beam’s wavelength is much shorter than the grating’s wavelength. The main result is that the incident angle divides the scattering pattern into two regimes: below and above the incident angles. The former regime has a weak dependence on the incident angle but has a strong dependence on the scattering one. In this regime, a new grating formula is derived. The opposite occurs in the latter regime, which is very sensitive to the incident angle but has only weak dependence on the scattering angle. Consequently, at certain incident angles, all of the scattering is concentrated in the first regime, i.e., all scattering angles are lower than the incident angle.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030243
Authors: Yasha Yi Dachuan Wu Venus Kakdarvishi Bowen Yu Yating Zhuang Alireza Khalilian
Optical phased arrays (OPAs) are renowned for their exceptional ability to manipulate and direct light beams, positioning them as an ideal choice for solid-state light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technologies. This review provides a comprehensive examination of the current research landscape for photonic integrated circuit (PIC)-based OPAs. It begins by addressing the critical design elements at the component level necessary for optimal functionality. This review then delves into phase calibration techniques and the overarching architecture of OPAs. It concludes by emphasizing the innovative 3-D OPA design, which stands out for its enhanced optical efficiency.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030242
Authors: Alexey Gladyshev Dmitry Komissarov Sergey Nefedov Alexey Kosolapov Vladimir Velmiskin Alexander Mineev Igor Bufetov
A 2.03 μm gas-discharge fiber laser based on atomic xenon is investigated. Various gas mixtures, such as He–Xe, Ar–Xe, He–Ar–Xe, and He–Ne, are studied by optical emission spectroscopy. The possibility of extending laser generation further into the mid-infrared range is analyzed.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030241
Authors: David Benton Yiming Li Antonin Billaud Andrew Ellis
Multi-plane light converters (MPLC) are a means of deconstructing a wavefront into constituent modes that are focused at specific spatial locations, and the reverse—that specific inputs result in controlled modal output. We have used a pair of MPLCs with 21 Hermite–Gaussian modes to represent a free-space optical connection. The effects of strong atmospheric turbulence (Cn2 = 10−13 m−2/3) are emulated using a micromirror array producing a time sequence of aberrating frames. The modal crosstalk between transmitter and receiver modes induced by the turbulence is presented by measuring the intensity in receiver channels for the same turbulence. Six receiver modes are used for optical communication channels with a rate of 137 Gbits/s displaying the benefits of single input multiple output (SIMO) operation for overcoming the deleterious effects of turbulence.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030240
Authors: Saúl Pérez Alejandro Buendía Carlos González Javier Rodríguez Santiago Iglesias Julia Fernández Francisco Javier De Cos
Adaptive optics (AO) is a technique with an important role in image correction on ground-based telescopes through the deployment of specific optical instruments and various control methodologies. The synergy between these instruments and control techniques is paramount for capturing sharper and more accurate images. This technology also plays a crucial role in other applications, including power and information systems, where it compensates for thermal distortion caused by radiation. The integration of neural networks into AO represents a significant step towards achieving optimal image clarity. Leveraging the learning potential of these models, researchers can amplify control strategies to counteract atmospheric distortions effectively. Neural networks in AO not only produce results on par with conventional systems but also proffer benefits in cost-efficiency and streamlined implementation. This study explores the potential of an artificial neural network (ANN) as a nonlinear predictor for open-loop wavefronts. Expanding on prior evidence showing advantages over classic methods, this investigation boosts prediction accuracy through the integration of advanced models and machine learning approaches.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030238
Authors: Jingyu Huang Shixie Jiang Hao Yang Richard Czuma Ying Yang F. Andrew Kozel Huabei Jiang
Functional neuroimaging studies of neuropsychiatric disorders and cognitive impairment are commonly conducted in the clinic setting but less so in the acutely medically ill while hospitalized. This is largely due to technical and logistical limitations, given the lack of portable devices with high spatial and temporal resolutions. This exploratory study reports on the development and implementation of a novel diffuse optical tomography (DOT) system that can be employed for bedside three-dimensional functional neuroimaging. To test this portable DOT system, our protocol included a task-based sequence involving the Months Backwards Test with imaging centered on the bilateral prefrontal cortex. Fifteen subjects were recruited from intensive care units and the general wards of a single tertiary academic hospital and included in our final analysis. Volumetric hemoglobin analyses of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) were reliably captured in all our subjects. The peak value was calculated to be 3.36 µM and 0.74 µM for oxygenated-hemoglobin (HbO) and total-hemoglobin (HbT) (p < 0.042, [HbT]), respectively. The standard error was calculated to be 4.58 uM and 3.68 uM for (HbO) and (HbT). We additionally developed a seed-based correlation analysis to demonstrate the capability of DOT in studying functional connectivity. The right DLPFC was found to be moderately associated with the left DLPFC in all our subjects (r = 0.656). The DMPFC was observed to be associated with the left DLPFC but less so (r = 0.273) at the group level. Overall, the contribution of left-to-right DLPFC connectivity was significantly higher than left DLPFC to DMPFC in our group (p = 0.012). Future studies should investigate the potential of such a DOT system in the research of neuropsychiatric and neurocognitive disorders within the hospital to study different types of mechanisms, pathophysiology, and interventions that occur acutely and can advance our knowledge of these disorders.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030239
Authors: Jessica César-Cuello Isabel Carnoto Luis E. García-Muñoz Guillermo Carpintero
Quantum transducers are key components for hybrid quantum networks, enabling the transfer of quantum states between microwave and optical photons. In the quantum community, many efforts have focused on creating and verifying the entanglement between microwave and optical fields in systems that typically operate at temperatures in the millikelvin range. Our goal is to develop an integrated microwave optical entanglement device based on a lithium niobate whispering gallery mode resonator (WGMR). To investigate the feasibility of developing such an integrated device, first, a passive photonic integrated circuit (PIC) was designed, fabricated, and characterized. The PIC was developed on a thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) on an insulator platform, and it includes eight ring resonators and four asymmetric Mach–Zehnder interferometers. This paper presents the design and operational principles of the integrated device for microwave–optical entanglement, as well as the results of the characterization of the passive PIC.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030237
Authors: Qizhi Lai Tongjun Bu Tongyu Huang Yanan Sun Yi Wang Hui Ma
Polarization imaging is a label-free and non-invasive technique that is sensitive to microstructure and suitable for probing the microstructure of living tissues. However, obtaining deep-layer information from tissues has been a challenge for optical techniques. In this work, we used tissue optical clearing (TOC) to increase optical penetration depth and characterize the layered structures of tissue samples. Different tissue phantoms were constructed to examine changes in the polarization features of the layered structure during the TOC process. We found that depolarization and anisotropy parameters were able to distinguish between single-layer and double-layer phantoms, reflecting microstructural information from each layer. We observed changes in polarization parameter images during the TOC process and, by analyzing different regions of the images, explained the sensitivity of these parameters to double-layer structures and analyzed the influence of oblique incident illumination. Finally, we conducted TOC experiments on living skin samples, leveraging the experience gained from phantom experiments to identify the double-layer structure of the skin and extract features related to layered structures. The results show that the combination of backscattering polarization imaging and tissue optical clearing provides a powerful tool for the characterization of layered samples.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030236
Authors: Takaya Shioki Ryuki Tsuji Kota Oishi Naoki Fukumuro Seigo Ito
Fully printable carbon-based multiporous-layered-electrode perovskite solar cells (MPLE-PSCs) are easy to fabricate and have excellent durability. In this study, the porosity of the mesoporous TiO2 layer as the electron transport layer in MPLE-PSCs was controlled by varying the particle diameter of TiO2 nanoparticles from 14 nm to 98 nm. Furthermore, the results of absorbed photon-to-current conversion efficiency, visible light reflectance spectroscopy, pore-size distribution, X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and photovoltaic parameters of MPLE-PSCs are discussed. Although the porous TiO2 layer with smaller nanoparticles showed higher photoabsorption, it was found that the more voids of perovskite crystals created in the TiO2 porous layer, the smaller the particle size (<18 nm). The porous TiO2 layers with particles over 26 nm are well filled with perovskite crystals, resulting in a higher photovoltaic capacity with TiO2 particles over 26 nm. As a result, the short-circuit current density (JSC) showed a maximum value using 43 nm TiO2 particles, with an average power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.56 ± 1.42%. Moreover, the PCE showed a maximum value of 12.20% by using 26 nm TiO2 nanoparticles.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030235
Authors: Hongpei Wang Hao Dai Menglu Lyu Cheng Jiang Shulong Lu Ziyang Zhang
Au nanoparticles (NPs) were designed to be embedded into III-V semiconductors to form Au/GaAs Schottky heterostructures, which were used as top-modified cover layers for quantum dot semiconductor saturable absorption mirrors (QD-SESAMs). By harnessing the distinctive localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect exhibited by Au NPs, a remarkable enhancement in photogenerated carrier concentration is achieved at the heterojunction interface. Consequently, this leads to a significant improvement in the nonlinear optical characteristics of the device. The modulation depth (MD) and saturation fluence of the device are optimized from the initial 2.2% and 16.1 MW/cm2 to 2.8% and 8.3 MW/cm2, respectively. Based on the optimized device, a Q-switched laser has been developed with an impressive output power of 17.61 mW and a single pulse energy of 274.9 nJ. These results unequivocally showcase the exceptional advantages offered by utilizing Au NPs to optimize the nonlinear optical characteristics of III-V semiconductor devices, thereby highlighting its immense potential for practical applications in various fields.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030234
Authors: Ningning Yang Zhicheng Li Fanghao Li Tingting Lang Xiaowei Guan
We present a technique that utilizes cascaded resonant cylindrical piezoelectric ceramics and multimode optical fibers wound around them to effectively mitigate laser speckle. By precisely driving the ceramics at their resonant frequencies and inducing comprehensive mode scrambling within the multimode fiber, we achieve a remarkable speckle suppression efficiency of up to 94%. To the best of our knowledge, this sets a new benchmark among various methods aimed at suppressing the speckle of a coherent light. Our study thoroughly explores variables influencing efficiency, including the cascading number of piezoelectric ceramics, driving voltage, fiber core diameter, and more. This method has significant promise for diverse applications that require efficient and fast control of speckle contrast.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030233
Authors: Lihua Lei Lijie Liang Liqin Liu Yaoqiong Shen Yuqing Guan Yujie Zhang Wenzhe Zou Chuangwei Guo Yunxia Fu
Measurement traceability is a prerequisite for achieving accurate and reliable results as well as technical standardization. The period of Chromium (Cr) gratings fabricated by atomic lithography can be directly traced back to natural constants. Applying the Cr grating to grating interferometry can achieve nanometer measurement traceability. This research aims to analyze the diffraction efficiency characteristics of self-traceable Cr gratings to provide a theoretical basis for the fabrication and application of Cr gratings. In this regard, we establish the theoretical model of the laser beam incident angle and grating diffraction efficiency using the rigorous coupled-wave method. Then, we analyze the influence of the laser beam incident angle on grating diffraction efficiency by simulation, verify the accuracy of the theoretical model, and finally build a measurement system for grating diffraction efficiency. Through experiments, we find that the diffraction efficiency of the grating shows a rapid increase to reach a stable maximum value followed by a decrease, when a laser beam with a wavelength of 405 nm is incident on the surface of a self-traceable grating in Transverse Magnetic (TM) polarization and the incident angle changes within an effective range. The experimental results are consistent with the trend of theoretical calculation results.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030232
Authors: Fei Guo Dan Lu Hao Song Yueying Niu Daibing Zhou Lingjuan Zhao
A novel wavelength triplexer based on Channel-Shaped Multimode Interference (C-MMI) structures on the InP platform is proposed for multi-channel integration compatibility in a 50G passive optical network (PON) system. Performance analysis of the proposed device is carried out by using the 3D Beam Propagation Method (3D-BPM), which shows excellent properties with insertion loss < 0.5 dB and low crosstalk < −14 dB for the 1342 nm in the Original band (1260–1360 nm), 1490 nm in the Short wavelength band (1460–1530 nm), and 1577 nm in the Long wavelength band (1565–1625 nm), also known as the OSL wavelengths band. Furthermore, the passbands of the three downlink channels of 1342 nm, 1490 nm, and 1577 nm, reach 14 nm, 20 nm, and 64 nm, respectively, which is wide enough to meet the 50G PON optical line terminal (OLT) requirement. Additionally, the proposed device is extremely compact with a total length of only 448 μm, making it attractive in the monolithic integrated laser chip and OLT packaged module.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030231
Authors: Yuyang Gao Juhao Li Yu Tang Lei Shen Xian Zhou Chunxu Zhao Shikui Shen Lei Zhang Xiongyan Tang Zhangyuan Chen
As single-mode-fiber transmission systems are reaching their capacity limits, spatial-division multiplexing (SDM) techniques have been investigated to increase the per-fiber capacity. However, the compatibility with current single-mode transponders severely hinders the near-term deployment of SDM systems. In this paper, we experimentally propose two real-time SDM transmission schemes using commercial single-mode 400 G dual-polarized 16 quadrature amplitude modulation equipment. In the first experiment, 60 km weakly coupled single-mode 7-core fiber with a pair of fan-in and fan-out devices are adopted. In the second experiment, the fiber link consists of 60 km/150 km weakly coupled few-mode fiber (FMF) and low-modal-crosstalk mode multiplexers, in which only non-degenerate LP01 and LP02 modes are utilized. In order to investigate the effect of splice on SDM fiber links, 20-roll, 3 km multicore fibers (MCFs) and FMFs are spliced and tested in the experiments. The bit error rates of all SDM experiments are all below 4.75 × 10−2 forward-error-correction threshold of the 400 G transponders. The experimental results prove that the near-term deployment of SDM systems could be accelerated by utilizing weakly coupled MCFs or non-degenerate modes of weakly coupled FMFs which are compatible with commercial single-mode transponders without any software or hardware modifications.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030230
Authors: Axiu Cao Yingfei Pang Qiling Deng
This paper has proposed a full-color holography based on the space division method to provide a new solution for three-dimensional color holographic display. The hologram is divided into three different regions for the R, G, and B trichromatic hologram components, which will be designed separately at the corresponding positions. The projection images at different projection depths are preprocessed to meet dimension matching and position matching conditions. Different color images are reconstructed on a single plane and 19 planes in simulations and experiments, respectively, which verify the feasibility of the method. The designed phase-only holograms were fabricated on the silica substrate to obtain the diffraction optical element (DOE). Expect for one DOE, three lasers, and one CCD, no additional optical components are required to prompt a compact and simple experimental setup, which is expected to be used to realize full-color display.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030229
Authors: Yanling Li Haiping Mei Shuran Ye Zhiwei Tao Hanling Deng Xiaoqing Wu Ruizhong Rao
Controlled turbulence simulators in the laboratory have been extensively employed to investigate turbulence effects on light propagation in the atmosphere, driven by some advanced optical engineering such as remote sensing, energy-delivery systems, and free-space optical communication systems. Many studies have achieved rich results on the optical turbulence intensity, scintillation index, and power spectral density characteristics of the light propagation path in the center of a turbulence simulator, but a comprehensive analysis of the optical turbulence characteristics for different spatial locations is still lacking. We simulate turbulence with air as the medium in a classical convective Rayleigh–Bénard turbulence simulator through high-resolution computational fluid dynamics methods, the three-dimensional refractive index distribution is obtained, and the optical properties are analyzed comprehensively. It is found that the hot and cold plumes and the large-scale circulation strongly influence the inhomogeneity of Cn2 in the turbulence tank, making it weak in the middle and strong near the boundary. The refractive index power spectral density at different heights is centrally symmetric, with the slope gradually deviating from the −5/3 scaling power with increasing distance from the central region. Under the log-log plot, the variation of the refractive index variance with height exhibits a three-segmented feature, showing in order: a stable region, a logarithmic profile, and a power-law profile, in the region close to the boundary. These results will contribute to the construction of a suitable turbulence simulator for optical engineering applications.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030227
Authors: Haipeng Guo Chuanchuan Yang Zhangyuan Chen Hongbin Li
In ITU-T standards, auxiliary management and control channels (AMCCs), as defined, facilitate the rapid deployment and efficient management of wavelength division multiplexing passive optical network (WDM-PON) systems. The super-imposition of an AMCC introduces additional interference to a PON signal, resulting in the degradation of the performance of the overall transmission. In prior research, we proposed employing a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) to fit a baseband-modulated AMCC signal. Following the analysis of the interference model and the distribution characteristics of received signal errors, we propose a combined optimization method for a transmitter and receiver in this paper. This method, grounded in probabilistic shaping (PS) techniques, optimizes the probability distribution of the transmitted signal based on the AMCC interference model, with the objective of reducing the error rate in PON signal transmission. We have validated this approach within a 50G-PON experimental system by utilizing PAM4 modulation. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of this method for mitigating the impact of baseband-modulated AMCC, thereby reducing the error rate in PON signal transmission. The approach presented in this paper can further minimize the performance degradation introduced by baseband-modulated AMCC in WDM-PON systems, enhancing the efficiency of WDM-PON deployment.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030226
Authors: Xueliang Zhu Di Zhang Yilei Hao Bingcai Liu Hongjun Wang Ailing Tian
A novel preprocessing method based on a modified U-NET is proposed for single interference fringes. The framework is constructed by introducing spatial attention and channel attention modules to optimize performance. In this process, interferometric fringe maps with an added background intensity, fringe amplitude, and ambient noise are used as the input to the network, which outputs fringe maps in an ideal state. Simulated and experimental results demonstrated that this technique can preprocess single interference fringes in ~1 microsecond. The quality of the results was further evaluated using the root mean square error, peak signal-to-noise ratio, structural similarity, and equivalent number of views. The proposed method outperformed U-NET, U-NET++, and other conventional algorithms as measured by each of these metrics. In addition, the model produced high-quality normalized fringes by combining objective data with visual effects, significantly improving the accuracy of the phase solutions for single interference fringes.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030228
Authors: Sergey Burikov Ekaterina Filippova Vera Proydakova Sergey Kuznetsov Valery Voronov Natalia Tabachkova Tatiana Dolenko
For colloids of NaYF4:Yb3+/Tm3+ nanoparticles in DMSO, by the method of time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy with nanosecond pulsed excitation at a wavelength of 975 nm, the photophysical processes that determine the course of kinetic curves have been revealed. It has been found that the luminescence rise time decreases with an increase in the concentration of activators and sensitizers due to the increase in the efficiency of energy transfer from sensitizers to activators. The cross-relaxation of the excited states of activators provides a decrease in the luminescence decay time with an increase in the concentration of activators and a constant concentration of the sensitizer. There is no correlation between the time of luminescence decay with the change in the concentration of sensitizers and the constant concentration of activators due to the competition of the processes of energy back transfer from activators to sensitizers and the “feeding” of activators by excitations coming from remote sensitizer ions.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030225
Authors: Jieru Wang Xuefeng Qin Qian Zhao Guiyuan Duan Ben-Xin Wang
In this paper, a five-band metamaterial absorber with a tunable function in a terahertz band is proposed, which consists of a gold grounding layer, a polyimide dielectric layer, and a periodic patterned graphene layer. The patterned graphene layer is constructed from two sets of copper-coin-shaped structures of different sizes. The designed absorber achieves absorptions of 96.4%, 99.4%, 99.8%, 98.4%, and 99.9% at 4.62 THz, 7.29 THz, 7.70 THz, 8.19 THz, and 8.93 THz, respectively, with an average absorption intensity of 98.78%. The physical mechanism of this five-band absorber was explained by the impedance matching principle and electric field distribution. The absorption performance of the five-band absorber can be effectively tuned by changing the geometry of the patterned graphene array and the thickness of the dielectric layer. Given that the resonant frequency of the absorber varies in proportion to the Fermi level, by varying the Fermi level of the graphene hypersurface, we can achieve the continuous tuning of the absorption performance over a wide frequency range. The five-band absorber has a stable absorption performance over a wide incidence angle of 0–65°, and by combining the merits of high absorption, dynamic adjustability, and a large number of absorption peaks, the given absorber could have great potential for applications in nondestructive testing, imaging, communication, sensing, and detectors.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030224
Authors: Karol Dąbrowski Waldemar Gawron Piotr Martyniuk
This paper presents a response time/time constant of III-V material-based interband long wavelength multistage infrared detector optimized for a wavelength of 10.6 µm at 200 K. The device is based on the InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattice with highly doped p+/n+ tunneling junctions among the stages. The detector exhibits a response time of 9.87 ns under zero voltage condition, while for 0.15 V reverse bias, that time decreases to approximately 350 ps. The presented device shows a significant increase in response time, especially for low bias, and for a voltage of −0.2 V, the decrease in the detector’s response time by an order of magnitude was estimated. Higher voltage slightly affects the time constant, and between −0.3 V and −1 V, it varies between 300 and 400 ps. The significant change in the detector’s response time between −0.1 V and −0.2 V probably results from electric field drop over entire absorber region. The optimal operating condition can be reached for −0.15 V, where the time constant reaches approximately 350 ns with peak detectivity at a level of ~3 × 109 Jones.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030223
Authors: Jiaqi Ran Yarou Chen Guanhua Wang Zelan Zhong Jiali Zhang Ou Xu Quandong Huang Xueqin Lei
Long-period fiber gratings (LPFGs) functioning as band-reject filters have played a pivotal role in the realm of optical communication. Since their initial documentation in 1996, LPFGs have witnessed rapid advancements in areas such as optical sensing, the equalization of optical amplification, and optical band-pass filtering, etc. The unique attributes of optical fiber-based grating, including their miniaturized size, cost-effectiveness, and immunity to electromagnetic interference, have contributed significantly to various sectors over the last two decades. This paper presents a review of the evolution of LPFGs, with a specific focus on the progression and current trends of mechanically induced long-period fiber gratings. It offers a concise overview of coupled-mode theory, the fabrication processes, the merits, and the limitations associated with mechanically induced LPFGs. Moreover, this review elucidates the application methodologies of mechanically induced LPFGs and anticipates future directions in this field.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030221
Authors: Dana S. Akil Muhammad A. Othman Sherif M. Sherif Mohamed A. Swillam
The demand on fast and high-bandwidth data transmission is in continuous increase. These demands are highly dependent on optical signal manipulation, including switching, modulation, and routing. We demonstrate a two-port silicon optical router based on the multimode interferometer (MMI) configuration. The same MMI structure was used for both inward and backward waveguiding to reduce the total length of the device. A phase shifter consisting of two ring-like waveguides made of silicon p-n junctions was used to introduce the phase shift needed for optical routing upon voltage application. Two designs for the MMI optical router were studied: Firstly, a conventional MMI with a crosstalk ratio of 15.1 dB was investigated. Finally, an angled MMI reaching a crosstalk ratio of 18.2 dB at a wavelength of 1.55 μm was investigated.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030222
Authors: Bin Huang Meng Li Hangze Ping Jiaqi Wang Xuan Li Xiaopeng Shao
Photonic lantern is a key device in space division multiplexing (SDM) system. The key challenge of a photonic lantern is mode scalability, which requires the taper length to increase nonlinearly as the mode number scales up. The traditional photonic lantern fabrication method requires stacking the input fibers into the hollow, low-index outer cladding before tapering. It implicitly sets geometric constraints on the input fibers’ core positioning. We propose a photonic lantern design with drilling preform and reduced cladding fibers to lift these constraints and make photonic lanterns more adiabatic. By analyzing the effects of loosening the constraints on the adiabatic requirement of a three-mode photonic lantern, we find further progress could be made to alleviate this adiabatic requirement. The optimal structure for our design is proposed and demonstrated through the beam propagation method (BPM). Our findings could help further improve the mode scalability of photonic lanterns.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030220
Authors: Mattes Hintmann Stanislav Zimbelmann Benjamin Emde Rebekka Biedendieck Dieter Jahn
The development of sustainable alternatives to chemical and mechanical biofilm removal for submerged technical devices used in freshwater and marine environments represents a major technical challenge. In this context, the antibiotic impact of blue light with its low absorption underwater provides a potentially useful alternative. However, former technical limitations led to hours of treatment. Here, we applied high-power blue laser irradiation (1500 W) with a wavelength of 448 nm to demonstrate its strong antibiotic and algicidal effect on different bacteria and algae in seconds. High-power blue light treatment (139 W/cm2) for only 8.9 s led to the efficient deactivation of all tested organisms. Analyses of the underlying biological mechanisms revealed the absorption of the blue light by endogenous chromophores (flavins, tetrapyrroles) with the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In agreement, Escherichia coli transcriptome analyses demonstrated a stress response at the level of DNA damage repair, respiration, and protein biosynthesis. Spectroscopic measurements of the irradiated algae indicated the irreversible damage of chlorophyll by photooxidation with the formation of singlet oxygen. In conclusion, high-power blue laser radiation provides a strong sustainable tool for the removal of biofouling in a very short time for applications in aquatic systems.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030219
Authors: Bui Xuan Khuyen Ngo Nhu Viet Pham Thanh Son Bui Huu Nguyen Nguyen Hai Anh Do Thuy Chi Nguyen Phon Hai Bui Son Tung Vu Dinh Lam Haiyu Zheng Liangyao Chen Youngpak Lee
Metamaterials, recognized as advanced artificial materials endowed with distinctive properties, have found diverse applications in everyday life, military endeavors, and scientific research. Starting from monolayer metamaterials, multilayer ones are increasingly researched, especially in the field of electromagnetic wave absorption. In this article, we propose a multilayer metamaterial-absorber (MA) structure comprising two resonant layers crafted with copper and FR-4 dielectric. The presented multilayer MA structure exhibited an absorption greater than 90% in a frequency range from 4.84 to 5.02 GHz, with two maximum absorption peaks at 4.89 and 4.97 GHz. The bandwidth of the multilayer MA surpassed that of the individual single-layer MAs, with extension fractions reaching 360% and 257%, respectively. Through the simulation and calculation, the field distribution and equivalent circuit model elucidated that both individual magnetic resonances and their interplay contribute significantly to the absorption behavior of the multilayer MA. The absorption of the proposed multilayer MA structure was also investigated for the oblique incidence in the transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) modes. In the TE mode, the absorption intensity of two maximum peaks was maintained at over 93% up to an incident angle of 40 degrees and dropped to below 80% at an incident angle of 60 degrees. In the TM mode, the absorption was more stable and not significantly affected by the incident angle, ranging from 0 to 60 degrees. An absorption greater than 97% was observed when the incident angle increased from 0 to 60 degrees in the TM mode. Additionally, the approach in our work was further demonstrated by adding more resonant layers, making 3- and 4-layer structures. The results indicated that the absorption bandwidths of the 3- and 4-layer structures increased by 16% and 33%, respectively, compared to the bilayer structure. Furthermore, we analyzed the thermal distribution within the MA to understand the dissipation of absorbed electromagnetic energy. This research offers valuable insight into the augmented MA through a multilayer structure, presenting the implications for microwave applications like electromagnetic shielding, as well as in the design of MAs for terahertz devices and technologies, including emission and thermal imaging. These findings contribute to the advancement of knowledge in enhancing the absorption capabilities across various frequency ranges, expanding the potential applications of metamaterials.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030218
Authors: Pedro Chamorro-Posada
Waveguide geometries combining bent asymmetric coupled structures and adiabatic transitions shaped as partial Euler bends are put forward and theoretically analyzed in this work. Designs aiming to reduce the radiation loss, with application in curved waveguide sections and Q-enhanced microresonators, and polarization selection geometries, both for the silicon nitride platform, are studied using highly accurate numerical techniques.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030217
Authors: Kamel Aït-Ameur
Most laser applications are based on the focusing of a Gaussian laser beam (GLB). When the latter is subject to a phase aberration such as the optical Kerr effect (OKE) or spherical aberration (SA), it is recognised that the focusing performance of the GLB is degraded. In this paper, it is demonstrated that high-order radial Laguerre–Gauss LGp0 beams are more resilient than the GLB when subject to the OKE or SA. This opens up opportunities to replace with advantages the usual GLB with a high-order LGp0 beam for some applications.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030216
Authors: Gang Deng Qiaochu Yang Silun Du Bowen Chen Baoqun Li Tianshu Wang
A novel mode-locking method based on nonlinear multimode interference (NLMI) using a distributed large-core (105 μm) graded-index multimode fiber (GIMF)-based saturable absorber (SA) capable of generating four pulse modes is proposed. The distributed SA geometry consists of two GIMFs located at different positions in the resonant cavity. The coupling and joint operation not only facilitate resistance to pulse fragmentation but also provide a sophisticated and widely tunable transmission with saturable and reverse saturable absorption phenomena. Based on this, dissipative soliton (DS), dissipative soliton resonance (DSR), wedge-shaped, and staircase pulses are achieved without additional filters. The DS has accessible output power, pulse energy, bandwidth, and duration of up to 15.33 mW, 2.02 nJ, 22.63 nm, and ~1.68 ps. The DSR has an achievable pulse duration and energy of ~32.39 ns, 30.3 nJ. The dispersion range that allows DS operation is studied, and the dynamics of the evolution from DS to DSR are observed. The versatility, flexibility, and simplicity of the SA device, combined with the possibility of scaling the pulse energy, make it highly attractive for ultrafast optics and nonlinear dynamics.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030215
Authors: Gérard Granet Kofi Edee
The coordinate-transformation-based differential method developed by Chandezon et al. is recognized as one of the simplest and most versatile approaches for modeling surface-relief gratings. In this study, we present a novel numerical solution using Legendre polynomial expansion, enabling us to deal efficiently with faceted gratings. Additionally, we introduce an oblique coordinate transformation to analyze overhanging faceted gratings. Notably, the C-method with polynomial expansion (CPE) demonstrates a dramatic improvement in convergence speed compared to the Fourier Modal Method (FMM).
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030214
Authors: Yupei Wang Yuhang Zhang Jun Wang Yang Cheng Wu Zhao Zhixiang Wei Dayong Zhou
High-power quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) have a wide application prospect. In this paper, a high-power high-beam-quality device with a large ridge width is demonstrated. The effect of different ridge widths on mode loss was studied, and the results showed that the mode loss decreased as the ridge width increased. Furthermore, as the width of the ridge increased, the temperature of the active region rose. In the experiment, the wafers were grown by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), and the ridge width of the device was controlled by wet etching. A laser with a ridge width of 15 µm and a length of 5 mm achieved an output of 2.2 W under 288 K continuous wave (CW) operation, with a maximum slow-axis divergence angle of 27.2° and a device wavelength of 5 μm. The research results of this article promote the industrial production of base transverse mode QCL.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030213
Authors: Zhaoyang Wu Shuqing Lin Siyuan Yu Yanfeng Zhang
Optical phase control is essential for optical beam steering applications. The silicon nitride thermo-optic modulator generally suffers from high electrical power consumption. Microresonator and multipass structures could reduce the electrical power consumption of silicon nitride thermo-optic modulators, with the drawback of a narrow operating bandwidth and high insertion loss. We demonstrate a single-pass silicon nitride thermo-optic phase modulator at 532 nm with low insertion loss and low power consumption, achieving a π phase shift power consumption down to 0.63 mW in a Mach–Zehnder switch. The rise and fall time are around 1.07 ms and 0.67 ms, respectively.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030212
Authors: Jiangwen Zhang Aadithya G. Shankar Xihua Wang
With the growing trend in the information industry, silicon photonics technology has been explored in both academia and industry and utilized for high-bandwidth data transmission. Thanks to the benefits of silicon, such as high refractive index contrast with its oxides, low loss, substantial thermal–optical effect, and compatibility with CMOS, a range of passive and active photonic devices have been demonstrated, including waveguides, modulators, photodetectors, and lasers. The most challenging aspect remains to be the on-chip laser source, whose performance is constrained by the indirect bandgap of silicon. This review paper highlights the advancements made in the field of integrated laser sources on the silicon photonics platform. These on-chip lasers are classified according to their gain media, including V semiconductors, III–V semiconductors, two-dimensional materials, and colloidal quantum dots. The methods of integrating these lasers onto silicon are also detailed in this review.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030211
Authors: Chengming Ren Qingyu Meng
A freeform off-axis three-mirror anastigmat (TMA) optical system with a large field of view (FOV) can obtain target image information with a larger spatial range and more spatial details, which is a development trend within the realm of space optics. The optical aberration increases exponentially with the FOV, resulting in a significant increase in error sensitivity for large-FOV optical systems. To address this issue, a method for designing optical systems with a large FOV and low error sensitivity is proposed. The FOV is gradually expanded from a small initial value in equal-length increments until it reaches the full FOV. At each step, the error sensitivity is recalculated and controlled to a lesser extent than in the previous step. In this design process, the freeform surface is used to correct the aberration and obtain low error sensitivity. An optical system with a focal length of 1000 mm and an F-number of 10 is used as an example, and the FOV is enlarged from 5° × 1° to 20° × 4°. The design results show that the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the optical system can reach 0.45@50 lp/mm, and the average wavefront aberration is 0.029λ. After four rounds of FOV expansion and error sensitivity optimization, the error sensitivity is reduced by 37.27% compared to the initial system, which verifies the correctness and practicality of the method.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030210
Authors: Chao Li Xinyu Chen Ye Sun Jingliang Liu Guangyong Jin
In this paper, the Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) mode superposition is obtained by using the technology of double-end off-axis pumping Tm:YLF crystal, and the LG mode superposition is achieved by combining the extra-cavity conversion method. The impact of changing the off-axis distance on the order of Hermite–Gaussian (HG) mode and the topological charge of LG mode is studied. The results show that when the off-axis distance of the pump source at both ends is tuned, when the off-axis distance is in the range of 260 μm~845 μm, the single-ended 0~10 order HG mode can be obtained. Subsequently, the mode converter is placed to obtain the LG mode beam, and the double-end simultaneously pumps the crystal to obtain the superimposed LG mode. The tuning off-axis quantity changes the topological charge number. When P = 0, l1=l2, the superimposed LG mode is a single-ring spot, and the vortex beam center’s dark hollow area increases with the topological charge number. When P = 0, l1=−l2, the superimposed LG mode is a petal-like spot. The number of petals differs from the topological charges of two opposite numbers. Finally, in the case of changing the topological charge number of the double-ended LG mode, the output of the vortex array structured beams of the tuning mode order 1.9 μm Tm:YLF is completed in the case of conversion and superposition.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030209
Authors: Jianli Jin Shouwei Wang Lu Yang Huimin Lu Jianping Wang Danyang Chen Lifang Feng Hongyao Chen Hongyu Zhang
In this paper, a positioning algorithm based on the combination of K-means clustering and deep neural networks (DNNs) is first presented for multiple light emitting diodes (LEDs) integrated with visible light positioning (VLP) systems. We extracted the maximum value from the collected optical power of LEDs, utilizing the ratio of each optical power to this maximum optical power as the input training data. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperformed the conventional DNN algorithm in terms of anti-jamming capability and positioning accuracy. In addition, the positioning accuracy of the proposed system reached a millimeter level, which is the highest experimental VLP accuracy, to the best of our knowledge.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030208
Authors: Li Zhao Wei Li Yunhao Chen Enming Zhao Jianing Tang
High-order transverse-mode lasers have important potential application value in many fields. To address the current issue of the limited controllability of modes in high-order transverse-mode lasers, we have designed a self-matching photonic lantern (SMPL). The SMPL is formed by introducing a few-mode fiber into the input fiber array of the traditional photonic lantern. The parameters of the few-mode fiber match those of the tapered few-mode port of the SMPL; thus, it can transmit high-order modes in a closed loop. The designed SMPL exhibits dual-band multiplexing characteristics at 980/1550 nm, manifesting specifically as high-order mode selectivity excitation at 980 nm and mode preservation at 1550 nm. These characteristics have been validated through simulation and preliminary experiments. The SMPL is designed for constructing all few-mode fiber ring cavity lasers, enabling the pumping of the 980 nm fundamental mode to high-order modes and the transmission of multiple high-order transverse-mode lasers at 1550 nm in a closed loop. The proposed SMPL extends the configuration and functionality of the photonic lantern family, offering a flexible and effective approach to facilitate the generation of multiple high-order transverse-mode lasers. The SMPL combined with fiber laser systems could effectively broaden communication channels and enhance communication bandwidth. It also holds significant value in optical sensing, high-resolution imaging, laser micro-processing, and other fields.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030207
Authors: Yunfeng Fang Yang Zhang Chuanchuan Li Jian Li Yongli Wang Xin Wei
A highly strained InGaAs quantum well (QW) vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with low threshold current density, high efficiency and output power emissions around 1130 nm was grown by MOCVD. Its static characteristics at room temperature and high operation temperature were studied in detail. The 7 μm oxide aperture device exhibits a threshold current of 0.68 mA, corresponding to a threshold current density of 1.7 kA/cm2. The slope efficiency is 0.43 W/A and the maximum output power is 3.3 mW. Continuous-wave (CW) operation in the 10–80 °C temperature range is observed. The slope efficiency is almost constant at 10–80 °C. The threshold current becomes lower at high temperatures thanks to the alignment between gain peak and cavity mode. The 3 μm oxide aperture device’s lasing in single mode with the RMS spectral width of 0.163 nm and orthogonal polarization suppression ratio (OPSR) is ~15 dB at 25 °C. The small-signal response analysis indicates that reducing the parasitics of the device and refining the fabrication process will improve the dynamics response characteristics. These results indicate that the 1130 nm GaAs-based VCSEL with highly strained InGaAs QWs is expected to be used as source for silicon photonics.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030206
Authors: Hesham S. Ibrahim Mohamed Abaza Ali Mansour Ayman Alfalou
In this paper, we evaluate the performance of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems applied with a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA)-based indoor visible light communication (VLC). We present two efficient user-pairing algorithms for NOMA in VLC, aiming to enhance achievable data rates effectively. Our investigation involves the application of three low-complexity power allocation techniques. Comparative analysis reveals performance enhancements when employing the proposed schemes, especially when contrasted with NOMA without user pairing and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA). Additionally, we explore the performance of both algorithms in scenarios with both even and odd numbers of users. Simulation results demonstrate the superiority of NOMA in comparison to OFDMA.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030205
Authors: Zhen Li Wang-Jun Lu Ya-Feng Jiao
We theoretically studied the quantum dynamics of a cavity–Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) system in a gravitational field, which is composed of a Fabry–Pérot cavity and a BEC. We also show how to deterministically generate the transient macroscopic quantum superposition states (MQSSs) of the cavity by the use of optomechanical coupling between the cavity field and the BEC. The quantum dynamics of the cavity–BEC system specifically include phase space trajectory dynamics, system excitation number dynamics, quantum entanglement dynamics, and quantum coherence dynamics. We found that the system performs increasingly complex trajectories for larger values of the Newtonian gravity parameter. Moreover, the number of phonon excitations of the system can be increased by coupling the cavity–BEC system to Newtonian gravity, which is analogous to an external direct current drive. The scattering of atoms inside the BEC affects the periodicity of the quantum dynamics of the system. We demonstrate a curious complementarity relation between the quantum entanglement and quantum coherence of cavity–BEC systems and found that the complementarity property can be sustained to some extent, despite being in the presence of the cavity decay. This phenomenon also goes some way to show that quantum entanglement and quantum coherence can be referred to together as quantum resources.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030204
Authors: Quan Luo Hongsheng Luo Guihan Wu Xiang Ji Jinshan Su Wei Jiang
Laser remote sensing of earthquake waves has the potential to be used in many applications. This article shows a Doppler model for laser remote sensing of seismic waves based on a wavefront sensor. The longitudinal vibration wave is analyzed using remote sensing, guided by theoretical principles. To determine the magnitude of ground vibration, we employ the method of wavefront phase change analysis, utilizing a continuous laser emitting light with a wavelength of 635 nm to illuminate the ground target. The ground vibration amplitude within the range of 0.12–1.18 mm was examined, confirming the reasonableness of the Doppler model. Simultaneously, the experimental findings indicate that the system exhibits a certain enhancement in detection accuracy compared to the conventional laser remote sensing detection technique. This approach can detect vibration signals at a sub-millimeter scale level, with an accuracy of 1% to 2%. The approach can fulfill the requirements for detecting seismic waves with low frequencies.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030203
Authors: Paulius Šlevas Sergej Orlov
We propose a method for creating parallel Bessel-like vortical optical needles with an arbitrary axial intensity distribution via the superposition of different cone-angle Bessel vortices. We analyzed the interplay between the separation of individual optical vortical needles and their respective lengths and introduce a super-Gaussian function as their axial profile. We also analyzed the physical limitations to observe well-separated optical needles, as they are influenced by the mutual interference of the individual beams. To verify our theoretical and numerical results, we generated controllable spatial arrays of individual Bessel beams with various numbers and spatial separations by altering the spectrum of the incoming laser beam via the spatial light modulator. We demonstrate experimentally how to implement such beams using a diffractive mask. The presented method facilitates the creation of diverse spatial intensity distributions in three dimensions, potentially finding applications in specific microfabrication tasks or other contexts. These beams may have benefits in laser material processing applications such as nanochannel machining, glass via production, modification of glass refractive indices, and glass dicing.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030202
Authors: Chenyu Zhao Dayong Wang Shufeng Lin Jie Zhao Yunxin Wang Lu Rong
The modulation of a terahertz (THz) wave on amplitude, phase and polarization is important for the application of THz technology, especially in the field of imaging, and is one of the current research hotspots. Silicon-based, optically excited THz modulator is a wavefront modulation technique with a simple, compact and reconfigurable optical path. It can realize the dynamic modulation of THz wavefronts by only changing the projected two-dimensional pattern, but it still suffers from the problems of lower modulation efficiency and slower modulation rates. In this article, the Drude model in combination with the multiple thin layers structure model and Fresnel matrix method is used to compare the modulation efficiencies of three modulation modes and more factors. The method is more accurate than the popular proposed method, especially when the thickness of the excited photoconductive layers reaches a few hundred microns. In comparing the three modes, namely transmission, ordinary reflection and total internal reflection, it is found the total internal reflection modulation mode has the best modulation efficiency. Further, under this mode, the effects of three factors, including the lifetime of photo-excited carriers, the wavelength of pump light and the frequency of THz wave, on the performance of THz modulator are analyzed. The simulation results show that the realization of total internal reflection using silicon prisms is a simple and effective method to improve the modulation efficiency of a silicon-based optically excited THz modulator, which provides references for the design of a photo-induced THz modulator.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030201
Authors: Vasileios Mourgelas Sirawit Boonsit James Shafto Wilkinson Ganapathy Senthil Murugan
A dry-etched pedestal chalcogenide waveguide platform, designed for use in long-wave IR spectrometer applications, is demonstrated, fabricated and optically characterized. The optical layers were deposited on pre-patterned dry-etched silicon pedestals. An exceptionally low waveguide propagation loss was measured, at around 0.1 dB/cm at λ = 10 μm. The modal thermo-optic coefficient of the waveguide was experimentally estimated to be approximately 1.1 × 10−4 C−1 at λ = 1.63 μm, which is comparable to that of Si and GaAs. Waveguide spiral interferometers were fabricated, proving the potential for realization of more complex, chalcogenide-based, integrated photonic circuits. The combination of low propagation losses and a strong thermo-optic coefficient makes this platform an ideal candidate for utilization in on-chip tunable spectrometers in the long-wave IR wavelength band.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030200
Authors: Lieshan Zhang Wenjun Fang Liang Yang Jiayi Chen Xueyan Li
A sinusoidal phase modulation laser interferometer is proposed to detect water surface acoustic waves excited by underwater acoustic radiation, and an improved PGC-Arctan demodulation algorithm that combines prenormalization and Lissajous ellipse fitting is proposed to demodulate detection signals. In this paper, the effects of phase modulation depth, carrier phase delay, and interference signal visibility on the Lissajous figure formed by quadrature interference components are analyzed. The demodulation algorithm first uses the amplitudes of multiple Fourier spectral components of an interference signal to calculate the phase modulation depth C, and calculation of the carrier phase delay Vc is achieved through the introduction of a quadrature carrier signal. Then, certain coefficients regarding C and Vc are constructed for prenormalization of the two quadrature interference signal components to eliminate the local nonuniform widening phenomenon of Lissajous ellipse. Next, the outer and the inner contours are extracted from a uniformly widened Lissajous ellipse resulting from light intensity disturbance, and the axial ratio of the ellipse is obtained, which is used to correct the ratio of the quadrature interference signal to eliminate the effect of filter gain coefficients. At last, through the combination of an Arctan algorithm and a phase-unwrapping algorithm, high-precision demodulation of the interference signal is realized. A sinusoidal phase modulation interferometer was set up to detect water surface acoustic waves, and a series of detection experiments were carried out. The experiment results show that the detection method and demodulation algorithm described in this paper can accurately realize the measurement of weak water surface acoustic waves. The proposed algorithm shows less distortion in demodulation results, and its signal-to-noise distortion ratio is less than 20 dB at 500 Hz, which is significantly better than traditional algorithms. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of water surface acoustic wave detection using sinusoidal phase modulation interferometer.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030198
Authors: Muhammad A. Butt
Photonic sensors utilize light–matter interaction to detect physical parameters accurately and efficiently. They exploit the interaction between photons and matter, with light propagating through an optical waveguide, creating an evanescent field beyond its surface. This field interacts with the surrounding medium, enabling the sensitive detection of changes in the refractive index or nearby substances. By modulating light properties like intensity, wavelength, or phase, these sensors detect target substances or environmental changes. Advancements in this technology enhance sensitivity, selectivity, and miniaturization, making photonic sensors invaluable across industries. Their ability to facilitate sensitive, non-intrusive, and remote monitoring fosters the development of smart, connected systems. This overview delves into the material platforms and waveguide structures crucial for developing highly sensitive photonic devices tailored for gas and biosensing applications. It is emphasized that both the material platform and waveguide geometry significantly impact the sensitivity of these devices. For instance, utilizing a slot waveguide geometry on silicon-on-insulator substrates not only enhances sensitivity but also reduces the device’s footprint. This configuration proves particularly promising for applications in biosensing and gas sensing due to its superior performance characteristics.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030199
Authors: Shu-Han Liao Chih-Hsuan Wang Pei-Xiu Ke Cheng-Fu Yang
This study aimed to investigate a bidirectional switching functionality absorber, which exhibited an ultra-wideband characteristic in one direction, while in the other direction it demonstrated the absorption of three different resonant wavelengths (frequencies). The fully layered planar structure of the absorber consisted of Al2O3, Zr, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), Zr, YSZ, Al, YSZ, and Al. The simulations were conducted using the COMSOL Multiphysics® simulation software (version 6.1) for analyses, and this study introduced three pivotal innovations. Firstly, there had been scarce exploration of YSZ and Zr as the materials for designing absorbers. The uses of YSZ and Zr in this context were a relatively uncharted territory, and our research endeavored to showcase their distinctive performance as absorber materials. Secondly, the development of a planar absorber with multifunctional characteristics was a rarity in the existing literature. This encompassed the integrations of an ultra-wideband optical absorber and the creation of a multi-wavelength resonant absorber featuring three resonant wavelengths. The design of such a multi-wavelength resonant absorber holds promise for diverse applications in optical detection and communication systems, presenting novel possibilities in related fields. Lastly, a notable discovery was demonstrated: a discernible redshift phenomenon in the wavelengths of the three resonant peaks when the thickness of YSZ, serving as the material of resonant absorber layer, was increased.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030197
Authors: Xiaoyu Zhang Qi Zhang Genxiang Chen
In recent years, laser technology has made significant advancements, yet there are specific requirements for the energy concentration and uniformity of lasers in various fields, such as optical communication, laser processing, 3D printing, etc. Beam shaping technology enables the transformation of ordinary Gaussian-distributed laser beams into square or circular flat-top uniform beams. Currently, LCOS-based beam shaping algorithms do not adequately meet these requirements, and most of these algorithms do not simultaneously consider the impact of phase quantization and zero-padding, leading to a decrease in the practicality of phase holograms. To address these issues, this paper proposes a novel segmented beam shaping algorithm that combines iterative and simulated annealing approaches. This paper validated the reliability of the proposed algorithm through numerical simulations. Compared to other algorithms, the proposed algorithm can effectively reduce the root mean square error by an average of nearly 37% and decrease the uniformity error by almost 39% without a significant decrease in diffraction efficiency.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030196
Authors: Daohui Hu Jiaqi Cai Lin Sun Junjie Xiong Lin Ma Bin Chen Yi Cai Gordon Ning Liu
In this paper, we report our recent progress related to advanced digital signal processing (DSP) technologies to address the strong inter-core crosstalk (IC-XT) during multicore fiber (MCF) optical transmissions. MCF transmission technology has significant potential to break through the capacity crunch of single-mode fiber (SMF) transmissions. However, strong coupling among cores, namely, inter-core crosstalk (IC-XT), is unavoidable for high-density space-division multiplexing (SDM) transmissions using MCFs with the standard cladding size. To deal with this issue, we propose some novel DSP structures to eliminate IC-XT with considerable simplicity, based on the neural network equalizer (NNE)-based multiple-input and multiple-output digital signal processing (MIMO-DSP). The traditional NNE-based MIMO-DSP method has the ability to process the coupled SDM tributaries transmitted over MCFs; however, it exhibits complexity limitations for practical implementations. The implementation complexity of the NNE-based method is mainly attributed to the time-consumption of the training process and the large weight (neurons) numbers of the equalizers. Thus, we propose two main approaches to simplify NNE-based MIMO-DSP for the practical implementation of MCF transmissions: (1) To reduce the time-consumption of the training process in NNE-based MIMO-DSP, the idea of transfer learning (TL) is employed for initializing the weights, resulting in the faster convergence of the equalizers. (2) IC-XT cancellation is performed along with MIMO-DSP; thus, the dimensionality of MIMO-DSP could be reduced. To validate the performance improvement of the proposed machine learning DSP methods, both simulations and experiments related to transmissions and reception over MCFs were conducted. The results indicate that the proposed novel DSP structures possess the advantages of reduced complexity and improved robustness to IC-XT, which is beneficial for the next-generation high-density SDM transmissions.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030195
Authors: Bin Wu Qingchun Zhao
In this study, a scheme for generating tunable microwave frequency combs (MFCs) based on optical mutual injection is proposed and experimentally investigated. The scheme is based on the optical injection of lasers to generate MFCs, and constitutes a feedback loop by using dual-laser mutual injection to obtain MFCs with a large continuous bandwidth and tunable comb spacing. The experimental setup analyzes the effects of injected optical power, modulation frequency and amplitude, and wavelength detuning on the generated MFC signals. The experimental results indicate that when the single-frequency electrical signal is set to 2 GHz, flat MFCs with amplitude variations within 10 dB can be obtained by optimizing the injected power and the frequency detuning between the two semiconductor lasers. Furthermore, the comb spacing of the MFCs can be made tunable by varying the modulation frequency and selecting the matched operating parameters to adapt to different application scenarios.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030194
Authors: Hesham A. Attia Mulan E. Ahmed Adel Shaaban Awad Elsharkawi Mohamed A. Swillam
This paper presents a novel on-chip optical sensing system using ion exchange technology and phase-shifted Bragg grating design. The sensor geometry has been optimized using a finite difference time domain (FDTD) solver to achieve maximum sensitivity and figure of merit (FOM). The proposed design offers high sensitivity to changes in refractive index and low fabrication costs. The ion exchange process used to create the sensor allows for precise refractive index control, optimizing the sensor’s sensitivity and FOM. A graded-index waveguide and a phase-shifted Bragg grating structure also contribute to the sensor’s high sensitivity. The proposed sensor design was tested for water-based sensing applications, achieving a FOM of 227.63 and a 343.1 nm/RIU sensitivity. These values are significantly higher than those reported for other Bragg grating sensors, highlighting the potential of the proposed design for high-performance sensing applications. The sensor’s high sensitivity and low fabrication costs make it a promising technology for future sensing and monitoring applications.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030193
Authors: Zhiqiang Mou Bangbo Zhao Lihong Zhu Jun Wang Guoliang Deng Huomu Yang Yudan Gou
In a long-distance wireless power transmission system with a non-uniform distribution of laser irradiation, it will significantly reduce the output power of the photovoltaic array, resulting in a large amount of power loss in the system and a decrease in conversion efficiency. This paper proposes an efficient and reliable optimal circuit connection algorithm for the 5 × 5 scale photovoltaic array. Under the laser illumination of 300 W, a 20 m wireless power transmission experiment was performed on four 5 × 5 scale photovoltaic arrays. The results show a 56.49% increase in the maximum output power of the 5 × 5 scale photovoltaic array.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030192
Authors: Pengpeng Yan Weiming Xu Heng Hu Zhenqiang Zhang Zhaoyang Li Rong Shu
Optical frequency combs have emerged as a new generation of metrological tools, driving advancements in various fields such as free-space two-way time–frequency transfer, low-noise microwave source generation, and gas molecule detection. Among them, fiber combs based on erbium-doped fiber mode-locked lasers have garnered significant attention due to their numerous advantages, including low noise, high system integration, and cost-effectiveness. In this review, we discuss recent developments in erbium-doped fiber combs and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of constructing fiber combs utilizing different erbium-doped mode-locked fiber lasers. First, we provide a brief introduction to the basic principles of optical frequency combs. Then, we explore erbium-doped fiber combs implemented utilizing various mode-locking techniques, such as nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR), real saturable absorber (SA), and nonlinear amplifying loop mirror (NALM). Finally, we present an outlook on the future perspectives of erbium-doped fiber combs.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11030191
Authors: Alexander Volyar Eugeny Abramochkin Mikhail Bretsko Yana Akimova
We studied theoretically and experimentally the propagation of structured Laguerre–Gaussian (sLG) beams through an optical system with general astigmatism based on symplectic ABCD transforms involving geometry of the second-order intensity moments symplectic matrices. The evolution of the coordinate submatrix ellipses accompanying the transformation of intensity patterns at different orientations of the cylindrical lens was studied. It was found that the coordinate submatrix W and the twistedness submatrix M of the symplectic matrix P degenerate in the astigmatic sLG beam with simple astigmatism, which sharply reduces the number of degrees of freedom, while general astigmatism removes the degeneracy. Nevertheless, degeneracy entails a simple relationship between the coordinate element Wxy and the twistedness elements Mxy and Myx of the submatrix M, which greatly simplifies the measurement of the total orbital angular momentum (OAM), reducing the full cycle of measurements of the Hermite–Gaussian (HG) mode spectrum (amplitudes and phases) of the structured beam to the only measurement of the intensity moment. Moreover, we have shown that Fourier transform by a spherical lens enables us to suppress the astigmatic OAM component and restore the original free-astigmatic sLG beam structure. However, with further propagation, the sLG beam restores its astigmatic structure while maintaining the maximum OAM.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020190
Authors: Lei Guan Jiawei Dong Qianxi Li Jijiang Huang Weining Chen Hao Wang
The purpose of dark image enhancement is to restore dark images to visual images under normal lighting conditions. Due to the ill-posedness of the enhancement process, previous enhancement algorithms often have overexposure, underexposure, noise increases and artifacts when dealing with complex and changeable images, and the robustness is poor. This article proposes a new enhancement approach consisting in constructing a dim light enhancement network with more robustness and rich detail features through the collaborative constraint of multiple self-coding priors (CCMP). Specifically, our model consists of two prior modules and an enhancement module. The former learns the feature distribution of the dark light image under normal exposure as an a priori term of the enhancement process through multiple specific autoencoders, implicitly measures the enhancement quality and drives the network to approach the truth value. The latter fits the curve mapping of the enhancement process as a fidelity term to restore global illumination and local details. Through experiments, we concluded that the new method proposed in this article can achieve more excellent quantitative and qualitative results, improve detail contrast, reduce artifacts and noise, and is suitable for dark light enhancement in multiple scenes.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020189
Authors: Yiying Song Shusen Zhao Hongzhi He Han Liang Zhanfeng Dai Xuechun Lin Guling Zhang
Silicon Carbide (SiC) is the predominant substrate material for optoelectronic-integrated devices. However, it challenges the wafer-slicing process because of its high hardness, brittleness, and other material characteristics. Laser processing has gained prominence as the primary method, leveraging its merits of high efficiency, precision, and micro-destructiveness. In this study, a finite element method is applied to calculate the temperature field distribution resulting from the electric field of a Gaussian beam. The simulation considers laser propagation inside 4H-SiC, non-linear absorption, and spherical aberration induced by the refractive index of the material. The influence of laser pulse energy and focusing depth are considered. The results indicate that the modification depths decrease with the increasing focusing depth. With the increase of laser pulse energy, the depth of the modification layer increases continuously. Moreover, an experimental setup has been devised to furnish valuable references in validating the proposed model.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020188
Authors: Greta Andrini Francesco Amanti Fabrizio Armani Vittorio Bellani Vincenzo Bonaiuto Simone Cammarata Matteo Campostrini Thu Ha Dao Fabio De Matteis Valeria Demontis Giovanni Di Giuseppe Sviatoslav Ditalia Tchernij Simone Donati Andrea Fontana Jacopo Forneris Roberto Francini Luca Frontini Roberto Gunnella Simone Iadanza Ali Emre Kaplan Cosimo Lacava Valentino Liberali Francesco Marzioni Elena Nieto Hernández Elena Pedreschi Paolo Piergentili Domenic Prete Paolo Prosposito Valentino Rigato Carlo Roncolato Francesco Rossella Andrea Salamon Matteo Salvato Fausto Sargeni Jafar Shojaii Franco Spinella Alberto Stabile Alessandra Toncelli Gabriella Trucco Valerio Vitali
Single-photon sources are important for integrated photonics and quantum technologies, and can be used in quantum key distribution, quantum computing, and sensing. Color centers in the solid state are a promising candidate for the development of the next generation of single-photon sources integrated in quantum photonics devices. They are point defects in a crystal lattice that absorb and emit light at given wavelengths and can emit single photons with high efficiency. The landscape of color centers has changed abruptly in recent years, with the identification of a wider set of color centers and the emergence of new solid-state platforms for room-temperature single-photon generation. This review discusses the emerging material platforms hosting single-photon-emitting color centers, with an emphasis on their potential for the development of integrated optical circuits for quantum photonics.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020187
Authors: Chenxi Xu Chen Zhang Wei Zhao Yining Liu Ziyu Li Zeyu Wang Baole Lu Kaige Wang Jintao Bai
Micro/nano structures with morphological gradients possess unique physical properties and significant applications in various research domains. This study proposes a straightforward and precise method for fabricating micro/nano structures with morphological gradients utilizing single-voxel synchronous control and a nano-piezoelectric translation stage in a two-photon laser direct writing technique. To address the defocusing issue in large-scale fabrication, a methodology for laser focus dynamic proactive compensation was developed based on fluorescence image analysis, which can achieve high-precision compensation of laser focus within the entire range of the nano-piezoelectric translation stage. Subsequently, the fabrication of micro/nano dual needle structures with morphological gradients were implemented by employing different writing speeds and voxel positions. The minimum height of the tip in the dual needle structure is 80 nm, with a linewidth of 171 nm, and a dual needle total length reaching 200 μm. Based on SEM (scanning electron microscope) and AFM (atomic force microscope) characterization, the dual needle structures fabricated by the method proposed in this study exhibit high symmetry and nanoscale gradient accuracy. Additionally, the fabrication of hexagonal lattice periodic structures assembled from morphological gradient needle structures and the size gradient Archimedean spiral structures validate the capability of the single voxel-based fabrication and proactive focus compensation method for complex gradient structure fabrication.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020186
Authors: Jamal N. A. Hassan Wenyi Huang Xing Yan Senyu Zhang Dingwei Chen Guangjun Wen Yongjun Huang
Micro-gyroscopes based on the Coriolis principle are widely employed in inertial navigation, motion control, and vibration analysis applications. Conventional micro-gyroscopes often exhibit limitations, including elevated noise levels and suboptimal performance metrics. Conversely, the advent of cavity optomechanical system technology heralds an innovative approach to micro-gyroscope development. This method enhances the device’s capabilities, offering elevated sensitivity, augmented precision, and superior resolution. This paper presents our main contributions which include a novel dual-frame optomechanical gyroscope, a unique photonic crystal cavity design, and advanced numerical simulation and optimization methods. The proposed design utilizes an optical cavity formed between dual oscillating frames, whereby input rotation induces a measurable phase shift via optomechanical coupling. Actuation of the frames is achieved electrostatically via an interdigitated comb-drive design. Through theoretical modeling based on cavity optomechanics and finite element simulation, the operating principle and performance parameters are evaluated in detail. The results indicate an expected angular rate sensitivity of 22.8 mV/°/s and an angle random walk of 7.1 × 10−5 °/h1/2, representing superior precision to existing micro-electromechanical systems gyroscopes of comparable scale. Detailed analysis of the optomechanical transduction mechanism suggests this dual-frame approach could enable angular vibration detection with resolution exceeding state-of-the-art solutions.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020185
Authors: Deyan Ivanov Lidia Zaharieva Victoria Mircheva Petranka Troyanova Ivan Terziev Razvigor Ossikovski Tatiana Novikova Tsanislava Genova
Mueller polarimetry has proven to be a powerful optical technique to complement medical doctors in their conventional histology analysis. In this work, various degenerative and malignant human skin lesions were evaluated ex vivo using imaging Mueller polarimetry. The Mueller matrix images of thin sections of biopsies were recorded and the differential decomposition of Mueller matrices was applied pixel-wise to extract the polarization fingerprint of the specimens under study. To improve the classification accuracy, a deep learning model was created. The results indicate the sensitivity of polarimetry to different skin lesions and healthy skin zones and their differentiation, while using standard histological analysis as a ground truth. In particular, the deep learning model was found sufficiently accurate to detect and differentiate between all eight classes in the data set. Special attention was paid to the overfitting problem and the reduction of the loss function of the model. Our approach is an effort in establishing digital histology for clinical applications by complementing medical doctors in their diagnostic decisions.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020184
Authors: Gerda Buchberger Martin Kührer Günter Hesser Johannes Heitz
Nanostructures can be produced on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) foils by using a krypton fluoride (KrF) excimer laser with a wavelength of 248 nm and a pulse duration of about 20 ns. We show that surface nanoripples, nanodots, nanogrids, and hybrid patterns of ripples with dots or finer ripples on top can be fabricated. The effects of a water layer in front of the PET foil and of cooling during laser processing were investigated. For pattern formation, several irradiation parameters (pulse number, pulse energy, and polarization) were varied systematically. The spatial periods of the ripples were changed by adjusting the angle of incidence of the laser beam. All nanostructures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and relevant morphological parameters, such as peak-to-peak distances and spatial periods, were assessed. Shapes and heights of some structures were characterized by using focused ion beam cuts to avoid the tip-sample convolution effects typical of atomic force microscopy images. We further demonstrate nanoripple formation on PET foils as thin as 12 µm, 6 µm, and 1.4 µm. The remarkable variety of nanostructures on PET we present here enables customized fabrication for a wide range of applications.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020183
Authors: Jiawei Liu Ziming Meng Jinyun Zhou
A giant electric field on a subwavelength scale is highly beneficial for boosting the light–matter interaction. In this paper, we investigated a hybrid structure consisting of a hemispheric dimer array and a gold film and realized resonant mode coupling of the surface lattice resonance (SLR) and surface plasmon polariton (SPP). Mode coupling is demonstrated by observing anti-crossing in reflection spectra, which corresponds to Rabi splitting. Although the resonance coupling does not enter the strong coupling regime, an improved quality factor (Q~350) and stronger electric field enhancement in the gap region of the dimer (i.e., hot spot) in our hybrid structure are obtained compared to those of the single dimer or dimer array only. Remarkably, the magnitude of electric field enhancement over 500 can be accessible. Such high field enhancement makes our hybridized structure a versatile platform for the realization of ultra-sensitive biosensing, low-threshold nanolasing, low-power nonlinear optical devices, etc.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020182
Authors: Lv Yang Haoying Pang Wei Quan
The K-Rb-21Ne co-magnetometer exhibits poorer dynamic performance due to the larger equivalent magnetic field generated by alkali metal atoms. In this study, the impact of the atomic number density of alkali metal atoms and noble gas atoms in the cell on the dynamic performance of the atomic ensemble is investigated quantitatively. Relationships between the slow-decay term in the transient response attenuation of the Spin-Exchange Relaxation-Free (SERF) co-magnetometer to interference magnetic fields and the number densities of noble gas atoms as well as alkali metal atoms are established. Based on the established model, the relationship between the number density of 21Ne atoms and dynamic performance is investigated using cells with five different noble gas pressures. Then, we investigate the impact of the number density of alkali metal atoms using a cell with a pressure of 2.1 atm at different temperatures. The results indicate that, as the number density of alkali metal atoms or noble gas atoms in the cell increases, the dynamic performance of the system improves, which provides a theoretical basis for the design of cell parameters for SERF co-magnetometers.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020181
Authors: Hao-Meng Yin Hui Zhao Ming-Yang Yang Yong-An Liu Li-Zhi Sheng Xue-Wu Fan
The range accuracy of single-photon-array three-dimensional (3D) imaging systems is limited by the time resolution of the array detectors. We introduce a method for achieving super-resolution in 3D imaging through sub-bin delayed scanning acquisition and fusion. Its central concept involves the generation of multiple sub-bin difference histograms through sub-bin shifting. Then, these coarse time-resolution histograms are fused with multiplied averages to produce finely time-resolved detailed histograms. Finally, the arrival times of the reflected photons with sub-bin resolution are extracted from the resulting fused high-time-resolution count distribution. Compared with the sub-delayed with the fusion method added, the proposed method performs better in reducing the broadening error caused by coarsened discrete sampling and background noise error. The effectiveness of the proposed method is examined at different target distances, pulse widths, and sub-bin scales. The simulation analytical results indicate that small-scale sub-bin delays contribute to superior reconstruction outcomes for the proposed method. Specifically, implementing a sub-bin temporal resolution delay of a factor of 0.1 for a 100 ps echo pulse width substantially reduces the system ranging error by three orders of magnitude. Furthermore, Monte Carlo simulations allow to describe a low signal-to-background noise ratio (0.05) characterised by sparsely reflected photons. The proposed method demonstrates a commendable capability to simultaneously achieve wide-ranging super-resolution and denoising. This is evidenced by the detailed depth distribution information and substantial reduction of 95.60% in the mean absolute error of the reconstruction results, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed method in noisy scenarios.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020180
Authors: Nikolai I. Petrov
A spatial-frequency thin-film filter with inclusions of nanoparticles operating in the visible range of the spectrum is investigated. The effect of nanoparticles embedded in the central and lateral layers of the frustrated total internal reflection filter on the spectral characteristics, considering the frequency dispersion, is investigated. It is shown that plasmonic effects cause the splitting of the filter bandwidth into a set of narrow-band spectral lines and the angular splitting of the incident beam into a set of output beams. It is demonstrated that due to the difference in the resonance conditions for s- and p-polarization waves, the spectral lines of transparency do not coincide, which indicates the possibility of using the filter as a polarizer.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020179
Authors: Lu Li Kunming Xing Ming Zhao Bangxin Wang Jianfeng Chen Peng Zhuang
Integrated systems are facing complex and changing environments with the wide application of atmospheric LiDAR in civil, aerospace, and military fields. Traditional analysis methods employ optical software to evaluate the optical performance of integrated systems, and cannot comprehensively consider the influence of optical and mechanical coupling on the optical performance of the integrated system, resulting in the unsatisfactory accuracy of the analysis results. Optical–mechanical integration technology provides a promising solution to this problem. A small-field-of-view LiDAR system with high repetition frequency, low energy, and single-photon detection technology was taken as an example in this study, and the Zernike polynomial fitting algorithm was programmed to enable transmission between optical and mechanical data. Optical–mechanical integration technology was employed to obtain the optical parameters of the integrated system under a gravity load in the process of designing the optical–mechanical structure of the integrated system. The experimental validation results revealed that the optical–mechanical integration analysis of the divergence angle of the transmission unit resulted in an error of 2.586%. The focal length of the telescope increased by 89 μm, its field of view was 244 μrad, and the error of the detector target surface spot was 4.196%. The continuous day/night detection results showed that the system could accurately detect the temporal and spatial variations in clouds and aerosols. The inverted optical depths were experimentally compared with those obtained using a solar photometer. The average optical depth was 0.314, as detected using LiDAR, and 0.329, as detected by the sun photometer, with an average detection error of 4.559%. Therefore, optical–mechanical integration analysis can effectively improve the stability of the structure of highly integrated and complex optical systems.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020178
Authors: Abdolreza Pourfathi Fard Somayeh Makouei Morad Danishvar Sebelan Danishvar
Hydrogen cyanide gas is a dangerous and fatal gas that is one of the causes of air pollution in the environment. A small percentage of this gas causes poisoning and eventually death. In this paper, a new PCF is designed that offers high sensitivity and low confinement loss in the absorption wavelength of hydrogen cyanide gas. The proposed structure consists of circular layers that are located around the core, which is also composed of circular microstructures. The finite element method (FEM) is used to simulate the results. According to the results, the PCF gives a high relative sensitivity of 65.13% and a low confinement loss of 1.5 × 10−3 dB/m at a wavelength of 1.533 µm. The impact of increasing the concentration of hydrogen cyanide gas on the relative sensitivity and confinement loss is investigated. The high sensitivity and low confinement losses of the designed PCF show that this optical structure could be a good candidate for the detection of this gas in industrial and medical environments.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020177
Authors: Long Chen Cangli Liu Heli Ma Longhuang Tang Xing Jia Tianjiong Tao Shenggang Liu Yongchao Chen Xiang Wang Jian Wu Chengjun Li Jidong Weng
Optical up-conversion photonic Doppler velocimetry (PDV) based on stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) with an all-fiber link structure is proposed in this article. Because SBS limits the laser power transmitted by a fiber over long distances, the probe does not have enough outgoing light to reach the measured surface and cannot receive the signal light. Traditionally, SBS is avoided, but it is a phase-conjugated light and shifts down relative to the source light, so it can be used as a reference light in the laser interference structure to achieve up-conversion heterodyne velocimetry. Compared with general homodyne velocimetry (DPS), SBS-PDV naturally upconverts and has more interference fringes and higher resolution at low-speed measurement. In the gas multiple reflection impact compression experiment, the velocity measurement results of SBS-PDV and dual-laser heterodyne Velocimetry (DLHV) are basically consistent, and the accuracy is better than 0.8%. Due to its coaxial heterodyne optical path, this kind of photonic Doppler velocimetry is suitable for low-velocity and long-distance practical applications in the field of shock wave physics.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020176
Authors: Safara Bibi Guillermo Huerta-Cuellar José Luís Echenausía-Monroy Rider Jaimes-Reátegui Juan Hugo García-López Alexander N. Pisarchik
We present an innovative method harnessing multistability within a diode-pumped erbium-doped fiber laser to construct logic gates. Our approach involves manipulating the intensity of external noise to regulate the probability of transitioning among four concurrent attractors. In this manner, we facilitate the realization of OR, AND, NOR, and NAND logic operations, aligning with the coexisting period-1, period-3, period-4, and period-5 orbits. Employing detrended fluctuation analysis, we establish equilibrium in the probability distributions of these states. The obtained results denote a substantial advancement in the field of optical logic gate development, representing a pivotal stride toward the seamless integration of an all-optical logic gate within laser oscillator-based systems.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020175
Authors: Chiori Azuma Tomoyoshi Ito Tomoyoshi Shimobaba
Phase unwrapping is a technique used to recover the original phase from the wrapped phase in the range (−π,π]. Various methods have been proposed for phase unwrapping. In particular, methods using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been extensively researched because of their high robustness against noise and fast inference speed. However, conventional CNN-based methods discard the local position information and relationships between pixels in the convolution process, resulting in poor phase-unwrapping performance. To obtain better phase unwrapping results, we propose a module that combines a global convolution network, which applies convolutional layers with a kernel size equivalent to that of the feature maps, and CoordConv, which acquires the positional relationships between pixels. We validated the performance of the proposed method by comparing it with a quality-guided path algorithm and deep learning-based phase unwrapping methods and found that the proposed method is highly robust against noise.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020174
Authors: Dong-Yin Wang Shu-Hang Bie Xi-Hao Chen Wen-Kai Yu
A physics-driven generative adversarial network (GAN) was utilized to demonstrate a single-pixel hyperspectral imaging (HSI) experiment in the infrared spectrum, eliminating the need for extensive dataset training in most data-driven deep neural networks. Within the GAN framework, the physical process of single-pixel imaging (SPI) was integrated into the generator, and its estimated one-dimensional (1D) bucket signals and the actual 1D bucket signals were employed as constraints in the objective function to update the network’s parameters and optimize the generator with the assistance of the discriminator. In comparison to single-pixel infrared HSI methods based on compressive sensing and physics-driven convolution neural networks, our physics-driven GAN-based single-pixel infrared HSI exhibits superior imaging performance. It requires fewer samples and achieves higher image quality. We believe that our physics-driven network will drive practical applications in computational imaging, including various SPI-based techniques.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020173
Authors: Chenzhao Ben Honghai Shen Xiao Yu Lingtong Meng Huishi Cheng Ping Jia
To improve the accuracy of infrared radiation characteristics measurement in the aviation field, an infrared Fourier transform imaging spectrometer based on a double-swing solid angle reflector was designed. This imaging spectrometer operates in the 3–5 μm wavelength range and has a field of view of 1.7° × 1.7°. This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the system’s stray light and also studies the impact of external stray light on the imaging quality, along with the influence of internal stray light on the interference effects and the spectral resolution. It also present the design of a hood that suppresses the point source transmittance of the external stray light down to the order of 10−4. Based on this, we propose a method that incorporates the introduction of wedge and inclination angles. Additionally, a numerical range is provided for the addition of these angles on the beam splitter mirror and compensation plate. This ensures the effective suppression of any internal stray light. This study fills the gap in the knowledge about Fourier transform imaging spectrometers operating in the mid-infrared band for aviation applications, and proposes a suppression method suitable for interference systems, which is also suitable for Fourier transform imaging spectrometers based on other types of interferometers. This study broadens the application field of Fourier transform imaging spectrometers in stray light, and has great significance to promote the development of Fourier transform imaging spectrometer.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020172
Authors: Hira Khalid Sheikh Muhammad Sajid Muhammad Imran Cheema Erich Leitgeb
Free-space optical (FSO) communication is a line-of-sight (LOS) communication technology that uses light, typically lasers, to transmit data through the atmosphere. FSO can provide high data transfer rates, but factors like weather conditions can affect its performance. Like fog, smog also degrades the availability and reliability of FSO links, as the particulate matter (PM) present in smog scatters the light beam, causing perceptible attenuation. In this paper, we have investigated the attenuation of an optical signal under laboratory-controlled smog conditions, using both theoretical and experimental approaches. A 6 m long acrylic chamber is used to contain artificial smog and measure the optical attenuation through it. The experimental result shows that smog attenuation is approximately 1.705 times more than fog attenuation. The findings of this study offer valuable insights into the effects of smog on optical links and can contribute to the development and optimization of these systems in regions with high levels of smog.
]]>Photonics doi: 10.3390/photonics11020171
Authors: Rubel C. Talukder Arkady Major
A continuous-wave (CW), high-power, quasi-three-level Nd:YAG laser operating at 946 nm is reported. The beam quality of the laser is greatly improved. The laser consists of a composite Nd:YAG rod end pumped by a fiber-coupled diode laser inside a simple concave-plane cavity. At an incident pump power of 31 W, a maximum CW output of 9.98 W was obtained at 946 nm, with a beam quality factor of M2~5. The corresponding optical-to-optical efficiency was 32.2% with respect to the incident pump power. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest output power at 946 nm with such a beam quality ever generated by diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser with bulk crystals.
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