Dispersive Coherence Spectrotomography with White-Light Continuum

We propose dispersive coherence spectrotomography with white-light continuum to extract both range and spectral properties inside a medium. The main feature is that the dispersive coherence spectrotomography has a high dynamic range in depth and high signal-to-noise ratio making the most of the extreme brightness of the white-light continuum.     

Generation of a variable linear array of phase-coherent supercontinuum sources

We investigate the coherence properties of a linear array of white-light sources produced in bulk media by ultrashort laser pulses. The array is generated out of the spatial interference pattern between two laser pump pulses, so that the number of supercontinuum sources and their separations can be easily manipulated by varying the geometry of the laser beam interaction. We find that all the secondary white-light sources which arise from the generation of filaments in the optical medium are well phase-locked and are thus able to generate stable and high-visibility multiple-beam interference patterns in the far-field. Observations are compared to the results of a simple model which takes into account a clamping of the peak laser intensity inside the filaments and includes intensity-dependent phase shifts among the different sources. PACS 42.65.Jx; 42.65.Ky; 42.65.Re     

Channeled spectropolarimetry using a coherent white-light continuum

We carry out polarization measurements using a coherent white-light continuum as a light source for channeled spectropolarimetry. The white-light continuum, whose spectrum ranges from the UV to the IR region, is generated in Kr gas by a terawatt femtosecond laser system. The complete set of Stokes parameters from 450-700 nm are reconstructed from one spectral measurement. Also, the effectiveness of channeled spectropolarimetry using a coherent white-light continuum is experimentally demonstrated with a highly attenuating sample whose transmittance is as low as 10(-6).     

Coherence Spectrotomography of Layered Medium with White-Light Continuum

In low-coherence reflectometry, the light scattered back from a scattering medium is expected to carry information about the spectral properties of the medium as well as range information about the reflective boundaries and backscattering sites. We built and evaluated a white-light interferometry system that gives the range and spectral information about the medium using the white-light continuum. The white-light continuum gives an extremely bright and broad spectrum. Experimental results on multi-layered media are presented.     

Quantum beats of vibrational modes in both the low and high wavenumber regions studied by fs-CARS

We have studied the quantum beats of vibrational modes in different phase samples by employing femtosecond time-resolved coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (fs-CARS) technique. The temporal chirped white-light continuum (WLC) is used for the Stokes pulse, we have achieved the selective excitation of vibrational modes in both the low and high wavenumber regions without complicated laser system, and observed quantum coherence between vibrational modes. This work is of special significance to enhance our understanding of quantum coherence and develop the applications of quantum technologies.     

Speckle shearography using a multiband light source

Applications for optical metrology usually use lasers as light sources, because of the excellent spatial and temporal coherence of the emitted light. By comparison, the demands of speckle shearography concerning the coherence of the light source are low. This enables certain white-light sources to be an option.

In this paper, the feasibility of low coherence shearography is shown. For this purpose an experimental setup is designed, composed of a mercury arc lamp, a spatial filter and a Michelson interferometer. With respect to speckle shearography, important characteristics of the light source are described and the mercury arc lamp is shown to be suitable. Finally, some experimental investigations of an object under load are presented.     

LED阵列光源应用于几何光学实验

设计并制作了单色LED、高功率白光LED阵列光源及配套电源,将其应用于普通物理几何光学实验中。在透镜焦距测量实验中,实现了光源和物屏的结合,成像效果好,光源稳定、可调,相比于卤钨灯光源,成本低,且环保、节能,散热小。     

Supercontinuum laser illumination applied to traditional optical flow imaging methods

The schlieren method of refractive flow visualization traditionally requires non-coherent illumination in order to avoid problems with coherent artifact noise and binary cutoff by the knife-edge. Related shadowgraph and Wollaston-prism schlieren-interferometer methods, however, work well with light sources of high spatial coherence. Here we apply a supercontinuum laser as a light source for these methods, providing spatially coherent white-light illumination. Excellent results are obtained with shadowgraphy and schlieren-interferometry, but the schlieren method still requires a modified cutoff in place of the traditional knife-edge for laser illumination. Once they become widely available, supercontinuum lasers will find frequent use in these optical instruments, especially the schlieren-interferometer.     

基于子谱分析的白光频域OCT

为了提高频域OCT系统轴向分辨率和信噪比,提出了一种采用白光光源的频域OCT系统,研究了所用的CCD相机的横向像素数、白光光源的光谱与系统轴向分辨率之间的关系,建立了一种基于子谱分析的白光频域OCT系统。通过选择所需的白光光源及其接收频段,既能保证最大探测深度和高轴向分辨率,又能提高信噪比。实验结果验证了所提出的光源的相干长度和系统及图像轴向分辨率测量方法,证明了白光频域OCT的可行性。     

Mutual coherence of supercontinuum pulses collinearly generated in bulk media

We report the collinear generation of white light pulses in bulk media by phase-locked and time-delayed intense laser pulses. The mutual phase coherence of the pump pulses is fully transferred to the two supercontinua, which thus show a highly-modulated two-pulse spectrum extending from all of the visible down to the near-infrared. We have investigated the effects of changing the relative delay between the pulses as well as the role of imbalances in the pump energy, and we have found that, at least in a limited energy interval, the mutual phase coherence of the two white-light pulses is surprisingly robust.     

Ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography by broadband continuum generation from a photonic crystal fiber

We have developed an ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomographic system in which broadband continuum generation from a photonic crystal fiber is used to produce high longitudinal resolution. Longitudinal resolution of 1.3-microm has been achieved in a biological tissue by use of continuum light from 800 to 1400 nm. The system employed a dynamic-focusing tracking method to maintain high lateral resolution over a large imaging depth. Subcellular imaging is demonstrated.     

Depolarization of white light generated by ultrashort laser pulses in optical media

We report measurements of the extinction ratio (ER) of white light generated upon irradiation of BK7 glass by ultrashort (36 fs) laser pulses with incident power approximately 10(3) times larger than the critical power for self-focusing. At low incident powers, the continuum is symmetric about the incident laser wavelength; at high powers it becomes broader and distinctly asymmetric towards the blue side. We observe that ER degrades by 100-fold after the onset of multiphoton-induced free-electron generation (at incident intensity approximately 2 TW cm-2), which also corresponds to the onset of asymmetry in white-light spectra.     

Phase-locked white-light continuum pulses: toward a universal optical frequency-comb synthesizer

We demonstrate that two white-light continuum pulses that are independently generated by phase-locked ultrashort laser pulses are locked in phase and show surprisingly clear and stable Young interference fringes. The experiment shows that the two generated continua emit essentially in phase and that random phase jitter can remain negligible. This result is not only of interest for studies of nonlinear field-matter interactions but also suggests that such white-light continuum pulses can be used to realize a broad frequency comb for absolute frequency measurements from the IR to the UV.     

透明薄膜的干涉相干峰分离算法

白光干涉技术具有高度唯一性,广泛地被使用在三维表面形貌和台阶高度的测量。但是测量透明薄膜时,薄膜表面和基面都有光线反射与参考光线交汇,在被测表面的同一个位置不同高度两次产生干涉条纹,其干涉相干图中出现两个峰值。通过分析透明薄膜产生的干涉相干图的特点,提出了两种算法用来分离不同表面产生的干涉条纹。理论分析和试验结果表明,利用垂直扫描白光干涉法测量透明薄膜,由峰值分离算法和定位算法分别提取薄膜的上下表面,能够得到透明薄膜的高精度三维形貌和厚度信息。     

Development of a time-resolved white-light interference microscope for optical phase measurements during fs-laser material processing

A modified Mach–Zehnder interferometer set-up combined with microscope objectives has been developed for the measurement of phase changes in the processed material sample, like modification and melting of glass. The white light is generated by focusing ultrafast laser radiation (t _p=80 fs) in a sapphire crystal using a micro-lens array to minimize temporal and spatial fluctuations in the white-light continuum. Lateral and coaxial pump-probe measurements of the phase changes during material processing are performed using two coupled ultrafast laser sources at different repetition rates (f _rep=1 Hz–1 MHz). The optical phase shift and therefore the refractive index of the material are calculated from the interference images using two approaches. The knowledge of the refractive index during the laser processing with a temporal resolution in the ps-range and a spatial resolution of several microns leads to a better understanding of the initial processes for the permanent material modifications.     

光纤白光干涉技术的回顾与展望

光纤白光干涉技术与方法是光纤技术领域中独具特色的一种测量方法和传感技术,是光纤技术多领域交叉应用中较为有代表性的一个分支.该项技术在宽谱光干涉特性研究、绝对形变光纤传感测量、光波导器件的结构及其对光波反射特性参量的检测、光纤陀螺环中光偏振态横向耦合测量与评估以及医学临床诊断的组织结构形态的光学层析技术等方面,都具有广泛...     

基于紫外LED阵列光催化降解抗生素的研究

抗生素的大量使用对生态环境造成巨大的影响,光催化技术具有操作简单且无二次污染等特点被广泛应用于污染物的降解。在光催化降解抗生素过程中,光源对其降解效率至关重要,与传统的汞灯催化光源相比,紫外LED技术具有更高的能源效率及更低的功耗,使光催化工艺发生了巨大的变化。首先建立基于紫外LED阵列的光催化平台,采用光栅光谱仪和紫外照度计对LED阵列光源光谱特性及装置内光场分布进行测量分析。结果显示紫外LED光源波长介于265～295 nm之间,其主波长为275 nm,由于光场叠加效果,光照强度随着装置径向位置距离的增大而明显增大,装置轴向位置光照强度分布较为均匀;其次通过三维超景深显微镜、UV-Vis光谱测量技术对P25型光催化剂的粒子结构进行表征分析,同时使用半导体求导公式对TiO₂粉末进行禁带分析,结果显示TiO₂为球形,由于空气中相对湿度过大,水在TiO₂微粒表面的润湿性加强了微粒间的粘附力,因此有团聚现象产生,其禁带宽度为3.1 eV;最后以紫外LED阵列和高压汞灯为催化光源,P25型TiO₂为催化剂分别对甲基橙、磺胺类抗生素进行光催化降解,使用紫外-可见光分光光度计测量降解过程中的吸收光谱曲线,进而对抗生素降解率进行分析。结果表明,甲基橙和磺胺二甲嘧啶在紫外LED阵列为光源条件下均能够被降解,分别经过160和240 min的催化降解过程后,降解率分别达到70%和36%,符合一级动力学方程,经计算LED阵列光源与汞灯对甲基橙的降解动力学常数分别为-0.007 5和-0.113 5 min-1,对磺胺二甲嘧啶的降解动力学常数分别为-0.001 9和-0.019 4 min-1。因此对甲基橙和磺胺二甲嘧啶进行降解时,汞灯降解速率高于紫外LED阵列;由于紫外LED阵列和汞灯系统在催化降解污染物过程中功率和其与反应器中轴线距离不同,对两种光源的抗生素降解效率建立评价方法,即对紫外LED和汞灯以单位功率为标准进行距离降解效率分析,对于甲基橙,汞灯在单位功率下的距离降解效率高于紫外LED,但对于抗生素,紫外LED阵列的距离降解效率明显高于汞灯。依据以上各类光谱分析和应用结果,紫外LED阵列是一种有竞争力的光催化应用替代光源,此技术的广泛应用为抗生素的降解提供新途径。     

新型垂直腔面发射半导体激光器阵列

设计出四次质子注入工艺制备垂直腔面发射激光器(VCSEL)阵列的方法,实现了对阵列中单元器件间的隔离以及对单元器件注入电流限制的分别作用。一方面通过对VCSEL外延片上分布布拉格反射镜(DBR)两次较浅的质子注入形成高电阻区域实现对阵列中单元器件间的隔离,另一方面通过再次的两次较深度的可以达到有源区上表面的质子注入形成高电阻区域实现对单元器件注入电流的限制。由瞬态热传导方程对阵列中单元器件间的热相互作用进行了理论分析。采用四次质子注入工艺实现了2×2、3×3简单的二维GaAs/AlGaAs量子阱VCSEL阵列,并对器件的激射近场、光谱特性及功率等进行了测量。     

目标光源差异对阵列式光谱辐射计测量的影响及紫外杂散辐射修正研究

应对气候变化预测与灾害天气防范等科学难题,空间观测领域提出高精度的光谱辐射度定标需求。阵列式光谱辐射计存在内部结构缺陷和光学元器件不理想等问题,导致杂散辐射,严重影响光谱辐射度测量结果的准确性。测量多种典型阵列式光谱辐射计的杂散辐射特性,考虑外场目标光源与实验室定标光源不一致对杂散辐射修正的影响,分别基于带通滤光片和可调谐激光器研究紫外杂散辐射修正方法。首先,利用不同光谱透过率的带通滤光片,测量可见及红外光谱辐射引起的紫外杂散信号。针对杂散辐射分布特点,建立数学修正模型,实现高效快捷的杂散辐射修正。地基验证场的光谱辐射亮度测量结果修正后,紫外杂散辐射信号显著降低。对于连续分布的宽谱段光源,带通滤光片修正法具有实验简便易行、测试过程高效等优点。然而,实现非连续分布或窄带光源的高精度杂散辐射修正存在困难。为此,建立基于可调谐激光器的杂散辐射测量系统,解决了各个像素点杂散辐射线扩展函数的测量难题。改变可调谐激光器的输出波长,精细化测量各个像素点的杂散辐射线扩展函数,再推导出杂散辐射信号分布函数,通过MATLAB软件将矩阵反演运算,得到各像素点的杂散辐射修正结果,实现杂散辐射的高精度修正。利用不同类型的阵列式光谱辐射计验证了该修正方法,对于非连续分布的窄带光源,测量结果修正后杂散辐射信号降低了一个数量级,并且谱线两边的杂散宽峰显著消除,大幅降低了紫外波段的测量偏差。针对不同光谱分布的光源,建立了两种优势互补的杂散辐射修正方法,有效改善了阵列式光谱辐射计的紫外测量结果偏差,进一步确保我国地球观测数据的准确性和国际等效互认。     

Array illuminator based on self-imaging in white light

An array illuminator is a device/optical system that splits an incoming beam of light into an array of many light spots/beams. It is useful in logic systems and in optical digital computing or in switching systems to energize arrays of components such as logic gates, optically bistable devices and electro-optic modulators. Array illuminators working in white light are interesting because they do not suffer from coherent noise and yield better signal-to-noise ratio. We propose configurations for array illuminator based on Fresnel diffraction and working under white light illumination conditions. Performance evaluation of the illuminators is also undertaken and the results of investigation are reported.