Reflection-type polarization holograms in bacteriorhodopsin films for low-light recording

Reflection-type polarization holograms with phase-conjugated readout are very useful for low-light recording with bacteriorhodopsin (BR) films. The dependence of reflection-type holograms with parallel and orthogonal recording beams on their intensity ratio (1:1-1:20) was investigated. It was found that for orthogonally polarized beams the phase-conjugated signal depends significantly less on the beam intensity ratio than predicted by coupled-wave theory. This finding is of particular relevance for recording of very low object-beam intensities with BR films, e.g., in interferometry, where signals with a high signal-to-noise ratio, owing to the different polarizations of the scattered light and the signal, and with low dependence of the diffraction efficiency on the ratio between the reference and object-beam intensities are obtained. With this asymmetric recording process, holograms were recorded successfully in BR films with a good signal-to-noise ratio at exposures (from the object side) as low as 50muJ/cm(2) . These exposures are in the range of those typically used for silver halide films.     

Holography with guided optical waves

Waveguide holograms are recorded in a storage material layer covering a planar dielectric waveguide with a guided mode as reference wave. They are also read-out with a guided mode. In the storage material, assumed to have a lower refractive index than the waveguiding film, the fields of the reference and of the read-out wave are evanescent waves. We describe the preparation of the epoxy resin (Araldit) waveguides on glass substrates, their coating with a dichromated gelatin (DCG) layer as storage material, the processing of the DCG, and the recording and reconstruction techniques. Waveguide holograms of good quality with a size of several square centimeters have been realized for the first time. The holograms were recorded and read-out with wavelength λ=488 nm. They have a length of about 25 mm and a width of 17 mm. To obtain holograms that wide a special prism coupler had to be used which allowed to couple in a laser beam of elliptical cross section, and thus to excite a guided reference or read-out mode with a width of 17 mm.     

细菌视紫红质膜快速光开关的实验研究

建立了“脉冲激光－连续探测光－连续擦除光”的实验系统。在532nm的调Q脉冲激发光和不同波长的连续探测光作用下，研究了细菌视紫红质（BR）膜的光循环过程中的快速响应特性及各中间态的快速光吸收特性。观察到了微秒量级的快速光开关现象，并分析了激发光脉冲作用结束时，各中间态上细菌视紫红质分子的分布。     

脉冲单频Nd:YVO4激光器及其倍频输出特性研究

为了研制激光干涉成像所需的主振荡功率放大(MOPA)结构脉冲单频激光器,本文完成MOPA激光器的种子源即声光调Q脉冲单频1 064 nm激光器的特性研究,同时完成种子源腔外倍频绿光特性研究。脉冲单频激光器采用声光调Q模块实现脉宽约20 ns的1 064 nm脉冲激光输出,采用环形腔设计并采用一组不同厚度的标准具实现单纵模运转。实验研究基频1 064nm和倍频532 nm激光脉冲的线宽,得出在全脉宽范围内都具有较高时间相干性的结论。实验分别获得脉宽约28 ns峰值功率约6.5 kW的1 064 nm脉冲单频激光和脉宽约20 ns、峰值功率约0.5 kW的532 nm脉冲单频激光,腔外倍频效率为5.6%。实验同时也验证了腔外倍频的激光脉宽压缩效应。     

高阶群速度色散引起的高斯超短脉冲宽度的展宽和形变

基于动量守恒和光参变过程中的三波耦合波方程,和负单轴非线性光学晶体CsLiB6O10的色散方程,研究了在光参变效应中超短激光脉冲由于群速度色散引起的展宽和形变。数值模拟显示,在超短脉冲波形为双曲正割形和无啁啾调制时,高阶群速度色散引起的超短脉冲为50fs时,晶体长度为10mm,紫外光213nm作为基波入射时的脉冲展宽是波长为532nm绿光在同等条件下的1.6倍。脉冲展宽程度与入射波长和晶体长度有关,波长越短和晶体长度越长则脉冲展宽和波形变化越严重,高阶色散引起的超短高斯脉冲展宽,将破坏其波形对称性并引起旁瓣现象。     

Comparison of the laser ablation process on Zn and Ti using pulsed digital holographic interferometry

Pulsed digital holographic interferometry has been used to compare the laser ablation process of a Q-switched Nd-YAG laser pulse (wavelength 1064 nm, pulse duration 12 ns) on two different metals (Zn and Ti) under atmospheric air pressure. Digital holograms were recorded for different time delays using collimated laser light (532 nm) passed through the volume along the target. Numerical data of the integrated refractive index field were calculated and presented as phase maps. Intensity maps were calculated from the recorded digital holograms and are used to calculate the attenuation of the probing laser beam by the ablated plume. The different structures of the plume, namely streaks normal to the surface for Zn in contrast to absorbing regions for Ti, indicates that different mechanisms of laser ablation could happen for different metals for the same laser settings and surrounding gas. At a laser fluence of 5 J/cm², phase explosion appears to be the ablation mechanism in case of Zn, while for Ti normal vaporization seems to be the dominant mechanism.     

Supercontinuum generation under filamentation driven by intense femtosecond pulses in supercritical xenon and carbon dioxide

It is found that supercritical fluids are a unique source of multioctave supercontinuum radiation, which is generated upon filamentation of an intense femtosecond laser pulse. If the laser pulse power significantly exceeds the critical power of self-focusing, then a supercontinuum with a width of three and a half spectral octaves (from 350 to 2000 nm) is generated in supercritical xenon. The red wing of supercontinuum generated in supercritical carbon dioxide has the form of a plateau in the range from 1400 to 1900 nm, while the blue wing of the spectrum is almost completely attenuated.     

飞秒激光空气等离子体发射光谱的实验研究

对强飞秒激光聚焦在空气中所激发的等离子体的发射光谱进行了实验研究.结果表明,光谱特征表现为短波段(截至波长为340 nm)强烈的连续谱和长波段(波长在800 nm附近)强度相对较低的线光谱.在脉冲宽度(50 fs)保持不变而不断调节激光脉冲能量时,等离子体光谱形状的特征基本相似;当激光脉冲能量(1 mJ)保持不变而脉冲宽度从50 fs增加至500 fs和1 ps时,连续谱的峰值(500 nm)显得格外突出,并开始呈现出线光谱特征. 关键词： 飞秒激光 激光空气等离子体 发射光谱 线光谱     

Stable mode-locked fiber laser using 49 cm long bismuth oxide based erbium doped fiber and slow saturable absorber

A stable mode-locked fiber laser employing a 49 cm long bismuth oxide based erbium doped fiber (Bi-EDF) by using a slow saturable absorber is demonstrated. Near transform limited short pulses with a repetition rate of 8.27 MHz are obtained at a wavelength of 1560 nm with a maximum spectral width of 15 nm. Results indicate that pulse characteristics are strongly dependent on pump power rather than spectral width. Moreover the Time-Bandwidth products (TBWP), pulse duration, the energy fluctuation and timing jitter decrease with increasing pump power. The pulse width is continuously varied from 1.2 ps to less than 300 fs. It produces stable mode locking with a maximum spectral width of 15 nm, minimum timing jitter of 4 ps and energy fluctuations of 2.5%. The pulse train was amplified using a two-stage amplifier up to 447 mW average power corresponding to peak powers of 177.3 kW.     

Femtosecond properties of photorefractive polymers

Photorefractive polymers allow to reversibly record holograms over a broad spectral range. This capability offers the possibility to store the information contained in ultrafast optical pulses (i.e., time domain) in the frequency domain. We demonstrate a storage bandwidth of >80 nm around 800 nm (i.e., >36 THz), giving a temporal resolution for Gaussian pulses of 13 fs at room temperature. Time reversal of a pulse train of 130 fs pulses confirms these capabilities.     

Binary amplitude holograms made from dyed photoresist

A method for fabricating binary amplitude holograms from a dyed photoresist is described. It is of particular interest for holograms that are used as null optics in the form metrology of aspheric surfaces and wavefronts. A pigment that strongly absorbs light near 633 nm was dissolved in a positive photoresist and the dyed resist was spun onto silica glass substrates. Stable resist layers were obtained that were essentially opaque at 633 nm with little effect on the transmittance of the resist in the UV. A Fresnel zone plate was fabricated from the dyed resist layer using contact lithography, and its performance was demonstrated at 633 nm.     

Femtosecond pulse generation using stimulated Raman scattering in integrated silicon optical waveguide device

To generate ultrafast femtosecond optical pulses, we propose a model of an integrated device consisting of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) with two symmetric 3 dB directional couplers and a straight waveguide based on the single-mode silicon-on-insulator (SOI) optical waveguide. The principle of pulse generation in the presented device is based on the strong stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in silicon; the center wavelength of the pulse generated is tunable by changing the center wavelength of the co-propagating pump pulse. Numerical results show that, when a continuous wave (CW) with a weak power at 1670 nm wavelength and a pump pulse with a high peak power at 1550 nm wavelength are co-propagating, a narrow femtosecond pulse with a pulse width (full width at half maximum, FWHM) of ∼60 fs (FWHM of the pump pulse is 166.5 fs) can be achieved in the device proposed. In addition, when the waveguide length, pump peak power, and pump-pulse width are fixed, the properties of generated femtosecond pulse depend strongly on the incident chirp of the pump pulse and the CW power.     

Design and fabrication of an optimum holographic optical element lens for a femtosecond laser pulse using a hologram computer-aided design tool

Design and fabrication of an optimum holographic optical element (HOE) lens for a femtosecond laser pulse using a hologram computer-aided design (CAD) tool is presented. The hologram CAD tool, which the authors have developed can design, analyze, and evaluate holograms fabricated by interferometrical technique. The function of the tool is extended to design and analyze a HOE lens illuminated with a femtosecond laser pulse. An optimum HOE lens for a laser pulse, which has 130 fs duration, 720 nm central wavelength, and 10 nm spectrum bandwidth, is designed by the tool. The optimum HOE lens gives both high diffraction efficiency and small amount of aberration. The designed HOE lens is fabricated and its optical characteristics have been experimentally evaluated. The reconstructed point images agree with the results of the numerical simulations by the tool. The tool demonstrates the capability of designing the optimum HOE lens for a femtosecond laser pulse.     

Low-loss, wide-angle Y splitter at approximately ~1.6- mum wavelengths built with a two-dimensional photonic crystal

We report a successful experimental realization of a photonic-crystal Y splitter operating at lambda~1.6 mum . Our device has a large splitting angle of 120 degrees and a miniature size of ~3 mumx3 mum . Furthermore, the Y-splitter loss is measured to be 0.5-1 dB at lambda=1640-1680 nm, making the Y splitter promising for integrated photonic-circuit applications. These unique properties are attributed to the new guiding principle made possible by the photonic bandgap.     

利用光致聚合物的真彩色反射全息图

本文用Ar~+-Kr~+激光器的红光(647.1nm)、绿光(574.5nm)和蓝光(488.0nm)分别对准全色的光致聚合物干板制作反射光栅,给出各个反射光栅的光谱透射率曲线,由此可得最小透射率随曝光量、再现波长随曝光量变化的情况.并采用Ar~+-Kr~+激光器全谱线输出和减色滤光片一次曝光成功地拍摄了真彩色反射全息图.本文还讨论了彩色反射全息图再现像的色度坐标和彩色控制.     

利用菌紫质薄膜进行角度复用和偏振复用全息存储实验研究

全息光存储以其高密度、大容量、高速并行数据存取而成为光存储领域的一个重要研究方向。生物光致变色材料———菌紫质是一种新型可擦重写全息记录介质。实验证明了使用菌紫质薄膜进行角度复用和偏振复用全息存储的可行性。利用菌紫质的光致变色特性,采用90°角度复用全息存储光路,在BR-D96N薄膜样品同一位置上实现了6幅全息图存储,并分别读出了无串扰的再现像。利用菌紫质薄膜的光致各向异性进行了偏振复用全息存储,在BR-D96N薄膜样品的同一位置上存储了两幅正交偏振光记录的图像,用原参考光再现和偏振片选择,可分别读出这两幅图像。     

位于第三近红外窗口的平坦光纤超连续谱产生

报道了一种基于非线性偏振旋转效应的被动锁模光纤激光器。采用980 nm分布式反馈激光器作为泵浦源,0.5 m长的高掺杂掺铒光纤作为增益介质。实现了脉冲宽度为822 fs的传统孤子锁模脉冲,输出脉冲的平均功率为2.8 mW,信噪比为55.8 dB。通过微调腔内的偏振控制器,实现了传统孤子脉冲和孤子分子脉冲间的切换,孤子分子的脉冲宽度为312 fs,信噪比为53.86 dB。孤子分子脉冲经掺铒光纤放大器放大后泵浦一段57 m长的高非线性光纤,产生了位于第三近红外窗口（1600 nm～1870 nm）的超连续谱,其20 dB谱宽为355.8 nm。     

纳米ZnO粉末中随机激光现象

实验采用三倍频Nd:YAG(波长355 nm，脉宽8ns，频率30Hz) 脉冲激光器作为抽运光源，在ZnO纳米粉末(直径～100 nm)中发现了类似激光现象.并用环形腔理论模拟了ZnO的颗粒密度对平均自由程的影响，从理论上证明在纳秒级激光器的抽运下，ZnO纳米粉末也可以发射激光. 关键词： 类似激光 ZnO纳米粉末 平均自由程     

Injection-Seeded 500 Hz Repetition Rate High Peak Power Single-Frequency Nd:YAG Laser for Mid-Infrared Generation

We develop an injection-seeded single-frequency neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser with 500 Hz repetition rate and high peak power. The laser construction is designed as seed injection and master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) including single-frequency master oscillator, extra-cavity frequency doubling crystal, and round-trip power amplifier. The master oscillator can emit 1,064 nm laser of 8.4 mJ with 6.8 ns pulse width at the pump energy equal to 23 mJ. A green laser energy of 1.1 mJ is obtained by setting the proper temperature of the LBO crystal. The pulse energy of 1,064 nm laser decreases to 6.5 mJ after passing through the LBO crystal and rises to 25.3 mJ after a round-trip power amplifier corresponding to the extraction efficiency of 29%. The final output pulse width is 6.5 ns, representing a peak power of 3.9 MW. The 1,064 nm laser beam quality factor M² of the master oscillator and the amplified one are 1.3 and 1.5, respectively. The laser will be used to generate mid-infrared where the 532 nm laser with narrow pulse width is to pump sheet optical parametric oscillator (OPO) and the 1,064 nm laser with high peak power to pump the OPO.     

Acousto-optic Q-switched self-frequency-doubling Er:Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 laser at 800 nm

Actively Q-switched self-frequency-doubling laser at 800 nm was first reported in an Er:Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 crystal by using an acousto-optical modulator. At incident pump power of 16 W and pulse repetition frequency of 1 kHz, 1600 nm fundamental pulse laser with energy of 130 μJ and width of 170 ns, and self-frequency-doubling 800 nm pulse laser with energy of 20 μJ and width of 96 ns were respectively achieved in a hemispherical resonator end-pumped by a 970 nm laser diode. Pulse characteristics of fundamental and self-frequency-doubling lasers at different pulse repetition frequencies were also investigated.