Solvent-vapour treatment induced performance enhancement of amplified spontaneous emission based on poly[2-methoxy-5-(2’-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene]

In this work,performance enhancements of amplified spontaneous emission(ASE) from poly[2-methoxy-5-(2éthyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene](MEH-PPV) have been achieved via solvent vapour treatment.Correlations between the morphology of the film and the optical performance of polymer-based ASE are investigated.The active layers are characterised by atomic force microscopy and optical absorption.The results show that the solvent-vapour treatment can induce the MEH-PPV self-organisation into an ordered structure with a smooth surface,leading to enhanced optical gain.Thus the solvent-vapour treatment is a good method for improving the optical properties of the MEH-PPV.     

Effect of different metal-backed waveguides on amplified spontaneous emission

We investigate the effect of a metallic electrode on the ability for poly[2-methoxy-5-(2’-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4phenylene vinylene](MEH-PPV) film to undergo amplified spontaneous emission(ASE).The threshold of the device with Ag cladding is about 10 times greater than that of a metal-free device,but metal such as Al completely shuts off ASE.The ASE recurs when a thin spacer layer,such as a few nanometers of SiO 2,is introduced between the MEH-PPV film and the Al cladding.Compared with the Cu or Al electrode,the Ag cladding is most suited to serve as an electrode with its low optical loss due to its high work-function and reflectivity.     

Amplified spontaneous emission from metal-backed poly[2-methoxy-5-(2’-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] film

We investigate the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) from an Ag-backed poly[2-methoxy-5-(2’-ethylhexyloxy)1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV) film with different film thicknesses.The ASE characteristics of Ag-backed MEHPPV films with different thicknesses show that increasing the film thickness can reduce the influence of the Ag cladding.The threshold,the gain,and the loss of the device with a thickness of 170 nm are comparable to those of a metal-free device.The lasing threshold of this device is about 7.5 times that of a metal-free device.Our findings demonstrate that Ag-backed MEH-PPV film with an appropriate thickness can still be a good polymer gain material for the fabrication of solid-state lasers.     

Performance improvement cells using bathocuproine of MEH-PPV：PCBM solar and bathophenanthroline as the buffer layers

In this work, bathocuproine （BCP） and bathophenanthroline （Bphen）, commonly used in small-molecule organic solar cells （OSCs）, are adopted as the buffer layers to improve the performance of the polymer solar cells （PSCs） based on poly（2-methoxy-5-（2-ethylhexyloxy）-1,4-phenylenevinylene） （MEH-PPV）： [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester （PCBM） bulk heterojunction. By inserting BCP or Bphen between the active layer and the top cathode, all the performance parameters are dramatically improved. The power conversion efficiency is increased by about 70% and 120% with 5-am BCP and 12-nm Bphen layers, respectively, when compared with that of the devices without any buffer layer. The performance enhancement is attributed to BCP or Bphen （i） increasing the optical field, and hence the absorption in the active layer, （ii） effectively blocking the excitons generated in MEH-PPV from quenching at organic/aluminum （Al） interface due to the large band-gap of BCP or Bphen, which results in a significant reduction in series resistance （Rs）, and （iii） preventing damage to the active layer during the metal deposition. Compared with the traditional device using LiF as the buffer layer, the BCP-based devices show a comparable efficiency, while the Bphen-based devices show a much larger efficiency. This is due to the higher electron mobility in Bphen than that in BCP, which facilitates the electron transport and extraction through the buffer layer to the cathode.     

MEH-PPV/Alq_3-based bulk heterojunction photodetector

In this paper, we present the effect of varied illumination levels on the electrical properties of the organic blend bulk heterojuction （BHJ） photodiode. To prepare the BHJ blend, poly（2-methoxy-5（2P-ethylhexyloxy） phenyleneviny- lene （MEH-PPV） and aluminum-tris-（8-hydroxyquinoline） （Alq3） are used as donor and acceptor materials, respectively. In order to fabricate the photodiode, a 40-nm thick film of poly（3, 4-ethylendioxytbiophene）：poly（styrensulfonate） （PE- DOT：PSS） is primarily deposited on a cleaned ITO coated glass substrate by spin coating technique. The organic photo- sensitive blend is later spun coated on the PEDOT：PSS layer, followed by the lithium fluoride （LiF） and aluminium （A1） thin films deposition by thermal evaporation. The optical properties of the MEH-PPV：Alq3 blend thin films are investigated using photoluminescence （PL） and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The photodiode shows good photo-current response as a function of variable illumination levels. The responsivity value - 8 mA/W at 3 V is found and the ratio of photo-current to dark current （lph/IDark） is found to be 1.24.     

Visible light communication based on space-division multiple access optical beamforming

We propose and demonstrate a visible light communication （VLC） scheme based on space-division multiple access （SDMA） optical beamforming to accommodate multiple user devices in the VLC based on optical beamforming. SDMA optical bealnforming is a technique which separates light-emitting diode light spa- tially and focuses each part on different target devices simultaneously. We show the experimental results of the VLC signal amplitudes, the optical power densities, and the bit-error rate performance as a function of transmission distance before and after the SDMA optical beamforming. The results show that the VLC signal amplitudes and optical power densities are improved by 8-2 and 3.8- 5 dB, respectively, with the help of SDMA optical beamforming.     

Method to improve the performance of reflectance diffuse optical imaging based on polygonal optical fibers arrangement

In order to improve the performance of reflectance diffuse optical imaging （rDOI）, a novel polynomial geometry （PG） of optical fibers arrangement is proposed. Polynomial geometry is based on the hexagonal geometry （HG） and multicentered double-density （MD） mode. The overlapping sensitivity matrix, area ratio （AR）, reconstruction image, two-absorber model, and contrast-to-noise ratio （CNR） in different depths are used to evaluate the performance of PG. The other three geometries including HG, rectangular geometry （RG）, and MD mode are also compared with PG. The deformation of the reconstruction images is evaluted by circular ratio （CR）. The results prove that the proposed PG has high performance and minimum deformation in quality of reconstruction image in rDOI.     

Research on characterization of frequency chirp in RSOA

Light chirp is a major issue in optical fiber links. This letter deals with precise characterizations of the frequency chirp parameters of reflective semiconductor optical amplifiers （RSOAs）. The RSOA chirp properties are represented by transient and adiabatic chirps, whose parameters are characterized utilizing a ratio between the phase and the amplitude modulation depths of the RSOA when modulated with sine waves. Utilizing a high-resolution optical spectrum analyzer, a RSOA linewidth enhancement factor a and an adiabatic factork are obtained experimentally, based on which the influence of chirp parameters on the transmission performance of non-return-to-zero （NRZ） signals can be analyzed.     

Measurement of the carrier recovery time in SOA based on four-wave mixing on narrow-band ASE spectrum

Carrier recovery time is a key parameter that determines the performance of a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). A measurement method of carrier recovery time in SOA based on a nearly degenerate four-wave mixing of narrow-band amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) spectra is presented. The results show the carrier times are 50.2, 44.6, and 23.6 ps when the injected currents are 120, 180, and 240 mA, respectively, which are in agreement with the nominal values of the sample.     

Polarization Measurement of Spin-Polarized Electrons by Optical Electron Polarimeter

The polarization of spin-polarized electrons, produced from a new GaAs spin-polarized electron source, is determined by an optical electron polarimeter. The He 3^3p→2^3S1 （388.9nm） transition is used for the optical electron polarimetry. The structure and performance of the experimental setup of spin-polarized electron source and optical electron polarimeter are described. The result of polarization of 30.8% averaged spin-up and spindown polarized electrons is obtained and presented.     

Preparation and modification of VO_2 thin film on R-sapphire substrate by rapid thermal process

The VO2 thin film with high performance of metal-insulator transition （MIT） is prepared on R-sapphire substrate for the first time by magnetron sputtering with rapid thermal process （RTP）. The electrical characteristic and THz transmittance of MIT in VO2 film are studied by four-point probe method and THz time domain spectrum （THz-TDS）. X-ray diffraction （XRD）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, atomic force microscopy （AFM）, and search engine marketing （SEM） are employed to analyze the crystalline structure, valence state, surface morphology of the film. Results indicate that the properties of VO2 film which is oxidized from the metal vanadium film in oxygen atmosphere are improved with a follow- up RTP modification in nitrogen atmosphere. The crystallization and components of VO2 film are improved and the film becomes compact and uniform. A better phase transition performance is shown that the resistance changes nearly 3 orders of magnitude with a 2-~C hysteresis width and the THz transmittances are reduced by 64% and 60% in thermal and optical excitation respectively.     

Characteristics of grain growth of microarc oxidation coatings on pure titanium

Grainy titania coatings are prepared by microarc oxidation on pure titanium （TA2） substrates in a Na2SiO3NaF electrolytic solution. The coating thickness is measured by an optical microscope with a CCD camera. Scanning electron microscope （SEM） and x-ray diffraction （XRD） are employed to characterize the microstructure and phase composition of coatings. The results show that the coating thickness increases linearly as the treatment time increases. The coatings are mainly composed of anatase and rutile （TiO2）. With the increase of treatment time, the predominant phase composition varies from anatase to rutile, which indicates that phase transformation of anatase into rutile occurs in the oxidizing process. Meanwhile, the size of grains existing on the coating surface increases and thus the surface becomes much coarser.     

Fast Optical Switching Using Oriented Cyanine Dye-Doped Nematic Liquid Crystal

A cyanine dye, 2-[7-（1,3-dihydro-1,3,3-trimethyl-2H-indol-2-ylidene）-1,3,5-heptatrienyl]-1,3,3-trimethyl-3H-indolium iodide （NK-125）, is doped in 4-cyano-4＇-pentylbiphenyl （5 CB）, and the mixture is sandwiched between two pieces of rubbed glass plates. The third-order nonlinear optical properties of the oriented NK-125-SCB layers are measured by the resonant femtosecond degenerate four-wave mixing （DFWM） technique at 760 nm. The third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility of one of the present samples is 5.5×10^-8 esu. The slow DFWM response of the NK-125-SCB layers due to a population grating is accelerated by the increasing laser power because of amplified spontaneous emission （ASE）. On the other hand, we do not observe a similar phenomenon for NK-125- polyethylene glycol （PEG-400）. Oriented NK-125 molecules in nematic liquid crystals must have very high ASE efficiency. Hence the population grating in a DFWM signal disappears within about 4 ps. It is expected that NK-125-SCB can be used as a material for very fast all-optical switching.     

Tm^3＋-doped Ga2O3-GeO2-Bi2O3-PbO（PbF2） Glasses for 1.47-μm Optical Amplifications

We report the spectroscopic properties and thermal stability of Tm^3＋-doped Ga2O3-GeO2-Bi2O3-PbO（PbF2） glasses for 1.47-μm optical amplifications. Effects of PbF2 doping on the optical properties and thermal stability of Tm^3＋ -doped gallate-germanium-bismuth-lead glass are inestigated. The measured peak wavelength and full width at half-maximum of the fluorescence are 1465nm and - 120 nm, respectively： Siguificant enhancement of the 1.47-μm emission and the lifetime of a a^3H4 level with increasing PbF2 doping have been observed. The presence of GeO2 provides two potentials of increasing the thermal stability and shortening the ultraviolet cutoff band of host glasses.     

Effect of TiO2 Nanotubes on Polymer-Fullerene Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells

We investigate the photovoltaic properties of hybrid organ/c solar cell based on the blend of poly[2-methoxy-5-（2- ethylhexoxy-l,4-phenylenevinylene） （MEH-PPV）, C60 and titanium dioxide （TiO2） nanotubes. In comparison of the composite devices with different TiO2：[MEH-PPV ＋C60] weight ratios of lw$.% （D1-1）, 2wt.% （D1-2）, 3wt.% （D1-3）, 5wt.% （D1-4）, 10wt.% （D1-5） and 20wt.% （D1-6）, it is found that the device Dl-a exhibits the best performance. The conversion efficiency is improved by a factor of 3 compared with the MEH-PPV：C60 device.     

Enhancement of Second- and Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Susceptibilities in Magnetized Semiconductors

Using electromagnetic treatment, an expression of effective nonlinear optical susceptibility χe [= χe^（2） ＋ χe^（3） E] is obtained for Ⅲ-Ⅴ semiconducting crystals in an applied transverse dc magnetic fieM under off-resonant transition regime. The origin of nonlinear interaction lies in nonlinear polarization arising from the crystal properties such as piezoelectricity and electrostriction. Numerical estimates have been made by a representative n-InSb crystal at 77K duly irradiated by a pulsed 10.6-μm CO2 laser under off-resonant transition regime. Efforts are dedicated to optimizing doping level and externally applied dc magnetic field to achieve maximum χe^（2） and χ3^（3）. The results are found to be in good agreement with the available literature. The analysis shows that χe^（2） and χe^（3） can be significantly enhanced in doped Ⅲ-Ⅴ semiconductors by the proper selection of doping concentration and dc magnetic field, which confirms its potential as a candidate material for the fabrication of nonlinear optical devices.     

Electronic Structure and Optical Properties of Semiconducting Orthorhombic BaSi2

Full potential linearized augmented plane wave （FPLAPW） method calculations are carried out for semiconducting orthorhombic BaSi2. The optical properties and the origin of the different optical transitions are investigated. Our calculated band gap of 1.0918eV is indirect, which is in good agreement with the experimental result. The bonds between Ba and Si are considered to be electrovalent bond. The anlsotropy in the imaginary part ε2（w） and real part εl（w） of the optical dielectric tensor are analysed. The contributions of various transition peaks are explained from the imagnary part of the dielectric function.     

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and Optical Absorption of VO2＋ Doped Bis （glycinato） Mg （II） Monohydrate Single Crystals

We investigate the electron paramagnetic resonance （EPR） of VO2＋ ions in bis （glycinato） Mg （II） monohydrate single crystals at room temperature. Detailed EPR analysis indicates the presence of only one VO2＋ site. The vanadyl complexes are found to take up the substitutional position. The angular variation of the EPR spectra in three planes a＊b, bc and ca＊ are used to determine principal g and A tensors. The values of spin Hamiltonian parameters are gx= 2.1447× 10-4, gy= 1.9974×10-4, gz= 1.9131×10-4, Ax= 49×10-4, Ay= 60×10-4, Az= 82×10-4 cm-1. The optical absorption study is also carried out at room temperature and absorption bands are assigned to various transitions. The theoretical band positions are obtained using energy expressions and a good agreement is found with the experimental data. By correlating EPR and optical data, different molecular orbital coefficients are evaluated and the nature of bonding in the crystal is discussed.     

Confined and Interface Phonons in Chirped GaAs-A1GaAs Superlattices

The confined longitudinal optical, transverse optical and interface phonon modes in chirped GaAs-AIGaAs superlattices grown on the （O01）-oriented GaAs substrate are studied by the micro-Raman spectroscopy. The phonon modes are probed at the （001） and （110） faces. The temperature dependence of the longitudinal optical, transverse optical and interface phonon modes are achieved. The temperature dependence of the longitudinal optical phonon frequencies demonstrates that a tensile strain exists in the GaAs layers of the chirped superlattices, which is significant for analyzing the device failure of a terahertz quantum cascade laser.     

Research on application of MOOC in optical packet switching

An experiment on receiving and identifying multiple optical orthogonal codes （MOOC） sequence-based optical labels in an optical packet switching （OPS） network is reported. Two groups of MOOC with a code length of 23 and a code weight of 3 are used to identify the optical labels. The scheme and principle of OPS networks based on MOOC sequence-based optical labels are presented. Because optical labels contain OPS and routing information, the importance of optical label processing with multiple inconsecutive, random, and burst optical labels in an OPS network is pointed out. Considering the MOOC-based optical labels, we design a circuit consisting of a broadened network and a cascaded amplifier to receive multiple groups of low-power narrow pulses （optical labels in the MOOC-OPS network） with a period of 2 ns. The successful experimental results demonstrate that the designed scheme is feasible.