Experimental study of light diffraction by standing ultrasonic wave with cylindrical symmetry

We report a new acousto-optic arrangement based on ultrasonic wave with cylindrical symmetry. The theory of light interaction with standing cylindrical ultrasonic wave is experimentally verified in the Fraunhofer region. A very good agreement of experimental results with numerical calculations based on the proposed theory is found. The diffraction pattern consists of ring-shaped diffraction orders which posses a fine structure. The time average light intensity of the whole zeroth diffraction order as a function of the Raman-Nath parameter is investigated. The modulation properties of presented system are examined by means of single photon counting technique. Finally, some potentially useful applications in the laser and fibre technology are suggested.     

Laser projection-patterned etching of (100) GaAs by gaseous HCl and CH3Cl

Laser projection-patterned etching of GaAs in a HCl and CH₃Cl atmosphere performed using a pulsed KrF-excimer laser (=248 nm, =15 ns) and deep-UV projection optics (resolution 2 m) is reported. The etching process carried out in a vacuum system having a base pressure of 10^–6 mbar is shown to result from a purely thermochemical reaction. Etching takes place in two steps: (i) between the laser pulses, the etchant gas reacts with the GaAs surface-atomic layer to form chlorination products (mainly As and Ga monochlorides), (ii) local laser surface heating results in the desorption of these products allowing further reaction of the gas with the surface. The influence of the etching parameters (laser energy density, gas pressure and pulse repetition rate) on the etch rate and the morphology of the etched features was studied. Etch rates up to 0.15 nm per pulse, corresponding to the removal of 0.5 GaAs molecular layer, are achieved. The spatial resolution of the etching process is shown to be controlled by the heat spread in the semiconductor and by the nonlinear dependence of the etch rate on the surface temperature. As a result, etched features smaller or larger than the projected features of the photomask are achieved depending on the laser energy density. Etched lines having a width of 1.3 m were obtained at low fluences by the projection of 2 m wide lines onto the GaAs surface.     

Thermal diffusivity measurements of natural and isotopically enriched diamond by picosecond infrared transient grating experiments

The photopyroelectric (PPE) technique is used to measure the specific heat of YBa₂Cu₃O_7–X thin films. Hysteresis in the PPE amplitude is observed in the temperature range 90 K to 250 K. Peaks in the inverse PPE amplitude at T=110 K in the cooling path and at T230 K in the heating path are observed. The magnitude of hysteresis depends upon the thermal history of the sample.     

Role of polarization and alignment in photoactuation of nematic elastomers

Changing the orientational order in liquid-crystal elastomers leads to internal stresses and changes of the sample shape. When this effect is induced by light, due to photoisomerization of constituent molecular moieties, the photomechanical actuation results. We investigate quantitatively how the intensity and the polarization of light affect photoactuation. By studying dissolved, as well as covalently bonded azo-dyes, we determine the changes in absorption and the response kinetics. For the first time we compare the response of aligned monodomain, and randomly disordered polydomain nematic elastomers, and demonstrate that both have a comparable photoresponse, strongly dependent on the polarization of light. Polarization-dependent photoactuation in polydomain elastomers gives an unambiguous proof of its mechanism since it is the only experiment that distinguishes from the associated thermal effects.     

Fluorescence quenching of 9-cyanoanthracene in presence of zinc tetraphenylporphyrin in a polar liquid medium

Steady-state and time-resolved techniques are used to study photoinduced electron and/or excitational energy transfer processes involved within a novel donor (zinc tetraphenylporphyrin)-acceptor (9-cyanoanthracene) system in a polar liquid medium (acetonitrile) at the ambient temperature (300 K). After photoexcitation of 9-cyanoanthracene, its fluorescence emission as well as lifetime are found to be quenched in presence of zinc tetraphenylporphyrin. The fluorescence quenching is ascribed to be due to the combined effect of electron transfer from zinc tetraphenylporphyrin to 9-cyanoanthracene and energy transfer (radiative as well as non-radiative) from 9-cyanoanthracene to zinc tetraphenylporphyrin. The highly exergonic values of Gibbs free energy change for both forward electron transfer reaction (−1.15 eV) and charge recombination reaction (−1.94 eV) indicate the possibilities of occurrences of these two processes in the Marcus inverted region. The fluorescence quenching rate due to photoinduced electron transfer reaction is found to be close to the diffusion-controlled limit within the present donor-acceptor system upon excitation of the acceptor molecules.     

Rotations of eigenvibration direction in anisotropic crystals

The electric field of incident light induces dipoles in anisotropic media, vibrating in two perpendicular directions of the principal axes. Because of the tensor property of the dielectric constant, an induced dipole is subject to a torque, tending to rotate it about the axis parallel to the propagation direction. The directions of eigenvibration of the ordinary (o-ray) and extraordinary (e-ray) waves are no longer perpendicular in this sense. We propose here the relationships to describe the rotation of the induced dipole in the perpendicular electric fields. The rotation angles are found to increase with increasing dielectric constants and electric field strength of the incident light, exhibiting large values near the resonance frequencies in the infrared range at the azimuth angle /4 of the polarized incident light. Piezoelectric and ferroelectric crystals have a large value of the dielectric constant in the infrared frequency range. Rotations of the vibration direction of the o-ray and the e-ray waves are shown in the infrared transmission spectra recorded by incidence of the polarized light and transmission through piezoelectric and ferroelectric crystals (-quartz, LiNbO₃, and LiTaO₃). Interference of the o-ray and the e-ray waves transmitted through the crystals confirms the rotations of the vibration directions, a self-modulation effect of light in piezoelectric and ferroelectric crystals induced by the electric field of the propagating light.     

Poincaré representation of polarization-shaped femtosecond laser pulses

The usage of Poincaré phase space for the representation of polarization-shaped femtosecond laser pulses is discussed. In these types of light fields the polarization state (i.e. ellipticity and orientation) changes as a function of time within a single laser pulse. Such deliberate variation can be achieved by frequency-domain femtosecond pulse shaping in which two polarization components are manipulated individually. Here it is shown how these light pulses can be represented as temporal trajectories through the ellipticity-orientation (Poincaré) phase space, whereas conventional light (either continuous-wave or pulsed) is determined by only one specific Poincaré location. General properties of parametric Poincaré trajectories are discussed, and their relation to experimentally accessible pulse-manipulation parameters (i.e. amplitudes and phases) determined. Specifically, it is shown how the maximum rate by which a given polarization state can be turned into a different one (at significant intensity levels) is limited by the spectral laser bandwidth. Apart from their direct usage in polarization-shaped pulse representation, Poincaré trajectories also form the basis for intuitive quasi-three-dimensional renderings of the electric field profile. There, the temporal evolution of polarization, intensity, and chirp is directly apparent in a single illustration. Received: 10 December 2002 / Published online: 24 April 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-931/888-4906, E-mail: brixner@physik.uni-wuerzburg.de     

Photolytic interference affecting two-photon laser-induced fluorescence detection of atomic oxygen in hydrocarbon flames

This study reports on photochemical interferences affecting atomic oxygen detection using two-photon laser-induced fluorescence at 226 nm. In contrast to previous studies in which molecular oxygen was proven to be the relevant photochemical precursor molecule in a hydrogen-fueled flame, the present investigations were carried out in a laminar diffusion flame of methane and air. The most significant interferences were found at the fuel side of the flame in the absence of molecular oxygen, and vibrationally excited carbon dioxide was identified as the most probable precursor molecule for the photochemical production of oxygen atoms. Received: 11 December 2002 / Revised version: 10 March 2003 / Published online: 16 April 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-925/294-2595, E-mail: tbsette@sandia.gov     

Extremely high-aspect-ratio patterns in macroporous substrate by focused-ion-beam etching: the realization of three-dimensional lattices

We show the very particular behavior of focused-ion-beam etching in macroporous silicon. We demonstrate that, contrary to bulk samples, a porous substrate allows extremely high-aspect-ratio patterns to be etched at submicrometer scales. Thanks to the pre-introduced porosity, the secondary effects that limit the pattern depth in bulk-sample etching, namely the sputtered material redeposition as well as the beam ‘self-focusing’ effects, are strongly reduced in a porous sample. In this case the walls between the pores are sputtered in an almost independent way. The etching of deep and straight patterns is feasible. Combined with photoelectrochemical etching that generates the initial macropores, three-dimensional (3D) lattices can be obtained, as demonstrated by 3D photonic crystal fabrication. Received: 21 August 2002 / Accepted: 21 August 2002 / Published online: 12 February 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +33-1/6915-6086, E-mail: wang@lps.u-psud.fr     

Correlator-aided alignment of phase key in encrypted holographic storage systems

An encrypted holographic scheme with a compact alignment system for a phase key is proposed. Alignment for a phase key is performed by a holographic correlator. A filter in the correlator system contains the phase information used for encryption. Thus, it can be used to check the authorization of the phase key. Owing to the shift-invariant property of the holographic correlator, the location of the correlation peak is highly related to the alignment of the phase key. Therefore, the phase key can be repositioned on the desired location by searching for the specific position of the correlation peak. With the help of the correlator, alignment of the phase key can be done in 1 min. Experimental results using a correlator system in support of our proposed idea are demonstrated as well.