Intersecting veins effects of a two-dimensional photonic crystal with a large two-dimensional complete bandgap

Optimal design of a two-dimensional photonic crystal with a square lattice of dielectric rods with intersecting veins in GaAs is investigated numerically using plane wave expansion method. It is shown how a maximum complete two-dimensional bandgap is obtained by optimally connecting the dielectric rods with intersecting veins. The complete two-dimensional photonic bandgap (PBG) of our optimal design reaches Δω = 0.10664(2πc/a) (where a is the lattice constant and c is the speed of light in vacuum) when the radius of dielectric rod is 280.1 nm and the half-vein width is 60 nm. Our result shows 40% the width of PBG higher than that obtained from Ref. [M. Qiu, S. He, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 17 (2000) 1027] (Δω = 0.0762(2πc/a)). In addition, we found that the complete bandgap can be obtained in a large range of radius R of dielectric rod when the half width of intersecting veins d is larger than 65 nm.     

Performance of a slow positron beam using a hybrid lens design

The University of Hong Kong positron beam employs conventional magnetic field transport to the target, but has a special hybrid lens design around the positron moderator that allows the beam to be focused to millimeter spot sizes at the target. The good focusing capabilities of the beam are made possible by extracting work-function positrons from the moderator in a magnetic field free region using a conventional Soa lens thus minimizing beam canonical angular momentum. An Einzel lens is used to focus the positrons into the magnetic funnel at the end of transportation magnetic field while at the same time bringing up the beam energy to the intermediate value of 7.5 keV. The beam is E × B filtered at this intermediate energy. The final beam energy is obtained by floating the Soa-Einzel system, E × B filter and flight tube, and accelerating the positrons just before the target. External beam steering saddle coils fine tune the position, and the magnetic field around the target chamber is adjusted so as to keep one of the beam foci always on the target. The system is fully computer controlled. Variable energy-Doppler broadened annihilation radiation (VEDBAR) data for a GaN sample are shown which demonstrate the performance of the positron beam system.     

Single quantum path control by a fundamental chirped pulse combined with a subharmonic control pulse

In this paper, we study the issue of single quantum path control and its role in attosecond pulse generation. By carrying out the time-dependent Schrödinger equation analysis for the harmonic emission from a single He atom irradiated by the two-color laser field, consisting of a short 800 fundamental chirped pulse and a subharmonic 800–2400 nm control pulse, we find that the most favorable condition for attosecond generation is at the fundamental chirp parameter β = 4.55 together with the zero-phase 2000 nm control pulse, in which the single quantum path (short quantum path) is selected to contribute to the harmonic spectrum exhibiting an ultrabroad supercontinuum of a 337 eV bandwidth. Finally, an isolated attosecond pulse as short as 39 as is thus generated directly.     

Optical delay lines using coupled slab waveguides and ring resonator with a negative refractive index core

Total delay time of a structure composed of a slab waveguide coupled with a ring resonator where negative refractive index material is replaced in the core of the structure is investigated in this work. In this paper, a two-port ring resonator (TPRR) which is made of a core with negative refractive index has been used to generate a time delay for a Gaussian-shaped pulse with 1 GHz bandwidth. It is shown that the creation of the ring how causes more n_g of a straight waveguide and results are compared with positive refractive index core TPRR. We have used metamaterial to make an n < 0 media and have used two cascaded metamaterial rings to increase the bandwidth.     

Photoinduced effect in Ga-Ge-S based thin films

Glassy films of Ga₁₀Ge₂₅S₆₅ with 4 μm thickness were deposited on quartz substrates by electron beam evaporation. Photoexpansion (PE) (photoinduced increase in volume) and photobleaching (PB) (blue shift of the bandgap) effects have been examined. The exposed areas have been analyzed using perfilometer and an expansion of 1.7 μm (ΔV/V ≈ 30%) is observed for composition Ga₁₀Ge₂₅S₆₅ exposed during 180 min and 3 mW/cm² power density. The optical absorption edge measured for the film Ge₂₅Ga₁₀S₆₅ above and below the bandgap show that the blue shift of the gap by below bandgap photon illumination is considerable higher (ΔE_g = 440 meV) than ΔE_g induced by above bandgap illumination (ΔE_g = 190 meV). The distribution of the refraction index profile showed a negative change of the refraction index in the irradiated samples (Δn = −0.6). The morphology was examined using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The chemical compositions measured using an energy dispersive analyzer (EDX) indicate an increase of the oxygen atoms into the irradiated area. Using a Lloyd's mirror setup for continuous wave holography it was possible to record holographic gratings using the photoinduced effects that occur in them. Diffraction efficiency up to 25% was achieved for the recorded gratings and atomic force microscopy images are presented.     

Gaussian soliton generation using a 1.3 μm optical pulse in a micro-ring resonator for a new DWDM enhancement

We present a novel system of a Gaussian soliton generation using a 1.30 μm optical pulse in a nonlinear micro-ring resonator system, which can be used to form the soliton pulse trains within the new wavelength band. By using the suitable parameters, the soliton pulse trains with the center wavelength at 1.30 μm can be generated after the intense Gaussian pulse is input into the nonlinear micro-ring resonator system. The initial pulse bandwidth is enlarged and the signal amplified by the nonlinear Kerr effects type within the ring resonator. The simulation values are used associating with the practical device parameters, whereas the obtained results have shown that the wavelength enhancement of the center wavelength can be achieved. Furthermore, the maximum soliton output power of 12 W is obtained, which is available to perform the long-distance communication link. The common problem of soliton dispersion is minimized by the zero dispersion condition in this case. The major advantage of the proposed system is that the dense wavelength division of the center wavelength with the spectral width of 7.0 pm (10⁻¹⁵ m) and the free spectrum range of 400 pm can be generated and achieved. This is available for the used/installed wavelength enhancement, which can provide more available channel capacity in the existed public optical network.     

Pulsed magnetic field study of the spin gap in intermediate valence compound SmB6

In this work, we report the behavior of electrical resistivity of SmB₆ at temperatures between 2.2 and 70 K in pulsed magnetic fields up to 54 T. A strong negative magnetoresistance was detected with increasing magnetic field, when lowering the temperature in the range T<30 K. We show that the amplitude of negative magnetoresistance reaches its maximum dR/R~70% at B=54 T, in the vicinity of phase transition occurring in this strongly correlated electron system at T_C~5 K. The crossover from negative magnetoresistance to positive magnetoresistance found at intermediate temperatures at T>30 K is discussed within the framework of exciton-polaron model of local charge fluctuations in SmB₆ proposed by Kikoin and Mishchenko. It seems that these exciton-polaron in-gap states are influenced both by temperature and magnetic field.     

Quantum interference effects in a multi-driven transition Fg = 3 ↔ Fe = 2

We calculated and studied the quantum coherence effects of a degenerate transition F_g = 3 ↔ F_e = 2 system interacting with a weak linearly polarized (with σ_± components) probe light and a strong linearly polarized (with σ_± components) coupling field. Due to the competition between the drive Rabi frequency and the Zeeman splitting, electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA) are appeared at the different values of applied magnetic field in both cases that the Zeeman splitting of excited state Δe is smaller than the Zeeman splitting of ground state Δg (i.e., Δe < Δg) and Δe > Δg. It is shown that the resonance is broader and contrasts are higher for Δe < Δg than that for Δe > Δg at the same Rabi frequencies of probe and coupling fields.     

Enhanced near field mediated nanohole fabrication on silicon substrate by femtosecond laser pulse

Investigation of the process of nanohole formation on silicon surface mediated with near electromagnetic field enhancement in vicinity of gold particles is described. Gold nanospheres with diameters of 40, 80 and 200 nm are used. Irradiation of the samples with laser pulse at fluences below the ablation threshold for native Si surface, results in a nanosized surface modification. The nanostructure formation is investigated for the fundamental (λ = 800 nm, 100 fs) and the second harmonic (λ = 400 nm, 250 fs) of the laser radiation generated by ultrashort Ti:sapphire laser system. The near electric field distribution is analyzed by an Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulation code. The properties of the produced morphological changes on the Si surface are found to depend strongly on the polarization and the wavelength of the laser irradiation. When the laser pulse is linearly polarized the produced nanohole shape is elongated in the E-direction of the polarization. The shape of the hole becomes symmetrical when the laser radiation is circularly polarized. The size of the ablated holes depends on the size of the gold particles, as the smallest holes are produced with the smallest particles. The variation of the laser fluence and the particle size gives possibility of fabricating structures with lateral dimensions ranging from 200 nm to below 40 nm. Explanation of the obtained results is given on the basis simulations of the near field properties using FDTD model and Mie's theory.     

Reduction in timing jitter by chirp selection for externally modulated return to zero optical soliton pulse at 10 Gb/s

We investigate the chirp selection of externally modulated RZ soliton pulse at 10 Gb/s for fiber optical communication systems for the reduction in timing jitter. We have chosen single arm Mach-Zehnder amplitude modulator with sin² electrical shaped input-output (P-V) characteristic and its chirp range has been varied in the range of −5 to 5. The timing jitter, Q factor and bit error rate (BER) generated for the chirp range has been studied for various fiber lengths and post compensation has been demonstrated to reduce the timing jitter. The number of fixed output amplifiers after every 60 km span is varied from 2 to 10 and corresponding accumulated ASE noise has been studied to manage timing jitter and BER in permissible range, i.e. 5 ps and 10⁻⁹, respectively. It is observed that when two fiber spans are taken then the compensating fiber length for the system is less than 20 km for each case of the chirp considered. For 10 fiber spans, the compensating fiber length increases in the range 60-90 km depending upon the value of chirp taken. Finally it is shown that the chirp value of external modulator should be set to either 0 or −1 for externally modulated RZ soliton pulse in 10 Gb/s optical communication system which makes the system more insensitive to the timing jitter and the selection of dispersion compensating fiber length.     

Effect of nitrogen doping on the properties of AlSiO film for wide bandgap semiconductors

A gate insulator film with a wide bandgap and a high dielectric constant is required to achieve high-power field effect transistors (FET) using wide bandgap semiconductors such as SiC, GaN, and diamond. It is observed that an aluminum silicon oxide (AlSiO) film containing 11% nitrogen has a high resistivity of 5 × 10¹⁵ Ω cm, and the leakage current of a nitrogen-doped aluminum silicon oxide (AlSiON) film is also suppressed at high temperature, as compared to the AlSiO film. For example, the leakage current at 240 °C is four orders of magnitude smaller than that of the AlSiO film, suggesting that the AlSiON film is applicable to high temperature operation of wide bandgap semiconductor devices.     

Gain-saturated Ni-like antimony laser at 11.4 nm in grazing-incidence pumping geometry

We report on gain-saturated operation of the 4d → 4p, J = 0-1, 11.4 nm soft-X-ray laser line in Ni-like antimony (Sb) at a pump energy of only 2.5 J. The driving laser used was a 1054 nm Nd:glass CPA laser system with a pulse duration of 7 ps (FWHM). The pump beam was focused with a tilted on-axis parabolic mirror in a grazing-incidence (GRIP) pumping configuration at an incidence angle of 45°. A fraction of 2.8% of the pump energy (∼70 mJ) was used for the prepulse, which was propagated along the same beam line as the main pulse and arrived at the target 4.4 ns before the main pulse.     

Quantum interferences from cross talk in J = 1/2 ↔ J = 1/2 transitions

We consider the possibility of a control field opening up multiple pathways and thereby leading to new interference and coherence effects. We illustrate the idea by considering the J = 1/2 ↔ J = 1/2 transition. As a result of the additional pathways, we show the possibilities of nonzero refractive index without absorption and gain without inversion. We explain these results in terms of the coherence produced by the opening of an extra pathway.     

Propagation of a light pulse inside matter in a context of the Abraham–Minkowski dilemma

It is shown that a light pulse propagating in an optical medium exerts the optical pressure on the medium in the regions where leading and trailing edges are propagating. This effect is derived from analysis of unambiguous thought experiments which results contradict one other. It is shown that a magnitude of the pressure is equal to (n − 1/n)W₀, where n and W₀ is the refractive index of the medium and the momentum flux density of the same pulse in free space, respectively. The Abraham form of the momentum of light is redundant if the optical pressure is taken into account. In this case the dilemma disappears because one of the rival alternatives disappears.     

AOM fourfold pass for efficient Q-switching and stable high peak power laser pulses

We report on a scheme for efficient acousto-optical Q-switching. A flash lamp pumped Nd:YAG oscillator with an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) fourfold pass configuration is presented. The setup combines two important advantages: enhancement of the diffraction efficiency by additional AOM passes and a compact oscillator design in spite of an extension of the optical path length. A flash lamp pumped oscillator with an average output power of 7 W and a beam quality of M² = 1.2 is developed. The system operates with a 100 Hz repetition rate for the flash lamps. In each pumping pulse a pulse train of 1 up to 40 Q-switched laser pulses is generated. The pulse duration is from 15 to 120 ns. In comparison to a former setup (AOM double pass) the AOM fourfold pass configuration allows single pulses with energy above 20 mJ and a pulse peak power of more than 1 MW. In addition, the beam profile is improved due to a better separation of the incident and diffracted beam caused by the AOM. The laser is dedicated as master oscillator in a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system where pulse peak powers in the MW range should be achieved.     

Beyond the pulse-area theorem: Role of the absorption and the dispersion in the propagation of weak ultrashort resonant pulses

We present here some fundamental but yet underlooked features of the propagation of weak ultrashort pulses (with Δ_dτ << 1, where Δ_d is the Doppler width and τ is the pulse duration) in resonant atomic media. We show that the pulse area behaviour and the pulse spectrum at resonance are governed by the usual optical depth (α₀L, where α₀ is the absorption coefficient at resonance and L the length of the medium), whereas the pertinent parameter that governs the severity of the dispersion effects and the distortion of the pulse is the dispersion parameter e_disp = (α₀L)Δ_dτ that we introduce. Paradoxical effect such as distortionless propagation (e.g. e_disp << 1) with vanishing pulse area (when α₀L >> 1) can then explained within this formalism.     

Line-mixing between rotational Stark components of CH3F self-perturbed and perturbed by helium: Experimental results and IOS analysis

Self- and He-broadening coefficients of microwave transitions of CH₃F have been measured with and without the presence of an external electric field. This provides values for the J, K → J + 1, K (K = 0 − J) transitions for J = 1 and J = 3 as well as for the various J, K, M → J + 1, K, M′ (|M| = 0 − K, |M - M′| = 0, 1) Stark components. The results and those of a previous experimental study for pure CH₃F, which show significant line-mixing effects, are analyzed with a model based on the Infinite Order Sudden approximation. It is shown that the latter leads to very satisfactory modeling of observed values even though no parameter was adjusted since previously and independently determined basic cross-sections are used. The quality of the present predictions is comparable with that obtained previously with a semi-classical approach. Furthermore, it is shown that the previously stated inaccuracy of the IOS model was due to an oversimplified use of this approach.     

Mechanism of ignition by non-equilibrium plasma

The kinetics of ignition in stoichiometric C_nH_2n+2:O₂:Ar mixtures with 90% dilution for n = 1-5 has been studied experimentally and numerically under the action of a high-voltage nanosecond discharge. It was shown that the initiation of the discharge by a high-voltage pulse 115 kV in amplitude with a specific deposited energy of 10-30 mJ/cm³ leads to more than an order of magnitude decrease in the ignition delay time. The generation of atoms, radicals and excited and charged particles by the discharge was numerically described. The role of different atoms and radicals (O, H and C_nH_2n+1) was analyzed. The temporal evolution of the densities of intermediate components in the plasma assisted ignition was discussed.     

Multi-wavelength generation of an extremely narrow pulse using a ring resonator system for bio-cells microscopy

We propose a new system of an extremely narrow light pulse generation for optical microscopy applications using a nonlinear ring resonator system. The system consists of one nano and three micro-optical ring resonators, which can be used to generate the 50 fm (10⁻¹⁵ m) optical spectral width at the broad wavelength spectrum. By using a soliton pulse with a pulse width of 50 ps, peak power of 1 W, center wavelength at 550 nm, and after the soliton pulse is launched into the first ring device, the chaotic pulses are generated within the first ring. The chaotic filtering behaviors are performed by using the second and the third ring devices, whereas the extremely short pulse, i.e. narrow spectral width, can be generated by using the extended nano-ring device. The broad spectrum of the harmonic waves is generated and filtered, which is of use in optical tomography. Results obtained have shown that the generation of the broad spectrum of short pulse with width 100 fm and peak power 60 mW is achieved. The possibility of using such a system for nondestructive bio-cells microscopy, for visualizing bio-cells and for bio-cells tomography is also discussed in detail.     

Thermomagnetic writing on deep submicron-patterned TbFe films by nanosecond current pulse

This work studies the heating process for deep submicron-patterned TbFe films to be used in a thermally assisted perpendicular magnetic random access memory's writing scheme. The dependence of the heating power density with the current pulse width required for the successful writing was measured in the investigated range of 5-100 ns. In the case of long current pulse, the heat diffuses dominantly into substrate, which resulted in large variation of the required power/energy density with the patterned size. The power/energy densities required for writing increased as the junction area is reduced. While for the short current pulse width, the power/energy densities became rather independent on the size. The required power density for writing 0.38×0.28 μm² patterned films using the pulse width of 5 ns is experimentally estimated to be around P=4.7 mW/μm², corresponding to the energy density of E=23 pJ/μm², under an external field of 100 Oe.