Low-pass rugate spatial filters for beam smoothing

A new application of rugate structures is proposed as low-pass spatial filters for beam smoothing. By using the transfer matrix method to analyze the spatial properties of the bandgap of rugate structures, the low-pass rugate spatial filters with both an almost ideal flat bandpass and a rather steep switching between pass- and stop-bands are designed. The angle-domain bandwidth of the spatial filters can be adjusted by changing the parameters of rugate structures for a given light frequency. The near-field simulations carried out by using the finite-difference time-domain technique confirm the possibility of an efficient light smoothing.     

Multiple narrow bandpass optical filters based on one-dimensional rugate photonic structures of two periodicities

A theoretical analysis of a design of multiple narrow bandpass filters based on one-dimensional (1D) rugate photonic structures with a period jump defect is presented. The optical properties, including transmittance and energy density distributions, are numerically calculated using the propagation matrix method. Our results show that multiple resonance transmission modes are produced when the period jump defect is introduced into the 1D rugate film. Both blueshift and redshift of the stop band of the rugate structure and wavelengths of resonant modes are observed, depending on the change of period jump. The number, the wavelengths, the band intervals, and the intensities of multiple resonance transmission modes are tunable by adjusting structure parameters of the rugate structure. Experimental feasibility of the proposed multiple narrow bandpass optical filters using the technique of glancing angle deposition is also discussed.     

Rugate filters prepared by rapidly alternating deposition

A methodology for the fabrication of composite (Nb₂O₅)_1-x(SiO₂)_x thin-film rugate filters by using pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering is presented. The two materials are mixed using rapidly alternating deposition technology. The optical properties of the composite films varying with the composition of the material are studied in detail. Refractive indices between 1.50 and 2.14 can be realized in our coating system. Two designed rugate filters with a reflection band at the wavelength of 532 nm are fabricated using an automatic deposition process. The microstructure of the rugate filter is investigated by using scanning electron microscopy. The calculated and the measured transmittance spectra are in good agreement with each other. The causes of the slight differences between them are also analysed.     

Gradient-index narrow-bandpass filter fabricated with glancing-angle deposition

Glancing-angle deposition (GLAD) is a fabrication method capable of producing thin films with engineered nanoscale porosity variations. GLAD can be used to create optical thin-film interference filters from a single source material by modification of the film refractive index through control of film porosity. We present the effects of introducing a layer of constant low density into the center of a rugate thin-film filter fabricated with the GLAD technique. A rugate filter is characterized by a sinusoidal refractive-index profile. Embedding a layer of constant refractive index, with a thickness equal to one period of the rugate index variation, causes a narrow bandpass to appear within the filter's larger stop band. Transmittance measurements of such a gradient-index narrow-bandpass filter, formed with titanium dioxide, revealed an 83% transmittance peak at a vacuum wavelength of 522 nm, near the center of the stop band, with a FWHM bandwidth of 15 nm.     

Experimental demonstration of narrow-band rugate minus filters using rapidly alternating deposition technology

The design, fabrication and performance of narrow-band rugate minus filters are investigated in this paper. A method of fabricating graded-index coatings by rapidly alternating deposition of low(Si O2) and high(Al2 O3) refractive index materials is presented to fabricate a rugate structure. The narrow-band rugate minus filter design and fabrication approaches are discussed in detail. The experimental results, including transmittance spectrum, surface damage test and damage morphology investigated with a scanning electron microscope, demonstrate the high performance of the as-fabricated spatial filter and confirm the feasibility of the fabrication method for narrow-band rugate minus filters.     

Rugate filter with multi-channel grown by glancing angle deposition

Glancing angle deposition (GLAD) is an effective technique to fabricate thin films with desired nanoscale porosity variations in three dimensions. GLAD can be used to grow rugate filters characterized by a sinusoidal refractive index profile from one single source material through control of film porosity. A multi-stopband rugate filter can be achieved either by introducing a layer of constant index into the center of sinusoidal refractive index profile or by embedding discrete layers of constant refractive index to sinusoidal index profile with the GLAD technique. Transmittance measurements of the one channel filter, formed with titanium dioxide, revealed this method is one of the most valid technologies to fabricate multi-band filters.     

Porous silicon based extended-bandwidth rugate filters for mid-infrared application

Porous silicon-based rugate filters operating in the mid-infrared spectral range are fabricated by electrochemical etching of bulk silicon wafers. The rugate filter has a high reflectivity stop-band at 5 μm with no higher-order harmonics and very small sidelobes. Furthermore, broadband high pass filter having the cutoff wavelength in a mid-infrared range is demonstrated by combining five rugate structures.     

Optical stack filters using parallel fuzzy logic

Stack filters are more general and robust nonlinear filters than median filter, which possess threshold decomposition and stacking properties. Stack filters can be carried out one step using optical parallel fuzzy logic technique instead of three steps in threshold decomposition. All window, width 3 stack filters but two trivial stack filters are expressed in unified expression with coefficiencies to choose desired stack filter, so they are realized by an optical approach, window 3×3 separable stack filters can be realized by cascading the window width 3 stack filters. Window width 5 stack filters can be realized using the same method.     

Terahertz subwavelength filters based on a 2D lattice of metal wires

The filtering properties of a 2D square lattice made of metallic wires are investigated through the band structures and transmission spectra by the finite-difference time-domain method. All the results show that the transmission can be affected by factors such as wave polarization, incidence direction, and wire radius. It is found that the Γ–M direction and smaller radius of metal wires are preferable for a high-frequency-pass filter for TE waves, while the Γ–X direction and comparatively greater radius of metal wires are suitable for a low-frequency-pass and a wide stop-band filter for TM waves. Band edges of the filters can be tuned by adjusting the radius of wires and lattice constant. The key features of the band structure and the corresponding transmission spectrum are strongly correlated. Our work demonstrates that detailed band maps can help understanding the transmission properties, which are essential for designing wave filters.     

Optical properties of F.I.R. metallic grids: Reflection phase shift measurements

Utilization of metallic grids stacks for F.I.R filters needs a good knowledge of optical properties of each grid. We study here an experimental method in order to determine the wave's change of phase by reflection on a wire grid. We use a Perot-Fabry interferometer constituted by these grids.     

碳纳米管光学天线的有效波长和谐振特性

将经典金属自由电子气模型应用于金属型碳纳米管, 基于光学天线有效波长理论, 得出了金属型碳纳米管光学天线响应的有效波长与碳纳米管介电特性之间的普适关系. 在对碳纳米管介电特性进行第一性原理计算的基础上, 以金属型4 Å碳纳米管为例, 进一步研究了金属型碳纳米管光学天线响应的有效波长与入射波长之间的关系, 以及金属型碳纳米管光学偶极子天线的谐振特性. 通过将已有传统金属光学天线和碳纳米管天线有效波长的研究结果进行对比, 验证了本文理论的正确性. 结果表明, 碳纳米管光学天线响应的有效波长与入射波长呈近似线性关系, 与传统金属材料构成的同直径光学天线相比, 碳纳米管天线显示出了更强的波长压缩能力, 并且在可见光到红外波段内易于发生谐振. 该研究方法可为碳纳米管光学天线研究提供新的思路.     

Modeling Fraunhofer diffractive characteristics for modulation transfer function analysis of tilted ring metallic mesh

In order to analyze the Fraunhofer diffractive characteristics and modulation transfer function (MTF) of a tilted ring metallic mesh, an optical intensity distribution model of Fraunhofer diffraction is built using Huygens–Fresnel diffraction theory and the diffraction integral is carried out directly in the tilted mesh plane. The diffraction characteristics of the tilted ring metallic mesh are in good agreement with experimental results, which proves the correctness of the model established. MTF of an optical system with metallic mesh is calculated based on the model established and Fourier transform. Analysis shows that the degradation of MTF caused by diffraction of a ring mesh is much less than that of a square mesh whether they are vertical or tilted to the optical axis. Therefore, ring mesh can provide higher imaging quality than square mesh when they are used as high-pass filters in optical windows. A tilted array diffraction modulating factor is abstracted and believed useful in the analysis of diffractive characteristics of tilted square mesh and ring mesh, and it can be extended to Fraunhofer diffractive characteristics analysis of other tilted diffraction arrays.     

Compact optical filter for dual-wavelength fluorescence-spectrometry based on enhanced transmission through metallic nano-slit array

A novel optical filter based on enhanced transmission through metallic nano-slit is proposed for dual-wavelength fluorescence-spectrometry. A special structure, sampled-period slit array, is utilized to meet the requirement of dual-wavelength transmission in this system. Structure parameters on the transmission property are analyzed by means of Fourier transformation. With the features both to enhance the fluorescence generation and to enhance light transmission, in addition with the feasibility for miniaturization, integration on one chip, and mass production, the proposed filters are promising for the realization of dual-wavelength fluorescence-spectrometry in micro-total-analysis-system.     

Effects of plasmonic resonances and transparency of nanoshells for optical filtering

We show that narrow optical band pass filters can be created by means of nanoparticles which consist of a dielectric sphere and a metallic shell. The components can be adjusted such that there is a remarkable transparency at the desired wavelength range, while a strong absorption takes place outside of this region.     

Design and fabrication of broadband rugate filter

The design and the deposition of a rugate filter for broadband applications are discussed.The bandwidth is extended by increasing the rugate period continuously with depth.The width and the smoothness of the reflection band with the distribution of the periods are investigated.The improvement of the steepness of the stopband edges and the suppression of the side lobes in the transmission zone are realized by adding two apodized rugate structures with fixed periods at the external broadband rugate filter interfaces.The rapidly alternating deposition technology is used to fabricate a rugate filter sample.The measured transmission spectrum with a reflection bandwidth of approximately 505 nm is close to that of the designed broadband rugate filter except a transmittance peak in the stopband.Based on the analysis of the cross-sectional scanning electron microscopic image of the sample,it is found that the transmission peak is most likely to be caused by the instability of the deposition rate.     

Near-field optical observations of surface plasmon wave interference at subwavelength hole arrays perforated in Au film

We image optical near-field patterns at subwavelength circular hole arrays in Au film by using scanning near-field optical microscopy in near-infrared wavelengths.Periodical oscillation features are found in the near-field images at the air/Au interface and exhibit two typical kinds of standing wave oscillation forms at the wavelengths corresponding to the transmission minimum and maximum in the transmission spectrum,and the latter one originates from the excitation and interference of a surface plasmon wave at the metallic hole arrays.Our work indicates that monitoring optical near-field patterns can help to reveal many interesting properties of surface plasmon waves at metallic nanostructures and understand their underlying physical mechanisms.     

Optical transmission enhancement by a sub-wavelength film lens

A new sub-wavelength metallic film lens configuration is proposed, which is embedded in a thin ideal metal film, and its near field optical properties are investigated by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD)method. It is found that the optical transmission is greatly enhanced, and the spot size can be reduced by the sub-wavelength metallic film lens in comparison with the bare aperture. This kind of lens is expected to have practical applications in the very small aperture laser (VSAL), a promising nanosource for near-field optical storage and lithography.     

Study of a narrowband reflection filter with multi-channels

Reflection filters have various applications in optical communication and other systems.In this letter,we propose a narrowband high-reflection filter composed of dielectric and metallic layers,in which an optimized filter combined with an admittance-matching layer with broad stop band is achieved.The structure can be expressed as Sub ｜ （HL）13H2L（HL）313Cr0.84H ｜ air,with full-width at half-maximum （FWHM） bandwidth of 2.5 nm.Based on this structure,reflection filters with multi-peaks are presented,and the law of distribution of peak positions is drawn.     

Direct monitoring of broadband light absorbers

The final performances of manufactured thin film filters usually depend on to the monitoring strategy. Some optical monitoring systems provide transmittance measurements while others measure the reflectance. With our system, we are able to simultaneously measure both transmittance and reflectance over an extended spectral range [400 nm; 1000 nm]. This reflectance channel is necessary for direct monitoring of some kinds of filters like light absorbers. Indeed, in this case, transmittance is cancelled after the first metallic layer deposition. The optical system is also very useful for in situ characterization especially for metallic absorbing materials.     

Optical filter based on omnidirectional reflectors

Optical filters based on dielectric omnidirectional reflectors are theoretically analyzed both in the frequency domain and in time domain. It is shown that an optical filter can be made by drilling periodic air holes in a dielectric omnidirectional reflector. The filter’s optical properties can be controlled by varying the lattice constant and the radius of air holes without changing the reflector’s thickness. Thus different filters can be easily integrated in one reflector. This kind of filter is expected to be used in optical communication devices and vertical cavity surface emitting lasers. PACS 42.70.Qs; 42.79.Ci; 78.20.Bh