Three-dimensional optical storage in fused silica using modulated femtosecond pulses

Three-dimensional bitwise optical recording with a density of 500 Gb/cm3 in fused silica using a Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser modulated by binary digits is demonstrated. Laser pulses modulation is realized by modulating two circuits of trigger pulses signal which are used to control laser pulses trapping and switching out from cavity, respectively. Bits are optically readout in both a parallel reading (phase-contrast) and a serial reading (confocal-type) methods. The method for modulating laser pulses can also be used in all of pulsed laser systems which operate in cavity-dumping configuration.     

Extending dark optical trapping geometries

New counterpropagating geometries are presented for localizing ultracold atoms in the dark regions created by the interference of Laguerre-Gaussian laser beams. In particular dark helices, an "optical revolver," axial lattices of rings, and axial lattices of ring lattices of rings are considered and a realistic scheme for achieving phase stability is explored. The dark nature of these traps will enable their use as versatile tools for low-decoherence atom interferometry with zero differential light shifts.     

Optimized free-form optical trapping systems

We report a comprehensive process for designing and prototyping new and optimized optical trapping systems. A combination of traditional lens design strategies, simulation of optical forces, and high-end ultraprecision machining of optical free-form surfaces is applied to the realization of a highly specialized optical trapping system. The resulting compact and lightweight optical modules potentially open new classes of applications for optical manipulation. As an example we present a customized 3D trapping module made of a single piece of polymethylmethacrylate, with a large working distance of 650?μm.     

Stable optical trapping based on optical binding forces

Various trapping configurations have been realized so far, either based on the scattering force or the gradient force. In this Letter, we propose a new trapping regime based on the equilibrium between a scattering force and optical binding forces only. The trap is realized from the interaction between a single plane wave and a series of fixed small particles, and is efficient at trapping multiple free particles. The effects are demonstrated analytically upon computing the exact scattering from a collection of cylindrical particles and calculating the Lorentz force on each free particle via the Maxwell stress tensor.     

Diffusion and trapping of muonium on silica surfaces

The spin relaxation rate λ_Mu of muonium atoms on fine silica powder surfaces was measured as a function of temperature and of the surface concentration of hydroxyl groups. Results indicate two-dimensional diffusion, trapping and detrapping of the muonium atoms on the silica surface. At low temperatures λ_Mu decreases dramatically as the concentration of surface hydroxyls is reduced. A three-state model is used to extract the muonium adsorption energy and other physical parameters.     

Optical trapping of nanoparticles and microparticles by a Gaussian standing wave

The optical trapping of nanoparticles and microparticles by a Gaussian standing wave is experimentally demonstrated for the first time to the authors' knowledge. The standing wave is obtained under a microscope objective as a result of the interference of an incoming laser beam and a beam reflected on a microscope slide that has been coated with a system of reflective dielectric layers. Experimental results show that three-dimensional trapping of nanoparticles (100-nm polystyrene spheres) and one or more vertically aligned micro-objects (5-mum polystyrene spheres, yeast cells) can easily be achieved by use of even highly aberrated beams or objectives with low numerical apertures.     

Reverse orbiting of microparticles in optical vortices

We report the observation of particles trapped at an air-water surface orbiting in a reverse direction with respect to the orbital angular momentum of the light field. The effect is explained by a combination of asymmetric particle shape and confinement of the particle on the 2D air-water interface. The experiment highlights the strong influence of the particle shape on the momentum transfer, an effect that is often not considered in optical trapping experiments.     

Three-dimensional dissipative optical solitons

A brief overview of recent theoretical results in the area of three-dimensional dissipative optical solitons is given. A systematic analysis demonstrates the existence and stability of both fundamental (spinless) and spinning three-dimensional dissipative solitons in both normal and anomalous group-velocity regimes. Direct numerical simulations of the evolution of stationary solitons of the three-dimensional cubic-quintic Ginzburg-Landau equation show full agreement with the predictions based on computation of the instability eigenvalues from the linearized equations for small perturbations. It is shown that the diffusivity in the transverse plane is necessary for the stability of vortex solitons against azimuthal perturbations, while fundamental (zero-vorticity) solitons may be stable in the absence of diffusivity. It has also been found that, at values of the nonlinear gain above the upper border of the soliton existence domain, the three-dimensional dissipative solitons either develop intrinsic pulsations or start to expand in the temporal (longitudinal) direction keeping their structure in the transverse spatial plane. Presented at 9-th International Workshop on Nonlinear Optics Applications, NOA 2007, May 17–20, 2007, Świnoujście, Poland     

Competitive trapping effects in a set of partially absorbing traps

This note contains a formalism for calculating properties of random walks in the presence of a set of partially absorbing traps. The properties that are considered are the probability of trapping at a specific point and the survival probability as a function of step number. The results are expressed in terms of determinants, but approximations to these can be found.     

Symmetry dependence of holograms for optical trapping

No iterative algorithm is necessary to calculate holograms for most holographic optical trapping patterns. Instead, holograms may be produced by a simple extension of the prisms-and-lenses method. This formulaic approach yields the same diffraction efficiency as iterative algorithms for any asymmetric or symmetric but nonperiodic pattern of points while requiring less calculation time. A slight spatial disordering of periodic patterns significantly reduces intensity variations between the different traps without extra calculation costs. Eliminating laborious hologram calculations should greatly facilitate interactive holographic trapping.     

Electron trapping at point defects on hydroxylated silica surfaces

The origin of electron trapping and negative charging of hydroxylated silica surfaces is predicted based on accurate quantum-mechanical calculations. The calculated electron affinities of the two dominant neutral paramagnetic defects, the nonbridging oxygen center, identical with Si-O*, and the silicon dangling bond, identical with Si*, demonstrate that both defects are deep electron traps and can form the corresponding negatively charged defects. We predict the structure and optical absorption energies of these diamagnetic defects.     

Three-dimensional optical profilometry using a four-core optical fibre

This paper describes the use of a four-core optical fibre for measurements of three-dimensional rigid-body shapes. A fringe pattern, which is generated by interference of four wavefronts emitted from the four-core optical fibre, is projected on an object's surface. The deformed fringe pattern containing information of the object's surface topography is captured by a digital CCD camera and is analysed using a two-dimensional Fourier transform profilometry. It is demonstrated for the first time that the use of such a four-core optical fibre increases the compactness and the stability of the fringe projection system.     

Low-frequency optical phonons in silica

Measurements of low_frequency Raman spectra of silica fibers under longitudinal tensions as a function of temperature have been correlated with the measurements of FIR spectra of bulk silica in reflection and transmission. The results indicate existence of an LO-TO pair of a low-frequency optical phonon branch in amorphous silica.     

A clustered speckle approach to optical trapping

An in situ study of the clustered speckle 3D structure using an optical tweezer setup is presented. Clustered speckles appear when a coherently illuminated diffuser is imaged through a pupil mask with several apertures, properly distributed over a closed path, which is placed before the objective lens of a standard optical trapping system. Thus, light volumes are reduced several times when compared with standard speckles, being even smaller than the focus volume of a Gaussian beam commonly used to trap. Moreover, clustered speckles have odd statistical properties which differentiated it from standard speckles. Then, geometrically ordered multiple trapping arrays, with statistical random distribution of intensities, can be created with this technique. This fact could enable different studies concerning optical binding or new developments in coherent matter wave transport where Optical Trapping has been proven with standard speckles. In this work, a qualitative analysis of clustered speckles in an optical tweezer setup relative to the number of apertures in the mask and their size is carried on. Besides, in the Rayleigh regime, a general quantitative method to characterize the trapping capability of an optical field is proposed. Then, it is applied to clustered speckles. As a result, a relation between aperture size and the maximum size of the particles that could be trapped is found. This fact opens the possibility of engineering the statistic of the trapped particles by properly selecting the pupil mask.     

Multifocal optical trapping using counter-propagating radially-polarized beams

A model of optical tweezers which can trap a chain of Rayleigh particles is proposed by using two counter-propagating equal highly focused radial polarized beams. Calculations show that a multifocal distribution along the optical axis is formed and the scattering force is equal to zero in the total focal filed, consequently a chain of metallic Rayleigh particles can be stably trapped. The trap force and the trap stiffness using two counter-propagating Radially-polarized beams are larger than those using two counter-propagating linearly-polarized beams. The trapping stability is calculated and analyzed in detail. The trapping number of particles in a trapping chain can be controlled by adjusting the aperture angle of the objective and the parameters of the filter used in the proposed trap system.     

Shape oscillations of microparticles on an optical microscope stage

A modulated acoustic radiation pressure technique to produce quadrupole shape oscillations of drops ranging in diameter from 50-220 micron has been used by us. These drops have been suspended by acoustic levitation in a small chamber mounted on a stage of an optical microscope, which allowed easy viewing. The fission of drops and the deformation of sea urchin eggs were also observed.     

Angular distribution of non-linear optical emission from spheroidal microparticles

We measured the angular distribution of the near-backward multiphoton-excited fluorescence emission by ellipsoidal-shaped, dye-doped ethanol microdroplets deformed perpendicularly to the direction of the incident laser beam. The high-intensity region in the backward direction is elongated in the same direction as the emitting microdroplet. Simulations based on ray tracing agree well with the experimental pattern and show that the droplet aspect ratio ϱ may be deduced from the fluorescence pattern of both oblate and prolate microparticles with ϱ varying from 0.9 to 1.3. PACS 42.68.Jg; 33.80.Wz; 42.15.Dp     

Three-dimensional optical measurement of instantaneous pressure

Local perturbations in material density induced in a material by a compressional wave give rise to local perturbations in refractive index. Accurate, high-resolution, three-dimensional, optical measurements of an instantaneous refractive index perturbation in a homogeneous, optically transparent medium may be obtained from measurements of scattered optical intensity alone. The method of generalized projections allows incorporation of optical intensity measurements into an iterative algorithm for computing the phase of the interrogating optical pulse as the solution of a fixed point equation. The complex optical field amplitude, computed in this manner, is unique up to a constant unit magnitude complex coefficient. The three-dimensional refractive index distribution may be computed via the Fourier slice reconstruction algorithm from the optical phase data under the assumption of weak optical scattering. The refractive index perturbation is related to local instantaneous pressure under a linear, small-displacement model for the mechanical wave. A numerical simulation of the measurement experiment, phase recovery, and reconstruction process for a plane piston ultrasound transducer with a semicircular aperture and center frequency of 1.5 MHz is described and corresponds very well with experiment. Experimental data obtained using an 810-nm laser source are used to reconstruct the three-dimensional pressure field from two elements of a 2.5-MHz linear array. Comparison with a measurement obtained via a 500-microm needle hydrophone shows excellent agreement.     

Three-dimensional optical transfer of rotating beams

Systems in which the point spread function (PSF) is a rotating beam have increasing use in three-dimensional (3D) microscopy and depth estimation. We analyze in several ways the 3D optical transfer function (OTF) of Gauss Laguerre modes and rotating beams. This is based on analysis of 3D OTFs of general aperture functions. Consequently, we suggest a criterion for depth resolution based on an effective cutoff of the axial frequency response. This criterion can be used to optimize PSFs explicitly and directly, to maximize axial resolution.