Generalized M factor of hard-edged diffracted controllable dark-hollow beams

On the basis of the truncated second-order moments method on the cylindrical coordinate systems, an analytical expression of the generalized beam propagation factor ( factor) of hard-edged diffracted controllable dark-hollow beams is derived and illustrated numerically. It is shown that the factor of truncated controllable dark-hollow beams is dependent on the beam truncation parameter δ and the beam parameters N and ε. The result can be reduced to that for the non-truncated case as the truncation parameter approaches to be infinite. The power fraction is also discussed analytically and numerically.     

Two beam coupling gain enhancements in porphyrin:Zn-doped nematic liquid crystals by using grating translation technique with an applied dc field

The two beam coupling (TBC) gains in porphyrin:Zn-doped nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) are greatly enhanced by adopting the grating translation technique with applying dc electric field. The maximum gain coefficient of , whose value is at least three times larger than that of no grating translation was obtained under the applied dc field of and the grating translation speed of . Based on the material and torque balance equations for NLCs taking into account the grating translation, we present the theoretical expressions for TBC gain enhancements, showing excellent agreement with the experimental results.     

Raman spectroscopy study of BaI2 :Eu and SrI2 :Eu scintillator crystals

Europium-doped barium and strontium iodide crystals are high light yield scintillator materials with excellent energy resolution. In this communication, BaI₂:Eu and SrI₂:Eu single crystals with space groups of Pnma () and Pbca () respectively were grown from the vertical Bridgman method. The crystals were investigated with polarized Raman spectroscopy at temperatures varied from 77 to 300 K. The observed Raman-active modes for each crystal were assigned with the help of group theory analysis. It is found that the absence of the site symmetry leads to splitting of a spectral line in Pnma structure into two lines in the Pbca structure. Structural defects including dark spots formed during crystal growth and new species produced from hydration were characterized.     

Analysis of the effects of plasmas and beam slippage in optical klystron FEL devices

We examine here the effects of plasmas and beam slippage on the gain of an optical klystron (OK) free electron laser (FEL) device under the influence of a weak guiding magnetic field and background plasma. The beam energy spread decreases with background plasma density nop and increases with beam plasma density nob. The maximum gain (Gmax) scales proportional to . The beam slippage phase Δψ scales directly to five power of relativistic factor γ₀ and one half power to nob.     

Degenerate four-wave mixing experiments in Methyl green dye-doped gelatin film

Degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) was performed in Methyl green dye-doped gelatin films using continuous-wave laser radiation () generated by a He-Ne laser of total power 35 mW. Various parameters which influence the phase-conjugate (PC) signal during the DFWM process were studied. The PC signal contributions from induced holographic transmission and reflection gratings were measured. We observed a maximum PC beam reflectivity of 0.13% in these dye-doped gelatin films.     

Electro-optic measurement system with high spatial resolution utilizing poled polymer film as external probe tip

A new external electro-optic probing technology has been first demonstrated using a poling electro-optic (EO) polymer film, spin-coated on 20 nm thick grounding perspective aluminum layer which sputtered on a piece of ITO glass as a probe tip, the aluminum layer which has 30% reflectance ratio is also a reference coating. A interdigital electrode was measured, and the spatial resolution of less than was obtained. Voltage sensitivity was approximately . The probing beam reflected from the metal line is phase-modulated by the signal electric field in the EO polymer film, and then converted to amplitude modulation by interference with the reference beam reflected from the 30% reflective coating. The reference electrode makes sure that the most signal voltage drops down in the EO polymer film.     

Widely tunable high power OPO based on a periodically poled MgO doped lithium niobate crystal

An optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on a highly MgO doped periodically poled lithium niobate (PPMgLN) crystal was experimentally demonstrated and the result is presented in this report. The PPMgLN wafer was fabricated from a MgO doped (with 6 mol% doping concentration) lithium niobate crystal by means of high voltage pulse trigged domain reversal technique and has 20 domain reversal periods from 27.8 to with a step of between the neighbor periods. An acousto-optic (AO) Q-switched Nd³⁺:YVO₄ laser was used as the pumping laser. A maximum laser output power of 4.8 W has been achieved for the OPO when the pumping power is 10.8 W and it corresponds to an optic-optic conversion efficiency of 44%. By shifting the PPMgLN wafer, the periods of the domain structure on the PPMgLN wafer can be changed, thus enabling a wide spectral tuning range of the laser output from 1.42 to (for the signal light) and from 2.76 to (for the idler light).     

Experimental verification of focus tailoring using circularly polarized vortex beams with annular pupil mask

The focusing properties of circularly polarized vortex beam are experimentally verified by examining two-photon fluorescent emission patterns inside an fluorescent microsphere. Very good agreements between the experimental and theoretical results have been obtained. Annular pupil masks are used to tailor the profile at the focus. When an circularly polarized beam with the appropriate handedness is used in combination with an annular pupil aperture, a strong longitudinal component is observed, which results in a raised center and a smaller focal spot. This interesting focusing property can be utilized in applications that require a distinct longitudinal component.     

Temperature-tunable nanosecond optical parametric oscillator based on periodically poled

We report a compact quasi-phase-matched optical parametric oscillator (OPO) using periodically poled MgO-doped LiNbO₃ with different grating periods. The OPO is pumped by a diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser providing 4.8-ns pulses at 5.4-kHz repetition rate. The OPO generates signal and idler wavelengths tunable in the ranges of 1.5– and 2.8–, respectively, by changing the crystal temperature between room temperature and . The temperature-dependent Sellmeier equation for the extraordinary refractive index of MgO-doped LiNbO₃ is modified in the Mid-IR region, which gives an accurate prediction of the experimental temperature-tuning results. The linewidth of the signal wave is in the range of 0.5–1.0 nm without any controlling element.     

First-principles study on the electronic structures and absorption spectra for the PbWO4 crystal with lead vacancy

The electronic structures and absorption spectra for the perfect PbWO₄ (PWO) crystal and the crystal containing lead vacancy have been calculated using density functional theory code CASTEP with the lattice structure optimized. The calculated absorption spectra of the PWO crystal containing exhibit seven absorption bands peaking at 1.72 eV (720 nm), 2.16 eV (570 nm), 2.81 eV (440 nm), 3.01 eV (410 nm), 3.36 eV (365 nm), 3.70 eV (335 nm) and 4.0 eV (310 nm), which are very close to the experimental values. It predicts that the 330, 360, 420, 500-750 nm absorption bands are related to the existence of in the PWO crystal.     

The high quality ZnO growth on c-Al2O3 substrate with Cr2O3 buffer layer using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

High quality epitaxial ZnO films were grown on c-Al₂O₃ substrates with Cr₂O₃ buffer layer by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (P-MBE). The hexagonal crystalline Cr₂O₃ layer was formed by oxidation of the Cr-metal layer deposited on the c-Al₂O₃ substrate using oxygen plasma. The epitaxial relationship was determined to be ZnO//Cr₂O₃//Cr//Al₂O₃ and ZnO//Cr₂O₃//[0 0 1]Cr//Al₂O_3. The Cr₂O₃ buffer layer was very effective in improving the surface morphology and crystal quality of the ZnO films. The photoluminescence spectrum showed the strong near band-edge emissions with the weak deep-level emission, which implies high optical quality of the ZnO films grown on the Cr₂O₃ buffer.     

Measurement of atmospheric turbulence strength by vortex beam

The behavior of spatial correlation singularities suggests a possible method for measuring atmospheric turbulence strength with a vortex beam. The refractive index structure constant can be obtained by measuring the radius of a ring dislocation of a vortex beam which has passed through atmospheric turbulence. An approximate analytic expression for the radius of a ring dislocation as a function of has been derived, and its accuracy is verified by numerical examples.     

Narrow spectral response of a Brillouin generator

We analyze both theoretically and experimentally the temporal response of a stimulated Brillouin scattering generator to an harmonically modulated pump beam in a 2.1 km optical fiber. It is shown that at certain frequencies (where m is an integer number and are frequencies which depends mainly on the fiber’s length L but also on the beam’s intensity via G) the first harmonic of the generated Stokes beam is relatively suppressed but never vanishes. These frequencies are considerably smaller than the Brillouin’s spectral width (∼20 MHz). Excellent agreement with the analytical model is presented.     

Problems with power content beam parameter product

The M² beam propagation factor is widely used to characterize the quality of laser radiation and its propagation. When M² is defined by the second-moments, M² ? 1 holds in the paraxial approach. For many applications it is more convenient to use the power content values (normally η = 86.5%), also proposed by ISO. For the corresponding power content factor, it is often assumed that also holds. We have demonstrated previously that for a superposition of two coherent Gauss-Laguerre modes with radial symmetry, the 86.5% value of [6]. In recent years, has also been presented experimentally for a superposition of axially shifted Gaussian beams [7]. The problems with power content for axial superposition of Gaussian beams are discussed. In this paper it is shown that the 86.5% power content value can not be smaller than one for a coherent superposition of axially shifted Gaussian beams with radial symmetry presented in Ref. [7]. A superposition of two Gaussian beams with different waists and without shift is also discussed, and the corresponding of such beam can be smaller than one, depending strongly on the power content value η. For low power content values η and a large (or very small) ratio of the two different waists approaches zero. These investigations demonstrate that is not a suitable parameter to characterize laser radiation.     

Shape-dependent local internal stress of α-Cr2O3 nanocrystal fabricated by pulsed laser ablation

The α-Cr₂O₃ single-crystal nanocondensates were fabricated by pulsed laser ablation in air and characterized by analytical electron microscopy regarding shape-dependent local internal stress of the anisotropic crystal. The nanocondensates formed predominantly as rhombohedra with well-developed surfaces and occasionally hexagonal plate with thin edges and blunt corners. Such nanocondensates showed Raman shift for the CrO₆ polyhedra, indicating a local compressive stress up to ca. 4 GPa on the average. Careful analysis of the lattice fringes revealed a local compressive stress (0.5% strain) at the thin edge of the hexagonal plates and a local tensile stress (0.3–1.0% strain) near the relaxed , , and (0 0 0 1) surfaces of truncated rhombohedra. The combined effects of nanosize, capillarity force at sharp edge, and specific surface relaxation account for the retention of a local internal compressive stress built up in an anisotropic crystal during a very rapid heating–cooling process.     

Observation of room temperature photoluminescence in proton irradiated SrTiO3 single crystal

We have irradiated SrTiO₃ single crystal with 3 MeV-proton (H⁺) beam and found that blue -, green - and infrared - frequency photoluminescence (PL) are induced simultaneously at room temperature. TEM and EELS analyses show that an oxygen-deficient amorphous layer is formed at the crystal surface by the proton irradiation. Possible origin of the PL-effect is discussed.     

The effect of the Bi source on optical properties of Bi2Te3 nanostructures

nanostructures were synthesized by using different Bi sources via a simple solvothermal process, in which and BiCl₃ were used as the Bi sources. Optical properties of nanostructures prepared with and BiCl₃ as the Bi sources were investigated by micro-Raman spectroscopy. The Raman scattering spectrum of hexagonal nanoplates prepared by using as the Bi source shows that the infrared (IR) active mode A_1u, which must be odd parity and is Raman forbidden for bulk crystal due to its inversion symmetry, is greatly activated and shows up clearly in the Raman scattering spectrum. We attribute the appearance of the infrared active A_1u mode in the Raman spectrum to crystal symmetry breaking of hexagonal nanoplates. However, the Raman scattering spectrum of nanostructures with irregular shape prepared by using as the Bi source only exhibits the two characteristic Raman modes of crystals. Micro-Raman measurements on nanostructures with different morphologies offer us a potential way to tailor optical properties of nanostructures by controlling the morphologies of the nanostructures, which is very important for practical applications of nanostructures in thermoelectric devices.     

Parametric characterization of Mathieu-Gauss beams

Based on the irradiance moments definitions, the expression of factor of truncated zeroth-order Mathieu-Gauss beams (MGBs) is derived analytically. Furthermore, the propagation equation of kurtosis parameter of non-truncated MBGs passing through a paraxial ABCD optical system is established. Particularly, the dependence of factor and kurtosis parameter on the spatial profile of the beam are illustrated numerically and analyzed in details.