Spectroscopic measurements of the evanescent wave polarization state

We applied optogalvanic spectroscopy to observe Zeeman effect in the evanescent wave in Ar gas with the help of a single-mode diode laser. The use of an homogenous external magnetic field enabled us to observe different π and σ Zeeman split lines contribution. We studied two orthogonal directions of external magnetic field and two orthogonal polarizations of the incident wave with respect to the plane of incidence. The analysis of relative line strengths leads to the determination of the polarization state of the evanescent wave.     

Prevailing effects of interference or diffraction by multiple apertures

The effects of interference and diffraction produced by a bidimensional structure composed of multiple and identical apertures are studied. Such effects are competitive during the propagation, that is, in some planes the interference effects are more visible, while in others prevail the diffraction ones. Using the number of Fresnel zones, the spatial domains where the interference or diffraction effects prevail are defined and parameterized. Simulation and experimental results are further introduced to verify the proposed method.     

Anomalous behavior of optogalvanic signal in a miniature neon discharge lamp

A strong optogalvanic effect has been observed in a negative glow of a miniature neon discharge lamp using tunable pulse dye laser pumped by a copper vapor laser. A comparative study on temporal evolution of optogalvanic signal in a positive and negative dynamic resistance region of the discharge is described. Dye laser beam was tuned to various neon transitions 1s_i → 2p_j (Paschen notations) within 570-617 nm wavelength range. Anomalous behavior of optogalvanic signal was observed at 588.2 nm for (1s₅ → 2p₂) neon transition at low discharge current (<220 μA). This anomalous behavior is the attributes of damped oscillations of optogalvanic signal that correlate with negative dynamic resistance (dV/di < 0) of the discharge. Penning ionization at low discharge current and small energy mismatch is assumed to be the main cause of the negative dynamic resistance. Penning ionization process has been explained by resonantly ionizing energy transfer via collisions between neon buffer gas atoms in the lowest metastable state (1s₅) and electrode sputtered atoms in ground state using their partial energy level diagram.     

Height distribution on a rough plane and specularly diffracted light amplitude are Fourier transform pair

In this report we show that the amplitude of specularly diffracted light from a plane rough surface as a function of incident angle cosine is Fourier transform of the height distribution on the surface. Therefore, an even height distribution function, which is the case for many rough surfaces, can be obtained by measuring the specularly diffracted light intensities. Also, it is observed that for polychromatic illumination the spectrum of the specularly diffracted light is modified and the modification depends on roughness, incident angle, and wavelength. It is also shown that, for a fixed incident angle, the height distribution on the rough plane is Fourier transform of the spectral modifying function. Experimental studies on some surfaces of different roughnesses, prepared by grinding sheet-glasses by powders of different grain sizes, show that the corresponding height distributions are Gaussian and the rms heights obtained by the two approaches are quite consistent.     

Transformation of a hollow Gaussian beam into a ring-shaped beam using a phase aperture

Propagation of a hollow Gaussian beam diffracted by a circular phase aperture is studied without making the paraxial approximation. The analytical expression of the intensity of the apertured hollow Gaussian beam is presented in the far field. The influences of the truncation parameter and the order of hollow Gaussian beam on the intensity distributions are discussed. It is shown that a circular ?-phase aperture can be used to transform a hollow Gaussian beam into a ring-shaped beam in the far field with the appropriate parameters.     

A temporal-coherence anisotropy of unpolarized light

We analyze the anisotropic behavior of unpolarized, temporally partially coherent light. We demonstrate that unpolarized light with different intrinsic degrees of coherence can present an anisotropic behavior which is experimentally observable while it is not the case if both intrinsic degrees are equal. This behavior is analyzed in comparison with the standard anisotropy property of partially polarized light.     

Photoacoustic analysis of stimulated emission in pulsed dye lasers

Stimulated emission in pulsed dye lasers was characterized in several experimental conditions by analyzing the changes in the acoustic signals generated in a dye solution, with the dye laser cavity either active or inhibited (i.e., by blocking the optical path or misaligning of the optical components). Pump energy threshold, optimum dye concentration, tuning range and maximum-emission wavelength of a rhodamine 6G dye laser were measured by this method. An approximate model for the photoacoustic signal generation consistent with the experiments is presented.Member of CONICET     

Interference of conoscopic pictures of optical crystals

Nonconventional conoscopic pictures in poorly passing bunches of light, localized in a plane of uni-axial optical crystal are received. At usage of two crystal slabs with the optical axes oriented at angle to the plane of slab the interference conoscopic pictures are observed. The model explaining interference of conoscopic pictures is presented.     

Spatial coherence properties of monochromatic electromagnetic beams and of laser modes

It is shown that, contrary to common belief, monochromatic light beams are, in general, not spatially completely coherent, i.e., they will, in general, not produce fringes of unit visibility in a Young's double pinhole interference experiment. We cite experiments with laser modes which confirm this result.     

Debye series expansion of shaped beam scattering by GI-POF

We derive Debye series expansion (DSE) for infinitely long multilayered cylinders normally incident by shaped beam. Typically the interaction between multilayered cylinders and Gaussian beam is derived in detail, and localized approximation is introduced to calculate the beam shaped coefficients. Finally DSE is employed to the study of rainbow scattering by graded-index polymer optical fiber (GI-POF).     

Sub-Doppler features due to double dark resonances

A sharp intense sub-Doppler feature is predicted in the probe absorption spectrum of an atomic four-level system when a hyperfine-split state interacts with a single pump. The sub-Doppler feature, which is flanked by two power-broadened transparency windows, is obtained when the frequency of the pump is greater than that of the probe, and the residual Doppler broadening is significant.     

Optical Properties of Plasmon Resonances with Ag/SiO2/Ag Multi-Layer Composite Nanoparticles

Optical properties of plasmon resonance with Ag/SiO2/Ag multi-layer nanoparticles are studied by numerical simulation based on Green＇s function theory. The results show that compared with single-layer Ag nanoparticles, the multi-layer nanoparticles exhibit several distinctive optical properties, e.g. with increasing the numbers of the multi-layer nanoparticles, the scattering efficiency red shiRs, and the intensity of scattering enhances accordingly. It is interesting to find out that slicing an Ag-layer into multi-layers leads to stronger scattering intensity and more ＂hot spots＂ or regions of stronger field enhancement. This property of plasmon resonance of surface Raman scattering has greatly broadened the application scope of Raman spectroscopy. The study of metal surface plasmon resonance characteristics is critical to the further understanding of surface enhanced Raman scattering as well as its applications.     

A versatile photoacoustic spectrometer for sensitive trace-gas analysis in the mid-infrared wavelength region (5.1–8.0 and 2.8–4.1 μm)

A versatile CO laser-based photoacoustic spectrometer is presented equipped with three photoacoustic cells placed inside the laser cavity. The newly designed CO laser can operate both in the Δv=1 and the Δv=2 modes (5.1–8.0 μm and 2.8–4.1 μm) on 400 laser lines. Improved laser operation originating from a better cooling of the gas discharge was evidenced by a shift of the laser output power to lower J-values. Due to the wide emission range of the source, many molecules of biological and atmospheric interest, including methane and ethane, can be detected with sensitivities typically at the (sub)ppb level. Measurement of the respiration of a cockroach showed that the spectrometer is not only sensitive, but also has a good time response (8 s at a flow rate of 10 l/h). Received: 3 April 2002 / Revised version: 14 June 2002 / Published online: 21 August 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Current address: Soegijapranata Catholic University, Department of Food Technology, Jalan Pawiyatan Luhur IV/1 Bendan Duwur, P.O. Box 8033/SM, Semarang 50234, Indonesia RID="**" ID="**"Current address: Sanata Dharma University, FMIPA, Kampus III, Paingan, Maguwoharjo, Depok, Sleman, Tromol Pos 29, Yogyakarta 55002, Indonesia RID="***" ID="***"Corresponding author. Fax: +31-24/365-3311, E-mail: fransh@ sci.kun.nl     

Multicolor Talbot effect and control of polychromatic light patterns in modulated photonic lattices

We analyze propagation of polychromatic light patterns in modulated photonic lattices created with arrays of periodically curved coupled optical waveguides. We demonstrate that in waveguide arrays with specially designed modulation periodic recurrences of input light patterns produced by white-light and supercontinuum sources can be realized, e.g., through multicolor Talbot effect.     

Property of Image-Object Using TE/TM-polarized Wave in the Near-Field Optics with CCGM-FFT

Discretization of the Lippmann-Schwinger integral equation with complex conjugate gradient method and fast Fourier transform （CCGM-FFT） is solved, which can reduce the memory storage and the CPU time compared with the traditional method, MOM. Thus objects with large size and multiple scattering objects could be simulated with CCGM-FFT. The total intensity and the distribution of each field component of the dielectric and metallic objects under the excitation of the TE//TM-polarized wave are calculated with photon scanning tunnelling microscopy （PSTM） at the constant height. The simulating results are analysed and explained reasonably. The results show that the polarization plays an important role for imaging of PSTM.     

The Gouy phase shift of the highly focused radially polarized beam

The Gouy phase shift in the focal field of high-NA focused radially polarized beam has been investigated in detail. Analytical expression for the Gouy phase shift can be derived using tilted wave interpretation, which provides a reasonable prediction compared to vectorial diffraction numerical simulation. Using this method, irregular wave spacing in the vicinity of the focus can be revealed.     

Superluminal propagation in resonant dissipative media

We analyse the superluminal propagation of optical narrow-band pulses at resonances in dissipative media. We find that, for a broad class of optical systems holding this type of lossy faster-than-light transmission capability, the output waveform is an attenuated, time-advanced version of the input which can be interpreted as the result of the interference of two scaled replicas of the input having a positive relative delay. This analysis is shown to apply, among other scenarios, both in the propagation in a passive bulk medium at an electronic resonance and in a dielectric waveguide coupled to a lossy micro-ring resonator.     

Double grating systems with one steel tape grating

Steel tape gratings are used in different metrology applications. As the period of these gratings was large (around 100μm,), its analytical study has been performed, up to date, using a geometrical approach. Nowadays, steel tape gratings can be manufactured with lower periods, around 20-40 μm, and diffractive effects must be taken into account. Also, due to the roughness of the surface, statistical techniques need to be considered to analyze their behavior. In this work, an analysis of the pseudo-imaging formation in a double grating system including one steel tape grating is performed. In particular Moiré and Lau configurations are analyzed. We have found that roughness significantly affects to Moiré configuration. However, its effect is negligible in Lau configuration. Generalized grating imaging configuration is also studied in depth. It is shown that roughness does not affect to the contrast of pseudoimages, but it modifies their depth of focus.     

Focal field computation of an arbitrarily polarized beam using fast Fourier transforms

In this work the vectorial diffraction theory of Richards and Wolf is extended to compute the focal field components of an arbitrarily polarized beam using fast Fourier transform (FFT) operations. Here the arbitrarily polarized pupil function is written as the vector sum of two mutually perpendicularly polarized pupil functions. The FFT based focal field expressions are particularly useful to compute the focal field components of pupil functions without a simple analytical form. We have then applied these expressions to simulate the effects of Zernike mode aberrations on the point spread functions of a number of important cylindrical-vector beam profiles such as radially and azimuthally polarized and helical light beams.