Confocal fluorescence polarization microscopy for linear unmixing of spectrally similar labels

Studies of biological samples often call for simultaneous identification of multiple molecular or structural components. Multiple labelling fluorescence techniques are a powerful way of achieving this. However, the ability to distinguish a number of fluorescent probes unambiguously can be restricted by the fact that fluorescence spectra are generally broad and overlapping. Recently a technique known as linear unmixing has been combined with spectral imaging to discriminate between multiple fluorophores. In this study a scheme is proposed whereby fluorescence polarization information is used to expand the capability of the linear unmixing technique to accommodate additional fluorescent probes. As a proof-of-concept, it is shown that this polarization-based technique can be used to divide the signals generated by two spectrally similar fluorescent probes into their separate components.     

Chirped coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering as a high-spectral- and spatial-resolution microscopy

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy is a promising tool for chemically selective imaging based on molecular vibrations. While CARS is currently used as a biological imaging tool, many variations are still being developed, perhaps the most important being multiplex CARS microscopy. Multiplex CARS has the advantage of comparing images based on different molecular vibrations without changing the excitation wavelengths. Here we demonstrate both high-spectral- and spatial-resolution multiplex CARS imaging of polymer films, using a simple scheme for chirped CARS with a spectral bandwidth of 300 cm(-1).     

Controllable four-wave mixing response in a dual-cavity hybrid optomechanical system

We systematically investigate the four-wave mixing(FWM) spectrum in a dual-cavity hybrid optomechanical system,which is made up of one optical cavity with an ensemble of two-level atoms and another with a mechanical oscillator. In this work, we propose that the hybrid dual-cavity optomechanical system can be employed as a highly sensitive mass sensor due to the fact that the FWM spectrum generated in this system has a narrow spectral width and the intensity of the FWM can be easily tuned by controlling the coupling strength(cavity–cavity, atom–cavity). More fascinatingly, the dual-cavity hybrid optomechanical system can also be used as an all-optical switch in view of the easy on/off control of FWM signals by adjusting the atom-pump detuning to be positive or negative. The proposed schemes have great potential applications in quantum information processing and highly sensitive detection.     

Transmission performance of 10-Gb/s DPSK WDM signals due to phase-error and four-wave mixing in SOAs

We present a complete dynamic model of semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) including the inter-channel four-wave mixing (FWM). The model has been implemented using the time-dependent transfer matrix method (TMM) and applying the discretization scheme in both the spatial and spectral domains. In SOA-based wavelength division multiplexing transmission systems using 10-Gb/s differential phase shift keyed (DPSK) signals, the system performance due to the SOA-induced phase-error and the FWM effect has been analyzed. By the injection of a reservoir channel into SOAs, the transmission performance of non-return-to-zero (NRZ) DPSK signals can be improved through the phase-error reduction. Both the NRZ-DPSK and return-to-zero (RZ) DPSK signals are found to be suffered from the FWM-induced crosstalk. The overall nonlinear tolerance of RZ-DPSK is shown to be better than that of NRZ-DPSK.     

Single-SOA-Based Ultrahigh-Speed All-Optical Half Subtracter with PolSK Modulated Signals

A novel ultrahigh-speed all-optical half subtracter based on four-wave mixing (FWM) in a single semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is proposed. This scheme only requires a single SOA and two input signals without additional light source, so it is quite simple and compact. Due to the polarization-shift-keying (PolSK) modulated signals being used in this scheme, pattern-dependent degradation can be avoided. By numerical simulation, dependence of the critical factors of the logic gate performance, e.g., the output power of logic 1 and extinction ratio (ER), on two input signals power is investigated. In addition, the effect of the gain polarization dependence of SOA is analysed.     

Dual-dressed four-wave mixing and dressed six-wave mixing in a five-level atomic system

We study the co-existing four-wave mixing (FWM) process with two dressing fields and the six-wave mixing (SWM) process with one dressing field in a five-level system with carefully arranged laser beams. We also show two kinds of doubly dressing mechanisms in the FWM process. FWM and SWM signals propagatingalong the same direction compete with each other. With the properly controlled dressing fields, the FWM signals can be suppressed, while the SWM signals have been enhanced.     

Surface-mediated four-wave mixing of nanostructures with counterpropagating surface plasmon polaritons

We demonstrate that four-wave mixing (FWM) signals from individual Si nanoparticles can be generated by the surface fields of traveling surface plasmon polariton modes. We have chosen a counterpropagating excitation scheme in which the nanoparticle is exposed only to surface excitation fields and not to direct laser illumination. We show that background-free, surface-mediated FWM of nanoparticles can be acquired, and that the resulting nonlinear radiation is coherent.     

Nonlinear optical microscopy for drug delivery monitoring and cancer tissue imaging

A multimodal nonlinear optical microscope that combines coherent anti‐Stokes Raman scattering (CARS), two‐photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF), second‐harmonic generation (SHG) and sum‐frequency generation (SFG) was developed and applied to image breast cancer tissue and MCF‐7 cells as well as monitoring anticancer drug delivery in live cells. TPEF imaging showed that drugs are preferentially localized in the cytoplasm and the nuclear envelope in resistant cells. Moreover, the extracellular matrix was observed by TPEF signals arising from elastin's autofluorescence and SHG signals from collagen fibrils in breast tissue sections. Additionally, CARS signals arising from proteins and (PO₂)⁻ allowed identification of tumors. Label‐free imaging with chemical contrast of significant components of cancer cells and tissue suggests the potential of multimodal nonlinear optical microscopy for early detection and diagnosis of cancer. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Label-free imaging of arterial cells and extracellular matrix using a multimodal CARS microscope

A multimodal nonlinear optical imaging system that integrates coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS), sum-frequency generation (SFG), and two-photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF) on the same platform was developed and applied to visualize single cells and extracellular matrix in fresh carotid arteries. CARS signals arising from CH₂-rich membranes allowed visualization of endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells of the arterial wall. Additionally, CARS microscopy allowed vibrational imaging of elastin and collagen fibrils which are also rich in CH₂ bonds. The extracellular matrix organization was further confirmed by TPEF signals arising from elastin’s autofluorescence and SFG signals arising from collagen fibrils’ non-centrosymmetric structure. Label-free imaging of significant components of arterial tissues suggests the potential application of multimodal nonlinear optical microscopy to monitor onset and progression of arterial diseases.     

Different contrast information obtained from CARS and nonresonant FWM images

We demonstrate that coherent anti‐Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy can be used not to obtain vibrational contrast related to a particular chemical species only, but furthermore, it directly yields topological contrast. Topological contrast is due to the spatially dependent refractive index of the sample and a number of linear effects as interference, refraction and absorption contribute to the topological contrast inherent to CARS images. In order to distinguish between different contrast mechanisms we propose an image correction method based on the analysis of the nonresonant four‐wave mixing (FWM) signal distribution. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interferometric polarization coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (IP-CARS) microscopy

We report a novel interferometry-based polarization coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (IP-CARS) implementation for effectively suppressing the nonresonant background while significantly amplifying the resonant signal for vibrational imaging. By modulating the phase difference between the two interference CARS signals generated from the same sample and measuring the peak-to-peak intensity of the periodically modulated interference CARS signal, the IP-CARS technique yields a sixfold improvement in the signal-to-background ratio compared with conventional CARS while providing an approximately 20-fold amplification of the resonant CARS signal compared with conventional polarization CARS. We demonstrate this method by imaging 4.69 microm polystyrene beads and unstained human epithelial cells immersed in water.     

Efficient four-wave mixing of a coupled double quantum-well nanostructure

We propose an efficient four-wave mixing (FWM) scheme in an asymmetric semiconductor double quantum-well (SDQW) structure based on intersubband transitions, and obtain the corresponding explicit analytical expressions for the input probe and generated FWM pulsed fields by use of the coupled Schrödinger-Maxwell approach. Under the resonant and phase-matched conditions, the FWM efficiency versus several variables is also discussed in details and the maximum FWM efficiency of the system under study is greater than 25%. Such a semiconductor system is much more practical than its atomic counterpart because of its flexible design and the controllable interference strength. This nonlinear optical process in the SDQW solid-state material can be used for efficiently generating coherent short-wavelength radiation.     

双光子荧光与相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射显微成像技术的实验研究

双光子荧光与相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射同属于三阶非线性效应,二者之间的差异与联系是一个值得研究的问题.本文基于自行搭建的超连续谱近红外宽带相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射显微成像系统进行光谱成像,同时通过理论与实验对比分析了双光子荧光与相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射图像存在差异的原因.结果表明,具有亚微米以上横向分辨率的相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射成像系统,可以使用较大尺寸的荧光珠进行双光子荧光成像,通过解卷积得到双光子荧光成像的系统分辨率,并将它近似等效于相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射成像系统的当下分辨率.如果需要得到相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射成像系准确的分辨率结果,就必须使用尺寸比相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射成像系统实际分辨率小的球形样品进行实验测量.     

A bandwidth-efficient channel allocation scheme for mitigating FWM in ultra-dense WDM-PON

In this paper, we investigate four-wave mixing (FWM) effects in the ultra-dense wavelength division multiplexing passive optical network (UDWDM-PON) system and propose an efficient channel allocation scheme to mitigate the FWM impact. This scheme is formed by grouping signal channels into several blocks with different channel spacing. Through numerical analysis and simulations, our proposed scheme is verified to be able to reduce the FWM effects and have higher bandwidth efficiency than the traditional unequal channel allocation scheme. The simulation results also demonstrate that our proposed scheme can achieve nearly 4 dB increases in optical power budget of the UDWDM-PON systems at the BER of 1e−3, in comparison with the equal spaced channel scheme.     

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering imaging with a laser source delivered by a photonic crystal fiber

We demonstrate laser-scanning coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) imaging with two excitation laser beams delivered by a large-mode-area photonic crystal fiber. The group-velocity dispersion and self-phase modulation effects are largely suppressed due to the large mode area of the fiber and the use of picosecond pulses. The fiber delivery preserves the signal level and image spatial resolution well. High-quality images of live spinal cord tissues are acquired using the fiber-delivered laser source. Our method provides a basic platform for developing a flexible and compact CARS imaging system.     

Dynamic and inner-dressing control of four-wave mixing in periodically-driven atomic system

Four-wave-mixing(FWM) process is examined by using density matrix formalism in a periodically-driven atomic medium. Numerical result shows that FWM signals can be controlled by selecting different dynamic parameters of the probe field and strengths of the inner-dressing fields. It is also shown that the controllable FWM process is dominantly influenced by the evolution of atomic population difference and two-photon coherence. This dynamic and inner-dressing control of FWM is probably used for optimizing the optical nonlinear process and information processing.     

Three-field noise correlation via third-order nonlinear optical processes

We report experimental observation of three-field noise correlation between two coexisting four-wave mixing (FWM) signals and the probe signal in a coherently-prepared rubidium vapor system. The two FWM signals in a double-Λ type quasi-four-level atomic system are obtained in different directions via their respective phase-matching conditions and can be detected individually. These signals and the probe beam are found to be strongly correlated or anticorrelated with each other.     

Coherent control of dressed images of four-wave mixing

In two-level as well as V-type three-level atomic systems, we study probe transmission, four-wave mixing (FWM) and fluorescence signals with dressing effect experimentally and theoretically. We find both the hyperfine structure (at the same energy level) and the transition dipole moment (at different energy levels) can affect the dressing effect. We also experimentally investigate that angle-control dynamics in the nonlinear propagation of the images of the probe and generated FWM in two-level atomic systems, and find that the focusing and defocusing of probe beam and FWM signals can be greatly affected by the angles between dressing fields.     

All-optical wavelength conversion for 10-Gb/s NRZ payload and 2.5-Gb/s OFDM label in optical-packet-switched network

Simultaneous wavelength conversion based on four-wave mixing (FWM) for 10-Gb/s NRZ payload and 2.5-Gb/s OFDM label signals in optical switching network is experimentally demonstrated. The dual-pump scheme based on FWM in semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is employed and simultaneous wavelength conversion for optical packet with one optical payload of 10-Gb/s non-return-to-zero (NRZ) on-off keying (OOK) signals and one optical label of 2.5-Gb/s OFDM signals are realized. The bit-error-rate performance is evaluated for both payload and label after wavelength conversion.     

A bidirectional 60 GHz RoF system based on FWM in a semiconductor optical amplifier

In this study, a bidirectional 60 GHz RoF systems based on four-wave mixing (FWM) in semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is proposed. Two key techniques are included in such a scheme, namely, generation of 60 GHz modulating signals and distribution of 60 GHz local oscillator. The analytical model is theoretically analyzed and then confirmed by numerical simulations. Results of this study demonstrate that such a scheme can offer realistic solutions to support future mobile broad-band applications.