Influence of nonlinear absorption effects on optical bistability in semiconductor ring resonators

We present a theoretical investigation of optical bistability in a nonlinear semiconductor ring resonator, by taking into account the two-photon absorption and the free-carrier absorption. By solving the intensity equation within the ring resonator, a parametric formulation is obtained for describing the bistability relation between the input and the output intensities. Numerical results show that the nonlinear absorption effects can affect the critical points and domain of the optical bistability.     

Negative luminescence and thermal radiation in semiconductor planar resonator structures

We present the results of theoretical and experimental investigation of interference effects of negative luminescence (NL) in planar resonator structures with an optically thin active semiconductor layer, as well as association of those effects with thermal radiation (TR) from such structures. The conditions are studied at which one can determine the NL characteristics of a structure with equilibrium electrons and holes by measuring its TR. We investigated the spectra and angular dependence of NL in the planar structures where active element is a Pb_0.8Sn_0.2Te film on a transparent BaF₂ substrate coated with aluminium. It is shown that, for such structures, NL efficiency in the interference peaks may be close to unity, and the antenna effect appears in the radiation pattern at some fixed wavelength. Both radiation intensity and the near-field energy in the vicinity of NL source energy are studied.     

Structural and optical properties of thermally evaporated Bi2Te3 films

Bi₂Te₃ films were prepared by thermal evaporation technique. X-ray diffraction analysis for as-deposited and annealed films in vacuum at 150 °C were polycrystalline with rhombohedral structure. The crystallite size is found to increase as the film thickness increases and has values in the range 67–162 nm. The optical constants (the refractive index, n, and absorption index, k) were determined using transmittance and reflectance data in the spectral range 2.5–10 μm for Bi₂Te₃ films with different thicknesses (25–99.5 nm). Both n and k are independent on the film thickness in the investigated range. It was also found that Bi₂Te₃ is a high refractive index material (n has values of 4.7–8.8 in the wavelength range 2.5–10 μm). The allowed optical transitions were found to be direct optical transitions with energy gap  eV. The optical conductivities σ₁ = ƒ(hν) and σ₂ = f(hν) show distinct peaks at about 0.13 and 0.3 eV, respectively. These two peaks can be attributed to optical interband transitions.     

Exact results in modeling planetary atmospheres—II. Semi-gray atmospheres

We solve the radiative transfer equation for a semi-gray planetary atmosphere in radiative equilibrium, in an attempt to define an entirely analytical non-gray model atmosphere of finite optical thickness. The salient feature of the model is that the incident solar radiation is partitioned between two adjacent spectral domains—the “visible” and the “infrared”—in each of which the atmosphere's (effective) opacity is assumed to be independent of frequency (the semi-gray assumption). We envisage a plane-parallel atmosphere illuminated by a beam of parallel radiation and bounded below by a partially reflecting and emitting ground. The former emits infrared radiation, induced by the absorption of radiation both visible and infrared, deriving from the external irradiation as well as from the emission of the planet's surface layer. For an atmosphere with given single-scattering albedos and optical thicknesses in both the visible and infrared domains, we compute the temperature at every depth of the atmosphere, as well as the ground's temperature.     

Fast thermo-optical excitability in a two-dimensional photonic crystal

We experimentally demonstrate excitability in a semiconductor two-dimensional photonic crystal. Excitability is a nonlinear dynamical mechanism underlying pulselike responses to small perturbations in systems possessing one stable state. We show that a band-edge photonic crystal resonator exhibits class II excitability, resulting from the nonlinear coupling between the high-Q optical mode, the charge-carrier density, and the fast (sub-micros) thermal dynamics. In this context, the critical slowing down of the electro-optical dynamics close to the excitable threshold can delay the optical response by an amount comparable to the duration of the output pulse (5 ns). The latter results from a short thermal dynamical excursion along a high local intensity manifold of the phase space.     

UV-induced two-photon absorption in BiB3O6 single crystals

We show that BiB₃O₆ (BiBO) crystals, well known for their excellent second harmonic generation (SHG) properties, may also be of interest for third-order optical phenomena, particularly for two-photon absorption (TPA). Photoinduced TPA measurements were performed under illumination of excimer Xe–F laser (λ = 217 nm) as a photoinducing (pumping) beam. It created a thin surface layer (about 85 nm) that was a source of the observed photoinduced TPA. Raman shifted Nd-YAG laser radiation (λ = 1.9 μm) as well as its second and fourth harmonics (λ = 950 and λ = 475 nm, respectively) were used as fundamental (probing) beams of the TPA. The highest values of the TPA β coefficient were achieved for a polarization of the pumping light directed along crystallographic axis b. Quantum chemical simulations indicate on substantial contribution of UV-induced electron–phonon anharmonicity to the observed TPA. The obtained values of TPA coefficients indicate a possibility of using BiBO crystals as UV-operated optical limiters in a wide spectral range.     

Luminescence properties of Er in SiN/PS : Er

The decrease in luminescence from host porous silicon (PS) by thermal annealing prevents the optical activation of Er ions. We prepared a SiN layer on erbium-doped porous silicon (PS : Er) as the capping layer by photo-chemical vapor deposition (photo-CVD). After deposition of SiN, the sample was annealed in pure Ar atmosphere for optical activation. We observed an Er-related emission at 1532 nm with a full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 10 nm at 18 K from the sample with the SiN layer. In contrast, no emission was observed from the sample without the SiN layer. At 300 K, the peak intensity of Er³⁺-related photoluminescence (PL) for the sample annealed at 1100°C decreased to 40.0% of that observed at 18 K. From these results, it was found that the SiN layer on PS:Er is useful for both host PS and Er-related 1.5 μm luminescences.     

The in-phase mode selection of a high-power diode laser array by a talbot cavity with an amplitude compensator

The in-phase mode selection with the amplitude compensator at a high current (I > 20 A) was analyzed theoretically and achieved experimentally in an external Talbot cavity, of length L = Z_T/4. The used linear array consisted of 49 wide-aperture diodes with a diode emitter aperture a = 100 μm and a center to center period d = 200 μm. Increasing the output radiation intensity in the far-field central lobe was demonstrated, and the power of the multi-lobes was 1.57 W without the amplitude compensator and then it concentrated on the single lobe was 0.96 W by inserting the amplitude compensator in the external cavity when the injection current was 25 A. The far-field divergence of the phase locked radiation was 1.80 mrad, and the spectral FWHM of the output radiation was suppressed from 1.7 nm to 0.15 nm.     

Calibration of the spectral sensitivity of instruments for the near infrared region

We present an analysis of methods for calibration of the spectral sensitivity of instruments in the near IR region of the spectrum (0.90–2.05 μm), using as an example recording of the luminescence spectra of PbS semiconductor quantum dots using a diffraction monochromator and an InGaAs photodiode as the detector. We show that when high-sensitivity detectors are employed for calibration using the emission spectrum of an ideal black body, the problem of attenuation of the radiation flux is still important. Instead of neutral density glass and mesh light filters for attenuation of the radiation, we propose using UFS ultraviolet optical glasses (together with PS purple glasses), the maximum optical density of which is within the region of maximum spectral sensitivity of InGaAs photodiodes. We give examples of spectral calibration, taking into account instrumental characteristics and the effect of absorption by water vapor in the air, and also corrections of the luminescence spectra of quantum dots.     

Experimental analysis of true left-handed behaviour and transmission properties of composite metamaterials

We report the true left-handed transmission of a composite metamaterial (CMM) consisting of periodically stacked split-ring resonator (SRR) and wire elements. The negative permeability (μ < 0) gap is demonstrated explicitly by comparing SRR and closed-ring resonator structures. We confirm experimentally that the plasma cut-off frequency of the CMM is determined by the combined dielectric response of SRR and wire elements, and it is much lower than that of the wire-only medium. This is crucial to identify the left-handed transmission bands of the CMM. We further investigate the effect of intralayer and interlayer disorder on the transmission spectrum of CMM arising from misaligned fabrication and stacking of the SRR layers. We found that the intralayer disorder affects the μ < 0 gap of SRRs and the left-handed transmission band of CMM significantly, whereas the SRR transmission is rather immune to interlayer disorder.     

Chaotic signal generation and cancellation using a micro ring resonator incorporating an optical add/drop multiplexer

We propose a new design of a chaotic signal generation and cancellation system using an all fiber optic scheme. A system consists of a standard diode laser, a fiber optic micro ring resonator, and an optical add/drop multiplexer. When light from the diode laser is input into the fiber ring resonator, the chaotic signal can be generated by using the selected fiber ring resonator parameters and the diode laser input power. The required signal is obtained in the transmission link via the add/drop device by a specific user at the drop port. Simulation results obtained have shown the potential of application, especially, when the practical ring radius is 10 μm with the optical input power is in the range of the communication standard diode laser, for instance, when the coupling coefficients of the add/drop device are κ₁ = 0.01 and κ₂ = 0.01–0.9. When the add port of the add/drop device is employed, such a system can also be utilized for the multi user applications.     

A Monte Carlo method for 3D thermal infrared radiative transfer

A 3D Monte Carlo model for specific application to the broadband thermal radiative transfer has been developed in which the emissivities for gases and cloud particles are parameterized by using a single cubic element as the building block in 3D space. For spectral integration in the thermal infrared, the correlated k-distribution method has been used for the sorting of gaseous absorption lines in multiple-scattering atmospheres involving 3D clouds. To check the Monte-Carlo simulation, we compare a variety of 1D broadband atmospheric fluxes and heating rates to those computed from the conventional plane-parallel (PP) model and demonstrate excellent agreement between the two. Comparisons of the Monte Carlo results for broadband thermal cooling rates in 3D clouds to those computed from the delta-diffusion approximation for 3D radiative transfer and the independent pixel-by-pixel approximation are subsequently carried out to understand the relative merits of these approaches.     

Infrared optical constants and dichroism of thin polymer films: Trans-polyacetylene

We propose expressions allowing to determine the optical constants of thin films, which are not exactly plane-parallel plates but nevertheless exhibit multiple reflection interference patterns in their transmission and reflection spectra. These expressions can be used to determine the index of refraction and the absorption coefficient and their spectral dependence. The method is applied to measurements on thin amorphous films and oriented crystalline films of trans-(CH) _x in the infrared region. As final results for the oriented samples we derive values for the refractive index and its anisotropy in the spectral region between 20 m and 2.5 m and give absolute values of the absorption intensity of the most prominent IR-active vibrations. The intensity ratios, which are different from values reported in the literature for stretch oriented fibrous trans-(CH) _x , and the dichroic behavior of the most important lines are discussed. Dedicated to Professor Karlheinz Seeger on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Characterization of optical and nonlinear optical properties of silver nanoparticles prepared by laser ablation in various liquids

The optical, structural, and nonlinear optical properties of silver nanoparticles prepared by laser ablation in various liquids were investigated at 397.5, 532, and 795 nm. The TEM and spectral measurements have shown temporal dynamics of size distribution of Ag nanoparticles in solutions. The thermal-induced self-defocusing dominated in the case of high pulse repetition rate as well as in the case of nanosecond pulses. In the case of low pulse repetition rate, the self-focusing (γ = 3 × 10⁻¹³ cm² W⁻¹) and saturated absorption (β = −1.5 × 10⁻⁹ cm W⁻¹) of picosecond and femtosecond radiation were observed in these colloidal solutions. The nonlinear susceptibility of Ag nanoparticles ablated in water was measured to be 5 × 10⁻⁸ esu (at λ = 397.5 nm).     

Gain induced stability of active plane-parallel resonators

It has been observed for a plane-parallel resonator with a saturated medium that under certain conditions confined beams mainly concentrated near the axis are present. The experiments have been done with a sealed-off plane-parallel CO₂ laser of one meter length and with an internal diameter of 20 mm. Without gain variations such a system is unstable because of thermal defocussing by the heated gas. But due to sufficiently high gain variations the beam converges nevertheless. Since the gain variation increases with decreasing reflectivity confined beams near the optical axis are only observed at sufficiently low reflectivity. The experiments were done with a totally reflecting mirror and an outcoupling mirror having a reflectivity of, respectively, 90%, 80%, 50%, and 36%. For the high reflectivities the outcoupled beam is mainly concentrated near the edge with irregular density distributions. For the low reflectivity the beam is more or less radially symmetric, concentrated near the axis having decreasing intensity with the distance from the axis. The behaviour can be understood by an analysis in which the constant and quadratic term of the complex propagation constant near the optical axis due to gain variations, dispersion and heat effects are taken into account.     

Influence of the UV radiation wavelength on the curing of oligourethaneacrylate compositions for protective coatings of optical fibers

The curing kinetics of films produced from compositions based on UV-curable oligourethaneacrylates is investigated using, as a source of radiation, an individual spectral line separated by a monochromator from the radiation of a DRT-400 mercury tubular lamp. It has been established that in the region of spectral sensitivity of the composition, the curing time of the film is inversely proportional to the intensity of volumetric absorption of the radiation-source photons by the initiator at the lower surface of the film under study. Individual contributions of some of the lines to the process of composition curing by using the integral spectrum of the radiation source have been evaluated. The spectral-kinetic results obtained were confirmed when using the compositions under study as protective coatings of optical quartz fibers.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 71, No. 6, pp. 836–840, November–December, 2004.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Second harmonic generation by cold-deposited silver films

The second harmonic generation (SHG) of light diffusely scattered by cold-deposited silver films is negligible with respect to the specular intensities. Therefore, a cold-deposited silver film is well approximated by a homogeneous effective medium. The intensities of SHG at 1.06 μm and the optical absorption at 0.53 μm depend on both the square of the internal effective field at 0.53 μm and a change in the same way when annealing the film. This can be understood by the assumption that SHG is also mainly following the electric field within the metal phase and surface contributions to SHG interfere destructively. This is corroborated by the observation that the SHG intensity does not show the ‘chemical first layer effects’ seen by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS).     

The mean probability of photon capture of resonance radiation in atomic absorption spectroscopy

The mean probability of photon capture Ψ, obtained via an approximation to the complementary escape factor Λ, for calcium and zinc resonance lines at 4226.73 and 2138.56 Å have been determined from their atomic absorption measurements. Calculations are performed for Gaussian, Lorentzian, and Voigt spectral line shapes. Tabulations and graphical plots of the mean probability of photon capture, Ψ, with the optical depth in the center of Doppler profile, τ_D, and the number density of free atoms in the ground state N, are provided.     

Z-scan determination of the third-order optical nonlinearity of a triphenylmethane dye using 633 nm He–Ne laser

The third-order nonlinear optical response of a triphenylmethane dye (Acid blue 7) was studied using the Z-scan technique with a continuous-wave He–Ne laser radiation at 633 nm. The magnitude and sign of the third-order nonlinear refractive index n₂ of aqueous solution of Acid blue 7 dye were determined; the negative sign indicates a self-defocusing optical nonlinearity in the sample studied. The negative nonlinear refractive index n₂ and nonlinear absorption coefficient β were estimated to be −1.88 × 10⁻⁷ cm²/W and −3.08 × 10⁻³ cm/W, respectively, corresponding to Re(χ⁽³⁾) = −8.35 × 10⁻⁶ esu, and Im(χ⁽³⁾) = −6.88 × 10⁻⁷ esu. The experimental results show that Acid blue 7 dye have potential applications in nonlinear optics.     

Interference effects in negative luminescence and thermal radiation of planar semiconductor structures

We investigated the spectral and angular characteristics of negative luminescence of planar structures with an optically thin semiconductor layer. Sharp spectral peaks and lobe-like directivity diagrams at fixed wavelengths due to the resonator effect were observed. For such structures, it is shown that negative luminescence efficiency in the spectral peaks may be close to unity.