Tunable thermal emission at infrared frequencies via tungsten gratings

The author investigates the manipulation of thermal emission by using one-dimensional tungsten gratings with different groove depths. It is found that, by systematically increasing the depth of the groove, the linearly polarized emission at particular frequencies can be substantially enhanced to achieve that of the blackbody radiation limit, whereas the emission in other frequency ranges shows no noticeable changes. The results can provide useful insights into the design of thermovoltaic applications.     

Roughness losses and volume-current methods in photonic-crystal waveguides

We present predicted relative scattering losses from sidewall roughness in a strip waveguide compared to an identical waveguide surrounded by a photonic crystal with a complete or incomplete gap in both 2d and 3d. To do so, we develop a new semi-analytical extension of the classic “volume-current method” (Green’s functions with a Born approximation), correcting a longstanding limitation of such methods to low-index contrast systems (the classic method may be off by an order of magnitude in high-contrast systems). The resulting loss predictions show that even incomplete gap structures such as photonic-crystal slabs should, with proper design, be able to reduce losses by a factor of two compared to an identical strip waveguide; however, incautious design can lead to increased losses in the photonic-crystal system, a phenomena that we explain in terms of the band structure of the unperturbed crystal.     

Efficient transmission in cascaded photonic crystal waveguides via a strong coupling effect

A design of cascaded photonic crystal waveguide is proposed in this paper inspired by the work of Tang et al. [D. Tang, L. Chen, W. Ding, Appl. Phys. Lett. 89 (2006) 131120]. In contrast to a conventional waveguide source, a plane wave source is applied in the current design. We show that an efficient guide mode in the photonic band gap can be achieved. The same idea also works for a slight variation by defects introduction in the photonic crystal. Finally, the strong coupling effect present in the cascaded waveguides is demonstrated by an analogy with photonic quantum wells.     

Dispersion properties of planar Bragg waveguides

We reformulate the leaky mode condition of planar Bragg waveguides as two simple, separate conditions on the propagation constant; a phase match condition and a loss formula. These relations enable efficient numerical calculations of the mode properties. Furthermore, we use the phase match condition as a starting point to discuss the dispersion of waveguides with advanced cladding structures. In particular, we point out that chirped claddings, where the effective reflection point is dependent on frequency, do not give dispersion characteristics significantly different from metallic waveguides or waveguides with periodic claddings.     

Phase-Locked Fibre Array for Coherent Combination and Atmosphere Aberration Compensation

We report a fibre amplifier array that not only achieves coherent beam combination by compensation of phase noises of fibre amplifier, but also accomplishes correction of atmosphere aberration. It is of master-oscillatormultiple-amplifier （MOPA） configuration, which can be phase-locked by the multidither principle or heterodyne detection principle. First laboratory experiments of atmosphere aberration compensation of a three-element fibre amplifier array are reported. The atmosphere aberration is created by a phase screen in the experiment. The phase changes of the beam, which are introduced by the fibre amplifier and the phase screen, are both detected by the heterodyne detection method. Phase modulators are controlled to compensate for the phase in the three paths. No matter whether there is a phase screen producing atmosphere aberration or not, the dim dynamic interference fringes in the far field turn to a clear and stable pattern, and the peak intensity is maximized. It is indicated that the fibre amplifier array is phase-locked, and coherent combination of the three beams is achieved. It can be used not only to obtain high power fibre laser array but also in laser space communication.     

Focusing of Partially Coherent Vortex Beams by an Aperture Lens

The focusing properties of partially coherent vortex wave fields are studied. Expressions are derived for the intensity distribution and the degree of coherence near the geometrical focus. It is found that the size of coherence vortex dark core in the focal region depends on the topological charges and normalized coherence lengths. It is found that the desired vortex dark core near the geometrical focus can be generated by choosing appropriate values of parameters. The degree of coherence possesses a pair of phase singularities regions in the geometrical focus neighbourhood.     

Circular arc plasmonic waveguide couplers between two-dimensional dielectric slab waveguides and plasmonic waveguides

We investigate the properties of arc plasmonic waveguide coupler between two-dimensional dielectric slab waveguides and plasmonic waveguides with two-dimensional finite difference time domain methods. The simulation results show that transmission efficiency between high index dielectric slab waveguides with width 300 nm and silver-air-silver waveguides with width 40 nm connected by the coupler can reach to 90.4% at optical communication wavelength. And, by optimizing the shapes near the ends of the coupler, the transmission efficiency can be improved to 98.4%.     

Emissvity of metallic microcontoured surfaces

In this paper, we study the diffraction of electromagnetic radiation by a periodic micro-rough surface separating vacuum from a metal with a finite conductivity. We submit the integral method to the surface impedance boundary condition. Thus the numerical implementation is greatly reduced. We compare the numerical emissivities obtained by this approach to those we have calculated through the rigorous multilayer modal method. This enables us to show that the mentioned approximate method has two regions of validity: one corresponding to fairly flat surfaces and the other to very deep surfaces. It is well known that both the Kirchhoff approximation and the constant flat boundary impedance approximation are also valid for fairly flat surfaces. Our investigation aims also to establish whether these two approximate methods lead to the same results, and whether the integral method submitted to the surface impedance condition has a larger domain of validity. Concerning deep surfaces with a period smaller than the wavelength, we introduce the homogenization process in order to study its accuracy.Finally, this work permitted to identify three different regimes depending on the surface slopes: the simple scattering regime, the homogenization regime and the intermediate regime. For the latter, if the period is in the order of the wavelength, then we will show that the emissivity can be exalted.     

Low-loss, damage-resistant optical waveguides in Zn-diffused LiNbO3 by a two-step procedure

In the present work the fabrication of high-quality LiNbO₃ waveguides, based on Zn diffusion from vapor phase using a two-step diffusion process, has been demonstrated. The optical waveguides fabricated using this method have low propagation losses (less than 0.5 dB/cm measured at 633 nm), as a consequence of the high surface quality obtained. High photorefractive damage resistance is reported, and it has been related to the Zn incorporation into the LiNbO₃ crystals. Additional advantages of this waveguide fabrication method due to the low temperature of the process (<900 °C) are to prevent Li out-diffusion and to preserve ferroelectric domain structures. Received: 2 March 2000 / Accepted: 21 June 2000 / Published online: 13 September 2000     

Coherent effects of multiple scattering for scalar and electromagnetic fields: Monte-Carlo simulation and Milne-like solutions

Based on an expansion of the Bethe-Salpeter equation in scattering orders a semi-analytic approach for simulation of coherent phenomena of multiple scattering in random media has been developed. We found that for scalar field the manifestation of these phenomena, observed as temporal field correlation function and coherent backscattering, are universal and well agreed with the results predicted by diffusion approximation. For the electromagnetic field the temporal correlation function and coherent backscattering are noticeably differ from those found for the scalar field, depending strongly on the scattering anisotropy. The obtained numerical results, for the first time to our knowledge, are compared directly with the known generalizations of the Milne solution.     

Coherent Beam Combination of Three Fiber Amplifiers with Multi-dithering Technique

Coherent beam combination of three W-level fiber amplifiers with multi-dithering technique is demonstrated. The multi-dithering technique is used for phase control in two channels. In the experiment, two channels are modulated by sine wave with 70 kHz and 100 kHz respectively, and two regular commercial DSP lock-in amplifiers and an industrial computer are used for electric signal processing in the feedback loop. The fringe contrast is advanced from 12% to 81%, and 78% coherent combination efficiency is obtained when the feedback loop is closed.     

Reconstruction of extraordinary refractive index profiles of optical planar waveguides with single or double modes fabricated by O ion implantation into lithium niobate

A method named intensity calculation method (ICM), which is based on beam propagation method (BPM) and image processing, was carried out to reconstruct the extraordinary refractive index profile (RIP) of single-mode planar waveguide in lithium niobate (LiNbO₃), which was fabricated by multi-energy megaelectron-volt (MeV) O²⁺ ion implantation. In addition, it has been proved reasonable that the alternation of extraordinary refractive index induced by ion implantation into LiNbO₃ is mainly due to the degradation of polarization and reduction of material physical density. As a result, the possible extraordinary RIP of the double-mode planar waveguide could be reconstructed using BPM according to such a hypothesis and the calculated guiding mode values. The end-fire coupling and m-line arrangements were carried out to obtain the near-field modal patterns and dark-mode spectra of waveguides, respectively.     

Polarization Changes of Partially Coherent Electromagnetic Vortex Beams Propagating in Turbulent Atmosphere

We investigate the polarization change of partially coherent electromagnetic vortex beams propagating in turbulent atmosphere. It is shown that the polarization of the beams will experience changes, and the changes of the polarization are dependent on the spatial coherence, topological charges of the beams, and the degree of polarization of the source plane and the atmospheric turbulence. The results obtained may have applications in space optical communication.     

Coherent presentation of density operator of the harmonic oscillator in thermostat

Based on basis of the coherent states the density matrix of harmonic oscillator in thermostat is obtained. This method is mathematically refined and physically transparent for the interpretation of quantum phenomena in classical language. Such an approach gives an opportunity to easily find the density matrix in the multi-dimensional case.     

Polarization-Independent Guided-Mode Resonance Filters under Oblique Incidence

We present the dispersion relation of guided-mode resonances in planar periodic waveguides, both for s-polarized （TF, mode） and p-polarized （TM mode） incident waves. For a fixed homogeneous planar waveguide, dispersion curves of the TE eigenmode cannot cross that of the TM eigenmode at all. That is to say, at a certain wavelength, TE and TM modes cannot be excited with the same propagation constant. Due to Bragg reflection in the planar periodic waveguide, dispersion curves of the TE leaky mode may intersect with that of the TM leaky mode in the first Brillouin zone. We employ these intersections to achieve polarization-independent guided-mode resonance filters.     

Circular polarized coherent thermal radiation from semiconductor layers in an external magnetic field

We investigated, both theoretically and experimentally, the polarization properties of coherent thermal radiation from thin semiconductor planar layers in a weak external magnetic field. For the Faraday configuration, it is shown that the spectrum of thermal radiation is a superposition of two oscillating spectra which correspond to radiation of electromagnetic waves with right- and left-hand circular polarization.     

Dispersion compensation properties of grating-based temporal-correlation Optical Coherence Tomography systems

This article explores specific dispersion compensation properties of an OCT set-up based on temporal correlation performed by using a diffraction grating. The linear dispersion term introduced by a glass plate with a thickness of up to 9 mm has been experimentally compensated optically through the position adjustment of the output imaging lens and for a light bandwidth of 100 nm. The dispersion compensation principle is described theoretically and results obtained experimentally are compared successfully with simulated ones. System limitations are discussed, especially regarding compensation of second orders of dispersion. Perspectives are given to achieve such a dispersion compensation.     

Negative Refraction in One-Dimensional Photonic Crystals with Tilted Interface

We investigate the wave propagation through the tilted interface of one-dimensional photonic crystals. Negative refraction can be realized by excitation of the Bloch states in the extended Brillouin zone with suppressed reflection. Equi-frequency surface analysis shows that the positive refraction, negative refraction or birefringence in this configuration can be achieved under a proper incident angle, which is confirmed by finite-difference timedomain simulations. The results may be useful in applications in the new devices based on one-dimensional photonic or optical waveguide arrays.     

Coherent and incoherent polarization encoding of electromagnetic fields

We study a method generating certain distributions of the degree and state of polarization of a light field across a transverse beam cross-section. We use the introduced polarization encoding scheme to study the distribution of polarization ellipses in a cross-section of a beam generated by superposing two encoded beams, the effects of coherence relation between the input beams on this distribution were theoretically analyzed and illustrated by contour plots of the parameters representing polarization ellipses.     

Coupled THz Waveguide Utilizing Surface Plasmon Polaritons on Thin Dielectric Slab Sandwiched between Two Corrugated Metallic Claddings

We present a comprehensive experimental study of terahertz （THz） wave propagation utilizing surface plasmon polaritons （SPPs） on the interfaces of a thin dielectric core layer sandwiched between two corrugated metallic claddings. THz wave impinges on the structured surfaces at normal incidence. Long-lasting oscillation propagation features are observed in the temporal waveform after traveling through the periodic arrays. The enhanced THz transmission can be achieved due to the coupling between incident waves to SPPs at the bottom and top interfaces. The finite element method is used to simulate the field distribution and the transmission mode in the waveguide. The hybrid waveguide with low absorption has great potential applications in THz integrated devices.