Light slowdown in Bragg waveguide

A Bragg waveguide is analyzed from the viewpoint of obtaining slow light. It is shown that, for this system, a complete mathematical analysis of the pulse propagation with allowance for leakage is possible. Calculations are presented that show that, in a TiO₂/SiO₂-based Bragg waveguide, one can obtain a group index of ∼1000 with a spatial decay length of ∼3 mm for a nanosecond-scale pulse. Distortion of the pulse due to the group index dispersion proves to be acceptable, in this case, for the pulse propagation length of about 3 mm, which corresponds to the fractional pulse delay ∼10. We also analyze the propagation of the light pulse in the Bragg waveguide with a quantum well inside and show possibility of obtaining a group index of ∼10000.     

Experimental detection of specular reflection of gamma quanta

Scattering of bremsstrahlung electron beam (E _e = 6.25 MeV) collimated with a vertical divergence δ_γ ≈ ±60 μrad and incident on the mercury surface at glancing angles α = −37, −83, and −140 μrad is studied on the 118-m-long path length. The specular reflection effect is detected in the spectral and angular distributions of γ quanta with energies up to 3 MeV. The reflection coefficients vary from 0 to ∼17% depending on the angles of incidence and the γ quanta energy.     

Microwave energy channeling in plasma waveguides created by a high-power UV laser in the atmosphere

The grazing mode of microwave propagation in a hollow plasma waveguide formed by ionization of atmospheric air with a small easily ionized additive by strong UV pulses of the Garpun KrF laser (λ = 248 nm, the pulse duration and energy are ∼70 ns and ∼50 J) was experimentally demonstrated for the first time. The annular laser beam produced a hollow tube ∼10 cm in diameter with an electron density of ∼10¹² cm⁻³ in a plasma wall ∼1 cm thick, over whichmicrowave radiation with λ _mw ∼ 8 mm was transmitted to a distance of 60 m. Themicrowave signal transmitted by the waveguide was amplified by a factor of 6 in comparison with propagation in free space.     

Forward light reflection from a moving inhomogeneity

The reflection of monochromatic and quasi-monochromatic pulsed light incident on a moving inhomogeneity in the optical characteristics of a medium having plasma-type dispersion has been analyzed. The velocity V of the inhomogeneity, induced in the medium by an intense laser pulse, has been changed by varying its carrier frequency. It has been shown that the usual back-reflection mode, when the reflected radiation pulse moves in the direction opposite the direction of incident radiation, is implemented only if the velocity V is less than the critical value V _min, which depends on the carrier frequency of the incident radiation pulse. It has been found that reflected radiation moves in the same direction as the incident radiation in a certain range of the velocity V _min < V < V _max (forward reflection). In this case, the reflected radiation pulse begins to lag behind a fast-moving inhomogeneity. When V _max < V < c, where c is the speed of light in vacuum, the group velocity of the incident radiation pulse is less than the speed of inhomogeneity, and there is no reflection. Analytical treatment is supported by numerical simulation.     

Electrically controlled slow/fast propagation of 12.5-GHz light pulses in lithium niobate waveguide Bragg grating

Experiments on slow/fast light propagation in the Bragg grating recorded in the optical waveguide formed in a photorefractive copper-doped lithium niobate wafer are reported. The change from slow to fast light propagation in the 8-mm-long grating with spectral FWHM of ≈0.14 nm and maximum Bragg reflection of ≈90% was achieved by tuning the carrier wavelength around the central Bragg value of ≈1553.36 nm. Effective electrooptical control of the 80-ps pulse shift (fractional delay/advancement of up to 0.4) was demonstrated by applying an external voltage of ≈80 V to the electrodes deposited on the waveguide sides.     

Polarization-dependent suppression of Bragg reflections in light reflection from photonic crystals

This paper reports on an experimental and theoretical study of the spectra of Bragg reflection of light from opal-like photonic crystals near the critical angle of incidence ? _c , at which the Bragg reflection in the p polarization of reflected light disappears The objects studied were polymer photonic-crystal structures made up of polystyrene particles. It is shown that Bragg reflection for the electromagnetic TM mode becomes totally suppressed at an angle of incidence ? _c , which depends on the geometric parameters and dielectric constants of the spatially periodic structure.     

Resonance optical spectroscopy of long-period quantum-well structures

Theory of specular light reflection from long-period quantum-well structures taking into account the exciton contribution to dielectric polarization has been developed for an arbitrary relation between the background refractive index in the well, n _a, and barrier-material refractive index nb. General expressions for the optical reflection and transmission coefficients for a structure with N equidistant quantum wells are derived with the use of the Green’s function and transfer matrix methods. Normal and oblique light reflectance spectra from II-VI-based heterostructures were found to reveal a bright interference pattern caused by the difference between n _a and n _b. A comparison of the theory with experiment has yielded the dispersion of n _a and n _b within a broad wavelength range and the parameters of the quasi-two-dimensional heavyhole exciton (e1-hh1), namely, the resonant frequency and the radiative and nonradiative damping rates. Reflectance spectra from resonant Bragg and quasi-Bragg structures with real exciton parameters are calculated, and the effect on these spectra of the refractive-index difference and the deviation from the Bragg condition is analyzed. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 2072–2078 (November 1997)     

Estimating the effectiveness of human-cell irradiation by protons of a therapeutic beam of the joint institute for nuclear research phasotron using cytogenetic methods

The effectiveness of the impact of therapeutic proton beams in human cells with respect to the criterion of formation of chromosome aberrations in human-blood lymphocytes is estimated. The physical characteristics of radiation (proton LET at the input of the object and in the region of the modified Bragg peak) and the role of the biological factor (the differences in the radiosensitivity of nondividing cells corresponding to the irradiation of normal tissues along the proton-beam path and tumor tissues) are taken into account. The relative biological effectiveness of protons is ∼1 at the beam input of the object and ∼1.2 in the Bragg peak region. Taking into account the higher radiosensitivity of dividing cells in the G ₂ phase of the cell cycle, the irradiation effectiveness increases to ∼1.4.     

Size effects in the internal reflection in gold cluster films in polarization modulation experiments

The internal reflection in gold nanocluster films in the Kretschmann geometry is studied using polarization modulation of electromagnetic radiation. The reflection coefficients R _s and R _p for s- and p-polarized light, respectively, as well as their difference ΔR = R _s − R _p , are measured as functions of the angle of incidence of electromagnetic radiation at different wavelengths in the range of 0.6–1.6 μm. A topological size effect is found in the interaction of light with the cluster electronic system, which consists of the fact that the surface plasmon resonance in gold cluster films can be excited by both p- and s-polarized light. It is found that the magnitude and the sign of curvature of the angular dependence of ΔR are related to the degree of resonance with light of either only p-polarization or both polarizations simultaneously.     

Waveguiding effect in 2D metal–dielectric–metal grating structure

We have studied the waveguiding effect in a 2D metal–dielectric–metal (MDM) grating structure formed on a quartz substrate. The grating was first formed via e-beam lithography and subsequently covered by Ag/MgF₂/Ag MDM films. At a pitch of 300 nm in both x- and y-directions, low reflectance and transmittance were observed in the UV–VIS range, indicating efficient coupling of normal incident light into waveguiding modes. As evidence, we measured the spectrum of the waveguide from the edge, and the bandwidth of the spectrum was as narrow as ∼74 nm. The bandwidth of the waveguide can be further improved by increasing the MDM stack number. In addition, the bandwidth can also be widened by increasing the pitch of the structure. The physical mechanism underlying the phenomena was analyzed and experimentally confirmed. Such effect could be useful in many applications, such as DFB lasers, solar cells, waveguides, and light emitting devices.     

Small-scale instability of a pulse front traversing a resonant saturable absorber

Wave front of a light pulse is shown to be unstable as it propagates through a resonant saturable absorber, if its frequency is higher than the resonance frequency of the absorber. When ΔωT ₂∼1, a small-scale transverse instability with the dimension of (λl _abs)^1/2 grows rapidly. Its growth-rate is of the order of the small-signal-absorption length of the medium.     

High spectral resolution analysis of tunable narrowband resonant grating waveguide structures

A high spectral resolution analysis of narrowband reflection filters based on resonant grating waveguide structures is presented. A tunable high-performance dye laser with ∼ 0.15 cm^-1 line width and a beam analyzing system consisting of three simultaneously controlled CCD cameras were used to investigate grating waveguide resonances at wavelengths in the 694 nm and 633 nm ranges. A reflectivity of ∼ 91% and a line width of ∼ 0.55 nm were measured and theoretically modeled for a resonant reflection filter specifically designed for the ruby laser wavelength 694.2 nm. For a second grating waveguide structure, designed for the helium-neon laser emission wavelength 632.8 nm, we observed a thermal shift of its spectral resonance position of several nanometers, when increasing the sample temperature by some degrees. An inverse thermal shift was observed when the structure was subsequently cooled down to room temperature. Our results suggest implementation of grating waveguide devices combining a narrow line width with a tunability of the resonant response into innovative concepts for reflection filter and sensor applications. PACS 42.62.-b; 42.79.Dj; 42.79.Gn     

Thermal effects in quantum cascade lasers at λ～4.6 μm under pulsed and continuous-wave modes

The thermal effects in InGaAs/InAlAs quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) emitting at λ∼4.6 μm under pulsed and continuous-wave (CW) modes using a three-dimensional (3D) heat dissipation model were investigated. Based on the experimentally measured results, the thermal characteristics were theoretically analyzed for various device and heatsinking structures. Also, the heat accumulation effects and dissipation processes were studied in detail under pulsed operation. High cooling efficiencies were achieved by a relatively fast heat diffusion rate from the active core region for the epilayer-down bonded single ridge waveguide buried heterostructure (BH) with a thick electroplated Au around the laser ridge. A further improvement was made by the use of InP embedding layer. In CW mode, the thermal conductance (G _th) value of 445 W/(K cm²) at 298 K was obtained for the epilayer-down bonded double-channel ridge waveguide QCL with AlN submount, which indicates a reasonable consistency with the available experimental data. By optimizing the device and heatsinking structures, the G _th was improved to a high value of 673 W/(K cm²) at 298 K for the epilayer-down bonded single ridge waveguide BH QCL with InP embedding layer on diamond submount in CW mode.     

Investigation of scaling laws as applied to the gas discharge in the case of a barrier-discharge-excited Kr/CCl<Subscript>4</Subscript> mixture

The electrical and luminescent characteristics of a barrier-discharge lamp filled with a Kr/CCl₄ (150: 1) mixture are experimentally studied versus the value of pd, which varies in the range (7.6–14) × 10³ Pa cm. When simulating the gas discharge using similarity parameters, the following relationships are fulfilled: for pd = const (p is the pressure, d is the interelectrode distance), the pulse duration and the mean current density are τ _j ∼ 1/p and 〈j〉 ∼ p; the surface charge density on the electrodes, σ ∼ const; the duration of the UV radiation pulse and the efficiency of UV radiation due to a KrCl* (222 nm) exciplex, τ_rad ∼ 1/p and η ∼ p ². The maximal radiation efficiency achieved in the experiments is about 13%. Deviations from the similarity laws for the gas discharge are related to the filamentary form of the observed discharge. Qualitative analysis indicates that similarity laws may be fulfilled for such a form of discharge as well but locally, within a single filament.     

Effect of easy-plane anisotropy on the transient process time in magnetic films and plates

The effect of easy-plane anisotropy on the damping of the nonlinear magnetization oscillations that accompany 90° pulsed magnetization of magnetic films and plates is analyzed numerically. It is shown that the magnetization time can be decreased to ∼0.5 ns at an effective anisotropy field H _{K p} ≥ 6 kOe and that magnetization oscillations are fully damped at H _{K p} ≥ 20–40 kOe. The magnetization time can be ∼0.15–0.20 ns at a magnetizing pulse amplitude H _m ∼ 20–40 Oe.     

Electromagnetic pulse amplification in a Cherenkov laser

An investigation is made of the amplification of a Gaussian electromagnetic pulse in a Cherenkov waveguide laser for the cases of long and short waveguides. It is shown that in the first case, the concept of a characteristic pulse duration τ ₀ can be introduced. It is established that when the pulse duration is short (τ<τ ₀) the gain is determined only by its spectral width, and the amplification process leads to a change in the pulse envelope. It is shown that in a short waveguide pulse amplification can be achieved without any change in shape. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 79–83 (April 1999)     

Experimental investigation of non-linear selective reflection at the interface of Cs atomic vapor and quartz

We present an experimental study of non-linear selective reflection (SR) at a quartz–Cs-vapor interface in a V-type three-level scheme. The non-linear selective reflection at the Cs D₂ resonance line (⁶ S _1/2F=4→⁶ P _3/2) is monitored with and without pumping. The sub-Doppler reflection spectrum is observed and the effect of pumping on the signal of the selective reflection is investigated. The experimental result is in agreement with the theoretical calculation. Received: 16 April 2002 / Revised version: 12 June 2002 / Published online: 25 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +86-351/701-1500, E-mail: zhaojm@sxu.edu.cn     

Characteristics of a multi-keV monochromatic point x-ray source based on vacuum diode with laser-produced plasma as cathode

Temporal, spatial and spectral characteristics of a multi-keV monochromatic point x-ray source based on vacuum diode with laser-produced plasma as cathode are presented. Electrons from a laser-produced aluminium plasma were accelerated towards a conical point tip titanium anode to generate K-shell x-ray radiation. Approximately 10₁₀ photons/pulse were generated in x-ray pulses of ∼18 to ∼28 ns duration from a source of ∼300 μm diameter, athυ = 4.51 keV (K _α emission of titanium), with a brightness of ∼10²⁰ photons/cm²/s/sr. This was sufficient to record single-shot x-ray radiographs of physical objects on a DEF-5 x-ray film kept at a distance of up to ∼10 cm.