A thin-film prism as a beam separator for multimode guided waves in integrated optics

We discuss a new application of a thin-film prism as a beam separator for multimode guided waves in integrated optics. For each mode of propagation, the angle of deflection by the thin-film prism is different and each deflected beam can be processed subsequently. Deflection angles for different modes can be predicted by using the concept of effective index of refraction. The thickness and index of refraction of the guiding film are determined simultaneously by measuring the coupling angles of the laser beam and a simple graphical method. Calculated and observed angles of deflection are in good agreement. The thin-film prism is made by using preferential etching technique in order to obtain linear, well defined, tapered edges. Furthermore, silicon is used as the base material for possible future integration of optical and electronic components.     

Correct interpretation of spectral interference measurements of weakly absorbing films of micrometer thickness

We present analytical equations based on thin-film optics with which to extract the thickness of weakly absorbing films from spectral interference measurements, using only the observed constant interference frequency. It is shown that the assumption of a constant index of refraction n for the analysis of interference frequency omega 0 introduces significant errors into the thickness calculation. Instead, the first derivative of n with respect to the energy, n', has to be included as well to yield the correct film thickness, even for small values of n'. The equations presented can be used as constraints in appropriate numerical methods to improve the film thickness iteratively.     

Three-dimensional negative index of refraction at optical frequencies by coupling plasmonic waveguides

We identify a route towards achieving a negative index of refraction at optical frequencies based on coupling between plasmonic waveguides that support backwards waves. We show how modal symmetry can be exploited in metal-dielectric waveguide pairs to achieve negative refraction of both phase and energy. Control of waveguide coupling yields a metamaterial consisting of a one-dimensional multilayer stack that exhibits an isotropic index of -1 at a free-space wavelength of 400?nm. The concepts developed here may inspire new low-loss metamaterial designs operating close to the metal plasma frequency.     

Use of polyethylene glycol coatings for optical fibre humidity sensing

Humidity induced change in the refractive index and thickness of the polyethylene glycol (PEG) coatings are in situ investigated for a range from 10 to 95%, using an optical waveguide spectroscopic technique. It is experimentally demonstrated that, upon humidity change, the optical and swelling characteristics of the PEG coatings can be employed to build a plastic fibre optic humidity sensor. The sensing mechanism is based on the humidity induced change in the refractive index of the PEG film, which is directly coated onto a polished segment of a plastic optical fibre with dip-coating method. It is observed that PEG, which is a highly hydrophilic material, shows no monotonic linear response to humidity but gives different characteristics for various ranges of humidity levels both in index of refraction and in thickness. It undergoes a physical phase change from a semi-crystalline structure to a gel one at around 80% relative humidity. At this phase change point, a drastic decrease occurs in the index of refraction as well as a drastic increase in the swelling of the PEG film. In addition, PEG coatings are hydrogenated in a vacuum chamber. It is observed that the hydrogen has a preventing effect on the humidity induced phase change in PEG coatings. Finally, the possibility of using PEG coatings in construction of a real plastic fibre optic humidity sensor is discussed.     

Negative refraction in ferromagnet-superconductor superlattices

Negative refraction, which reverses many fundamental aspects of classical optics, can be obtained in systems with negative magnetic permeability and negative dielectric permittivity. This Letter documents an experimental realization of negative refraction at millimeter waves, finite magnetic fields, and cryogenic temperatures utilizing a multilayer stack of ferromagnetic and superconducting thin films. In the present case the superconducting YBa2Cu3O7 layers provide negative permittivity while negative permeability is achieved via ferromagnetic (La:Sr)MnO3 layers for frequencies and magnetic fields close to the ferromagnetic resonance. In these superlattices the refractive index can be switched between positive and negative regions using external magnetic field as tuning parameter.     

Accuracy analysis of parallel plate interferometer for angular displacement measurement

The measurement accuracy of a parallel-plate interferometer for angular displacement measurement is analyzed. The measurement accuracy of angular displacement is not only related to the accuracy of phase extraction, but also related to initial incident angle, refraction index and thickness of plane-parallel plate as well as wavelength's stability of laser diode, etc. Theoretical analysis and computer simulation show that the measurement error of the angular displacement bears a minimum value when choosing an optimal initial incident angle in a large range. These analytical results serve as a guide in practical measurement. In this interferometer, reducing the refraction index or increasing the thickness of the parallel plate can improve the measurement accuracy; and the relative error of the phase measurement is 3.0×10⁻⁴ corresponding to 1 °C temperature variation. Based on these theoretical and experimental results, the measurement accuracy of the parallel-plate interferometer is up to an order of 10⁻⁸ rad.     

Multilayer thin film thickness measurement using sensitivity separation method

This paper, for the first time, proposed a new sensitivity separation (SS) method for measuring thicknesses of multilayer thin-film stack with high efficiency and accuracy. Through the analysis of the relationship between the film parameters and the mean misfit error (MSE), a parameter called sensitivity is defined. With this parameter, an estimated rational thickness is assigned to a layer with lower sensitivity first, and then the layer thickness with high sensitivity is further obtained by optimization techniques. This method will greatly reduce the searching range and increase the iterating efficiency. It is a pretreatment method and it can be used with other optimization methods. Both theory and simulation results are provided in detail. The uncertainty problems are discussed and examples are given to verify the effectiveness of this method.     

液体表面光场环状暗斑效应及折射率测量

实验发现透过液体介质的光场出现了一环状暗斑效应。进一步研究表明,该效应是由于光在液体介质表面发生全反射引起的,环状暗斑半径的大小与液体折射率和液体厚度有关,当液体折射率一定时,液体厚度越厚,暗斑半径越大;光液体厚度一定时,折射率越大,暗斑半径越小。进而建立了环状暗斑半径与液体折射率之间的关系,提出了一种测量液体折射率的新方法。     

Negative refraction and imaging beyond the diffraction limit by a two-dimensional left-handed metamaterial

We report our experimental results on two-dimensional left-handed metamaterials (LHM) exhibiting negative refraction and subwavelength imaging. Transmission and reflection spectra of LHM are studied and a left-handed transmission band is observed at the frequencies where both dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability are negative. Impedance matching is verified both with the experiments and simulations. The two-dimensional LHM structure is verified to have a negative refractive index. We employed three different methods to observe negative refraction; refraction through prism-shaped LHM, beam shifting method, and phase shift experiments. We further demonstrated subwavelength imaging and resolution using LHM superlenses. The effect of thickness on the resolving power is investigated experimentally.     

KDP晶体折射率非均匀性检测系统

基于正交偏振干涉法,建立了KDP晶体折射率非均匀性的检测系统,并可实现晶体相位失谐角的间接检测.波前检测系统实现了测试光偏振态的精密控制与切换,采用波长调谐相移的方法去除了测试过程中参考面倾斜引入的误差,优化了抗振动相移算法,提高了波前测试的测量准确度及重复性.通过折射率非均匀性分析算法的设计,解决了晶体厚度变化引入的误差等.小口径晶体元件的测试结果表明系统的折射率非均匀性检测准确度(均方根值)优于10-6.     

KDP晶体折射率非均匀性检测系统

基于正交偏振干涉法,建立了KDP晶体折射率非均匀性的检测系统,并可实现晶体相位失谐角的间接检测.波前检测系统实现了测试光偏振态的精密控制与切换,采用波长调谐相移的方法去除了测试过程中参考面倾斜引入的误差,优化了抗振动相移算法,提高了波前测试的测量准确度及重复性.通过折射率非均匀性分析算法的设计,解决了晶体厚度变化引入的误差等.小口径晶体元件的测试结果表明系统的折射率非均匀性检测准确度(均方根值)优于10~(-6).     

Tunable broadband plasmonic perfect absorber at visible frequency

Metamaterials and plasmonics as a new pioneering field in photonics joins the features of photonics and electronics by coupling photons to conduction electrons of a metal as surface plasmons (SP). This concept has been implemented for a variety of applications including negative index of refraction, magnetism at visible frequency, cloaking devices amongst others. In the present work, we used plasmonic hybrid material in order to design and fabricate a broad-band perfect plasmonic metamaterial absorber in a stack of metal and Copper-PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) nanocomposite showing an average absorbance of 97.5?% in the whole visible spectrum. Our experimental results showed that the absorption peak of the stacks can be tuned upon varying the thickness and type of the spacer layer due to the sensitivity of plasmon resonance to its environment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a plasmonic metamaterial absorber based on copper with absorption around 100?% in the entire visible and near-Infrared (NIR).     

Chebychev Response of Thin Film Optical Filters

The power reflection coefficient (reflectance) of linear, periodically homogenous, isotropic, nonabsorbing stack filters is derived using full wave analysis. The well-known ABCD characteristic matrix is used to assess the spectral response of the stack filters. Adopting this method requires a huge number of matrix multiplications as the number of layers increases. An alternative approach of evaluating the whole matrix is suggested which is shown to save computational time. Band reject response far from ideal characteristics, due to the presence of unwanted ripples surrounding the stopband, is obtained. Equating these ripples without changing the length of the structure is undertaken by varying some design parameters related to the layers constituting the filter. Namely, the index of refraction and the physical thickness of individual layers are used as optimization variables. This process requires evaluating the derivative of the reflectance with respect to each design variable while leaving other parameters unchanged. The sensitivity of the derivatives to various design parameters is also addressed, which is sometimes required in manufacturing multilayered dielectric thin films.     

一种监控膜厚的新算法

光学薄膜的光学特性与其每一膜层的厚度密切相关,为了制备出符合要求的光学薄膜产品,在制备过程中必须监控膜厚。光学薄膜实时监控精度决定了所镀制的光学薄膜的厚度精度。针对光电极值法极值点附近监控精度低、无法精确监控非规整膜系的缺陷,提出了新的光学薄膜膜厚监控算法。该算法通过数学运算,使得光学薄膜的光学厚度与透射率呈线性关系,并且有效地消除光源波动、传输噪声等共模干扰的影响,算法精度可控制在2%以内。     

Maxima of the spectral reflectance ratio of polarized waves used to measure the thickness of a nonabsorbing thin film

A simple method to determine the thickness of a nonabsorbing thin film on an absorbing substrate from maxima of the ratio between the spectral reflectances of p- and s-polarized components reflected from the thin-film structure is presented. The spectral reflectance ratio, which can be measured in a simple polarimetry configuration at a fixed angle of incidence, consists of maxima whose number and positions depend on the thickness of a thin film. An approximative linear relation between the thin-film thickness and a wavelength of the maximum of the reflectance ratio for a specific angle of incidence is revealed, provided that the wavelength-dependent refractive index of the thin film is known and the substrate is weakly absorbing. The relation permits the calculation of the thickness from the measured spectral reflectance ratio by using one maximum only, as is demonstrated theoretically for a SiO₂ thin film on a Si substrate. The application of this method is demonstrated experimentally for the same thin-film structure with different thicknesses of the SiO₂ thin film. The results are compared with those given by the algebraic fitting method, and very good agreement is confirmed.     

The effect of silicon substrate on thickness of SiO2 thin film analysed by spectral reflectometry and interferometry

Techniques of spectral reflectometry and interferometry are used for measuring small changes in thickness of SiO₂ thin film grown by thermal oxidation on different silicon substrates. A slightly dispersive Michelson interferometer with one of its mirrors replaced by a thin-film structure is used to measure the reflectance and interferometric phase of the thin-film structure at the same time. The experimental data are used to determine precisely the thickness of the SiO₂ thin film on silicon wafers of two crystallographic orientations and different dopant concentrations. We confirmed very good agreement between the experimental data and theory and revealed that the thin-film thickness, which varies with the type of silicon substrate, depends linearly on the wavelength at which minimum in the spectral reflectance occurs. Similar behaviour was revealed for the interferometric phase.     

Coherent control of negative refraction based on local-field enhancement and dynamically induced chirality

This paper studies the electromagnetic response of a coherently driven dense atomic ensemble to a weak probe.It finds that negative refraction with little absorption may be achieved in the presence of local-field enhanced interaction and dynamically induced chirality.The complex refractive index governing the probe refraction and absorption depends critically on the atomic density,the steady population distribution,the coherence dephasings,and the frequency detunings,and is also sensitive to the phase of the driving field because the photonic transition paths form a close loop.Thus,it can periodically tune the refractive index at a fixed frequency from negative to positive values and vice versa just by modulating the driving phase.Moreover,the optimal negative refraction is found to be near the probe magnetic resonance,which then requires the electric fields of the probe and the drive being on two-photon resonance due to the dipole synchronisation.     

Negative refraction and left-handed properties in two-dimensional photonic crystals

We report on the negative refraction and left-handed behavior of two-dimensional photonic crystals. For the triangular two-dimensional photonic crystals there are two saddle points and a key point in the first Brillouin zone for the second band, which play important role to determine the refraction phenomena. There is no determined relation between the left-handed behavior and the negative refraction. The refraction phenomena depend on the band structure and the configuration of the incident light. For the first configuration, the first Brillouin zone can be divided into three parts. In part I there are negative refraction and left-handed behaviors. In part II there are normal refraction and left-handed behaviors. In part III there are normal refraction and right-handed behaviors. For the second configuration, the first Brillouin zone can only be divided into two parts. For these complex refraction phenomena, it is meaningless to define the phase refractive index, and it is necessary to define the effective refraction index by a Snell-like formula, and the value of the effective index is determined by the configuration and the band structure.     

渐变折射率薄膜的分层评价探讨

首先阐述了将渐变折射率薄膜细分为多层均匀薄膜的分层介质理论,接着给出了一种获得最佳分层数目的分层评价方法,最后以线性变化渐变折射率薄膜为例说明了如何优化获得渐变折射率薄膜的分层数目.研究发现：渐变折射率薄膜的分层数目与薄膜的厚度和薄膜的折射率变化快慢有关,在一定的折射率变化范围内,渐变折射率薄膜的分层数目随着薄膜厚度的增加先减小后增大. 关键词： 渐变折射率 分层介质理论 分层评价     

基于相位偏移干涉术的薄膜厚度测量方法

为解决薄膜厚度的高精度测量问题,提出一种基于相位偏移干涉术的薄膜厚度测量新方法,利用该方法对一个实际SiO₂薄膜样片进行测试,通过对所获取的干涉图进行相位解包及数据分析处理,实现对薄膜样片厚度的精确测试。结果表明：该方法具有非接触和测量精度高等优点,所测薄膜厚度的峰谷值为0.162μm,均方根值为0.043μm,为薄膜工艺的进一步研究提供了检测方法上的技术保障。