Enhanced light trapping for the silver nanoparticles embedded in the silica layer atop the silicon substrate

The optical properties of the structures with silver nanoparticles embedded in the silica layer atop the silicon substrate are simulated by the finite-difference time-domain method. The effects of nanoparticle size, period, silica layer thickness, and the angle of incidence of the illuminated light on optical transmissions are studied. It is found that there is the red-shift for the maximum of the total light transmitting into the silicon substrate as the silica layer thickness increases. The electric field intensity distributions and the average power densities for the structure with largest optical transmission is studied, and the strong electric field intensities are found in the silica regions surrounding to the silver nanoparticles, which can help the light energy going into the silicon substrate. By controlling the structure parameters, the optical transmissions of the structures with the silica layer can have higher optical transmissions than the cases without the silica layer. The silica layer plays the role as the graded refractive index layer between the air and the silicon substrate, and the light power from the incident wave can transmit into the silicon substrate with less optical reflections for choosing a suitable silica layer thickness. A guideline to design the structures with high optical transmissions for the solar spectra is given. This study cannot only be useful for the solar cells applications, but also other antireflection applications.     

Integrated optical components on atom chips

We report on the integration of small-scale optical components into silicon wafers for use in atom chips. We present an on-chip fibre-optic atom detection scheme that can probe clouds with small atom numbers. The fibres can also be used to generate microscopic dipole traps. We describe our most recent results with optical microcavities and show that a sufficiently high finesse can be achieved to enable single-atom detection on an atom chip. The key components have been fabricated by etching directly into the atom chip silicon substrate.     

Charge storage and electron/light emission properties of silicon nanocrystals

Monodispersed silicon nanocrystals show novel electrical and optical characteristics of silicon quantum dots, such as single-electron tunneling, ballistic electron transport, visible photoluminescence and high-efficiency electron emission.Single-electron memory effects have been studied using a short-channel MOSFET incorporating Si quantum dots as a floating gate. Surface nitridation of Si nanocrystal memory nodes extends the charge-retention time significantly. Single-electron storage in individual Si dots has been evaluated by Kelvin probe force microscopy.Photoluminescence and electron emission are observed for surface-oxidized silicon nanocrystals. Efficiency of the no-phonon-assisted transition increases with decreasing core Si size. Electron emission efficiency as high as 5% has been achieved for the Si-nanocrystal-based cold electron emitter devices. The non-Maxwellian energy distribution of emitted electrons suggests that the mechanism of electron emission is due to ballistic transport through arrays of surface-oxidized Si nanocrystals. Combined with the ballistic electron emission, the quasi-direct light emission properties can be used for developing Si-based lasers.     

Effects of pinhole diameters on beam characteristics for silicon thin film optical inspection

Peak power density stability and beam-wander precision of probe laser are important factors affecting the inspection results in the precision thin film optical measurements. Pinhole is frequently used as a spatial filter in the optical inspection system. In this work, four different diameters of pinhole are investigated experimentally. It is found that pinhole diameter of 0.3 mm is considered to be a promising candidate for mounting in front of probe laser for silicon thin film optical inspection due to better peak power density stability and better beam-wander precision.     

基于硅波导的喇曼光放大器

在硅波导上添加反向偏压的PIN结构,当波导产生受激喇曼散射时,可以将波导中双光子吸收(TPA)产生的光生自由载流子扫出波导,降低了波导的非线性损失,极大地提高了硅波导中泵浦光对信号光的喇曼增益。为了应用已经非常成熟的硅工艺,并且应用硅波导使器件小型化,根据法布里-帕罗(F-P)腔和行波放大器理论,在硅波导两端的解理面蒸镀增透膜,应用这种波导的喇曼效应设计了一种光放大器,即基于硅波导的喇曼光放大器。建立了计算放大器增益的方程,给出了不同波导长度和输入功率情况下的放大器增益,得出适当增加波导长度和泵浦光功率可以得到较高喇曼增益的结论。基于硅的光放大器有较高的饱和功率且没有泵浦源的限制,通过调整泵浦激光的波长可以放大不同波长的信号光。     

Universal reconfigurable optical logic with silicon-on-insulator resonant structures

Two areas of intense current research, optical logic and silicon photonics, can be combined to create optical logic in silicon substrates. We describe a generic (universal) optical logic gate based on silicon components that can be programmed electronically to perform any logical operation on light beams confined in a silicon waveguide under control of the silicon electronics on the same chip. The effect is to create enhanced integration between optics and electronics.     

Cloaking apertureless near-field scanning optical microscopy tips

We numerically demonstrate that properly designed plasmonic covers can be used to enhance the performance of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) systems based on the employment of apertureless metallic tip probes. The covering material, exhibiting a near-zero value of the real permittivity at the working frequency, is designed in such a way to dramatically reduce the undesired scattering due to the strongly plasmonic behavior of the tip. Though the light scattering by the tip end is necessary for the correct operation of NSOMs, the additional scattering due to the whole probe affects the signal-to-noise ratio and thus the resolution of the acquired image. By covering the whole probe but not the very tip, we show that unwanted scattering can be effectively reduced. A realistic setup, working at mid-IR frequencies and employing silicon carbide covers, has been designed and simulated to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

硅基二维光子晶体耦合器理论研究

光子晶体是一种具有光子带隙的新型人工材料,利用其具有控制和限制光子运动的特性可以制成新颖的光学器件。利用硅基二维光子晶体,提出了一种4端口耦合器。采用时域有限差分法作为研究工具,TM模作为研究对象,从理论上分析了这种器件的特性。在不同的耦合长度下研究光在输出端的功率透射率。结果表明选择适当的耦合长度可以使光在器件中呈现不同的状态。进一步研究表明,通过改变器件内部介质柱的半径,可以改变光在输出端的输出功率。从而证实了这种器件不仅具有波长选择性,而且具有潜在的可调节性,这些特性使得这种器件在全光开关的应用上具有潜在的优势。     

非晶碳化硅材料与光学微腔的制备与发光

利用等离子体化学气相沉积技术在100℃的衬底温度下,制备了具有不同组分比的系列非晶碳化硅薄膜。结合傅里叶变换红外光谱与喇曼光谱对所制备的薄膜微结构进行了表征与分析,同时,对具有不同组分比的非晶碳化硅薄膜室温光致发光性质进行了系统的研究。结果表明在Ar⁺离子激光和Xe灯紫外光的激发下,不同组分的样品显示出不同的光致发光特性,并对样品的发光特性与其微结构的联系进行了讨论。在此基础上,用碳化硅薄膜设计和制备了全固体光学微腔,研究了微腔对碳化硅发光行为的调制作用。     

Particle Velocity Measurements in Dense Fluidized Beds

The average local velocity of the upward of particles motion was determined in a dense fluidized bed by the means of a fibre optical probe. The probe consists of two independent light gates. The particles passing in front of the light gates reflect the light, generating sign sequences that are analysed by computer. From the average time difference of the sign sequences and from the distance of the light gates, the average local velocity can be calculated. The average local velocity of the particles along the height and diameter of the fluidized bed and also as a function of the fluidization air velocity was examined. It was concluded that the average local velocity is closely correlated with the local porosity of the dense fluidized bed and depends mainly on the fluidization air velocity. Using a fibre optical probe, the optimum range of the fluidization air velocity can be determined.     

Multiwaveguide implantable probe for light delivery to sets of distributed brain targets

Optical fibers are commonly inserted into living tissues such as the brain in order to deliver light to deep targets for neuroscientific and neuroengineering applications such as optogenetics, in which light is used to activate or silence neurons expressing specific photosensitive proteins. However, an optical fiber is limited to delivering light to a single target within the three-dimensional structure of the brain. We here demonstrate a multiwaveguide probe capable of independently delivering light to multiple targets along the probe axis, thus enabling versatile optical control of sets of distributed brain targets. The 1.45-cm-long probe is microfabricated in the form of a 360-μm-wide array of 12 parallel silicon oxynitride (SiON) multimode waveguides clad with SiO(2) and coated with aluminum; probes of custom dimensions are easily created as well. The waveguide array accepts light from a set of sources at the input end and guides the light down each waveguide to an aluminum corner mirror that efficiently deflects light away from the probe axis. Light losses at each stage are small (input coupling loss, 0.4 ± 0.3 dB; bend loss, negligible; propagation loss, 3.1 ± 1 dB/cm using the outscattering method and 3.2 ± 0.4 dB/cm using the cutback method; corner mirror loss, 1.5 ± 0.4 dB); a waveguide coupled, for example, to a 5 mW source will deliver over 1.5 mW to a target at a depth of 1 cm.     

Manipulating light flow with one-dimensional photonic crystals of an electromagnetically induced transparency medium

The band structures and equifrequency contours of one-dimensional photonic crystals (PCs), which consist of an electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) medium and a common dielectric medium, can be dramatically changed by tuning the coupling field intensity (or coupling Rabi frequency, CRF) of the EIT medium. It is found that for a probe light at a fixed frequency, either positive or negative refraction in the EIT PC can be realized with a proper CRF. The behavior of a Gaussian beam (probe light) obliquely incident on such an EIT PC slab is simulated numerically. The probe light beam transmitted from the slab can be shifted transversely in a large range, and negative refraction enhances this effect. The present scenario can be applied in some areas such as quantum optical and photonic device designs.     

A method to correct optical fiber's spectrum attenuation based on Fourier transform in spectra-measuring systems

A method based on Fourier transform to revise the non-linear spectrum attenuation of optical fiber used as a probe in a spectrum-measuring system is proposed in this paper. Spectral curves of a normal light source are measured by a spectrum-measuring system with and without the optical fiber probe, respectively. The generalized frequency spectrum (GFS) of these spectral curves can be calculated based on Fourier transform. From them, an optical fiber spectrum correction function can be obtained and the non-linear spectrum attenuation of optical fiber can be revised with the SCF. The experiment results show that the method has the accuracy of 1% and it is more accurate than the Ratio Method (RM) and the Weighted Ratio Method (WRM).     

多孔硅结构与发光机理的非线性光学研究

最近的研究中,采用1.06μm超短脉冲光激发,在多孔硅表面观察到了有效的红外多光子激发的荧光发射.研究表明,这是一个增强的三阶非线性光学过程.本文利用其三阶非线性特性对具有强可见光发射的多孔硅结构进行了研究,结果显示晶体硅的各向异性特征在多孔硅中几乎被保留;此外,较强的激光激发导致的红外上转换荧光信号衰减过程被归结为与多孔硅表面氢的脱附有关.     

Multi-target ranging using an optical reservoir computing approach in the laterally coupled semiconductor lasers with self-feedback

We utilize three parallel reservoir computers using semiconductor lasers with optical feedback and light injection to model radar probe signals with delays. Three radar probe signals are generated by driving lasers constructed by a three-element laser array with self-feedback. The response lasers are implemented also by a three-element lase array with both delay-time feedback and optical injection, which are utilized as nonlinear nodes to realize the reservoirs. We show that each delayed radar probe signal can be predicted well and to synchronize with its corresponding trained reservoir, even when parameter mismatches exist between the response laser array and the driving laser array. Based on this, the three synchronous probe signals are utilized for ranging to three targets, respectively, using Hilbert transform. It is demonstrated that the relative errors for ranging can be very small and less than 0.6%. Our findings show that optical reservoir computing provides an effective way for applications of target ranging.     

Probe with new holographic optical element (NHOE)

A new holographic optical probe is presented in this paper. With the help of a new holographic optical element, two beams reflected from different spots of the sample surface are received by the same detector. Based on the principle of self-compensation, the influence of the possible inclination of the sample surface is reduced. NHOE, made by the computer-generated hologram (CGH) technology, combines more optical functions than already developed HOE does. Since the probe only takes several elements, it has the advantages of small size, light weight and low cost. It can be used in the high-precision measurement system.     

Absorption-free superluminal light propagation in a quantum-dot molecule

The propagation of a weak probe field in a three-level quantum-dot molecule is investigated by employing the tunnel coupling. It is shown that in the absence of tunnel coupling, the propagation of light pulse is superluminal, similar to a simple two-level system. A high-resolution dip appears in optical spectra due to the presence of tunnel coupling. We show that this narrow dip leads to the subluminal light propagation with doublet absorption, so the group velocity of a light pulse can be controlled by interdot tunnel coupling. It is also demonstrated that by applying an indirect incoherent pumping field to the probe transition, the absorption doublet switches to the gain doublet and then the absorption-free superluminal light propagation is appeared.     

Absorption-free superluminal light propagation in a quantum-dot molecule

The propagation of a weak probe field in a three-level quantum-dot molecule is investigated by employing the tunnel coupling. It is shown that in the absence of tunnel coupling, the propagation of light pulse is superluminal, similar to a simple two-level system. A high-resolution dip appears in optical spectra due to the presence of tunnel coupling. We show that this narrow dip leads to the subluminal light propagation with doublet absorption, so the group velocity of a light pulse can be controlled by interdot tunnel coupling. It is also demonstrated that by applying an indirect incoherent pumping field to the probe transition, the absorption doublet switches to the gain doublet and then the absorption-free superluminal light propagation is appeared.     

银纳米立方体的合成及其SERS活性研究

用乙二醇还原硝酸银,以聚乙烯吡咯烷酮作表面活性剂合成了银纳米立方体晶粒,并以吡啶和SCN-作为探针分子初步研究了银纳米立方体晶粒组装体系的SERS活性。当探针分子吸附于银纳米立方体晶粒上时,吡啶和SCN-的谱峰强度明显增强,表明银纳米立方体晶粒可望作为SERS活性基底。通过研究探针分子的SERS强度与粒子尺度关系,也有望用于表征银纳米立方体晶粒的光学性质。     

Enhanced Kerr nonlinearity in a quantized four-level graphene nanostructure

In this paper, a new model is proposed for manipulating the Kerr nonlinearity of right-hand circular probe light in a monolayer of graphene nanostructure. By using the density matrix equations and quantum optical approach, the third-order susceptibility of probe light is explored numerically. It is realized that the enhanced Kerr nonlinearity with zero linear absorption can be provided by selecting the appropriate quantities of controllable parameters, such as Rabi frequency and elliptical parameter of elliptical polarized coupling field. Our results may be useful applications in future all-optical system devices in nanostructures.