A phase quadrature interferometer for measuring the small optical rotation angle of a chiral medium

The passage of a linearly polarized beam through a chiral material and a phase retarder will induce a phase difference between the s and p polarizations of the beam. In this study, a phase quadrature interferometer is designed to measure the phase difference variation proportional to the optical rotation. The proportionality constant (or measurement sensitivity) can be greatly enhanced by setting the retardation of the phase retarder close to 0° or 180°. The experimental results demonstrate that with our system we can obtain a measurement resolution for the rotational angle of better than 3.5° × 10⁻⁴. This method has several advantages such as a simple optical setup, easier operation in real time, and low cost. In addition, due to the common-path arrangement, surrounding noise can be eliminated.     

热容模式下激光介质的动态光学畸变

 开展了热容模式下激光介质动态光学畸变研究,初步分析了温度梯度、光弹效应及介质端面变形对整个波前畸变带来的影响,并将光学畸变转化为谐振腔损耗,数值模拟了热容激光器输出功率随时间的变化规律,模拟结果表明：当激光器工作温度低于400 K时,由粒子数玻耳兹曼分布引起的功率下降可以忽略,动态热效应是实验中热容激光器输出功率随时间快速下降的原因。     

Wideband optical phase modulator half-wave voltage measurement technique based on phase modulation optical link

We measured the half-wave voltage V_π of LiNbO₃ phase modulators in the broadband frequency range by analyzing the gain of phase modulation interference demodulation optical link. This is a new high practical value measurement method for half-wave voltage of LiNbO₃ phase modulators in wideband frequency range, and can accurately predict the nonlinear frequency characteristics of phase modulation optical link.     

Automatic optical activity measurement system

The present note proposes a simple, fast and accurate experimental technique to measure the specific optical activity coefficients in fibre-like crystals. The system is based on the automatic electronic phase shift detection by a lock-in amplifier in a dynamic polarimetric system.     

Simultaneous measurement of optical rotation angle and retardance

In this study, an optical scheme based on Stokes-Mueller Formalism and rotating wave-plate Stokes polarimeter is successfully developed to simultaneously measure optical rotation angle and retardance. The average relative errors in the measured rotation angle and retardance of a half-wave plate which are solved by nonlinear equations of detected Stokes parameters are determined to be just 0.74% (1.16% for a perfect half-wave plate with retardance of 180°) and 0.40% respectively. The average relative error in the measured rotation angles of glucose solutions with concentrations ranging from 0 to 1.2 g/dl is determined to be 4.53% (2.98% under calibration with sample cell). From the inspection of simultaneous measurement of rotation angle and retardance in a glucose solution followed by a half-wave plate, the average relative error in the measured rotation angles of glucose solutions is determined to be 4.23% (1.81% under calibration with sample cell). The correlation coefficient between the measured rotation angle and the glucose concentration is found to be 0.99966, while the standard deviation is just 0.00357°, and the average relative error in the measured retardance of a half-wave plate is determined to be just 0.47%. Consequently, the derived algorithm for simultaneously measuring rotation angle and retardance is feasible, and the developed system is evaluated with a precision of 10% approximately in rotation angle and a high precision of 0.0032% in retardance measurement.     

基于弹光调制的高灵敏旋光测量

为了实现连续稳定、高速、高精度和高灵敏度的光学旋光测量, 考虑到弹光偏振调制技术具有高的调制频率、调制纯度、调制精度和良好的调制稳定度等应用优势, 设计了一种基于弹光调制的旋光测量新方案. 检测激光经起偏器、测量样品、弹光调制器和检偏器到探测器的光路设计, 使得测量系统选用较少的光学器件, 最大化地降低了光学器件可能引入的测量误差; 起偏器和检偏器偏振轴相对于弹光调制器快轴方向分别取0°和45°的光学安排, 并选择弹光调制的二倍频信号作为研究对象, 有效避免了弹光调制器剩余双折射对旋光样品测量的影响, 提高了旋光测量精确度; 将探测器输出调制信号的直流和交流分开输出, 并将交流信号进行前置放大处理, 然后再锁相输出, 进一步提高了测量灵敏度. 设计了将激光调制为圆偏光, 然后精确调节起偏器来替代样品的旋光测量验证试验, 确定了系统旋光测量的比列系数, 并且获得旋光测量灵敏度为3.15×10^-7 rad, 测量精度优于0.3%. 所以, 本方案实现了较高灵敏度旋光测量, 有望应用于高灵敏旋光测量领域, 并且本方案的实验可为高灵敏旋光测量系统的定标提供参考.     

Carrier-envelope phase measurement using a non phase stable laser

We demonstrate that the phase between the carrier and the pulse envelope of a few-cycle laser pulse can be retrieved from non phase stable laser systems, provided that such laser pulses are about 5 fs long and the repetition rate is in the order of 1 kHz. Our approach is based on online determination of the phase using f-2f interferometry. By a comparison of the self referencing interferometric signal with the photoelectron current emitted into a 7 degree solid angle parallel to the laser polarization, we obtain the absolute value of the carrier envelope phase. This is provided that a Coulomb correction for electron energies below 10 eV can be correctly taken into account. PACS 42.50.Hz; 42.65.Re; 32.80.Rm     

Calculation and optical measurement of laser trapping forces on non-spherical particles

Optical trapping, where microscopic particles are trapped and manipulated by light is a powerful and widespread technique, with the single-beam gradient trap (also known as optical tweezers) in use for a large number of biological and other applications. The forces and torques acting on a trapped particle result from the transfer of momentum and angular momentum from the trapping beam to the particle. Despite the apparent simplicity of a laser trap, with a single particle in a single beam, exact calculation of the optical forces and torques acting on particles is difficult. Calculations can be performed using approximate methods, but are only applicable within their ranges of validity, such as for particles much larger than, or much smaller than, the trapping wavelength, and for spherical isotropic particles. This leaves unfortunate gaps, since wavelength-scale particles are of great practical interest because they are readily and strongly trapped and are used to probe interesting microscopic and macroscopic phenomena, and non-spherical or anisotropic particles, biological, crystalline, or other, due to their frequent occurance in nature, and the possibility of rotating such objects or controlling or sensing their orientation. The systematic application of electromagnetic scattering theory can provide a general theory of laser trapping, and render results missing from existing theory. We present here calculations of force and torque on a trapped particle obtained from this theory and discuss the possible applications, including the optical measurement of the force and torque.     

The application of a rotating-wave-plate stokes polarimeter for measurement of the optical rotation angle

An optical scheme based on Stokes-Mueller formalism and rotating-wave-plate Stokes polarimeter is successfully developed to measure the optical rotation angle in a chiral medium. The average relative error in the measured rotation angle of a half-wave plate is determined to be 1.16%. The average relative error in the measured rotation angles of glucose solutions with concentrations ranging from 0 to 1.2 g/dl is determined to be 3.78%. The correlation coefficient between the measured rotation angle and the glucose concentration is found to be 0.99950, while the standard deviation is just 0.00376°. From the inspection of measured rotation angle in the sol-gel materials containing C₁₇H₁₇ClO₆ with concentrations ranging from 0 to 0.0665 g/ml, the average relative error in the measured rotation angles is determined to be 3.63%. Consequently, the derived algorithm for measuring the rotation angle of a chiral medium is feasible, and the developed system is evaluated with a precision of 5.4% approximately in rotation angle measurement.     

A novel technique for measurement of self-generated magnetic fields and the plasma density in laser produced plasmas from the Faraday rotation using two color probes

Diagnostic information about the self-generated magnetic fields (SGMF) generated in laser produced plasmas is normally obtained by measuring the Faraday rotation angle (FRA) of a linearly polarized laser probe beam passing through the plasma. Simultaneous recording of the corresponding interferogram is required to get the density information necessary for estimating the magnetic field. The problem with this method is that the visibility of the fringes in the interferogram can be poor, and the SGMF cannot be calculated in the regions where the interference fringes are not observable. In this paper, we propose a new method to obtain the density distribution and the SGMF from two simultaneous measurements of FRA using two probe beams of different colors, which allows one to calculate the SGMF without the need of interferometry.     

在摄像式塞曼效应实验装置上实现光学多道方式光谱测量

在采用CCD摄像方式的微机塞曼效应实验装置上,不改变原有硬件,只利用计算机技术编制程序,将在干涉环图像上用画圆方式测量数据的方法转换为用光学多道方法来测量数据,完善了数据的测量方法,提高了实验装置的性能.     

Measurement of subpicosecond optical waveforms using a resonator-based phase modulator

We propose a method for the measurement of periodic optical waveforms based on the use of an electrooptic phase modulator placed in an optical Fabry-Perot or ring resonator. Significant broadening of the modulation spectrum extends the recently developed method of periodic modulation for pulse characterization into femtosecond scales. We numerically demonstrate the characterization of a 300-fs optical pulse. We also present a technique based on the temporal fractional Talbot effect for restoration of the pulse phase profile. After fast linear processing, subpicosecond pulses will be observed on the screen of a real-time oscilloscope. This complete characterization of optical pulses is entirely linear and therefore highly sensitive and simple in implementation.     

Dynamics of optical pulses in a dispersive chiral medium

The dynamics of frequency-modulated pulses in an isotropic nonreciprocal chiral medium is studied. It is shown that the discrepancy between the group velocities and carrier frequencies of the circular components of the pulse causes it to split up both along the fiber and in the spectral domain. The strong dependence of the material parameters on the pulse frequency may lead to the asymmetric dynamics of the electric and magnetic fields of the pulse in different frequency intervals. For both components of the wave field, envelopes moving with a supraluminal speed may arise.     

Bistable switching using an optical Tamm cavity with a Kerr medium

All-optical bistable switching is proposed to realize by using an optical Tamm cavity in which a Kerr medium is sandwiched between a metal layer and a Bragg mirror. Results show that the excitation of clockwise and counterclockwise bistable switching under the control of external optical injection is due to the presence of optical Tamm states. In addition, the bistable characteristics of optical Tamm cavities are found to be sensitive to the polarization of external optical injection.     

Fiber chromatic dispersion measurement based on wavelength-to-time mapping using a femtosecond pulse laser and an optical comb filter

A novel method for the measurement of chromatic dispersion of an optical fiber based on wavelength-to-time mapping using a femtosecond pulse laser (FSPL) and an optical comb filter is proposed and experimentally evaluated. In the proposed approach, the spectrum of an ultrashort optical pulse generated by an FSPL is sliced by an optical comb filter. The spectrum-sliced optical pulse is then coupled into the optical fiber under test. Thanks to the chromatic-dispersion-induced wavelength-to-time mapping in the optical fiber under test, a time-domain waveform similar to the sliced spectrum is generated at the output of the optical fiber, with different frequency components having different time delays. The time delay vs. frequency data are then recorded for the estimation of the chromatic dispersion by using least square fitting. Chromatic dispersions of two types of optical fibers with different lengths are tested. The measured dispersion values agree well with those measured by the conventional modulation phase shift (MPS) method.     

Semiconductor laser diode to single-mode fiber coupling using diffractive optical elements

An integrated mode converter consisting of two diffractive optical elements (DOEs) and a Silicon slab is presented for low-loss coupling between a semiconductor laser diode (LD) and a single-mode fiber (SMF). The phase structures of the DOEs are designed using iterative phase retrieval algorithm. We introduce a new far-field amplitude constraint into the iteration to provide very high mode conversion quality. Compared with previously published mode converters, the scheme is more universal because it’s applicable for any semiconductor LD. In simulation, coupling losses lower than 0.02 dB are predicted for all the discussed LDs with aspect ratios of the elliptical fields from 1 to 9. The requirements on axial displacement and rotation angle have been removed. The tolerance for 1-dB loss increment for lateral misalignment is 0.9 μm. And the coupling loss is insensitive to tilt angle.     

A low-temperature tilter system and its application to the measurement of the anisotropy of optical rotation in K2Zncl4 in the vicinity of the phase transition at 145 k

The ferroelectric/ferroelastic phase transition of K₂ZnCl₄ at 145 K has been investigated employing the tilter method (Kaminsky and Glazer (1996) Ferroelectrics 183, 133) which was adapted to low-temperature experiments. We were able to observe the anisotropy of optical rotation in K₂ZnCl₄ which shows a distinct discontinuity at the transition temperature. A precursor-optical rotation in the ferroelectric phase is discussed in connection with a cluster ordering scheme suggested in an earlier X-ray study. The rotation of the optical indicatrix which accompanies the transition from the orthorhombic to the monoclinic system shows a Landau-type temperature dependence. Model calculations based on the dipole-dipole interaction between the atoms of the structures at different temperatures are in qualitative agreement with the experimental results.     

Curvature measurement of optical surface using digital holography

In this paper, an optical surface curvature measurement technique based on digital holography is proposed. Unlike the previous digital holographic methods, which only involve a small part of the measured data for parameter estimation, the proposed method adopts more of them using least square method. Hence, the analyzed result is not affected by data extraction direction and less sensitive to imperfect phase compensation. The proposed method is demonstrated with a sample of reflection mirror in laser resonator, and verified by comparing the measurement result with that of the white light interferometer.     

Experimental measurement and analysis of the optical trapping force acting on a yeast cell with a lensed optical fiber probe

Based on an optical trapping system with a single-lensed fiber probe inserted at an angle, the sub-picoNewton trapping force acting on a yeast cell as a function of the displacement is measured experimentally by the static and dynamic methods, respectively, whose measurement processes are presented in detail. The measured maximum trapping efficiency is 0.07 in our experiment, which is an order of magnitude lower than that of the optical tweezers. The characteristics of the trapping force in the various horizontal directions are discussed. Finally, the analysis of the measurement error shows the factors and their magnitude which cause error, and offers a way to reduce the error in future.     

Sensitive birefringence measurement in a high-finesse resonator using diode laser optical self-locking

We demonstrate a new method to measure weak birefringence of dielectric mirrors with excellent spatial resolution and sensitivity (<10^-7 radians). We exploit a well-known optical feedback scheme for line-width narrowing and frequency locking of a diode laser to a high-finesse cavity. Feedback comes from the intracavity field which builds up at resonance, selected by its change in polarization with respect to the incident field. This change, due to the residual birefringence of the cavity mirror coatings, was already exploited for birefringence measurements using an active laser-locking scheme. Here we measure the optical feedback rate as a function of rotation angle of one of the cavity mirrors (around the cavity axis). A stable feedback signal is obtained since the laser, as soon as it locks to a cavity resonance, effectively behaves as a monochromatic source. By fitting the data with a theoretical expression, we determine quantitatively the local birefringence vectors of both mirrors, which are around 10^-6 radians. Our scheme is simple, works with cavities of very high finesse (F∼10⁵), and is promising for measuring birefringence in gases induced by external fields. Received: 18 July 2001 / Final version: 14 March 2002 / Published online: 8 May 2002