Single-molecule detection with a two-photon fluorescence microscope with fast-scanning capabilities and polarization sensitivity

We describe a laser-scanning two-photon fluorescence microscope that is capable of observing single molecules with excellent temporal resolution and three-dimensional spatial resolution. To demonstrate the capabilities of the instrument we present single-molecule fluorescence data obtained in several different scanning modes. In addition, a polarization-sensitive detection scheme can provide detailed three-dimensional information about the orientations of molecules in any of these scanning modes.     

Colossal shear-strength enhancement of low-density cubic BC2N by nanoindentation

Recently synthesized low-density cubic BC2N exhibits surprisingly high shear strength inferred by nanoindentation in stark contrast to its relatively low elastic moduli. We show by first-principles calculation that this intriguing phenomenon can be ascribed to a novel structural hardening mechanism due to the compressive stress beneath the indenter. It significantly strengthens the weak bonds connecting the shear planes, yielding a colossal enhancement in shear strength. The resulting biaxial stress state produces atomistic fracture modes qualitatively different from those under pure shear stress. These results provide the first consistent explanation for a variety of experiments on the low-density cubic BC2N phase across a large range of strain.     

Quantitative phase retrieval in X‐ray Zernike phase contrast microscopy

In recent years, increasing attention has been devoted to X‐ray phase contrast imaging, since it can provide high‐contrast images by using phase variations. Among the different existing techniques, Zernike phase contrast microscopy is one of the most popular phase‐sensitive techniques for investigating the fine structure of the sample at high spatial resolution. In X‐ray Zernike phase contrast microscopy, the image contrast is indeed a mixture of absorption and phase contrast. Therefore, this technique just provides qualitative information on the object, which makes the interpretation of the image difficult. In this contribution, an approach is proposed for quantitative phase retrieval in X‐ray Zernike phase contrast microscopy. By shifting the phase of the direct light by π/2 and 3π/2, two images of the same object are measured successively. The phase information of the object can then be quantitatively retrieved by a proper combination of the measured images. Numerical experiments were carried out and the results confirmed the feasibility of the proposed method. It is expected that the proposed method will find widespread applications in biology, materials science and so on.     

What spatial light modulators can do for optical microscopy

With the availability of high‐resolution miniature spatial light modulators (SLMs) new methods in optical microscopy have become feasible. The SLMs discussed in this review consist of miniature liquid crystal displays with micron‐sized pixels that can modulate the phase and/or amplitude of an optical wavefront. In microscopy they can be used to control and shape the sample illumination, or they can act as spatial Fourier filters in the imaging path. Some of these applications are reviewed in this article. One of them, called spiral phase contrast, generates isotropic edge enhancement of thin phase samples or spiral‐shaped interference fringes for thicker phase samples, which can be used to reconstruct the phase topography from a single on‐axis interferogram. If SLMs are used for both illumination control and spatial Fourier filtering, this combination for instance allows for the generalization of the Zernike phase contrast principle. The new SLM‐based approach improves the effective resolution and avoids some shortcomings and artifacts of the traditional method. The main advantage of SLMs in microscopy is their flexibility, as one can realize various operation modes in the same setup, without the need for changing any hardware components, simply by electronically switching the phase pattern displayed on the SLMs.     

A novel PEO-based blends solid polymer electrolytes doping liquid crystalline ionomers

A novel PEO-based blends solid polymer electrolytes doping liquid crystalline ionomers (LCI), PEO/PMMA/LiClO₄/LCI, and PEO/LiClO₄/LCI were prepared by solution casting technology. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis proved that LCI uniformly dispersed into the solid electrolytes and restrained phase separation of PEO and PMMA. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results showed that LCI decreases the crystallinity of blends solid polymer electrolytes. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) proved LCI not only improved thermal stability of PEO/PMMA/LiClO₄ blends but also prevent PEO/PMMA from phase separation. Infrared spectra results illustrated that there exists interaction among Li⁺ and O, and LCI that promotes the synergistic effects between PEO and PMMA. The EIS result revealed that the conductivity of the electrolytes increases with LiClO₄ concentration in PEO/PMMA blends, but it increases at first and reaches maximum value of 2.53?×?10^?4 S/cm at 1.0 % of LCI. The addition of 1.0 % LCI increases the conductivity of the electrolytes due to that LCl promoting compatibility and interaction of PEO and PMMA. Under the combined action of rigidity induced crystal unit, soft segment and the terminal ionic groups in LCI, PEO/PMMA interfacial interaction are improved, the reduction of crystallinity degree of PEO leads Li⁺ migration more freely.     

Phase locking of short-pulse Q-switched lasers

The effects of frequency mismatch on phase locking of two passively Q-switched lasers have been studied. Stable phase locking with a high degree of spatial coherence can be obtained for frequency mismatches that are less than the spectral linewidth of the laser pulses. As the frequency mismatch increases, the transition from the phase locked to the unlocked states is characterized by a gradual loss of coincidence of the pulses from the individual elements and a reduction in the fringe contrast in the combined laser beam. An explanation for observed phenomena based on the dynamics of the transverse modes of the laser array is provided.     

基于分数阶傅里叶变换的模式测控一体化方法

提出了一种基于分数阶傅里叶变换的模式测控一体化方法。利用分数阶傅里叶变换光路对光纤模式耦合态进行空间调制和相位调制,以实现模式的有效分解。与双重傅里叶变换（F2）法以及空间和频谱成像（S2）法相比,采用的分数阶傅里叶变换法,通过改变分数阶参数,控制模式的空间分布以及模式间的叠加状态,更易于分解出高阶模式。基于分数阶傅里叶变换的模式测量方法可在更广泛空间,研究模式的空间和相位叠加以及模式分解,也可退化为F2法和S2法。     

衍射光学元件改善激光谐振腔输出特性的研究

运用矩阵本征值方法,对用位相型二元光学元件构成的激光谐振腔进行了数值计算,重点分析了圆形反射镜腔在不同菲涅耳数条件下的模结构参量特性.结果表明,这种谐振腔可以有效地提高基模与高阶模的模式分离度,并且可以根据需要,定制出理想的输出光束 关键词： 模式分离 衍射光学元件 激光谐振腔 矩阵本征值     

免分析光栅一次曝光相位衬度成像方法

X射线光栅微分相位衬度成像技术可以观察到常规吸收衬度成像难以分辨的弱吸收物质的精细结构信息,因而在医学、材料学等研究领域具有巨大的应用前景.但传统的X射线光栅微分相位衬度成像技术由于采用分析光栅作为空间滤波器,需要采用相位步进法扫描分析光栅来获得样品的多张投影图像才能够分离出样品的吸收、折射和散射信息,因此存在样品曝光时间长、辐射剂量高以及X射线光通量利用率低等问题,限制了其在各个学科领域的应用研究.为克服上述问题,本文提出一种基于免分析光栅相位衬度成像系统的一次曝光样品信息提取算法.该算法只需要利用一块相位光栅,进而采用高分辨探测器进行样品投影数据的一次采集即可提取样品的吸收、折射和散射信息.理论和模拟研究结果表明:与传统相位步进法相比,该算法具有样品信息提取精度高,且不受光栅的自成像周期需为探测器像素尺寸的整数倍条件的限制.此外,该算法还能够有效地减少对生物样品的辐射损伤,因此在生物医学成像等研究领域中具有广泛的应用前景.     

Phase sensitive spectroscopy of the polariton modes in a ZnSe-ZnSxSe1−x heterostructure

Applying the method of spectral interferometry we investigate the phase of reflected light at a ZnSe-ZnS_xSe_1−x heterostructure. We find a series of polariton modes propagating through the ZnSe layer. They can be related to the different polariton branches split of at the heavy- and light-hole excitons. The phase shows pronounced changes around these modes. The strongest changes by 2π appear at the modes of lowest order located weakly above the exciton resonances, while they are smaller for higher modes. Our experimental findings can be explained considering spatial dispersion, Pekar's additional boundary conditions and a weak extension of the excitonic polarization into the ZnS_xSe_1−x cladding layers.     

Localization of eigenvectors in random graphs

We consider spatial organization of point defects in the generalized model of defects formation in elastic medium by taking into account defects production by irradiation influence and stochastic contribution for defects dynamics satisfying the fluctuation dissipation relation. We have found that depending on initial conditions and control parameters reduced to defects generation rate caused by irradiation, temperature and the stochastic source intensity different stationary structures of defects can be organized during the system evolution. Studying phase transitions between phases characterized by low- and high defect densities in stochastic system we have shown that such phenomena are described by mechanisms inherent in entropy-driven phase transitions. Stationary patterns are studied by amplitude analysis of unstable slow modes.     

Rabi oscillations of optical modes in a waveguide with dynamic modulation

We investigate the optical Rabi oscillations in a dual-mode slab waveguide that undergoes a spatial–temporal refractive index modulation. Frequency conversion is induced during Rabi oscillations since dynamic modulation is employed. We also show that the contrast of Rabi oscillations can be controlled by the initial phase of dynamic modulation, which can be tuned arbitrarily from zero to unity as the phase varies. The contrast of zero corresponds to the dynamic supermodes and unity refers to complete Rabi oscillations. It suggests that the phase can be a new degree of freedom to control optical Rabi oscillations. This study may find applications in optical sensors, switches and mode converters.     

Entangled double-helix phase

We present a novel phase with an entangled double-helix structure. Beams with this phase have the same transverse patterns as those of interference between two doughnut beams. This proposed method allows a complete set of the superpositions of the doughnut modes or the orbital angular momentum states with different topological orders to be obtained. Furthermore, it introduces a simple continuous and controlled rotation of the transverse patterns by use of a spatial light modulator. It can be used to form a three-dimensional structure by three-dimensional trapping in an optical tweezers setup or to study the quantum characteristics of an optical vortex.     

Higher-order solitons in amplitude-disordered waveguide arrays

We investigate the existence and stability of different families of spatial solitons in optical waveguide arrays whose amplitudes obey a disordered distribution. The competition between focusing nonlinearity and linearly disordered refractive index modulation results in the formation of spatial localized nonlinear states. Solitons originating from Anderson modes with few nodes are robust during propagation. While multi-peaked solitons with in-phase neighboring components are completely unstable, multipole-mode solitons whose neighboring components are out-of-phase can propagate stably in wide parameter regions provided that their power exceeds a critical value. Our findings, thus, provide the first example of stable higher-order nonlinear states in disordered systems.     

Nondegenerate mirrorless oscillation in silicon waveguide

We propose nondegenerate four-wave mixing mirrorless oscillation in a multimode silicon nonlinear waveguide. Thanks to the large modal dispersion between two spatial modes caused by the high-index-contrast waveguide structure, two counterpropagating pumps of one spatial mode can generate two new optical waves of the other spatial mode at different frequencies. The phase-matching condition can be satisfied with the higher-order modes involved; therefore, frequencies of the newly generated light can be tuned by simply changing the pump frequency. The threshold power and conversion efficiency of the proposed mirrorless oscillation are investigated under different waveguide parameters.     

Controlling number of lasing modes for designing short-cavity self-mode-locked Nd-doped vanadate lasers

A short-cavity Nd:YVO₄ laser is employed to confirm that a spontaneous mode locking (SML) typically occurs without employing an extra nonlinearity. We further experimentally demonstrate that reducing the number of longitudinal lasing modes can diminish the phase fluctuation and effectively improve the SML pulse stability. Considering the spatial hole-burning (SHB) effect, an analytical expression is derived to accurately estimate the number of longitudinal lasing modes for a practical design guideline.     

Autocorrelation low coherence interferometry

This paper describes the development of a new modality of optical low coherence interferometry (LCI) that is called autocorrelation LCI (ALCI). The ALCI system employs a Michelson interferometer to measure longitudinal autocorrelation properties of the sample optical field and does not require a reference beam. As the result, there is no restrictions applied on the distance between the sample and the ALCI system, moreover, this distance can even change during the measurements. We report experiments using a proof-of-principle ALCI system on a multilayer phantom consisting of three surfaces defining two regions of different refractive indices. The experimental data are in excellent agreement with the predictions of the theoretical model.     

Spatial mode properties of plasmon-assisted transmission

Orbital angular momentum of photons is explored to study the spatial mode properties of the plasmon-assisted transmission process. We found that photons carrying different orbital angular momenta have different transmission efficiencies, while the coherence between these spatial modes can be preserved.     

Localization attractors in active quasiperiodic arrays

In dissipationless linear lattices, spatial disorder or quasiperiodic modulations in on-site potentials induce localization of the eigenstates and block the spreading of wave packets. Quasiperiodic inhomogeneities allow for the metal–insulator transition at a finite modulation amplitude already in one dimension. We go beyond the dissipationless limit and consider nonlinear quasi-periodic arrays that are additionally subjected to dissipative losses and energy pumping. We find finite excitation thresholds for oscillatory phases in both metallic and insulating regimes. In contrast to disordered arrays, the transition in the metallic and weakly insulating regimes display features of the second order phase transition accompanied by a large-scale cluster synchronization. In the limit of strong localization, we find the existence of globally stable asymptotic states consisting of several localized modes. These localization attractors and chaotic synchronization effects can be potentially implemented with polariton condensate lattices and cavity-QED arrays.     

Universal description of geometric phases in higher-order optical modes bearing orbital angular momentum

We study geometric phases that arise from (cyclic) transformations of the transverse spatial structure of paraxial optical modes. Our approach involves bosonic ladder operators that, in the spirit of the quantum-mechanical harmonic oscillator, generate sets of transverse optical modes. It applies to modes of all orders in a very natural way and provides a universal geometric interpretation of the phase shifts acquired by nonastigmatic modes under typical experimental conditions.