Pulse‐shape instabilities and their measurement

Multi‐shot pulse‐shape measurements of trains of ultrashort pulses with unstable pulse shapes are studied. Measurement techniques considered include spectral‐phase interferometry for direct electric‐field reconstruction (SPIDER), second harmonic generation frequency‐resolved optical gating (FROG), polarization gate FROG, and cross‐correlation FROG. An analytical calculation and simulations show that SPIDER cannot see unstable pulse‐shape components and only measures the coherent artifact. Further, the presence of this instability cannot be distinguished from benign misalignment effects in SPIDER. FROG methods yield a better, although necessarily rough, estimate of the pulse shape and also indicate instability by exhibiting disagreement between measured and retrieved traces. Only good agreement between measured and retrieved FROG traces or 100% SPIDER fringe visibility guarantees a stable pulse train.     

用SHG-FROG方法测量超短光脉冲的振幅和相位

介绍了二次谐波振荡频率分辨光学快门(SHGFROG)测量超短脉冲的实验系统和二维相位恢复算法,这种方法可以实现对超短脉冲振幅和相位的完全测量.利用矩阵方法数值模拟了几种常见超短脉冲的SHGFROG迹线,并用主元素广义投影算法(PCGPA)从这些无噪音的SHGFROG迹线中恢复了脉冲的振幅和相位,误差接近收敛的标准.研究结果表明,这种测量方法结构简单,算法可靠,是测量超短脉冲的理想方法之一.     

频率分辨光学开关法行迹相位还原的时频分析

将小波变换分析光谱相位相干原理应用于频率分辨光学开关(FROG)行迹图的时间-频率分析，不需要传统的迭代算法，从对FROG行迹的脊的分析中，直接得到超短脉冲的相位.对于FROG行迹的脊变化平缓的脉冲得到了精确的相位. 关键词： 超短脉冲 相位重建     

Coherent artifact in modern pulse measurements

We simulate multishot intensity-and-phase measurements of unstable trains of complex ultrashort pulses using second-harmonic-generation (SHG) frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) and spectral-phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SPIDER). Both techniques fail to see the pulse structure. But FROG yields the correct average pulse duration and suggests the instability by exhibiting significant disagreement between measured and retrieved traces. SPIDER retrieves the correct average spectral phase but significantly underestimates the average pulse duration. In short, SPIDER measures only the coherent artifact. An analytical calculation confirms this last fact.     

Amplitude ambiguities in second-harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating

We construct field shapes with distinct amplitude profiles that have nearly identical second-harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating (SHG FROG) traces. Although such fields are not true mathematical ambiguities, they result in experimentally indistinguishable FROG traces. These fields are neither time-reversed copies nor pulselets with a mere relative phase difference, which are well known nontrivial ambiguities for SHG FROG. We also show that for certain example fields, second-order interferometric autocorrelation is more sensitive to the pulse shape than is SHG FROG.     

Evolving FROGS: phase retrieval from frequency-resolved optical gating measurements by use of genetic algorithms

We present a new technique based on genetic algorithms for retrieving the electric field and the phase of ultrashort pulses from frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) traces. We have successfully applied a very basic genetic algorithm to the two most common beam geometries: polarization gate and second-harmonic generation (SHG). In the case of SHG FROG, the genetic algorithm returns a lower error than the standard iterative composite algorithm.     

The criterion of pulse reconstruction quality based on Wigner representation

We propose a new criterion for the assessment of ultrashort pulse reconstruction quality. Our idea is based on the use of a two-dimensional Wigner representation of the electric field. This allows introducing a single measure to represent the quality of both phase and amplitude retrieval. The new criterion is employed to examine two contemporary pulse characterization techniques: FROG (Frequency Resolved Optical Gating) and SPIDER (Spectral Interferometry for Direct Electric-field Reconstruction). For SPIDER, the influence of reference pulse stretching on the quality of phase extraction is investigated. Next, we ascertain the limitations in the use of a Fabri-Perrot etalon in the SPIDER apparatus for producing delayed pulse replicas. For the FROG technique we examine the impact of the doubling crystal orientation on the quality of the amplitude-phase retrieval of sub-5-fs pulses. The introduced criterion is also applied to study the respective sensitivity of FROG and SPIDERto the limited phase-matching bandwidth of the non-linear medium and detector noise.     

Sensing and compensation of femtosecond waveform distortion induced by all-order polarization mode dispersion at selected polarization states

We demonstrate full characterization of femtosecond pulse distortion induced by all-order polarization mode dispersion (PMD) at selected polarization states via second-harmonic generation (SHG) frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) measurements at an average power of under 28 nW. By applying the inverse of the measured spectral phase via a programmable pulse shaper, we compress the distorted pulses from more than 3 ps to nearly bandwidth-limited durations of less than 500 fs. Our results show that SHG FROG measurements performed by using fiber-pigtailed aperiodically poled lithium niobate waveguides can serve as a robust and sensitive tool for characterization of PMD-induced spectral phase.     

Collinear type II second-harmonic-generation frequency-resolved optical gating for the characterization of sub-10-fs optical pulses

For the first time to our knowledge, we demonstrate a collinear frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) technique that is suitable for the characterization of sub-10-fs pulses. This FROG variant does not suffer from geometrical blurring effects, and a temporal resolution of 1 fs can be achieved without the need for additional aperturing. The apparatus is suitable for subnanojoule pulse energies. We apply this technique for the full characterization of pulses from a Kerr-lens mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser.     

Phase compensation in non-Kolmogorov atmospheric turbulence

Zernike polynomial decompositions are used for investigating phase distortion induced by atmospheric turbulence in optical systems. Closed-form expression of the Zernike-coefficient variances is derived. The finite size of the receiver aperture is analyzed using the filter function which is also particularly effective in the theoretical analysis of lower-order aberrations like tilt terms and piston-removed phase variance. The outer scale of the non-Kolmogorov turbulence is considered. The result shows that the effect of finite outer scale attenuates low-order Zernike mode of optical distortion and longer outer scale can lead to more energy in the tilt terms. The generalized exponent can only enhance tilt terms and attenuate other Zernike modes of optical distortion. Further, for different outer scale and generalized exponent, the residual phase variance decreases with more modes of phase compensation.     

Cross-correlation procedures for measuring noise and distortion in AGC hearing aids

The magnitude-squared coherence function (MSC) has been used to measure noise and distortion in linear and compression hearing aids. However, the MSC will overestimate the distortion in a linear time-varying system such as a compression amplifier. The reduction in coherence caused by varying the gain in an otherwise linear system can be substantial, and can lead to large errors in estimating the distortion present in a compression hearing aid. The effects of gain changes in a linear system can be reduced by measuring the normalized system input-output cross correlation, which emphasizes the variance in the system phase response and deemphasizes the system gain fluctuations. Estimates of the total noise and distortion produced using the MSC, phase variance, and notched-noise measurement techniques are compared for additive noise, clipping distortion, and compression amplification. The MSC is found to give the most accurate results for estimating the noise and distortion in a linear time-invariant system, and the notched noise measurements are the most accurate for a compression system. The phase variance is found to give reasonable measurements for a time-varying gain as long as the system variations are slow relative to the length of the analysis data segments.     

利用环境噪声互相关实现散射体无源成像

最近研究表明利用环境噪声的互相关可以恢复两点之间的时域格林函数(声脉冲响应),这一原理在文献中被称为格林函数恢复。基于此原理,通过对多个传声器所接收的环境噪声进行互相关处理,获取与散射体相关联的散射波的到达时延信息,结合最小二乘反演算法和改进克希霍夫移位算法,分别获得道路交通噪声场中石柱以及海浪噪声场中塑料桶的空间位置,且其估计结果与实际测量相一致。实验结果表明将环境噪声作为探测信号进行散射体无源成像是可行的。这为设计室内无源声监测系统以及通过海洋环境噪声实现对水中静默目标成像提供了新思路和有益参考。      

Complete pulse characterization at 1.5 mum by cross-phase modulation in optical fibers

Cross-phase modulation in optical fibers has been used for complete characterization of ultrashort pulses by a modified frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) measurement technique. This technique has been used for characterization of picosecond pulses at 1.5mum with energy as low as 24 pJ, and the results are in excellent agreement with second-harmonic generation (SHG)-FROG characterization. The use of an optical waveguide gives measurement sensitivity comparable with that of SHG-FROG but without any temporal ambiguity in the retrieved pulse.     

Temporal characterization of mid-IR free-electron-laser pulses by frequency-resolved optical gating

We performed what we believe are the first practical full-temporal-characterization measurements of ultrashort pulses from a free-electron laser (FEL). Second-harmonic-generation frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) was used to measure a train of mid-IR pulses distorted by a saturated water-vapor absorption line and showing free-induction decay. The measured direction of time was unambiguous because of prior knowledge regarding free-induction decay. These measurements require only 10% of the power of the laser beam and demonstrate that FROG can be implemented as a pulse diagnostic simultaneously with other experiments on a FEL.     

Quantifying the distortion products generated by amplitude-modulated noise

When sinusoidal amplitude modulation (SAM) is applied to noise or tone carriers, the stimuli can generate audible distortion products in the region of the modulation frequency. As a result, when bandpass-filtered SAM noise is used to investigate temporal processing, a band of unmodulated noise is typically positioned at the modulation frequency to mask any distortion products. This study was designed to investigate the distortion products for bandpass noise carriers, and so reduce ambiguity about the form of this distortion and its role in perception. The distortion consists of two distortion-noise bands and a distortion tone at the modulation frequency. In the first two experiments, the level and phase of the distortion tone are measured using two different experimental paradigms. In the third experiment, modulation-frequency difference limens are measured for filtered SAM noise and it is shown that performance deteriorates markedly when the distortion tone is canceled. In a fourth experiment, masked threshold is measured at low frequencies for bands of high-frequency, unmodulated noise with the same levels and spectra as the SAM noises in the earlier experiments. The results confirm that unmodulated noise also produces quadratic distortion which may explain some aspects of earlier reports on remote masking.     

OFDM水声通信CS限幅失真补偿与LS信道估计优化算法

正交频分复用技术应用于水声通信系统时,会引起较高的峰均比,当采用限幅法对峰均比进行抑制时,会产生非线性失真.另外,系统采用最小二乘法进行信道估计受噪声的影响较大.针对以上问题,提出了一种基于压缩感知技术的补偿限幅非线性失真与最小二乘信道估计相组合的新算法,在接收端利用导频数据采用压缩感知算法对限幅失真进行补偿,同时对最...     

语音通信降噪研究

语音通信系统中,语音通过信道传输将不可避免地引入码间串扰和信号畸变,同时受到噪声污染。本文在分析自适应盲均衡算法CMA(constant modulus algorithm）和改进盲均衡算法的基础上,考虑到自适应盲均衡技术在语音噪声控制方面能力有限,将自适应盲均衡技术与小波包掩蔽阈值降噪算法联合使用,形成一种基带语音增强新方法。仿真试验结果显示自适应盲均衡技术可以使星座图变得清晰而紧凑,有效减小误码率。研究证实该方法在语音信号ISI和畸变严重情况下,在白噪及有色噪声不同的噪声环境中都具有稳定的降噪能力,消噪同时可获得汉语普通话良好的听觉效果。     

Evaluating and predicting human detection performance of targets embedded in distorted and restored infrared images

The effects of atmospheric blur, gaussian noise distortion and Wiener filter restoration on human target detection performance is addressed in this paper. A specially designed psychophysical experiment shows significant degradation in detection performance caused by the contrast and noise limiting effects of the atmospheric blur and noise distortion. The experiment also shows that although Wiener filter restoration improves the distorted image sharpness and contrast, it amplifies the noise and does not compensate for the performance degradation caused by distortion. The paper presents a spectral analysis approach to the original, distorted and restored images, as well as an analysis of the target signal to noise ratio. Each analysis defines an alternative method for evaluating a spatial cutoff frequency that determines the restoration efficiency, which practically limits the detection performance. This frequency is then used to predict the probability of detection according to a target acquisition model and the Johnson chart. Moreover, the methods are used to determine whether noise or contrast will limit target perception. The methods were applied to the experimental infrared image database and showed good agreement with the related experimental probabilities of detection.     

基于双传声器的蓝牙耳机降噪算法

用于免提通信设备的语音增强算法一直是研究的热点问题,而算法处理结果的音质问题近年来也备受关注。针对基于双传声器降噪的蓝牙耳机系统,将常用多通道传声器降噪算法归纳为基于相干函数法和基于空间预分离法这两大类进行分析和比较。基于相干函数法利用两个通道间信号的相干函数对含噪信号滤波达到降噪目的,而基于空间预分离法利用空间特性从含噪信号中分离出噪声参考信号来消除噪声。分析基于降噪量、语音音质和综合性能三个指标,从约束语音损伤的角度分析最优解的形式,并对比两类算法的实际性能。结果表明选择合适的算法可权衡降噪量与语音损伤,达到较好的综合性能。     

Maturation of medial efferent system function in humans

Otoacoustic emissions are typically reduced in amplitude when broadband noise is presented to the contralateral ear. This contralateral suppression is attributed to activation of the medial olivocochlear system, which has an inhibitory effect on outer hair-cell activity. By studying the effects of contralateral noise on cochlear output at different stages of auditory maturation in human neonates, it is possible to describe the timecourse for development of medial efferent system function in humans. The present study recorded 2 f1-f2 distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) in human adults, term and premature neonates at three f2 frequencies: 1500, 3000, and 6000 Hz, using fixed primary tone frequency ratio (f2/f1 = 1.2) and level separation (10 dB, L1 > L2). Average DPOAE growth functions were recorded with and without contralateral broadband noise. Results indicate that contralateral suppression of DPOAEs is absent at 6000 Hz, but present at 1500 and 3000 Hz for all ages. However, DPOAE amplitude from premature neonates was not altered by noise in an adult-like manner; in this age group, DPOAE amplitude was equally likely to by suppressed or enhanced by noise presented contralaterally. Contralateral enhancement may reflect a temporary stage of immaturity in outer hair cell-medial efferent fiber synapses just prior to term birth.