光学薄膜测量时平顶光束激励的表面热透镜理论模型

推导了调制的平顶光束激励下基于Fresnel衍射积分的表面热透镜理论，通过数值模拟，比较了平顶光束和高斯光束激励下样品内部温度场、表面形变场和探测光衍射信号的径向分布，分析了影响表面热透镜信号的实验参数.结果表明，在最佳探测位置，平顶光束激励下的表面热透镜系统比相同情况下高斯光束激励下的灵敏度高，最高时约2倍，更有利于薄膜吸收测量. 关键词： 表面热透镜 光学薄膜 平顶光束     

Photothermal techniques with a top-hat beam excitation

A flatly topped circular beam (“top-hat beam”) is employed as the excitation beam for photothermal deflection and surface thermal lens techniques. The Fresnel diffraction model is applied to describe the photothermal signals. The theoretical comparison between a Gaussian beam and a top-hat beam excited photothermal signal amplitudes shows that the use of the top-hat beam excitation improves the measurement sensitivity of the photothermal techniques. Experimental results for both photothermal deflection and surface thermal lens are presented. The potential applications of the top-hat beam excited photothermal techniques are highlighted.     

Top-hat cw laser induced thermal mirror: a complete model for material characterization

A complete theoretical model is presented for the thermal mirror technique under top-hat laser excitation. Considering the attenuation of the top-hat excitation laser intensity along the thickness of a sample due to its optical absorption coefficient, we calculate the laser-induced temperature and surface deformation profiles. A simplified theoretical model for a high absorption sample is also developed. The center intensity of a probe beam reflected from the thermal mirror at a detector plane is derived. Numerical simulation shows that the thermal mirror under the top-hat laser excitation is as sensitive as that under Gaussian laser excitation. With top-hat laser excitation, the experimental results of thermo-physical properties of opaque samples are found to be well consistent with literature values, validating the theory.     

Comparison of SRS thresholds under pumping by Gaussian and Bessel beams

In the paraxial approximation, it has been shown that the quasi-stationary SRS amplification coefficient in the near-threshold region is determined by the product of the pump intensity in the beam center and the overlap integral of the transverse structure of the pump and the Stokes component. Expressions for the overlap integral and the scattering powers have been obtained and analyzed for the following cases: the pump and the Stokes field are Gaussian beams; the pump and the Stokes field are Bessel beams; the pump is a Bessel beam and the Stokes field is an axial Gaussian beam. Relations between the SRS excitation thresholds in different cases have been found.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 71, No. 6, pp. 778–787, November–December, 2004.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Modeling of Q-switched lasers with top-hat pump beam distribution

For laser diode end-pumped solid-state lasers, the pump beam can be considered to be a Gaussian distribution or a top-hat distribution or between them. The rate equations for Q-switched lasers have been treated before, by considering the pump beam as a Gaussian distribution. This paper deals with the rate equations and the solutions for Q-switched lasers under a top-hat pump beam distribution. The normalized rate equation is obtained and solved numerically. A group of general curves are given and the comparison with the results under the Gaussian pump beam distribution and the plane-wave approximation is made. The results show that the solutions of the rate equations under a top-hat pump beam distribution are different from those under a Gaussian pump beam distribution, but the difference is very small. The solutions of the rate equations under both situations can give much more precise theoretical results than those under the plane-wave approximation. PACS 42.60.Gd; 42.55.Xi; 42.55.Ah     

Thermal lens spectrometry under excitation of a divergent pump beam

Thermal lens spectrometry (TLS) under excitation of a divergent pump beam is discussed in both conventional and microscopic TLS instruments. A refined thermal lens (TL) model was proposed for calculating the TL signal of a “finite TL element.” Experiments as well as comparison with numerical simulations demonstrated that the effective sample length for a certain pump beam profile was about six times the confocal distance of the pump beam for laser-excited case and 1.5 mm for incoherent light source-excited case. For laser-excited conventional TLS instrument or thermal lens microscope (TLM), an empirical formula of the optimum pump beam waist radius for maximum detection sensitivity was obtained at a given sample length. At larger pump beam waist radius of 7 μm, the TL signal was found 2.5 times lower compared to the diffraction limit; however, the resulting two orders of magnitude lower power density in the sample could be quite desirable for the detection of photolabile analytes. By investigating the influence of a finite TL element on the TL signal, we found that an optimal distance between the probe beam waist and the sample was needed to assure the maximum detection sensitivity and good response linearity. Under the optimal detection scheme, limit of detection of the laser-excited TLM at 4 mW power was evaluated to be 8.6 × 10^?9 M for 100-μm-thick ferroin solution, corresponding to an absorbance of 9.5 × 10^?7 absorbance units.     

Self-action effects in ionization and fragmentation of toluene by femtosecond laser pulses

Occurrence and influence of several self-action effects, induced in the entrance window of a time-of-flight interaction chamber, on the ion and fragment yields of the toluene molecule in the focus of a Ti:sapphire laser pulse are analyzed. Experimental data are obtained using different focusing geometries and are compared with results from numerical simulations using a nonlinear pulse propagation model as well as those from the strong-field S-matrix theory. It is shown that (a) self-focusing leads to a displacement of the focus while amplified small perturbations of the input beam result in hot spots in the spatial distribution and in an energy-dependent focus area, (b) small self-phase modulation changes the form of the spectrum and broadens it slightly. A strong increase of the toluene fragmentation appears to correlate to linear and nonlinear changes in the focal spot area, while the scenario of excitation of Raman modes proposed in an earlier publication is ruled out as the dominant effect.This revised version was published online in March 2005. In the previous version, the published online date was missing     

Application of mid-infrared cavity-ringdown spectroscopy to trace explosives vapor detection using a broadly tunable (6–8 μm) optical parametric oscillator

A novel instrument, based on cavity-ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS), has been developed for trace gas detection. The new instrument utilizes a widely tunable optical parametric oscillator (OPO), which incorporates a zinc–germanium–phosphide (ZGP) crystal that is pumped at 2.8 μm by a 25-Hz Er,Cr:YSGG laser. The resultant mid-IR beam profile is nearly Gaussian, with energies exceeding 200 μJ/pulse between 6 and 8 μm, corresponding to a quantum conversion efficiency of approximately 35%. Vapor-phase mid-infrared spectra of common explosives (TNT, TATP, RDX, PETN and Tetryl) were acquired using the CRDS technique. Parts-per-billion concentration levels were readily detected with no sample preconcentration. A collection/flash-heating sequence was implemented in order to enhance detection limits for ambient air sampling. Detection limits as low as 75 ppt for TNT are expected, with similar concentration levels for the other explosives. Received: 1 April 2002 / Revised version: 13 June 2002 / Published online: 12 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-408/524-0551, E-mail: mtodd@picarro.com     

Surface thermal lens technique with an obliquely-incident probe beam

Surface thermal lens (STL) signal produced by a cw modulated top-hat beam excitation is detected by an obliquely-incident probe beam. The dependence of the STL amplitude on the incident angle θ of the probe beam is experimentally investigated. The STL amplitude as a function of the detection distance is measured at different angles of incidence. The results show that the maximum STL amplitude and the optimum detection distance, where the maximum STL amplitude is obtained, decrease by cosθ as the incident angle increases. These experimental dependences are well explained by a simple theoretical model.     

Frequency degenerate oscillation in semilinear photorefractive oscillator with reflection gratings

The oscillation intensity of a semilinear photorefractive oscillator with reflection gratings is calculated for different cavity losses, different pump intensity ratios and different crystal orientations. Distinct from an oscillator with transmission gratings, this oscillator always has a soft excitation in the vicinity of the threshold. The theoretical results are in reasonable agreement with that of experimental studies with BaTiO₃:Co as a photorefractive crystal.This revised version was published online in March 2005. In the previous version, the published online date was missing     

Investigation of physical properties of quartz after focused ion beam bombardment

Optical properties (transmission and refractive index) and phase change (from amorphous to crystal) of a commonly used glass, quartz, were investigated before and after focused ion beam (FIB) bombardment with ion energy from 30 to 50 keV. We found different influences of FIB bombardment on the optical properties and chemical structure of the quartz in the wavelength region of visible and near infrared, respectively. The quartz still can be used in the infrared wavelength for conventional optical applications. As an application example, an array of diffractive optical elements (DOEs) was directly fabricated on the quartz by the FIB milling. The measured diffraction efficiency of the DOEs is 83.5%, which is acceptable for practical use.This revised version was published online in March 2005. In the previous version, the published online date was missing     

All chirped fiber grating based true-time delay for phased-array antenna beam forming

We have demonstrated a continuous phased-array antenna beam former based on a variable photonics true-timedelay unit consisting of four chirped gratings. The system is suitable for the phased-array antenna beam forming at frequencies up to 20 GHz.This revised version was published online in August 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

A ray-optic, Monte Carlo, description of a Gaussian beam waist – applied to reverse saturable absorption

The intensity distribution in a Gaussian beam is represented by a bundle of rays in which each ray has a random pointing error. The ray bundle is allowed to pass through a simple lens using the usual geometrical optics formulae and it is shown that the position of the focused beam waist agrees exactly with the usual Gaussian mode analysis. The interaction of the beam waist with a reverse saturable absorber (silicon napthalocyanaine) is modelled using a Monte Carlo method and a null absorption coefficient is introduced to increase the speed of the calculation. An f/5 geometry is considered and it is shown that the results from the ray model agree well with those obtained from standard split-step beam propagation techniques. Received: 23 July 1999/Revised version: 28 September 1999/Published online: 21 January 2000     

Optical nonlinearity measurement of 4-(N-methyl, N-hydroxyethl)amino, 4'-nitroazobenzene using a transmittance technique with a phase object (T-PO) with top-hat beams at 600-nm wavelength

The transmittance technique with a phase object(T-PO),for measuring optical nonlinear coefficients is proposed with a top-hat beam.The sensitivity of the T-PO with a top-hat beam is a factor of 4 greater than that with a Gaussian beam.The validity of this method is verified by measuring the nonlinearity of a well-characterized liquid,CS 2 at 532-nm wavelength.The ease of use of this method has been proved by measuring a new compound 4-(N-methyl,N-hydroxyethyl)amino,4’-nitroazobenzene(ANAB) at 600-nm wavelength,indicating that this method can be extended to the measurement of optical nonlinearities in a wide-band spectrum.     

Laser probing of ions in a storage ring: A method for selective determination of lifetimes of metastable states

A collinear laser probing technique is introduced for use in ion storage rings. This method can be used for high resolution studies of the decay properties of metastable states in ions. An experiment on singly charged xenon utilizing this technique is presented. By selective excitation of individual hyperfine states a drastic hyperfine induced quenching was observed. Systematic effects from ion beam neutralization in the rest gas and mixing effects occurring in the bending magnets are discussed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Resonances and spectral properties of detuned OPOs pumped by fluctuating sources

Twin-beam fluctuations are analyzed for detuned and mismatched OPO configurations. Resonances and frequency responses to the quantum noise sources (quantum and pump amplitude/phase fluctuations) are examined as functions of cavity decay rates, excitation parameters and detuning. The dependence of self- and mutual correlations of beam amplitudes and phases on detuning, mismatch and damping parameters is discussed. Received: 25 January 2002 / Revised version: 28 May 2002 / Published online: 15 November 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +39-81/676-346, E-mail: alberto.porzio@na.infn.it     

Sapphire-conductive end-cooling of high power cryogenic Yb:YAG lasers

We have demonstrated a high-power laser oscillator with end-cooling using a sapphire-sandwiched Yb:YAG disk at near liquid nitrogen temperature. An output power of 75 W with a near-diffraction-limited beam was obtained from a 0.6-mm thick activemedium. The slope efficiency and themaximum optical–optical efficiency were 80 and 70%, respectively, with respect to absorbed pump power.This revised version was published online in August 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Determination of carrier density dependent lifetime and quantum efficiency in semiconductors with a photoluminescence method (application to InGaAsP/InP heterostructures)

The light beam of a laser is focussed near the surface of a semiconductor sample. Thereby the excitation rate can be controlled precisely assuming a Gaussian intensity distribution of the beam. Measuring the recombination light intensity yields the quantum efficiency of the sample. By sinusoidal modulation of the excitation light and measurement of the resulting phase shift of the recombination light, the carrier density dependent lifetime is obtained. By evaluation of measured internal quantum efficiency and phase shift, Auger and radiative recombination coefficients are determined. The analysis takes into account the carrier density dependence of the radiative coefficient and shows that for most experimental conditions carrier diffusion can be neglected. In this case the analysis can be performed without numerical integration. Application of the method to quaternary InGaAsP material yielded values for Auger coefficient and radiative coefficients in accordance with published results.     

Optimization of the mode matching in pulsed cavity ringdown spectroscopy by monitoring non-degenerate transverse mode beating

A simple and reliable method is presented for optimizing the mode matching of a laser beam to the high-finesse cavity used in pulsed cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS). The method is based on minimizing the excitation of higher-order transverse cavity modes through monitoring the non-degenerate transverse mode beating which becomes visible with induced cavity asymmetry caused by slight misalignment. No additional instrument is required other than a pinhole aperture, thus this method can be applied for CRDS experiments in the whole wavelength range. Measurements of the CRDS absorption spectrum of acetylene (C₂H₂) near 571 nm demonstrate that the mode-matching optimization improves the sensitivity of pulsed CRDS. Received: 22 October 2001 / Revised version: 16 January 2002 / Published online: 14 March 2002     

Enhancement of Axial Trapping Force in a Single-beam Gradient Optical Trap by a Pair of Axicons

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