Optical measurement of neural activity using surface plasmon resonance

We demonstrate that surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is applicable to the optical detection of neural signals. A low-noise SPR sensor was developed as a label- and artifact-free method for the extracellular recording of neural activity. The optical responses obtained from a rat sciatic nerve were highly correlated with simultaneously recorded electrical responses. Additional studies with stimulation intensity and lidocaine further confirmed that the optically measured signals originated from neural activities.     

Optical stimulation of neural tissue in vivo

For more than a century, the traditional method of stimulating neural activity has been based on electrical methods, and it remains the gold standard to date. We report a technological breakthrough in neural activation in which low-level, pulsed infrared laser light is used to elicit compound nerve and muscle potentials in mammalian peripheral nerve in vivo. Optically induced neural action potentials are spatially precise, artifact free, and damage free and are generated by use of energies well below tissue ablation threshold. Thus optical stimulation presents a simple yet novel approach to contact-free in vivo neural activation that has major implications for clinical neurosurgery, basic neurophysiology, and neuroscience.     

Quantitative model for the change of optical resonance in neural activity detection systems based on surface plasmon resonance

The mechanism of neural activity detection using the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon was theoretically explored in this paper. Investigating the mechanism of SPR neural recordings has been difficult due to the complex relationship between different physiological and physical processes such as excitation of a nerve fiber and coherent charge fluctuations on the metal surface. This paper examines how these different processes may be connected by introducing a set of compartmental theoretical models that deal with the molecular scale phenomena; Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) equation, which was used to describe the ion concentration change under the time varying electrostatic potential, Drude-Lorentz electron model, which was used to describe electron dynamics under the time varying external forces, and a Fresnel's three-layered model, which expresses the reflectivity of the SPR system in terms of the dielectric constants. Each physical theoretical model was numerically analyzed using the finite element method (FEM) formulated for the PB equation and the Green's method formulated for the Drude-Lorentz electron equation. The model predicts that the ionic thermal force originating from the opening of the K⁺ ion channel is fundamental for modifying the dipole moment of the gold's free electron; thus, the reflectivity is changed in the SPR system. The discussion was done also on important attributes of the SPR signal such as biphasic fluctuation and the electrical noise-free characteristics.     

Quantitative phase-contrast imaging of cells with phase-sensitive optical coherence microscopy

We describe a method for en face phase-contrast imaging of cells with a fiber-based differential phase-contrast optical coherence microscopy system. Recorded en face images are quantitative phase-contrast maps of cells due to spatial variation of the refractive index and (or) thickness of various cellular components. Quantitative phase-contrast images of human epithelial cheek cells obtained with the fiber-based differential phase-contrast optical coherence microscopy system are presented.     

High-resolution optical storage by use of minute spheres

We have developed a new optical storage system that uses minute spheres arranged upon a surface-relief grating. By using dye-doped minute spheres as recording bits we can limit a sensitive region within a sphere's diameter. Using a reflection-type confocal optical system, we read out shape signals from minute spheres at high resolution. The shape signals from minute spheres are utilized as clock signals in recording and readout.     

Study on magnetic fluid optical fiber devices for optical logic operations by characteristics of superparamagnetic nanoparticles and magnetic fluids

We propose two optical fiber-based schemes using two magnetic fluid optical fiber modulators in series or in parallel for optical logic signal processing and operation. Here, each magnetic fluid optical fiber modulator consists of a bare multimode fiber surrounded by magnetic fluid in which the refractive index is adjustable by applying external magnetic fields amplifying the input electrical signal to vary the transmission intensity of the optical fiber-based scheme. The physical mechanisms for the performances of the magnetic fluid optical fiber devices, such as the transmission loss related to Boolean number of the logic operation as well as the dynamic response, are studied by the characteristics of superparamagnetic nanoparticles and magnetic fluids. For example, in the dynamic response composed of the retarding and response sub-procedures except the response times of the actuation coil, the theoretical evaluation of the retarding time variation with cladding magnetic fluids length has good agreement with the experimental results.     

Simultaneous intensity, birefringence, and flow measurements with high-speed fiber-based optical coherence tomography

We demonstrate that tissue structure, birefringence, and blood flow can be imaged simultaneously by use of techniques of polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography and phase-resolved optical Doppler tomography. An efficient data-acquisition procedure is implemented that optimizes the concurrent processing and display of all three image types. Images of in vivo human skin acquired with a high-speed fiber-based system are presented.     

Real-time determination of fringe pattern frequencies: An application to pressure measurement

Retrieving information in real time from fringe patterns is a topic of a great deal of interest in scientific and engineering applications of optical methods. This paper presents a method for fringe frequency determination based on the capability of neural networks to recognize signals that are similar but not identical to signals used to train the neural network. Sampled patterns are generated by calibration and stored in memory. Incoming patterns are analyzed by a back-propagation neural network at the speed of the recording device, a CCD camera. This method of information retrieval is utilized to measure pressures on a boundary layer flow. The sensor combines optics and electronics to analyze dynamic pressure distributions and to feed information to a control system that is capable to preserve the stability of the flow.     

基于高斯拟合的光纤型SPR信号的峰值检测算法

光纤型表面等离子共振光谱具有半峰宽较宽,共振峰不尖锐等特征,传统的针对棱镜型SPR光谱的峰值检测算法无法准确定位此类光谱的共振峰值。为了准确计算光纤型SPR光谱的共振波长,提出了一种基于信赖域算法的高斯拟合方法,在拟合的光谱曲线上利用一维搜索的方式确定峰值位置。通过对标准甘油光谱数据的处理,证明高斯拟合法能够适应光纤型SPR光谱的特征,波长计算准确。通过搭建的SPR系统,实验测量了不同浓度下蔗糖溶液的SPR光谱数据,并分别采用加权质心法,追踪质心法和该研究提出的高斯拟合法进行共振波长的计算。结果表明高斯拟合法能够有效提升分辨率,且运算速度较快,有利于工程集成。     

In vivo fluorescence microscopy of neuronal activity in three dimensions by use of voltage-sensitive dyes

We report in vivo imaging of neuronal electrical activity from superficial layers of the mouse barrel cortex. The measurements have approximately 16-microm spatial and 3-ms temporal resolution and reach depths of 150 microm below the cortical surface. The depth-dependent differential-fluorescence optical sections of activity are consistent with known cortical architecture and represent an important step toward in vivo measurement of functioning complex neural networks. Our observations employ a custom gradient-index lens probe and voltage-sensitive dye fluorescence; the use of epi-illumination rather than dark-field illumination provides the dramatic signal-to-noise improvement necessary for fast three-dimensional imaging.     

Reconfigurable photonic differentiators based on all-optical phase modulation and linear filtering

We theoretically propose a novel scheme to implement two types of optical differentiators using all-optical phase modulation and linear filtering. Differences between the two differentiators rely on whether the differentiated signals are formed on the optical intensity or optical field of the output signal, which in turns depends on the relative shift between the probe wavelength and the closest notches of a linear filter. A proof-of-concept experiment is carried out using a semiconductor optical amplifier and a fiber-based delay interferometer (DI). Both differentiators are obtained for periodical Gaussian pulses and pseudo random non-return-to-zero signals at various data rates. Defined as the mean absolute deviation of the measured waveform from the ideal one, total average errors of less than 18% are observed in all cases. The impact of probe wavelength on the total average errors is investigated. Due to periodical feature of the DI spectrum, we also demonstrate the capability of multi-channel differentiation.     

Signal beating elimination using single-mode fiber to multimode fiber coupling

We experimentally demonstrate an all-passive fiber-based approach to prevent undesired beating during signal merging and detection. Beating occurs when optical signals of very close or the same wavelength are combined at a coupler and detected using a photodetector. Our approach is based on signal coupling from several single-mode fibers to a single piece of multimode fiber without interference, such that different signals propagate in different modes with different spatial positions inside the multimode fiber. We have investigated signal beating when the signals are coherent, partially coherent, or incoherent with each other. The measured results for single-mode to multimode coupling show signal beating is substantially reduced, resulting in widely opened eye diagrams and error-free bit error rate performance.     

Multilayer optical disc system using homodyne detection

A write/read system using high-productivity multilayer optical discs was developed. The recording medium used in the system consists of planar recording layers and a separated guide layer, and is fabricated by web coating and lamination process. The recording layers in the medium are made of one-photon-absorption material, on which data can be recorded with a normal laser diode. The developed system is capable of focusing and tracking on the medium and amplifying readout signals by using phase-diversity homodyne detection. A highly layer-selective focusing method using homodyne detection was also proposed. This method obtains stable focus-error signals with clearly separated S-shaped curves even when layer spacing is quite narrow, causing large interlayer crosstalk. Writing on the medium and reading with the signal amplification effect of homodyne detection was demonstrated. In addition, the effectiveness of the method was experimentally evaluated.     

基于双音外差的电光相位调制器半波电压自校准测量方法

电光相位调制器是光纤通信系统、微波光子系统和相干光通信系统中的关键器件之一. 作为器件本征参数, 电光相位调制器的半波电压通常利用光谱方法和电谱方法进行测量. 光谱方法受到光源线宽和光谱仪分辨率限制, 测量的分辨率较低; 电谱方法则需要光电检测之前将相位调制转换成强度调制, 电谱方法的主要困难在于需要对探测器的不平坦响应进行额外校准. 提出了利用双音外差实现电光相位调制器半波电压自校准测量新方法, 该方法利用双音电光相位调制的边带与移频光载波的外差拍频, 对外差拍频信号进行频谱分析, 获得电光相位调制器的半波电压; 通过设定双音调制信号的频率关系, 克服了探测器光电转换中的不平坦频率响应, 实现了自校准测量. 该方法可扩展探测器和频谱仪的测试频率两倍以上, 节省至少一半的带宽需求. 与光谱测量方法相比, 该方法测试分辨率大幅提高且避免了光源线宽的影响; 与传统电域测量方法相比, 该方法无须额外校准, 无驱动功率和工作波长限制, 且对测试仪器带宽需求降低一半以上. 实验证实了所提方法获得的电光相位调制器半波电压的测量结果与光谱分析法获得的结果一致, 且大幅度地提高了测量范围和分辨率. 该方法提供了非常简单的电光相位调制器微波特性化分析方法, 对其他光电子器件分析也提供了参考.     

Recording characteristics of high-density thin optical disk using near-field optical recording

We report on the recording characteristics of a near-field optical recording thin optical disk (NFR-TOD). We proposed a new cooling-less-type write strategy for recording, applied it to the NFR-TOD experimental system, and also applied a partial response maximum likelihood (PRML) signal processing, which was evaluated and optimized the PR coefficient for playback signals of the prototype NFR-TOD. The NFR-TOD has a track pitch of 160 nm and improved recording characteristics. The experimental results of the prototype NFR-TOD and the system indicate sufficiently low bit error rates (bERs) for recorded data at a fourfold higher recording density than the current Blu-ray disk.     

Optical fiber SPR biosensor with sandwich assay for the detection of prostate specific antigen

We present a new, sensitive, few mode fiber (FMF) surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor with a sandwich assay for the detection of PSA. The side-polished FMF biosensor does not need a polarizer and a thin high-index overlayer. The optical sensitivity of the SPR sensor was determined as 2.5 × 10⁻⁶ RIU. In the SPR PSA sensor, the SPR signals were amplified by a factor of 6 in average over no secondary antibody, using the sandwich assay. The proposed FMF SPR biosensor has great potential for real-time analysis of immune reaction between biomolecules and the advantages of high-sensitivity and label-free detection.     

多阶光存储原理分析及其读写系统前端信号处理研究

运用矢量衍射理论的计算方法(耦合波方法，时域有限差分法)，对两种多阶光存储方案(坑深调制，坑形调制)进行了原理性分析，并简略分析了利用相变材料的幅值调制实现多阶存储的原理.由此得出多阶光存储技术的实现是利用了光与物质之间的相互作用，使光对记录介质产生作用，同时介质也对光的某些特性进行调制，而这些特征的改变一般都不止两个状态0或1，用数字方式将这多个状态记录下来便实现了多阶数字存储.此外,还提出了多阶光盘前端信号处理系统的设计与开发.该系统是多阶光存储实验系统的重要组成部分，可输出RF,TE,FE等伺服与误差信号，并将信号反馈给多阶处理芯片；同时系统还可对光学头的激光读写功率及写入时间进行控制，并能使其实现自动调焦和道跟踪. 关键词： 多阶光存储 矢量衍射理论 时域有限差分法     

Absolute fast axis determination using non-polarization-maintaining fiber-based polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

We report on a new calibration technique that permits the accurate extraction of sample Jones matrix and hence fast-axis orientation by using fiber-based polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) that is completely based on non-polarization-maintaining fiber such as SMF-28. In this technique, two quarter-wave plates (QWPs) are used to completely specify the parameters of the system fibers in the sample arm so that the Jones matrix of the sample can be determined directly. The device was validated on measurements of a QWP and an equine tendon sample by a single-mode fiber-based swept-source PS-OCT system.     

Dispersion Compensation in Optical Coherence Tomography with a Prism in a Rapid-Scanning Optical Delay Line

We demonstrate the theoretical and experimental results of using a single prism in the rapid-scanning optical delay line of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system for compensating the mismatches of the first- and second-order group delay dispersion (GDD) between the reference and sample arms. The analytical expressions for the first- and second-order GDD are derived based on the typically designed system configuration. Numerical results in varying various parameters are shown. An optimized set of parameters for efficient dispersion compensation in a practical fiber-based OCT system is obtained. The numerical result of the dispersion compensation is demonstrated. Also, the experimental implementation of such a dispersion compensation method is illustrated with the conditions similar to the numerical calculations. The compensation result is quite satisfactory