A novel yellow phosphor for white light emitting diodes

This paper reports that a novel yellow phosphor, LiSrBO₃:Eusup>2+, was synthesized by the solid-state reaction. The excitation and emission spectra indicate that this phosphor can be effectively excited by ultraviolet (360 and 400~nm) and blue (425 and 460~nm) light, and exhibits a satisfactory yellow performance (565~nm). The role of concentration of Eusup>2+ on the emission intensity in LiSrBO₃ is studied, and it is found that the critical concentration is 3 mol\%, and the concentration self-quenching mechanism is the dipole--dipole interaction according to the Dexter theory. White light emitting diodes were generated by using an InGaN chip (460~nm or 400~nm) with LiSrBO₃:Eusup>2+ phosphor, the CIE chromaticity is (x=0.341, y=0.321) and (x=0.324, y=0.318), respectively. Therefore, LiSrBO₃:Eusup>2+ is a promising yellow phosphor for white light emitting diodes.     

表面等离子激元调制的亚波长束斑半导体激光器

近场有源探针可以解决近场光学扫描显微镜等应用中对高亮度和高光功率的需求.提出一种制备具有表面等离子激元结构的微纳束斑的半导体激光器的设计方案.模拟分析表明,此激光器在3.5 μm的远场仍然可以获得小于波长的束斑,并且其输出功率密度与没有表面激元结构的激光器比较提高近30倍.     

Breaking the diffraction barrier in fluorescence microscopy by optical shelving

We report the breaking of the diffraction resolution barrier in far-field fluorescence microscopy by transiently shelving the fluorophore in a metastable dark state. Using a relatively modest light intensity of several kW/cm(2) in a focal distribution featuring a local zero, we confine the fluorescence emission to a spot whose diameter is a fraction of the wavelength of light. Nanoscale far-field optical resolution down to 50 nm is demonstrated by imaging microtubules in a mammalian cell and proteins on the plasma membrane of a neuron. The presence of dark states in virtually any fluorescent molecule opens up a new venue for far-field microscopy with resolution that is no longer limited by diffraction.     

Inspection of nano-sized SNOM-tips by optical far-field evaluation

High resolution optical microscopy has many interesting applications in solid state physics, low temperature physics, biology and semiconductor technology. Unfortunately, the lateral resolution of conventional microscopes is limited by the Rayleigh-limit. “Scanning nearfield optical microscopy” (SNOM) seems to be a promising new approach to characterize the properties of materials optically with a high lateral resolution of 50–100 nm. The most important part of such a microscope is the scanning probe (a special glass fiber tip). However, the quality of the optical fiber tip is of decisive importance. Since the production process of pulled and coated glass fiber tips is still highly empirical and error-prone, a technique would be useful to determine the tips’ quality before they are shipped to the user or mounted in the microscope. The tips’ apertures are smaller than λ/2 and therefore they cannot be measured in a non-destructive way by conventional optical microscopy. This paper discusses an easy and fast method for the optical characterization of common glass fiber SNOM tips. The effective aperture of the tip is measured from the far-field distribution of the emitted intensity recorded by a CCD target. A numerical model is introduced to solve this inverse task and a simple optical setup is presented to detect light emitted by the tip at an angle of up to 90° from the optical axis. Experimental investigation, near/far-field calculations and scanning electron microscope investigations show the working principle of this measurement technique for the analysis and evaluation of a typical nanostructured object.     

Stimulated emission depletion microscopy with a supercontinuum source and fluorescence lifetime imaging

We demonstrate stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy implemented in a laser scanning confocal microscope using excitation light derived from supercontinuum generation in a microstructured optical fiber. Images with resolution improvement beyond the far-field diffraction limit in both the lateral and axial directions were acquired by scanning overlapped excitation and depletion beams in two dimensions using the flying spot scanner of a commercially available laser scanning confocal microscope. The spatial properties of the depletion beam were controlled holographically using a programmable spatial light modulator, which can rapidly change between different STED imaging modes and also compensate for aberrations in the optical path. STED fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy is demonstrated through the use of time-correlated single photon counting.     

表面等离子体平面金属透镜及其应用

由于衍射极限的存在,传统光学透镜成像分辨率理论上只能达到入射光波长的一半。通过恢复和增强携带物体细部特征信息的高频倏逝波,基于表面等离子体的平面金属透镜有望突破这种光学衍射极限,实现超分辨成像。本文对平面薄膜式与纳米结构式两类平面金属透镜进行了综述,详细介绍了若干典型平面金属透镜的结构设计、工作机理及其聚焦性能,并对其特点与存在的问题进行了分析与讨论。由于光波在金属中传播时存在一定损耗,如何更高效地增强高频倏逝波信号并转换成传播波,使其参与成像,以更好地实现远场超分辨成像,以及如何进一步增大近场超高分辨率聚焦光斑焦深以及减小远场聚焦光斑尺寸,是表面等离子体平面金属透镜进一步研究的重点。     

突破衍射极限的超级透镜技术及其应用研究

基于超材料的超级透镜能让携带物体高频信息的倏逝波分量参与成像,从而实现对小于半个工作波长的超精细结构的分辨。分析了几种典型的超透镜,如近场、远场和双曲超透镜的工作原理和研究进展,并对超透镜技术在实时生物成像、高密度光存贮、光刻等方面的应用前景进行了分析和总结。     

光源近场测量在LED光学设计中的应用与研究

在LED光学设计中,传统方法多以LED光源的远场测试数据为设计依据,而远场测试仅仅是对LED光源相对粗糙的测量,并不能精确地描述光源的空间光分布情况。对LED光源详细空间光分布信息的获取,即LED光线集的获取已经成为LED光学设计的瓶颈问题。获取并合理利用精确、详实的LED光源信息尤其是光源空间光分布信息是LED光学设计的关键点。分别利用单颗LED芯片和LED模块做了两组对照实验,并利用照明解析软件对获得的实验数据进行处理和分析,通过对比实验中光源远场测试和近场测试获得结果之间的差异,强调了通过LED光源近场测试获取光源光线集对LED光学设计的重要作用。实验结果表明,LED光源近场测量获取的光源光线集可以为LED光学设计提供更为详细的光源的光空间分布信息。     

Unveiling Talbot Effect under Fresnel Diffraction at a Fork-Shaped Grating

The near-field effect of diffraction image self-reproduction or self-imaging of a periodic grating illuminated by quasi-monochromatic wave is well-known as the Talbot effect. Introducing a dislocation to a periodic structure provides a fork-shaped modulation of the phase/amplitude, which produces discrete diffraction pattern in a far-field consisting of optical vortices. In this paper, Fresnel diffraction at amplitude fork-shaped grating is theoretically and experimentally studied. The coexistence of spatial ordering and local violation of translational symmetry of the structure manifests itself in a strict diffraction pattern consisting of optical vortices in the far-field, which is shown to be accompanied by formation of a spatially ordered intensity distribution in the near-field, reminiscent the Talbot carpets for periodic structures. These results demonstrate the first evidence of Talbot effect occurred under light diffraction at fork-shaped gratings, being promising for deep understanding of near-field singular optics phenomena.     

The optical properties between an incident wave and the active layer of a bubble-pit AgO<Subscript>x</Subscript>-type super-resolution near-field structure

The deformation and plasmon effects of collective localized surface plasmons between incident light and bubble-pit AgO_x-type super-RENS structure have been studied using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. We find that the polarization, wavelength of incident light, and particle sizes of Ag nanoparticles are sensitive to the plasma resonance. The Ag nanoparticles inside the bubble-pit AgO_x-type super-RENS structure give the additional outer boundaries to the motion of the Ag nanoparticles, and excite more evanescent field which located in the far edge of the bubble from the optical axis of the incident beam. The optical properties between active layer and incident light with polarization direction, different wavelengths, and varied particle sizes of Ag nanoparticles exhibits nonlinear optical behavior in the near field. The far-field signals of different wavelength of incident light confirm the relation between highly localized near-field distributions and enhanced resolution of far-field signals. The subwavelength recording marks smaller than the diffraction limit were distinguishable since the Ag nanoparticles with high localized fields transferred evanescent waves to detectable signals in the far field. PACS 42.79.Vb; 71.15.Rn; 72.15.Rn; 73.22.-f; 73.22.Lp; 78.67.Bf; 73.20.Mf     

High efficiency continuous-wave tunable signal output of an intracavity singly resonant optical parametric oscillator based on periodically poled lithium niobate

In this paper we report on a continuous-wave (CW) intracavity singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (ICSRO) based on periodically poled LiNbO₃ (PPLN) pumped by a diode-end-pumped CW Nd:YVO₄ laser. Considering the thermal lens effects and diffraction loss, an optical ballast lens and a near-concentric cavity are adopted for better operation. Through varying the grating period and the temperature, the tunable signal output from 1406~nm to 1513~nm is obtained. At a PPLN grating period of 29~μ m and a temperature of 413~K, a maximum signal output power of 820~mW at 1500~nm is achieved when the 808~nm pump power is 10.9~W, leading to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 7.51%.     

Estimation of coupling efficiency of optical fiber by far-field method

Coupling efficiency to a single-mode optical fiber can be estimated with the field amplitudes at far-field of an incident beam and optical fiber mode. We call it the calculation by far-field method (FFM) in this paper. The coupling efficiency by FFM is formulated including effects of optical aberrations, vignetting of the incident beam, and misalignments of the optical fiber such as defocus, lateral displacements, and angle deviation in arrangement of the fiber. As the results, it is shown the coupling efficiency is proportional to the central intensity of the focused spot, i.e., Strehl intensity of a virtual beam determined by the incident beam and mode of the optical fiber. Using the FFM, a typical optics in which a laser beam is coupled to an optical fiber with a lens of finite numerical aperture (NA) is analyzed for several cases of amplitude distributions of the incident light.     

Design of Simple Wavelength or Polarization Filter/Combiner

We present an analytical and numerical analysis of a simple wavelength or polarization filter/combiner constructed from three single-mode rectangular waveguides. The device has the advantage of easy fabrication using existing planar light guide techniques and can be designed to discriminate between optical signals with distinct polarizations at a given wavelength or between signals at a fixed polarization with a wavelength separation of 9~nm or more. It is therefore well suited for CWDM metro-communication, local area network, sensor, or control applications.     

On chip chiral and plasmonic hybrid dimer or tetramer: Generic way to reverse longitudinal and lateral optical binding forces

For both the longitudinal binding force and the lateral binding force, a generic way of controlling the mutual attraction and repulsion (usually referred to as reversal of optical binding force) between chiral and plasmonic hybrid dimers or tetramers has not been reported so far. In this paper, by using a simple plane wave and an onchip configuration, we propose a possible generic way to control the binding force for such hybrid objects in both the near-field region and the far-field region. We also investigate different inter-particle distances while varying the wavelengths of light for each inter-particle distance throughout the investigations. First of all, for the case of longitudinal binding force, we find that chiral-plasmonic hybrid dimer pairs do not exhibit any reversal of optical binding force in the near-field region nor in the far-field region when the wavelength of light is varied in an air medium. However, when the same hybrid system of nanoparticles is placed over a plasmonic substrate, a possible chip, it is possible to achieve a reversal of the longitudinal optical binding force. Later, for the case of lateral optical binding force, we investigate a setup where we place the chiral and plasmonic tetramers on a plasmonic substrate by using two chiral nanoparticles and two plasmonic nanoparticles, with the setup illuminated by a circularly polarized plane wave. By applying the left-handed and the right-handed circular polarization state of light, we also observe the near-field and the far-field reversal of lateral optical binding force for both cases. As far as we know, so far, no work has been reported in the literature on the generic way of reversing the longitudinal optical binding force and the lateral optical binding force of such hybrid objects. Such a generic way of controlling optical binding forces can have important applications in different fields of science and technology in the near future.     

Lateral resolution of 28 nm (<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">λ</Emphasis> /25) in far-field fluorescence microscopy

We demonstrate sub-diffraction lateral resolution of 28±2 nm in far-field fluorescence microscopy through stimulated emission depletion effected by an amplified laser diode. Measurement of the optical transfer function in the focal plane reveals a 6-fold enlargement of the spatial bandwith over the diffraction limit. The resolution is established by imaging individual fluorescent molecules on a surface. Corresponding to 1/25 of the responsible wavelength, the attained resolution represents a new benchmark in far-field microscopy and underscores the viability of fluorescence nanoscopy with visible light, conventional optics and compact laser systems . PACS 32.50.+d; 42.30.-d; 78.45.+h; 87.57.Ce     

Far-field optical microscopy with a nanometer-scale resolution based on the in-plane image magnification by surface plasmon polaritons

A new far-field optical microscopy capable of reaching nanometer-scale resolution is developed using the in-plane image magnification by surface plasmon polaritons. This approach is based on the optical properties of a metal-dielectric interface that may provide extremely large values of the effective refractive index neff up to 10(3) as seen by surface polaritons, and thus the diffraction limited resolution can reach nanometer-scale values of lambda/2neff. The experimental realization of the microscope has demonstrated the optical resolution better than 60 nm at 515 nm illumination wavelength.     

Nanoscale resolution in the focal plane of an optical microscope

Utilizing single fluorescent molecules as probes, we prove the ability of a far-field microscope to attain spatial resolution down to 16 nm in the focal plane, corresponding to about 1/50 of the employed wavelength. The optical bandwidth expansion by nearly an order of magnitude is realized by a saturated depletion through stimulated emission of the molecular fluorescent state. We demonstrate that en route to the molecular scale, the resolving power increases with the square root of the saturation level, which constitutes a new law regarding the resolution of an emerging class of far-field light microscopes that are not limited by diffraction.     

基于宽带立体超透镜的远场超分辨率成像

为突破传统衍射极限实现远场超分辨率成像,提出了一种微波频段宽带立体超透镜用于目标远场超分辨率成像.该透镜可将携带着目标超分辨率信息的凋落波分量转换为传播波分量辐射到远场,进而可在远场接收这些信息并用于超分辨率成像.分别从频域和时域两方面对该透镜的超分辨率特性进行验证.在频域,利用多重信号分类算法对借助于该结构的扩展目标实现了λ/12的远场超分辨率成像,大幅度提升了成像效果.在时域,结合时间反演技术,验证了带宽提升对空间超分辨率聚焦特性带来的明显优势.     

Efficient collinear frequency tripling of femtosecond laser with compensation of group velocity delay

This paper demonstrates an approach that negative uniaxial crystal has a relative anomalous dispersion effect which can compensate group velocity delay, and applies this approach to nonlinear frequency conversion of an ultrafast laser field. High efficiency of the third harmonic generation is experimentally fulfilled by adopting a collinear configuration of doubing-compensation-tripling system. Through finely adjusting the incident angle and optical axis direction of the compensation plate, it obtains ultraviolet (UV) output energy of 0.32~mJ centered at 270~nm with spectral bandwidth of 2~nm when input beam at 800~nm was 70~fs pulse duration and 6~mJ pulse energy which was extracted from Ti:sapphire laser system by a diaphragm, corresponding to an 800-to-270~nm conversion efficiency of 5.3% and a factor-of-1.6 improvement in the third harmonic generation of UV band in comparison with a general conventional configuration. Furthermore, when the full energy of 18~mJ from a Ti:sapphire laser system was used and optimized, the UV emission could reach 0.83~mJ.     

表面等离激元结构光照明显微成像技术研究进展

结构光照明显微成像技术(SIM)因其高分辨、宽场、快速成像的优势,在生物医学成像领域发挥了不可估量的作用.结构光照明显微成像技术与动态可控的亚波长表面等离激元条纹相结合,可以在不借助非线性效应的情况下,将传统SIM的分辨率从2倍于衍射极限频率提升到3 4倍,此外还有抑制背景噪声、提升信噪比的能力,在近表面的生物医学成像应用中有重要价值.本文介绍了表面等离激元结构光照明显微成像技术的原理,并总结了近几年国内外的相关研究进展.