Inhomogeneous Double Optical Gating of High-Intensity Isolated Attosecond Pulse Generation in Crossed Metal Nanostructures

We propose and investigate an effective method for obtaining high-energy and high-intensity isolated attosecond pulses (IAPs) using the inhomogeneous double optical gating (DOG) technology in specifically designed metal nanostructures. First, using the homogeneous mid-infrared DOG technology modulated by a linearly near-infrared field, we obtain a harmonic yield of 2.5 orders of magnitudes higher than that from the single polarization gating (PG) technology. Further, introducing the crossed metal nanostructures along the driven and gating components, we can extend not only the harmonic cutoff but also enhance the harmonic yield attributed to the plasmonic field enhancement near the vicinity of metal nanostructures. As a result, we find a single harmonic plateau with smaller modulations. The supercontinuum is not very sensitive to the pulse duration of the near-infrared field, and the harmonic yields can be further enhanced with increase in the pulse intensity of the near-infrared field, showing a 108 eV supercontinuum with an intensity enhancement of 4 orders of magnitudes. Finally, by superposing the selected harmonics from the inhomogeneous DOG scheme, we obtain a 33 as SAP with an intensity increase of 4 orders of magnitudes.     

Quantum Discord for Information Transmission Using Coherent States

We suggest theoretically the possibility to transmit information through a decohering quantum channel employing Glauber’s coherent states. In fact, we study the dynamics of quantum correlations of two-mode entangled bipartite coherent states in the presence of the amplitude damping effect. In addition, we examine the quantum correlations based on quantum discord, which is a powerful key source in quantum information processing.     

Microwave photonics reconfigurable mixer based on polarization modulator

A reconfigurable and stable mixer is proposed and demonstrated in this paper. It mainly consists of a dual-driven Mach–Zehnder modulator and a polarization modulator with several polarization controllers (PC) and polarizers (Pol). According to the theoretical analysis, different functions (such as single ended mixer, balanced mixer, I/Q mixer and image rejection mixer) can be realized by adjusting the PCs and Pols. The simulation results verify the possibility of multi-functions that realized by the reconfigurable mixer. In addition, another research on how the non-ideal parameters affect the image rejection ratio (ISR) and conversion efficiency of the mixer is also carried. The results show that both of them perform better as the extinction ratio gets higher. However, they are incurring a sharp decrease if the DC bias points deviate from the settled values. In the meantime, the results also indicate that the higher modulation indices lead to a better ISR. A 57.12 dB ISR can be achieved with conversion efficiency of ? 9.53 dB.     

Analysis of metallic nanoparticles embedded in thin film semiconductors for optoelectronic applications

This paper reports about a study of the local plasmonic resonance (LSPR) produced by metal nanoparticles embedded in a dielectric or semiconductor matrix. It is presented an analysis of the LSPR for different nanoparticle metals, shapes, and embedding media composition. Metals of interest for nanoparticle composition are Aluminum and Gold. Shapes of interest are nanospheres and nanotriangles. We study in this work the optical properties of metal nanoparticles diluted in water or embedded in amorphous silicon, ITO and ZnO as a function of size, aspect-ratio and metal type. Following the analysis based on the exact solution of the Mie theory and DDSCAT numerical simulations, it is presented a comparison with experimental measurements realized with arrays of metal nanospheres. Simulations are also compared with the LSPR produced by gold nanotriangles (Au NTs) that were chemically produced and characterized by microscope and optical measurements.     

Resonant production of color octet muons at Future Circular Collider-based muon-proton colliders

We investigate the resonant production of color octet muons in order to explore the discovery potential of Future Circular Collider(FCC)-based μp colliders.It is shown that the search potentials of μp colliders essentially surpass the potential of the LHC and would exceed that of the FCC pp collider.     

Diode-pumped 593.5 nm cw yellow laser by type-I CPM LBO intracavity sum-frequency-mixing

A design of LD-pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser that generates simultaneous laser action at wavelengths 1064 and 1342 nm by optimizing film design is presented. An optimized continuous-wave (cw) yellow laser at 593.5 nm in room temperature is obtained for the first time. Using type-I critical phase-matching (CPM)LBO crystal, a yellow laser at 593.5 nm is obtained by 1064 and 1342 nm intracavity sum-frequency mixing. The maximum laser output power of 85 mW is obtained when an incident pump laser of 1.8 W is used. The optical-to-optical conversion is up to 4.7%, and the power stability in 24 h is better than ±2.8%.     

Improvement of kinetics,yield, and colloidal stability of biogenic gold nanoparticles using living cells of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Euglena gracilis</Emphasis> microalga

Recent years have witnessed a boom in the biosynthesis of a large variety of nanomaterials using different biological resources among which algae-based entities have been gaining much more attention within the community of material scientists worldwide. In our previously published findings, we explored some factors that governed the biofabrication of gold nanoparticles using living cultures of microalgae, such as the utilized microalgal genera, the phylum they belong to, and the impact of tetrachloroauric acid concentrations on the ability of these strains to perform the biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles once in contact with these cations. As a follow-up, we present in this paper an improvement of the features of bioproduced gold colloids using living cells of Euglena gracilis microalga when this species is grown under either mixotrophic or autotrophic conditions, i.e., exposed to light and grown in an organic carbon-enriched culture medium versus under autotrophic conditions. As an outcome to this alteration, the growth rate of this photosynthetic microorganism is multiplied 7–8 times when grown under mixotrophic conditions compared to autotrophic ones. Therefore, the yield, the kinetics, and the colloidal stability of the biosynthesized gold nanoparticles are dramatically enhanced. Moreover, the shape and the size of the as-produced nano-objects via this biological method are affected. In addition to round-shaped gold nanoparticles, particular shapes, such as triangles and hexagons, appear. These findings add up to the amassed knowledge toward the design of photobioreactors for the scalable and sustainable production of interesting nanomaterials.     

Preliminary investigation into feasibility of dissolved methane measurement using cavity ringdown spectroscopy technique

For the exploration of gas hydrate resources by measuring the dissolved methane concentration in seawater, a continuous-wave cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CW-CRDS) experimental setup was constructed for trace methane detection. A current-modulation method, rather than a cavity-modulation method using an optical switch and a piezoelectric transducer, was employed to realize the cavity excitation and shutoff. Such a current-modulation method enabled the improvement of the experimental setup construction and stability, and the system size and stability are critical for a sensor to be deployed underwater. Ringdown data acquisition and processing were performed, followed by an evaluation of the experimental setup stability and sensitivity. The obtained results demonstrate that great errors are introduced when a large fitting window is selected if the analog-to-digital converter has an insufficient resolution. The ringdown spectrum of methane corresponding to the 2v ₃ band R(4) branch was captured, and the methane concentration in lab air was determined to be 2.06 ppm. Further experiments for evaluating the quantitative ability of this CW-CRDS experimental setup are underway from which a high-sensitivity methane sensor that can be combined with a degassing system is expected.     

Analytical solutions of coupled-mode equations for microring resonators

We present a study on analytical solutions of coupled-mode equations for microring resonators with an emphasis on occurrence of all-optical EIT phenomenon, obtained by using a cofactor. As concrete examples, analytical solutions for a 3×3 linearly distributed coupler and a circularly distributed coupler are obtained. The former corresponds to a non-degenerate eigenvalue problem and the latter corresponds to a degenerate eigenvalue problem. For comparison and without loss of generality, analytical solution for a 4×4 linearly distributed coupler is also obtained. This paper may be of interest to optical physics and integrated photonics communities.