Femtosecond laser-induced microstructures in glasses and applications in micro-optics

Femtosecond laser has been widely used in microscopic modifications to materials due to its ultra-short laser pulse and ultrahigh light intensity. When a transparent material e.g. glass is irradiated by a tightly focused femtosecond laser, the photo-induced reaction is expected to occur only near the focused part of the laser beam inside the glass due to the multiphoton processes. We observed various induced structures e.g. color center defects, refractive index change, micro-void and micro-crack, in glasses after the femtosecond laser irradiation. In this paper, we review the femtosecond laser induced phenomena and discuss the mechanisms of the observed phenomena. We also introduce the fabrication of various micro-optical components, e.g. optical waveguide, micro-grating, micro-lens, fiber attenuator, 3-dimensional optical memory by using the femtosecond laser-induced structures. The femtosecond laser will open new possibilities in the fabrication of micro-optical components with various optical functions.     

Thin film composite optical waveguides for sensor applications: a review

We review the design and fabrication of thin-film composite optical waveguides (OWG) with high refractive index for sensor applications. A highly sensitive optical sensor device has been developed on the basis of thin-film, composite OWG. The thin-film OWG was deposited onto the surface of a potassium-ion-exchanged (K⁺) glass OWG by sputtering or spin coating (5–9 mm wide, and with tapers at both ends). By allowing an adiabatic transition of the guided light from the secondary OWG to the thin-film OWG, the electric field of the evanescent wave at the thin film was enhanced. The attenuation of the guided light in the thin film layer was small, and the guided light intensity changed sensitively with the refractive index of the cladding layer. Our experimental results demonstrate that thin-film, composite OWG gas sensors or immunosensors are much more sensitive than sensors based on other technologies.     

Liquid core waveguide-based optical spectrometry for field estimation of dissolved BTEX compounds in groundwater: A feasibility study

The utility of a liquid core waveguide (LCW) system for acting as a sentry monitor for compounds such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene (BTEX) in water was examined. A vapor-permeable LCW suitable for long path length absorbance spectroscopy based on a Teflon AF 2400 tube was fabricated. Multiwavelength spectroscopy in the near-UV was carried out using a fiber optic-based flashlamp-photodiode array (PDA) combination with hexane as the solvent in the waveguide core. Using multicomponent calibration, quantitation of benzene and toluene accurate to 6±5% could be conducted at sub-mg l⁻¹ levels in mixtures after a sampling period of 10 min.     

Sensitive detection of beryllium using a fiber optic liquid waveguide cell

The metallochromic chelating agent, Chromazurol S, has been utilized in conjunction with a fiber optic liquid waveguide capillary cell to enable the sensitive detection of beryllium in solution (30 ng l⁻¹ detection limit) and following extraction from a contaminated plexiglas surface (0.5 ng cm⁻² detection limit). The addition of a cationic surfactant, cetylpyridinium chloride, to Chromazurol S at pH 10 in Tris-HCl buffer results in the formation of two bathochromic peaks in the visible spectrum following metal chelation by beryllium. The first absorbance band, at 515 nm, is intermediate in nature, permitting maximal sensitivity for low beryllium concentrations, but diminishing in intensity at concentrations above 100 μg l⁻¹. The second absorbance band, centered at 610 nm, dominates for beryllium concentrations of 100 μg l⁻¹ and above. Experimental conditions including pH, buffer type, additive surfactants, masking agents, and dye concentration were investigated in order to optimize detection sensitivity and selectivity. A fiber optic spectrometer is used with both a liquid waveguide capillary cell and 1 cm cuvette cell, to give a sensitive and broad dynamic range for beryllium detection that capitalizes on both beryllium metal chelate absorbance bands formed under these conditions.     

小球藻溶液浓度与吸收系数的同时测量

为得到高准确度的小球藻浓度,利用空芯金属包覆波导作为测量腔对小球藻进行测量.利用自由空间耦合技术激发含有小球藻溶液的空芯金属包覆波导中超高阶导模,通过检测超高阶导模的衰减全反射吸收峰位置和反射极小值Rmin的变化,实现了小球藻溶液浓度和吸收系数的同时测量.该方法不仅可检测10-9 mol量级的小球藻浓度,而且具有测量成本低、操作方便等优点.     

2μm InGaAsSb/AlGaAsSb双波导半导体激光器的结构设计

为了提高2μm InGaAsSb/AlGaAsSb半导体激光器的最大输出功率,减小远场垂直发散角并实现单模稳定输出,在非对称波导结构的基础上设计了具有双波导结构的2μm InGaAsSb/AlGaAsSb半导体激光器.同时,利用相关的物理模型及SimLastip程序语言构建了InGaAsSb/AlGaAsSb Macro文件,利用SimLastip软件对具有不同结构的2μm InGaAsSb/AlGaAsSb半导体激光器进行了数值模拟分析.研究结果表明,双波导结构可以将半导体激光器的有源区限制因子由0.019 2减小至0.011 3,器件的最大输出功率提高了1.7倍,远场垂直发散角由57°减小到48°,器件性能得到了改善.     

TE0导模干涉刻写周期可调亚波长光栅理论研究

通过棱镜耦合激发非对称金属包覆介质波导结构中的TE₀导波模式, 利用两束TE₀模的干涉从理论上实现了周期可调的亚波长光栅刻写. 分析了TE₀模式的色散关系, 刻写亚波长光栅的周期与激发光源、棱镜折射率、光刻胶薄膜厚度及折射率之间的关系. 用有限元方法数值模拟了金属薄膜、光刻胶薄膜和空气多层结构中TE₀导模的干涉场分布. 研究发现, 激发光源波长越短, TE₀ 模干涉刻写的亚波长光栅周期越小; 光刻胶越厚, 刻写的亚波长光栅周期越小; 高折射率光刻胶有利于更小周期亚波长光栅的刻写. 相较于表面等离子体干涉光刻, 基于TE₀ 模的干涉可在厚光刻胶条件下通过改变激发光源、棱镜折射率、光刻胶材料折射率、特别是光刻胶薄膜的厚度等多种方式实现对亚波长光栅周期的有效调控.     

基于局域表面等离子体共振效应的聚合物波导传感器特性研究

以SU-8光刻胶作为波导芯层材料,设计了基于金纳米粒子的局域表面等离子体共振(LSPR)波导传感器。根据Mie理论,建立了金纳米粒子的消光模型,理论分析了纳米粒子半径、待测物折射率等因素对局域表面等离子体共振曲线的影响。分析表明:当待测液体折射率增大时,LSPR共振峰的位置发生红移。随着金纳米粒子半径的逐渐增大,传感器灵敏度增加。共振吸收峰逐渐由单峰变为双峰,其中一个峰位于520 nm波长附近,主要由表面等离子体吸收造成;另一个峰随金纳米粒子半径的增大而逐渐红移,主要由表面等离子体散射造成。     

Non-ablative capillary z-pinch for plasma-based waveguide

The conditions for the formations of plasma-based waveguide in non-ablative argon-filled capillary discharge are studied theoretically. The pinch dynamics is simulated using magneto-hydrodynamic code originally developed and utilized to find proper conditions for operation of capillary-discharge Ar⁺⁸ soft x-ray laser. The presented results show that the ablation-free capillary z-pinch provides conditions that are suitable for guiding of high-intensity laser pulses on the earlier stages of the plasma compression.     

Comparative study of styrene butadiene films in different solvents

We report here a comparative study of K-resin films in different solvents. A comparison of the waveguide parameters (refractive index, propagation losses, birefringence) in different solvents was done. The losses were found to be lower than 2 dB/cm for all solvents. Least losses observed were 0.62 dB/cm in the films dissolved in toluene. The birefringence was found to be in the range of 1 to 3 × 10⁻⁴. K-resin can be used successfully in fabrication of photonic devices.