Collimation testing using a circular Dammann grating

A novel technique for collimation testing with a circular Dammann grating is proposed. When the beam under test is incident on a one-order circular Dammann grating with limited aperture, double-humped radial rings will be generated at the back focal plane of a focusing lens. If the beam is collimated, the separation between the two rings will reach its minimal, otherwise the two rings will be apart from each other. Therefore, the degree of collimation of the tested beam can be estimated from the separation. The principle and experimental results of the method are presented. Owing to the simplicity and low cost of the method, it is a promising method for quickly checking the collimation of a laser beam.     

Improvement of the dynamic range of a fiber specklegram sensor based on volume speckle recording in photorefractive materials

In this work, the improvement of the dynamic range of a micro displacement sensor based on fiber specklegrams holographically stored in a photorefractive BSO (Bi₁₂SiO₂₀) crystal is reported. In our experimental setup, a plastic optical fiber (POF) was used to generate a subjective speckle pattern that was recorded in the crystal using a two-wave mixing arrangement. The speckle size was controlled by modifying the diameter of a pupil aperture adjacent to a lens producing the image of the speckle. Fringe patterns were obtained at the output of the system by producing micro displacements of the fiber output end. An increase in the visibility of the fringe patterns was appreciated when the pupil aperture diameter decreased even without controlling the average modulation of the intensity of the light pattern, i.e. when the speckle length increased and the average light modulation simultaneously decreased. This behavior allowed recovering the autocorrelation functions of fringe patterns associated with displacements that initially led to decorrelation, and therefore, significantly to improve the dynamic range of the metrological system. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report about the influence of speckle size on the dynamic range of fiber specklegrams sensors recorded on photorefractive materials.     

基于液晶光调制器的夏克-哈特曼波前探测技术

微透镜阵列是夏克-哈特曼波前探测器的关键器件。利用液晶器件的空间相位调制特性,可实现微透镜阵列功能,且具有孔径和焦距可变的优点。论述了基于液晶光调制的夏克-哈特曼波前探测校正技术的特征、技术进展、及应用前景。     

Quantum theory of nonlinear processes

Principles of development of the quantum theory of nonlinear processes on the basis of Lagrangian formulation are discussed. It is shown that in the framework of this formulation it is possible to preserve succession from the classical theory and, in particular, use these methods for studies of quantum systems. The quantum dispersion of a nonlinear oscillator excited by an external source and of a parametric generator is calculated. Its role is established in the solution of the problem of stability of oscillations.     

STABILITY OF BRIGHT SCREENING-PHOTOVOLTAIC SPATIAL SOLITONS

We present a theoretical analysis of the stability of screening-photovoltaic (SP) spatial solitons in biased photovoltaic-photorefractive materials in the case of neglecting the loss of the material and the effect of diffusion. When an incident optical beam is a SP soliton, this beam propagates along a linear path with its shape kept unchanged. When the maximum amplitude, width and functional form of an incident optical beam are slightly different from those of a SP soliton, the beam reshapes itself and tries to evolve into a solitary wave after a short distance. That is, these SP solitons are stable against small perturbations. However, optical beams that significantly differ from SP soliton solutions tend to experience larger cycles of compression and expansion, and their maximum amplitudes oscillate with propagation distances. The larger the perturbations, the stronger the oscillation.     

Discrete Green's Function for Lattice Random Walk

A lattice random walk model based on particles scattering on discrete lattice of homogenous space is introduced. The discrete Green's function (DFG) for two-dimensional and three-dimensional lattice random walk of photon is found and proved by mathematical induction. The convolution theorem of photon lattice random walk is presented. They can be used with the method of images to calculate the photon density distribution in semi-infinite and finite slab homogenous turbid media such as tissue.     

AN EXTENSION OF “POPPER'S EXPERIMENT” CAN TEST INTERPRETATIONS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS

Karl Popper proposed a way to test whether a proposed relation of a quantum-mechanical state to perceived reality in the Copenhagen interpretation (CI) of quantum mechanics—namely that the state of a particle is merely an expression of what is known about the system—is in agreement with all experimental facts. A conceptual flaw in Popper's proposal is identified and an improved version of his experiment (called Extension step 1)—which fully serves its original purpose—is suggested. The main purpose of this paper is to suggest to perform this experiment. The results of this experiment predicted under the alternative assumptions that the CI or the many-worlds interpretation (MWI) is correct are shown to be identical. Only after a further modification (called Extension step 2) (the use of an ion isolated from the macroscopic environment as particle detector) the predictions using the respective interpretations become qualitatively different. This is because what is known by a human observer H can fail as a basis for the prediction of the statistical distribution of measurement results within the MWI in special cases: The temporal evolution of a system un-entangled with H (like the isolated ion) can depend on another system's state components that are entangled with states ortogonal to H. Thus—within the CI—for H they are known not to exist. Yet H can infer their existence by studying the evolution of the ion.     

Non-classical neutron beams for fundamental and solid state research

The curious dual nature of the neutron, sometimes a particle, sometimes a wave, is wonderfully manifested in the various non-local interference and quantum contextuality effects observed in neutron interferometry. Non-classical states may become useful for novel fundamental and solid state research. Here we discuss unavoidable quantum losses as they appear in neutron phase-echo and spin rotation experiments and we show how entanglement effects in a single particle system demonstrate quantum contextuality. In all cases of interactions, parasitic beams are produced which cannot be recombined completely with the original beam. This means that a complete reconstruction of the original state would, in principle, be impossible which causes a kind of intrinsic irreversibility. Even small interaction potentials can have huge effects when they are applied in quantum Zeno-like experiments. Recently, it has been shown that an entanglement between external and internal degrees of freedom exists even in single particle systems. This contextuality phenomenon also shows that a quantum system carries much more information than usually extracted. The path towards advanced neutron quantum optics will be discussed.      

绿光抽运准周期光学超晶格产生红光与蓝光的研究

使用一块准周期LiTaO3光学超晶格晶体,利用准相位匹配技术,通过光参变产生与和频两个非线性过程,将一束532nm绿色抽运光转变成666nm红光与443nm蓝光。具体过程为,通过参变过程获得红色信号光和红外闲频光,再通过绿色抽运光与红外闲置光和频获得蓝光,两个过程在同一块准周期光学超晶格中实现,准周期超晶格的两个倒易矢量分别补偿这两个过程中的相位失配。抽运光的脉宽为40ps,重复频率为10Hz,在平均功率为0．5mW时,测得红光和蓝光功率分别0．15mW和16．6μW,转换效率达到34％和3％。这一方法,提供了一种用一块超晶格晶体同时获得三原色输出的有效途径。     

Two-Photon Absorption Enhancement by the Inclusion of a Tropone Ring in Distorted Nanographene Ribbons

A new family of distorted ribbon-shaped nanographenes was designed, synthesized, and their optical and electrochemical properties were evaluated, pointing out an unprecedented correlation between their structural characteristics and the two-photon absorption (TPA) responses and electrochemical band gaps. Three nanographene ribbons have been prepared: a seven-membered-ring-containing nanographene presenting a tropone moiety at the edge, its full-carbon analogue, and a purely hexagonal one. We have found that the TPA cross-sections and the electrochemical band gaps of the seven-membered-ring-containing compounds are higher and lower, respectively, than those of the fully hexagonal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). Interestingly, the inclusion of additional curvature has a positive effect in terms of non-linear optical properties of those ribbons.