Planar lightwave integrated circuits with embedded actives for board and substrate level optical signal distribution

This paper explores design options for planar optical interconnections integrated onto boards, discusses fabrication options for both beam turning and embedded interconnections to optoelectronic devices, describes integration processes for creating embedded planar optical interconnections, and discusses measurement results for a number of integration schemes that have been demonstrated by the authors. In the area of optical interconnections with beams coupled to and from the board, the topics covered include integrated metal-coated polymer mirrors and volume holographic gratings for optical beam turning perpendicular to the board. Optical interconnections that utilize active thin film (approximately 1-5 /spl mu/m thick) optoelectronic components embedded in the board are also discussed, using both Si and high temperature FR-4 substrates. Both direct and evanescent coupling of optical signals into and out of the waveguide are discussed using embedded optical lasers and photodetectors.     

Quasi-bound states determination using a perturbed wavenumbersmethod in a large quantum box

A perturbed wavenumbers method (PWM) is presented that is capable of determining the quasi-bound-state eigenenergies and their lifetimes for quantum heterostructures having arbitrary potential profiles. The numerical method presented solves the single-band effective-mass Schrodinger equation without using complex energies. It is applicable to quantum structures that are symmetric, asymmetric, unbiased, or biased. For multiple quantum heterostructures, extensive comparisons of this numerical method with other currently used techniques are included. In addition, a modified density of states formulation is presented and applied to these example cases     

Pattern-integrated interference lithography instrumentation

Multi-beam interference (MBI) provides the ability to form a wide range of sub-micron periodic optical-intensity distributions with applications to a variety of areas, including photonic crystals (PCs), nanoelectronics, biomedical structures, optical trapping, metamaterials, and numerous subwavelength structures. Recently, pattern-integrated interference lithography (PIIL) was presented as a new lithographic method that integrates superposed pattern imaging with interference lithography in a single-exposure step. In the present work, the basic design and systematic implementation of a pattern-integrated interference exposure system (PIIES) is presented to realize PIIL by incorporating a projection imaging capability in a novel three-beam interference configuration. A fundamental optimization methodology is presented to model the system and predict MBI-patterning performance. To demonstrate the PIIL method, a prototype PIIES experimental configuration is presented, including detailed alignment techniques and experimental procedures. Examples of well-defined PC structures, fabricated with a PIIES prototype, are presented to demonstrate the potential of PIIL for fabricating dense integrated optical circuits, as well as numerous other subwavelength structures.     

Research and Improvement on structure stability and corrosion resistance of nickel-base superalloy INCONEL alloy 740

INCONEL alloy 740 is a newly developed Ni–Cr–Co–Mo–Nb–Ti–Al superalloy in the application to ultra-supercritical boilers with steam temperatures up to 700 °C. By means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-chemical phase analyses, and corrosion-resisting test, this paper investigates the structure stability of the alloy at elevated temperature and concentrates on coal ash corrosion performance of the alloy under the simulated coal ash/flue gas condition. Experimental results show that the most important structure instabilities of the alloy during prolonged aging are γ′ coarsening, γ′ to η transformation and G phase formation at grain boundary. The performance of corrosion resistance of the alloy would meet the requirement of ultra-supercritical boiler tubes. The phase computation by means of Thermo-Calc has been adopted in chemical composition modification for structure stability improvement. Two suggested new modified alloys in adjustment of the Al and Ti contents and in control of Si level, and also in maintenance of Cr content of the alloy were designed and melted for experimental investigation. These two modified alloys exhibit more stable microstructure during 760 °C long time aging.     

Effects of modulation strength in guided-mode resonant subwavelength gratings at normal incidence

A comparative study of the reflection spectral resonances in weakly and strongly modulated subwavelength gratings is presented. The effects of strong modulation in resonant subwavelength gratings have been largely ignored in the literature. We show that the spectral stability of resonances as a function of angle of incidence around normal can be greatly enhanced with strongly modulated gratings while the desirable narrow line-width associated with weakly modulated gratings is still maintained.     

Analysis and design of modified Wollaston prisms

An exact analysis of the working parameters of a modified Wollaston prism is presented. Parameters include the output splitting angle, the retardation, and the location of the plane of the interference fringes (plane of apparent splitting). Results are presented for the entire range of optical axis inclinations and wedge angles. Approximate expressions from the literature are evaluated. An angle of incidence that causes the plane of the interference fringes to be perpendicular to the axis of the optical system is found for each configuration analyzed. This is then applied to the design of modified Wollaston prisms for Nomarski differential interference contrast microscopy.