Focusing waveguide mirror with a tapered edge

We propose a focusing waveguide mirror with a shallow tapered edge in a slab waveguide and demonstrate it by planar processes and wet etching. A light beam 2 mm wide is focused to 6.5 μm full width at half-maximum at a wavelength of 0.6328 μm. A reflectivity of higher than 90% at the tapered edge is obtained. The inclination ratio of the tapered mirror edge is 1:90. Fairly good correspondence between measured and calculated focused spot sizes is obtained.     

Polarimetric calibration of large-aperture telescopes. I. Beam-expansion method

A concept is described for the high-accuracy absolute calibration of the instrumental polarization introduced by the primary mirror of a large-aperture telescope. This procedure requires a small aperture with polarization-calibration optics (e.g., mounted on the dome) followed by a lens that opens the beam to illuminate the entire surface of the mirror. The Jones matrix corresponding to this calibration setup (with a diverging incident beam) is related to that of the normal observing setup (with a collimated incident beam) by an approximate correction term. Numerical models of parabolic on-axis and off-axis mirrors with surface imperfections are used to explore the accuracy of the procedure.     

Free-electron masers based on planar Bragg waveguides

A new scheme of the free-electron maser (FEM) with a ribbon electron beam is proposed in which the radiation is channeled in an open planar Bragg waveguide structure of two parallel plates with corrugated inner surfaces. The direction of corrugation is parallel to the radiation group velocity vector. The electron beam propagates in the waveguide at a large angle to its axis. The electron translation velocity is parallel to the direction of propagation of one of the partial waves that form the waveguide mode, which makes the maximum Doppler up-shift of the radiation frequency possible. A nonlinear analysis shows that the proposed FEM scheme provides a high gain (up to 30 dB). Using the Bragg waveguide, it is possible to ensure effective mode filtration, thus controlling the spatial structure of the output radiation.     

THz wavefront manipulation based on metal waveguides

In this paper, two waveguiding structures for arbitrary wavefront manipulation in the terahertz spectral region were proposed, designed and characterized. The first structure consists of parallel stack copper plates forming an array of parallel-plate waveguides (PPWGs). The second structure is three-dimensional metal rectangular waveguides array. The phase delay of the input wave after passing through the waveguide array is mainly determined by the effective index of the waveguides. Therefore, the waveguide array can be engineered using different core width distribution to generate any desired light beam. Examples, working at the frequency of 0.3 THz show that good focusing phenomenon with different focus lengths and spot sizes were observed, as well as arbitrarily tilted propagation of incident plane waves. The structure introduces a new method to perform wavefront manipulation, and can be utilized in many important applications in terahertz imaging and communication systems.     

Surface gradient integrated profiler for X-ray and EUV optics

A new ultraprecise profiler has been developed to measure, for example, asymmetric and aspheric profiles. The principle of our measuring method is that the normal vector at each point on the surface is determined by making the incident light beam on the mirror surface and the reflected beam at that point of coincident. The gradient at each point is calculated from the normal vector, and the surface profile is then obtained by integrating the gradients. The measuring instrument was designed in accordance with the above principle. In the design, four ultraprecise goniometers were applied to adjust the light axis for normal vector measurement. The angle-positioning resolution and accuracy of each goniometer are, respectively, 0.018 and 0.2 μrad. Thus, in the measuring instrument, the most important factor is the accuracy of the normal vectors measured by the goniometers. Therefore, the rotating angle-positioning errors were measured and calibrated. An elliptical profile mirror for nanometer hard-X-ray focusing was measured, and compared with the measured profile using a stitching interferometer. The absolute measurement accuracy of approximately 5 nm (peak-to-valley) was achieved. Then the measurements of 1000-mm-long flat, spherical and parabolic mirrors were demonstrated. The surface profiles of the mirrors were obtained by integrating the interpolated gradient.     

Parabolic mirror optics for collimation of a crescent blue laser beam radiated from channel waveguide Čerenkov second-harmonic generation

Parabolic mirror optics to collimate the crescent-shaped blue laser beam that radiates from ?erenkov second-harmonic generation (SHG) in a channel waveguide configuration is proposed. Mirror collimation optics has a large tolerance to the variations of SHG element parameters, such as the laser source wavelength, as well as to mirror displacement. The anisotropy of a nonlinear crystal in which the waveguide is fabricated has been taken into account. The optimum mirror alignment to obtain a collimated blue laser beam is evaluated in terms of Marechal's criterion. The minimum wave-front aberration with beam intensity weighted is 0.054 λSH. The convergence of the collimated beam is less than 1.6 mrad, and, by using an objective lens, the collimated beam can be focused to a diameter of less than 1 μm, which is 1.27 times the diffraction-limited focusing point.     

Vector wave analysis for nonnormal incident rays in epimicroscopic refractive index profile measurements

We have investigated the effects of nonnormal incident rays in calculating the refractive index profile of a dielectric sample using the reflectance measurement data obtained with a scanning confocal epimicroscope and also by solving three-dimensional vector wave equations for linearly polarized light. The numerically calculated reflection data of tightly focused Gaussian beams with different numerical apertures (NAs) on planar surfaces with various refractive indices confirm that the reflectance increases with an increase in the NA of a focusing objective lens. This is due to the nonnormal incident ray components of a Gaussian beam. We have found that the refractive index obtained with the assumption of a normal incident beam is far from the real value when the NA of a focusing lens becomes larger than 0.5, and thus the variation in the reflectance for different angular components in a Gaussian beam must be taken into consideration while using a larger NA lens. Errors in practical refractive index calculation for an optical fiber based on a normal incident beam in reflectance measurements can be as large as 1% in comparison to real values calculated by our three-dimensional vector wave equations.     

亚波长波导光栅导模共振研究

弱调制介质光栅可等效为平板波导,经其衍射的高级次子波与波导模式耦合时,形成导模 共振。由高级子波在介质光栅中的光程及菲涅耳相移,导出了垂直入射时弱调制介质光栅共振位置的解析表达式,其预测结果和严格耦合波理论所得值一致。导模共振对入射波参数和光栅参数极为敏感,具有窄带效应,可用来制作窄带滤波片。     

Grazing-incidence telescope-spectrograph for space solar-imaging spectroscopy

The design of a stigmatic grazing-incidence instrument for space applications to solar-imaging spectroscopy is presented. It consists of a double telescope and a spectrograph: Telescope I consists of a single cylindrical mirror with parabolic section, focusing the radiation on the entrance slit of the spectrograph in the spectral dispersion plane; telescope II consists of two cylindrical mirrors with aspherical section in a Wolter configuration, focusing the radiation on the spectrograph focal plane in the direction perpendicular to the spectral dispersion plane. The spectrograph consists of a grazing-incidence spherical variable-line-spaced grating with flat-field properties. Telescope II is crossed with respect to the grating and telescope I; i.e., it is mounted with its tangential planes coincident with the grating equatorial plane. The spectrum is acquired by a detector mounted at near-normal incidence with respect to the direction of the exit beam. The spectral resolution is also preserved for off-axis angles. The effective collecting area of the instrument can be preserved by adoption of a nested configuration for telescope II without degradation of the spectral resolution.     

High-Efficiency Light Coupling in a Submicrometric Silicon-on-Insulator Waveguide

Light coupling into a sub-micrometer-thick waveguide is usually done through a grating coupler. Coupling efficiency is strongly enhanced by addition of a mirror above the grating. This new kind of coupler can be designed to achieve efficiencies as great as 80%. Numerical calculations for a high-angular-spread Gaussian incident beam are compared with experimental results obtained for a standard silicon-on-insulator waveguide.     

Measurement of longitudinal displacement using lateral shearing cyclic path optical configuration setup and phase shifting interferometry

We present a technique for the measurement of longitudinal displacement using a lateral shearing cyclic path optical configuration (CPOC) setup and phase shifting interferometry. In the technique, a plane mirror mounted on a linear translation stage, placed slightly away from the focal plane of a lens, introduces a longitudinal focal shift to the incident focusing beam. The resulting spherical wavefront emerging from the lens is sheared into two orthogonally polarized beams using the CPOC setup. By applying polarization phase shifting interferometry (PPSI), the longitudinal focal shift of the beam focus is calculated by determining the slope of the optical path difference variation between the sheared beams. Similarly, the additional focal shift introduced due to longitudinal translation of the mirror, by an unknown amount, is determined using PPSI. Half of the difference between the two longitudinal focal shifts measured gives the longitudinal displacement of the mirror. The technique can be used for an extended range of distance measurement. The novelty of the technique is the introduction of CPOC for the distance measurement. The advantages of the technique compared to other related methods are discussed.     

Noncollimated bidirectional shearing interferometer for measuring a long radius of curvature

A method for measuring a long radius of curvature with a modified half-aperture bidirectional shearing interferometer is described. A plane mirror of the interferometer is replaced with a test mirror, and the incident beam is decollimated by shifting of the source to equalize the widths of the bidirectional shearing fringes reflected from the plane and test mirrors. This method can be applied to concave and convex surfaces.     

Linear focusing by a plane grating with curved grooves

We study the field diffracted by a plane grating with curved (parabolic) grooves. We will demonstrate that when a monochromatic plane wave is incident on a grating with parabolic grooves the diffracted field has a focal line whose position depends on the curvature radius of the parabolas and the incidence angle of the light onto the grating. The effect described has potential applications in grating-based devices for focusing light without requiring any additional optics.     

Achromatic 90° polarization rotating prisms

Half wave plates are often used to rotate the plane of polarization by 90° at one wavelength. To rotate the plane of polarization over a range of wavelengths, Fresnel rhombs may be used. Fresnel rhombs, however, exhibit significant deviation from precisely 180° retardation over any broad wavelength range. This note describes two prism (or mirror) designs which rotate the incident polarization exactly 90° at all wavelengths. In one case the incident beam direction is deviated by 90°, while in the other case the incident beam is transmitted undeviated.     

Generation of microstripe cylindrical and toroidal mirrors by localized laser evaporation of fused silica

We report a new technique for the rapid fabrication of microstripe cylindrical and toroidal mirrors with a high ratio (>10) of the two principal radii of curvature (RoC₁/RoC₂), and demonstrate their effectiveness as mode-selecting resonator mirrors for high-power planar waveguide lasers. In this process, the larger radius of curvature (RoC₁) is determined by the planar or cylindrical shape of the fused silica substrate selected for laser processing, whilst the other (RoC₂) is produced by controlled CO₂ laser-induced vaporization of the glass. The narrow stripe mirror aperture is achieved by applying a set of partially overlapped laser scans, with the incident laser power, the number of laser scans, and their spacing being used to control the curvature produced by laser evaporation. In this work, a 1?mm diameter laser spot is used to produce grooves of cylindrical/toroidal shape with 240?μm width and 16?mm length. After high reflectance coating, these grooves are found to provide excellent mode selectivity as resonator mirrors for a 150?μm core Yb:YAG planar waveguide laser, producing high brightness output at more than 300?W. The results show clearly that the laser-generated microstripe mirrors can improve the optical performance of high-power planar waveguide lasers when applied in a low-loss mode-selective resonator configuration.     

Double refraction of a Gaussian beam into a uniaxial crystal

For a linearly polarized three-dimensional Gaussian beam in air that is normally incident upon a plane interface with a uniaxial crystal with optic axis in an arbitrary direction, we present integral representations for the transmitted field suitable for asymptotic analysis and efficient numerical evaluation and derive analytical expressions for transmitted nontruncated Gaussian beams for the cases in which the incident beam is polarized parallel to the plane containing the optic axis and the interface normal and transverse to it. The general solution for an arbitrary polarization state of an incident Gaussian beam follows by superposition of these two solutions.     

Fields of nonlinear cladding optical waveguides excited by butt-coupled linear waveguides at medium power levels

The evolution of medium power fields of nonlinear optical waveguides is investigated numerically. The analysis method is based on mode matching of local normal modes of bounded waveguides. Nonlinear cladding waveguides are butt-coupled to linear waveguides. The path of a medium power level beam winds between the film and the nonlinear cladding. The input beam travels toward the nonlinear modal field, at which point the beam is not stationary. After the beam passes the location, it is forced to turn back. The lateral shift of an incident waveguide affects the path of a beam. Saturation and linear absorption lessens the oscillation of a winding path.     

Observation of enhanced backscattering from a plane mirror viewed through polymer-film-dispersed liquid crystals

We report experimental results on enhanced backscattering from a plane mirror that is viewed through polymer-film-dispersed nematic liquid crystals. The distribution of the averaged intensity of the light reflected from the mirror placed behind the polymer film is investigated with an image-processing system when a Gaussian beam wave is incident. The enhanced light peak is observed in an incident beam direction, the result of which is predicted by a theory based on the circular Gaussian statistic random-phase-screen model. We pay attention to the enhancement dependence on parameters such as the distance between the polymer film and the flat mirror. The observed result is similar to a previous study by Jakeman et al. in which a random diffusive glass plate was used as a random-phase screen [J. Phys. D 21, 32 (1988)].     

High-resolution, air-coupled ultrasonic imaging of thin materials

This paper describes the use of a focused air-coupled capacitance transducer combined with pulse compression techniques to form high-resolution images of thin materials in air. The focusing of the device is achieved by using an off-axis parabolic mirror. The lateral resolution of the focused transducer, operating over a bandwidth of 1.2 MHz, was found to be less than 0.5 mm. A combination of the focused transducer as a source and a planar receiver in through-transmission mode has been developed for the measurement of different features in paper products, with a lateral resolution in through-transmission imaging of /spl sim/0.4 mm. Images in air of thin samples such as bank notes, high-quality writing paper, stamps, and sealed joints were obtained without contact to the sample.     

Comment on ‘Two-state Description of Total Polarization by Means of Singular Eigenvalue Problems’

We derive a formulation that can be used to determine the electromagnetic field distribution in the focal region of a wide-angle spherical mirror illuminated by an obliquely incident and linearly polarized plane monochromatic wave. The integrals representing the diffracted fields derived in part 1 [1] for the two cases of polarization of the incident field are first suitably expanded in series form. The integrals with respect to the azimuth 0 are then evaluated analytically with the help of some new integration formulae developed in this paper. The diffracted field components for the two cases of incident polarization are finally expressed in forms suitable for numerical computation. Our formulae can be used to determine the three-dimensional field distribution in the caustic region of the mirror for any obliquity of the incident beam. Simpler expressions for the field components for a few special cases of interest are also derived. In particular, it is shown that the series solution obtained for the case of oblique incidence reduces to the simpler results found by previous authors for the case of normal incidence.