Techniques for coherent phonon excitation and stimulated Brillouin scattering

The basic principle of a rotating chisel-shaped phonon coupling and detection probe, believed to be novel, is presented for the measurement of coherent phonon propagation and interaction characteristics.     

Heavy fluorocarbon liquids for a phase-conjugated stimulated Brillouin scattering mirror

Heavy fluorocarbon liquids were found to be an ideal medium for high-power stimulated Brillouin scattering experiments. Fluorinert FC-75 gives high reflectivity, near 98%, and excellent fidelity in phase conjugation of 14-J, 18-ns optical pulses. The complete removal of microparticle impurities was found to be essential for avoiding laser damage in a high-energy operation. A method of purification based on ultrafiltration has been developed.     

Variable stimulated Brillouin scattering pulse compressor for nonlinear optical measurements

We have developed and characterized a novel method of measuring the transient response of third-order optical nonlinearities using degenerate four-wave mixing and a phase-conjugated laser system. Variable compression of laser pulses allows selective probing of a material for thermal effects and faster nonlinearities such as electronic or reorientational effects. We confirm the utility of the system by demonstrating time-scale-dependent nonlinear optical behavior in an organometallic liquid crystal.     

Monte-Carlo simulation of a neutron Brillouin scattering spectrometer

A Monte-Carlo simulation was done to optimise the setup of a new type of time-of-flight spectrometer, a thermal neutron Brillouin scattering (NBS) spectrometer. After collimation of the incident white neutron beam five incident energies between 20 and 138 meV can be obtained from four different monochromator crystal faces. The monochromatic beam is split into nine pencil-like separate beams to improve the Q-resolution of the NBS-spectrometer. Including the time resolution of the Fermi chopper (after a background chopper) an energy resolution for elastic scattering between 2% and 7% and a momentum transfer resolution of 1.3–2.0% are obtained.     

Efficient Raman conversion through backward stimulated Brillouin scattering

We report a new scheme for efficient Raman conversion in high-pressure CH(4) gas. Through the use of backward stimulated Brillouin scattering as a resonator mirror for the pump wave at a wavelength of 1.06 μm, Raman laser generation at the eye-safe wavelength of 1.54 μm has been obtained from a passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. At a pressure of 600 psi, we obtained Raman conversion efficiencies of up to 48%.     

Improved analytical model for Rayleigh–Brillouin scattering spectrum in gases

ABSTRACT

An improved analytical model (G-factor model) for the Rayleigh–Brillouin scattering (RBS) spectrum of gases is proposed and discussed based on RBS spectra of nitrogen. Three analytical models (G3, V3, and G-factor models) were compared with the spontaneous RBS experimental data and coherent RBS simulation data based on Pan’s S7 model. The results show that the proposed model has a larger scope of application as compared to the G3 model, and offers less multivalued solutions compared to the V3 model. In addition, this analytical model provides a better representation of the profiles than the Tenti S6 model. This novel analytical model has fewer parameters and more stable fitting results. It maintains a high fitting accuracy and has a larger scope of application compared to the other analytical models.     

Brillouin scattering by surface acoustic modes for elastic characterization of ZnO films

Brillouin scattering from surface phonons was used for determining the dispersion curves of guided acoustic modes propagating along piezoelectric ZnO films. Measurements were performed on films of different thicknesses in the range between 20 and 320 nm, deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on Si and SiO(2) substrates. Brillouin spectra from Rayleigh acoustic modes are taken in the backscattering geometry at different incidence angles between 30 degrees and 70 degrees . The experimental data for the ZnO/Si films fit the expected theoretical dispersion curves fairly well for film thicknesses greater than 150 nm, while they appreciably depart from the same curves for smaller thicknesses. This behavior is interpreted in terms of a reduction of the effective elastic constants of the film in a layer near the interface, due to the lattice misfit between the film and the substrate. This effect was not observed in the case of ZnO films deposited on fused quartz substrates.     

多模增益光纤受激布里渊散组束中散射效果的研究

提出了在计算多模增益光纤有效受激布里渊增益系数时,以优化的高斯模场面积作为光纤有效截面积的方法,并基于光强耦合微分方程,研究了多模增益光纤稳态受激布里渊散射的效果.结果表明,无论是一阶还是二阶受激布里渊散射,随着泵浦功率的增加,残余的泵浦功率都将达到饱和,而Stokes功率都线性增加;二阶Stokes功率相对较弱;光纤的有效长度随泵浦功率的增加逐渐减小.     

Torsional rod wave scattering from tapering between regions of different cross-sections

Previously (Engan 1998) we have studied the scattering of torsional waves in circular rods with a free surface where the rod diameter is subject to abrupt diameter changes. Here, we discuss the scattering of torsional waves from tapered regions and, in particular, transmission of the fundamental torsional mode. The calculations are based on a mode expansion technique in which propagating as well as cut-off modes are taken into account. The tapered region is approximated by numerous steps separated by uniform rod parts arranged so that they closely render the taper shape. Transfer matrices for all steps and uniform parts are combined to yield the desired transmission coefficient through the taper region. Numerical results of the frequency variation of fundamental mode transmission are presented, depending on geometrical parameters, such as taper length and the diameters of the two uniform adjacent rod parts. The dependence of the transmission on taper shape is demonstrated by calculating the response of various shapes.     

Measurement of the bulk viscosity of liquid by Brillouin scattering

The aim is to develop a rapid and direct method for measuring the bulk viscosity of a liquid as a function of temperature. Brillouin scattering of a laser beam in fresh water and salt water at different temperatures has been studied. The results show that there exists a close temperature-dependent relationship among the Brillouin frequency shift, the Brillouin linewidth, and the bulk viscosity of water. Thus the bulk viscosity of water can be determined directly from Brillouin-scattering measurements. The method has a high signal-to-noise ratio and high accuracy.     

光纤拉曼放大器中级联的受激布里渊散射

在以25kmG652单模光纤为增益介质的光纤拉曼放大器中,观察到了级联的受激布里渊散射。光纤中的双瑞利折射作用导致了二阶布里渊散射光子的出现,加快了二阶布里渊散射的出现。在拉曼增益的作用下,随着二阶布里渊散射的饱和会出现级联的多阶布里渊散射,形成梳状光谱。该梳状光谱也具有明显的阈值特性。在拉曼泵浦功率是1200mW的时候,出现梳状光谱的阈值在1.5到2.5dBm之间。在传输系统中,级联的受激布里渊散射会导致放大器的增益饱和,严重恶化系统的信噪比,因此必须采用增加信号光的带宽或者对信号光进行调制等措施加以控制。但该现象也有可能被用来制造梳状光源。     

Observation of induced longitudinal and shear acoustic phonons by Brillouin scattering

To improve the accuracy of velocity measurements in the Brillouin scattering technique using weak thermal phonons, we have used induced coherent phonons, which intensify the scattering. To induce phonons in the gigahertz range, we used a c-axis tilted ZnO film transducer that was developed in our laboratory. This allowed us to induce longitudinal and shear acoustic phonons effectively at hypersonic frequencies. As a result, we obtained scattered light in the silica glass sample that was much more intense than that obtained from the thermal phonons. Because the Brillouin scattering from induced phonons was measured, the shift frequency was that of the electric signal applied to the ZnO transducer. Strong peaks lead to a reduction of the measurement time. This is useful for two-dimensional mapping of thin film elasticity using Brillouin scattering. Additionally, Brillouin scattering enables the simultaneous measurement of longitudinal and shear phonon velocities in the sample plane. This opens up a potential new technique for non-destructive elasticity measurements of various materials.     

Filling in of Fraunhofer lines in the ocean by Brillouin scattering

We have investigated the relative contribution of Brillouin scattering to the filling in of both narrow and wide Fraunhofer lines in the ocean. The spectral behavior of the filling in was studied in two ways. First we studied Fraunhofer lines of variable width, such as the 455-nm Ba line with full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) = 0.02 nm, the 486-nm H(β) line (FWHM = 0.08 nm), and the 518-nm Mg line (FWHM = 0.11 nm). We then used the 455-nm Ba line as a narrow-line model to calculate the spectral dependence of the filling in. We found that Brillouin scattering can play a significant role in the filling in of narrow Fraunhofer lines in the ocean. We have also shown that, compared with the filling in caused by Raman scattering, the filling in caused by Brillouin scattering has less dependence on both the wavelength and ocean depth but is strongly dependent on the linewidth of the Fraunhofer line.     

Biomechanics of fibrous proteins of the extracellular matrix studied by Brillouin scattering

Brillouin light scattering (BLS) spectroscopy is a technique that is able to detect thermally excited phonons within a material. The speed of propagation of these phonons can be determined from the magnitude of the Brillouin frequency shift between incident and scattered light, thereby providing a measure of the mechanical properties of the material in the gigahertz range. The mechanical properties of the extracellular matrices of biological tissues and their constituent biopolymers are important for normal tissue function and disturbances in these properties are widely implicated in disease. BLS offers the prospect of measuring mechanical properties on a microscopic scale in living tissues, thereby providing insights into structure–function relationships under normal and pathological conditions. In this study, we investigated BLS in collagen and elastin—the fibrous proteins of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Measurements were made on type I collagen in rat tail tendon, type II collagen in articular cartilage and nuchal ligament elastin. The dependence of the BLS spectrum on fibre orientation was investigated in a backscattering geometry using a reflective substrate. Two peaks, a bulk mode arising from phonon propagation along a quasi-radial direction to the fibre axis and a mode parallel to the surface, depending on sample orientation relative to the fibre axis, could be distinguished. The latter peak was fitted to a model of wave propagation through a hexagonally symmetric elastic solid, and the five components of the elasticity tensor were combined to give axial and transverse Young''s, shear and bulk moduli of the fibres. These were 10.2, 8.3, 3.2 and 10.9 GPa, and 6.1, 5.3, 1.9 and 8 GPa for dehydrated type I collagen and elastin, respectively. The former values are close to those previously reported. A microfocused BLS approach was also applied providing selection of single fibres. The moduli of collagen and elastin are much higher than those measured at lower frequency using macroscopic strains, and the difference between them is much less. We therefore believe, like previous investigators, that molecular-scale viscoelastic effects are responsible for the frequency dependence of the fibre biomechanics. Combining BLS with larger-scale mechanical testing methods therefore should, in the future, provide a means of following the evolution of mechanical properties in the formation of the complex structures found in the ECM.     

Threshold of stimulated Brillouin scattering by use of a solar pumped laser

What is to our knowledge the first stimulated Brillouin scattering experiment using a high-power low-gain solar pumped laser is presented. A threshold reflectivity of 0.23% was reached when a peak power of 20.7 kW was used at 7.6 GHz. A cw solar pumped laser was Q-switched with an acousto-optic modulator, and the bandwidth was narrowed with an intracavity etalon. A high polarization ratio (>99.4%) was achieved by use of an intracavity configuration. Higher reflectivity values were limited because of the lack of availability of optical switches.     

Brillouin scattering measurement of elastic constants of InPS4

We have used Brillouin scattering to study the anisotropy of acoustic waves in InPS₄. The results have been used to determine the elastic constants of the crystal. From the linewidth measurements, the acoustic attenuation was found very close to that measured in α-quartz at the same frequency.