Flexible and stable optical parametric oscillator based laser system for coherent anti‐Stokes Raman scattering microscopy

The characteristics of a stable and flexible laser system based on a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO) is presented. This OPO can offer very stable operation with both ～1 ps and ～300 fs outputs over a broad wavelength range, i.e., 920–1200 nm. Combining the pump tuning with the OPO tuning, a total Raman range of 1900–5500 cm^?1 is accessible. For maximum spectral sensitivity, the CARS microsope based on the ps laser system is presented in detail. The lateral resolution of the microscope is diffraction limited to be about 390 nm. Fast wavelength switching (sub‐second) between two Raman vibrational frequencies, i.e., 2848 cm^?1 for C? H aliphatic vibrations and 3035 cm^?1 for C? H aromatic vibrations is presented as an example, although this also extends to other Raman frequencies. The possibility of obtaining a multimodal imaging system based on the fs laser system is also discussed. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Calibration of a wide-field frequency-domain fluorescence lifetime microscopy system using light emitting diodes as light sources

High brightness light emitting diodes are an inexpensive and versatile light source for wide‐field frequency‐domain fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. In this paper a full calibration of an LED based fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy system is presented for the first time. A radio‐frequency generator was used for simultaneous modulation of light emitting diode (LED) intensity and the gain of an intensified charge coupled device (CCD) camera. A homodyne detection scheme was employed to measure the demodulation and phase shift of the emitted fluorescence, from which phase and modulation lifetimes were determined at each image pixel. The system was characterized both in terms of its sensitivity to measure short lifetimes (500 ps to 4 ns), and its capability to distinguish image features with small lifetime differences. Calibration measurements were performed in quenched solutions containing Rhodamine 6G dye and the results compared to several independent measurements performed with other measurement methodologies, including time correlated single photon counting, time gated detection, and acousto optical modulator (AOM) based modulation of excitation sources. Results are presented from measurements and simulations. The effects of limited signal‐to‐noise ratios, baseline drifts and calibration errors are discussed in detail. The implications of limited modulation bandwidth of high brightness, large area LED devices (～40 MHz for devices used here) are presented. The results show that phase lifetime measurements are robust down to sub ns levels, whereas modulation lifetimes are prone to errors even at large signal‐to‐noise ratios. Strategies for optimizing measurement fidelity are discussed. Application of the fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy system is illustrated with examples from studies of molecular mixing in microfluidic devices and targeted drug delivery research.     

10 ps resolution, 160 ns full scale range and less than 1.5% differential non-linearity time-to-digital converter module for high performance timing measurements

We present a compact high performance time-to-digital converter (TDC) module that provides 10 ps timing resolution, 160 ns dynamic range and a differential non-linearity better than 1.5% LSB(rms). The TDC can be operated either as a general-purpose time-interval measurement device, when receiving external START and STOP pulses, or in photon-timing mode, when employing the on-chip SPAD (single photon avalanche diode) detector for detecting photons and time-tagging them. The instrument precision is 15 ps(rms) (i.e., 36 ps(FWHM)) and in photon timing mode it is still better than 70 ps(FWHM). The USB link to the remote PC allows the easy setting of measurement parameters, the fast download of acquired data, and their visualization and storing via an user-friendly software interface. The module proves to be the best candidate for a wide variety of applications such as: fluorescence lifetime imaging, time-of-flight ranging measurements, time-resolved positron emission tomography, single-molecule spectroscopy, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, diffuse optical tomography, optical time-domain reflectometry, quantum optics, etc.     

Status and possibilities of the time-of-flight measurement technique using long scintillation counters with a small cross section (Review)

Results of the analysis of the state-of-the-art time-of-flight measurement technique with the use of long scintillation counters with a small cross section (the length of the counter far exceeds its width in the plane of the hodoscope and thickness along the beam direction), which are used as basic elements of time-of-flight detectors for large physical installations and intended for identifying secondary particles generated during collisions of high-energy particles. The following issues are considered in this review. Various methods for identifying particles are compared, and it is pointed out that the time-of-flight method has certain advantages for secondary particles with momenta higher than ～3–5 GeV/c. Some elements incorporated in scintillation counters and affecting its time resolution are considered: optical fibers, optical contacts in the scintillator-fiber-photodetector system, and high-frequency cables. Their characteristics are presented. The characteristics of all elements of a counter (scintillator, photodetector (PD), and electronics) and the processes occurring in them are discussed. The presented experimental data show that, under the conditions of high counting rates and strong magnetic fields, the working capacity of counters holds at a time resolution of ～100–200 ps. The results of measuring the operating characteristics of counters are analyzed. The dependences of the time resolution on such variables as the coordinate of the particle transit through a counter along its length, the counter length, the light-absorption length in the scintillator, the quality of treatment of the scintillator’s surface, and the energy deposited by a particle in the scintillator substance are considered. The main characteristics of individual time counters and average parameters of time-of-flight detectors in certain physical facilities are presented. Possible ways to improve the time resolution and reduce it to ～50–100 ps are considered.     

A novel depth-from-focus-based measurement system for the reconstruction of surface morphology with depth discontinuity

Errors due to magnification variations are caused in optical systems when three-dimensional shape measurements based on depth-from-focus (DFF) are performed. These magnification variations cause focus measures to be incorrectly interpreted. In this paper, a DFF-based system which considers the magnification variations has been developed to undertake accurate measurements of surface morphology with depth discontinuity. The image magnification can be represented by magnification factors, which are computed using the ratio of diagonal image lengths of a rectangular calibration block, according to optical system movements. The image calibration is performed using the magnification factors. The calibration makes the image size of the object features identical, in spite of magnification variations resulting from optical system movements. Therefore, the application of accurate and reliable focus measures is made in the calibrated images. The performance of our presented system has been verified through experiments with actual objects with depth discontinuity.     

Spectral-luminescent properties of gradient-activated LiNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript> crystals with concentration profiles of Yb<Superscript>3+</Superscript> and Er<Superscript>3+</Superscript> ions

The luminescent properties of gradient-activated crystals of lithium niobate with concentration profiles of optical centers, ytterbium and erbium ions, are studied. It is shown that the spectral-luminescent properties of the gradient crystals are correlated with the concentration profiles of optical centers — donors Yb³⁺ and acceptors Er³⁺.     

Numerical analysis of crater formation and ablation depth in thin silicon films heated by ultrashort pulse train lasers

This study numerically investigates the optical and heat transfer characteristics of thin silicon films irradiated by ultrashort (shorter than 10 ps) pulse train lasers. The one-dimensional two-temperature model (1DTTM) is extended to the two-dimensional (2DTTM) model for estimation of crater formation. In addition, the wave interference effects on the optical and energy transfer characteristics are considered to predict accurately the energy absorption rates in thin silicon films irradiated by picosecond-to-femtosecond pulse train lasers. Unlike bulk silicon, a significant change in energy absorption is found to occur in thin silicon films with the variation of film thickness due to the wave interference. The spatial distributions of energy carrier and lattice temperature show quite a different tendency at different pulse durations as well as the number of pulses because of significant changes in the optical and thermal properties. The predicted crater shapes and the ablation depths by 2DTTM are also presented.     

Holder for fast photodiodes in TO-18 package

The design of a holder for fast photodiodes is described. These holders have been tested with commercially available photodiodes in a standard TO-18 package using delta light pulses from a synchronously pumped cw dye laser. Results of the measurements are presented and the holder is shown to perform well even for an experimental photodiode with a rise time of less than 40 ps and a FWHM of 80 ps.     

A high-energy YAG:Nd<Superscript>3+</Superscript> laser with fiber destroyed radiation coherence

The optical scheme and the design of a high-power YAG:Nd³⁺ laser, which generates radiation pulses of nanosecond duration at wavelengths of 1064 nm (0.8 J), 532 nm (160 mJ), and 266 nm (40 mJ) with destroyed coherence in a fiber and a smoothed intensity distribution in the beam cross section, are described. The processes that affect the generation efficiency of decoherenized radiation are considered.     

Application of a high power Yb fiber‐based laser compatible with commercial optical parametric oscillator for coherent anti‐stokes raman scattering microscopy

Coherent anti‐Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy is a powerful tool for chemical analysis at a subcellular level, frequently used for imaging lipid dynamics in living cells. We report a high‐power picosecond fiber‐based laser and its application for optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumping and CARS microscopy. This fiber‐based laser has been carefully characterized. It produces 5 ps pulses with 0.8 nm spectral width at a 1,030 nm wavelength with more than 10 W of average power at 80 MHz repetition rate; these spectral and temporal properties can be slightly modified. We then study the influence of these modifications on the spectral and temporal properties of the OPO. We find that the OPO system generates a weakly spectrally chirped signal beam constituted of 3 ps pulses with 0.4 nm spectral width tunable from 790 to 930 nm optimal for CARS imaging. The frequency doubling unconverted part is composed of 7–8 ps pulses with 0.75 nm spectral width compatible with CARS imaging. We also study the influence of the fiber laser properties on the CARS signal generated by distilled water. In agreement with theory, we find that shorter temporal pulses allow higher peak powers and thus higher CARS signal, if the spectral widths are less than 10 cm^?1. We demonstrate that this source is suitable for performing CARS imaging of living cells during several hours without photodamages. We finally demonstrate CARS imaging on more complex aquatic organisms called copepods (micro‐crustaceans), on which we distinguish morphological details and lipid reserves. Microsc. Res. Tech. 77:422–430, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Gamma bang time analysis at OMEGA

Absolute bang time measurements with the gas Cherenkov detector (GCD) and gamma reaction history (GRH) diagnostic have been performed to high precision at the OMEGA laser facility at the University of Rochester with bang time values for the two diagnostics agreeing to within 5 ps on average. X-ray timing measurements of laser-target coupling were used to calibrate a facility-generated laser timing fiducial with rms spreads in the measured coupling times of 9 ps for both GCD and GRH. Increased fusion yields at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) will allow for improved measurement precision with the GRH easily exceeding NIF system design requirements.     

Time-resolved near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy on photo-induced phase transitions using a tabletop soft-x-ray spectrometer

We present a table-top soft-x-ray spectrometer for the wavelength range λ = 1-5 nm based on a stable laser-driven x-ray source, making use of a gas-puff target. With this setup, optical light-pump/soft-x-ray probe near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) experiments with a temporal resolution of about 230 ps are feasible. Pump-probe NEXAFS measurements were carried out in the "water-window" region (2.28 nm-4.36 nm) on the manganite Pr(0.7)Ca(0.3)MnO(3), investigating diminutive changes of the oxygen K edge that derive from an optically induced phase transition. The results show the practicability of the table-top soft-x-ray spectrometer on demanding investigations so far exclusively conducted at synchrotron radiation sources.     

Features of the <Superscript>85</Superscript>Rb Spectrum in a Cell with an Antirelaxation Coating

Distortion of the spectrum of the D₁-line of ⁸⁵Rb in optical cells with an antirelaxation coating on the inner walls of the cell is studied. The spectrum shape is found to be significantly dependent on the velocity and direction of changes in the laser frequency. A physical explanation is provided for these features, which are confirmed by numerical simulations. The effect of the magnetic field on the spectrum shape is discussed.     

Review of Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry （ESPI） for Three Dimensional Displacement Measurement

Three dimensional（3D） displacements, which can be translated further into 3D strain, are key parameters tor design, manufacturing and quality control. Using different optical setups, phase-shift methods, and algorithms, several different 3D electronic speckle pattern interferometry（ESPl） systems for displacement and strain measurements have been achieved and commercialized. This paper provides a review of the recent developments in ESPI systems for 3D displacement and strain measurement. After an overview of the fundamentals of ESP! theory, temporal phase-shift, and spatial phase-shift techniques, 3D deformation measurements by the temporal phase-shift ESPI system, which is suited well for static measurement, and by the spatial phase-shift ESPI system, which is particularly useful for dynamic measurement, are discussed. For each method, the basic theory, a brief derivation and different optical layouts are presented. The state of art application, potential and limitation of the ESPI systems are shown and demonstrated.     

A high accuracy femto-/picosecond laser damage test facility dedicated to the study of optical thin films

A laser damage test facility delivering pulses from 100 fs to 3 ps and designed to operate at 1030 nm is presented. The different details of its implementation and performances are given. The originality of this system relies the online damage detection system based on Nomarski microscopy and the use of a non-conventional energy detection method based on the utilization of a cooled CCD that offers the possibility to obtain the laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) with high accuracy. Applications of this instrument to study thin films under laser irradiation are presented. Particularly the deterministic behavior of the sub-picosecond damage is investigated in the case of fused silica and oxide films. It is demonstrated that the transition of 0-1 damage probability is very sharp and the LIDT is perfectly deterministic at few hundreds of femtoseconds. The damage process in dielectric materials being the results of electronic processes, specific information such as the material bandgap is needed for the interpretation of results and applications of scaling laws. A review of the different approaches for the estimation of the absorption gap of optical dielectric coatings is conducted and the results given by the different methods are compared and discussed. The LIDT and gap of several oxide materials are then measured with the presented instrument: Al(2)O(3), Nb(2)O(5), HfO(2), SiO(2), Ta(2)O(5), and ZrO(2). The obtained relation between the LIDT and gap at 1030 nm confirms the linear evolution of the threshold with the bandgap that exists at 800 nm, and our work expands the number of tested materials.     

Short pulse laser train for laser plasma interaction experiments

A multiframe, high-time resolution pump-probe diagnostic consisting of a consecutive train of ultrashort laser pulses (approximately ps) has been developed for use with a chirped pulse amplification (CPA) system. A system of high quality windows is used to create a series of 1054 nm picosecond-laser pulses which are injected into the CPA system before the pulse stretcher and amplifiers. By adding or removing windows in the pulse train forming optics, the number of pulses can be varied. By varying the distance and thickness of the respective optical elements, the time in between the pulses, i.e., the time in between frames, can be set. In our example application, the CPA pulse train is converted to 527 nm using a KDP crystal and focused into a preformed plasma and the reflected laser light due to stimulated Raman scattering is measured. Each pulse samples different plasma conditions as the plasma evolves in time, producing more data on each laser shot than with a single short pulse probe. This novel technique could potentially be implemented to obtain multiple high-time resolution measurements of the dynamics of physical processes over hundreds of picoseconds or even nanoseconds with picosecond resolution on a single shot.     

Prototype cantilevers for quantitative lateral force microscopy

Prototype cantilevers are presented that enable quantitative surface force measurements using contact-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM). The "hammerhead" cantilevers facilitate precise optical lever system calibrations for cantilever flexure and torsion, enabling quantifiable adhesion measurements and friction measurements by lateral force microscopy (LFM). Critically, a single hammerhead cantilever of known flexural stiffness and probe length dimension can be used to perform both a system calibration as well as surface force measurements in situ, which greatly increases force measurement precision and accuracy. During LFM calibration mode, a hammerhead cantilever allows an optical lever "torque sensitivity" to be generated for the quantification of LFM friction forces. Precise calibrations were performed on two different AFM instruments, in which torque sensitivity values were specified with sub-percent relative uncertainty. To examine the potential for accurate lateral force measurements using the prototype cantilevers, finite element analysis predicted measurement errors of a few percent or less, which could be reduced via refinement of calibration methodology or cantilever design. The cantilevers are compatible with commercial AFM instrumentation and can be used for other AFM techniques such as contact imaging and dynamic mode measurements.     

Registration of picosecond CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> laser pulses by means of two-stage parametric transformation in nonlinear crystals

A technique for registering the temporal structure of picosecond pulses of CO₂ laser radiation with an energy of 1.5–4.5 μJ at a wavelength of 10.27 μm using two-stage parametric transformation of IR radiation frequency into visible light under pumping of nonlinear crystals by Nd:YAG-laser radiation in a Q-switched mode is described. A GaSe nonlinear crystal was used at the first stage of transformation (10.27 μm + 1.064 μm → 0.964 μm). Radiation was further transformed (1.064 μm + 0.960 μm → 0.506 μm) by using the same pumping in an α-HIO₃ nonlinear crystal. For the first time, no additional optical elements were present between the stages of the frequency transformer in the proposed optical scheme. The transformed radiation was registered with a Hamamatsu Temporal Disperser C1587 streak camera in a region of the photocathode maximum spectral sensitivity of ～0.5 μm with a temporal resolution of up to 2 ps. The minimum recorded pulse duration of the CO₂ laser was ～45 ps.     

Studies of a magnetically focused electrostatic mirror. I. Experimental test of the first order properties

When a uniform magnetic field is superimposed on a uniform electrostatic field, the combination can act as a magnetically focused mirror. This mirror is predicted to have aberrations of opposite sign to those of a magnetic lens and may therefore be useful as a corrector. We have built an electron optical system to test these ideas. The results are presented in two papers. This first paper describes the general design and the results of the measurements of the first order properties. The second paper (Tsai, F., J. Microsc . 197 (2000) 118–135) will describe the measurements of the aberration properties.     

High-resolution microscope for tip-enhanced optical processes in ultrahigh vacuum

An optical microscope based on tip-enhanced optical processes that can be used for studies on adsorbates as well as thin layers and nanostructures is presented. The microscope provides chemical and topographic informations with a resolution of a few nanometers and can be employed in ultrahigh vacuum as well as gas phase. The construction involves a number of improvements compared to conventional instruments. The central idea is to mount, within an UHV system, an optical platform with all necessary optical elements to a rigid frame that also carries the scanning tunneling microscope unit and to integrate a high numerical aperture parabolic mirror between the scanning probe microscope head and the sample. The parabolic mirror serves to focus the incident light and to collect a large fraction of the scattered light. The first experimental results of Raman measurements on silicon samples as well as brilliant cresyl blue layers on single crystalline gold and platinum surfaces in ultrahigh vacuum are presented. For dye adsorbates a Raman enhancement of approximately 10(6) and a net signal gain of up to 4000 was observed. The focus diameter ( approximately lambda2) was measured by Raman imaging the focal region on a Si surface. The requirements of the parabolic mirror in terms of alignment accuracy were experimentally determined as well.