CMOS photodetector systems for low-level light applications

Electron beam induced second harmonic generation (SHG) is studied in Er³⁺ doped PbO–GeO₂ glasses containing silver nanoparticles with concentrations that are controlled by the heat-treatment of the samples. The SHG is observed at T = 4.2 K using a p-polarized laser beam at 1064 nm. Enhancement of the SHG is observed in the samples that are submitted to electron beam incidence. The highest value of the nonlinear susceptibility, 2.08 pm/V, is achieved for the sample heat-treated during 72 h and submitted to an electron beam current of 15 nA. The samples that were not exposed to the electron beam present a susceptibility of ≈0.5 pm/V.     

Single attosecond light pulses from multi-cycle laser sources

High harmonic generation provides a means of producing attosecond pulses of light which are the shortest, controllable probes available to science for time-resolving ultrafast dynamics. We review techniques based on high harmonic generation for generating single attosecond pulses using high-power, multi-cycle laser sources, including optical-, polarisation-, and ionisation-gating schemes as well as techniques based on field synthesis. By significantly reducing the technical demands placed on the driving laser, these techniques have the potential to greatly broaden the application base for attosecond pulses.     

Detection of ultrawide-band ultrasound pulses in optoacoustic tomography

A laser optoacoustic imaging system (LOIS) uses time-resolved detection of laser-induced pressure profiles in tissue in order to reconstruct images of the tissue based on distribution of acoustic sources. Laser illumination with short pulses generates distribution of acoustic sources that accurately replicates the distribution of absorbed optical energy. The complex spatial profile of heterogeneous distribution of acoustic sources can be represented in the frequency domain by a wide spectrum of ultrasound ranging from tens of kilohertz to tens of megahertz. Therefore, LOIS requires a unique acoustic detector operating simultaneously within a wide range of ultrasonic frequencies. Physical principles of an array of ultrawide-band ultrasonic transducers used in LOIS designed for imaging tumors in the depth of tissue are described. The performance characteristics of the transducer array were modeled and compared with experiments performed in gel phantoms resembling optical and acoustic properties of human tissue with small tumors. The amplitude and the spectrum of laser-induced ultrasound pulses were measured in order to determine the transducer sensitivity and the level of thermal noises within the entire ultrasonic band of detection. Spatial resolution of optoacoustic images obtained with an array of piezoelectric transducers and its transient directivity pattern within the field of view are described. The detector design considerations essential for obtaining high-quality optoacoustic images are presented.     

Dynamic time-resolved diffuse spectroscopy based on supercontinuum light pulses

We present a detailed characterization of a system for fast time-resolved spectroscopy of turbid media based on supercontinuum generation in a photonic crystal fiber. The light source provides subpicosecond pulses in the 550-1000-nm spectral range, at 85 MHz, at an average power of up to 50 mW. Wavelength-resolved detection is accomplished by means of a spectrometer coupled to a 16-channel, multianode photomultiplier tube, giving a resolution of 4.5-35 nm/channel, depending on the grating. Time-dispersion curves are acquired with time-correlated single-photon counting, and absorption and reduced scattering coefficients are determined by fitting the data to the diffusion equation. We characterized the system by measuring the time-resolved diffuse reflectance of epoxy phantoms and by assessing the performance in terms of accuracy, linearity, noise sensitivity, stability, and reproducibility. The results were similar to those from previous systems, whereas the full-spectrum (610-810 nm) acquisition time was as short as 1 s owing to the parallel acquisition. We also present the first in vivo real-time dynamic spectral measurements showing tissue oxygenation changes in the arm of a human subject.     

Information storage and retrieval by stopping pulses of light1

Abstract

Despite the importance of quantum interference and coherent population trapping to the theory of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), it is shown that the recent experiments which slow down and even stop a light pulse in a dielectric really rely on a linear, refractive index type theory. From this point of view and in considerable contrast, the experiment on degenerate self-induced transparency (SIT) done 27 years ago which slowed down an optical pulse (in principle to zero velocity) was based on an intrinsically nonlinear (soliton type) theory. In quantum mechanical terms both theories are developed at the level of expectation values only and at this level the two different theories come together in terms of the storage and retrieval of information. In the Appendix we analyse the nature of this information in terms of the quantum equations governing linear EIT and nonlinear SIT.     

Temporal transformation of periodic incoherent ultrashort light pulses by chirped fiber gratings

The analogy between free-space propagation of optical beams and light-pulse reflection from linearly chirped fiber gratings is used to analyze the Lau effect in the temporal domain. The coherence conditions that are satisfied in the spatial domain for obtaining, at certain fixed locations, periodic fringes patterns are reformulated for guided light propagation. In this analogy, spatial periodic irradiance distributions are transformed in periodic sequences of light pulses. An optical setup is proposed to produce sharp pulse trains, with minimal distortion effects, that have repetition frequencies that are different from those associated with the input periodic optical signal. Some numerical results are given to illustrate this approach.     

Time delay of the voltage response to light pulses in superconducting indium

The time delayt _d between the application of a supercritical electric current and the appearance of a resistive voltage has been studied in superconducting microbridges of indium. The samples were biased with a constant electric current, and the supercritical current was generated by irradiating the samples with light pulses. Here the pair-breaking effect of the photons reduces the energy gap and the critical current. Our results are analyzed in terms of the model developed by Tinkham and its extension for including the nonequilibrium quasiparticle distribution due to the light irradiation. Apparently, due to the nonequilibrium quasiparticle distribution under light irradiation, the timet _d is considerably enhanced compared to the value of the unirradiated sample.     

Use of AL307 light-emitting diodes as photodetectors for diagnostics of femtosecond light pulses

A nonlinear electrical response has been observed for the first time from AL307 light-emitting diodes exposed to femtosecond light pulses. When used in an unconventional fashion as unbiased photodiodes, these AL307 light-emitting diodes give an electrical response proportional to the square of the recorded radiation intensity of ultrashort light pulses. Autocorrelation functions are given for femtosecond pulses obtained using AL307 light-emitting diodes in the autocorrelator instead of the conventional photodetector and nonlinear crystal system. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 24, 62–65 (January 12, 1998)     

Phase mask for spatial and temporal control of ultrashort light pulses focused by lenses

The field amplitude associated with ultrashort light pulses was analyzed by using the phase-space formalism of the Wigner distribution function (WDF). The diffraction integral was properly modified to take into account the dispersion effects (up to second order). A two-dimensional WDF associated with a reduced pupil function was derived, from which the on-axis irradiance was obtained for varying times. A two-dimensional and rotationally symmetric quartic-phase mask to control the temporal stretching of femtosecond light pulses passing through optical systems was proposed and analyzed. A Gaussian spatial and temporal pulse passing through a single lens with and without the phase mask was investigated.     

Detection of inhomogeneities with ultrasound tagging of light

Ultrasound modulated light for optical tomography is very useful, since it can provide three-dimensional data with minimal mathematical processing. Although several experimental studies have shown the potential of this method, the link between the ultrasound location and the modulated signal intensity at the detector is not yet fully understood. We derive an analytical formula relating the position of the ultrasound transducer and the optical signal at the detector. We also derive an expression for the signal-to-shot-noise ratio as a function of the transducer position. We show that in certain conditions this ratio is only slowly decreasing as a function of the light penetration depth, which makes this technique attractive for optical tomography.     

Detection of Cherenkov light emission in liquid argon

Detection of Cherenkov light emission in liquid argon has been obtained with an ICARUS prototype, during a dedicated test run at the Gran Sasso Laboratory external facility. Ionizing tracks from cosmic ray muons crossing the detector active volume have been collected in coincidence with visible light signals from a photo-multiplier (PMT) immersed in liquid argon. A 3D reconstruction of the tracks has been performed exploiting the ICARUS imaging capability. The angular distributions of the tracks triggered by the PMT signals show an evident directionality. By means of a detailed Monte Carlo simulation we show that the geometrical characteristics of the events are compatible with the hypothesis of Cherenkov light emission as the main source of the PMT signals.     

Tight focusing induces pulse delay and pulse compression of double-ring-shaped radially polarized ultrashort light pulses

The focusing of double-ring-shaped radially polarized ultrashort light pulses by a high-numerical aperture objective is investigated using vectorial Debye theory. After focusing, the double-ring-shaped radially polarized ultrashort light pulses slow down near the focus, and this pulse delay induces pulse compression in the propagation direction. That is, without changing the pulse duration, the spatial pulse length of the ultrashort light pulse is decreased near the focus. The velocity of the longitudinal component of the light pulse near the focus is lower than that of the radial component. The simulation results demonstrate that control of the ratio of the pupil radius to the beam radius affects not only the longitudinal component of the light pulse, but also the velocity and spatial pulse length of the light pulse because of the destructive interference between the longitudinal components of the inner and outer rings of the light pulse.     

Dynamics of ultrashort light pulses in a semiconductor superlattice in the presence of a magnetic field

A system of equations that describes the propagation of ultrashort light pulses (optical solitons) in a semiconductor superlattice in the presence of a magnetic field is obtained using coupled Maxwell equations for the electromagnetic field and the Boltzmann equation written in the relaxation time approximation for the one-electron distribution function. It is shown that an initial linearly polarized light pulse induces a field with the orthogonal polarization in the sample. The dynamics of joint propagation of the initial and induced pulses in the sample is studied.     

Visible optical parametric generator producing nearly bandwidth-limited femtosecond light pulses at 1-kHz repetition rate

The second harmonic of a femtosecond Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier system is used to pump parametric generator-amplifier producing visible light pulses of 160-fs duration near 570 nm and infrared pulses of < 100-fs duration between 1.23 and 1.45 μm.