Integrated Q-switched multiple-cavity glass waveguidelaser

A novel Q-switching scheme, using rapid variation of the path difference between the cavities of a multiple-cavity resonator, is described. A thermooptic phase modulator was used to switch the cavity loss of a Y-junction glass waveguide laser between high and low states. Q-switched pulses with durations of 5 μs and peak powers of 70 mW were obtained     

Small signal equivalent circuit for Geiger-mode avalanchephotodiodes

The first small signal equivalent circuit for a Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode (GMAP) is presented. The equivalent circuit is derived from a 20 μm-diameter GMAP with 3 μm virtual guard ring overlap; the photodetector has peak responsivity at 600 nm and a calculated electrical bandwidth of 5.97 GHz     

Amplifying four-wavelength combiner, based on erbium/ytterbium-doped waveguide amplifiers and integrated splitters

We report the successful system demonstration of a four-wavelength integrated-optics amplifying combiner. The arrangement consists of an all-connectorized 4/spl times/1 glass splitter followed by a 4.5-cm-long Er/Yb-doped waveguide amplifier. When injecting 120 mW of 975-nm laser diode pump, we record, in the amplifying section, 11.6 dB of net gain in the single pass configuration and 23 dB in the double pass as well as a noise figure of 4.5 dB. These results show the potentiality of ion-exchange technology for the fabrication of lossless telecommunication devices.     

A Simplified Expression for the Probability of Error for Binary Multichannel Communications

We present a simplified expression for the probability of error, P_e, for binary multichannel communications. The original expression was derived by Proakis in 1968. More recently, Simon and Alouini presented an expression involving the generalised Marcum Q-function. In this letter we present a simplified form of Simon and Alouini's expression. The application of this result to the calculation of performance metrics for communications over fading channels is also discussed.     

Performance comparison of local area video streaming systems

The performance of our Quality Oriented Adaptation Scheme (QOAS) for multimedia streaming in local networks is compared with other existing solutions (TFRCP, LDA+, and non-adaptive). This comparison is done in terms of bandwidth utilization, number of concurrent clients, loss rate, and end-user perceived quality. Simulation results show that for the same average end-user quality, our QOAS system can accommodate a significantly higher number of simultaneous clients while also having higher bandwidth utilization. For the same number of clients, the average end-user quality is always higher for QOAS than for the other solutions studied.     

Evaluation of registration methods on thoracic CT: the EMPIRE10 challenge

EMPIRE10 (Evaluation of Methods for Pulmonary Image REgistration 2010) is a public platform for fair and meaningful comparison of registration algorithms which are applied to a database of intrapatient thoracic CT image pairs. Evaluation of nonrigid registration techniques is a nontrivial task. This is compounded by the fact that researchers typically test only on their own data, which varies widely. For this reason, reliable assessment and comparison of different registration algorithms has been virtually impossible in the past. In this work we present the results of the launch phase of EMPIRE10, which comprised the comprehensive evaluation and comparison of 20 individual algorithms from leading academic and industrial research groups. All algorithms are applied to the same set of 30 thoracic CT pairs. Algorithm settings and parameters are chosen by researchers expert in the configuration of their own method and the evaluation is independent, using the same criteria for all participants. All results are published on the EMPIRE10 website (http://empire10.isi.uu.nl). The challenge remains ongoing and open to new participants. Full results from 24 algorithms have been published at the time of writing. This paper details the organization of the challenge, the data and evaluation methods and the outcome of the initial launch with 20 algorithms. The gain in knowledge and future work are discussed.     

Modal Analysis of the Quasi-Optical Performance of Phase Gratings

This paper is concerned with the analysis of phase gratings as passive quasi-optical multiplexing devices. One important application of such components is in the local oscillator injection chain of heterodyne array receivers. Gaussian beam mode analysis can be applied as a powerful tool when modelling the optical performance of phase gratings in a real submillimeter system of finite throughput and bandwidth. In our experimental investigations we have concentrated on the Dammann Grating (DG) which is a binary optical component and thus straightforward to manufacture. A number of quartz gratings were fabricated and carefully tested to evaluate the practical limitations of such quasi-optical components. Because of its convenient refractive index quartz can be used to produce gratings with very low reflection losses. The results presented confirm DGs to be particularly suitable multiplexers for sparse arrays of finite bandwidth.     

On the feasibility of using an atmospheric discharge plasma as an RF antenna

The plasma produced by a laser-guided, electric discharge in the atmosphere has been formed in the shape of a folded monopole antenna with a characteristic frequency of 112 MHz. This plasma antenna has been used to transmit and receive signals at 112 MHz. While the plasma remained conducting, the signal transmitted from, and received on, the plasma antenna was within -1pm1dB of that transmitted from and received on a "standard" copper folded monopole antenna of the same size. During this time the signal transmitted from, and received on, the plasma antenna also remained approximately constant in amplitude (fluctuationssim pm1dB). This useful lifetime of the plasma antenna was varied fromsim 200 mus togeq 2000 mus by changing the dration of the electric discharge sustaining the plasma columns. In these experiments, the noise from the plasma antenna was not distinguishable from that developed using a copper antenna, but in both cases the noise was much larger than the true thermal noise background.