Tunable laser optics: Applications to optics and quantum optics

Optics originally developed for tunable organic dye lasers have found applications in other areas of optics, laser optics, and quantum optics. Here, the salient aspects of the physics related to the cavity linewidth equation and the effects of intracavity beam expansion and intracavity dispersion on this equation are reviewed. Additionally, the generalized multiple-prism dispersion equation is applied to direct-vision prisms, also known as Amici prisms, to calculate dispersion configurations of practical interest. Then, the higher derivatives of the multiple-prism dispersion equation applicable to laser pulse compression are considered. From this perspective, a new compact and generalized equation for higher-order phase derivatives is introduced for the first time. Furthermore, it is shown how the N-slit interferometric equation, derived from quantum principles using Dirac's notation, gives rise to generalized versions of the diffraction grating equation and the law of refraction. The nexus between the N-slit interferometric equation and the cavity linewidth equation is also illustrated. Finally, various optical and quantum optical applications that have benefited from these developments are highlighted.     

集成光学

一、概述 70年代初，低损耗光纤的出现开拓了光通讯实用化的前景，对于可靠的通讯系统，紧凑的光学器件以及对它们的集成是非常需要的。显然，集成光学的目的就是要使光学器件系统小型化、集成化。至于集成到什么样的规模，人们的想像肯定会受到微电子学成功的鼓舞。     

Digital optics

The authors discuss digital optics, a technology for processing, transport, and storage of optical digital information. Digital optics offers both the high temporal bandwidth of fiber communications and the high connectivity and information density of optical imaging. The energy dissipation per bit of communicated information, as well as the chip area dedicated to interconnections, can be significantly lower in optics than in high-speed electronics. This motivates the introduction of parallel optical interconnections through free space in communication-intensive areas of digital information processing such as switching in telecommunications and within multiprocessors. Digital optical circuits can be constructed by cascading two-dimensional planar arrays of optical logic gates interconnected in free space. The state of the art and the trends in digital optical information processing systems for optical logic, optoelectronic interfaces, and optical free-space interconnection systems are reviewed     

Nonlinear optics

Recent advances in the field of nonlinear optical phenomena are reviewed with particular empphasis placed on such topics as parametric oscillation self-focusing and trapping of laser beams, and stimulated Raman, Rayleigh, and Brillouin scattering. The optical frequency radiation is treated classically in terms of the amplitudes and phases of the electromagnetic fields. The interactions of light waves in a mterial are then formulated in terms of Maxwell's equations and the electric dipole approximation. In this method, non-linear susceptibility tensors are introdueed which relate the induced dipole moment to a power series expansion in field strengths. The tensor nature and the frequency dependence of the nonlinearity coefficients are considered. The various experimental, observations are described and interpreted in terms of this formalism.     

Long-wave optics

The basis of the near-complete analytical methodology that now exists for the design of long-wave optical systems is set out. The Gaussian beam-mode treatment of free-space propagation is extended to cover the transformations produced by conic-section reflectors or lenses, and both the propagation steps and the lens transformations are incorporated into a matrix formulation readily applicable to networks of such reflectors or lenses. In the process the theorems of Fourier optics are demonstrated and the vectorial properties of the beam-fields are kept explicit. It is shown how recent formulations of partial coherence have made it possible to include partially coherent beams in the same methodology. For the design of high-performance systems, the inclusion of higher-order mode dispersion must be fully understood, the vector properties must be recoverable, and the paraxiality on which the methodology rests must be critically assessed. The authors emphasize these aspects and present a single systematic formulation embracing all the elements     

Skin optics

Quantitative dosimetry in the treatment of skin disorders with (laser) light requires information on propagation of light in the skin related to the optical properties of the individual skin layers. This involves the solution of the integro-differential equation of radiative transfer in a model representing skin geometry, as well as experimental methods to determine the optical properties of each skin layer. These activities are unified under the name skin optics. This paper first reviews the current status of tissue optics, distinguishing between the cases of: dominant absorption, dominant scattering, and scattering about equal to absorption. Then, previously published data as well as some current unpublished data on (human) stratum corneum, epidermis and dermis, have been collected and/or (re)analyzed in terms of absorption coefficient, scattering coefficient, and anisotropy factor of scattering. The results are that the individual skin layers show strongly forward scattering (anisotropy factors between 0.7 and 0.9). The absorption and scattering data show that for all wavelengths considered scattering is much more important than absorption. Under such circumstances, solutions to the transport equation for a multilayer skin model and finite beam laser irradiation are currently not yet available. Hence, any quantitative dosimetry for skin treated with (laser) light is currently lacking.     

Guided wave optics

Phenomena associated with the propagation and manipulation of light in thin-film dielectric waveguides are presently the object of considerable research effort, directed toward possible applications in communications and information processing. The theory of dielectric waveguide modes is reviewed, and the topics of directional coupling, input-output coupling, modulation, and distributed feedback laser sources are treated on the basis of coupled-mode theory. A summary of experimental results for each of the guided-wave optical phenomena covered by the theory is also presented.     

High-density integrated optics

This paper presents two dimensional (2-D) finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations of low-loss right-angle waveguide bends, T-junctions and crossings, based on high index-contrast waveguides. Such structures are essential for the dense integration of optical components. Excellent performance characteristics are obtained by designing the waveguide intersection regions as low-Q resonant cavities with certain symmetries and small radiation loss. A simple analysis, based on coupled mode theory in time, is used to explain the operation principles and agrees qualitatively with the numerical results     

相位共轭光学

本文介绍了相位共轭光学的基本概念，综述了产生相位共轭波的各种非线性光学技术，并讨论了它们之间的关系。     

塑料光学元件赢得重视

新型材料、改进的设备和创新的设计使塑料光学元件在国防、生物统计学等前沿领域得到广泛应用。     

Physical optics inverse diffraction

A general method for solving the inverse diffraction problem is presented. It is based on an identity of Bojarski which states thatgamma(x)andGamma(p)are a Fourier transform pair. Heregamma(x)is the characteristic function of the target (gamma=1inside the target,gamma = 0outside),p = (2omega/c)J,omegais the frequency,Jis a unit vector specifying the aspect, andGamma(P)can be obtained by measurement of the backscattered electromagnetic far field at frequencyomega = (c/2)|P|and aspectJ=|p|^{-1}p. If data is obtained in any subsetDofpspace, the method yields partial or complete information about the target geometry. It is used to rederive earlier results very simply and to obtain a significant new solution, in which the target geometry is completely determined using frequencies only in a practical frequency band and aspects in a narrow cone.     

Digital computing with optics

Some of the current uses of optics in digital computing such as storage and networking, and the projected uses of optical interconnects are described. Several architectures that are being explored for optoelectronic computing are also described. These architecture are based on either the speed or the parallelism that is possible with optical systems. One or more of these architectures should prove fruitful within the next five years     

Wavelet processing and optics

Fourier optics has offered a powerful global information analysis and processing tool to optical domain signals and images and firmly locked its respectable position in the history of optics. The evolution of wavelet theory in the past decade, which has created significant impacts on many areas of information science and engineering, has recently been frequently mentioned in the optics community. Whether or not this locality-oriented signal analysis and processing tool can play a comparably significant role in optics remains to be answered. The present paper is intended to summarize important developments and recent progress in areas where novel wavelet processing concepts are incorporated into optics research     

激光感应液晶非线性光学效应

本文综述了液晶非线性光学效应的一般原理，描述了液晶电动流体力学不稳定性的各种机理指出了液晶研究的现代倾向。