Study of the optical properties of germanium films in the mid-IR spectral range

The optical properties of Si-doped germanium films have been investigated. It is shown that Ge films with 1.5 wt % Si have a minimum optical loss. The optical constants of Ge films have been measured at different substrate temperatures. The optimal conditions for producing films with minimum loss are determined.     

Adhesive As-S-Se-I immersion lenses for enhancing radiation characteristics of mid-IR LEDs operating in wide temperature range

The influence of As-S-Se-I chalcogenide glass lenses on the integral and spectral power and pattern of LED radiation has been shown. Simulation of the influence of the refractive index on the integral power for two lens shapes has been performed. The wettability and adhesion force of As-S-Se-I melt has been determined for several electronic engineering materials. Mechanical stresses between chalcogenide glass and adjacent diode body materials have been calculated for −100 to 53 °C temperature range. Stability of the immersion lenses against cracking has been experimentally investigated for −150 to 53 °C temperature range.     

Negative refraction in semiconductor metamaterials based on quantum cascade laser design for the mid-IR and THz spectral range

We have considered the realization of metamaterials based on semiconductor quantum nanostructures, in particular, with the structural arrangement as in quantum cascade laser (QCL) designed to achieve optical gain in the mid-infrared and terahertz part of the spectrum. The entire structure is placed in a strong external magnetic field, which facilitates the attainment of sufficient population inversion, necessary to manipulate the permittivity, and enable a left-handed regime.     

Differential reflectometry of FBG sensors in the wide spectral range

The paper presents a reflectometric technique for interrogation of multiple fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors based on conventional optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR). The method proposed rests on the differential measurement of FBGs’ response to a short probing laser pulse. Implementation of differential measurement principle using several reference FBGs allowed us to eliminate the susceptibility of the system to intensity fluctuations as well as to increase the measurement range as compared to the previous developments. The experimental threshold sensitivity amounted to ∼50 microstrain with the measurement range being defined by the number of reference FBGs and limited only by optical fiber tensile strength. Due to its simplicity, efficiency and usage of conventional OTDR equipment the proposed FBG interrogation technique can find a wide range of applications dealing with strain and temperature measurements.     

Polarization analyzers operating in a wide spectral range

Different versions of practical realization of customary optical systems for full measurement of the polarization state of quasi-monochromatic partially polarized light are considered. They can be used to overcome measurement difficulties associated with the finite width of the spectral range being studied. The effect of changes in characteristics of optical and polarization elements over a spectral range on the character of polarization measurements is analyzed. Methods for elimination of chromatism or taking into account its effect on measurements are suggested. Relations for taking into account the effect of chromatism of a phase plate with constant thickness on measurement results are given. Operation of a classical four-channel scheme for studing quasi-monochromatic partially polarized light in the visible and near-IR regions is considered. For this system, expressions are derived which make possible determination of Stokes parameters taking into account the effect of a finite spectral range. A system using phase modulation of radiation by an electrooptical cell and measurement of the maximum and minimum intensities of the modulated signal is considered. Measurements are carried out by using a two-channel system. Expressions are derived which make possible determination of Stokes parameters for the system under consideration in the visible and near-IR spectral regions. A system for measuring the polarization state of radiation in the visible and near-IR regions and based on modulation of radiation by an electrooptical phase cell is described. Measurements are carried out for the fundamental modulation frequency and its harmonics using a two-channel scheme. Relations for determining Stokes parameters of the system are presented.     

An approach to gas sensors based on tunable diode laser incomplete saturated absorption spectra

A spectral profile reconstruction method that can be applied to incomplete saturated-absorption spectra is proposed and demonstrated. Through simulation and theoretical calculation, it is proved that compared with the traditional wholeprofile fitting method, this new method can increase the concentration detection upper limit of a single absorption line by about 8.7 times. High-concentration water vapor is measured using TDLAS technology, the total water vapor pressure and the self-broadened half-width coefficient of the spectrum were simultaneously measured from incomplete saturatedabsorption spectra and compared with high-precision pressure sensors and the HITRAN databases. Their maximum relative deviations were about 4.63% and 9.10%, respectively. These results show that the spectral profile reconstruction method has great application potential for expanding the dynamic range of single-line measurements to higher concentrations,especially for in-situ online measurements under complex conditions, such as over large temperature and concentration dynamic ranges.     

Near-infrared trace-gas sensors based on room-temperature diode lasers

2 monitor designed for field applications using room-temperature diode lasers are presented. Near-infrared DFB lasers operating at 1.57 μm and around 2.0 μm have been used for CO₂ measurements. At ambient concentration levels a resolution of more than two orders of magnitude has been demonstrated at 1.57 μm, at 2 μm the precision is in the order of 0.1 ppm CO₂, and for trace analysis a detection limit of 10 ppb has been obtained. The measurements demonstrate the capability of near-infrared DFB diode lasers for the precise determination of CO₂ concentrations as required for climatological, medical, or industrial applications. Received: 24 February 1998/Revised version: 27 April 1998     

Optical parametric oscillator based difference frequency laser source for photoacoustic trace gas spectroscopy in the 3 μm mid-IR range

We report on the extension of the emission wavelength range of a nanosecond pulsed commercial optical parametric oscillator (OPO) towards the infrared. By difference frequency mixing the idler of the OPO with the fundamental of its Nd:YAG pump laser the wavelength range from 2.5–4.5 μm is covered at considerable pulse energies. This laser source is then applied for the first time to photoacoustic trace gas spectroscopy in the fundamental C---H stretch band located around 3.3 μm. Spectra of single- and multi-component gas mixtures of volatile organic compounds are recorded and analyzed with respect to composition and concentration. The detection limits for the individual substances within the gas mixtures are found in the lower parts per million (ppm) range.     

Simulation and study of material with diffuse scattering in the near- and mid-IR spectral ranges

Fabrication of efficient scattering materials based on uniform layer of metallized fine powder on the surface of thermoplastic polymer is analyzed. Spectra of diffuse reflection and scattering indicatrix of the materials in the near- and mid-IR spectral ranges are studied.     

外腔半导体激光器中激光二极管端面反射率的谱特性分析

考虑到端面反射率与波长有关 ,且带宽有限的实验事实 ,以及增益谱随载流子密度变化的因素 ,着重分析了激光二极管 (L D)镀膜端面反射率带宽、极小波长位置参量对光栅外腔激光器 (ECL D)调谐范围的影响。分析表明 ,除了 L D镀膜端面剩余反射率值、外腔反馈效率等因素之外 ,增大反射率带宽、精确控制极小波长位置是进一步挖掘 ECL D调谐范围的有效措施。增大反射率带宽 ,可更有效地提高参考载流子密度 ,延伸长波长端调谐区域 ,抑制 F- P腔影响。在确定的条件下 ,优化后的极小波长位置对应于调谐范围的极大值。理论分析结果较好地解释了实验现象     

Flexible laser diode trace gas sensor based on cavity ringdown spectroscopy with an optical fiber-coupled high-finesse external-cavity diode laser

A flexible and portable trace nitrogen dioxide sensor based on cavity ringdown spectroscopy using an optical fiber-coupled high-finesse cavity was successfully demonstrated. Tailoring the spatial mode matching condition of the core of an optical fiber and high-finesse external cavity allows for effective optical feedback into an antireflection-coated laser diode for stable resonant enhancement of the external cavity. The external cavity, which works as a ringdown cavity, could be remotely located from the light source and receiver section by only a single mode optical fiber. The sensitivity was found to be 1.0×10⁻⁷ cm⁻¹ in a compact 1-cm³ ringdown cavity volume.     

Laser emission efficiency of semiconductor target of gas diode in the picosecond range

Laser radiation excited in a cadmiumsulfide semiconductor target (ST) (λ = 522 nm) by a high-intensity subnanosecond electron beam (EB) with an energy of 70–150 keV has a maximum intensity of 3 · 10⁷W/cm² at an efficiency of~10%. Lasing arose at the EB exciting pulse front. The laser radiation pulse shape reproduced the EB pulse shape.     

Single optical cycle laser pulse in the visible and near-infrared spectral range

Since the inception of the laser, pulse duration has been continuously decreased by the use of a variety of techniques: Q-switching, mode-locking, and pulse compression. We would like to present a new technique based on the addition of laser sub-harmonic, ALS, that allows the production of a single-cycle pulse with single-femtosecond pulse duration. This simple technique takes advantage of the recent progress made in the generation of a few optical cycles and in optical parametric amplification. Received: 10 March 1999 / Revised version: 17 May 1999 / Published online: 30 July 1999     

Food monitoring based on diode laser gas spectroscopy

Food is frequently packed in a controlled environment of gas, in order to extend shelf life. It is of great importance to be able to monitor the status of the packed food to ensure quality. We demonstrate a technique to monitor the gas inside packages non-intrusively by using a laser spectroscopic method in scattering solid materials. The technique named GASMAS (GAs in Scattering Media Absorption Spectroscopy) is based on tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy and relies on the fact that free gas inside solid materials absorbs much sharper spectrally than the bulk material. Results from time dependent measurements of molecular oxygen and water vapour in packages of minced meat, bake-off bread, and the headspace of a milk carton are presented. We show that the technique allows gas measurements inside the food through the package, and assessment of the integrity of the package.     

A novel Raman optical activity instrument operating in the deep ultraviolet spectral region

Raman optical activity (ROA) has been exclusively observed in the visible (VIS) and near‐infrared (NIR) spectral regions to date. During the last few years, we have designed, constructed and tested the first ROA instrument, operating in the deep‐ultraviolet (DUV) spectral region employing 244‐nm excitation. This novel DUV ROA instrument is based on a backscattering geometry and incident circular polarization modulation (ICP); it makes use of a fast DUV imaging lens‐based spectrograph and specially designed DUV grade polarization optics. The performance of this instrument has been evaluated by analysing measured non‐resonant DUV ROA spectra of non‐absorbing enantiomeric liquid samples and by comparing these with corresponding ROA spectra recorded in the visible spectral region. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nonlinear optical response of silver and copper nanoparticles in the near-ultraviolet spectral range

The nonlinear optical response of silver and copper nanoparticles synthesized by ion implantation in silica glasses is studied in the near-ultraviolet spectral range at a wavelength of 354.7 nm. The real and imaginary parts of the third-order nonlinear susceptibility χ⁽³⁾ of composite materials are measured. It is shown that the quantity Imχ⁽³⁾ is due to saturated absorption, while Reχ⁽³⁾ is due to the self-defocusing effect in composite materials.     

Room-temperature gas sensors based on gallium nitride nanoparticles

Room-temperature sensing characteristics for H₂, ethanol, NH₃, H₂S and water have been investigated with thick-film sensors based on GaN nanoparticles, prepared by a simple chemical route. In general, GaN nanoparticles exhibit satisfactory sensor properties for these gases and vapors even at room temperature. The sensitivity for ethanol is found to be highest, the sensitivity and recovery times being smallest. Gas sensor properties of GaN seem to be related to intrinsic defects, which act as sorption sites for the gas molecules.