A new method is employed for retrieving the profiles of trace gas number densities from satellite-based ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectra of scattered sunlight, which are recorded from the limb atmosphere over a range of tangent heights. The slant column abundances of trace gas along the lines of sight (LOSs) are obtained by differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS), and the tomographic technique is applied to such column abundances to retrieve two-dimensional (2D) concentration profiles. For validation of the tomographic technique, the slant column abundances are simulated by a tested 2D NO2 profile set with latitudes from 90?S to 90?N between altitudes of 0 and 100 km, and the retrieval of number density profiles on 1-km grids is performed. The results suggest that between +(-)80?, the retrieved structure is almost the same as the test data. According to the comparison of the selected cross sections of the vertical profiles between retrieved and true concentrations, the NO2 number densities have been retrieved with an accuracy of 15% or better and 5% for altitudes between 25 and 40 km. The validation of the retrieved data shows good agreement between the retrieved and true profiles.

The fusion splicing of double-clad (DC) specialty fibers based on active alignment is crucial to the investigation of high-power monolithic fiber lasers. Given the wave-guiding characteristic of DC fiber, a light stripper is introduced in an active alignment experiment. We propose a novel method for stripping light that is convenient, highly efficient, and low cost. This method is also effective for low-numerical-aperture beams that escape from the fiber core. A splice loss as low as 0.05 dB is achieved.

A single-mode polymer optical fiber (POF) with highly photosensitive core doped with benzil dimethyl ketal (BDK) is fabricated and used for writing Bragg grating through the two-beam interference method. The Bragg wavelength of the grating is about 1570 nm, while the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the reflection peak is 0.3 nm. The temperature response of POF Bragg grating is theoretically analyzed and experimentally measured in contrast to silica optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG). The result shows that the temperature character of POF Bragg grating is negative, which is opposite to the silica optical FBG. The absolute value of the temperature response of POF Bragg grating is one order of magnitude higher than that of the silica optical FBG, making POF Bragg grating appear to be very attractive for constructing temperature sensors with high resolution.

Spectral hole burning (SHB) effects in a gain-flattened erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) are demonstrated to be significant in the presence of large signal power around the 1530?1532-nm wavelength range. These are the first effects reported in a setup employing equivalent power level distribution of 40 channels ranging from 1530 to 1561 nm. To explain this, the introduction of a new local population variable into the laser equation is required to support the original inversion ratio that is determined by the pump lasers. In the analysis section, spectroscopic parameters and high signal powers are considered to be other contributing parameters to the change in the gain characteristics. An improvement to this theoretical basis is suggested by implementing mathematical modeling to validate similarities between the gain shape of simulation to that obtained in the experiment.

A novel polarization maintaining fiber (PMF) loop is proposed and used for an interferometric fiber optic gyroscope (FOG). By splicing a conventional PMF loop with two pigtailed polarization beam splitters, polarized light can be guided to propagate along the slow and fast axes of the PMF in sequence to double its effective optical length in the loop. In particular, the resultant optical length in the combined loop is partially self-compensated for some external disturbances, such as transverse strain. Primary experiments on the FOG using the proposed loop demonstrate that the average static bias deviation between –40 and +60 oC is less than 0.050 deg./h, and the average bias variation under conventional random vibration test is less than 0.10 deg./h.

The fiber gratings fabrication technology with the heating method in a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) based on structural change is examined. The principle of photonic crystal fiber gratings (PCFGs) is analyzed in theory. The heat transfer theory and finite element method are used to examine the thermal field distribution in the fiber and the influence of the air hole structure in the cladding, and the parameters of the laser beam in the process of grating fabrication are discussed. The results show that gratings can be formed by the periodic collapse of air holes in the cladding of PCFs. Under double-point heating condition, the energy is uniformly distributed in the radial direction and is approximate to Gaussian distribution in the axial direction. With the same size of the luminous spot, as the layers and radius of the air holes increase, the laser power needed to make the air holes collapse decreases. With the same laser power, as the luminous spot radius increases, the needed heating time increases. Moreover, the relationship between the laser power needed and the air filling rate is obtained as the number of layers of the air holes changes from 1 to 7. This kind of PCFG can overcome the long-term thermal instability of conventional gratings in substance and thus has great potential applications in the related field of optical fiber sensors.

A scheme of flexible colorless remote note with reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA) assisted Michelson interferometer is proposed. This is capable of generating an optical carrier suppressed signal at a specific radio frequency to suppress the penalty brought about by Rayleigh backscattering and reflection in a full-duplex single fiber transmission network. Simulations are conducted, and the validation of the proposal is discussed by observing the penalty eye opening factor. The results are useful for designing cost-effective multi-wavelength passive optical network (PON) or radio-over-fiber (RoF) systems.

A method to reduce crosstalk in multi-view autostereoscopic three-dimensional (3D) displays based on the lenticular sheet is proposed. Correcting the luminance values of each parallax image displayed on the display screen is employed. We analyze the causes of crosstalk. We deduce the formulas of crosstalk reduction according to the relationship between crosstalk coefficients of each parallax image observed through the lenticular sheet, luminance values of each parallax image displayed on the display screen, and luminance values of each parallax image observed through the lenticular sheet at each viewing position. Experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

A novel fully phase color image encryption/decryption scheme based on joint fractional Fourier transform correlator (JFRTC) and phase retrieval algorithm (PRA) is proposed. The security of the system is enhanced by the fractional order as a new added key. This method takes full advantage of the parallel processing features of the optical system and could optically realize single-channel color image encryption. The system and operation procedures are simplified. The simulation results of a color image indicate that the new method provides efficient solutions with a strong sense of security.

This letter presents an automatic surveillance system using fish-eye lens camera. Our system achieves wide-area automatic surveillance without a dead angle using only one camera. We propose a new human detection method to select the most adaptive classifier based on the locations of the human candidates. Human regions are detected from the fish-eye image effectively and are corrected for perspective versions. An experiment is performed on indoor video sequences with different illumination and crowded conditions, with results demonstrating the efficiency of our algorithm.

The performance of space hyper spectral imager is severely affected by turbulent orbit temperature. Turbulence results in a defocus in the fore optical system of the imager. To address this problem, a focusing system is added. A number of simulation methods are applied on the fore optical system to study the relationship between temperature and focusing. In addition, this process is conducted to obtain a practical reference for focusing while the imager is flying on orbit. The obtained correlation between focusing and temperature is proven effective based on ground imaging and simulation testing.

The characteristics of diode end-pumped Tm,Ho:LuLiF for continuous wave (CW) running and high pulse repetition frequency (PRF) Q-switched operation are illustrated. In the CW mode, 950-mW output power with a slope efficiency of 24% is obtained. In the Q-switched mode, output energy of 78 μJ under 10 kHz with a slope efficiency of 23% is achieved. The pulse stability, pulse width as a function of pump intensity, and spectral characteristics are also analyzed.

Multi-pass mini-slab (MPMS) Nd:YAG ceramic lasers with a single-mode output of 38 W is examined corresponding to an optical conversion efficiency of 47%. Although several characteristics of various ceramic samples are almost similar, such as transmission, emission and absorption spectra, cross section, and thermal conductivity, their optical conversion efficiencies can vary from 5% to 40%. We present a simple technique to on-line measure the influence of scattering loss of ceramic on laser performance. This particular technique provides convenience and accuracy in pre-monitoring ceramic sample quality. Experimental results of the MPMS Nd:YAG ceramic laser agree with evaluations.

A simple technique for achieving a stable, room temperature and multi-wavelength lasing with narrow linewidth is demonstrated using Brillouin fiber laser (BFL) with a 100-m-long photonic crystal fiber (PCF) in conjunction with a dual-pass configuration. A broadband fiber Bragg grating (FBG) operating in the C-band region is incorporated at the end side of the setup to allow a dual–pass operation. The proposed BFL can operate at any wavelength depending on the Brillouin pump wavelength and the FBG’s reflection region used. With a Brillouin pump (BP) of 15.7 dBm, approximately 7 Stokes and 4 anti-Stokes lines are obtained with a line spacing of 0.08 nm.

A compact all-solid-state continuous-wave (CW) laser at 1047 nm is developed based on Nd:LuLF, which is grown through the Czochralski technique. From the laser system, 1.3-W laser can be obtained, which corresponds to the slope efficiencies of 20.1% and 49.5% with respect to the incident and absorbed pump powers, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest power level achieved at 1047 nm based on the Nd:LuLF crystal.

By using Faraday optical filter combined with four-wave mixing (FWM) amplifier, a narrow bandwidth optical amplifying atomic filter with switchable dual-passband is demonstrated experimentally. The two transmission peaks of the filter correspond to the Stokes and anti-Stokes frequencies, exhibiting a Raman gain in 13- and 17-fold, respectively, with bandwidth of ?120 MHz. By properly setting pump laser detuning, switching between filter passbands is realized. We also investigate the dependence of peak transmission on both pump laser intensity and Rb cell temperature. This atomic filter can find practical applications in long-distance laser communications and laser remote-sensing systems.

Based on the complementary media theory, we propose a way to transform a small object into a large one by coating it with a metamaterial shell with negative refractive index. Small waveguides made with this structure can replace large virtual tunnels to connect two separated waveguides. A small portal coating with complementary media is also designed in which a large entrance is concealed from electromagnetic wave detection. Two-dimensional numerical simulations are performed to illustrate the designed devices.

The feasibility of applying optical coherence tomography (OCT) in determining the degree of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury is assessed. The left anterior descending coronary artery of 90 Sprague-Dawley rats are ligated and reperfused at different times. The total attenuation coefficient obtained from the OCT images in the experimental group keeps increasing with reperfusion time and highly correlates with the histopathological characteristics (P <0.01). We present evidence proving the feasibility of using OCT for evaluating myocardial ischemia reperfusion.

Self-focusing effect via Kerr nonlinearity is observed in periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide arrays formed by electro-optic effect. Voltage-control method is demonstrated to control the focusing and diffraction of light. Theoretical simulation results show good agreement with experimental results.

Wedge waves (WWs) in wedges, including their dispersion characteristics and mode transformation, are investigated using the laser ultrasound technique. Pulsed laser excitation and optical deflection beam method for detection are used to record WWs. Numerous WWs are detected by scanning the excitation laser along the wedge tip. Dispersions of WWs are obtained by using the two-dimensional (2D) Fourier transformation method, and different WW orders are revealed on the wedges. Mode transformation is determined by fixing the distance between the excitation and detection position, as well as by scanning the samples along the normal direction of the wedge tip.

We propose a two-dimensional (2D) annular photonic crystal (APC) with dual equi-frequency contours (EFCs) in one band. The refractive behaviors of a Gaussian beam incident from air to the APC are analyzed by the EFC analysis and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The results show the positive-negative birefraction phenomenon for the transverse magnetic (TM) polarization in the same band occurs at the interface between air and the APC, and the surface termination of the APC has a large effect on the strength of the negatively refracted beam.

Porous silicon (PS) suitable for optical detection of immunoreaction is fabricated. The structure of immunosensor is prepared by the following steps: oxidization, silanization, glutaraldehyde cross-linker, and covalent binding of antibody. When antigen is added into the immunosensor, the Raman intensity is estimated to be linearly reduced according to the concentration of the surface protective antigen protein A (spaA) of below 4.0 μg·ml?1. The ultimate detection limit is 1.412×10^2 pg.ml^{?1}. Controlled experiments are also presented with non-immune antigen of the spaA, and results show that the immunosensor has high specificity. Compared with the conventional enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA), this method is quick, inexpensive, and label-free.

HfO2 and SiO2 single layer is deposited on glass substrate with plasma ion assistance provided by Leybold advanced plasma source (APS). The deposition is performed with a bias voltage in the range of 70-130 V for HfO2, and 70-170 V for SiO2. Optical, structural, mechanical properties, as well as absorption and laser induced damage threshold at 1064 nm of HfO2 and SiO2 single layer deposited with the plasma ion assistance are systematically investigated. With the increase of APS bias voltage, coatings with higher refractive index, reduced surface roughness, and higher laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) are obtained, and no significant change of the absorption at 1064 nm is observed. For HfO2, a bias voltage can be identified to achieve coatings without any stress. However, too-high bias voltage can cause the increase of surface roughness and stress, and decrease the LIDT. The bias voltage can be properly identified to achieve coatings with desired properties.

Aperiodic molybdenum/silicon (Mo/Si) multilayer designed as a broadband reflective mirror with mean reflectivity of 10% over a wide wavelength range of 12.5–28.5 nm at incidence angle of 5? is developed using a numerical optimized method. The multilayer is prepared using direct current magnetron sputtering technology. The reflectivity is measured using synchrotron radiation. The measured mean reflectivity is 7.0% in the design wavelength range of 12.5–28.5 nm. This multilayer broadband reflective mirror can be used in extreme ultraviolet measurements and will greatly simplify the experimental arrangements.

Ta2O5/SiO2 dielectric mirrors deposited by ion beam sputtering (IBS) are studied. The multi-shot laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) and its dependence on the number of shots are investigated, after which we find that the multi-shot LIDT is lower than that of single-shot. The accumulation effects of defects play an important role in the multi-shot laser damage. A simple model, which includes the conduction band electron production vsa multiphoton and impact ionizations, is presented to explain the experimental phenomena.