Integrated MMI optical couplers and optical switches in Silicon-on-insulator technology

Integrated multimode interference coupler based on silicon-on-insulator has been become a kind of more and more attractive device in optical systems. Thin cladding layers (<1.0mum) can be used in SOI waveguide due to the large index step between Si and SiO2, making them compatible with the VLSI technology. Here we demonstrate the design and fabrication of multimode interference (MMI) optical couplers and optical switches in SOI technology.

Design and fabrication of polarization-insensitive 1550 mm semiconductor optical amplifiers

Polarization-insensitive semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA's) with tensile-strained multi-quantum-wells as actice regions are designed and fabricated. The 6x6 Luttinger-Kohn model and Bir-Pikus Hamiltonian are employed to calculate the valence subband structures of strained quantum wells, and then a Lorentzian line-shape function is combined to calculate the material gain spectra for TE and TM modes. The device structure for polarization insensitive SOA is designed based on the materialde gain spectra of TE and TM modes and the gain factors for multilayer slab waveguide. Based on the designed structure parameters, we grow the SOA wafer by MOCVD and get nearly magnitude of output power for TE and TM modes from the broad-area semiconductor lasers fabricated from the wafer.

Simulation and fabrication of thermo-optic variable optical attenuators based on multimode interference coupler

A type of thermo-optic variable optical attenuator based on multimode interference coupler is proposed. The optical field propagation properties of the devices are simulated using finite difference beam propagation method. The propagation loss of the fabricated device is 2-4.2 dB at the wavelength range 1510-1610 nm. The total power consumption is 370 mW and the maximum attenuation is more than 25 dB, which almost can meet the requirements of optical fiber communication systems.

Micro Insert: A Prototype Full-Ring PET Device for Improving the Image Resolution of a Small-Animal PET Scanner

A full-ring PET insert device should be able to enhance the image resolution of existing small-animal PET scanners. Methods: The device consists of 18 high-resolution PET detectors in a cylindric enclosure. Each detector contains a cerium-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate array (12 x 12 crystals, 0.72 x 1.51 x 3.75 mm each) coupled to a position-sensitive photomultiplier tube via an optical fiber bundle made of 8 x 16 square multiclad fibers. Signals from the insert detectors are connected to the scanner through the electronics of the disabled first ring of detectors, which permits coincidence detection between the 2 systems. Energy resolution of a detector was measured using a Ge-68 point source, and a calibrated 68Ge point source stepped across the axial field of view (FOV) provided the sensitivity profile of the system. A Na-22 point source imaged at different offsets from the center characterized the in-plane resolution of the insert system. Imaging was then performed with a Derenzo phantom filled with 19.5 MBq of F-18-fluoride and imaged for 2 h; a 24.3-g mouse injected with 129.5 MBq of F-18-fluoride and imaged in 5 bed positions at 3.5 h after injection; and a 22.8-g mouse injected with 14.3 MBq of F-18-FDG and imaged for 2 h with electrocardiogram gating. Results: The energy resolution of a typical detector module at 511 keV is 19.0% +/- 3.1 %. The peak sensitivity of the system is approximately 2.67%. The image resolution of the system ranges from 1.0- to 1.8-mm full width at half maximum near the center of the FOV, depending on the type of coincidence events used for image reconstruction. Derenzo phantom and mouse bone images showed significant improvement in transaxial image resolution using the insert device. Mouse heart images demonstrated the gated imaging capability of the device. Conclusion: We have built a prototype full-ring insert device for a small-animal PET scanner to provide higher-resolution PET images within a reduced imaging FOV. Development of additional correction techniques are needed to achieve quantitative imaging with such an insert.

Light-emitting-diode-induced fluorescence detector for capillary electrophoresis using optical fiber with spherical end

A simple fluorescence detector for capillary electrophoresis (CE) using a blue light-emitting-diode (LED) as excitation source is constructed and evaluated. An optical fiber was used to collect the fluorescence, and a flat end of the fiber was modified to spherical end, resulting in 50% increase of efficiency over the flat end. A simple device for optical alignment of the fibers and capillary column was designed. The concentration and mass detection limits for fluorescein were 1.8 x 10(-7) Mol l(-1) and 4.3 femol, respectively. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Realization of blue, green and red emission from top-emitting white organic light-emitting diodes with exterior tunable optical films

We developed an approach to realize blue, green and red emission from top-emitting white organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) through depositing exterior tunable optical films on top of the OLEDs. Three primary colors for full color display including blue, green and red emission are achieved by controlling the wavelength-dependent transmittance of the multilayer optical films overlaid on the emissive layer.

Rational Design, Synthesis, and Optical Properties of Film-Forming, Near-Infrared Absorbing, and Fluorescent Chiromophores with Multidonors and Large Heterocyclic Acceptors

A new series of film-forming, low-bandgap chromophores (1a,b and 2a,b) were rationally designed with aid of a computational study., and then synthesized and characterized. To realize absorption and emission above the 1000 nm wavelength, the molecular design focuses on lowering the LUMO level by fusing common heterocyclic units into a large conjugated core that acts an electron acceptor and increasing the charge transfer by attaching the multiple electron-donating groups at the appropriate positions of the acceptor core. The chromophores have bandgap levels of 1.27-0.71 eV, and accordingly absorb at 746-1003 nm and emit at 1035-1290 nm in solution. By design, the relatively high molecular weight (up to 2400 g mol(-1)) and non-coplanar structure allow these near-infrared (NIR) chromophores to be readily spin-coated as uniform thin films and doped with other organic semiconductors for potential device applications. Doping with [6,6]-phenyl-C-61 butyric acid methyl ester leads to a red shift in the absorption on]), for la and 2a. An interesting NIR electrochromism was found for 2a, with absorption being turned on at 1034 nm when electrochemically switched (at 1000 mV) from its neutral state to a radical cation state. Furthermore, a large Stokes shift (256-318 nm) is also unique for this multidonor-acceptor type of chromophore.

Bifunctional magnetic-optical nanocomposites: Grafting lanthanide complex onto core-shell magnetic silica nanoarchitecture

Anew class of bifunctional architecture combining the useful functions of superparamagnetism and terbium complex luminescence into one material has been prepared via two main steps by a modified Stober method and the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique. The obtained bifunctional nanocomposites exhibit superparamagnetic behavior, high fluorescence intensity, and color purity. The architecture has been characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-vis absorption and emission spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry.

Green electroluminescent device with a terbium beta-diketonate complex as emissive center

In this study, a terbium complex, Tb(acac)(3)bath (acac: acetylacetone, bath: 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline), was synthesized and its luminescent properties were investigated compared with the reported terbium complex, Tb(acac)(3)phen (phen: phenanthroline). When it was used as an emitting material in organic electroluminescent (EL) device, the triple-layer-type device with a structure of glass substrate/ITO (indium-tin oxide)/TPD (N,N'-diphenyl-N,N'-bis(3-methylphenyl)-1,1'-biphenyl-4,4'-diamine)/Tb(acac)(3)bath/Alq(3) (tris (8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum)/Al (aluminum) exhibited bright characteristic emission of terbium ion upon applying DC voltage. An apparent difference was observed between the photoluminescence spectrum and the EL spectrum. The EL device exhibited some characteristics of diode and the maximum luminance of 77 cd/m(2) was obtained at 17 V.