Light-directed writing of chemically tunable narrow-band holographic sensors

This tunable holographic sensor offers interrogation and a reporting transducer as well as an analyte-responsive hydrogel, rendering it label-free and reusable. A single 6 ns laser pulse is used to fabricate holographic sensors consisting of silver nanoparticles arranged periodically within a polymer film. The tunability of the sensor is demonstrated through pH sensing of artificial urine and validated through computational modeling. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Tunable Rashba effect in two-dimensional LaOBiS2 films: Ultrathin candidates for spin field effect transistors

Rashba spin splitting is a two-dimensional (2D) relativistic effect closely related to spintronics. However, so far there is no pristine 2D material to exhibit enough Rashba splitting for the fabrication of ultrathin spintronic devices, such as spin field effect transistors (SFET). On the basis of first-principles calculations, we predict that the stable 2D LaOBiS2 with only 1 nm of thickness can produce remarkable Rashba spin splitting with a magnitude of 100 meV. Because the medium La2O2 layer produces a strong polar field and acts as a blocking barrier, two counter-helical Rashba spin polarizations are localized at different BiS 2 layers. The Rashba parameter can be effectively tuned by the intrinsic strain, while the bandgap and the helical direction of spin states sensitively depends on the external electric field. We propose an advanced Datta-Das SFET model that consists of dual gates and 2D LaOBiS2 channels by selecting different Rashba states to achieve the on-off switch via electric fields. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

Generation of 140 fs pulse train with widely tunable repetition rate through cascaded fibre compression techniques

The authors present numerical simulations of ultrashort pulse generation by a technique of linear spectral broadening in phase modulators and compression in dispersion compensating fibre, followed by a further stage of soliton compression in dispersion shifted fibre. This laser system is predicted to generate pulses of 140 fs duration with a peak power of 1.5 kW over a wide, user selectable repetition rate range while maintaining consistent characteristics of stability and pulse quality. The use of fibre compressors and commercially available modulators is expected to make the system setup compact and cost-effective. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2014.

First demonstration of a full C-band tunable WDM-PON system with novel high-temperature DS-DBR lasers

We demonstrate automatic operation of a cooler-less tunable-laser based WDM-PON system. Using a pilot-tone based overhead channel and centralized wavelength locking scheme, 1 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s data transmission is demonstrated in a multi-user set-up. © 2013 Optical Society of America.

On-chip tunable micro-ring resonator based on digital microfluidics platform

We demonstrate the tunability of a silicon nitride micro-resonator using the concept of Digital Microfluidics. Our system allows driving micro-droplets on-chip, enabling the control of the effective refractive index at the vicinity of the resonator. © 2010 OSA/FiO/LS 2010.

Widely tunable picosecond fiber ring laser mode-locked by a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT)-polycarbonate composite film saturable absorber

A widely tunable fiber ring laser, utilising a SWNT/polycarbonate film mode-locker and a 3-nm tunable filter, has been realized. 2.3ps pulse generation over 27nm spectral range is achieved for a constant pump power of 25mW. © 2007 Optical Society of America.

Widely tunable picosecond fiber ring laser mode-locked by a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT)-polycarbonate composite film saturable absorber

A widely tunable fiber ring laser, utilising a SWNT/polycarbonate film mode-locker and a 3-nm tunable filter, has been realized. 2.3ps pulse generation over 27nm spectral range is achieved for a constant pump power of 25mW. © 2008 Optical Society of America.

Pixel-level tunable liquid crystal lenses for auto-stereoscopic display

Mobile video and gaming are now widely used, and delivery of a glass-free 3D experience is of both research and development interest. The key drawbacks of a conventional 3D display based on a static lenticular lenslet array and parallax barriers are low resolution, limited viewing angle and reduced brightness, mainly because of the need of multiple-pixels for each object point. This study describes the concept and performance of pixel-level cylindrical liquid crystal (LC) lenses, which are designed to steer light to the left and right eye sequentially to form stereo parallax. The width of the LC lenses can be as small as 20-30 μm, so that the associated auto-stereoscopic display will have the same resolution as the 2D display panel in use. Such a thin sheet of tunable LC lens array can be applied directly on existing mobile displays, and can deliver 3D viewing experience while maintaining 2D viewing capability. Transparent electrodes were laser patterned to achieve the single pixel lens resolution, and a high birefringent LC material was used to realise a large diffraction angle for a wide field of view. Simulation was carried out to model the intensity profile at the viewing plane and optimise the lens array based on the measured LC phase profile. The measured viewing angle and intensity profile were compared with the simulation results. © 2014 SPIE.

Hole concentration test of p-type GaN by analyzing the spectral response of p-n(+) structure GaN ultraviolet photodetector

A new method to test the hole concentration of p-type GaN is proposed, which is carried out by analyzing the spectral response of p-n(+) structure GaN ultraviolet photodetector. It is shown that the spectral response of the photodetector changes considerably with reversed bias. It is found that the difference between photodetector's quantum efficiency at two wavelengths, i.e. 250 and 361 nm, varies remarkably with increasing reversed bias. According to the simulation calculation, the most characteristic change occurs at a reversed voltage under which the p-GaN layer starts to be completely depleted. Based on this effect the carrier concentration of p-GaN can be derived.

Electric tunable of electron spin polarization in hybrid magnetic-electric barrier structures

Electron spin-dependent transport properties have been theoretically investigated in two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) modulated by the magnetic field generated by a pair of anti-parallel magnetization ferromagnetic metal stripes and the electrostatic potential provided by a normal metal Schottky stripe. It is shown that the energy positions of the spin-polarization extremes and the width of relative spin conductance excess plateau could be significantly manipulated by the electrostatic potential strength and width, as well as its position relative to the FM stripes. These interesting features are believed useful for designing the electric voltage controlled spin filters. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Investigation of responsivity decreasing with rising bias voltage in a GaN Schottky barrier photodetector

The unexpected decrease in measured responsivity observed in a specific GaN Schottky barrier photodetector (PD) at high reverse bias voltage was investigated and explained. Device equivalent transforms and small signal analysis were performed to analyse the test circuit. On this basis, a model was built which explained the responsivity decrease quantitatively. After being revised by this model, responsivity curves varying with bias voltage turned out to be reasonable. It is proved that the decrease is related to the dynamic parallel resistance of the photodiode. The results indicate that with a GaN Schottky PD, the choice of load resistance is restricted according to the dynamic parallel resistance of the device to avoid responsivity decay at high bias voltage.

A GaN photodetector integrated structure for wavelength characterization of ultraviolet light

An interesting GaN photodetector structure, which can be used for characterizing the wavelength of incident ultraviolet light, is proposed. It is composed of two back-to-back integrated diodes, i.e. p-n and p-i-n GaN ultraviolet photodiodes with different spectral response. The wavelength of monochromatic ultraviolet light could be identified by measuring the photocurrent ratio value through a simple electronic circuit.

Single mode operation of a Fabry-Perot laser locked by a tunable laser

In this article, the single mode operation of a Fabry-Perot laser (FP-LD) subject to the optical injection from a tunable laser is investigated. The maximum side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) is 53 dB, and the locked wavelength range is about 46 nm, which can cover 58 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) wavelengths with 100 GHz spacing or 115 ITU wavelengths with 50 GHz spacing for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) system. In the wavelength range front 1535 to 1569 nm, the SMSR is over 46 dB, and the frequency response of the injection-locked FP-LD can be improved with the proper wavelength detuning. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.