Thickness metrics in posterior segment optical coherence tomography

To develop and compare a set of metrics for calculating tissue thickness in wide-field OCT data.

Optical Barker sequences and self-orthogonal convolutional codes

The relation between optical Barker codes and self-orthogonal convolutional codes is pointed out. It is then used to update the results in earlier publication.

Synthesis of wurtzite-phase ZnS nanocrystal and its optical properties

The wurtzite phase of ZnS nanocrystal has been prepared by annealing in 200-600 degrees C temperature range, its cubic phase of 2-3 nm size. prepared through soft chemical method. Results of isochronal experiments of 2 h at different temperatures indicate that visible transformation to wurtzite from cubic ZnS appears at a temperature of 400 degrees C, which is about three times smaller than that of bulk ZnS phase transition temperature. The phases, nanostructures, and optical absorption characteristics are obtained through X-ray diffraction. transmission electron microscopy, and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. A stable and green photoluminescence emission peaked at 518 nm is observed from the 600 degrees C annealed samples, under ultraviolet light excitation.

New light on the optical equivalence theorem and a new type of discrete diagonal coherent state representation

In many instances we find it advantageous to display a quantum optical density matrix as a generalized statistical ensemble of coherent wave fields. The weight functions involved in these constructions turn out to belong to a family of distributions, not always smooth functions. In this paper we investigate this question anew and show how it is related to the problem of expanding an arbitrary state in terms of an overcomplete subfamily of the overcomplete set of coherent states. This provides a relatively transparent derivation of the optical equivalence theorem. An interesting by-product is the discovery of a new class of discrete diagonal representations.

Self-image (autoidolon) techniques for the realisation of optical computing type operations

Abstract is not available.

Diffusion of localized optical excitations and trap emission in ruby

Using the critical percolation conductance method the energy-dependent diffusion coefficient associated with thermally assisted transfer of the R1 line excitation between single Cr3+ ions with strain-induced randomness has been calculated in the 4A2 to E(2E) transition energies. For localized states sufficiently far away from the mobility edge the energy transfer is dominated by dipolar interactions, while very close to the mobility edge it is determined by short-range exchange interactions. Using the above energy-dependent diffusion coefficient a macroscopic diffusion equation is solved for the rate of light emission by Cr3+ ion-pair traps to which single-ion excitations are transferred. The dipolar mechanism leads to good agreement with recent measurements of the pair emission rate by Koo et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol.35, p.1669 (1975)) right up to the mobility edge.

In situ pump probe optical absorption studies on Sb/As2S3 nanomultilayered film

We report the in situ optical transmission change in the complete visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum to asses the kinetics of photo induced interdiffusion in Sb/As2S3 nanomultilayered film. The interdiffusion of Sb into As2S3 matrix results in the formation of Sb-As2S3 ternary solid solutions which is explained by the change in optical band gap, absorption coefficients and Tauc parameter (B-1/2) with evolution of time. The wavelength dependence of the time constants provides a better description of photo induced effects. The time evolution of the absorption coefficients and optical band gap are significantly faster in this process. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stimulated interdiffusion and optical recording in Sb/As2S3 nanomultilayers

The role of the compositional modulation at nano-scale dimensions (similar to 2-10 nm) in the enhancement of optical recording parameters in nanomultilayers, which contain Sb as active, optical absorbing and diffusing layers and As2S3 as barrier (matrix) layers was investigated. Comparison was made with single homogeneous layers made of ternary (As2S3)(x)Sb1-x glasses and co-deposited from Sb and As2S3. It was shown that essential increase of the recording efficiency, sensitivity of the bleaching process, broadening of its spectral range occurs due to the stimulated interdiffusion of adjacent components in Sb/As2S3 nanomultilayers with optimized Sb layer thickness.

Effect of oxygen partial pressure on the structural and optical properties of dc reactive magnetron sputtered molybdenum oxide films

Molybdenum oxide films (MoO3) were deposited on glass and crystalline silicon substrates by sputtering of molybdenum target under various oxygen partial pressures in the range 8 × 10−5–8 × 10−4 mbar and at a fixed substrate temperature of 473 K employing dc magnetron sputtering technique. The influence of oxygen partial pressure on the composition stoichiometry, chemical binding configuration, crystallographic structure and electrical and optical properties was systematically studied. X-ray photoelectron spectra of the films formed at 8 × 10−5 mbar showed the presence of Mo6+ and Mo5+ oxidation states of MoO3 and MoO3−x. The films deposited at oxygen partial pressure of 2 × 10−4 mbar showed Mo6+ oxidation state indicating the films were nearly stoichiometric. It was also confirmed by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the films formed at oxygen partial pressure of 2 × 10−4 mbar showed the presence of (0 k 0) reflections indicated the layered structure of α-phase MoO3. The electrical conductivity of the films decreased from 3.6 × 10−5 to 1.6 × 10−6 Ω−1 cm−1, the optical band gap of the films increased from 2.93 to 3.26 eV and the refractive index increased from 2.02 to 2.13 with the increase of oxygen partial pressure from 8 × 10−5 to 8 × 10−4 mbar, respectively.

Structural, dielectric, impedance and optical properties of CaBi2B2O7 glasses and glass-nanocrystal composites

Optically clear glasses were fabricated by quenching the melt of CaCO3-Bi2O3-B2O3 (in equimolecular ratio). The amorphous and glassy characteristics of the as-quenched samples were confirmed via the X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) studies These glasses were found to. have high thermal stability parameter (S). The optical transmission studies carried out in the 200-2500 nm wavelength range confirmed both the as-quenched and heat-treated samples to be transparent between 400 nm and 2500 nm. The glass-plates that were heat-treated just above the glass transition temperature (723 K) for 6 h retained approximate to 60% transparency despite having nano-crystallites (approximate to 50-100 nm) of CaBi2B2O7 (CBBO) as confirmed by both the XRD and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies. The dielectric properties and impedance characteristics of the as-quenched and heat-treated (723 K/6 h) samples were studied as a function of frequency at different temperatures. Cole-Cole equation was employed to rationalize the impedance data.

Simplified theory of optical nonlinearities in spin-polarized semiconductors

The spin degree of freedom is largely disregarded in existing theories of the density-dependent optical properties of an interacting electron-hole plasma in quasiequilibrium. Here, we extended the pair equation, which is applicable to a bulk semiconductor at elevated temperatures, to calculate optical nonlinearities due to a spin-polarized plasma. We obtained agreement with recent circular dichroism data in laser-excited GaAs by using the plasma density alone as the fitting parameter. The simplicity of our theory, based on the analytical pair-equation formula, makes it ideal for conveniently modelling absorption in a carrier spin-polarized semiconductor.

Optical, dielectric and morphological studies of sol-gel derived nanocrystalline TiO2 films

Nanocrystalline TiO2 films have been synthesized on glass and silicon substrates by sol-gel technique. The films have been characterized with optical reflectance/transmittance in the wavelength range 300-1000nm and the optical constants (n, k) were estimated by using envelope technique as well as spectroscopic ellipsometry. Morphological studies have been carried Out using atomic force microscope (AFM). Metal-Oxide-Silicon (MOS) capacitor was fabricated using conducting coating on TiO2 film deposited on silicon. The C-V measurements show that the film annealed at 300 degrees C has a dielectric constant of 19.80. The high percentage of transmittance, low surface roughness and high dielectric constant suggests that it can be used as an efficient anti-reflection coating on silicon and other optical coating applications and also as a MOS capacitor.

Singular value decomposition based computationally efficient algorithm for rapid dynamic near-infrared diffuse optical tomography

Purpose: A computationally efficient algorithm (linear iterative type) based on singular value decomposition (SVD) of the Jacobian has been developed that can be used in rapid dynamic near-infrared (NIR) diffuse optical tomography. Methods: Numerical and experimental studies have been conducted to prove the computational efficacy of this SVD-based algorithm over conventional optical image reconstruction algorithms. Results: These studies indicate that the performance of linear iterative algorithms in terms of contrast recovery (quantitation of optical images) is better compared to nonlinear iterative (conventional) algorithms, provided the initial guess is close to the actual solution. The nonlinear algorithms can provide better quality images compared to the linear iterative type algorithms. Moreover, the analytical and numerical equivalence of the SVD-based algorithm to linear iterative algorithms was also established as a part of this work. It is also demonstrated that the SVD-based image reconstruction typically requires O(NN2) operations per iteration, as contrasted with linear and nonlinear iterative methods that, respectively, requir O(NN3) and O(NN6) operations, with ``NN'' being the number of unknown parameters in the optical image reconstruction procedure. Conclusions: This SVD-based computationally efficient algorithm can make the integration of image reconstruction procedure with the data acquisition feasible, in turn making the rapid dynamic NIR tomography viable in the clinic to continuously monitor hemodynamic changes in the tissue pathophysiology.

Optical tweezer for probing erythrocyte membrane deformability

We report that the average rotation speed of optically trapped crenated erythrocytes is direct signature of their membrane deformability. When placed in hypertonic buffer, discocytic erythrocytes are subjected to crenation. The deformation of cells brings in chirality and asymmetry in shape that makes them rotate under the scattering force of a linearly polarized optical trap. A change in the deformability of the erythrocytes, due to any internal or environmental factor, affects the rotation speed of the trapped crenated cells. Here we show how the increment in erythrocyte membrane rigidity with adsorption of Ca++ ions can be exhibited through this approach.

Automatic wildfire detection and simulation using optical information from unmanned aerial systems

In many parts of the world, uncontrolled fires in sparsely populated areas are a major concern as they can quickly grow into large and destructive conflagrations in short time spans. Detecting these fires has traditionally been a job for trained humans on the ground, or in the air. In many cases, these manned solutions are simply not able to survey the amount of area necessary to maintain sufficient vigilance and coverage. This paper investigates the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for automated wildfire detection. The proposed system uses low-cost, consumer-grade electronics and sensors combined with various airframes to create a system suitable for automatic detection of wildfires. The system employs automatic image processing techniques to analyze captured images and autonomously detect fire-related features such as fire lines, burnt regions, and flammable material. This image recognition algorithm is designed to cope with environmental occlusions such as shadows, smoke and obstructions. Once the fire is identified and classified, it is used to initialize a spatial/temporal fire simulation. This simulation is based on occupancy maps whose fidelity can be varied to include stochastic elements, various types of vegetation, weather conditions, and unique terrain. The simulations can be used to predict the effects of optimized firefighting methods to prevent the future propagation of the fires and greatly reduce time to detection of wildfires, thereby greatly minimizing the ensuing damage. This paper also documents experimental flight tests using a SenseFly Swinglet UAS conducted in Brisbane, Australia as well as modifications for custom UAS.