Polarization analysis and experimental implementation of PLZT electro-optical switch using fiber Sagnac interferometers

The polarization characteristics of electro-optical (EO) switches using fiber Sagnac interferometer (FSI) structures are theoretically investigated. Analytical solutions of output fields are presented when the twists and birefringence in a Sagnac loop are considered. Numerical calculations show that the twists of fiber, the orientation of the inserted phase retarder, and the splitting ratio of the coupler will influence both the output intensity and the output polarization properties of the proposed switch. A polarization-independent EO switch based on a Sagnac interferometer and a PUT bar was experimentally implemented, which showed good coincidence with the analytical results. The experiment showed a switch with 22 dB extinction ratio and less than 31.1 ns switching time. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.

A mathematical and experimental investigation of microcycle spectral estimates of semiconductor flicker noise

The experimental portion of this thesis tries to estimate the density of the power spectrum of very low frequency semiconductor noise, from 10^-6.3 cps to 1. cps with a greater accuracy than that achieved in previous similar attempts: it is concluded that the spectrum is 1/f^α with α approximately 1.3 over most of the frequency range, but appearing to have a value of about 1 in the lowest decade. The noise sources are, among others, the first stage circuits of a grounded input silicon epitaxial operational amplifier. This thesis also investigates a peculiar form of stationarity which seems to distinguish flicker noise from other semiconductor noise.

In order to decrease by an order of magnitude the pernicious effects of temperature drifts, semiconductor "aging", and possible mechanical failures associated with prolonged periods of data taking, 10 independent noise sources were time-multiplexed and their spectral estimates were subsequently averaged. If the sources have similar spectra, it is demonstrated that this reduces the necessary data-taking time by a factor of 10 for a given accuracy.

In view of the measured high temperature sensitivity of the noise sources, it was necessary to combine the passive attenuation of a special-material container with active control. The noise sources were placed in a copper-epoxy container of high heat capacity and medium heat conductivity, and that container was immersed in a temperature controlled circulating ethylene-glycol bath.

Other spectra of interest, estimated from data taken concurrently with the semiconductor noise data were the spectra of the bath's controlled temperature, the semiconductor surface temperature, and the power supply voltage amplitude fluctuations. A brief description of the equipment constructed to obtain the aforementioned data is included.

The analytical portion of this work is concerned with the following questions: what is the best final spectral density estimate given 10 statistically independent ones of varying quality and magnitude? How can the Blackman and Tukey algorithm which is used for spectral estimation in this work be improved upon? How can non-equidistant sampling reduce data processing cost? Should one try to remove common trands shared by supposedly statistically independent noise sources and, if so, what are the mathematical difficulties involved? What is a physically plausible mathematical model that can account for flicker noise and what are the mathematical implications on its statistical properties? Finally, the variance of the spectral estimate obtained through the Blackman/Tukey algorithm is analyzed in greater detail; the variance is shown to diverge for α ≥ 1 in an assumed power spectrum of k/|f|^α, unless the assumed spectrum is "truncated".

Numerical and experimental analysis on green laser crystallization of amorphous silicon thin films

The effect of laser fluence on the crystallization of amorphous silicon irradiated by a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser is studied both theoretically and experimentally. An effective numerical model is set up to predict the melting threshold and the optimized laser fluence for the crystallization of 200-nm-thick amorphous silicon. The variation of the temperature distribution with time and the melt depth is analyzed. Besides the model, the Raman spectra of thin films treated with different fluences are measured to confirm the phase transition and to determine the optimized fluence. The calculating results accord well with those obtained from the experimental data in this research. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Judd-Ofelt analysis of spectra and experimental evaluation of laser performance of Tm3+ doped Lu2SiO5 crystal

This paper reports that the TM3+:Lu2SiO5 (Tm:LSO) crystal is grown by Czochralski technique. The room-temperature absorption spectra of Tm:LSO crystal are measured on a b-cut sample with 4 at.% thulium. According to the obtained Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters Omega(2)=9.3155 x 10(-20) cm(2), Omega(4)=8.4103 x 10(-20) cm(2), Omega(6)=1.5908 x 10(-20) cm(2), the fluorescence lifetime is calculated to be 2.03 ms for F-3(4) -> H-3(6) transition, and the integrated emission cross section is 5.81 x 10(-18) cm(2). Room-temperature laser action near 2 mu m under diode pumping is experimentally evaluated in Tm:LSO. An optical-optical conversion efficiency of 9.1% and a slope efficiency of 16.2% are obtained with continuous-wave maximum output power of 0.67 W. The emission wavelengths of Tm:LSO laser are centred around 2.06 mu m with spectral bandwidth of similar to 13.6 nm.

Theoretical and experimental absorption spectra study of [(FeTPPbipy]·)n provided by TD-DFT calculations

Comunicación a congreso (póster): 11th European Biological Inorganic Chemistry Conference EUROBIC 11. 12-16 September, 2012 - Granada (Spain)