Optical image contrast reversal using bacteriorhodopsin films

The implementation of image contrast reversal by using a photochromic material of Bacteriorhodopsin (BR) films is demonstrated with two methods based on the optical properties of BR. One is based on the absorption difference between the B and M states. Images recorded by green light can be contrast reversed readout by violet light. The other is based on the photoinduced anisotropy of BR when it is excited by linear polarization light. By placing the BR film between two crossed polarizers (i.e. a polarizer and an analyser), the difference of polarization states of the recorded area and the unrecorded area can be detected, and thus different contrast images can be obtained by rotating the polarization axis of the analyser.

Synthesis and application on parallel image storage of bisfurylfulgide

A bisfurylfulgide, E, E-3,4-bis[1-(2,5-dimethyl-3-furyl)ethylidene]-3,4-dihydrofuran-2,5-dione, is synthesized by Stobbe condensation reaction. The molecular structure of target compound is confirmed by single crystal X-ray crystallography analysis. It shows that the distances between two possible reaction sites of molecule are 0.3394 and 0.3406 nm respectively, which is favorable to photocyclization. The photochromic properties of this compound in different solvents are investigated, and the result shows that the compound exhibits excellent photochromic behavior. The primary result of applied research on parallel image storage is also presented.

Optical image processing using the photoinduced anisotropy of pyrrylfulgide

A synthesized photochromic compound-pyrrylfulgide-is prepared as a thin film doped in a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) matrix. Under irradiation by UV light, the film converts from the bleached state into a colored state that has a maximum absorption at 635 nm and is thermally stable at room temperature. When the colored state is irradiated by a linearly polarized 650 nm laser, the film returns to the bleached state; photoinduced anisotropy is produced during this process. Application of optical image processing methods using the photoinduced anisotropy of the pyrrylfulgide/PMMA film is described. Examples in non-Fourier optical image processing, such as contrast reversal and image subtraction and summation, as well as in Fourier optical image processing, such as low-pass filtering and edge enhancement, are presented. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.

A multi-frame image super-resolution method

Multi-frame image super-resolution (SR) aims to utilize information from a set of low-resolution (LR) images to compose a high-resolution (HR) one. As it is desirable or essential in many real applications, recent years have witnessed the growing interest in the problem of multi-frame SR reconstruction. This set of algorithms commonly utilizes a linear observation model to construct the relationship between the recorded LR images to the unknown reconstructed HR image estimates. Recently, regularization-based schemes have been demonstrated to be effective because SR reconstruction is actually an ill-posed problem. Working within this promising framework, this paper first proposes two new regularization items, termed as locally adaptive bilateral total variation and consistency of gradients, to keep edges and flat regions, which are implicitly described in LR images, sharp and smooth, respectively. Thereafter, the combination of the proposed regularization items is superior to existing regularization items because it considers both edges and flat regions while existing ones consider only edges. Thorough experimental results show the effectiveness of the new algorithm for SR reconstruction. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrahigh-resolution fiber-optic image guides derived from microstructured polymer optical fiber preforms

Ultrahigh-resolution fiber-optic image guides-fused image fiber, faceplate, and taper-were fabricated by using microstructured polymer optical fiber (MPOF) preforms composed of two polymers: polymethylmethacrylate and polystyrene. The pixel diameter in the resultant MPOF-based image guides was as small as 3 mu m. The imaging capabilities of these types of fiber-optic elements were demonstrated. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America

Yb3+-doped 200 mu m diameter core, gain guided index-antiguided fiber

The lasing in an end-pumped gain guided index-antiguided (GG-IAG) Yb3+-doped silicate glass fiber with a 200 mu m diameter core is demonstrated. Laser beams with similar beam propagation factors M (2) and mode field diameters W (0) (> 160 mu m) were observed at the output end of the GG-IAG fibers under different pump powers, which indicated that single mode behavior and excellent beam quality were achieved during propagation. Furthermore, the laser amplifier characteristics in the present Yb3+-doped GG-IAG fiber were also evaluated.