Contents
2023
Volume: 21 Issue 3
27 Article(s)

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Research Articles
Atmospheric, Oceanic, Space, and Environmental Optics
Accurate measurement of aerosol optical properties using the multilongitudinal mode high-spectral-resolution lidar with self-tuning Mach–Zehnder interferometer
Fei Gao, Fengjia Gao, Xiao Yang, Gaipan Li, Fan Yang, Shichun Li, Li Wang, Dengxin Hua, and Samo Stanič
The multilongitudinal mode (MLM) high-spectral-resolution lidar (HSRL) based on the Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is constructed in Xi’an for accurate measurements of aerosol optical properties. The critical requirement of the optimal match between the free spectral range of MZI and the longitudinal mode interval of the MLM laser is influenced by the laboratory temperature, pressure, and vibration. To realize the optimal separation of aerosol Mie scattering signals and molecular Rayleigh scattering signals excited by the MLM laser, a self-tuning technique to dynamically adjust the optical path difference (OPD) of the MZI is proposed, which utilizes the maximum ratio between the received power of the Mie channel and Rayleigh channel as the criterion of the OPD displacement. The preliminary experiments show the feasibility of the MLM-HSRL with self-tuning MZI and the stable performance in the separation of aerosol Mie scattering signals and molecular Rayleigh scattering signals.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Jan. 16, 2023
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 030101 (2023)
Inhibition of the aero-optical effects of supersonic mixing layers based on the RVGAs’ control
Zihao Xia, Haolin Ding, and Shihe Yi
The infrared imaging windows of the hyper/supersonic optical dome are encountering severe aero-optical effects (AOEs), so a flow control device, the ramp vortex generator array (RVGA) is proposed based on the ramp vortex generator to inhibit the supersonic mixing layers’ AOE, which is done by the nanotracer-based planar laser scattering technique and ray-tracing method. The experiments prove that under different pressure conditions, RVGA can reduce the mean and standard deviation of the root mean square of the optical path difference (OPDrms) and reduce the supersonic mixing layers’ thickness and mixture a great deal. The AOE of the pressure-matched mixing layer is the weakest. Higher RVGA results in better optical performance. RVGA has the potential to be applied to supersonic film cooling to reduce aero-optical aberrations.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Mar. 09, 2023
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 030102 (2023)
Diffraction, Gratings, and Holography
Binary diffractive lens with subwavelength focusing for terahertz imaging
Ran Ning, Dayong Wang, Lu Rong, Jie Zhao, Yunxin Wang, and Shufeng Lin
The converging lens is one of the key components in high-resolution terahertz imaging. In this Letter, a binary diffractive lens is proposed for the scanning imaging system working at 278.6 GHz, in which a convergent beam with a waist diameter of 0.65 mm is generated, and 1 mm lateral imaging resolution is realized. This low-cost terahertz lens, constituted by concentric rings with different radii, is optimized by stimulated annealing algorithm and fabricated by three-dimensional printing. Compared with the conventional transmissive convex lens, higher resolution and enhanced imaging quality are achieved via smaller focal spot of the illumination beam. This type of lens would promote terahertz imaging closer to practical applications such as nondestructive testing and other scenarios.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Nov. 03, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 030501 (2023)
Self-healing of holographically generated moiré lattice wave fields | Editors' Pick
Siwei Tang, Chunlei Shang, Zhaofeng Liu, Chengzhen Lu, Yangjian Cai, Yuanmei Gao, and Zengrun Wen
Self-healing in optics generally refers to the ability to reconstruct itself and restore the original state after encountering obstacles in the propagation of the light field. In this research, we observe the processes of the wave fields from perfect to defect in front of the focal plane of the 4f system, finally returning to an intact situation after the plane. According to simulations and experimental results, there is a minimum self-healing distance for the moiré lattice field that positively associates with the radius of the defect (obstacle) in the nondiffracting transmission range. Furthermore, it is observed that the defect self-healing is a process of “repairing the center and then repairing the edges.” These findings can be applied in areas such as optical imaging, capture, and information processing.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Oct. 12, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 030502 (2023)
Fiber Optics and Optical Communications
Fiber communication receiver models based on the multi-head attention mechanism
Yubin Zang, Zhenming Yu, Kun Xu, Minghua Chen, Sigang Yang, and Hongwei Chen
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Nov. 14, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 030602 (2023)
Improve the throughput of M-to-1 free-space optical systems by employing uniquely decodable codes
Yatian Li, Tianwen Geng, and Shijie Gao
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Mar. 14, 2023
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 030603 (2023)
Imaging Systems and Image Processing
Convenient noncooperative speckle-correlation imaging method
Shuyue Zhu, Wenjun Yi, Meicheng Fu, Junli Qi, Mengjun Zhu, Xin Chen, Hongyu Zhang, Junyi Du, Ping Wang, Ju Liu, and Xiujian Li
For speckle-correlation-based scattering imaging, an iris is generally used next to the diffuser to magnify the speckle size and enhance the speckle contrast, which limits the light flux and makes the setup cooperative. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a non-iris speckle-correlation imaging method associated with an image resizing process. The experimental results demonstrate that, by estimating an appropriate resizing factor, our method can achieve high-fidelity noncooperative speckle-correlation imaging by digital resizing of the raw captions or on-chip pixel binning without iris. The method opens a new door for noncooperative high-frame-rate speckle-correlation imaging and benefits scattering imaging for dynamic objects hidden behind opaque barriers.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Oct. 28, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 031101 (2023)
Instrumentation, Measurement, and Optical Sensing
Method for active spatial alignment and stabilization of laser beams in multi-beam systems
Chenliang Ding, Dazhao Zhu, Chengpeng Ma, Mengbo Tang, Zhenyao Yang, Yong Liu, Cuifang Kuang, and Xu Liu
We propose a new method for the development of multi-beam systems for the spatial alignment and stability of beams based on the error separation technique. This method avoids alignment errors caused by coupling effect of piezoelectric devices, inaccurate correction calculations, and detection mode of the angular deviation. According to the results by external detectors, the error value of spatial alignment and the root mean square (RMS) of deviations under control during 1 h can be equivalent to approximately 0.87 and 1.06 nm at the sample plane under an oil immersion lens (focal length f=2 mm). The RMS of deviations is less than one-third of those currently reported for multi-beam systems; therefore, higher alignment and stability accuracy can be achieved with our proposed method.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Feb. 24, 2023
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 031201 (2023)
Enhanced Fano resonance for high-sensitivity sensing based on bound states in the continuum
Guang Feng, Zhihui Chen, Yang Wang, Xin Liu, Yinshan Liu, Xiao Liu, Fei Sun, Yibiao Yang, and Shuqi Chen
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Feb. 27, 2023
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 031202 (2023)
Integrated Optics
Flexible high-resolution thin micropolarizers for imaging polarimetry
Yan Wu, Yang Yang, Yue Yin, Linmao Dai, Xiaochun Li, Huihui Huang, and Shuangchun Wen
More durable (with high impact force), lighter, and more compact flexible azo dye micropolarizers are attractive candidates for low-cost, simple polarization imaging systems. The liquid crystal polymer (LCP), as an emerging material developed by photo-alignment technology, is a potential material for organizing the long-range ordered structure of azo dyes. However, little research has been done on LCP aligned azo dyes. This paper points out and solves a key problem that restricts the fabrication of high-precision arrays in guest (azo dye)-host (LCP) systems: the doping of dyes leads to disorder of the LCP during curing. After solving the problem, the relationship between the thickness of the LCP and the extinction ratio of the polarizing film was investigated, which effectively improved the extinction ratio. Alignment of azo dye molecules in the range of 2 µm (0°–180°) and arrays of micropolarizers (0°, 45°, 90°, -45°) with 8 µm × 8 µm pixel pitch was achieved by laser direct writing technology. The bending cycle test demonstrates the mechanical stability of the ultrathin flexible polarizer. The flexible patterned polarizer with robust chemical and mechanical stabilities provides a flexible way to capture the polarization of the light and highly integrated advanced flexible optoelectronic devices.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Nov. 28, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 031301 (2023)
Lasers, Optical Amplifiers, and Laser Optics
Continuous-wave three-wavelength operation of a diode-pumped Tm:YVO4 laser on the 3H43H5 and 3F43H6 transitions
Jiaqun Zhao, Yuantong Liu, Ping Cheng, and Rui Yu
A diode-pumped continuous-wave Tm:YVO4 laser operating on the H34→H35 and F43→H36 transitions was demonstrated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. An a-cut Tm:YVO4 crystal with 1.5% (atomic fraction) Tm3+ ion concentration was used to characterize the laser behavior. A common commercial laser diode with a central wavelength of 790 nm and a bandwidth of 3.2 nm was utilized as a pump source. With an output coupler for the H34→H35 and F34→H36 transitions, simultaneous three-wavelength laser operation was achieved. The laser emissions at 2292 and 2363 nm in π-polarization and at 2108 nm in σ-polarization were realized. With an incident pump power of 22 W, the total output power of 1.17 W at 2292, 2363, and 2108 nm was obtained. The output power at 2292 and 2363 nm was measured to be 750 mW, and the output power at 2108 nm was measured to be 420 mW.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Nov. 03, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 031401 (2023)
Polarization domains and self-mode-locked pulses in an erbium-doped fiber laser
Peiyun Cheng, Mengmeng Han, Yueqing Du, and Xuewen Shu
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Nov. 08, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 031402 (2023)
Serrated periodic electrode for high energy efficiency and large bandwidth acousto-optic modulators
Ji Wu, Li Liang, Kefeng Tu, Kunying Li, Zi Wang, and Guoqiang Lü
In an acousto-optic modulator, the electrode shape plays an important role in performance, since it affects the distribution of the acoustic field. The acousto-optic modulator based on the conventional rectangular electrode has the problems of low energy efficiency and small modulation bandwidth due to an imperfect acoustic field. In this paper, a new serrated periodic electrode has been proposed for using acousto-optic modulator transducers. The proposed electrode has the following advantages. By using serrated periodic electrodes to suppress the sidelobes, the collimation of the acoustic field in the direction perpendicular to the light incidence is improved. This makes the acousto-optic modulator have a stable diffraction efficiency fluctuation and high energy efficiency. In addition, the electrode has a large divergence angle in the direction of light incidence, so a large bandwidth can be obtained. The simulations and experiments demonstrate that the serrated periodic electrode has an increased bandwidth and high energy efficiency.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Nov. 01, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 031403 (2023)
All-fiber-based ultrastable laser with long-term frequency stability of 1.1 × 10-14
Yafeng Huang, Di Hu, Meifeng Ye, Yating Wang, Yanli Li, Ming Li, Yinnan Chen, Qiuzhi Qu, Lingke Wang, Liang Liu, and Tang Li
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Nov. 01, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 031404 (2023)
Beam homogenization structure for a laser illuminator design based on diode laser beam combining technology
Jinliang Han, Jun Zhang, Xiaonan Shan, Yawei Zhang, Hangyu Peng, Li Qin, and Lijun Wang
With the rapid development of laser technology, laser as the light source of night vision illuminating can realize long-distance and clear imaging, which has been widely used in laser active illuminating field. A high-power diode laser with a wavelength of 808 nm was designed as the laser active illuminating source, and the output power of no less than 100 W was obtained by spatial beam multiplexing, polarization multiplexing, and high efficiency fiber coupling techniques. In view of the beam homogenization of illuminating source, a novel beam homogenization system based on waveguide is proposed in this work. A square spot with a horizontal divergence angle of 40°, a vertical divergence angle of 10°, and an illuminating power ratio of 4:1 was obtained by a collimating lens. Comparing with the traditional circular illuminating beam, the square illuminating beam can match the illuminating angle of CCD camera better, and the energy utilization rate is higher. In addition, by optimizing the structure of waveguide and collimating lens, the illuminating angle can be changed to meet the illuminating requirements under different conditions theoretically.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Nov. 11, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 031405 (2023)
Transverse mode interaction-induced Raman laser switching dynamics in a silica rod microresonator
Xueying Jin, Qinglin Fang, Xin Xu, Yu Yang, Haoran Gao, and Haojie Xia
We investigate the mechanisms to realize the Raman laser switching in a silica rod microresonator with mode-interaction-assisted excitation. The laser switching can be triggered between two whispering gallery modes (WGMs) with either the same or distinct mode families, depending on the pumping conditions. The experimental observations are in excellent agreement with a theoretical analysis based on coupled-mode equations with intermodal interaction terms involved. Additionally, we also demonstrate switching of a single-mode Raman laser and a wideband spectral tuning range up to ∼32.67 nm by selective excitation of distinct mode sequences. The results contribute to the understanding of Raman lasing formation dynamics via interaction with transverse mode sequences and may extend the microcavity-based Raman microlasers to potential areas in switchable light sources, optical memories, and high sensitivity sensors.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Nov. 28, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 031407 (2023)
Nanophotonics, Metamaterials, and Plasmonics
Cylindrical vector beam generator on photonic crystal cavity integrated with metal split ring nanoresonators
Yingke Ji, Xin Xie, Liang Fang, Yisong Zhu, Jianlin Zhao, and Xuetao Gan
We propose a chip-integratable cylindrical vector (CV) beam generator by integrating six plasmonic split ring resonators (SRRs) on a planar photonic crystal (PPC) cavity. The employed PPC cavity is formed by cutting six adjacent air holes in the PPC center, which could generate a CV beam with azimuthally symmetric polarizations. By further integrating six SRRs on the structure defects of the PPC cavity, the polarizations of the CV beam could be tailored by controlling the opening angles of the SRRs, e.g., from azimuthal to radial symmetry. The mechanism is governed by the coupling between the resonance modes in SRRs and PPC cavity, which modifies the far-field radiation of the resonance mode of the PPC cavity with the SRR as the nano-antenna. The integration of SRRs also increases the coupling of the generated CV beam with the free-space optics, such as an objective lens, promising its further applications in optical communication, optical tweezer, imaging, etc.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Nov. 15, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 033601 (2023)
High color saturation and angle-insensitive ultrathin color filter based on effective medium theory
Xinting Li, Yang Li, Chao Li, Song Gao, and Wenjing Yue
An ultrathin angle-insensitive color filter enabling high color saturation and a wide color gamut is proposed by relying on a magnesium hydride-hydrogenated amorphous silicon (MgH2-a-Si:H) lossy dielectric layer. Based on effective medium theory, the MgH2-a-Si:H layer with an ultrathin thickness can be equivalent to a quasi-homogeneous dielectric layer with an effective complex refractive index, which can be tuned by altering the thickness of MgH2 to obtain the targeted value of the imaginary part, corresponding to the realization of high color saturation. It is verified that the proposed color filter offers highly enhanced color saturation in conjunction with a wide color gamut by introducing a few-nanometer thick MgH2 layer. As the MgH2-a-Si:H layer retains the advantages of high refractive index and tiny thickness, the proposed color filter exhibits large angular tolerance up to ±60°. In addition, MgH2 with an unstable property can interconvert with Mg under a dehydrogenation/hydrogenation reaction, which empowers the proposed color filter with dynamically tunable output color. The proposed scheme shows great promise in color printing and ultracompact display devices with high color saturation, wide gamut, large angular tolerance, and dynamic tunability.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Dec. 01, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 033602 (2023)
Azimuthal vector beam illuminating plasmonic tips circular cluster for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy | On the Cover
Lu Zhang, Chao Meng, Hao Yang, and Wending Zhang
Noble metallic nanostructures with strong electric near-field enhancement can significantly improve nanoscale light–matter interactions and are critical for high-sensitivity surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Here, we use an azimuthal vector beam (AVB) to illuminate the plasmonic tips circular cluster (PTCC) array to enhance the electric near-field intensity of the PTCC array, and then use it to improve SERS sensitivity. The PTCC array was prepared based on the self-assembled and inductive coupled plasmon (ICP) etching methods. The calculation results show that, compared with the linearly polarized beam (LPB) and radial vector beam excitations, the AVB excitation can obtain stronger electric near-field enhancement due to the strong resonant responses formed in the nanogap between adjacent plasmonic tips. Subsequently, our experimental results proved that AVB excitation increased SERS sensitivity to 10-13 mol/L, which is two orders of magnitude higher than that of LPB excitation. Meanwhile, the PTCC array had excellent uniformity with the Raman enhancement factor calculated to be ∼2.4×108. This kind of vector light field enhancing Raman spectroscopy may be applied in the field of sensing technologies, such as the trace amount detection.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Nov. 28, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 033603 (2023)
Nonlinear Optics
Characteristic extraction of soliton dynamics based on convolutional autoencoder neural network
Congcong Liu, Jiangyong He, Pan Wang, Dengke Xing, Jin Li, Yange Liu, and Zhi Wang
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Nov. 03, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 031901 (2023)
Highly efficient transient stimulated Raman scattering on secondary vibrational mode of BaWO4 crystal due to its constructive interference with self-phase modulation
Igor Kinyaevskiy, Valeri Kovalev, Pavel Danilov, Nikita Smirnov, Sergey Kudryashov, Andrey Koribut, and Andrey Ionin
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Mar. 14, 2023
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 031902 (2023)
Optoelectronics
High-uniformity 2 × 64 silicon avalanche photodiode arrays with silicon multiple epitaxy technology
Tiancai Wang, Peng Cao, Hongling Peng, Chuanwang Xu, Haizhi Song, and Wanhua Zheng
In this paper, high-uniformity 2×64 silicon avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays are reported. Silicon multiple epitaxy technology was used, and the high performance APD arrays based on double-layer epiwafers are achieved for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. A high-uniformity breakdown voltage with a fluctuation of smaller than 3.5 V is obtained for the fabricated APD arrays. The dark currents are below 90 pA for all 128 pixels at unity gain voltage. The pixels in the APD arrays show a gain factor of larger than 300 and a peak responsivity of 0.53 A/W@M = 1 at 850 nm (corresponding to maximum external quantum efficiency of 81%) at room temperature. Quick optical pulse response time was measured, and a corresponding cutoff frequency up to 100 MHz was obtained.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Oct. 14, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 032501 (2023)
High-stability 4H-SiC avalanche photodiodes for UV detection at high temperatures
Xingye Zhou, Yuanjie Lü, Hongyu Guo, Xubo Song, Yuangang Wang, Shixiong Liang, Aimin Bu, and Zhihong Feng
In this work, high-stability 4H-SiC avalanche photodiodes (APDs) for ultraviolet (UV) detection at high temperatures are fabricated and investigated. With the temperature increasing from room temperature to 150°C, a very small temperature coefficient of 7.4 mV/°C is achieved for the avalanche breakdown voltage of devices. For the first time, the stability of 4H-SiC APDs is verified based on an accelerated aging test with harsh stress conditions. Three different stress conditions are selected with the temperatures and reverse currents of 175°C/100 µA, 200°C/100 µA, and 200°C/500 µA, respectively. The results show that our 4H-SiC APD exhibits robust high-temperature performance and can even endure more than 120 hours at the harsh aging condition of 200°C/500 µA, which indicates that 4H-SiC APDs are very stable and reliable for applications at high temperatures.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Oct. 28, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 032502 (2023)
Quantum Optics and Quantum Information
All-fiber telecom band energy-time entangled biphoton source | Editors' Pick
Yuting Liu, Junjie Xing, Zhiguang Xia, Run'ai Quan, Huibo Hong, Tao Liu, Shougang Zhang, Xiao Xiang, and Ruifang Dong
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Mar. 14, 2023
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 032701 (2023)
Spectroscopy
Advances in multipass cell for absorption spectroscopy-based trace gas sensing technology [Invited]
Yahui Liu, and Yufei Ma
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Dec. 01, 2022
  • Vol. 21, Issue 3, 033001 (2023)