Photonic Manipulation|3 Article(s)
Analytic solutions of the normal modes and light transmission of a cholesteric liquid crystal cell
Sabrina Relaix, Mykhailo Pevnyi, Wenyi Cao, and and Peter Palffy-Muhoray
Cholesteric liquid crystals, consisting of chiral molecules, form self-assembled periodic structures exhibiting a photonic bandgap. Their selective reflectivity makes them well suited for a variety of applications; their optical response is therefore of considerable interest. The reflectance and transmittance of finite cholesteric cells is usually calculated numerically. Evanescent modes in the bandgap make the calculations challenging; existing matrix propagation methods cannot describe the reflection and transmission coefficients of thick cholesteric cells accurately. Here we present analytic solutions for the electromagnetic fields in cholesteric cells of finite thickness, and use them to calculate the transmission and reflection spectra. The use of analytic solutions allows for the accurate description of arbitrarily thick cholesteric cells, which would not be possible with only direct numerical methods.
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Apr. 19, 2013
  • Vol. 1, Issue 1, 01000058 (2013)
Development and applications of gain-switched fiber lasers [Invited]
Jianlong Yang, Yulong Tang, and and Jianqiu Xu
We briefly review the development of gain-switched rare-earth-doped fiber lasers and their applications in wavelength conversion to mid-IR, supercontinuum generation, and medicine in recent years. We illustrate the similarities between gain-switching and Q-switching techniques that will provide tools for the design and optimization of the gain-switched fiber lasers. From the nature of the gain-switched fiber lasers, benefits of this kind of lasers to 2-μm region and in-band-pumped (two-level system) laser systems are obvious. Advantages of in-band-pumped 2-μm lasers are discussed and analyzed with a simple numerical simulation in terms of Tm-doped fiber lasers. We also propose the key factors in the development of the gain-switched fiber lasers and predict the future tendency.
Photonics Research
  • Publication Date: Apr. 19, 2013
  • Vol. 1, Issue 1, 01000052 (2013)
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