Search results for "Light beam"

Cylindrical Cuvette Light Refraction Measurements Technology to Analyse Biomedical Liquids

2015

Compact device of high sensitivity for measurement of the refractive indices for both stationary and flowing liquids has been developed. This device can be used to analyse a variety of biomedical liquids: urine, serum protein. The refractive index (RI) is determined by measuring the deviation of a laser beam passing through a cylindrical cuvette containing the test liquid. In order to significantly improve the resolution and stability of RI measurements, the repeated reflections and refractions of the light beam travelling through the cylindrical cuvette are employed.

1985

Nonlinear optical self diffraction effects for a light beam in a liquid crystalline polymer in its isotropic fluid state was observed. This effect is characterized by the absence of a threshold intensity, a diffraction pattern that does not depend on the polarization of the reading beam relative to that of the writing beam and which cannot be disturbed by transversally applied static electrical fields. This effect is attributed to a thermally induced spatial refractive index modulation. The time constants of the response are of the order of ms.

Addressing optical pixel bits in a slab of dense optical material via intrinsic optical bistability

2007

It is well known that dense materials with local-field effects can show "intrinsic" optical bistability when they are directly irradiated by a light beam. This has been shown theoretically in a number of works and also experimentally in several cases, in gas media and also in doped solid-state materials where nonlinearities based on standard local-field effects can be reinforced with other ion interaction effects. Although from the point of view of applications nonlinearities stronger than those found so far would be desirable, the fact that no optical resonator is needed to achieve bistability makes these materials potentially interesting for applications in optical information storage and…

Analysis of acousto-optic tunable filter performance for imaging applications

2010

Acousto-optic tunable filters (AOTFs) can be used as spec- tral filters in multispectral imaging applications. Acousto-optic crystals diffract a single wavelength from a broadband light beam, depending on the applied radio frequency signal. However, experimental measurements show that the actual performance is far from the expected behavior. We present an experimental characterization of several commercial off-the- shelf AOTFs for the implementation of multispectral imaging instruments. The diffraction performance of three bare crystals is compared, while a fourth AOTF crystal is mounted on the optical path of a multispectral im- ager to evaluate its performance. The experiments show that t…

Water vapor sensors based on the swelling of relief gelatin gratings

2015

We report on a novel device to measure relative humidity. The sensor is based on surface diffraction gratings made of gelatin. This material swells and shrinks according to the content of water vapor in air. By sending a light beam to the grating, diffracted orders appear. Due to the gelatin swelling or shrinking, first order intensity changes according to the relative humidity. Calibration curves relating intensity versus relative humidity have been found. The fabrication process of diffraction gratings and the testing of the prototype sensing devices are described.

Water Vapor Sensors Based on the Swelling of Relief Gelatin Gratings: Recent Advances and Development

2021

We report on a novel device to measure relative humidity. Materials used in the measurement of relative humidity are of different kinds. The sensor is based on surface diffraction gratings made of gelatin. This material swells and shrinks according to the content of water vapor in air. By sending a light beam to the grating, diffracted orders appear. Due to the gelatin swelling or shrinking, first order intensity changes according to the relative humidity. Calibration curves relating intensity versus relative humidity have been found. The fabrication process of diffraction gratings and the testing of the prototype sensing devices are described.

Diffraction-free propagation of subwavelength light beams in layered media

2010

Self-collimation of tightly localized laser beams demonstrated in periodic media relies on a perfect-matched rephasing of the Fourier constituents of the wavefield induced by a plane isofrequency curve. An alternate way paved for the achievement of such a phase matching condition developed a suitable spatial filtering in order to select those frequencies experiencing the same phase velocity projected over a given orientation. In principle this procedure is valid for complex structured metamaterials. However, a great majority of studies have focused on free-space propagation leading to the well-known Bessel beams. This paper is devoted to the analysis of this sort of nondiffracting beams tra…

Diffraction-free beams in thin films

2009

The propagation and transmission of Bessel beams through nano-layered structures has been discussed recently. Within this framework we recognize the formation of unguided diffraction-free waves with the spot size approaching and occasionally surpassing the limit of a wavelength when a Bessel beam of any order n is launched onto a thin material slab with grazing incidence. On the basis of the plane-wave representation of cylindrical waves, a simple model is introduced providing an exact description of the transverse pattern of this type of diffraction-suppressed localized wave. Potential applications in surface science are put forward for consideration. Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MI…

Towards laser cooling of fast Be+ ions in the storage ring TSR

1989

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a clear understanding of laser-ion interactions under storage ring conditions to prepare the basis of laser cooling of fast-stored ion beams. In addition, the method of laser-induced fluorescence provides precise data for beam properties such as absolute velocity, momentum spread, and lifetime. 9Be+ ions stored in a heavy-ion storage ring are a promising species for laser cooling down to temperatures several orders of magnitude less than those reached for protons by electron cooling at the Novosibirsk ring. Short cooling times and microkelvin temperatures can be envisaged, where the structure of the ion beam is dominated by Coulomb repulsion. The chap…

Twin axial vortices generated by Fibonacci lenses.

2013

Optical vortex beams, generated by Diffractive Optical Elements (DOEs), are capable of creating optical traps and other multifunctional micromanipulators for very specific tasks in the microscopic scale. Using the Fibonacci sequence, we have discovered a new family of DOEs that inherently behave as bifocal vortex lenses, and where the ratio of the two focal distances approaches the golden mean. The disctintive optical properties of these Fibonacci vortex lenses are experimentally demonstrated. We believe that the versatility and potential scalability of these lenses may allow for new applications in micro and nanophotonics.