Novel Broadband Amplifier for Mid-Infrared Semiconductor laser and applications in spectroscopy

An amplifier design for broadband Mid-IR buried-hetero (BH) structure epitaxial laser is presented, and external cavity design based on this amplifier is described. Spectroscopy results characterizing such single frequency lasers are demonstrated with whispering gallery mode CaF2 disc/ball, saturated absorption in hollow waveguide and direct chemical analysis in water

Optical Guidance System /OGS/ for rendezvous and docking Final report

Optical guidance system for Apollo rendezvous and dockin

Laser materials processing with diode lasers

Laser materials processing is currently dominated by CO2, Nd-YAG and Excimer lasers. Continuous advances in semiconductor laser technology over the last decade have increased the average power output of the devices annualy by two fold, resulting in the commercial availability of the diode lasers today with delivery output powers in excess of 60W in CW mode and 5kW in qasi-CW mode. The advantages of compactness, high reliability, high efficiency and potential low cost, due to the mass production capability of the diode laser, will inextricably shape its future in the field of materials processing. This papers reports on work exploring the feasibility of a range of materials processing applications using a Diomed 60W diode laser, transmitted through a 600m diameter optical fibre and coupled to a 3 axis CNC workstation. The applications studied include; marking and engraving natural stones (marble and granite), marking ceramic tiles, glazing and sealing tile grouts, marking and cutting glass, marking wood, welding metal wire and transformation hardening of tool steels. The study shows that even at the present limited power level of diode laser, many materials processing applications can be accomplished with satisfactory results. Through the study an initial understanding of interaction of diode laser beam with various materials has been gained. Also, within the paper basic beam characteristics, the state of the art of high power diode laser technology and current materials processing applications are also reviewed

Algorithm based comparison between the integral method and harmonic analysis of the timing jitter of diode-based and solid-state pulsed laser sources

AbstractA comparison between two methods of timing jitter calculation is presented. The integral method utilizes spectral area of the single side-band (SSB) phase noise spectrum to calculate root mean square (rms) timing jitter. In contrast the harmonic analysis exploits the uppermost noise power in high harmonics to retrieve timing fluctuation. The results obtained show that a consistent timing jitter of 1.2ps is found by the integral method and harmonic analysis in gain-switched laser diodes with an external cavity scheme. A comparison of the two approaches in noise measurement of a diode-pumped Yb:KY(WO4)2 passively mode-locked laser is also shown in which both techniques give 2ps rms timing jitter

Investigating reciprocity failure in 1.7-micron cut-off HgCdTe detectors

Flux dependent non-linearity (reciprocity failure) in HgCdTe NIR detectors with 1.7 micron cut-off was investigated. A dedicated test station was designed and built to measure reciprocity failure over the full dynamic range of near infrared detectors. For flux levels between 1 and 100,000 photons/sec a limiting sensitivity to reciprocity failure of 0.3%/decade was achieved. First measurements on several engineering grade 1.7 micron cut-off HgCdTe detectors show a wide range of reciprocity failure, from less than 0.5%/decade to about 10%/decade. For at least two of the tested detectors, significant spatial variation in the effect was observed. No indication for wavelength dependency was found. The origin of reciprocity failure is currently not well understood. In this paper we present details of our experimental set-up and show the results of measurements for several detectors.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, to appear in " Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation: High Energy, Optical, and Infrared Detectors for Astronomy IV", Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 774

Dual channel self-oscillating optical magnetometer

We report on a two-channel magnetometer based on nonlinear magneto-optical rotation in a Cs glass cell with buffer gas. The Cs atoms are optically pumped and probed by free running diode lasers tuned to the D$_2$ line. A wide frequency modulation of the pump laser is used to produce both synchronous Zeeman optical pumping and hyperfine repumping. The magnetometer works in an unshielded environment and spurious signal from distant magnetic sources is rejected by means of differential measurement. In this regime the magnetometer simultaneously gives the magnetic field modulus and the field difference. Rejection of the common-mode noise allows for high-resolution magnetometry with a sensitivity of \pthz{2}. This sensitivity, in conjunction with long-term stability and a large bandwidth, makes possible to detect water proton magnetization and its free induction decay in a measurement volume of 5 cm$^3$Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures. Improved version (v2). Accepted for publicatio

Effect of selected luminescent layers on CCT, CRI, and response times

Phosphors have been used as wavelength converters in illumination for many years. When it is excited with blue light, the frequently used yttrium aluminium garnet doped with cerium (YAG:Ce) phosphor converts a part of blue light to a wideband yellow light, resulting in the generated light having a white color. By combining an appropriate concentration of the YAG:Ce phosphor and blue excitant light, white light of a desired correlated color temperature (CCT) can be obtained. However, this type of illumination has a lower color rendering index value (CRI). In an attempt to improve the CRI value, we mixed the YAG:Ce phosphor with europium-doped calcium sulfide phosphor (CaS:Eu), which resulted in a considerably increased CRI value. This article examines an experiment with luminescent layers consisting of a mixture of selected phosphors and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Different thicknesses in these layers were achieved by changing the speed of rotation during their accumulation onto laboratory glass using the method of spin coating. The spectral characteristics of these luminescent layers as they were excited with blue light emitting diode (LED) and laser diode (LD) were then determined. A suitable combination of the YAG:Ce phosphor with a phosphor containing europium, as it was excited with a blue LED, yielded a source of white light with a CRI value of greater than 85. The response time in the tested luminescent layers to a rectangular excitant impulse (generated by a signal generator and transmitted by LD) was also measured in order to examine their potential use in visible light communications (VLC).Web of Science1213art. no. 209

Implementation vulnerabilities in general quantum cryptography

Quantum cryptography is information-theoretically secure owing to its solid basis in quantum mechanics. However, generally, initial implementations with practical imperfections might open loopholes, allowing an eavesdropper to compromise the security of a quantum cryptographic system. This has been shown to happen for quantum key distribution (QKD). Here we apply experience from implementation security of QKD to several other quantum cryptographic primitives. We survey quantum digital signatures, quantum secret sharing, source-independent quantum random number generation, quantum secure direct communication, and blind quantum computing. We propose how the eavesdropper could in principle exploit the loopholes to violate assumptions in these protocols, breaking their security properties. Applicable countermeasures are also discussed. It is important to consider potential implementation security issues early in protocol design, to shorten the path to future applications.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure