New quantitative phase imaging modalities on standard microscope platforms

Three new reconstruction methods for quantitative phase imaging, including two interrelated two-dimensional methods, called multifilter phase imaging with partially coherent light and phase optical transfer function recovery, which lead to a third three-dimensional method, called tomographic deconvolution phase microscopy, were developed in response to a growing need among biomedical end users for solutions which can be integrated on standard microscope platforms. The performance of these new methods were evaluated using modelling and simulation as well as experimentation with known test cases. In addition to the development of new methods, existing methods for quantitative phase imaging were applied to characterize the effects of manufacturing, cleaving, and fusion splicing in large-mode-area erbium- and ytterbium-doped optical fibers.Ph.D

Specialty Fiber Lasers and Novel Fiber Devices

At the Dawn of the 21st century, the field of specialty optical fibers experienced a scientific revolution with the introduction of the stack-and-draw technique, a multi-steps and advanced fiber fabrication method, which enabled the creation of well-controlled micro-structured designs. Since then, an extremely wide variety of finely tuned fiber structures have been demonstrated including novel materials and novel designs. As the complexity of the fiber design increased, highly-controlled fabrication processes became critical. To determine the ability of a novel fiber design to deliver light with properties tailored according to a specific application, several mode analysis techniques were reported, addressing the recurring needs for in-depth fiber characterization. The first part of this dissertation details a novel experiment that was demonstrated to achieve modal decomposition with extended capabilities, reaching beyond the limits set by the existing mode analysis techniques. As a result, individual transverse modes carrying between ~0.01% and ~30% of the total light were resolved with unmatched accuracy. Furthermore, this approach was employed to decompose the light guided in Large-Mode Area (LMA) fiber, Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) and Leakage Channel Fiber (LCF). The single-mode performances were evaluated and compared. As a result, the suitability of each specialty fiber design to be implemented for power-scaling applications of fiber laser systems was experimentally determined. The second part of this dissertation is dedicated to novel specialty fiber laser systems. First, challenges related to the monolithic integration of novel and complex specialty fiber designs in all-fiber systems were addressed. The poor design and size compatibility between specialty fibers and conventional fiber-based components limits their monolithic integration due to high coupling loss and unstable performances. Here, novel all-fiber Mode-Field Adapter (MFA) devices made of selected segments of Graded Index Multimode Fiber (GIMF) were implemented to mitigate the coupling losses between a LMA PCF and a conventional Single-Mode Fiber (SMF), presenting an initial 18-fold mode-field area mismatch. It was experimentally demonstrated that the overall transmission in the mode-matched fiber chain was increased by more than 11 dB (the MFA was a 250 ?m piece of 50 ?m core diameter GIMF). This approach was further employed to assemble monolithic fiber laser cavities combining an active LMA PCF and fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) in conventional SMF. It was demonstrated that intra-cavity mode-matching results in an efficient (60%) and narrow-linewidth (200 pm) laser emission at the FBG wavelength. In the last section of this dissertation, monolithic Multi-Core Fiber (MCF) laser cavities were reported for the first time. Compared to existing MCF lasers, renown for high-brightness beam delivery after selection of the in-phase supermode, the present new generation of 7-coupled-cores Yb-doped fiber laser uses the gain from several supermodes simultaneously. In order to uncover mode competition mechanisms during amplification and the complex dynamics of multi-supermode lasing, novel diagnostic approaches were demonstrated. After characterizing the laser behavior, the first observations of self-mode-locking in linear MCF laser cavities were discovered

Recent Progress in Optical Fiber Research

This book presents a comprehensive account of the recent progress in optical fiber research. It consists of four sections with 20 chapters covering the topics of nonlinear and polarisation effects in optical fibers, photonic crystal fibers and new applications for optical fibers. Section 1 reviews nonlinear effects in optical fibers in terms of theoretical analysis, experiments and applications. Section 2 presents polarization mode dispersion, chromatic dispersion and polarization dependent losses in optical fibers, fiber birefringence effects and spun fibers. Section 3 and 4 cover the topics of photonic crystal fibers and a new trend of optical fiber applications. Edited by three scientists with wide knowledge and experience in the field of fiber optics and photonics, the book brings together leading academics and practitioners in a comprehensive and incisive treatment of the subject. This is an essential point of reference for researchers working and teaching in optical fiber technologies, and for industrial users who need to be aware of current developments in optical fiber research areas

Generation and characterization of cylindrical vector beams in few-mode fiber

For the past many decades, the Gaussian laser beam has driven major scientific discoveries that revolutionized the world of optics and photonics. In recent years, there is a burgeoning transformation where significant research has been dedicated in discovering the complex properties of cylindrical vector beams (CVBs). Increasingly, a beam of light with its intensity profile taking the shape of a single doughnut ring has attracted attention of several researchers the world over. Particularly, the so-called CVBs exhibit unique properties when focused owing to their radial and azimuthal distribution of polarization. In comparison to conventional (Gaussian-like) beams inheriting homogeneous polarization, CVBs provide unique light-matter interactions. For example, a radially polarized beam can enhance the imaging resolution of the system significantly with their spatial inhomogeneous polarization by imparting a symmetric and high numerical aperture focus. Moreover, CVBs with their phase and intensity singularities have found broad applications in quantum optics, optical micro/nano-manipulation, surface plasmon polariton, super-resolution imaging, and high-capacity fiber-optic communication. The studies of most widely used CVBs have been explored both in free space optics as well as in guided fiber optics. Further developments will require reliable techniques to generate these CVBs with strong coupling efficiency, high mode purity and high-power handling. For the past few years, the design, fabrication and study of optical fibers that supports CVBs, vortex and orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams have come to the forefront of research in this area. This is true in a sense that mode division multiplexing (MDM) is considered as a preeminent solution to the data capacity limitations faced by the standard single-mode fiber. In addition, vector beams in optical fibers constitute the fundamental basis set of linearly polarized (LP) modes (within the scalar approximation) as well as modes carrying OAM which represent another potential approach for implementing MDM based communications. Therefore, fundamental information and control over the vector beams is key to unravel future fiber communication links and CVB based fiber-optic sensors. For this purpose, it is essential to develop efficient methods to generate these CVBs. Some of the current methods reported for the generation of CVBs employ spiral phase plate, spatial light modulator (SLM), and offset fiber coupling. This thesis elucidates the generation as well as the optical characterization of such propagating cylindrical vector beams in a few-mode fiber. The ultimate purpose would be to develop simple, flexible and cost-effective photonic devices that will allow the efficient generation and stable propagation of the CVB while reducing the overall losses incurred by the system. Most of the methods reported earlier were limited to the measurements of the scalar LP mode groups of a FMF, thus neglecting the underlying vector beams that require delicate spectral and spatial control in order to be detected. In this thesis, three different techniques have been utilized for the generation of CVBs and OAM beams with high output purity. Initially, a tunable mechanical mode converter has been fabricated to demonstrate the generation of cylindrical vector beams supported by FMF in the telecom spectral range. This photonic device is utilized to demonstrate the non-destructive nonlinear characterization of CVB by utilizing the phenomenon of stimulated Brillouin scattering for the first time. We showed how the Brillouin gain spectra of the vector beams in some specialty fibers can be independently identified, measured, and subsequently exploited to probe the corresponding effective refractive indices of the vector beam retrieved from the data. This new characterization method of individual vector beam will have an impact in both light-wave and FMF-based optical sensing applications, which at present, mostly rely on the scalar LP modes. Further, a simple and low-cost technique to generate CVBs via long period fiber grating (LPFG) with very small grating pitch is reported. This work demonstrates that the cost-effective electric arc writing method for the fabrication of LPFGs is open to specialty few-mode fiber that often calls for very small pitch values. Finally, the generation of perfect cylindrical vector beams (PCVB) is demonstrated whose beam profile (i.e. transverse intensity profile) can be easily and precisely controlled. The latter novel method was used in-order to increase the free space coupling efficiency demanded by some specialty FMFs. The tailoring of the beam width and radius is performed via an iris and a diffractive phase mask implemented on a programmable SLM. The technique proposed towards the generation of PCVBs is highly adaptable for its robust nature to generate any arbitrary PCBs as well as perfect vortex beams with any topological order, using the same experimental setup. This experimental analysis is supported and validated via a rigorous theoretical framework that is in concordance with the results obtained

Ultra-high-resolution optical imaging for silicon integrated-circuit inspection

This thesis concerns the development of novel resolution-enhancing optical techniques for the purposes of non-destructive sub-surface semiconductor integrated-circuit (IC) inspection. This was achieved by utilising solid immersion lens (SIL) technology, polarisation-dependent imaging, pupil-function engineering and optical coherence tomography (OCT). A SIL-enhanced two-photon optical beam induced current (TOBIC) microscope was constructed for the acquisition of ultra-high-resolution two- and three-dimensional images of a silicon flip-chip using a 1.55μm modelocked Er:fibre laser. This technology provided diffraction-limited lateral and axial resolutions of 166nm and 100nm, respectively - an order of magnitude improvement over previous TOBIC imaging work. The ultra-high numerical aperture (NA) provided by SIL-imaging in silicon (NA=3.5) was used to show, for the first time, the presence of polarisation-dependent vectorialfield effects in an image. These effects were modelled using vector diffraction theory to confirm the increasing ellipticity of the focal-plane energy density distribution as the NA of the system approaches unity. An unprecedented resolution performance ranging from 240nm to ~100nm was obtained, depending of the state of polarisation used. The resolution-enhancing effects of pupil-function engineering were investigated and implemented into a nonlinear polarisation-dependent SIL-enhanced laser microscope to demonstrate a minimum resolution performance of 70nm in a silicon flip-chip. The performance of the annular apertures used in this work was modelled using vectorial diffraction theory to interpret the experimentally-obtained images. The development of an ultra-high-resolution high-dynamic-range OCT system is reported which utilised a broadband supercontinuum source and a balanced-detection scheme in a time-domain Michelson interferometer to achieve an axial resolution of 2.5μm (in air). The examination of silicon ICs demonstrated both a unique substrate profiling and novel inspection technology for circuit navigation and characterisation. In addition, the application of OCT to the investigation of artwork samples and contemporary banknotes is demonstrated for the purposes of art conservation and counterfeit prevention

Fantasies using optical fibers

The activity carried out during the PhD course has concerned special optical fibers with particular refractive index profiles, from Photonic Crystal Fibers (PCFs) to Plastic Optical Fibers (POFs), which is a research topic in continuous evolution and characterized by a great scientific excitement. The aim of the research of the three year PhD course has been to accurately study, and thus to deeply understand the light guiding mechanisms exploited in these kinds of optical fibers. The unusual guiding properties of PCFs with different air-hole arrangements in the fiber cross-section have been investigated both numerically, through a full-vector modal solver based on the Finite Element Method, and experimentally, by considering samples of large mode area PCFs, as well as of nonlinear fibers. Moreover, the properties of Erbium-Doped Fibers (EDFs) with a particular refractive index profile, that is with a depressed-cladding, have been experimentally characterized. By exploiting the bending loss of these active fibers, amplifiers with different configurations have been realized, which cover larger bandwidths with respect to conventional ones, as well as tunable lasers in S, C and L band. Then, in order to design and realize the pre-amplifier stage for a pulsed high power laser useful for industrial applications, single-mode ytterbium-doped fibers with different doping concentrations, with either a single or a double-cladding, have been considered with the aim to optimize the gain performances. Finally, low cost sensors based on the inexpensive plastic fibers have been proposed as an effective solution to the problem of the liquid level measurement. Sensors for both point and continuous measurements of the liquid level, which can be also exploited to distinguish fluids according to their refractive index

Novel Specialty Optical Fibers and Applications

Novel Specialty Optical Fibers and Applications focuses on the latest developments in specialty fiber technology and its applications. The aim of this reprint is to provide an overview of specialty optical fibers in terms of their technological developments and applications. Contributions include:1. Specialty fibers composed of special materials for new functionalities and applications in new spectral windows.2. Hollow-core fiber-based applications.3. Functionalized fibers.4. Structurally engineered fibers.5. Specialty fibers for distributed fiber sensors.6. Specialty fibers for communications

Integrated multicore fibre devices for optical trapping

The work described in this thesis details the development of a multicore fibre device that can be used to optically trap multiple cells and particles. The optical trapping of multiple cells at close proximity allows for cell-to-cell interactions to be studied. Current methods available for creating arrays of traps are free space optical systems that use diffractive optics, laser scanning techniques or the interference of multiple beams to create the multiple traps. A fully integrated, fibre optic based, multiple particles, optical trapping device could be used in non-optical research facilities such as biological laboratories to aid with their research into cellular processes. In order to create the multiple traps, the distal end of the multicore fibre needs to be modified to induce a lensing effect. The multicore fibre device presented in this thesis was lensed in a fusion splicer; this refracts the outputs from the four cores to a common point in the far field where interference fringes are formed. The initial investigation demonstrated one-dimensional interferometric optical trapping through coupling light into two of the diagonal cores of the lensed multicore fibre. This produced linear interference fringes approximately 250 ± 25 μm from the end of the fibre with a fringe spacing of 2 ± 0.3 μm. The linear interference fringes were used to optically trap polystyrene microspheres with diameters of 1.3 μm, 2 μm and 3 μm in the high intensity regions of the fringes. Coupling into all four cores using a diffractive optical element produced an array of intensity peaks across the interference pattern with high visibility fringes greater than 80 %. Each intensity peak, spaced 2.75 μm apart could trap a single particle in two dimensions. The optical trapping of multiple microspheres and Escherichia coli bacterial cells was demonstrated proving that the lensed multicore fibre has the potential to be used to trap cells in biological experiments. The active manipulation of trapped 2 μm microspheres was also demonstrated through the rotation of the input polarisation to the multicore fibre. Finally, work towards creating a “turn-key” optical trapping device was demonstrated through the fabrication of a fully integrated multicore fibre device using an ultrafast laser-inscribed fan-out to couple light into each core. Single mode operation of the device was demonstrated at 1550 nm, using a weaker lensed MCF device. The two dimensional trapping of 4.5 μm polystyrene microspheres was shown in an array of peaks spaced 11.2 μm apart at a distance of 400 ± 25 μm from the end of the fibre