Adaptive polarimetric image representation for contrast optimization of a polarized beacon through fog

We present a contrast-maximizing optimal linear representation of polarimetric images obtained from a snapshot polarimetric camera for enhanced vision of a polarized light source in obscured weather conditions (fog, haze, cloud) over long distances (above 1 km). We quantitatively compare the gain in contrast obtained by different linear representations of the experimental polarimetric images taken during rapidly varying foggy conditions. It is shown that the adaptive image representation that depends on the correlation in background noise fluctuations in the two polarimetric images provides an optimal contrast enhancement over all weather conditions as opposed to a simple difference image which underperforms during low visibility conditions. Finally, we derive the analytic expression of the gain in contrast obtained with this optimal representation and show that the experimental results are in agreement with the assumed correlated Gaussian noise model

Depolarization remote sensing by orthogonality breaking

A new concept devoted to sensing the depolarization strength of materials from a single measurement is proposed and successfully validated on a variety of samples. It relies on the measurement of the orthogonality breaking between two orthogonal states of polarization after interaction with the material to be characterized. The two fields orthogonality being preserved after propagation in birefringent media, this concept is shown to be perfectly suited to depolarization remote sensing through fibers, opening the way to real time depolarization endoscopy.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Optical fiber Sagnac interferometer for sensing scalar directional refraction: application to magnetochiral birefringence

We present a set-up dedicated to the measurement of the small scalar directional anisotropies associated to the magnetochiral interaction. The apparatus, based on a polarization-independent fiber Sagnac interferometer, is optimized to be insensitive to circular anisotropies and to residual absorption. It can thus characterize samples of biological interests, for which the two enantiomers are not available and/or which present poor transmission. The signal-to-noise ratio is shown to be limited only by the source intensity noise, leading to a detection limit of Df = 500 nrad.Hz-1/2. It yields a limit on the magnetochiral index nMC < 4 10-13 T-1 at 1550 nm for the organic molecules tested.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure

Experimental evidence and theoretical modeling of two-photon absorption dynamics in the reduction of intensity noise of solid-state Er:Yb lasers

A theoretical and experimental investigation of the intensity noise reduction induced by two-photon absorption in a Er,Yb:Glass laser is reported. The time response of the two-photon absorption mechanism is shown to play an important role on the behavior of the intensity noise spectrum of the laser. A model including an additional rate equation for the two-photon-absorption losses is developed and allows the experimental observations to be predicted

Theoretical optimal modulation frequencies for scattering parameter estimation and ballistic photon filtering in diffusive media

The efficiency of using intensity modulated light for estimation of scattering properties of a turbid medium and for ballistic photon discrimination is theoretically quantified in this article. Using the diffusion model for modulated photon transport and considering a noisy quadrature demodulation scheme, the minimum-variance bounds on estimation of parameters of interest are analytically derived and analyzed. The existence of a variance-minimizing optimal modulation frequency is shown and its evolution with the properties of the intervening medium is derived and studied. Furthermore, a metric is defined to quantify the efficiency of ballistic photon filtering which may be sought when imaging through turbid media. The analytical derivation of this metric shows that the minimum modulation frequency required to attain significant ballistic discrimination depends only on the reduced scattering coefficient of the medium in a linear fashion for a highly scattering medium

Modèle de la réponse temporelle de la dispersion chromatique

National audienceNous proposons un modèle numérique de fonction de transfert en z d’un milieu dispersif (fibre, milieux gazeux dense) pour l’enveloppe temporelle (modulations de phase et d’amplitude) de porteuses optiques ou hyperfréquence. Les modélisations existantes (FFT, filtre à réponse impulsionnelle finie, transformée bilinéaire) sont insuffisantes pour des signaux contenant des bruits colorés ou même ne reproduisent pas la dispersion voulue. À partir de développements de Padé des fonctions exponentielle et logarithme, nous obtenons une fonction de transfert sous forme de fraction rationnelle. Les pôles instables sont traités par retournement temporel. Le modèle est étudié pour un objectif de modulation en quadrature à haut débit sur de longues fibres, par exemple plusieurs centaines de mètres de fibre SMF à 2*28 Gb/s en QAM

Estimating the polarization degree of polarimetric images in coherent illumination using maximum likelihood methods

This paper addresses the problem of estimating the polarization degree of polarimetric images in coherent illumination. It has been recently shown that the degree of polarization associated to polarimetric images can be estimated by the method of moments applied to two or four images assuming fully developed speckle. This paper shows that the estimation can also be conducted by using maximum likelihood methods. The maximum likelihood estimators of the polarization degree are derived from the joint distribution of the image intensities. We show that the joint distribution of polarimetric images is a multivariate gamma distribution whose marginals are univariate, bivariate or trivariate gamma distributions. This property is used to derive maximum likelihood estimators of the polarization degree using two, three or four images. The proposed estimators provide better performance that the estimators of moments. These results are illustrated by estimations conducted on synthetic and real images

Intensity and phase noise correlations in a dual-frequency VECSEL operating at telecom wavelength

The amplitude and phase noises of a dual-frequency vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (DF-VECSEL) operating at telecom wavelength are theoretically and experimentally investigated in detail. In particular, the spectral behavior of the correlation between the intensity noises of the two modes of the DF-VECSEL is measured. Moreover, the correlation between the phase noise of the radio-frequency (RF) beatnote generated by optical mixing of the two laser modes with the intensity noises of the two modes is investigated. All these spectral behaviors of noise correlations are analyzed for two different values of the nonlinear coupling between the laser modes. We find that to describe the spectral behavior of noise correlations between the laser modes, it is of utmost importance to have a precise knowledge about the spectral behavior of the pump noise, which is the dominant source of noise in the frequency range of our interest (10 kHz to 35 MHz). Moreover, it is found that the noise correlation also depends on how the spatially separated laser modes of the DF-VECSEL intercept the noise from a multi-mode fiber-coupled laser diode used for pumping both the laser modes. To this aim, a specific experiment is reported, which aims at measuring the correlations between different spatial regions of the pump beam. The experimental results are in excellent agreement with a theoretical model based on modified rate equations