5,518 research outputs found
Determining the Phase and Amplitude Distortion of a Wavefront using a Plenoptic Sensor
We have designed a plenoptic sensor to retrieve phase and amplitude changes
resulting from a laser beam's propagation through atmospheric turbulence.
Compared with the commonly restricted domain of (-pi, pi) in phase
reconstruction by interferometers, the reconstructed phase obtained by the
plenoptic sensors can be continuous up to a multiple of 2pi. When compared with
conventional Shack-Hartmann sensors, ambiguities caused by interference or low
intensity, such as branch points and branch cuts, are less likely to happen and
can be adaptively avoided by our reconstruction algorithm. In the design of our
plenoptic sensor, we modified the fundamental structure of a light field camera
into a mini Keplerian telescope array by accurately cascading the back focal
plane of its object lens with a microlens array's front focal plane and
matching the numerical aperture of both components. Unlike light field cameras
designed for incoherent imaging purposes, our plenoptic sensor operates on the
complex amplitude of the incident beam and distributes it into a matrix of
images that are simpler and less subject to interference than a global image of
the beam. Then, with the proposed reconstruction algorithms, the plenoptic
sensor is able to reconstruct the wavefront and a phase screen at an
appropriate depth in the field that causes the equivalent distortion on the
beam. The reconstructed results can be used to guide adaptive optics systems in
directing beam propagation through atmospheric turbulence. In this paper we
will show the theoretical analysis and experimental results obtained with the
plenoptic sensor and its reconstruction algorithms.Comment: This article has been accepted by JOSA
Role of AMPK Throughout Meiotic Maturation in the Mouse Oocyte: Evidence for Promotion of Polar Body Formation and Suppression of Premature Activation
This study was conducted to assess the role of AMPK in regulating meiosis in mouse oocytes from the germinal vesicle stage to metaphase II. Exposure of mouse cumulus cell-enclosed oocytes (CEO) and denuded oocytes (DO) during spontaneous maturation in vitro to AMPK-activating agents resulted in augmentation of the rate and frequency of polar body formation. Inhibitors of AMPK had an opposite, inhibitory effect. In addition, the AMPK inhibitor, compound C (Cmpd C) increased the frequency of oocyte activation. The stimulatory action of the AMPK-activating agent, AICAR, and the inhibitory action of Cmpd C were diminished if exposure was delayed, indicating an early action of AMPK on polar body formation. The frequency of spontaneous and Cmpd C-induced activation in CEO was reduced as the period of hormonal priming was increased, and AMPK stimulation eliminated the activation response. Immunostaining of oocytes with antibody to active AMPK revealed an association of active kinase with chromatin, spindle poles, and midbody during maturation. Immunolocalization of the α1 catalytic subunit of AMPK showed an association with condensed chromatin and the meiotic spindle but not in the spindle poles or midbody; α2 stained only diffusely throughout the oocyte. These data suggest that AMPK is involved in a regulatory capacity throughout maturation and helps promote the completion of meiosis while suppressing premature activation
Development of simplified external control techniques for broad area semiconductor lasers
The goal of this project was to injection lock a 500 mW broad area laser diode (BAL) with a single mode low power laser diode with injection beam delivery through a single mode optical fiber (SMF). This task was completed successfully with the following significant accomplishments: (1) injection locking of a BAL through a single-mode fiber using a master oscillator and integrated miniature optics; (2) generation of a single-lobed, high-power far-field pattern from the injection-locked BAL that steers with drive current; and (3) a comprehensive theoretical analysis of a model that describes the observed behavior of the injection locked oscillator
Microwave microstrip resonator measurements of Y1Ba2Cu3O(7-x) and Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2O(8-y) thin films
Radio frequency (RF) surface resistance measurement experiments on high T(sub c) thin films were performed. The method uses a microstrip resonator comprising a top gold conductor strip, an alumina dielectric layer, and a separate superconductivity ground plane. The surface resistance of the superconducting ground plane can be determined, with reference to a gold calibration standard, from the measured quality factor of the half-wave resonator. Initial results near 7 GHz over the temperature range from 25 to 300 K are presented for YBa2Cu3O(7-x) and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8-y) thin film samples deposited by an electron beam flash evaporation process. The RF surface resistance at 25 K for both materials in these samples was found to be near 25 milliohms
Immersion microscopy based on photonic crystal materials
Theoretical model of the enhanced optical resolution of the surface plasmon
immersion microscope is developed, which is based on the optics of surface
plasmon Bloch waves in the tightly bound approximation. It is shown that a
similar resolution enhancement may occur in a more general case of an immersion
microscope based on photonic crystal materials with either positive or negative
effective refractive index. Both signs of the effective refractive index have
been observed in our experiments with surface plasmon immersion microscope,
which is also shown to be capable of individual virus imaging.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure
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