Observation of soliton pulse compression in photonic crystal waveguides

We demonstrate soliton-effect pulse compression in mm-long photonic crystal waveguides resulting from strong anomalous dispersion and self-phase modulation. Compression from 3ps to 580fs, at low pulse energies(~10pJ), is measured via autocorrelation

Constrained pre-equalization accounting for multi-path fading emulated using large RC networks: applications to wireless and photonics communications

Multi-path propagation is modelled assuming a multi-layer RC network with randomly allocated resistors and capacitors to represent the transmission medium. Due to frequency-selective attenuation, the waveforms associated with each propagation path incur path-dependent distortion. A pre-equalization procedure that takes into account the capabilities of the transmission source as well as the transmission properties of the medium is developed. The problem is cast within a Mixed Integer Linear Programming optimization framework that uses the developed nominal RC network model, with the excitation waveform customized to optimize signal fidelity from the transmitter to the receiver. The objective is to match a Gaussian pulse input accounting for frequency regions where there would be pronounced fading. Simulations are carried out with different network realizations in order to evaluate the sensitivity of the solution with respect to changes in the transmission medium mimicking the multi-path propagation. The proposed approach is of relevance where equalization techniques are difficult to implement. Applications are discussed within the context of emergent communication modalities across the EM spectrum such as light percolation as well as emergent indoor communications assuming various modulation protocols or UWB schemes as well as within the context of space division multiplexing

Three-photon imaging of mouse brain structure and function through the intact skull

Optical imaging through the intact mouse skull is challenging because of skull-induced aberrations and scattering. We found that three-photon excitation provided improved optical sectioning compared with that obtained with two-photon excitation, even when we used the same excitation wavelength and imaging system. Here we demonstrate three-photon imaging of vasculature through the adult mouse skull at >500-μm depth, as well as GCaMP6s calcium imaging over weeks in cortical layers 2/3 and 4 in awake mice, with 8.5 frames per second and a field of view spanning hundreds of micrometers.U01 NS090530 - NINDS NIH HHSAccepted manuscrip

The Influence of CO₂ Admixtures on the Product Composition in a Nitrogen-Methane Atmospheric Glow Discharge Used as a Prebiotic Atmosphere Mimic

This work extends our previous experimental studies of the chemistry of Titan’s atmosphere by atmospheric glow discharge. The Titan’s atmosphere seems to be similarly to early Earth atmospheric composition. The exploration of Titan atmosphere was initiated by the exciting results of the Cassini-Huygens mission and obtained results increased the interest about prebiotic atmospheres. Present work is devoted to the role of CO2 in the prebiotic atmosphere chemistry. Most of the laboratory studies of such atmosphere were focused on the chemistry of N2 + CH4 mixtures. The present work is devoted to the study of the oxygenated volatile species in prebiotic atmosphere, specifically CO2 reactivity. CO2 was introduced to the standard N2 + CH4 mixture at different mixing ratio up to 5 % CH4 and 3 % CO2. The reaction products were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy. This work shows that CO2 modifies the composition of the gas phase with the detection of oxygenated compounds: CO and others oxides. There is a strong influence of CO2 on increasing concentration other products as cyanide (HCN) and ammonia (NH3)