Pump-probe detuning dependence of four-wave mixing pulse in an SOA

Four-wave mixing (FWM) between 2-ps pulses in a multiquantum-well semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is presented. The conjugate pulses are fully characterized using the frequency-resolved optical gating technique. The detuning between the pump and probe is varied, leading to a compression of the FWM signal from 3.71 to 2.77 ps as the detuning is increased from 5 to 25 nm. The output conjugate pulse is always broader than the injected probe signal due to gain saturation effects. A reshaping of the conjugate pulse is also measured. However, large nonlinearities are introduced to the frequency chirp across the pulse for large detunings which may degrade the performance of four-wave-mixing-based all-optical processing applications in SOAs

Pulse pedestal suppression using four-wave mixing in an SOA

Experimental results are presented demonstrating how four-wave mixing in a semiconductor optical amplifier can be used to remove pulse pedestals introduced due to nonlinearities which occur upon pulse propagation in an optical system. Such pedestals would degrade the performance of an optical time-division-multiplexed system due to coherent interaction between channels. An improvement of the temporal pulse suppression ratio to greater than 30 dB is achieved regardless of the level of the pulse pedestal on the input signal. This improvement takes place simultaneously with wavelength conversion and compression of the optical pulse

Numerical analysis of four-wave mixing between 2 ps mode-locked laser pulses in a tensile-strained bulk SOA

A numerical model of four-wave mixing between 2-ps pulses in a tensile-strained bulk semiconductor optical amplifier is presented. The model utilizes a modified Schrodinger equation to model the pulse propagation. The Schrodinger equation parameters such as the material gain first and second order dispersion, linewidth enhancement factors and optical loss coefficient are obtained using a previously developed steady-state model. The predicted four-wave mixing pulse characteristics show reasonably good agreement with experimental pulse characteristics obtained using frequency resolved optical gating

Detuning dependence of four-wave mixing between picosecond pulses in a multi-quantum well semiconductor optical amplifier

Four-wave mixing is investigated experimentally using frequency resolved optical gating in a multi-quantum well semiconductor optical amplifier. Demultiplexing is carried out from 80 GHz to 10 GHz using two picosecond pulses. The pump-probe detuning is varied and it is found that the probe phase is preserved in the four- wave mixing signal across the central portion of the pulse. Also, the pedestals present in the four-wave mixing waveform are measured and it is found that the impact of these pedestals increases as a function of the detuning due to the carrier dynamics in the device

The emergence of optical elastography in biomedicine

The authors thank their colleagues past and present who have contributed to the evolution of optical elastography; in particular, S. Adie, W. Allen, L. Chin, B. Quirk, A. Curatolo, S. Es'hagian, K. Kennedy, R. Kirk, R. McLaughlin and P. Munro. This work has been supported in part by the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council, the National Breast Cancer Foundation, and the Western Australian Department of Health. P.W. thanks the Schrader Trust for a studentship.Optical elastography, the use of optics to characterize and map the mechanical properties of biological tissue, involves measuring the deformation of tissue in response to a load. Such measurements may be used to form an image of a mechanical property, often elastic modulus, with the resulting mechanical contrast complementary to the more familiar optical contrast. Optical elastography is experiencing new impetus in response to developments in the closely related fields of cell mechanics and medical imaging, aided by advances in photonics technology, and through probing the microscale between that of cells and whole tissues. Two techniques-optical coherence elastography and Brillouin microscopy-have recently shown particular promise for medical applications, such as in ophthalmology and oncology, and as new techniques in cell mechanics.PostprintPeer reviewe

Optical palpation for the visualization of tumor in human breast tissue

Australian Research Council; Cancer Council Western Australia; Department of Health, Government of Western Australia; OncoResMedical; William and Marlene Schrader Trust of The University of Western AustraliaAccurate and effective removal of tumor in one operation is an important goal of breast-conserving surgery. However, it is not always achieved. Surgeons often utilize manual palpation to assess the surgical margin and/or the breast cavity. Manual palpation, however, is subjective and has relatively low resolution. Here, we investigate a tactile imaging technique, optical palpation, for the visualization of tumor. Optical palpation generates maps of the stress at the surface of tissue under static preload compression. Stress is evaluated by measuring the deformation of a contacting thin compliant layer with known mechanical properties using optical coherence tomography. In this study, optical palpation is performed on 34 freshly excised human breast specimens. Wide field-of-view (up to ~46 × 46 mm) stress images, optical palpograms, are presented from four representative specimens, demonstrating the capability of optical palpation to visualize tumor. Median stress reported for adipose tissue, 4 kPa, and benign dense tissue, 8 kPa, is significantly lower than for invasive tumor, 60 kPa. In addition, we demonstrate that optical palpation provides contrast consistent with a related optical technique, quantitative micro-elastography. This study demonstrates that optical palpation holds promise for visualization of tumor in breast-conserving surgery.PostprintPeer reviewe

Spin-gap opening accompanied by a strong magnetoelastic response in the S=1 magnetic dimer system Ba3BiRu2O9

Neutron diffraction, magnetization, resistivity, and heat capacity measurements on the 6H-perovskite Ba3BiRu2O9 reveal simultaneous magnetic and structural dimerization driven by strong magnetoelastic coupling. An isostructural but strongly displacive first-order transition on cooling through T*=176 K is associated with a change in the nature of direct Ru-Ru bonds within Ru2O9 face-sharing octahedra. Above T*, Ba3BiRu2O9 is an S=1 magnetic dimer system with intradimer exchange interactions J0/kB=320 K and interdimer exchange interactions J'/kB=-160 K. Below T*, a spin-gapped state emerges with \Delta\approx220 K. Ab initio calculations confirm antiferromagnetic exchange within dimers, but the transition is not accompanied by long range-magnetic order.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted by Physical Review

Optical coherence elastography for cellular-scale stiffness imaging of mouse aorta

We have developed a high-resolution optical coherence elastography system capable of estimating Young's modulus in tissue volumes with an isotropic resolution of 15 μm over a 1 mm lateral field of view and a 100 μm axial depth of field. We demonstrate our technique on healthy and hypertensive, freshly excised and intact mouse aortas. Our technique has the capacity to delineate the individual mechanics of elastic lamellae and vascular smooth muscle. Further, we observe global and regional vascular stiffening in hypertensive aortas, and note the presence of local micro-mechanical signatures, characteristic of fibrous and lipid-rich regions.Publisher PD

Investigation of optical coherence micro-elastography as a method to visualize micro-architecture in human axillary lymph nodes

This project is supported with funding from the Australian Research Council; and Cancer Council WA, which allowed us to develop the technology; Department of Health of Western Australia, National Breast Cancer Foundation (Australia); and the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia, which allowed us to design and implement the clinical protocol, and to perform the clinical measurements.Background : Evaluation of lymph node involvement is an important factor in detecting metastasis and deciding whether to perform axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in breast cancer surgery. As ALND is associated with potentially severe long term morbidity, the accuracy of lymph node assessment is imperative in avoiding unnecessary ALND. The mechanical properties of malignant lymph nodes are often distinct from those of normal nodes. A method to image the micro-scale mechanical properties of lymph nodes could, thus, provide diagnostic information to aid in the assessment of lymph node involvement in metastatic cancer. In this study, we scan axillary lymph nodes, freshly excised from breast cancer patients, with optical coherence micro-elastography (OCME), a method of imaging micro-scale mechanical strain, to assess its potential for the intraoperative assessment of lymph node involvement. Methods : Twenty-six fresh, unstained lymph nodes were imaged from 15 patients undergoing mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery with axillary clearance. Lymph node specimens were bisected to allow imaging of the internal face of each node. Co-located OCME and optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans were taken of each sample, and the results compared to standard post-operative hematoxylin-and-eosin-stained histology. Results : The optical backscattering signal provided by OCT alone may not provide reliable differentiation by inspection between benign and malignant lymphoid tissue. Alternatively, OCME highlights local changes in tissue strain that correspond to malignancy and are distinct from strain patterns in benign lymphoid tissue. The mechanical contrast provided by OCME complements the optical contrast provided by OCT and aids in the differentiation of malignant tumor from uninvolved lymphoid tissue. Conclusion : The combination of OCME and OCT images represents a promising method for the identification of malignant lymphoid tissue. This method shows potential to provide intraoperative assessment of lymph node involvement, thus, preventing unnecessary removal of uninvolved tissues and improving patient outcomes.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Coherence function-encoded optical palpation

Funding: Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia), OncoRes Medical, Australia.Optical palpation maps stress at the surface of biological tissue into 2D images. It relies on measuring surface deformation of a compliant layer, which to date has been performed with optical coherence tomography (OCT). OCT-based optical palpation holds promise for improved clinical diagnostics; however, the complexity and cost hinder broad adoption. In this Letter, we introduce coherence function-encoded optical palpation (CFE-OP) using a novel optical profilometry technique that exploits the envelope of the coherence function rather than its peak position, which is typically used to retrieve depth information. CFE-OP utilizes a Fabry–Perot laser diode (bandwidth, 2.2 nm) and a single photodiode in a Michelson interferometer to detect the position along the coherence envelope as a function of path length. This technique greatly reduces complexity and cost in comparison to the OCT-based approach. We perform CFE-OP on phantom and excised human breast tissue, demonstrating comparable mechanical contrast to OCT-based optical palpation and the capability to distinguish stiff tumor from soft benign tissue.PostprintPeer reviewe