100 research outputs found
Light-in-flight digital holography display
We present a digital speckle-pattern interferometric setup that can be operated at TV frame rates (30 ms) to display the locus of the points at which the optical-path difference between the reference and object beams is within the coherence length. Experimental results are shown
Recommended from our members
Combined extended FIR/Kalman filtering for indoor robot localization via triangulation
A combined unbiased finite impulse response (UFIR) and Kalman filtering algorithm is proposed for mobile robot localization via triangulation utilizing noisy measurements. We consider a mobile robot travelling on an indoor floorspace with three nodes in a view. Under the not well-known initial robot state and noise statistics, the extended Kalman filter (EKF) may produce unacceptable estimates. The iterative extended UFIR (EFIR) filter ignores the noise statistics, but requires N initial points of linear measurements which are unavailable. The combined EFIR/Kalman algorithm utilizes N first EKF estimates with approximately set initial conditions and noise statistics as linear measurements for EFIR filter. It is shown that the combined algorithm is more accurate than EKF in robot localization under the real operation conditions. Simulations are provided for piecewise and circular robot trajectories
Enhancement of photoacoustic detection of inhomogeneities in polymers
We report a series of experiments on laser pulsed photoacoustic excitationin
turbid polymer samples addressed to evaluate the sound speed in the samples and
the presence of inhomogeneities in the bulk. We describe a system which allows
the direct measurement of the speed of the detected waves by engraving the
surface of the piece under study with a fiduciary pattern of black lines. We
also describe how this pattern helps to enhance the sensitivity for the
detection of an inhomogeneity in the bulk. These two facts are useful for
studies in soft matter systems including, perhaps, biological samples. We have
performed an experimental analysis on Grilon(R) samples in different situations
and we show the limitations of the method.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Engineering integrated pure narrow-band photon sources
Engineering and controlling well defined states of light for quantum
information applications is of increasing importance as the complexity of
quantum systems grows. For example, in quantum networks high multi-photon
interference visibility requires properly devised single mode sources. In this
paper we propose a spontaneous parametric down conversion source based on an
integrated cavity-waveguide, where single narrow-band, possibly distinct,
spectral modes for the idler and the signal fields can be generated. This mode
selection takes advantage of the clustering effect, due to the intrinsic
dispersion of the nonlinear material. In combination with a CW laser and fast
detection, our approach provides a means to engineer a source that can
efficiently generate pure photons, without filtering, that is compatible with
long distance quantum communication. Furthermore, it is extremely flexible and
could easily be adapted to a wide variety of wavelengths and applications.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure
meV resolution in laser-assisted energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy
The electronic, optical, and magnetic properties of quantum solids are
determined by their low-energy (< 100 meV) many-body excitations. Dynamical
characterization and manipulation of such excitations relies on tools that
combine nm-spatial, fs-temporal, and meV-spectral resolution. Currently,
phonons and collective plasmon resonances can be imaged in nanostructures with
sub-nm and 10s meV space/energy resolution using state-of-the-art
energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (TEM), but only under static
conditions, while fs-resolved measurements are common but lack spatial or
energy resolution. Here, we demonstrate a new method of spectrally resolved
photon-induced near-field electron microscopy (SRPINEM) that allows us to
obtain nm-fs-resolved maps of nanoparticle plasmons with an energy resolution
determined by the laser linewidth (20 meV in this work), and not limited by
electron beam and spectrometer energy spreading. This technique can be extended
to any optically-accessible low-energy mode, thus pushing TEM to a previously
inaccessible spectral domain with an unprecedented combination of space, energy
and temporal resolution.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure
Waveguide-based OPO source of entangled photon pairs
In this paper we present a compact source of narrow-band energy-time
entangled photon pairs in the telecom regime based on a Ti-indiffused
Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate (PPLN) waveguide resonator, i.e. a waveguide
with end-face dielectric multi-layer mirrors. This is a monolithic doubly
resonant Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) far below threshold, which
generates photon pairs by Spontaneous Parametric Down Conversion (SPDC) at
around 1560nm with a 117MHz (0.91 pm)- bandwidth. A coherence time of 2.7 ns is
estimated by a time correlation measurement and a high quality of the entangled
states is confirmed by a Bell-type experiment. Since highly coherent
energy-time entangled photon pairs in the telecom regime are suitable for long
distance transmission and manipulation, this source is well suited to the
requirements of quantum communication.Comment: 13 page
A versatile source of polarisation entangled photons for quantum network applications
We report a versatile and practical approach for generating high-quality
polarization entanglement in a fully guided-wave fashion. Our setup relies on a
high-brilliance type-0 waveguide generator producing paired photon at a telecom
wavelength associated with an advanced energy-time to polarisation transcriber.
The latter is capable of creating any pure polarization entangled state, and
allows manipulating single photon bandwidths that can be chosen at will over
five orders of magnitude, ranging from tens of MHz to several THz. We achieve
excellent entanglement fidelities for particular spectral bandwidths, i.e. 25
MHz, 540 MHz and 100 GHz, proving the relevance of our approach. Our scheme
stands as an ideal candidate for a wide range of network applications, ranging
from dense division multiplexing quantum key distribution to heralded optical
quantum memories and repeaters.Comment: 5 figure
Laser-Induced Skyrmion Writing and Erasing in an Ultrafast Cryo-Lorentz Transmission Electron Microscopy
We demonstrate that light-induced heat pulses of different duration and
energy can write skyrmions in a broad range of temperatures and magnetic field
in FeGe. Using a combination of camera-rate and pump-probe cryo-Lorentz
Transmission Electron Microscopy, we directly resolve the spatio-temporal
evolution of the magnetization ensuing optical excitation. The skyrmion lattice
was found to maintain its structural properties during the laser-induced
demagnetization, and its recovery to the initial state happened in the
sub-{\mu}s to {\mu}s range, depending on the cooling rate of the system
From attosecond to zeptosecond coherent control of free-electron wave functions using semi-infinite light fields
Light-electron interaction in empty space is the seminal ingredient for
free-electron lasers and also for controlling electron beams to dynamically
investigate materials and molecules. Pushing the coherent control of free
electrons by light to unexplored timescales, below the attosecond, would enable
unprecedented applications in light-assisted electron quantum circuits and
diagnostics at extremely small timescales, such as those governing
intramolecular electronic motion and nuclear phenomena. We experimentally
demonstrate attosecond coherent manipulation of the electron wave function in a
transmission electron microscope, and show that it can be pushed down to the
zeptosecond regime with existing technology. We make a relativistic pulsed
electron beam interact in free space with an appropriately synthesized
semi-infinite light field generated by two femtosecond laser pulses reflected
at the surface of a mirror and delayed by fractions of the optical cycle. The
amplitude and phase of the resulting coherent oscillations of the electron
states in energymomentum space are mapped via momentum-resolved ultrafast
electron energy-loss spectroscopy. The experimental results are in full
agreement with our theoretical framework for light-electron interaction, which
predicts access to the zeptosecond timescale by combining semi-infinite X-ray
fields with free electrons.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure
- …