An all-silicon Raman laser

The possibility of light generation and/or amplification in silicon has attracted a great deal of attention for silicon-based optoelectronic applications owing to the potential for forming inexpensive, monolithic integrated optical components. Because of its indirect bandgap, bulk silicon shows very inefficient band-to-band radiative electron-hole recombination. Light emission in silicon has thus focused on the use of silicon engineered materials such as nanocrystals, Si/SiO2 superlattices, erbium-doped silicon-rich oxides, surface-textured bulk silicon and Si/SiGe quantum cascade structures. Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) has recently been demonstrated as a mechanism to generate optical gain in planar silicon waveguide structures. In fact, net optical gain in the range 2-11 dB due to SRS has been reported in centimetre-sized silicon waveguides using pulsed pumping. Recently, a lasing experiment involving silicon as the gain medium by way of SRS was reported, where the ring laser cavity was formed by an 8-m-long optical fibre. Here we report the experimental demonstration of Raman lasing in a compact, all-silicon, waveguide cavity on a single silicon chip. This demonstration represents an important step towards producing practical continuous-wave optical amplifiers and lasers that could be integrated with other optoelectronic components onto CMOS-compatible silicon chips.     

环蕃分子及其衍生物非线性光学性质的理论研究

采用密度泛函理论计算方法研究了环蕃分子及其衍生物的非线性光学性质,探讨了将其作为非线性光学开关材料的可能性.计算结果表明:当不施加外电场时,该新型分子和设计的衍生物分子均为中心对称结构,其非线性光学响应性质中的第一超极化率为零,对应于分子开关中的"关"状态;而在恰当的外电场强度下,转变为非中心对称结构,并具有很大的第一...     

基于半导体光放大器的光学向量矩阵乘法器的实现方法

提出了一种基于半导体光放大器(SOA)的光学向量矩阵乘法器(OVMM)的实现方法。与传统的向量矩阵乘法器相比,本文方法采用的是非空间光的实现方案,且SOA的增益补偿作用可对计算所得的光功率进行校正,从而提高计算精度。对提出的方法进行了1×2向量与2×2矩阵乘法运算的实验验证,结果表明可以实现向量矩阵乘法器的运算功能。利用SOA的大范围增益可调特性,可有效提高信号动态范围,利于多路信号间均匀性的改善,且易于集成。     

Experimental measurement of the photonic properties of icosahedral quasicrystals

Quasicrystalline structures may have optical bandgap properties-frequency ranges in which the propagation of light is forbidden-that make them well-suited to the scientific and technological applications for which photonic crystals are normally considered. Such quasicrystals can be constructed from two or more types of dielectric material arranged in a quasiperiodic pattern whose rotational symmetry is forbidden for periodic crystals (such as five-fold symmetry in the plane and icosahedral symmetry in three dimensions). Because quasicrystals have higher point group symmetry than ordinary crystals, their gap centre frequencies are closer and the gaps widths are more uniform-optimal conditions for forming a complete bandgap that is more closely spherically symmetric. Although previous studies have focused on one-dimensional and two-dimensional quasicrystals, where exact (one-dimensional) or approximate (two-dimensional) band structures can be calculated numerically, analogous calculations for the three-dimensional case are computationally challenging and have not yet been performed. Here we circumvent the computational problem by doing an experiment. Using stereolithography, we construct a photonic quasicrystal with centimetre-scale cells and perform microwave transmission measurements. We show that three-dimensional icosahedral quasicrystals exhibit sizeable stop gaps and, despite their quasiperiodicity, yield uncomplicated spectra that allow us to experimentally determine the faces of their effective Brillouin zones. Our studies confirm that they are excellent candidates for photonic bandgap materials.     

一种折射率近零超材料的设计、制作和表征

利用人工结构制成的超材料能够实现天然材料所不具备的特性,电磁超材料作为一个新兴、多学科交叉领域,在理论探究和实验证明上都已成为近年来科学研究的热点之一,除单负和双负材料之外,电磁参数近零的超材料因其在光学隐身、天线雷达、军事等方面的应用也受到科学家的广泛关注。本文利用共振的H分形结构设计制作了在微波频段下折射率分布在[0,1]之间的微波超材料,而且利用微波波导传输线对多种变化尺度的晶胞结构进行电磁参数的测量,得到了每种晶胞结构对应的X波段折射率频谱,通过研究晶胞结构单元的等效电磁参数实现了一种折射率近零超材料,从而为实现近零折射率分布的变换光学器件如Inside-out Eaton Lens的实验研制提供了材料选择。     

Raman injection laser

Stimulated Raman scattering is a nonlinear optical process that, in a broad variety of materials, enables the generation of optical gain at a frequency that is shifted from that of the incident radiation by an amount corresponding to the frequency of an internal oscillation of the material. This effect is the basis for a broad class of tunable sources known as Raman lasers. In general, these sources have only small gain (approximately 10(-9) cm W(-1)) and therefore require external pumping with powerful lasers, which limits their applications. Here we report the realization of a semiconductor injection Raman laser designed to circumvent these limitations. The physics underlying our device differs in a fundamental way from existing Raman lasers: it is based on triply resonant stimulated Raman scattering between quantum-confined states within the active region of a quantum cascade laser that serves as an internal optical pump--the device is driven electrically and no external laser pump is required. This leads to an enhancement of orders of magnitude in the Raman gain, high conversion efficiency and low threshold. Our lasers combine the advantages of nonlinear optical devices and of semiconductor injection lasers, and could lead to a new class of compact and wavelength-agile mid-and far-infrared light sources.     

方解石晶体振动模式群论分析和红外光谱的DFT

分别运用因子群对称分析法和位置群对称分析法对方解石(CaCO3)晶体的振动模式进行了详细的理论分析,快速得到方解石晶体的具体振动模式,并明确指出了各振动模式的光谱特性,同时还比较了两种分析方法的适用性.对所建立的方解石晶体的超晶胞模型,采用基于密度泛函理论(DFT)的第一原理方法进行了红外光谱的计算,得到27个光学振动模式的具体振动频率,各频率的光谱特性与群论的理论分析一致.与晶格动力学方法相比,该方法的计算结果更好地符合实验结果.     

Pt掺杂锐钛矿型TiO2电子结构和光学性质第一性原理研究

为了研究Pt掺杂对锐钛矿型TiO2电子结构和光学性质的影响,本文采用基于密度泛函理论的平面波超软赝势方法,对未掺杂和Pt掺杂锐钛矿型TiO2的电子结构和光学性质做第一性原理计算。得到了掺杂前后的品格结构常数、结合能电子态密度分布、能带结构、介电函数虚部、光吸收系数等性质,定性地分析了掺杂前后能带结构和光学性质的变化。研究结果表明,Pt掺杂锐钛矿型TiO2带隙中能产生新的能带,而且能带位置明显下移,掺杂后不但能使TiO2的吸收带产生红移,而且在可见光区具有较大的吸收系数,表现出较高的光催化活性,理论与实验基本吻合。     

Chiral colloidal clusters

Chirality is an important element of biology, chemistry and physics. Once symmetry is broken and a handedness is established, biochemical pathways are set. In DNA, the double helix arises from the existence of two competing length scales, one set by the distance between monomers in the sugar backbone, and the other set by the stacking of the base pairs. Here we use a colloidal system to explore a simple forcing route to chiral structures. To do so we have designed magnetic colloids that, depending on both their shape and induced magnetization, self-assemble with controlled helicity. We model the two length scales with asymmetric colloidal dumbbells linked by a magnetic belt at their waist. In the presence of a magnetic field the belts assemble into a chain and the steric constraints imposed by the asymmetric spheres force the chain to coil. We show that if the size ratio between the spheres is large enough, a single helicity is adopted, right or left. The realization of chiral colloidal clusters opens up a new link between colloidal science and chemistry. These colloidal clusters may also find use as mesopolymers, as optical and light-activated structures, and as models for enantiomeric separation.     

Theoretical analysis of ultra-fast phase recovery in semiconductor optical amplifiers

We present results from theoretical analysis of the phase dynamics in semiconductor optical amplifiers(SOAs).In particular,we focus on an aspect of the ultra-fast phase recovery that currently does not have adequate in-depth theoretical analysis and clear explanation of the physical mechanism.We build up a numerical model to analyze the ultra-fast phase recovery of semiconductor optical amplifiers in details.To investigate the phase response characteristics,we analyze the different contributions to the phase shift,including intra-band effects such as carrier heating,spectral hole burning,and inter-band effects such as carrier depletion.In addition,the impact of the pulses energy on phase shift is also investigated.Based on the analysis of phase response characteristics,we further explain the reason why a delay occurs between gain response and phase response.The analysis results are in good agreement with the reported experimental results.The results presented in this paper are useful for the SOA-based ultra-fast optical signal processing,such as optical switches,optical logic gates,and optical Add/Drop multiplexer.     

Observation of five-fold local symmetry in liquid lead

The local point symmetry of the short-range order in simple monatomic liquids remains a fundamental open question in condensed-matter science. For more than 40 years it has been conjectured that liquids with centrosymmetric interactions may be composed of icosahedral building blocks. But these proposed mobile, randomly orientated structures have remained experimentally inaccessible owing to the unavoidable averaging involved in scattering experiments, which can therefore determine only the isotropic radial distribution function. Here we overcome this limitation by capturing liquid fragments at a solid-liquid interface, and observing the scattering of totally internally reflected (evanescent) X-rays, which are sensitive only to the liquid structure at the interface. Using this method, we observe five-fold local symmetry in liquid lead adjacent to a silicon wall, and obtain an experimental portrait of the icosahedral fragments that are predicted to occur in all close-packed monatomic liquids. By shedding new light on local bond order in disordered structures such as liquids and glasses, these results should lead to a better microscopic understanding of melting, freezing and supercooling.     

基于OTDR的光纤液体泄漏检测的研究

通过应用光时域反射仪（OTDR)测量多模光纤（MMF）反射光强变化,提出一种检测液体泄漏的光纤传感器,并对其进行理论仿真和实验研究。众所周知,OTDR具有小巧、精密、智能化、便于移动的特点,能有效避免常规光纤传感器设备复杂笨重不可以移动的问题。使用一定溶度的氢氟酸（HF）溶液腐蚀多模光纤作为传感部件,易于设计和制作。当多模光纤的纤芯直径减小到一定程度时,将其暴露在空气或待测液体中。裸露的芯层周围介质折射率的变化,将会影响传感区域内光的模场分布,改变透射光的强度,故该结构可以有效检测环境中液体的泄漏。本文设计制作了两个远距离的光纤传感器。第一个传感器仅带有一个光纤传感结构。连接带有传感结构的长光纤和OTDR。设置OTDR的扫描脉宽30ns、扫描时间3min,光源的脉冲信号强度约为15dB、扫描距离5km。以水为检测对象。首先,将传感结构暴露在空气中,OTDR的反射曲线在检测处的损耗为2.893dB。当检测到水时,OTDR的反射曲线的损耗为0.631dB。因此,检测到水时,光损耗减小,反射光强变大。实验结果和仿真结果一致。第二个传感器是有两个传感结构的分布式复用传感器,将其检测两处的环境情况。两个传感结构都能很灵敏的检测出是否存在水,证明了传感器的复用特性。因此,该液体泄漏检测光纤传感器能够广泛应用于工程实践中。     

Diffusion of point defects in two-dimensional colloidal crystals

Uniform colloidal microspheres dispersed in a solvent will, under appropriate conditions, self-assemble into ordered crystalline structures. Using these colloidal crystals as a model system, a great variety of problems of interest to materials science, physical chemistry, and condensed-matter physics have been investigated during the past two decades. Recently, it has been demonstrated that point defects can be created in two-dimensional colloidal crystals by manipulating individual particles with optical tweezers. Direct imaging of these defects verified that their stable configurations have lower symmetry than the underlying triangular lattice, as predicted by numerical simulations for a number of two-dimensional systems. It was also observed that point defects can dissociate into pairs of well-separated dislocations, a topological excitation especially important in two dimensions. Here we use a similar experimental system to study the dynamics of mono- and di-vacancies in two-dimensional colloidal crystals. We see evidence that the excitation of point defects into dislocation pairs enhances the diffusion of di-vacancies. Moreover, the hopping of the defects does not follow a pure random walk, but exhibits surprising memory effects. We expect the results presented in this work to be relevant for explaining the dynamics of other two-dimensional systems.     

Automatic gain control in the echolocation system of dolphins

In bats and technological sonars, the gain of the receiver is progressively increased with time after the transmission of a signal to compensate for acoustic propagation loss. The current understanding of dolphin echolocation indicates that automatic gain control is not a part of their sonar system. In order to test this understanding, we have performed field measurements of free-ranging echolocating dolphins. Here we show that dolphins do possess an automatic gain control mechanism, but that it is implemented in the transmission phase rather than the receiving phase of a sonar cycle. We find that the amplitude of the dolphins' echolocation signals are highly range dependent; this amplitude increases with increasing target range, R, in a 20 log(R) fashion to compensate for propagation loss. If the echolocation target is a fish school with many sound scatterers, the echoes from the school will remain nearly constant with range as the dolphin closes in on it. This characteristic has the same effect as time-varying gain in bats and technological sonar when considered from a sonar system perspective.     

Perceptual basis of bimanual coordination.

Periodic bimanual movements are often the focus of studies of the basic organizational principles of human actions. In such movements there is a typical spontaneous tendency towards mirror symmetry. Even involuntary slips from asymmetrical movement patterns into symmetry occur, but not vice versa. Traditionally, this phenomenon has been interpreted as a tendency towards co-activation of homologous muscles, probably originating in motoric neuronal structures. Here we provide evidence contrary to this widespread assumption. We show for two prominent experimental models-bimanual finger oscillation and bimanual four-finger tapping-that the symmetry bias is actually towards spatial, perceptual symmetry, without regard to the muscles involved. We suggest that spontaneous coordination phenomena of this kind are purely perceptual in nature. In the case of a bimanual circling model, our findings reveal that highly complex, even 'impossible' movements can easily be performed with only simple visual feedback. A 'motoric' representation of the performed perceptual oscillation patterns is not necessary. Thus there is no need to translate such a 'motoric' into a 'perceptual' representation or vice versa, using 'internal models' (ref. 29). We suggest that voluntary movements are organized by way of a representation of the perceptual goals, whereas the corresponding motor activity, of sometimes high complexity, is spontaneously and flexibly tuned in.     

Active optical clock based on four-level quantum system

Active optical clock,a new conception of atomic clock,has been proposed recently.In this work,we propose a scheme of active optical clock based on four-level quantum system.The final accuracy and stability of two-level quantum system are limited by second-order Doppler shift of thermal atomic beam.To three-level quantum system,they are mainly limited by light shift of pumping laser field.These limitations can be avoided effectively by applying the scheme proposed here.Rubidium atom four-level quantum system,as a typical example,is discussed.The population inversion between 6S 1/2 and 5P 3/2 states can be built up at a time scale of 10-6 s.With the mechanism of active optical clock,in which the cavity mode linewidth is much wider than that of the laser gain profile,it can output a laser with quantum-limited linewidth narrower than 1 Hz in theory.An experimental configuration is designed to realize this active optical clock.     

Thresholdless nanoscale coaxial lasers

The effects of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED), caused by the interaction of matter and the electromagnetic field in subwavelength resonant structures, have been the subject of intense research in recent years. The generation of coherent radiation by subwavelength resonant structures has attracted considerable interest, not only as a means of exploring the QED effects that emerge at small volume, but also for its potential in applications ranging from on-chip optical communication to ultrahigh-resolution and high-throughput imaging, sensing and spectroscopy. One such strand of research is aimed at developing the 'ultimate' nanolaser: a scalable, low-threshold, efficient source of radiation that operates at room temperature and occupies a small volume on a chip. Different resonators have been proposed for the realization of such a nanolaser--microdisk and photonic bandgap resonators, and, more recently, metallic, metallo-dielectric and plasmonic resonators. But progress towards realizing the ultimate nanolaser has been hindered by the lack of a systematic approach to scaling down the size of the laser cavity without significantly increasing the threshold power required for lasing. Here we describe a family of coaxial nanostructured cavities that potentially solve the resonator scalability challenge by means of their geometry and metal composition. Using these coaxial nanocavities, we demonstrate the smallest room-temperature, continuous-wave telecommunications-frequency laser to date. In addition, by further modifying the design of these coaxial nanocavities, we achieve thresholdless lasing with a broadband gain medium. In addition to enabling laser applications, these nanoscale resonators should provide a powerful platform for the development of other QED devices and metamaterials in which atom-field interactions generate new functionalities.     

Yb-Er共掺光波导放大器增益特性模拟及优化

为提高光波导放大器的增益特性,从Yb-Er共掺系统的能级结构及能量传递过程出发,建立了Yb-Er共掺光波导放大器增益的理论模型,对增益特性进行数值模拟;讨论了铒离子的掺杂浓度、泵浦光功率和信号光功率等因素对光波导放大器增益的影响,并进行优化。数值模拟结果表明:当波导长度小于其最佳值时,增益随铒离子的掺杂浓度和泵浦光功率的增加而显著增大;超过最佳波导长度,增益随之下降;泵浦光功率一致,信号光功率增强时,增益下降。抽运功率为70 mW时,长度为2.24 cm的光波导放大器,单位长度增益为4.73 dB/cm,该结果与实验数据基本吻合。     

Supramolecular dendritic liquid quasicrystals

A large number of synthetic and natural compounds self-organize into bulk phases exhibiting periodicities on the 10(-8)-10(-6) metre scale as a consequence of their molecular shape, degree of amphiphilic character and, often, the presence of additional non-covalent interactions. Such phases are found in lyotropic systems (for example, lipid-water, soap-water), in a range of block copolymers and in thermotropic (solvent-free) liquid crystals. The resulting periodicity can be one-dimensional (lamellar phases), two-dimensional (columnar phases) or three dimensional ('micellar' or 'bicontinuous' phases). All such two- and three-dimensional structures identified to date obey the rules of crystallography and their symmetry can be described, respectively, by one of the 17 plane groups or 230 space groups. The 'micellar' phases have crystallographic counterparts in transition-metal alloys, where just one metal atom is equivalent to a 10(3)-10(4)-atom micelle. However, some metal alloys are known to defy the rules of crystallography and form so-called quasicrystals, which have rotational symmetry other than the allowed two-, three-, four- or six-fold symmetry. Here we show that such quasiperiodic structures can also exist in the scaled-up micellar phases, representing a new mode of organization in soft matter.