A fast-Fourier-transform method of topography and interferometry is proposed. By computer processing of a noncontour type of fringe pattern, automatic discrimination is achieved between elevation and depression of the object or wave-front form, which has not been possible by the fringe-contour-generation techniques. The method has advantages over moire topography and conventional fringe-contour interferometry in both accuracy and sensitivity. Unlike fringe-scanning techniques, the method is easy to apply because it uses no moving components.

Fourier-transform method of fringe-pattern analysis for computer-based topography and interferometry

Effective manipulation of cavity resonant modes is crucial for emission control in laser physics and applications. Using the concept of parity-time symmetry to exploit the interplay between gain and loss (i.e., light amplification and absorption), we demonstrate a parity-time symmetry-breaking laser with resonant modes that can be controlled at will. In contrast to conventional ring cavity lasers with multiple competing modes, our parity-time microring laser exhibits intrinsic single-mode lasing regardless of the gain spectral bandwidth. Thresholdless parity-time symmetry breaking due to the rotationally symmetric structure leads to stable single-mode operation with the selective whispering-gallery mode order. Exploration of parity-time symmetry in laser physics may open a door to next-generation optoelectronic devices for optical communications and computing.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/346/6212/972.full.pdf

Single-mode laser by parity-time symmetry breaking.

Sensing technology has been widely investigated and utilized for gas detection. Due to the different applicability and inherent limitations of different gas sensing technologies, researchers have been working on different scenarios with enhanced gas sensor calibration. This paper reviews the descriptions, evaluation, comparison and recent developments in existing gas sensing technologies. A classification of sensing technologies is given, based on the variation of electrical and other properties. Detailed introduction to sensing methods based on electrical variation is discussed through further classification according to sensing materials, including metal oxide semiconductors, polymers, carbon nanotubes, and moisture absorbing materials. Methods based on other kinds of variations such as optical, calorimetric, acoustic and gas-chromatographic, are presented in a general way. Several suggestions related to future development are also discussed. Furthermore, this paper focuses on sensitivity and selectivity for performance indicators to compare different sensing technologies, analyzes the factors that influence these two indicators, and lists several corresponding improved approaches.

A Survey on Gas Sensing Technology

Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) has emerged as a valuable method for investigating cells and tissues. QPI operates on unlabelled specimens and, as such, is complementary to established fluorescence microscopy, exhibiting lower phototoxicity and no photobleaching. As the images represent quantitative maps of optical path length delays introduced by the specimen, QPI provides an objective measure of morphology and dynamics, free of variability due to contrast agents. Owing to the tremendous progress witnessed especially in the past 10–15 years, a number of technologies have become sufficiently reliable and translated to biomedical laboratories. Commercialization efforts are under way and, as a result, the QPI field is now transitioning from a technology-development-driven to an application-focused field. In this Review, we aim to provide a critical and objective overview of this dynamic research field by presenting the scientific context, main principles of operation and current biomedical applications. Over the past 10–15 years, quantitative phase imaging has moved from a research-driven to an application-focused field. This Review presents the main principles of operation and representative basic and clinical science applications.

Quantitative phase imaging in biomedicine

Many procedures in modern clinical medicine rely on the use of electronic implants in treating conditions that range from acute coronary events to traumatic injury. However, standard permanent electronic hardware acts as a nidus for infection: bacteria form biofilms along percutaneous wires, or seed haematogenously, with the potential to migrate within the body and to provoke immune-mediated pathological tissue reactions. The associated surgical retrieval procedures, meanwhile, subject patients to the distress associated with re-operation and expose them to additional complications. Here, we report materials, device architectures, integration strategies, and in vivo demonstrations in rats of implantable, multifunctional silicon sensors for the brain, for which all of the constituent materials naturally resorb via hydrolysis and/or metabolic action, eliminating the need for extraction. Continuous monitoring of intracranial pressure and temperature illustrates functionality essential to the treatment of traumatic brain injury; the measurement performance of our resorbable devices compares favourably with that of non-resorbable clinical standards. In our experiments, insulated percutaneous wires connect to an externally mounted, miniaturized wireless potentiostat for data transmission. In a separate set-up, we connect a sensor to an implanted (but only partially resorbable) data-communication system, proving the principle that there is no need for any percutaneous wiring. The devices can be adapted to sense fluid flow, motion, pH or thermal characteristics, in formats that are compatible with the body's abdomen and extremities, as well as the deep brain, suggesting that the sensors might meet many needs in clinical medicine.

Bioresorbable silicon electronic sensors for the brain

Theorical and numerical analysis of an all-optical delta-sigma modulator

By 2017, the critical dimension in patterned wafers will shrink down to 7 nm, which brings great challenges to optics-based defect inspection techniques, due to the ever-decreasing signal to noise ratio with respect to defect size. To continue pushing forward the optics-based metrology technique, it is of great importance to analyze the full characteristics of the scattering field of a wafer with a defect and then to find the most sensitive signal type. In this article, the vector boundary element method is firstly introduced to calculate the scattering field of a patterned wafer at a specific objective plane, after which a vector imaging theory is introduced to calculate the field at an image plane for an imaging system with a high numerical aperture objective lens. The above methods enable the effective modeling of the image for an arbitrary vectorial scattering electromagnetic field coming from the defect pattern of the wafer.

Electromagnetic field modeling for defect detection in 7 nm node patterned wafers

https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10184044

Non-Volatile, Reconfigurable, Zero-Static Power Optical Routing for Transistor-Laser-Based Electronic-Photonic Processing

We report on designs for compact VCSEL sensors for use in hydrogen gas detection. We discuss 980nm
VCSELs coated with Pd, which has been proven to react with hydrogen. During this reaction, the device undergoes
hydrogen induced lattice expansion (HILE) which causes two distinct effects that can be detected at the output. These
two effects are a red-shift in the emission wavelength and a decrease in the output power. The compact VCSELs will be
positioned into a 2D array with varying mesa diameters and palladium thickness in order to distinguish and track the
specific level of hydrogen present in the atmosphere.

Modeling of compact Pd coated VCSELs for hydrogen sensing

An efficient parallelization of the dual-primal finite-element tearing and interconnecting algorithm (FETI-DP) is presented for detecting defects in large-area nanopatterned wafers. To reduce global communication, iterative solvers with an iterative classical Gram-Schmidt scheme and a communication-avoiding approach are implemented to solve the interface and the coarse corner problems, respectively. A preconditioner is developed to improve the iterative convergence of the coarse problem. Electromagnetic analysis of a wafer is presented to show the scalability and capability of the method for accurate defect detection.

Lynford L. Goddard

Papers

Theorical and numerical analysis of an all-optical delta-sigma modulator

Electromagnetic field modeling for defect detection in 7 nm node patterned wafers

Non-Volatile, Reconfigurable, Zero-Static Power Optical Routing for Transistor-Laser-Based Electronic-Photonic Processing

Modeling of compact Pd coated VCSELs for hydrogen sensing

Parallel FETI-DP algorithm for defect detection in large-area nanopatterned wafers