Showing papers in "Journal of The Optical Society of Korea in 2010"

Development of Respiration Sensors Using Plastic Optical Fiber for Respiratory Monitoring Inside MRI System

Abstract: In this study, we have fabricated two types of non-invasive fiber-optic respiration sensors that can measure respiratory signals during magnetic resonance (MR) image acquisition. One is a nasal-cavity attached sensor that can measure the temperature variation of air-flow using a thermochromic pigment. The other is an abdomen attached sensor that can measure the abdominal circumference change using a sensing part composed of polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) tubes, a mirror and a spring. We have measured modulated light guided to detectors in the MRI control room via optical fibers due to the respiratory movements of the patient in the MR room, and the respiratory signals of the fiber-optic respiration sensors are compared with those of the BIOPAClTEXg$^{(R)}$l/TEXg system. We have verified that respiratory signals can be obtained without deteriorating the MR image. It is anticipated that the proposed fiber-optic respiration sensors would be highly suitable for respiratory monitoring during surgical procedures performed inside an MRI system.

Applications of Digital Holography in Biomedical Microscopy

Abstract: Digital holography (DH) is a potentially disruptive new technology for many areas of imaging science, especially in microscopy and metrology. DH offers a number of significant advantages such as the ability to acquire holograms rapidly, availability of complete amplitude and phase information of the optical field, and versatility of the interferometric and image processing techniques. This article provides a review of the digital holography, with an emphasis on its applications in biomedical microscopy. The quantitative phase microscopy by DH is described including some of the special techniques such as optical phase unwrapping and holography of total internal reflection. Tomographic imaging by digital interference holography (DIH) and related methods is described, as well as its applications in ophthalmic imaging and in biometry. Holographic manipulation and monitoring of cells and cellular components is another exciting new area of research. We discuss some of the current issues, trends, and potentials.

Development of Nanostructured Plasmonic Substrates for Enhanced Optical Biosensing

Abstract: Plasmonic-based biosensing technologies have been successfully commercialized and applied for monitoring various biomolecular interactions occurring at a sensor surface. In particular, the recent advances in nanofabrication methods and nanoparticle syntheses provide a new route to overcome the limitations of a conventional surface plasmon resonance biosensor, such as detection limit, sensitivity, selectivity, and throughput. In this paper, optical and physical properties of plasmonic nanostructures and their contributions to a realization of enhanced optical detection platforms are reviewed. Following vast surveys of the exploitation of metallic nanostructures supporting localized field enhancement, we will propose an outlook for future directions associated with a development of new types of plasmonic sensing substrates

Analysis of Image Visibility in Projection-type Integral Imaging System without Diffuser

Abstract: We analyze image visibility of a projection-type integral imaging system without diffuser, in terms of the fill factor, which is determined by the relationship between the exit pupil of the projection system and the size and the focal length of the elemental lens. High fill factor is a requirement for good visibility. Moreover, for psychological reasons, for the same fill factor, better visibility is accomplished using a relatively small elemental lens. In this paper, we study image visibility through basic experiments and results.

Common-Path Optical Coherence Tomography for Biomedical Imaging and Sensing.

Abstract: This paper describes a development of a fiber optic common-path optical coherence tomography (OCT) based imaging and guided system that possess ability to reliably identify optically transparent targets that are on the micron scale; ability to maintain a precise and safe position from the target; ability to provide spectroscopic imaging; ability to imaging biological target in 3-D. The system is based on a high resolution fiber optic Common-Path OCT (CP-OCT) that can be integrated into various mini-probes and tools. The system is capable of obtaining >70K A-scan per second with a resolution better than $3\;{\mu}m$ . We have demonstrated that the system is capable of one-dimensional real-time depth tracking, tool motion limiting and motion compensation, oxygen-saturation level imaging, and high resolution 3-D images for various biomedical applications.

High-brightness Phosphor-conversion White Light Source Using InGaN Blue Laser Diode

Abstract: A phosphor-conversion white light source is demonstrated using an InGaN-based blue laser diode (LD) and a yellow-emitting phosphor excited by the blue LD. The photometric and colorimetric properties of this blue-LD-based white light source are characterized. When injection current of the LD is 100 mA, luminous flux and luminous efficiency of the white light are found to be over 5 lm and 10 lm/W, respectively. When injection current is >90 mA, luminance is estimated to be larger than 10 Mcd/ $cm^2$ . In addition, color characteristics of the white light such as chromaticity coordinates, a correlated color temperature, and a color rendering index are found to be quite stable as current and temperature of the LD varies. The demonstrated LD-based white light source is expected to be used in high-brightness illumination applications with good color stability.

Counterfeit Detection Using Characterization of Safety Feature on Banknote with Full-field Optical Coherence Tomography

Abstract: We report an application of full-field optical coherence tomography (FF-OCT) for identifying counterfeit bank notes. The depth-resolved imaging capability of FF-OCT was used for tomographic identification of superficially-identical objects. By retrieving the internal structures of the security feature (cash hologram) of an original banknote, we could demonstrate the feasibility of FF-OCT to identify counterfeit money. The FF-OCT images showed that the hologram consisted of micron scale multi-coated layers including an air gap. Therefore, it is expected that FF-OCT has potential as a new non-invasive tool to discern imitation of currency, and it would find applications in a wide field of counterfeit sciences.

Optical System with 4 ㎛ Resolution for Maskless Lithography Using Digital Micromirror Device

Abstract: In the present study, an optical system is proposed for maskless lithography using a digital micromirror device (DMD). The system consists of an illumination optical system, a DMD, and a projection lens system. The illumination optical system, developed for 95% uniformity, is composed of fly's eye lens plates, a 405 nm narrow band pass filter (NBPF), condensing lenses, a field lens and a 250W halogen lamp. The projection lens system, composed of 8 optical elements, is developed for 4 lTEXg${\mu}m$l/TEXg resolution. The proposed system plays a role of an optical engine for PCB and/or FPD maskless lithography. Furthermore, many problems arising from the presence of masks in a conventional lithography system, such as expense and time in fabricating the masks, contamination by masks, disposal of masks, and the alignment of masks, may be solved by the proposed system. The proposed system is verified by lithography experiments which produce a line pattern with the resolution of 4 lTEXg${\mu}m$l/TEXg line width.

Surface Form Measurement Using Single Shot Off-axis Fizeau Interferometry

Abstract: This paper describes the surface form measurement of a spherical smooth surface by using single shot off-axis Fizeau interferometry. The demodulated phase map is obtained and unwrapped to remove the $2\pi$ ambiguity. The unwrapped phase map is converted to height and the 3D surface height of the surface object is reconstructed. The results extracted from the single shot off-axis geometry are compared with the results extracted from four-frame phase shifting in-line interferometry, and the results are in excellent agreement.

Fiber Ring Laser Intra-cavity Absorption Spectroscopy for Gas Sensing: Analysis and Experiment

Abstract: Fiber ring laser based intra-cavity absorption spectroscopic sensor has great potential for high sensitivity gas detection. Using the rate equations and propagation equations, we investigated theoretically factors that affect the sensitivity of such fiber ring laser sensors and determined the optimal design parameters and conditions for significant enhancement of the system sensitivity. Experiments have been conducted to determine the sensitivity enhancement performance. The results showed a factor of 25 ~ 30 in sensitivity enhancement in the experimental system, agreeing well with the theoretical expectations. Experiments on acetylene detection have also been carried out and the results showed that the ring cavity significantly increases the signal absorption and that high sensitivity can be obtained for gas detection.

Specialty Fiber Coupler: Fabrications and Applications

Abstract: We review the research on specialty fiber couplers with emphasis placed on the characteristics that make them attractive for biomedical imaging, optical communications, and sensing applications. The fabrication of fiber couplers has been carried out with, in addition to conventional single mode fiber, various specialty fibers such as photonic crystal fiber, double clad fiber, and hole-assisted fiber with a Ge-doped core. For the fiber coupler fabrication, the side polishing and the fused biconical tapered methods have been developed. These specialty fiber couplers have been applied to optical coherence tomography, fluorescence spectroscopy, fiber sensors, and optical communication systems. This review aims to provide a detailed statement on the recent progress and novel applications of specialty fiber couplers.

Image-processing Based Panoramic Camera Employing Single Fisheye Lens

Abstract: We have developed mathematically precise image-processing algorithms for extracting panoramic images from fisheye images. Furthermore, we have successfully built a DSP-based panoramic camera employing single fisheye lens.

Spatial Luminance Contrast Sensitivity: Effects of Surround

Abstract: This study examined the effects of surround luminance on the shape of the spatial luminance contrast sensitivity function (CSF). The reduction in brightness of uniform neutral patches shown on a computer controlled display screen is also assessed to explain the change of CSF shape. Consequently, a large amount of reduction in contrast sensitivity at middle spatial frequencies can be observed; however, the reduction is relatively small for low spatial frequencies. In general, the effect of surround luminance on the CSF appears similar to that of mean luminance. Reduced CSF responses result in less power of the filtered image; therefore, the stimulus should appear dimmer with a higher surround luminance.

Optimal Design of Dielectric-loaded Surface Plasmon Polariton Waveguide with Genetic Algorithm

Abstract: We propose a design and optimization method for a dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguide using a genetic algorithm This structure consists of a polymer ridge on top of two layers of substrate and gold film The thickness, width and refractive index of the ridge are designed to optimize the figures of merit including mode confinement and propagation length The modal analysis combined with the effective index method shows that the designed waveguide exhibits a fundamental propagation mode with high mode confinement while ensuring that the propagation loss remains relatively low

Particle Image Velocimetry of the Blood Flow in a Micro-channel Using the Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope

Abstract: We used video-rate Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) to observe the motion of blood cells in a micro-channel. Video-rate CLSM allowed us to acquire images at the rate of 30 frames per second. The acquired images were used to perform Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), thus providing the velocity profile of the blood in a micro-channel. While previous confocal microscopy-assisted PIV required exogenous micro/nano particles as the tracing particles, we employed blood cells as tracing particles for the CLSM in the reflection mode, which uses light back-scattered from the sample. The blood flow at various depths of the micro-channel was observed by adjusting the image plane of the microscope. The velocity profile at different depths of the channel was measured. The confocal micro-PIV technique used in the study was able to measure blood velocity up to a few hundreds ${\mu}m/sec$ , equivalent to the blood velocity in the capillaries of a live animal. It is expected that the technique presented can be applied for in vivo blood flow measurement in the capillaries of live animals.

Widely Tunable Coupled-ring Reflector Laser Diode Consisting of Square Ring Resonators

Abstract: We design and fabricate a widely tunable laser diode made of InGaAsP-InP. The diode is monolithically integrated with a wavelength-selective coupled-ring reflector and semiconductor amplifiers. For realization of a compact size device, deeply etched multi-mode interference couplers and square ring resonators composed of total-internal-reflection mirrors are adopted and fabricated using a self-aligned process. It is demonstrated that the laser diode exhibits single mode operation and 16 nm tuning range with side-mode-suppression-ratio exceeding 20 dB.

High Sensitive Fiber Optic Temperature Sensor Based on a Side-polished Single-mode Fiber Coupled to a Tapered Multimode Overlay Waveguide

Abstract: A high sensitivity fiber optic temperature sensor based on a side-polished fiber (SPF) coupled to a tapered multimode overlay waveguide (MMOW) is proposed and studied. Both tapered and non-tapered MMOW were considered to study the effect of tapering of MMOW on the characteristics of the device and to investigate the criticality of the uniformity of the multimode overlay waveguide over the SPF. Present study shows that tapering of the MMOW can be used to tune the desired wavelength range without any loss in the sensitivity. Sensitivity up to 9 nm/ $^{\circ}C$ within the temperature range of 25 to $100^{\circ}C$ can be achieved with the proposed sensor, almost 6 times higher compared even to state-of-the-art high-sensitivity grating-based fiber optic temperature sensors.

Micro-Brillouin Spectroscopy Applied to the Glass Transition of Anti-inflammatory Egonol

Abstract: The acoustic properties of anti-inflammatory egonol were investigated by using micro-Brillouin scattering spectroscopy, by use of a 6-pass tandem Fabry-Perot interferometer and an optical microscope specially modified for spectroscopic purposes. The measured Brillouin spectrum was composed of a central peak centered at zero and a Brillouin doublet arising from the longitudinal acoustic waves, i.e. propagating density fluctuations. For the first time, the glass transition of egonol was identified to be about $5^{\circ}C$ at which the Brillouin peak position and the half width showed abrupt changes. The substantial damping of acoustic phonons of egonol near the glass transition temperature indicated that the contribution of internal relaxation processes such as small-amplitude librations of side chains to the damping of acoustic phonons may be substantial depending on the internal structure of molecules.

Optical Coherence Tomography Based on a Continuous-wave Supercontinuum Seeded by Erbium-doped Fiber’s Amplified Spontaneous Emission

Abstract: In this study, the use of a continuous-wave (CW) supercontinuum (SC) seeded by an erbium-doped fiber's amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) for optical-coherence tomography imaging is experimentally demonstrated. It was shown, by taking an in-depth image of a human tooth sample, that due to the smooth, flat spectrum and long-term stability of the proposed CW SC, it can be readily applied to the spectral-domain optical-coherence tomography system. The relative-intensity noise level and spectral bandwidth of the CW SC are also experimentally analyzed as a function of the ASE beam power.

Simulation of Moire Effect in 3D Displays

Abstract: Theoretical and experimental investigations of moires in 3D displays were performed. To describe and minimize moires, we propose the polar representation form of moire waves. The experimental and theoretical data are in good agreement except in the neighborhood of the minimization angle. The implicit formulas are found for visible moires of line gratings at finite distances. The computer simulation and the physical experiments confirm the moire appearance for this case.

Two Step on-axis Digital Holography Using Dual-channel Mach-Zehnder Interferometer and Matched Filter Algorithm

Abstract: A new two step on-axis digital holography (DH) is proposed without any assumptions, phase shifting, or complicated optical components. A dual-channel Mach-Zehnder interferometer was employed. Using that setup, the object field can be reconstructed requiring only two step measurements. To eliminate position difference between two charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras, a matched filter algorithm was used. Experimental results are compared to those of the traditional phase shifting technique. The proposed approach can also be applied to single-exposure on-axis DH for real time measurement.

All-optical Flip-flop Operation Based on Polarization Bistability of Conventional-type 1.55-㎛ Wavelength Single-mode VCSELs

Abstract: We report, for the first time to our knowledge, observation of polarization bistability from 1.55-µm wavelength single-mode VCSELs of a conventional cylinder-shape under control of their driving current, and demonstration of all-optical flip-flop (AOFF) operations based on the bistability with optical set and reset pulse injection at a 50 MHz switching frequency. The injection pulse energy was less than 14 fJ. The average on-off contrast ratio of the flip-flopped signals was about 7 dB. These properties of the VCSELs will be potentially useful for future high-speed all-optical signal processing applications.

QPSK Modulation Based Optical Image Cryptosystem Using Phase-shifting Digital Holography

Abstract: We propose a new technique for the optical encryption of gray-level optical images digitized into 8-bits binary data by ASCII encoding followed by QPSK modulation. We made an encrypted digital hologram with a security key by using 2-step phase-shifting digital holography, and the encrypted digital hologram is recorded on a CCD camera with 256 gray-level quantized intensities. With these encrypted digital holograms, the phase values are reconstructed by the same security key and are decrypted into the original gray-level optical image by demodulation and decoding. Simulation results show that the proposed method can be used for cryptosystems and security systems.

Selecting Characteristic Raman Wavelengths to Distinguish Liquid Water, Water Vapor, and Ice Water

Abstract: The Raman shift of water vapor is 3657 lTEXg$cm^{-1}$l/TEXg, and this Raman signal can be easily separated from other Raman signals or elastic signals. However, it is difficult to make simultaneous Raman measurements on the three phases of water, namely, ice water, liquid water, and water vapor. This is because we must consider the overlap between their Raman spectra. Therefore, very few groups have attempted to make Raman simultaneous measurements even on two elements (water vapor and liquid water, or water vapor and ice water). We have made an effort to find three characteristic Raman wavelengths that correspond to the three phases of water after measuring full Raman spectra of water on particular days that are rainy, snowy or clear. Finally, we have found that the 401-nm, 404-nm, and 408-nm wavelengths are the most characteristic Raman wavelengths that are representative of the water phases when we are using the 355-nm laser wavelength for making measurements.

Fabrication of Thick Periodically-poled Lithium Niobate Crystals by Standard Electric Field Poling and Direct Bonding

Abstract: We fabricated 1 mm-thick periodically-poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystals by using a high-voltage amplifier for standard electric field poling combined with a voltage multiplier. Furthermore, two 1 mm-thick PPLNs were directly bonded to make a 2 mm-thick PPLN. The large aperture allowed broad angular tuning, and a broad spectral range of quasi-phase matched second-harmonic generation can be achieved in a single channel. High-power applications are also expected.

Terahertz Wave Transmission Properties of Metallic Periodic Structures Printed on a Photo-paper

Abstract: We printed a one-dimensional array of metallic wires and a two-dimensional array of metallic split ring resonators on a photo-paper by using a high-dots-per-inch resolution printer and an ink with silver nano-particles. The printed sample sizes are lTEXg$1.0{\times}1.0cm^2$l/TEXg. The transmission measured by a terahertz time domain spectroscopy system shows that the arrays of wires and split ring resonators could act as polarizers and band-stop filters, respectively, in a terahertz frequency region.

Adaptive Thresholding Technique for Binarization of License Plate Images

Abstract: Unlike document images, license plate images are mostly captured under uneven lighting conditions. In particular, a shadowed region has sharp intensity variation and sometimes that region has very high intensity by reflected light. This paper presents a new technique for thresholding license plate images. This approach consists of three parts. In the first part, it performs a rough thresholding and classifies the type of license plate to adjust some parameters optimally. Next, it identifies a shadow type and binarizes license plate images by adjusting the window size and location according to the shadow type. And finally, post-processing based on the cluster analysis is performed. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperformed five well-known methods.

Aerosol Observation with Raman LIDAR in Beijing, China

Abstract: Aerosol observation with Raman LIDAR in NIES (National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan) LIDAR network was conducted from 17 April to 12 June 2008 over Beijing, China. The aerosol optical properties derived from Raman LIDAR were compared with the retrieved data from sun photometer and sky radiometer observations in the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). The comparison provided the complete knowledge of aerosol optical and physical properties in Beijing, especially in pollution and Asian dust events. The averaged aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 675 nm was 0.81 and the Angstrom exponent between 440 nm and 675 nm was 0.99 during experiment. The LIDAR derived AOD at 532 nm in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) was 0.48, which implied that half of the total AOD was contributed by the aerosol in PBL. The corresponding averaged LIDAR ratio and total depolarization ratio (TDR) were 48.5sr and 8.1%. The negative correlation between LIDAR ratio and TDR indicated the LIDAR ratio decreased with aerosol size because of the high TDR associated with nonspherical and large aerosols. The typical volume size distribution of the aerosol clearly demonstrated that the coarse mode radius located near 3 lTEXg${\mu}m$l/TEXg in dust case, a bi-mode with fine particle centered at 0.2 lTEXg${\mu}m$l/TEXg and coarse particle at 2 lTEXg${\mu}m$l/TEXg was the characteristic size distribution in the pollution and clean cases. The different size distributions of aerosol resulted in its different optical properties. The retrieved LIDAR ratio and TDR were 41.1sr and 19.5% for a dust event, 53.8sr and 6.6% for a pollution event as well as 57.3sr and 7.2% for a clean event. In conjunction with the observed surface wind field near the LIDAR site, most of the pollution aerosols were produced locally or transported from the southeast of Beijing, whereas the dust aerosols associated with the clean air mass were transported by the northwesterly or southwesterly winds.

Panoramic Image Composed of Multiple Rectilinear Images Generated from a Single Fisheye Image

Abstract: We have developed mathematically precise image-processing algorithms for extracting rectilinear images from fisheye images as well as digital pan/tilt/zoom technology. Using this technology, vertical lines always appear as vertical lines in the panned and/or tilted images. Furthermore, polygonal panoramic images composed of multiple rectilinear images have been obtained using the developed digital pan/tilt technology.

Analysis of the Current-voltage Curves of a Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 Thin-film Solar Cell Measured at Different Irradiation Conditions

Abstract: We analyze the current density - voltage (J - V) curve of a Cu(In,Ga) $Se_2$ (CIGS) thin-film solar cell measured at different irradiation power densities. For the solar-cell sample investigated in this study, the fill factor and power conversion efficiency decreased as the irradiation power density (IPD) increased in the range of 2 to 5 sun. Characteristic parameters of solar cell including the series resistance ( $r_s$ ), the shunt resistance ( $r_{sh}$ ), the photocurrent density ( $J_L$ ), the saturation current density ( $J_s$ ) of an ideal diode, and the coefficient ( $C_s$ ) of the diode current due to electron-hole recombination via ionized traps at the p-n interface are determined from a theoretical fit to the experimental data of the J - V curve using a two-diode model. As IPD increased, both $r_s$ and $r_{sh}$ decreased, but $C_s$ increased.