Showing papers on "Phase (waves) published in 2012"

Split-spectrum amplitude-decorrelation angiography with optical coherence tomography

Abstract: Amplitude decorrelation measurement is sensitive to transverse flow and immune to phase noise in comparison to Doppler and other phase-based approaches. However, the high axial resolution of OCT makes it very sensitive to the pulsatile bulk motion noise in the axial direction. To overcome this limitation, we developed split-spectrum amplitude-decorrelation angiography (SSADA) to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of flow detection. The full OCT spectrum was split into several narrower bands. Inter-B-scan decorrelation was computed using the spectral bands separately and then averaged. The SSADA algorithm was tested on in vivo images of the human macula and optic nerve head. It significantly improved both SNR for flow detection and connectivity of microvascular network when compared to other amplitude-decorrelation algorithms.

Dispersionless Phase Discontinuities for Controlling Light Propagation

Abstract: Ultrathin metasurfaces consisting of a monolayer of subwavelength plasmonic resonators are capable of generating local abrupt phase changes and can be used for controlling the wavefront of electromagnetic waves. The phase change occurs for transmitted or reflected wave components whose polarization is orthogonal to that of a linearly polarized (LP) incident wave. As the phase shift relies on the resonant features of the plasmonic structures, it is in general wavelength-dependent. Here, we investigate the interaction of circularly polarized (CP) light at an interface composed of a dipole antenna array to create spatially varying abrupt phase discontinuities. The phase discontinuity is dispersionless, that is, it solely depends on the orientation of dipole antennas, but not their spectral response and the wavelength of incident light. By arranging the antennas in an array with a constant phase gradient along the interface, the phenomenon of broadband anomalous refraction is observed ranging from visible to ...

Tailoring a 67 attosecond pulse through advantageous phase-mismatch.

Abstract: A single isolated attosecond pulse of 67 as was composed from an extreme UV supercontinuum covering 55–130 eV generated by the double optical gating technique. Phase mismatch was used to exclude the single-atom cutoff of the spectrum that possesses unfavorable attochirp, allowing the positive attochirp of the remaining spectrum to be compensated by the negative dispersion of a zirconium foil. Two algorithms, PROOF and FROG-CRAB, were employed to retrieve the pulse from the experimental spectrogram, yielding nearly identical results.

Quantum-Enhanced Optical-Phase Tracking

Abstract: Tracking a randomly varying optical phase is a key task in metrology, with applications in optical communication. The best precision for optical-phase tracking has until now been limited by the quantum vacuum fluctuations of coherent light. Here, we surpass this coherent-state limit by using a continuous-wave beam in a phase-squeezed quantum state. Unlike in previous squeezing-enhanced metrology, restricted to phases with very small variation, the best tracking precision (for a fixed light intensity) is achieved for a finite degree of squeezing because of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. By optimizing the squeezing, we track the phase with a mean square error 15 ± 4% below the coherent-state limit.

X-ray phase imaging with a paper analyzer

Abstract: We present a simple x-ray phase imaging method that utilizes the sample-induced distortion of a high contrast random intensity pattern to quantitatively retrieve the two-dimensional phase map at the exit surface of a coherently illuminated sample. This reference pattern is created by placing a sheet of sandpaper in the x-ray beam, with the sample-induced distortion observed after propagation to the detector, a meter downstream. Correlation analysis comparing a single “sample and sandpaper” image to a reference “sandpaper only” image produces two sensitive differential phase contrast images, giving the sample phase gradient in vertical and horizontal directions. These images are then integrated to recover the projected phase depth of the sample. The simple experimental set-up, retention of flux, and the need for only a single sample image per reconstruction suggest that this method is of value in imaging a range of dynamic processes at both synchrotron and laboratory x-ray sources.

Trans-spectral orbital angular momentum transfer via four-wave mixing in Rb vapor

Abstract: We report the transfer of phase structure and, in particular, of orbital angular momentum from near-infrared pump light to blue light generated in a four-wave-mixing process in 85Rb vapor. The intensity and phase profile of the two pump lasers at 780 and 776 nm, shaped by a spatial light modulator, influences the phase and intensity profile of light at 420 nm, which is generated in a subsequent coherent cascade. In particular, we observe that the phase profile associated with orbital angular momentum is transferred entirely from the pump light to the blue. Pumping with more complicated light profiles results in the excitation of spatial modes in the blue that depend strongly on phase matching, thus demonstrating the parametric nature of the mode transfer. These results have implications on the inscription and storage of phase information in atomic gases.

Giant birefringence in optical antenna arrays with widely tailorable optical anisotropy

Abstract: The manipulation of light by conventional optical components such as lenses, prisms, and waveplates involves engineering of the wavefront as it propagates through an optically thick medium. A unique class of flat optical components with high functionality can be designed by introducing abrupt phase shifts into the optical path, utilizing the resonant response of arrays of scatterers with deeply subwavelength thickness. As an application of this concept, we report a theoretical and experimental study of birefringent arrays of two-dimensional (V- and Y-shaped) optical antennas which support two orthogonal charge-oscillation modes and serve as broadband, anisotropic optical elements that can be used to locally tailor the amplitude, phase, and polarization of light. The degree of optical anisotropy can be designed by controlling the interference between the waves scattered by the antenna modes; in particular, we observe a striking effect in which the anisotropy disappears as a result of destructive interference. These properties are captured by a simple, physical model in which the antenna modes are treated as independent, orthogonally oriented harmonic oscillators.

Novel phase-coding method for absolute phase retrieval

Abstract: This Letter presents a novel absolute phase recovery technique with phase coding. Unlike the conventional gray-coding method, the codeword is embedded into the phase and then used to determine the fringe order for absolute phase retrieval. This technique is robust because it uses phase instead of intensity to determine codewords, and it could achieve a faster measurement speed, since three additional images can represent more than 8(23) unique codewords for phase unwrapping. Experimental results will be presented to verify the performance of the proposed technique.

Scheme for n phase gates operation and one-step preparation of highly entangled cluster state

Abstract: In the system with superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) in a cavity, we propose a scheme for simultaneous implementing n phase gates and one step preparing the highly entangled cluster states based on the two-channel Raman interaction. In our scheme, the system is independent to the photon number of the cavity field, the cavity field can be initially in an arbitrary state, which is convenient for the experimental operation. The n phase gates operation and the cluster state generation are realized by using only the two lower flux states of the SQUID and the excited state would not be excited so that the influence of the decoherence due to spontaneous emission of the SQUID’s levels is possible to minimize. More importantly, the operation time of the phase gates is independent of the number n of the qubits. Finally, the experimental feasibility is also discussed in detail.

A single-wire electric system

Abstract: A single-wire electric transmission line system that includes a power sources having first and second poles and a phase shifting device, coupled to one of the poles of the power source, in such a manner that the phase shifting device shifts the phase of a first signal propagating through the pole such that the shifted phase of the first signal will be essentially identical to the phase of a second signal propagating through the other pole. The shifted first signal is added to the second signal with essentially the same phase of second signal, whenever both poles are connected together to form a single-wire, through which the resulting added signal propagates

Phase and absorption retrieval using incoherent X-ray sources

Abstract: X-ray phase contrast imaging has overcome the limitations of X-ray absorption imaging in many fields. Particular effort has been directed towards developing phase retrieval methods: These reveal quantitative information about a sample, which is a requirement for performing X-ray phase tomography, allows material identification and better distinction between tissue types, etc. Phase retrieval seems impossible with conventional X-ray sources due to their low spatial coherence. In the only previous example where conventional sources have been used, collimators were employed to produce spatially coherent secondary sources. We present a truly incoherent phase retrieval method, which removes the spatial coherence constraints and employs a conventional source without aperturing, collimation, or filtering. This is possible because our technique, based on the pixel edge illumination principle, is neither interferometric nor crystal based. Beams created by an X-ray mask to image the sample are smeared due to the incoherence of the source, yet we show that their displacements can still be measured accurately, obtaining strong phase contrast. Quantitative information is extracted from only two images rather than a sequence as required by several coherent methods. Our technique makes quantitative phase imaging and phase tomography possible in applications where exposure time and radiation dose are critical. The technique employs masks which are currently commercially available with linear dimensions in the tens of centimeters thus allowing for a large field of view. The technique works at high photon energy and thus promises to deliver much safer quantitative phase imaging and phase tomography in the future.

Ultrafast spectroscopy of quantum materials

Abstract: Subpicosecond laser pulses can selectively excite modes of strongly correlated electron systems and controllably push materials from one ordered phase to another.

Two-phase operation of plasma chamber by phase locked loop

Abstract: Plasma distribution is controlled in a plasma reactor by controlling the phase difference between opposing RF electrodes, in accordance with a desired or user-selected phase difference, by a phase-lock feedback control loop.

Tunable and wideband microwave photonic phase shifter based on a single-sideband polarization modulator and a polarizer

Abstract: A novel microwave photonic phase shifter based on a single-sideband (SSB) polarization modulator (PolM) and a polarizer is proposed and demonstrated. In the SSB-PolM, two SSB intensity-modulated signals with a phase difference of π along two orthogonal polarization directions are generated. With the polarizer to combine the two signals, the phase of the optical microwave signal can be tuned from -180 to 180 deg by simply adjusting the polarization direction of the polarizer, whereas the amplitude keeps unchanged. An experiment is carried out. A full-range tunable phase shift in the frequency range of 11-43 GHz is achieved. The flat power response, power independent operation, and high stability of the proposed microwave photonic phase shifter is also confirmed.

Coherence, phase differences, phase shift, and phase lock in EEG/ERP analyses.

Abstract: Electroencephalogram (EEG) coherence is a mixture of phase locking interrupted by phase shifts in the spontaneous EEG. Average reference, Laplacian transforms, and independent component (ICA) reconstruction of time series can distort physiologically generated phase differences and invalidate the computation of coherence and phase differences as well as in the computation of directed coherence and phase reset. Time domain measures of phase shift and phase lock are less prone to artifact and are independent of volume conduction. Cross-frequency synchrony in the surface EEG and in Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) provides insights into dynamic functions of the brain.

A theoretical study of transient stimulated Brillouin scattering in optical fibers seeded with phase-modulated light

Abstract: Beam combining of phase-modulated kilowatt fiber amplifiers has generated considerable interest recently. We describe in the time domain how stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) is generated in an optical fiber under phase-modulated laser conditions, and we analyze different phase modulation techniques. The temporal and spatial evolutions of the acoustic phonon, laser, and Stokes fields are determined by solving the coupled three-wave interaction system. Numerical accuracy is verified through agreement with the analytical solution for the un-modulated case and through the standard photon conservation relation for counter-propagating optical fields. As a test for a modulated laser, a sinusoidal phase modulation is examined for a broad range of modulation amplitudes and frequencies. We show that, at high modulation frequencies, our simulations agree with the analytical results obtained from decomposing the optical power into its frequency components. At low modulation frequencies, there is a significant departure due to the appreciable cross talk among the laser and Stokes sidebands. We also examine SBS suppression for a white noise source and show significant departures for short fibers from analytically derived formulas. Finally, SBS suppression through the application of pseudo-random bit sequence modulation is examined for various patterns. It is shown that for a fiber length of 9 m the patterns at or near n=7 provide the best mitigation of SBS with suppression factors approaching 17 dB at a modulation frequency of 5 GHz.

Gravity Currents Produced by Lock Exchanges: Experiments and Simulations with a Two-Layer Shallow-Water Model with Entrainment

Abstract: This paper presents the investigation of gravity currents by both laboratory experiments and a mathematical model. Eleven lock-exchange experiments, in which lock position, the initial current height, and density varied, were carried out to test the model validity and to compare laboratory results with previous expressions found in the literature. A two-layer shallow-water model was used to simulate all the runs. This model is new if compared with previous shallow-water models used to simulate gravity currents, because it accounts for both the entrainment and the free surface. A modified Turner's formula is used to model the entrainment between the two fluids. The developed shallow-water models with and without entrainment are also compared, showing a better agreement when mixing is accounted for. Also, the effect of the free surface is shown by comparing the developed two-layer shallow-water model with a free surface and two different single-layer models with a rigid-lid approximation. Laboratory experiments and model simulations, accounting for both the entrainment and the free surface, are in good agreement. Front velocities, measured during the slumping phase, were compared with both predicted ones and previous expressions found in the literature, showing in most of the cases better result when the developed model is used. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0000484. © 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Manipulation of particles in two dimensions using phase controllable ultrasonic standing waves

Abstract: The ability to manipulate dense micrometre-scale objects in fluids is of interest to biosciences with a view to improving analysis techniques and enabling tissue engineering. A method of trapping micrometre-scale particles and manipulating them on a two-dimensional plane is proposed and demonstrated. Phase-controlled counter-propagating waves are used to generate ultrasonic standing waves with arbitrary nodal positions. The acoustic radiation force drives dense particles to pressure nodes. It is shown analytically that a series of point-like traps can be produced in a two-dimensional plane using two orthogonal pairs of counter-propagating waves. These traps can be manipulated by appropriate adjustment of the relative phases. Four 5 MHz transducers (designed to minimize reflection) are used as sources of counter-propagating waves in a water-filled cavity. Polystyrene beads of 10 μm diameter are trapped and manipulated. The relationship between trapped particle positions and the relative phases of the four transducers is measured and shown to agree with analytically derived expressions. The force available is measured by determining the response to a sudden change in field and found to be 30 pN, for a 30 Vpp input, which is in agreement with the predictions of models of the system. A scalable fabrication approach to producing devices is demonstrated.

X-ray multimodal imaging using a random-phase object

Abstract: We demonstrate an extension of the x-ray grating interferometer three modal imaging method to a generalized stepping scheme using a phase object with small, random features. The method allows the recovery of the absorption, scattering, and two-dimensional phase image of the sample from a raster scan of the phase object. An additional extension of the method to recover the effective wave-front curvature is also described. The technique provides fine sensitivity and high spatial resolution and has only low requirements on spatial and longitudinal coherence of the x-ray beam. Imaging modes and processing methods are explained, and an experimental demonstration of the technique is provided by imaging a feather and the quantitative characterization of a compound refractive lens.

Phase-controlled, heterodyne laser-induced transient grating measurements of thermal transport properties in opaque material

Abstract: The methodology for a heterodyned laser-induced transient thermal grating technique for non-contact, non-destructive measurements of thermal transport in opaque material is presented. Phase-controlled heterodyne detection allows us to isolate pure phase or amplitude transient grating signal contributions by varying the relative phase between reference and probe beams. The phase grating signal includes components associated with both transient reflectivity and surface displacement whereas the amplitude grating contribution is governed by transient reflectivity alone. By analyzing the latter with the two-dimensional thermal diffusion model, we extract the in-plane thermal diffusivity of the sample. Measurements on a 5 μm thick single crystal PbTe film yielded excellent agreement with the model over a range of grating periods from 1.6 to 2.8 μm. The measured thermal diffusivity of 1.3 × 10−6 m2/s was found to be slightly lower than the bulk value.

Nanoscale spin wave valve and phase shifter

Abstract: We have used micromagnetic simulations to demonstrate a method for controlling the amplitude and phase of spin waves propagating inside a magnonic waveguide. The method employs a nanomagnet formed on top of a magnonic waveguide. The function of the proposed device is controlled by defining the static magnetization direction of the nanomagnet. The result is a valve or phase shifter for spin waves, acting as the carrier of information for computation or data processing within the emerging spin wave logic architectures of magnonics. The proposed concept offers such technically important benefits as energy efficiency, non-volatility, and miniaturization.

Focusing through dynamic scattering media

Abstract: We demonstrate steady-state focusing of coherent light through dynamic scattering media. The phase of an incident beam is controlled both spatially and temporally using a reflective, 1020-segment MEMS spatial light modulator, using a coordinate descent optimization technique. We achieve focal intensity enhancement of between 5 and 400 for dynamic media with speckle decorrelation time constants ranging from 0.4 seconds to 20 seconds. We show that this optimization approach combined with a fast spatial light modulator enables focusing through dynamic media. The capacity to enhance focal intensity despite transmission through dynamic scattering media could enable advancement in biological microscopy and imaging through turbid environments.

Phase-locked coherent modes in a patterned metal-organic microcavity

Abstract: By placing a thin silver grating inside a microcavity comprised of an organic semiconductor and two dielectric mirrors, researchers show that coherent emission can be selectively stimulated between in- and out-of-phase-locked arrays at room temperature. This work demonstrates that incorporating a lossy metal into a cavity does not suppress lasing.

Scalar mesons moving in a finite volume and the role of partial wave mixing

Abstract: Phase shifts and resonance parameters can be obtained from finite-volume lattice spectra for interacting pairs of particles, moving with non-zero total momentum. We present a simple derivation of the method that is subsequently applied to obtain the ππ and πK phase shifts in the sectors with total isospin I = 0 and I = 1/2 , respectively. Considering different total momenta, one obtains extra data points for a given volume that allow for a very efficient extraction of the resonance parameters in the infinite-volume limit. Corrections due to the mixing of partial waves are provided. We expect that our results will help to optimize the strategies in lattice simulations, which aim at an accurate determination of the scattering and resonance properties.

Liquid crystal phase shifters at millimeter wave frequencies

Abstract: We demonstrate an on-wafer liquid crystal phase shifter which has a tunable 0–300°/cm phase shift at 110 GHz. The results show no dispersion over the entire frequency range indicating a tunable “true time delay” of up to 2.5 ps/cm at all frequencies. The inherent losses in the liquid crystal are small, less than 1 dB/cm over the range of 1–110 GHz. The full tunability is achieved using small voltages, close to 10 V. We anticipate that one could achieve a phase shift of 600°/cm at 220 GHz.

Phase coding method for absolute phase retrieval with a large number of codewords.

Abstract: A recently proposed phase coding method for absolute phase retrieval performs well because its codeword is embedded into phase domain rather than intensity. Then, the codeword can determine the fringe order for the phase unwrapping. However, for absolute phase retrieval with a large number of codewords, the traditional phase coding method becomes not so reliable. In this paper, we present a novel phase coding method to tackle this problem. Six additional fringe images can generate more than 64(2(6)) unique codewords for correct absolute phase retrieval. The novel phase coding method can be used for absolute phase retrieval with high frequency. Experiment results demonstrate the proposed method is effective.