AI Article Synopsis

  • The new chip-scale semiconductor laser design features high power per mode and significantly reduced spatial coherence compared to traditional lasers, minimizing coherent artifacts like speckle.
  • This laser uses a chaotic, D-shaped cavity to achieve multimode lasing, operating simultaneously in about 1,000 independent modes, resulting in very low spatial coherence.
  • The innovative laser offers a cost-effective solution that blends the advantages of both LEDs and laser sources, paving the way for enhanced full-field imaging and projection technologies.

Article Abstract

The spatial coherence of laser sources has limited their application to parallel imaging and projection due to coherent artifacts, such as speckle. In contrast, traditional incoherent light sources, such as thermal sources or light emitting diodes (LEDs), provide relatively low power per independent spatial mode. Here, we present a chip-scale, electrically pumped semiconductor laser based on a novel design, demonstrating high power per mode with much lower spatial coherence than conventional laser sources. The laser resonator was fabricated with a chaotic, D-shaped cavity optimized to achieve highly multimode lasing. Lasing occurs simultaneously and independently in ∼1,000 modes, and hence the total emission exhibits very low spatial coherence. Speckle-free full-field imaging is demonstrated using the chaotic cavity laser as the illumination source. The power per mode of the sample illumination is several orders of magnitude higher than that of a LED or thermal light source. Such a compact, low-cost source, which combines the low spatial coherence of a LED with the high spectral radiance of a laser, could enable a wide range of high-speed, full-field imaging and projection applications.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4321308PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1419672112DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

spatial coherence
20
low spatial
12
full-field imaging
12
electrically pumped
8
pumped semiconductor
8
semiconductor laser
8
speckle-free full-field
8
laser sources
8
imaging projection
8
power mode
8

Similar Publications

Drought is one of the most detrimental natural calamities to the economy. Despite its significant consequences, the evolution from meteorological to agricultural and hydrological droughts still needs to be explored. A thorough investigation was carried out in India's eastern hills and plateau region to determine the extent of drought's impact through indices.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The controlled visible spatial modes and vortex beams with tunable properties are highly sought after in cutting-edge applications, such as optical communication. In this study, by utilizing a hybrid pumping scheme, we demonstrate an ultra-compact, 607 nm orbital Poincaré laser based on a diode-pumped Pr:YLF laser. The system can generate various structured modes, including Laguerre-Gaussian (LG), Hermite-Gaussian (HG), and Hermite-Laguerre-Gaussian (HLG), all of which are mapped onto a first-order orbital Poincaré sphere.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Transition metal phosphorus sulfides (MPS), a family of two-dimensional magnetic materials with a van der Waals structure, exhibit promising applications in nonlinear optical devices. The emergence of carrier coherence in MPS is a fascinating topic in coherently controlling the nonlinear effect (or other novel phenomena). Herein, we systematically investigated the third-order nonlinear optical responses of MPS (M = Ni, Fe, Mn) flake suspensions based on spatial self-phase modulation (SSPM) effect.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We report on the design of an all-mirror wavefront-division interferometer capable of spectroscopic studies across multiple spectral ranges-from the plasma frequencies of metals to terahertz wavelengths and beyond. The proposed method leverages the properties of laser sources with high spatial coherence. A theoretical framework for the interferometer scheme is presented, along with an analytical solution for determining the far-field interference pattern, which is validated through both optical propagation simulations and experimental results.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) has become a valuable tool in the field of biomedical research due to its ability to quantify refractive index variations of live cells and tissues. For example, three-dimensional differential phase contrast (3D DPC) imaging uses through-focus images captured under different illumination patterns deconvoluted with a computed 3D phase transfer function (PTF) to reconstruct the 3D refractive index. In conventional 3D DPC with semi-circular illumination, partially spatially coherent illumination often diminishes phase contrast, exacerbating inherent noise, and can lead to a large number of zero values in the 3D PTF, resulting in strong low-frequency artifacts and deteriorating imaging resolution.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!