When light either leaves or enters an optical fiber, one often needs free-space optical components to manipulate the state of polarization or the light's phase profile. It is therefore desirable to integrate such components onto a fiber end facet. In this paper, we realize, for the first time, a polarizing beam splitter fabricated directly onto the end facet of a single-mode optical fiber. The element is composed of a refractive prism, intentionally slightly displaced from the core of the fiber, and an elevated and suspended sub-wavelength diffraction grating, the lamellae of which have an aspect ratio of about 5. This integrated micro-optical component is characterized experimentally at 1550 nm wavelength. We find that the two emerging output beams exhibit a degree of polarization of 81 percent and 82 percent for Transverse Magnetic (TM) and Transverse Electric (TE) polarization, respectively.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.26.033148 | DOI Listing |
Genetically encoded calcium (Ca ) indicators (GECIs) are widely used for imaging neuronal activity, yet current limitations of existing red fluorescent GECIs have constrained their applicability. The inherently dim fluorescence and low signal-to-noise ratio of red-shifted GECIs have posed significant challenges. More critically, several red-fluorescent GECIs exhibit photoswitching when exposed to blue light, thereby limiting their applicability in all- optical experimental approaches.
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Ophthalmology, Novartis Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Neurodegeneration in glaucoma patients is clinically identified through longitudinal assessment of structure-function changes, including intraocular pressure, cup-to-disc ratios from fundus images, and optical coherence tomography imaging of the retinal nerve fiber layer. Use of human post-mortem ocular tissue for basic research is rising in the glaucoma field, yet there are challenges in assessing disease stage and severity, since tissue donations with informed consent are often unaccompanied by detailed pre-mortem clinical information. Further, the interpretation of disease severity based solely on anatomical and morphological assessments by histology can be affected by differences in death-to-preservation time and tissue processing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMed Phys
January 2025
Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Background: A stemless plastic scintillation detector (SPSD) is composed of an organic plastic scintillator coupled to an organic photodiode. Previous research has shown that SPSDs are ideally suited to challenging dosimetry measurements such as output factors and profiles in small fields. Lacking from the current literature is a systematic effort to optimize the performance of the photodiode component of the detector.
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State Key Laboratory of Optical Fiber and Cable Manufacture Technology, Institute of Nanoscience and Applications, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China.
Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are attractive gain media due to their wavelength-tunability and low optical gain threshold. Consequently, CQD lasers, especially the surface-emitting ones, are promising candidates for display, sensing and communication. However, it remains challenging to achieve a low-threshold surface-emitting CQD laser array with high stability and integration density.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, School of Light Industry and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, People's Republic of China.
The advancement of underwater monitoring technologies has been significantly hampered by the limitations of traditional electrical sensors, particularly in the presence of electromagnetic interference and safety concerns in aquatic environments. Fiber optic sensors are therefore nowadays widely applied to underwater monitoring devices. However, silicon- and polymer-based optical fibers often face challenges, such as rigidity, susceptibility to environmental stress, and limited operational flexibility.
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