This report presents results for focusing a field with an inhomogeneous polarization distribution: the incident field has elliptical polarization with parameters of the ellipse of polarization depending on the position. We primarily consider the case of fixed value of inclination of the polarization ellipse and the varying ratio of the semi-axes. Calculations were performed using the Richards-Wolf formulas. Results show the ability to obtain various distributions when changing the initial parameters. Special attention is paid to the properties of the Umov-Poynting vector.
We investigate laser manipulation of airborne light-absorbing particles trapped by two-dimensional Airy beams (AiBs). The unique properties of these beams, namely propagation along accelerating trajectories and self-healing allowed us to demonstrate the possibility of trapped particles to bend around obstacles. Previously, only straight-forward propagating laser beams were used for the laser guiding of airborne light-absorbing particles. For example, Gaussian, optical vortices, or conical beams. Such straight-forward propagating laser beams can only push or pull the trapped particles along the straight trajectories, thereby limiting the use of laser beams to cases of the manipulation of the particles which are in a line of sight. In this article, the trajectories of the particles trapped using a straight-forward propagating Bessel beam and AiB were compared and the experiments showed the possibility of using AiBs to guide particles in both directions from and toward the laser source depending on the parameters of the trapped particles. We believe that the use of AiBs can significantly expand the use of photophoresis-based laser manipulation and will allow the non-touch trapping and delivery of light-absorbing particles from various reservoirs and areas of space that are "around the corner" and hidden by an obstacle in the air.
We investigate the diffraction of a polarized light by nonlinear spiral phase plate (NSPP) in the near zone, taking into account the three-dimensional structure of the optical element. The simulation of the NSPP diffraction is based on the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. The results of numerical simulation of the NSPP diffraction for both homogeneous (linear and circular) and inhomogeneous (radial and azimuthal) polarized light are presented.
Spatial light modulators (SLMs) provide a powerful technology to perform high-resolution and high-speed phase modulation of laser radiation for the generation of structured laser beams. The possibility of using SLMs for dynamic laser manipulation of airborne light-absorbing particles due to the action of the photophoretic forces, demonstrating different types of manipulation, including confinement of the trapped particles, two- and three-dimensional guiding of the trapped particles, their controllable revolution, and the transfer of trapped particles between different optical traps, is shown. For this purpose, different phase masks that can be used for the generation of the desired optical traps with the help of SLMs are provided, opening new possibilities for using SLMs for laser manipulation in air and allowing for the realization of all-optical conveyors for the fabrication of microdevices in the future.
We investigate the generation of closed-packed light rings with a minimum possible diameter using a combination of a light ring distribution generator and a diffractive beam splitter. As a light ring distribution generator, we use the wellknown S-waveplate and generate three different types of ring-shaped laser beams: an azimuthally polarized Gaussian beam, a first-order circularly polarized optical vortex beam, and a first-order linearly polarized optical vortex beam. Our modeling and experimental results show that the azimuthally polarized Gaussian beam is the best solution for splitting in comparison with the other types of beams. These results can be used in applications of high-throughput laser micro- and nanopatterning materials for the fabrication of microlasers by direct laser ablation of a thin film on glass that have great potential in optical communications and sensing applications.
We present a novel type of diffractive optical elements - a nonlinear spiral phase plate whose transmission function is described as exp(iφmn). The light field generated by the element has a spiral-shaped intensity and phase distribution, a non-uniform orbital angular momentum (OAM) distribution and spiral-shaped energy flow. Because of the non-linear azimuthal phase variation, the nonlinear spiral phase plates demonstrate angle-dependent distortion resistance properties. We believe that the proposed nonlinear spiral phase plates will be useful for the realization of OAM-Mode Division Multiplexing in optical communication systems as well as in the area of laser manipulation and laser-matter interaction for fabrication of unique chiral metasurfaces that can be used in optical communication systems too.
We investigate laser trapping of airborne light-absorbing particles via photophoretic forces. It is well known that the use of photophoretic forces allows one to guide light-absorbing nano- and microparticles at distances of up to tens of centimeters. We use various types of structured laser beams (optical "bottle" beams and line-shaped optical traps) for manipulation of agglomerations of carbon nanoparticles. The possibility to trap and guide both single light-absorbing particles and arrays of light-absorbing particles is demonstrated. In addition, the possibility of power-dependent particle guiding is shown.
We experimentally investigate a novel type of diffractive optical element – a nonlinear spiral phase plate. In contrast to the conventional spiral phase plates, the transmission function of the new element is described as exp(imφn ). The intensity distributions generated by these elements have a spiral shape with an intensity gradient. The phase distribution of the generated light fields is also spiral shaped. We believe that the proposed diffractive element will be useful in the area of laser manipulation and laser–matter interaction.
Recently, chiral mass transfer on the surface of plasmonic-active metals appeared upon their ablation with vortex laser pulses was found to be driven by a helical-shape temperature and corresponding surface tension gradients rather than optical angular momentum transfer from the incident beam. Here, we demonstrate that using of perfect optical vortices with different topological charges for direct single-pulse laser ablation of noble-metal films don't allow to change the helicity of produced nanoneedles (also called nanojets). Meanwhile, the chirality of laser-induced nanojets can be tuned in a wide range of parameter by properly designing and tailoring the spiral-shape intensity patterns. Such optimization of the laser intensity profile governing the helical movement of the transiently molten metal allows to produce nanostructures with controlled chirality suited for various nanophotonics and biosensing applications.
To meet the ever-growing demand for the throughput of the wireless communication technologies, one way is to use light beams multiplexed by the orbital angular momentum (OAM). However, the intensity structure is often ignored, although it can carry additional information and thus lead to increase of the throughput. Some distortions of the vortex phase also can lead to modified intensity. Here, we analyze an elliptic optical vortex embedded into an elliptic Gaussian beam. Explicit closed form expressions for the normalized orbital angular momentum (OAM) of such a beam and for its complex amplitude after propagation in a paraxial ABCD-system are derived. The resulting elliptic Gaussian vortex (EGV) is shown to have a fractional OAM, whose maximal value equals to the topological charge n of a conventional Gauss vortex is attained for a zero ellipticity vortex. As the beam propagates, the major axis of the intensity ellipse in the beam cross-section rotates, making the angle of 90° between the initial plane and the focal plane of a spherical lens. On the major axis of the intensity ellipse, there are n intensity nulls of the EGV, with the distance between them varying with propagation distance and varying ellipticity. The distance between the intensity nulls is found to be maximal in the focal plane for a given ellipticity. This distance between the nulls can be used to decoding the data encoded by the vortex ellipticity.
We present a novel method of forming the phase diffractive optical elements (DOEs) by direct laser writing in thin films of aluminum with the help of the circular laser writing system "CLWS-200S". The quality of the aluminum films were investigated depending on the parameters of magnetron sputtering process. Circular phase diffraction gratings of Al2O3 on the quartz substrate with a period of 4 μm and 50% duty cycle were fabricated for the desired wavelength of 532 nm. In the visible wavelength spectrum, Al2O3 has a refractive index of 1.8 which is higher than the refractive index of quartz 1.5 that provides a significant refractive index contrast. As a result, this fact reduces the requirement of high aspect ratio of the diffractive element structures in the Al2O3 film as compared to the structures in quartz by 20%. This method of phase diffraction optical elements forming substantially reduces the time, fabrication steps, costs of production and significantly improves the quality of the elements in comparison with traditional process.
We manufactured and investigated narrow spectral selection filter with a defect layer. Design of the filter was performed based on results of modeling. The main idea of that filter is sandwich structure of 5 layers with high aspect ratio between refractive indices of two different layers and phase diffractive optical element in the central layer. The structure was manufactured for operation at wavelength of 532 nm. The ZnO (n=2.03) and TiO2 (n=2.67) thin films were chosen as materials for the designed sandwich structure. The thin films were deposited by the magnetron sputtering system “Caroline D12A”. The thickness of each ZnO layer is 50 nm, the thickness of each TiO2 layer is 65 nm. The central defective layer was fabricated with the help of a plasma-chemical etching system through a hard mask of chromium. The chromium hard mask was manufactured by direct laser writing. The central TiO2 layer was etched in a SF6 gas. Then the mask was removed by liquid chemical etching. The influence of the multilayer structure properties and parameters of defective layer on the spectral characteristics of the optical filter was investigated. This filter shows very narrow spectrum selection and high efficiency. The possibility of the use of such filters for selecting a narrow range of wavelengths that can find various applications in the field of information transfer and medical devices was shown.
The well-known Gerchberg-Saxton (GS) algorithm allows the reconstruction of an unknown wave front from known intensity distributions on a few planes of an optical system, for example, in the input plane and the focal plane. It is also the method of choice for the production of computer-generated holograms and calculation of the transmission function of diffractive optical elements (DOEs) generating so-called structured laser beams. Such ‘unconventional’ laser beams have unique features of an amplitude/phase/polarisation distribution, significantly extending opportunities for application of laser optics in many fields of modern science. Here, we propose a new modification of the basic GS algorithm that can be used to calculate a pure-phase transmission function of DOEs which generate complex intensity distributions with submicron features. DOEs designed in this way can be used in the field of laser fabrication of nano- and micropatterns, allowing the high-performance single-step fabrication of nanostructures for real applications in nanophotonics and optical manipulation.
In this paper, we consider methods of design and manufacture of diffractive optical elements (DOEs), generating socalled structured laser beams with predetermined amplitude/phase/polarisation distributions and perform transformation of those laser beams. Diffraction optics makes it possible to implement generation and control of the structured laser beams via single DOE and their combinations. We demonstrate several traditional methods that can be used to calculate a pure-phase transmission function of DOEs, both iterative and non-iterative. In addition, different technological processes for the manufacture of DOEs are used, including direct laser writing in thin films and lithography combined with plasma etching. The structured laser beams generated using DOEs provide new opportunities for large-scale highrate laser fabrication of nano- and microscale functional elements, as well as for the laser manipulation of microscale objects. The use of the structured laser beams in these applications (for example, radially/azimuthally polarised laser beams, optical vortex beams or beams with complex-shape transverse intensity distributions) allows advanced control..
We demonstrate a new type of circular Airy beams, the so-called azimuthally modulated circular Airy beams, generated by utilizing a diffraction element, whose transmission function is the sum of the transmission function of the element generating a “petal” pattern and the transmission function of the element generating a circular Airy beam. We experimentally investigate the propagation dynamics of such beams and demonstrate that their autofocusing and selfhealing properties are strongly dependent on the number of generated petals. These beams are a combination of a conventional circular Airy beam and vortex laser beams (or their superpositions). Using a spatial light modulator, we demonstrate that these beams have unique properties such as autofocusing, "nondiffractive" propagation and self-healing after passing through an obstacle. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulation. We believe that these results can be very useful for lensless laser fabrication and laser manipulation techniques, as well as for development of new filament plasma multi-channel formation methods.
It is well known that polarisation transformations can occur not only under sharp focusing conditions, but also in the paraxial regime. We investigate such spatial polarisation transformations of three-dimensional distribution in the focal region in the paraxial regime due to the addition of a lens by a spiral binary diffraction axicon. Theoretical analysis demonstrates the possibility of such transformations. We demonstrate that, in these cases, a zero intensity is formed on the beam axis before the focal plane, and an intensity peak is formed on the beam axis after the passage of the focal plane. The experimental results obtained are in good agreement with the simulation results. We believe that results can be useful in the field of optical manipulation of nano- and microscale objects, as well as in the field of material processing.
We have considered effect of fill factor of circular binary phase grating on intensity distribution in the focal plane. A theoretical analysis is performed in two approaches. One of them allows us to describe the general distribution structure in the focal plane, but it is not suitable for solving the inverse problem. The second approach allows us to explain the fine structure in the intensity maxima corresponding diffraction orders. In particular, this approach explains the possibility of focal ring splitting and allows us to calculate the ratio of the intensities of the two rings. The theoretical calculations and numerical simulation are confirmed by experimental studies. As a result, we have shown the ability to dynamically change the focal structure due to regulation of the grating’s fill factor by means of a spatial light modulator.
We investigate an ability of wavefront aberration analysis with multi-order diffractive optical elements which are matched with Zernike polynomial basis. Numerical simulations reveal that phase aberration Zernike polynomials weight coefficients can be successfully recognized with considered diffractive optical element if the meaning of the phase aberration does not exceed 0.8π. Nevertheless, further increasing of phase aberration leads to impossibility of Zernike weight coefficient of wavefront aberrations estimation.
We study theoretically the propagation of vortex laser beams in a random medium. The study is based on the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle with the generation of a random field, using the fast Fourier transform. The simulation shows that the stability of vortex beams to fluctuations of an optical medium falls with rising order of optical vortices. A coherence length (radius) of the random medium is of great importance. The coherence radius extension affects adversely the conservation of a beam structure in the random medium. During further free-space propagation, increasing coherence enables to reduce negative effects of fluctuations for beams with high-value topological charges.
In this paper an on-chip device capable of wavelength-selective generation of vortex beams is demonstrated. The device is realized by integrating a spiral phase-plate onto a MEMS tunable Fabry-Perot filter. This vortex-MEMS filter, being capable of functioning simultaneously in wavelength and orbital angular momentum (OAM) domains at around 1550 nm, is considered as a compact, robust and cost-effective solution for simultaneous OAM- and WDM optical communications. Experimental spectra for azimuthal orders 1, 2 and 3 show OAM state purity >92% across 30 nm wavelength range. A demonstration of multi-channel transmission is carried out as a proof of concept.
The work is a numerical and experimental study of closely spaced light spot production using diffractive optical elements (DOE). It is shown that low indexed Hermite–Gaussian mode formers coupled with an objective can be utilized for the production of contrasting closely spaced small light spots in objective focus. Using a tunable laser (EKSPLA NT 242), we demonstrate that low indexed mode forming is quite resistant to chromatic dispersion, but is extremely sensitive to shifting axes of the incident beam and the element.
Tight focusing of a linearly-polarized asymmetric Bessel beam, which has a crescent profile, was investigated numerically and experimentally. FDTD calculations show that a binary zone plate of numerical aperture NA = 0.995 forms a crescent in the focal plane, which is rotated clockwise around the optical axis, moving away from the focal plane. Using the Debye formulae it was shown that a direction of polarization of incident light has a significant influence on intensity distribution in focal plane. The crescent in the focal plane was also observed experimentally by focusing of the asymmetric Bessel beam using an immersive objective (NA = 1.25).
KEYWORDS: Axicons, Bessel beams, Near field optics, Optical tweezers, Spatial light modulators, Superposition, Diffractive optical elements, Near field
We provide analytical, numerical and experimental study of the possibility of forming elongated optical bottle beams (OBBs) using composite binary phase axicons. In this case, the OBB is generated by the superposition of Bessel beams in the near-field region on the axicon. To generate the OBB experimentally, we utilized a spatial light modulator. The experimental results are qualitatively consistent with the results of numerical simulations performed using Fresnel transform. Such type of optical trap can be applied in many applications of microbiology, micromechanics and meteorology to manipulate micro- and nanoobjects in liquid or gaseous medium.
We investigate optical trapping light-absorbing particles in the air employing photophoretic forces with optical tweezers
generated by a spatial light modulator (SLM). SLM gives us the opportunity to form optical tweezers for multiple
trapping in several planes. We investigate the possibility of using lenses with various focal lengths for trapping light-absorbing
microparticles with the SLM. We used lenses with a large focal length and a large depth of focus. The results
shown in this paper could be useful in various applications of optics and biology.
The paper presents an experimental investigation of diffractive optical elements matched with two types of Zernike functions. For elements of the first type the invariance to rotation is observed. For elements of the second type there is the agreement with standard aberrations. These elements can be used for wavefront analyzing and allow us to determine the presence of aberrations.
KEYWORDS: Silicon films, Solar cells, Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, Silicon solar cells, Silicon, Thin films, Thin film solar cells, Absorption, Diffraction gratings, Axicons
Enhancement of optical absorption for achieving high efficiencies in thin film silicon solar cells is a challenge task. Herein, we present the use of grating structure for the enhancement of optical absorption. We have made grating structures and same can be integrated in hydrogenated micro/nanocrystalline silicon (μc/nc-Si: H) thin films based p-i-n solar cells. μc/nc-Si: H thin films were grown using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method. Grating structures integrated with μc/nc-Si: H thin film solar cells may enhance the optical path length and reduce the reflection losses and its characteristics can be probed by spectroscopic and microscopic technique with control design and experiment.
We have investigated laser-trapping of light-absorbing particles in air with a single laser beam. We have studied possibilities of using lenses with a long focal length for trapping light-absorbing microparticles with a spatial light modulator. Finally, we demonstrate photophoresis-based optical trapping of absorbing airborne nanoclusters with a lens with a long focal length. In these experiments, we used an optical setup with a spatial light modulator. In contrast to experiments with a short focal lens, we were able to manipulate a much smaller number of particles in these experiments. A mechanism for such optical trapping is discussed by considering the combined action of several forces affecting the trapped particles.
We demonstrate a technique for generation of hollow optical beams (HOB’s), the cross-section intensity distribution of which has a predetermined shape. This technique is based on using multimodal Bessel beams. We can generate Bessellike non-diffracting beams by varying parameters of individual beams and adjusting their individual energy contribution to the generated light distribution. This technique allows designing transmission functions for elements that shape both non-rotating and rotating beams. Such laser beams can be used for controlled manipulation of non-spherical objects in liquids or air.
The authors present a technique for modulation laser beams into beams with special properties, capable of trapping and rotating objects of micro-size. There are two approaches covered: the first one utilizes zero-order Bessel beams superposition for light tubes shaping, and the second one forms Bessel beams superpositions with diffractional optical elements with spatially partitioned topological charge or, alternatively, with vortex axicones. The authors also cover micro-mechanical object manufacturing, optimized for rotating in vortex Bessel beams superposition. Results of numerical simulations and experimental data are presented and then discussed.
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