X-ray mammography is the current gold standard for breast cancer screening. Microcalcifications and other features
which are helpful to the radiologist for early diagnostics are often buried in the noise generated by the surrounding
dense tissue. So image processing techniques are required to enhance these important features to improve the
sensitivity of detection. An innovative technique is demonstrated for recording a hologram of the mammogram. It is
recorded on a thin polymer film of Bacteriorhodopsin (bR) as photo induced isomerization grating containing the
interference pattern between the object beam containing the Fourier spatial frequency components of the
mammogram and a reference beam. The hologram contains all the enhanced features of the mammogram. A significant innovation of the technique is that the enhanced components in the processed image can be viewed by the
radiologist in time scale. A technician can record the movie and when the radiologist looks at the movie at his
convenience, freezing the frame as and when desired, he would see the microcalcifications as the brightest and last
long in time. He would also observe lesions with intensity decreasing as their size increases. The same bR film can
be used repeatedly for recording holograms with different mammograms. The technique is versatile and a different
frequency band can be chosen to be optimized by changing the reference beam intensity. The experimental
arrangement can be used for mammograms in screen film or digital format.
Microorganisms, cells and thin tissue sections are transparent and not visible to view in ordinary microscope. Techniques
such as phase contrast and Normarski/Differential interference contrast microscopy transform the phase variation
information into intensity distribution to reveal the details of internal structures. Similarly fluorescence microscope uses
intrinsic or extrinsic chromophores to reveal specific and hidden details. Advances achieved in recent years have greatly
improved the versatility of microscopes to obtain more insightful information about different physiological functions that
occur at cellular level. Understanding the cell response, involving both structural and functional changes within the cell,
dictates ability to image cell structure and function at the same time. We report a novel optical Fourier phase contrast
multimodal optical microscopy technique for real time display of phase and fluorescence features of biological
specimens at the same time. It combines the principles of (a) Fourier phase contrast microscopy which exploits
monochromaticity, intensity and phase coherence of the laser beam via optical Fourier transform and photoinduced
birefringence of dye doped liquid crystal for phase contrast imaging, and (b) common-path multimodal optical
microscopy for co-registered imaging of phase and fluorescence features of biological specimens in real time using a
single optical path, single light source, and single camera with no requirement of image registration. Further the
instrument also enables co-registered imaging of fluorescence and spatial filtering facilitating simultaneous display of
structural and functional information. This comprehensive microscope has the capability of simultaneously providing
both structural and functional information in a streamlined simplified design and may find applications in high-throughput
screening and automated microscopy.
The third order optical nonlinearities cover a vast and diverse area in nonlinear optics. The third order nonlinear
susceptibility χ(3) is a complex quantity and its real and imaginary components represent nonlinear refraction and
nonlinear absorption, respectively. Measurement of these parameters is important for many practical applications. Z-scan
is a simple optical technique for determining these characteristics with high accuracy. Here we present a novel
photoacoustic Z-scan (PAZ-scan) technique that combines the advantages offered by the conventional Z-scan method
and the sensitivity of the photoacoustic detection. In PAZ-scan, instead of measuring the transmitted optical signal as in
the case of traditional Z-scan, we record the generated photoacoustic (PA) signal using a 10 MHz focused ultrasound
transducer while the sample is translated along the focused laser beam. Since the photoacoustic signal strength is directly
proportional to the optical absorption, PAZ-scan displays nonlinear behavior depicting the nonlinear optical absorption
of the material. For reverse saturable absorber (RSA) materials, absorption and hence the PA signal increases with the
increase of input intensity. Similarly for saturable absorber (SA) materials, absorption and the associated PA signal
decreases with increase in input intensity. We studied the nonlinear absorption properties of SA and RSA materials. Our
calculations of nonlinear absorption coefficient are in good agreement with conventional the Z-scan data.We believe that
PAZ-scan will be a valuable tool for material characterization and has potential for applications in the fields of
chemistry, physics, material science, biomedical, and manufacturing.
We propose a new approach of in-line digital holographic microscopy (DHM) with the capability of enhancing the
hologram acquisition rate together with improved reconstruction capability. The method is based on the recording of two
interferograms of the same object at slightly different planes. The technique utilizes the full spatial bandwidth of the
camera and do not require phase-shifting of the reference beam. Furthermore, we exploit the method of subtraction of
average intensity of the entire hologram to suppress the zero-order diffracted wave. The twin image is eliminated by
Fourier domain processing of the two recorded holograms. Experimental results of both amplitude and phase objects
demonstrate the feasibility of this method. Since the two interferograms can be recorded simultaneously by using two
CCD or CMOS sensors, this new in-line DHM technique has the potential applications in biomedical research for the
visualization of rapid dynamic processes at cellular level.
A completely passive nonlinear transmission system is constructed using nonlinear absorption materials and
azobenzene films. We experimentally demonstrated that in a pump-probe combination, the transmission of a
linearly polarized probe beam through a photo-anisotropic material placed between crossed polarizers becomes
nonlinear when a nonlinear absorbing medium is placed in the path of the pump beam. The nonlinear transmission
of a reverse saturable material serves as pump beam and aligns the azobenzene molecules in a predetermined
polarization direction. Thus the transmittance of the probe beam is enhanced at lower input intensities while it
becomes clamped at high input intensities. The clamping level and threshold can be controlled by adjusting the
concentration of the nonlinear absorbing medium.
The optical properties of periodic and nonperiodic arrays of aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes are presented.
Experimental analysis indicates a complex optical response that is attributed to both the individual carbon nanotube
scatterers and also to the array ensembles. These studies indicate that by controlling the geometry and spacing of the
arrays, it is possible to create structures that respond very strongly to specific wavelengths or bands of wavelengths.
Structures such as these may form the basis for numerous applications in energy conversion. This would include highly
efficient solar energy conversion as well as sensitive, finely tuned detectors that can respond to predetermined
wavelength bands ranging from the ultraviolet to the infrared region. Experimental, theoretical and modeled results are
discussed as they apply to these applications. Challenges and issues are discussed.
Spectroscopic observations are presented for carbon nanotubes grown on silicon and quartz substrates in a hexagonal honeycomb configuration using self-assembly nanosphere lithography and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method. A white light source is used as an incident beam and light reflected from the surface of the carbon nanotubes results in a distinctive signature in the reflected spectrum. A comparison of non-periodic arrays and periodic arrays of
carbon nanotubes show that the reflectance signature is only observed when the carbon nanotubes are oriented in a periodic array. Further observations regarding the light antenna effect observed in nonperiodic arrays are also reported. Theoretical curves show good agreement to experimentally observed phenomena. The unique optical properties of the arrays combined with the excellent mechanical and electrical properties of carbon nanotubes indicate that these materials may find many uses in the field of optoelectronics.
Real-time nonlinear optical Fourier filtering for medical image processing is demonstrated, exploiting light modulating characteristics of thin films of the biophotonic material bacteriorhodopsin (bR). The nonlinear transmission of bR films for a 442 nm probe beam with a 568 nm control beam and vice versa is experimentally studied in detail. The spatial frequency information carried by the blue probe beam is selectively manipulated in the bR film by changing the position and intensity of the yellow control beam. The feasibility of the technique is first established with different shapes and sizes of phantom objects. The technique is applied to filter out low spatial frequencies corresponding to soft dense breast tissue and displaying only high spatial frequencies corresponding to microcalcifications in clinical screen film mammograms. With the aid of an electrically addressed spatial light modulator (SLM), we successfully adapt the technique for processing digital phantoms and digital mammograms. Unlike conventional optical spatial filtering techniques that use masks, the technique proposed can easily accommodate the changes in size and shape of details in a mammogram.
Carbon nanotubes were grown on silicon and quartz substrates in a honeycomb configuration using self-assembly nanosphere lithography and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition methods. Photonic nanoarrays were fabricated with varying spacing and carbon nanotube height. Both periodic and nonperiodic arrays were produced and evaluated. Optical properties of the arrays were studied and related to array geometry. Three dimensional diffraction maps were created that reveal the manner in which the nanoarrays interact with visible light. The unique optical properties of the arrays combined with the excellent mechanical and electrical properties of carbon nanotubes indicates that these materials may find many uses in the field of optoelectronics.
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) have been grown in a honeycomb configuration on silicon substrates using nanosphere self-assembly and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The optical properties of the arrays were also studied. Diffraction efficiency was found to be a function of the wavelength, angle of incidence and state of polarization of incident light. The unique optical properties of the arrays combined with the excellent mechanical and electrical properties of carbon nanotubes indicates that these materials may find many uses in the field of optoelectronics. In addition to their optical properties, periodic CNT arrays have a host of other unique electromagnetic and mechanical properties that may be exploited for numerous applications. Polarization measurements indicate that the intensity of both the diffracted light and diffusely scattered light is dependent on wavelength and angle of incidence. These arrays not only reflect and diffract light, but can also have a photonic band gap in, or around, the visible frequency range. The precise frequency location and size of this gap can be controlled by the structural and material parameters of the arrays.
A comparison is made of two, laser-induced-damage assessment techniques. The first technique monitors the sample for changes in linear transmission after high-energy laser illumination. With the second technique, an image is transmitted through the sample, after high-energy laser illumination, at the position of incidence. Both single and multiple shot data are considered. Results show the imaging technique to be an efficient method by which to unambiguously discern the onset of image-degrading laser- damage, regardless of detector noise, shot-to-shot variations and sample inhomogeneities. Practically speaking, the imaging technique is relatively easy to incorporate into a laser-based experimental system and is particularly relevant to the assessment of optical systems for imaging.
The optical transmission processes for a nonlinear optical (NLO) material are influenced by the properties of its environment. NLO properties such as intersystem crossing rates may be altered by characteristics of the host such as polarity. The effects of the host material on the optical transmission of the NLO material is investigated using numerical laser beam propagation modeling (LBPM) techniques. Numerical simulations are reported for the optical transmission for zinc meso-tetra(p-methoxyphenyl)tetrabenzporphyrin (ZnTMPTBP) in liquids of differing polarity such as toluene, tetrahydrofuran (THF), dichloromethane (DCM), acetone, and pyridine. In addition to investigating the effect of the solvent on transmission, these calculations explore the effect on transmission of two different singlet lifetimes which have been reported in the literature. Transmission curves are calculated using separately determined parameters obtained from curve fitting using zscan data. Calculated results are compared with experimental data for all cases. Z-scans are also calculated for several cases and the results compared to experimental data. Numerical simulations provide a valuable tool to study the optical transmission behavior of NLO materials such as ZnTMPTBP.
We carried out systematic experiments to study the effect of solvents on power limiting in zinc meso-tetra (p- methoxyphenyl) tetrabenzoporphyrin (ZnTBP). We used Toluene, pyridine, acetone, dichloromethane (DCM) and a toluene pyridine mixture to evaluate polarity and complex formation of the solvent and solute molecules. Z-scan data were generated using picosecond and nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm. These data were then curvefit to a 5-level model to obtain excited state and two photon absorption coefficients, and the intersystem crossing rates. An f/5 optical limiting setup was used to determine limiting thresholds. Results indicate that toluene and DCM give the lowest limiting thresholds and that pyridine ligation can be used as a means of molecular modification for future molecular studies.
A series of azulenic compounds are synthesized and their third-order nonlinear optical properties are determined. The compounds are studied in solution using degenerate four wave mixing and z-scan at 532 nm with 30 ps pulses. Extrapolated values for the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility (chi) (3) of the compounds are in the range 10-9 to 10-8 esu. Z-scan results indicate reverse saturable absorption. Optical power limiting with a f/5 system is demonstrated for all of the compounds studied.
We report optical power limiting in undoped single crystals of the wide band-gap semiconductor Zinc Oxide (ZnO). The ZnO crystals were grown at the Sensors Directorate of the Air Force Research laboratory using the hydrothermal method. The crystals are of high optical quality and are transparent in the visible part of the spectrum. The contributions of the real and imaginary parts of the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility were studied using the Z-scan technique. The Z-scan experiments were carried out using picosecond pulses at 532 nm wavelength with the electric field polarization oriented orthogonal to the crystal c- axis. The nonlinear refractive index of the crystals is found to be negative. The ZnO samples exhibit two photon absorption and high damage thresholds. Our results indicate that the ZnO crystals may be good candidates for applications in optical power limiting and pulse stabilization.
We studied the third-order nonlinear optical properties of five azulenic donor-acceptor compounds. The compounds were studied in solution in Tetrahydrofuran using backward degenerate four-wave mixing and Z-scan with 30 picosecond pulses at 532 manometer wavelength. Extrapolated values for the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility ((chi) (3)) of the solute molecules were obtained from concentration dependent measurements. The compounds possess large values of (chi) (3) in the range 3 X 10-10 esu to 3 X 10-8 esu. The two orders of magnitude change in the magnitude of the susceptibility that we observe for this series of donor-acceptor azulenic compounds makes them interesting candidates for the study of structure property relationships in nonlinear optical chromophores. The compounds also exhibit large solvatochromism and may also prove to be useful in second-order nonlinear optical applications.
The photochromic protein bR is receiving much attention as an interesting alternative to conventional inorganic semiconductor based materials for a variety of applications in optical recording and information processing. Recent advances in genetic engineering techniques for tailoring molecular properties without degrading of its inherent mechanical and thermal stability make it an outstanding photonic material. Some of the photonic applications already demonstrated by our group are reviewed. We exploit the parallel processing of optics and the real-time nature of bR films for the implementation of several photonic applications. We reported a convenient method to obtain all-optical light modulation in bacteriorhodopsin films using a degenerate four-wave mixing geometry. Chemically stabilized films of bacteriorhodopsin in a polymer matrix for which the life time of the excited M state is tens of seconds are used to demonstrate all-optical light intensity modulation. Small intensities of order mW/cm2 are used in the modulation experiments. The fast photochemical transition from M to B permits reasonably fast modulation speeds independent of the slow thermal M to B relaxation time. The experimental system can also be viewed as an all-optical switch, that uses molecular states in a bacteriorhodopsin thin film, where a low power blue pulse turns on a signal red beam. All-optical logic gates are implemented with wild- type and chemically stabilized films of bacteriorhodopsin using a two-color backward degenerate four- wave mixing geometry. The sensitivity of each bR film is markedly different due to the large differences in the saturation intensity. Red light is used to form a grating due to the B to M transition and blue light is used to form a grating due to the fast photochemical transition from M to B. Each of the two wavelengths in the experimental system acts as an input to the all-optical gate and the phase conjugate signal beam bears the output of the gate. To establish the origin of the nonlinearity we studied the intensity dependence of the self-focusing and self-defocusing properties of wild-type bR in water solution using the Z-scan technique with low power cw lasers at two wavelengths on either side of the absorption band. Our measurements indicate that the sign of the nonlinearity depends on the wavelength and the magnitude depends on the fluence of the incident laser beam. The observed self-defocusing and focusing is not due to the intrinsic electronic nonlinearity. The observations can be explained in terms of the Kramers-Kronig dispersion relation that relates the real and imaginary parts of the complex index of refraction to the absorption spectrum.We developed an optical pattern recognition system using Optical Fourier Transform with bR films. The photoinduced dichroism and its dependence on light intensity allows one to use the bR film as a real-time self-adaptive spatial filter at the FT plane. We also demonstrate flow disturbance visualization and beam shaping.
We constructed an optical system for performing 2D logic operations. We demonstrated the logic operations of OR, NOR, XOR, AND. The photoinduced dichroism of Bacteriorhodopsin (bR) is the physical mechanism exploited in the optical system. In its normal state with no light illumination a bR doped polymer film is isotropic with random distribution of bR molecules. When excited by linearly polarized light, only those bR molecules whose transition dipole moments for absorption lie in or near the direction of the electric field ar bleached at the actinic light wavelength due to the B to M transition. If a probe beam is incident in the regions illuminated by the actinic light it will no longer be interacting with an isotropic film. The film is now anisotropic and dichroic. Due to dichroism the actinic light illumination produces an angular rotation of the plane of polarization of the probe beam. In the experiments the bR film is kept between two crossed polarizers to get zero output from the probe beam at a screen when no actinic light is incident on the bR film. The two polarizers and the screen are kept in the path of the probe beam. There are two actinic light beams that induce dichroism and they are made orthogonally polarized with respect to each other by the use of a polarization rotator. The polarization rotator can be arranged so that their polarizations are made parallel for some of the logic operations. The plane of polarization of these two actinic beams are at 45 degrees to the pane of polarization of the probe beam. The combination of rotation of the analyzer and the polarization rotation of one of the actinic beams allows for many logic operations to be performed. No interference recordings are involved in the experiments and hence vibration isolation systems are not required. A coherent source is not a requirement either since a white light source with an appropriate wavelength filter can induce photoanisotropy in the bR film.
We have fabricated Polycarbonate/ Porphyrin blends. The mixtures were prepared with the
use of solvents suitable to both the Porphyrins and the Polycarbonate. Thin films were
prepared by evaporation of the blends on a Teflon substrate. The samples exhibit reverse
saturable absorption. We present results of optical power limiting experiments for the
composites of films sandwiched between Polycarbonate sheets. The composites have high
impact strength and remarkable mechanical robustness.
We studied the nonlinear absorption properties of tetrabenzporphyrins (TBP). Two dimensional delocalized pi- electron systems such as the macrocyclic dyes tetrabenzporphyrins exhibit nonlinear absorption. Their nonlinear absorption and refraction are due mainly to a mechanism that involves the formation of large populations of excited states. This takes place in the spectral regions between B and Q bands. The relevant time frame in which the nonlinear absorption takes place is determined by the dipole dephasing times in the case of the excited singlet states (which is of order picosecond). TBPs have been proposed as candidates for applications in optical power limiting. We have monitored the nature of the nonlinear absorption of TBP samples with picosecond laser pulses at 532 nm wavelength. Open aperture picosecond Z-scan measurements obtained with solutions of TBP in tetrahydrofuran (THF) exhibit reverse saturable absorption (RSA). Our experiments also reveal RSA for a thin film of TBP in a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) matrix. On the other hand we observed that for films deposited using the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique the RSA is decreased. A simple extrapolation of solution measurements to thin film samples might result in erroneous conclusions. We investigated the nonlinear absorption of TBP in THF-water mixture to elucidate the role of molecular aggregates in the nonlinear properties of TBP samples. The RSA observed in the case of THF solutions is lost in the mixture.
Two-photon absorption, excited state absorption, nonlinear refraction and scattering are the processes explored for optical power limiting applications. We report a novel approach for power limiting in polyphenylquinoxalines (PPQ) solutions based on two-photon induced cluster formation. The samples of PPQ were measured in solution in chloroform. The solutions are completely transparent at 532 nm. The contributions of the real and imaginary parts of the susceptibility were studied using the Z-scan technique. The nonlinear index of refraction of the samples is found to be positive. Open aperture Z-scan experiments indicate two photon absorption induced cluster formation and scattering. Values for the effective nonlinear absorption coefficient and the nonlinear index of refraction were obtained. Though two-photon absorption is responsible for triggering the process of cluster formation, optical power limiting in this case is due both to two-photon absorption and to scattering of light by the molecular clusters. The process of two- photon absorption and induced scattering yield a very attractive figure of merit of 10.3 for a solution sample of 2 mg/ml concentration compared to values reported in the recent literature. PPQ is an interesting candidate for applications in optical power limiting.
The photochromic protein bacteriorhodopsin (bR) obtained from the purple membrane of the halocbacterium halobium has attracted considerable amount of interest recently. Several applications in photonics technology have already been proposed. bR lends itself to structural alterations at the molecular level by use of bioengineering and chemical synthesis methods. It is very stable under hard environmental conditions of temperature, salinity, etc. The films that were used in our experiments are stable over a period of four years. The lifetimes of some of the intermediate states of bR photocycle can be altered over a wide range by genetic manipulations of some of the amino acids that compose the bR membrane or by controlling the pH of the host materials. All of this makes bR a very attractive material for applications in optical computers and information processing. We present a technique that utilizes the molecular states of a bR thin film to implement an all-optical switch and all-optical logic AND and Or gates. A two-color backward degenerate four-wave mixing geometry with wild-type and chemically stabilized films of bacteriorhodopsin constitute the experimental setup. The saturation intensity, sensitivity and excited state lifetime (M state lifetime) of the films are very different. We use red light to form a holographic grating,due to the B to M transition and blue light to form a grating due to the fast photochemical transition from.M to B. Each of the two wavelengths in the experimental system acts as an input to the all-optical gates and the phase conjugate signal beam is the output of the gates.
Bacteriorhodopsin (bR) is the photodynamic protein complex found in the purple membrane of the Halobacterium halobium. The conformational changes of the bR molecule are associated with a photocycle. The initial B state of bR has an absorption peak at 570 nm while the long lived M state has an absorption peak at 412 nm. As the initial state has a broad absorption band it can be excited by means of red, yellow or green light. The M state can revert to the initial state via a thermal process or by a photochemical process by excitation with blue light. The lifetime of the M state can be dramatically altered by chemical and bioengineering methods. Several applications have already been proposed for bR as a photonic material.
Self-focusing of ruby laser beams is observed in solution for a series of bioengineered polymers. The values obtained for third order nonlinear optical susceptibility (Chi) (3) are compared with observed values by degenerate four wave mixing. It is demonstrated that self- focusing is a sensitive technique for measuring (Chi) (3).
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