The University of Arizona

Tipd, LLC

Harvard College

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

California Institute of Technology

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Arizona Board of Regents, a Body Corporate

Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Nitto-denko Corporation

Northwestern University

Johnson and Johnson Vision Care, Inc.

Nasser N Peyghambarian

Robert Andrew Norwood

Bernard Kippelen

Khanh Kieu

Arkady Bablumyan

Axel Schulzgen

Pierre-Alexandre Jean Blanche

Christopher Todd DeRose

Christian W Freudiger

Ghassan E Jabbour

Xiushan Zhu

Dan Fu

Gholam A Peyman

Seth R Marder

Xiaoliang Sunney Xie

Norio Sato

Hitoshi Yamada

James T Schwiegerling

Pierre Alexandre Blanche

Kazuhiro Shintani

Thomas L Koch

Stanley K H Pau

Brittany Lynn

Thierry Verbiest

Pavel Polynkin

Andre Persoons

Nickolaos Savidis

Boris Volodin

Eric Hendrickx

Akinobu Fujii

Valery Temyanko

Tobin Jay Marks

Shibin Jiang

Peng Wang

Michiharu Yamamoto

Jayan Thomas

Henry K Hall

Roland Himmelhuber

Palash Gangopadhyay

Weiping Lin

Takefumi Ota

Lloyd J LaComb, Jr

Jacques Albert

Xiaoling Sunney Xie

Yasufumi Enami

Seppo Honkanen

Anne B Padias

Pekka Ayras

Pouria Valley

Thanh Nam Nguyen

Guoqiang Li

Akram A Khosroabadi

Leonid Kotov

Li Ll

Li Li

Savas Tay

Dino P Guzman

Joshua E Malinsky

Klaus Meerholz

(nfn) Sandalphon

Boris L Volodin

Scott R Lyon

Than Nam Nguyen

Khan Kieu

A solid-state laser system includes a gain medium having an optical resonator defined therein. The gain medium is co-doped with first and second active elements. The first active element is Erand the second active element is Hoor Dy. The solid-state laser system also includes a pump source coupled to the gain medium for pumping the gain medium with pump light.

Efficient energy transfer from ERto HOand DYin mid-infrared materials

A gain fiber assembly for use in optical fiber amplification systems such as fiber amplifiers and fiber lasers utilizes an active or 'bare' fiber that has a single glass cladding with an outer diameter of less is less than 80 &#x3bc;m and preferably less than 60 &#x3bc;m or even 40 &#x3bc;m. A passive double-clad input fiber is stripped of the outer cladding and tapered to match the outer diameter of the bare fiber. A glass-fluid or glass-vacuum interface along the taper provides guidance of the pump into and along the cladding of the bare fiber and a NA&#x3e;1 for a vacuum or gasses and an NA&#x3e;0.8 for liquids. This allows for much shorter fiber lengths to reach max signal power and higher pump conversion efficiencies.

Bare single mode fiber amplifier/laser

A method of fabricating an optical connection to at least one planar optical waveguide integrated on a planar integrated circuit (PIC) uses a machine vision system or the like to detect one or more positions at which one or more optical connections are to be made to at least one planar optical waveguide located on the PIC. A spatial light modulator (SLM) is used as a programmable photolithographic mask through which the optical connections are written in a volume of photosensitive material using a photolithographic process. The SLM is programmed to expose the photosensitive material to an illumination pattern that defines the optical connections. The programming is based at least in part on the positions that have been detected by the vision system. The optical connections are printed by exposing the photosensitive material to illumination that is modulated by the pattern with which the SLM is programmed.

Fabrication of optical interconnect structures for a photonic integrated circuit

A flexible polymer waveguide array structure serves as a stitch or jumper on an optical printed circuit board (OPCB). The flexible polymer waveguide array structure can be attached to the OPCB so that it can provide a chip-to-OPCB optical connection. The waveguide(s) in the flexible polymer waveguide array structure may be prefabricated before the flexible polymer waveguide array structure is attached to the OPCB. Alternatively, the waveguides may be fabricated after the flexible polymer waveguide array structure has been attached to the OPCB. The waveguide(s) may be subsequently formed using a printing process such as photolithography. As a consequence of forming the waveguide(s) after attachment of the flexible polymer waveguide array to the OPCB, the precision in the lateral alignment that is required when placing the flexible polymer waveguide array structure on the OPCB is generally significantly less than is required when the waveguide(s) are prefabricated.

Optical printed circuit board with polymer array stitch

Transmission and reflection mode VHOEs are designed and fabricated for use in imaging and other applications. These VHOE provide high diffraction efficiency with minimal chromatic aberrations and astigmatism across the bandwidth. The lens provides optical power within the bandwidth centered relative to several wavelengths to magnify (focus or collimate) input light and is transparent for the rest of the image spectrum. In transmission mode, two VHOE are fabricated in such a way as to introduce compensating adjustments that minimize the astigmatism and chromatic aberrations introduced by the bandwidth of the input light. Two VHOEs are required to provide an on-axis imaging system to magnify light to form an image and reduce the chromatic aberrations across the bandwidth and reduce the astigmatism while maintaining high diffraction efficiency (DE). In reflection mode, a single VHOE is configured to act as a mirror at the specified wavelength and bandwidth and to magnify light to form an image and, consequently, has minimal level of astigmatism and chromatic aberration.

Volume holographic optical elements for imaging with reduced aberrations

Optical switch based on a micro-minor device such as a DMD configured to simultaneously switch light from N inputs to M outputs with switching times of about 10 microseconds, where N and M are generally greater than one. The minors of the device are oriented according to a pattern calculated based on a Fourier Transform of spatial distribution of M outputs such as to form, in diffraction of light incident on the device, and diffraction light pattern that in the output plane is substantially congruent with the spatial distribution of M outputs. The device can be configured as a modulator of amplitude and/or a modulator of phase of incident light wavefront.

Reconfigurable diffractive optical switch and method for operating the same

A phoropter having a line of sight for a viewer to see through comprises a lens system in the line of sight, wherein a shape or focal length of at least one lens in the lens system is controllable by means of an electrical signal, electrical field or current. Wavefront sensors of the phoropter detect local tilts of light wavefronts emerging from the eye and generate output signals that are used for controlling the shape or focal length of the at least one lens. Holographic or diffractive elements are used to collect light scattered from an eye of the viewer and image the scattered light to the wavefront sensors. Preferably one or more of the holographic or diffractive elements are away from the line of sight of the viewer. To use the phoropter, light is passed to the lens system, and light scattered by the eye is collected by the holographic or diffractive elements and imaged onto the wavefront sensors.

Holographic adaptive see-through phoropter

An illumination system is disclosed for providing dual excitation wavelength illumination for non-linear optical microscopy and micro-spectroscopy. The illumination system includes a laser system for providing a first train of pulses at a center optical frequency &#x3c9;, a frequency converting system for providing at least a second train of pulses at a center optical frequency &#x3c9;and a third train of pulses at a center optical frequency &#x3c9;, where &#x3c9;is different from &#x3c9;and &#x3c9;responsive to the first train of pulses, an amplifier system for amplifying the second train of pulses to provide an amplified second train of pulses, and an adjustment means for adjusting a time delay between the amplified second train of pulses and the third train of pulses for the dual-excitation wavelength illumination.

Laser illumination systems and methods for dual-excitation wavelength non-linear optical microscopy and micro-spectroscopy systems

A high-resolution sensor of magnetic field sensor system and materials for use in such a system are described. The sensor systems measure a magnetic field using inorganic and/or organic magneto-optically active materials, e.g. polymer material and have an interferometer based on Faraday rotation. The polymer material is preferably in the form of a film. The polymer material has an optical property that is sensitive to the magnetic field, e g the Faraday rotation effect. The present invention also provides a sensor head structure comprising the above polymer material. The sensor head may be designed for use with an optical fiber or with mirrors In particular the present invention provides a fiber Sagnac interferometer to measure the rotation of polarized plane of light. The present invention provides a fiber or mirror based Sagnac interferometer with passive phase bias applied to magnetic field sensing.

Ultrasensitive magnetic sensor with magneto-optically active material with high verdet constant

Optical switch based on a micro-mirror device such as a DMD for simultaneous switching light from N inputs to M outputs with switching times of about 10 microseconds, where N and M are generally greater than one. The mirrors of the device are oriented according to a pattern calculated based on a Fourier Transform of spatial distribution of M outputs such as to form, in diffraction of light incident on the device, an diffraction light pattern that in the output plane is substantially congruent with the spatial distribution of M outputs. The device can be configured as a modulator of amplitude and/or a modulator of phase of incident light wavefront.

Reconfigurable diffractive optical switch

A variable focal length achromatic lens includes a flat liquid crystal diffractive lens and a pressure-controlled fluidic refractive lens. The diffractive lens is composed of a flat binary Fresnel zone structure and a thin liquid crystal layer, producing high efficiency and millisecond switching times while applying a low ac voltage input. The focusing power of the diffractive lens is adjusted by electrically modifying the sub-zones and re-establishing phase wrapping points. The refractive lens includes a fluid chamber with a flat glass surface and an opposing elastic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane surface. Inserting fluid volume through a pump system into the clear aperture region alters the membrane curvature and adjusts the refractive lens' focal position. Primary chromatic aberration is remarkably reduced through the coupling of the fluidic and diffractive lenses at a number of selected focal lengths. Potential applications include miniature color imaging systems, medical and ophthalmic devices, or any design that utilizes variable focal length achromats.

Variable focal length achromatic lens system comprising a diffractive lens and a refractive lens

A fiber optic parametric amplifier that includes a resonating cavity. The resonating cavity includes linear fiber optic gain medium, with negative chromatic dispersion; and a nonlinear fiber optic gain medium with positive chromatic dispersion.

Dissipative soliton mode fiber based optical parametric oscillator

An illumination system is disclosed for providing dual-excitation wavelength illumination for non-linear optical microscopy and micro-spectroscopy. The illumination system includes a laser system, an optical splitting means, a frequency shifting system, and a picosecond amplifier system. The laser system includes a laser for providing a first train of pulses at a center optical frequency &#x3c9;. The optical splitting means divides the first train of pulses at the center optical frequency &#x3c9;into two trains of pulses. The frequency shifting system shifts the optical frequency of one of the two trains of pulses to provide a frequency shifted train of pulses. The picosecond amplifier system amplifies the frequency shifted train of pulses to provide an amplified frequency-shifted train of pulses having a pulse duration of at least 0.5 picoseconds.

An adjustable focusing electrically controllable electroactive lens is provided. The adjustable focusing electrically controllable electroactive lens can adjust the focal length discretely or continuously. The lens can be incorporated in a variety of optical devices including spectacles.

Adaptive electro-active lens with variable focal length

Embodiments of methods for fabricating polymer nanostructures and nanostructured electrodes are disclosed. Material layers are deposited onto polymer nanostructures to form nanostructured electrodes and devices including the nanostructured electrodes, such as photovoltaic cells, light-emitting diodes, and field-effect transistors. Embodiments of the disclosed methods are suitable for commercial-scale production of large-area nanostructured polymer scaffolds and large-area nanostructured electrodes.

Nanostructured electrodes and active polymer layers

Growing community of inventors

Tuscon, AZ, United States of America

Nasser N Peyghambarian