University of Central Florida Research Foundation Inc

Other

United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

Emx International, LLC

Robert E Peale

Andrey V Muraviev

Christopher J Fredricksen

Anthony C Terracciano

Daniel Graybeal

Alan Carey Rogers

Janardan Nath

Justin W Cleary

Subith Vasu

Christopher Arose

Jonathan Lee

Leonid Chernyak

Evan Smith

Chris J Fredricksen

Remco C Strijbos

Andrey Muraview

Andrei V Muravjov

Sandra H Withers

Charles Mark Carnifax

Henry Weidner

Kijun Park

Pedro Figueiredo

Jin J Kim

Masahiro Ishigami

Christian W Smith

Douglas Maukonen

A method and device which can receive and identify electromagnetic radiation in the terahertz (THz) frequency range. The device has a combination of material and geometric parameters that are unique and tunable, enabling resonating frequencies for spectral selectivity in the THz range (0.1-15) with ultra-narrow channel widths (0.01-0.10 THz) full width at half maximum (FWHM). Dependent upon configuration, the device may be employed as a large area resonator to collect weak or diffuse signals or as a constituent of an array able to take pictures within the spectrum for which they are sensitive.

Spectrally selective pyroelectric detection device and associated method of use

An IR sensor device may include an IR image sensor having an array of IR sensing pixels, and a readout circuit coupled to the IR image sensor and configured to sense sequential images. The IR sensor device may include a controller coupled to the readout circuit and configured to cause the readout circuit to apply a voltage to the IR image sensor between sensing of the sequential images.

Radiation-defect mitigation in InAs/GaSb strained-layer superlattice infrared detectors and related methods

A wavelength selective bolometer includes a substrate configured to serve as a foundation for the apparatus and a thermal isolation gap established between the substrate and subsequent solid material layers. A conducting ground plane layer is disposed above the thermal isolation gap, and a first dielectric layer is mated to a top surface of the conducting ground plane. A temperature sensing material layer is mated to a top surface of the first dielectric layer, and a plurality of interconnects is placed in electrical communication with the temperature sensing material layer. A second dielectric layer is mated to a top surface of the temperature sensing material, and at least one conductive element is mated to a top surface of the second dielectric layer. The dimensions of the conductive element and other variables are chosen to achieve resonant absorption of selected wavelengths of radiation incident thereupon.

Wavelength-selective thermal detection apparatus and methods

An intracavity laser absorption infrared spectroscopy system for detecting trace analytes in vapor samples. The system uses a spectrometer in communications with control electronics, wherein the control electronics contain an analyte database that contains absorption profiles for each analyte the system is used to detect. The system can not only detect the presence of specific analytes, but identify them as well. The spectrometer uses a hollow cavity waveguide that creates a continuous loop inside of the device, thus creating a large path length and eliminating the need to mechanically adjust the path length to achieve a high Q-factor. In a preferred embodiment, the laser source may serve as the detector, thus eliminating the need for a separate detector.

Spectroscopy system using waveguide and employing a laser medium as its own emissions detector

A ring-cavity surface emitting quantum cascade laser (RCSE-QCL) may include a ring-shaped active region having first and second opposing facets. One of the first and second opposing facets may define a radiation emitting facet. The RCSE-QCL may also include a ring-shaped phase shifter aligned with the radiation emitting facet and having a spiraled surface.

Surface-emitting ring-cavity quantum cascade laser with ring-shaped phase shifter and related methods

A plasmonic phototransistor includes a photon to surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) transducer including and an optical coupling structure configured to receive incident light and an electrically conducting layer having a first and a second surface. The second surface is on the optical coupling structure and the first surface generates SPPs responsive to the incident light. A gate dielectric layer is on the first surface. A two dimensional (2D) electrically conductive material is on the gate dielectric layer having electrical properties sensitive to electromagnetic fields of the SPP. Source and drain contacts are on the 2D electrically conductive material. Dynamic electric fields of the SPPs reach the 2D electrically conductive material that are operable to electric field-induce modulation of an electrical conductance of the 2D electrically conductive material which is sensed from the source and drain contacts.

Plasmonic phototransistor

A quantum cascade laser (QCL) may include a QCL crystal having an emitting facet, and an active region adjacent the emitting facet, the emitting facet for providing an electromagnetic beam. The QCL may include an optical cavity comprising a mirror being external to the QCL crystal, and for redirecting the electromagnetic beam into the active region of the QCL crystal to provide optical feedback, and a driver circuit for driving the QCL crystal with a constant current. The QCL may include a controller coupled to the optical cavity and for dynamically and autonomously aligning the optical cavity based upon an error signal from the QCL crystal to maintain stable the optical feedback into the active region of the QCL crystal.

Quantum cascade laser with autonomously aligned external cavity and related methods

A set of tiles interconnecting to each other in a continuous end-to-end manner. Each tile has a body. The body of each tile has a specific amount of through bores, a pair of blind bores, and a pair of pins. The pin of the body of one tile sits in the blind bore of the body of another tile. A portion of the specific amount of through bores in the body of the one tile align with a similar portion of the specific amount of through bores in the body of the another tile.

Tile alignment and matching game

Analog pulse position modulation of pulsed emission from a laser, which is actively and harmonically mode-locked. The laser requires: a body of an active gain medium; means for changing the gain as a function of a controllable parameter; harmonically and actively mode-locking the laser by fast periodic changes of said parameter; and superimposing slower changes on the parameter whereby the fast periodic parameter changes can be continuously shifted between the peak and the shoulder of the gain-vs-parameter curve. As proof of concept, electric control of the separation between two interleaved pulse trains from a far-infrared (1.5-4 THz) p-Ge laser, which is actively mode-locked by rf gain modulation at the second harmonic of the roundtrip frequency, is demonstrated by changing the electric bias at the rf contacts. A suggested application is telemetry using analog pulse position modulation.

Analog pulse position modulation in harmonically mode-locked lasers

A low cost method of adding time-resolving capability to commercial Fourier-transform spectrometers with a continuously scanning Michelson interferometer. This invention is specifically designed to eliminate noise and artifacts caused by mirror-speed variations in the interferometer. The method exists as two parts: 1) a novel timing scheme for synchronizing the transient events under study with the digitizing by an analog-to-digital converter, and 2) a mathematical algorithm for extracting the spectral information from the recorded data. The novel timing scheme is a modification of the well known interleaved, or stroboscopic, method. It achieves the same timing accuracy, signal-to-noise ratio, and freedom from artifacts as step-scan time-resolving Fourier spectrometers by locking the sampling of the interferogram to a stable time base rather than to the occurrences of the HeNe fringes. The necessary path-length-difference information at which samples are taken is obtained from a record of the mirror speed. The resulting interferograms with uneven path-length-difference spacings are transformed into optical frequency space by least-squares fits of periodic functions.

Method of time-resolving fourier-transform spectroscopy to allow

A p-Ge laser operating at submillimeter wavelengths in Voigt configuration using a regular permanent magnet. The invention is improvement over prior art Ge Lasers which use superconducting magnets that require liquid helium to cool the magnets along with the Ge crystal. Although the subject invention requires cooling(refrigerant) of the Ge crystal itself, it does not need liquid helium. The permanent magnet can be Nd.sub.2 Fe.sub.14 B. The emissions using the novel invention were observed over a wider range of electric-field magnitude in Voigt configuration at a given magnetic field as compared to that of the prior system. The free space beam profile of the subject invention is Gaussian. The emission-strength of the subject invention is sufficient between 4 and 10K that a closed-cycle refrigerator can be used to cool the crystal rather than the liquid helium used in all prior p-Ge lasers. The open architecture of the permanent magnet facilitates use of cooling fins/heat sinks, which are demonstrated to increase repetition rate and energy output over all prior p-Ge lasers, which do not use such. Since permanent magnets can be cut to any shape and are not restricted to solenoid geometrics, novel laser configurations including ring lasers and oscillator/amplifiers can be realized in contrast to prior p-Ge lasers, which are exclusively oscillators only.

Growing community of inventors

Winter Park, FL, United States of America

Robert E Peale