We report the experimental realization of dark state atoms trapping in a nanofiber optical lattice. By applying the magic-wavelength trapping potentials of cesium atoms, the AC Stark shifts are strongly suppressed. The dark magneto-optical trap efficiently transfers the cold atoms from bright (6S1/2, F = 4) into dark state (6S1/2, F = 3) for hyperfine energy levels of cesium atoms. The observed transfer efficiency is as high as 98% via saturation measurement. The trapping lifetime of dark state atoms trapped by a nanofiber optical lattice is also investigated, which is the key element for realizing optical storage. This work contributes to the manipulation of atomic electric dipole spin waves and quantum information storage for fiber networks.

Vortex optical communication has been a hot research field in recent years. A key step is mode recognition in the orbital angular momentum (OAM) free-space optical (FSO) communication system. In this article, we propose an OAM mode recognition method based on image recognition technology, which uses the interferogram between the vortex beam and the Gaussian beam to identify the OAM mode. In order to resist the influence of atmospheric turbulence on the recognition accuracy, we added a Gaussian smoothing filter into the recognition process. Moreover, we used random phase screens to generate interferogram sets at distances of 1 km and 2 km. The verification result shows that the proposed scheme produces high identification accuracy for the distorted optical field. The average accuracy can reach 100% and 87.78% under the conditions of medium- and strong-turbulence levels, respectively. It is anticipated that these results might be helpful for improving the reliability of the OAM-FSO communication system in the future.

Acousto-optic interaction can be used for ultrafast optical field control in passively mode-locked fiber lasers. Here, we propose the use of an intracavity acousto-optic mode converter (AOMC) with combination of a few-mode fiber Bragg gratings (FM-FBG) to achieve narrow linewidth mode-locked pulse output with switchable transverse mode and wavelength in a ring fiber laser. Due to the selectivity of the FM-FBG to the input mode, the output mode and wavelength can be adjusted in the mode-locked fiber laser based on a semiconductor saturable absorption mirror. In experiments, by adjusting the acoustic frequency imposed in the AOMC, the wavelength of mode-locked pulses was switched from 1551.52 nm to 1550.21 nm, retaining the repetition rate of 12.68 MHz. At the same time, the mode conversion from the LP01 to the LP11 mode in the FM-FBG transmission port was achieved. This laser may find application in mode-division multiplexing systems.

Kalman filtering (KF) has good potential in fast rotation of state of polarization (RSOP) tracking. Different measurement equations cause the diverse RSOP tracking performances. We compare the conventional KF (CKF) and the modified KF (MKF), which have different measurement equations. Semi-theoretical analysis indicates the lower conditional variances of measurement residuals and process noise of MKF. Compared with CKF, the MKF has >3 dB optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) improvement at the 10 MHz scrambling rate in simulation. For MKF, more significant tracking speed improvement exists for lower OSNR. MKF can be smoothly combined with an adaptive algorithm, which outperforms adaptive CKF throughout the simulations.

Bragg processing using a volume hologram offers an alternative in optical image processing in contrast to Fourier-plane processing. By placing a volume hologram near the object in an optical imaging setup, we achieve Bragg processing. In this review, we discuss various image processing methods achievable with acousto-optic modulators as dynamic and programmable volume holograms. In particular, we concentrate on the discussion of various differentiation operations leading to edge extraction capabilities.

In this Letter, we present B-scan-sectioned dynamic micro-optical coherence tomography (BD-MOCT) for high-quality sub-cellular dynamic contrast imaging. Dynamic micro-optical coherence tomography (D-MOCT) is a functional optical coherence tomography (OCT) technique performed on high-resolution (micron level) OCT systems; hundreds of consecutive B-scans need to be acquired for dynamic signal extraction, which requires relatively long data acquisition time. Bulk motions occurring during data acquisition (even at the micron level) may degrade the quality of the obtained dynamic contrast images. In BD-MOCT, each full B-scan is divided into several sub-B-scans, and each sub-B-scan repeats multiple times before the sample beam moves to the next sub-B-scan. After all of the sub-B-scans for a full B-scan are completely acquired, we stitch all of the sub-B-scans into the same number of full B-scans. In this way, the time interval between two consecutive stitched B-scans could be reduced multiple times for bulk-motion suppression. The performed scanning protocol modulates the scanning sequences of fast scanning and repeat scanning for improving the dynamic contrast image quality, while the total data acquisition time remains almost the same.

A high performance optical sensor based on a double compound symmetric gratings (DCSGs) structure is designed. The reflection spectrum of the DCSG is investigated by utilizing a method that combines a theoretical model with the eigenmode information of the grating structure. The theoretical results, which are observed to agree well with those acquired by rigorous coupled-wave analysis, show that the linewidth of the reflection spectrum decreases upon the increasing distance between the grating strips. This research work will lay a foundation for studying high performance integrated optical sensors in miniature nanostructures.

We demonstrate a multi-channel pseudo-random coding single-photon ranging system. A pseudo-random multiplexing technique is proposed, which realizes multi-channel pseudo-random ranging only by using one single-photon detector and processing circuit. Compared with the time division multiplexing technique, it will not reduce the maximum unambiguous range while increasing the number of the ranging channel. Eight-channel pseudo-random coding single-photon ranging was realized with the ranging accuracy better than 2 cm. Moreover, photon counting imaging was realized through scanning the laser beams of the eight-channel pseudo-random ranging system. There is no crosstalk between channels, which is suitable for multi-beam long-distance single-photon Lidar.

The propagating of laser-generated ultrasonic waves in K9 glass was investigated. Many methods have been developed to detect the laser ultrasound since laser ultrasonic waves can be used to measure material parameters or characterize materials properties. In order to reduce the measuring time, a Mach–Zehnder interferometer, a full field measuring tool, was preferred in this paper. The ultrasonic wave was produced on the K9 glass surface by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser absorbed in a liquid layer. The interferograms were then taken at various delay times by a CCD camera after single pulse induced laser ultrasonic waves. Ultrasonic waves in the K9 glass can be observed from interferogram images. The results provide an understanding of laser ultrasound propagation in K9 glass in the lifetime.

We demonstrate the stabilization of an optical frequency comb (OFC) using a segment of fiber delay line as a reference. A mode-locked Er-doped fiber laser is phase locked to a kilometer-long fiber delay line using three different schemes. The short-term stability of the comb modes in the OFC stabilized by these schemes is obviously enhanced, down to the 10-12 level at millisecond average time. Among these three schemes, phase locking two bunches of comb modes in the OFC to the same fiber delay line exhibits the lowest residual phase noise. Fiber-delay-line-referenced OFCs can provide reliable laser sources in precise metrology owing to the advances of low cost, compactness, and high integration.

Low-loss dielectric terahertz (THz) chips are efficient platforms for diverse THz applications. One of the key elements in the chip is the coupler. Most of the available THz couplers are in-plane and couple the THz wave from the metal waveguide to the dielectric waveguide. However, out-of-plane couplers are more suitable for wafer-scale testing and tolerant of alignment variation. In this work, we propose an out-of-plane THz coupler for coupling the antenna to the dielectric waveguide. The device is constructed using a grating and a compact spot-size converter. As the conventional optical spot-size converters that apply directly to THz chips are too large, we have designed a compact spot-size converter based on a tapered waveguide with a lens. The total device is 2.9 cm long and can couple a 7 mm diameter THz beam to a 500 µm wide waveguide. The device can scan the THz beam, radiate the input rectangular waveguide mode to free space, and drive the rotation angle of the fan beam through the scanning frequency. We fabricated the device using a single lithography step on a silicon wafer. The out-of-plane coupling efficiency was found to be ∼5 dB at 194 GHz. The fan-beam steering range was found to be around 40° in the frequency range of 170–220 GHz. The proposed out-of-plane coupling technique may provide an effective way for THz wafer-scale testing with a higher degree of freedom for on-chip integration. Also, the proposed technique being non-mechanical, beam steering using it, may therefore find applications in THz radar, communication, and sensing.

Side pumping combiners are widely used in fiber laser schemes for their high coupling efficiency, low insertion loss, and multi-point pumping capability. However, side pumping combiners perform differently in coupling efficiency when pumping with a laser diode (LD) and a high-brightness 1018 nm Yb-doped fiber laser (YDFL). In this paper, for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, we investigated the different parameters to fabricate the (2+1)×1 combiner with high coupling efficiency when pumping with an LD and a YDFL, respectively. After optimization, the maximum coupled pump power from one single-pump port of the combiner was 1200 W and 2730 W when pumping with a LD and a YDFL, respectively.

A hundred-watt-level spatial mode switchable all-fiber laser is demonstrated based on a master oscillator power amplifier scheme. The performance of the amplifier with two seed lasers, i.e., with the acoustically induced fiber grating (AIFG) mode converter inside and outside the seed laser cavity, is investigated. Real-time mode switching with millisecond scale switching time between the LP01 and LP11 modes while operating in full power (>100 W) is realized through an AIFG driven by radio frequency modulation. This work could provide a good reference for realizing high-power agile mode switchable fiber lasers for practical applications.

A single-resonant low-threshold type-I β-Ba2BO4 (BBO) optical parametric oscillator (OPO) with tunable output from 410 nm to 630 nm at 5 kHz repetition rate is reported. By taking the noncollinear phase matching method, low-threshold OPO operation could be obtained compared with the configuration of collinear phase matching, and the maximum optical–optical conversion efficiency of 11.8% was achieved at 500 nm wavelength when 0.4 mJ pump pulse energy was applied. When the noncollinearity angle was preset at 1.6°, 4.8°, and 6.3°, a continuously tuning output with a total spectral range of 220 nm was successfully obtained by adjusting the phase matching angle of the BBO crystal.

We report on a high-power diode-pumped Yb:KG(WO4)2 (Yb:KGW) mode-locked laser with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). For 32.7 W of incident pump power, we generate 261 fs pulses with the maximum average output power of up to 13.0 W and spectrum centered around 1039 nm at 68.4 MHz, corresponding to 190 nJ of single pulse energy and 0.72 MW of peak power. The optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is 39.8%, and the slope efficiency is 64.4%. The Yb:KGW laser exhibits a power stability better than 0.543% of the root-mean-square in 2 h.

We proposed an aperiodic laser beam distribution, in which the laser beams are placed along a Fermat spiral, to suppress the sidelobe power in the coherent beam combining. Owing to the changed distances between two consecutive beams, the conditions of the sidelobe suppression are naturally satisfied. The Fermat spiral array was demonstrated to achieve a better sidelobe suppression than the periodic arrays, and the effects of various factors on the sidelobe suppression were analyzed numerically. Experiments were carried out to verify the sidelobe suppression by different Fermat spiral arrays, and the results matched well with the simulations.

We demonstrate an all-fiber-based photonic microwave generation with 10-15 frequency instability. The system consists of an ultra-stable laser by optical fiber delay line, an all-fiber-based “figure-of-nine” optical frequency comb, a high signal-to-noise ratio photonic detection unit, and a microwave frequency synthesizer. The whole optical links are made from optical fiber and optical fiber components, which renders the whole system compactness, reliability, and robustness with respect to environmental influences. Frequency instabilities of 3.5×10-15 at 100 s for 6.834 GHz signal and 4.3×10-15 at 100 s for 9.192 GHz signal were achieved.

A hertz-linewidth ultra-stable laser (USL), which will be used to detect the clock transition line, in a strontium optical clock will be launched into the China Space Station (CSS) in late 2022. As the core of the USL, an interference-filter-based external-cavity diode laser (IF-ECDL) was developed. The IF-ECDL has a compact, stable, and environmentally insensitive design. Performances of the IF-ECDL are presented. The developed IF-ECDL can pass the aerospace environmental tests, indicating that the IF-ECDL can be suitable for space missions in the CSS.

In this paper, the high-repetition-rate passively Q-switched (PQS) and the femtosecond continuous-wave mode-locked (CWML) lasers are successfully obtained with 2D black arsenic-phosphorus (b-AsP) nanosheets as saturable absorber (SA) at 1 μm for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The saturable absorption properties and ultrafast carrier dynamics of the 2D b-AsP SA are explored by Z-scan and pump-probe techniques. Moreover, according to the measurement of desired nonlinear optical characteristics of the relaxation time of 27 ps and the modulation depth of 7.14%, the PQS and CWML lasers are demonstrated with the highest repetition rate of 2.26 MHz in the PQS laser and the pulse width of 470 fs in the CWML laser. The results show 2D b-AsP SA has enormous potential for pulse modulation in solid-state bulk lasers.

A ring-shaped focus, such as a focused vortex beam, has played an important role in microfabrication and optical tweezers. The shape and diameter of the ring-shaped focus can be easily adjusted by the topological charge of the vortex. However, the flow energy is also related to the topological charge, making the individual control of diameter and flow energy of the vortex beam impossible. Meanwhile, the shape of the focus of the vortex beam remains in the hollow ring. Expanding the shape of focus of structural light broadens the applications of the vortex beam in the field of microfabrication. Here, we proposed a ring-shaped focus with controllable gaps by multiplexing the vortex beam and annular beam. The multiplexed beam has several advantages, such as the diameter and flow energy of the focal point can be individually controlled and are not affected by the zero-order beam, and the gap size and position are controllable.

A counter-surface plasmon polariton lens (CSPPL) is proposed to perform stable nanoparticle trapping by providing up to 120kbT optical potential depth. The optical potential depth is related to the incident angle and phase difference of the light incident on two gratings of CSPPL. The depth of optical potential can be manipulated with negligible displacement by the incident angle less than 20°. Both the depth and the center position of the optical potential well can be manipulated by the incident phase difference. The study of stable and manipulatable optical potential on the CSPPL promotes the integration of optical tweezers.

The cylindrical vector beam (CVB) has been extensively studied in recent years, but detection of CVBs with on-chip photonic devices is a challenge. Here, we propose and theoretically study a chiral plasmonic lens structure for CVB detection. The structure illuminated by a CVB can generate single plasmonic focus, whose focal position depends on the incident angle and the polarization order of CVB. Thus, the incident CVB can be detected according to the focal position and incident angle and with a coupling waveguide to avoid the imaging of the whole plasmonic field. It shows great potential in applications including CVB-multiplexing integrated communication systems.

The optical limiting performances of few-layer transitional metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) nanosheets in the VB group (VS2, VSe2, NbS2, NbSe2, TaS2, and TaSe2) were systematically investigated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. It was found that these TMDs nanosheets showed a normalized transmittance in the range of 20%–40% at the input energy of 1.28 GW/cm2. Ultralow initial threshold FS (0.05–0.10 J/cm2) and optical limiting threshold FOL (0.82–2.23 J/cm2) were achieved in the TMDs nanosheets, which surpassed most of the optical limiting materials. This work showed the potential of TMDs beyond MoS2 in optical limiting field.

In order to realize the ultrastrong absorption of graphene with electrical modulation properties, we designed a composite structure of graphene and parity-time (PT) symmetry photonic crystal, which is achieved by placing the graphene layer on the top layer of the PT symmetry photonic crystal. In this paper, the absorption properties of graphene and the electrical modulating properties of the structure were theoretically analyzed based on the transfer matrix method. The result shows that the proposed structure can achieve the absorption of 31.5 dB for the communication wavelength of 1550 nm; meanwhile, by setting the electric field intensity to ±0.02 V/nm, the absorption of graphene can be largely modulated to realize an electrically switchable effect, the modulation depth of graphene absorption can reach nearly 100%, and the operation speed is also close to 8.171 GHz. This investigation provides a novel approach to design graphene-based optoelectronic devices and optical communication devices.

We propose a simple five-layer structure for creating red structural color, which has high color purity and high brightness. The design is based on the superposition of a silver substrate and multilayer silicon material. Absorption at the shorter wavelengths of the structure is effectively guaranteed, and reflection at the longer wavelengths is well enhanced. The red structural color has a peak reflectivity of 91% and a colorimetric purity of 0.9. Moreover, the designed structure displays angle-invariant performance up to 60°. This kind of structure scheme is environmentally friendly with low fabrication cost, and it can play an important role in a variety of fields, such as color displays and image sensors.

Two-dimensional (2D) Sn-based perovskites are a kind of non-toxic environment-friendly emission material with low photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) and enhanced emission linewidths compared to that of 2D Pb-based perovskites. However, there is no work systematically elucidating the reasons for the differences in the emission properties. We fabricate (BA)2SnI4 and (BA)2PbI4 having different defect densities and different exciton-phonon scattering intensities. We also reveal that 2D Sn-based perovskites have stronger exciton-phonon scattering intensity and higher defects density, significantly broadening the emission linewidth and accelerating the exciton relaxation process, which significantly reduces the PLQY of 2D Sn-based perovskites.

With the rapid growth of optical communications traffic, the demand for broadband optical amplifiers continues to increase. It is necessary to develop a gain medium that covers more optical communication bands. We precipitated PbS quantum dots (QDs) and BaF2:Tm3+ nanocrystals (NCs) in the same glass to form two independent emission centers. The BaF2 NCs in the glass can provide a crystal field environment with low phonon energy for rare earth (RE) ions and prevent the energy transfer between RE ions and PbS QDs. By adjusting the heat treatment schedule, the emission of the two luminescence centers from PbS QDs and Tm3+ ions perfectly splices and covers the ultra-broadband near-infrared emission from 1200 nm to 2000 nm with bandwidth over 430 nm. Therefore, it is expected to be a promising broadband gain medium for fiber amplifiers.

We demonstrate GaSb-based interband cascade lasers (ICLs) emitting around 3.65 µm, which exhibit a room-temperature continuous-wave (CW) output power above 100 mW. Cavity-length analysis showed that the laser structure has a low internal loss of 3 cm-1 while maintaining a total internal quantum efficiency greater than one. After 6400 h CW operation at 25°C, the threshold current of the laser increased by 3%, and the output power decreased by 7%, indicating good reliability of the device.

High-performance thin film lithium niobate (LN) electro-optic modulators with low cost are in demand. Based on photolithography and wet etching, we experimentally demonstrate a thin film LN Mach–Zehnder modulator with a 3 dB bandwidth exceeding 110 GHz, which shows the potential of boosting the throughput and reducing cost. The fabricated modulator also exhibits a comparable low half-wave voltage-length product of ∼2.37 V·cm, a high extinction ratio of >23 dB, and the propagation loss of optical waveguides of ∼0.2 dB/cm. Besides, six-level pulse amplitude modulation up to 250 Gb/s is successfully achieved.

Linearity is a very important parameter to measure the performance of avalanche photodiodes (APDs) under high input optical power. In this paper, the influence of the absorption layer on the linearity of APDs is carefully studied by using bandgap engineering with the structure model of separated absorption, grading, charge, multiplication, charge, and transit (SAGCMCT). The simulated results show that in the hybrid absorption layer device structure the 1 dB compression point can be improved from -9 dBm to -2.1 dBm by increasing the proportion of the p-type absorption layer. In the device structure with only one absorption layer, increasing the doping level of the absorption layer can also improve the 1 dB compression point from -8.6 dBm to 1.43 dBm at a gain of 10. Therefore, the absorption layer is very critical for the linearity of APDs.

Polarization underwater imaging is of great potential to target detection in turbid water. Typical methods are challenged by the requirement on degrees of polarization (DoPs) of both target light and backscattering. A polarization descattering imaging method was developed using the Mueller matrix, which in turn derived a depolarization (Dep) index from the Mueller matrix to characterize scattering media by estimating the transmittance map by combining a developed optimal function. By quantifying light attenuation with the transmittance map, a clear vision of targets can be recovered. Only using the information of scattering media, the underwater vision under diverse water turbidity was enhanced by the results of experimental data.

We introduce a new class of partially coherent asymmetric array beams. When the beam propagates, the spectral density of each lobe and the corresponding degree of coherence have rotating behavior. Especially, not only can array-like lattices revolve arbitrarily, but also they can move freely by controlling transverse plane shifts. Furthermore, we have generated this kind of beam experimentally, and the experimental phenomena are consistent with the numerical simulation results. Such a rotating beam with free movement and revolution may broaden the way for optical applications. More importantly, it inspires further studies in the field of asymmetric coherence gratings and lattices.

Electric fields modify the optical properties of nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) by changing the nematic molecular orientation or order parameters, which enables electro-optic applications of NLCs. However, the field-induced optic change is undesirable in some cases. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that polymer stabilization weakens the birefringence change of NLCs caused by the nanosecond electrically modified order parameter effect. The birefringence change is reduced by 65% in the NLC doped with 25% reactive monomer, which is polymerized close to the nematic-to-isotropic phase transition. This technique could be used in liquid crystal devices where the birefringence change is unfavored.