A multi-quantum-well (MQW) active layer has been introduced to 1.3-μm GaInAsP/InP surface-emitting (SE) lasers. Room temperature pulsed operation of a 1.3-μm MQW SE laser was obtained for the first time and its threshold current was 15 mA. CW (continuous wave) operation up to 7°C (threshold current I_th=7.6 mA at 7°C) was achieved.

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Optical characteristics of the flight unit of the retroreflector in space (RIS) for the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) were tested with a 60-cm diameter interferometer. The efficiency of the reflection of the RIS on the ADEOS in orbit was simulated based on the measured wavefront for the ground stations at several different latitudes.

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There exists serious inconsistency between the rms surface roughness determined from the Debye-Waller factor for the soft-x-ray reflectance analysis and that measured with an optical surface profiler. We have measured the surface profile of evaporated films using a scanning tunnelling microscope, and reproduce the profile with the Fourier components whose spatial wavelength is shorter than the coherence length of the incident soft x-rays in the reflectance measurement. The rms surface roughness derived from the high-pass filtered profile agrees well with that determined using the reflectance measurement. This result explains straightforwardly the photon-energy dependence of the surface roughness estimated by the soft-x-ray reflectance method.

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We investigate the phenomenon of the enhanced backscattering of light from soft sediments of fractal clusters. The clusters consist of spherical PMMA particles with the diameter of 0.4μm, aggregated in aqueous solutions of NaCl. We found that the kinetics of aggregation, which determines the average cluster size in sediments, is controlled by the salt concentration and that the sediments are mutually self-similar media. In comparison to uniform random media, specific features for the enhancement peaks are revealed. It is found that the peak line-shape reflects the particularities of the density of scatterers in a fractal-like medium. It is shown experimentally that the enhancement factor in the light backscattered by fractal aggregated media is sensitive to the average cluster size. On this basis, we suggest a possible way to distinguish between mutually self-similar media.

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A new approach to the construction of a system of the generalized radiometric quantities expressed in terms of the cross-spectral density function of the wave field is proposed. The key distinction of this approach lies in the fact that the initial hypothesis of beamlike wave propagation allows to invoke the paraxial approximation when deducing the generalized radiant flux. Within the framework of this approach the new expressions for the generalized radiant emittance, the generalized radiant intensity and the generalized radiance are derived. All the proposed generalized radiometric characteristics represent physically measurable quantities and, hence, may be used in practical radiometry. The results obtained in this paper can be regarded as a particular case of the modern radiometry theory in paraxial approximation for beamlike wave propagation.

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A new storage-type spatial light modulator has been developed which uses a polymer-dispersed phase-transition liquid crystal film and a photoconductor for high-brightness projection displays. The liquid crystal film containing micrometer-sized chiral nematic liquid crystal domains subdivided by a unique honeycomb polymer network functions as a memory layer for an input image. The liquid crystal domains independently maintain the binary alignment states in the opaque (light-scattering) cholesteric phase or transparent nematic phase. Grayscale images can be displayed according to the spatial distribution of the bistable liquid crystal domains. The device exhibits rapid response of a few ms and a limiting resolution of 32 lp/mm. It has the advantages of high transmittance without polarizers and ease of fabrication due to the free-standing liquid crystal film.

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We were mainly concerned here with multiple exposure gratings that allow interactions and coupling between gratings. We started the study of interactions and coupling with five gratings recorded in dichromated gelatin (DCG). Having determined experimentally the characteristic parameters of these five gratings, we used a method developed by Oxford University to synthesize the modulation profile. Entering these parameters of each grating into our computing programs (based on the alternative theory of diffraction in modulated media) and by varying the amplitude modulation, the latter was deduced by adjusting the numerical curve to the experimental one. We then extended the study to nine multiplexed gratings. This study allowed us to know the range of the amplitude modulation such that a certain number of angular multiplexing can be done in DCG. Several undesirable effects which we had experimentally observed appeared then during the reconstruction of any one of the multiplexed images, such as cross-talk effect. We noted the good concordance between experimental and theoretical results. We finally illustrated cross-talk effect in a diffractive memory where, if the amplitude modulation was first calculated, the number of multiplexing for an angular range could then be determined and the angular separation achieved to avoid cross-talk.

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The signal quality of a fiber-optic distributed temperature sensor based on optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) is improved using a pre-filtering technique in the iterative deconvolution method. Investigation of the performance is proposed using iteration conditions in which recovery rate of the signal-component is equal to that of the unfiltering technique. The recovered signal in the pre-filtering technique gives a good signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), 3 times of the unfiltered signal. Consequently, improvements in the OTDR signal with SNR of from 10 to 100 are obtained under the iterations for both distance and temperature resolutions.

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To deal with the radiation from an axially symmetric pillbox resonator embedded in LiNbO₃ substrate, an eigenvalue equation is derived from the expression of the finite-element beam propagation method in a cylindrical coordinate system. By solving the eigenvalue equation iteratively, the field distributions and the angular phase constants of the pillbox resonator are evaluated. The iterative scheme of solving the eigenvalue equation is an extension of our previous direct solution method which was described for a lossless case. The results obtained by this method are compared with those obtained analytically, and excellent agreement is found.

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We propose a new method for fabricating optical waveguides with nonuniform thickness by controlling the electrical field distribution during the field-assisted ion-exchange. We refer to this method as distributed-field-assisted ion-exchange. The distribution of the intensity of the electrical field was simulated for different electrode configurations, and was compared with experimental diffusion depth distribution of K⁺-Na⁺ exchange in sodalime slide glass. A unique bath was designed for the distributed-field-assisted ion-exchange. Using a three-electrode configuration, we obtained, for instance, a 2 cm-long spot size converter with thickness changes of from 12 μm to 2 μm. This technique can be used to fabricate waveguides for optical chemical sensors.

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A novel TE-TM mode converter using optically active polymer: poly-l-menthylmethacrylate (PMtMA) was studied theoretically and experimentally. In a three-layered slab waveguide consisting of the PMtMA core layer on a fused quartz substrate, a low-loss TE₀-TM₀ mode conversion with an efficiency of 60 to 70% was easily obtained for the first time at a wavelength of 441.6 nm. The method to achieve a phase-matched operation of this polymer TE-TM mode converter was also discussed.

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We propose a method to visualize a phase object using a locally-controllable image amplification scheme we developed earlier which is based on two-wave coupling in a bismuth silicon oxide (Bi₁₂SiO₂₀, or BSO) crystal. In this method the BSO crystal is used as a phase plate in the configuration of Zernike's phase contrast imaging system. The principle of the phase-visualization with two-wave coupling is presented. An experimental result to verify the proposed method is shown.

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An important factor in performing effective optimization with the damped least-squares method is to establish appropriate initial values for the variable derivative increments prior to starting the optimization process. It is shown first that the determination of these increments can be treated as a combinatorial problem. Then, a novel method of determining optimum variable derivative increments is developed using a genetic algorithm and the characteristics of the eigenvalues of the Jacobian matrix. Some numerical experiments to show the effectiveness of this method are also presented. The proposed method reduces the number of optimization reiterations required to reach a stationary point.

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An optical sensor using a quartz core microcantilever was fabricated by etching clad layer from optical fiber. The temperature dependence of the resonance frequency of this sensor was measured in atmosphere and water. The temperature coefficient of the resonance frequency in water was 1.30^-3/°C, which was about one order larger than that (2.30^-4/°C) in atmosphere. This was caused by increase of additional mass due to temperature dependence of the viscosity of water, while, the increase of the resonance frequency in atmosphere was caused by temperature dependence of Young's modulus of the quartz core. These results were evaluated theoretically using a "string-of-beads" model.

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This paper describes the mechanism generating the beautiful wing colors of various male butterflies and the relationship between the wing material and the color appearance. The microstructure of the scales covering the upper surface of the wings was analyzed with the aid of a scanning electron microscope. The basic mechanism of color generation of structurally colored scales is determined for the first time in accordance with the theory of optical interference in thin film layers using a model of wing scales. Optical properties were found in relation to the three-dimensional spectral reflectance of the samples, and differences were observed between the brightness perceived in subjective evaluations and calculated values based on the reflective spectra of the structurally colored wings. The results of this study suggest that the microroughness of the upper wing surface may influence the perceived gloss of structurally colored wings.

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