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1. CH and NO planar laser-induced fluorescence and Rayleigh-scattering in turbulent flames using a multimode optical parametric oscillator

   https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.406237  

   Miller, Joseph D. ; Tröger, Johannes W. ; Engel, Sascha R. ; Seeger, Thomas ; Leipertz, Alfred ; Meyer, Terrence R. ( December 2020 , Applied Optics)

   An optical parametric oscillator (OPO) is developed and characterized for the simultaneous generation of ultraviolet (UV) and near-UV nanosecond laser pulses for the single-shot Rayleigh scattering and planar laser-induced-fluorescence (PLIF) imaging of methylidyne (CH) and nitric oxide (NO) in turbulent flames. The OPO is pumped by a multichannel, 8-pulse Nd:YAG laser cluster that produces up to 225 mJ/pulse at 355 nm with pulse spacing of 100 µs. The pulsed OPO has a conversion efficiency of 9.6% to the signal wavelength of$\sim <\#comment/>430\mathrm{n}\mathrm{m}$when pumped by the multimode laser. Second harmonic conversion of the signal, with 3.8% efficiency, is used for the electronic excitation of the A-X (1,0) band of NO at$\sim <\#comment/>215\mathrm{n}\mathrm{m}$, while the residual signal at 430 nm is used for direct excitation of the A-X (0,0) band of the CH radical and elastic Rayleigh scattering. The section of the OPO signal wavelength for simultaneous CH and NO PLIF imaging is performed with consideration of the pulse energy, interference from the reactant and product species, and the fluorescence signal intensity. The excitation wavelengths of 430.7 nm and 215.35 nm are studied in a laminar, premixed${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{H}}_4-<\#comment/>{\mathrm{H}}_2-<\#comment/>{\mathrm{N}\mathrm{H}}_3$–air flame. Single-shot CH and NO PLIF and Rayleigh scatter imaging is demonstrated in a turbulent${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{H}}_4-<\#comment/>{\mathrm{H}}_2-<\#comment/>{\mathrm{N}\mathrm{H}}_3$diffusion flame using a high-speed intensified CMOS camera. Analysis of the complementary Rayleigh scattering and CH and NO PLIF enables identification and quantification of the high-temperature flame layers, the combustion product zones, and the fuel-jet core. Considerations for extension to simultaneous, 10-kHz-rate acquisition are discussed.

    

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2. Needle-based deep-neural-network camera

   https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.415059  

   Guo, Ruipeng ; Nelson, Soren ; Menon, Rajesh ( March 2021 , Applied Optics)

   We experimentally demonstrate a camera whose primary optic is a cannula/needle ($\mathrm{d}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{m}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{r}=0.22\mathrm{m}\mathrm{m}$and$\mathrm{l}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{g}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{h}=12.5\mathrm{m}\mathrm{m}$) that acts as a light pipe transporting light intensity from an object plane (35 cm away) to its opposite end. Deep neural networks (DNNs) are used to reconstruct color and grayscale images with a field of view of 18° and angular resolution of$\sim <\#comment/>{0.4}^{\circ <\#comment/>}$. We showed a large effective demagnification of$127\times <\#comment/>$. Most interestingly, we showed that such a camera could achieve close to diffraction-limited performance with an effective numerical aperture of 0.045, depth of focus$\sim <\#comment/>16\text{µ<\#comment/>}\mathrm{m}$, and resolution close to the sensor pixel size (3.2 µm). When trained on images with depth information, the DNN can create depth maps. Finally, we show DNN-based classification of the EMNIST dataset before and after image reconstructions. The former could be useful for imaging with enhanced privacy.

    

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3. Super-resolution imaging with an achromatic multi-level diffractive microlens array

   https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.410013  

   Banerji, Sourangsu ; Meem, Monjurul ; Majumder, Apratim ; Sensale-Rodriguez, Berardi ; Menon, Rajesh ( November 2020 , Optics Letters)

   Compound eyes found in insects provide intriguing sources of biological inspiration for miniaturized imaging systems. Inspired by such insect eye structures, we demonstrate an ultrathin arrayed camera enabled by a flat multi-level diffractive microlens array for super-resolution visible imaging. We experimentally demonstrate that the microlens array can achieve a large fill factor (hexagonal close packing with$\mathrm{p}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{h}=120\text{µ<\#comment/>}\mathrm{m}$), thickness of 2.6 µm, and diffraction-limited ($\mathrm{S}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{h}\mathrm{l}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{o}=0.88$) achromatic performance in the visible band (450 to 650 nm). We also demonstrate super-resolution imaging with resolution improvement of$\sim <\#comment/>1.4$times by computationally merging 1600 images in the array.

    

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4. Design of infrared microspectrometer based on phase-modulated axilenses

   https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.390610  

   Chen, Yuyao ; Britton, Wesley A. ; Dal Negro, Luca ( June 2020 , Applied Optics)

   We design and characterize a novel axilens-based diffractive optics platform that flexibly combines efficient point focusing and grating selectivity and is compatible with scalable top-down fabrication based on a four-level phase mask configuration. This is achieved using phase-modulated compact axilens devices that simultaneously focus incident radiation of selected wavelengths at predefined locations with larger focal depths compared with traditional Fresnel lenses. In addition, the proposed devices are polarization-insensitive and maintain a large focusing efficiency over a broad spectral band. Specifically, here we discuss and characterize modulated axilens configurations designed for long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) in the 6 µm–12 µm wavelength range and in the 4 µm–6 µm midwavelength infrared (MWIR) range. These devices are ideally suited for monolithic integration atop the substrate layers of infrared focal plane arrays and for use as compact microspectrometers. We systematically study their focusing efficiency, spectral response, and cross-talk ratio; further, we demonstrate linear control of multiwavelength focusing on a single plane. Our design method leverages Rayleigh–Sommerfeld diffraction theory and is validated numerically using the finite element method. Finally, we demonstrate the application of spatially modulated axilenses to the realization of a compact, single-lens spectrometer. By optimizing our devices, we achieve a minimum distinguishable wavelength interval of$\mathrm{\Delta <\#comment/>}\mathrm{\lambda <\#comment/>}=240\mathrm{n}\mathrm{m}$at${\mathrm{\lambda <\#comment/>}}_c=8\text{µ<\#comment/>}\mathrm{m}$and$\mathrm{\Delta <\#comment/>}\mathrm{\lambda <\#comment/>}=165\mathrm{n}\mathrm{m}$at${\mathrm{\lambda <\#comment/>}}_c=5\text{µ<\#comment/>}\mathrm{m}$. The proposed devices add fundamental spectroscopic capabilities to compact imaging devices for a number of applications ranging from spectral sorting to LWIR and MWIR phase contrast imaging and detection.

    

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5. Spectrally simplified approach for leveraging legacy geostationary oceanic observations

   https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.465491  

   Houskeeper, Henry F. ; Hooker, Stanford B. ; Cavanaugh, Kyle C. ( September 2022 , Applied Optics)

   The use of multispectral geostationary satellites to study aquatic ecosystems improves the temporal frequency of observations and mitigates cloud obstruction, but no operational capability presently exists for the coastal and inland waters of the United States. The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on the current iteration of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, termed the$R$Series (GOES-R), however, provides sub-hourly imagery and the opportunity to overcome this deficit and to leverage a large repository of existing GOES-R aquatic observations. The fulfillment of this opportunity is assessed herein using a spectrally simplified, two-channel aquatic algorithm consistent with ABI wave bands to estimate the diffuse attenuation coefficient for photosynthetically available radiation,$K_d(\mathrm{P}\mathrm{A}\mathrm{R})$. First, anin situABI dataset was synthesized using a globally representative dataset of above- and in-water radiometric data products. Values of$K_d(\mathrm{P}\mathrm{A}\mathrm{R})$were estimated by fitting the ratio of the shortest and longest visible wave bands from thein situABI dataset to coincident,in situ$K_d(\mathrm{P}\mathrm{A}\mathrm{R})$data products. The algorithm was evaluated based on an iterative cross-validation analysis in which 80% of the dataset was randomly partitioned for fitting and the remaining 20% was used for validation. The iteration producing the median coefficient of determination ($R^2$) value (0.88) resulted in a root mean square difference of$0.319{\mathrm{m}}^{-<\#comment/>1}$, or 8.5% of the range in the validation dataset. Second, coincident mid-day images of central and southern California from ABI and from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) were compared using Google Earth Engine (GEE). GEE default ABI reflectance values were adjusted based on a near infrared signal. Matchups between the ABI and MODIS imagery indicated similar spatial variability ($R^2=0.60$) between ABI adjusted blue-to-red reflectance ratio values and MODIS default diffuse attenuation coefficient for spectral downward irradiance at 490 nm,$K_d(490)$, values. This work demonstrates that if an operational capability to provide ABI aquatic data products was realized, the spectral configuration of ABI would potentially support a sub-hourly, visible aquatic data product that is applicable to water-mass tracing and physical oceanography research.

    

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