Progress in standoff detection of surface-bound explosives residue using photothermal and photoacoustic (PT/PA)
imaging and spectroscopy has been reported recently. Photothermal/photoacoustic interferometry (PTI), a variation of
the aforementioned techniques, is a candidate for standoff detection as a result of its non-contact and non-destructive
approach. In PTI, the transient PT/PA hydrodynamic response produced by impulsive infra-red laser excitation(s) are
detected by an overlapping focused probe laser beam. The return back-scattered/reflected probe laser beam is collected
and coupled into a single-mode optical fiber. The PT/PA-induced perturbation on the return probe laser, in the form of
phase or amplitude modulation or both, is extracted interferometrically. The resulting quadrature signals are digitized
and processed to recover the minute PT/PA dynamics above background noise. Characteristic spectra for materials can
be obtained by quantifying the PT response as a function of excitation(s) wavelength. The CW probe laser, operating in
the 1550 nm range, and the constituents of the coherent detection system are commercial off-the-shelf components. A
commercially available and continuously tunable quantum cascade laser (QCL) with output pulse energies up to 50 nJ
was employed to generate the PT/PA spectra in the 8.8-10.2 μm range. PTI detected absorption spectra were collected
for HMX, RDX, and PETN, with the probe laser system positioned 5 meters away from the explosives targets. In
addition, PTI measurements of the stimulated Raman (SR) spectra of ammonium nitrate and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene
obtained using a near-IR OPO laser are described. We believe this is the first-ever application of photothermal
techniques to the measurement of the SR effect on solid explosive materials at meaningful standoff distances.
Atmospheric absorption, scattering, and turbulence are impairments in practical high-speed free-space laser
communications. These atmospheric effects can be mitigated by choosing the proper transmission wavelength. It is
well known that the MWIR (~3.8 μm) has many low-absorption spectral lines suitable for low-loss propagation. Also,
MWIR can be more robust to turbulence in the weak-turbulence regime. Since high-speed laser transceivers are not
available in the MWIR, a 3.8-μm signal can be generated and detected using a 1.55-μm telecom transceiver via
wavelength conversion. Free-space transmission of optical homodyne RZ-QPSK through a turbulent channel at 3.8 μm
has been investigated. A pair of Ti:PPLN-based nonlinear wavelength converters were used to down- and up-convert
from 1.55 to 3.8 and back to 1.55 μm at the transmitter and at the homodyne receiver, respectively. The converted RZQPSK
signal was transmitted through a tabletop wind tunnel that produces a weak turbulent path. Comparison of 1.55
and 3.8 μm transmission through the wind tunnel shows that under weak-turbulence 3.8 μm transmission is more robust
than 1.55 μm. Under the same turbulence condition, the scintillation index measured at 3.8 μm is consistently lower
than that at 1.55 μm. Extrapolated scintillation indexes for 3.8 and 1.55 μm using the Rytov variance (~ λ-7/6 ) and
independent measurement at 632.8 nm are consistent with the RZ-QPSK scintillation data for 3.8 and 1.55 μm. Under
the most severe turbulence condition, the average bit-error-rate of 3.8-μm transmission is better than that of 1.55-μm
giving an estimated receiver sensitivity improvement of at least 6 dB.
Delay-diversity transmission employing two orthogonal polarizations in turbulent media has been shown to be effective
in combating fading. The technique employs simultaneous transmission of two orthogonal polarizations carrying the
same information but delayed relative to each other by an amount (Td) equal to or greater than the turbulence correlation
time (τc). At the receiver, the polarization signals are detected separately with Td compensated on the delayed
polarization, resynchronizing the two signals, and they are then combined. Because Td is comparable to τc, scintillation
suffered by the two resynchronized polarization signals is essentially independent in a statistical sense. As a result, the
average bit-error-rate (BER) of the polarization-combined signal is less than the average BER of either one of the
polarization signals. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is effectively improved. We describe here an experiment and test
results of fading mitigation via polarization delay-diversity reception in homodyne optical RZ-QPSK transmission at
1.55 μm through a tabletop wind tunnel and phase plates. The wind tunnel and the phase plates produce, respectively,
weak and strong turbulence with scintillation indexes less than and greater than one. The turbulence correlation time for
the wind tunnel is less than 1 ms. The homodyne detected optical RZ-QPSK signals in the two orthogonal polarizations
were captured and stored for off-line processing. Test results show that the computed BER of the polarizationcombined
signal is lower than the BER of either polarization signals. As a result, an equivalent signal-to-noise ratio
improvement of at least 2 dB was deduced.
Coherent homodyne detection using local laser oscillator is an important technique for applications requiring high receiver sensitivity. Conventional homodyne detection uses a continuous-wave (CW) local laser oscillator (LO) in which the only adjustable parameter is its average power. A pulsed LO with repetition rate same as the data symbol rate is proposed which provides new degree of freedom in receiver design, namely, its pulse shape and duty cycle. It is shown that pulsed LO is overall effective in enhancing receiver sensitivity compared with CW LO. We have investigated and compared the performance of coherent detection of 12.5 Gb/s binary phase-shift-keyed signals using integrated LiNbO3 optical 90° hybrid with pulsed and CW LO for different receiver bandwidths. Our results showed that pulsed LO provide at least 2 dB in sensitivity improvement. We also observed that pulsed LO is effective in reshaping broadened signal pulses. Our simulation results agreed well with experiment and predicted that for a given signal and receiver bandwidth there is an optimal LO pulse width that gives maximum eye opening. Our simulation results also showed that pulsed LO is potentially effective in reducing penalty of pulse smearing as a result of beam steering impairment in free-space laser communications.
Next generation high-capacity (> 40 Gb/s) optical communication systems, whether for fiber or free-space transmission, will likely require high spectral efficiency techniques that enable optimization of performance, SWAP (size, weight and power), as well as the support of critical features such as transmission security. Modulation techniques with high number of bits per symbol coding such as differential quaternary phase-shift-keying (DQPSK) at lower symbol rates are more advantageous than conventional binary on-off keyed format with one bit per symbol coding. DQPSK is more robust to impairments of the transmission medium such as fiber dispersion than 40 Gb/s on-off keying. DQPSK is also less vulnerable to eavesdropping than direct-detection of on-off keyed signals at the physical layer. We report results of a 2-bit/s/Hz spectral efficiency multi-channel transmission system with four bits per symbol coding using 12.5 Gsymbol/s DQPSK and polarization multiplexing by bit-interleaved orthogonal polarizations. Transmission of 14×40 Gb/s 20-GHz spaced optical channels over 4×102 km of standard SMF-28 optical fiber with bit-error-ratio below the forward-error-correction code threshold (10-3) required for error-free operation was achieved. Key enabling components used in the transmission experiment are: DQPSK optical modulator and demodulator, channel demultiplexing tunable band-pass optical filter, and balanced photoreceiver.
The optoelectronic properties of 6-H silicon carbide (6H-SiC) were investigated using lateral and vertical photoconductive switches. We report the measurement of photovoltaic and photoconductive effects for both geometries and at several wavelengths near the 6H-SiC absorption edge. The carrier lifetime in p-type 6H-SiC is also reported. Although the devices possess dark resistances on the order of 10 (Omega) , the switching efficiency of the vertical switches approached 32 percent, while the resistance of the lateral devices could be reduced by 50 percent with 200 (mu) J of laser radiation at (lambda) equals 337 nm. In addition, we measured photoconductivity in the vertical switches with a device static powers dissipation exceeding 11 Watts. Although the device was glowing from the high level of dc power being dissipated, only the switch mount was damaged. 6H-SiC is indeed a high-temperature optoelectronic material.
Opening switch work at the University of Maryland is primarily focused on the materials of GaAs and ZnSe. We discuss recent progress in work with both materials. Recent work in GaAs has revealed that a non-'lock on' state of sustained conductivity could be produced in GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS's). The sustained conductivity is produced when a PCSS is switched into a high impedance (500 (Omega) ) load by a high intensity (90 mJ - 12 ns) laser pulse. Furthermore, we have shown that the conductivity of the GaAs switch could be quenched at a time determined by circuit parameters. Thus, the switch could be used as an opening switch in an inductive energy storage pulsed power system without the need for pulse shaping or a different wavelength laser to open the switch. We have demonstrated such an inductive energy storage system with a power gain of 4.2 and a switching opening time of < 10 ns. We have also undertaken experiments with polycrystalline ZnSe which indicate that it may operate as well as a closing switch material. The ZnSe switches were found to exhibit a nonlinear effect at high applied electric fields. In this paper we report on our investigations of ZnSe opening switch using a simple lumped inductive circuit. At high fields and short wavelength, we observed in ZnSe a behavior similar to 'lock-on' as observed in GaAs. No such behavior was observed for longer wavelengths even at higher bias fields. This suggests the strong local field caused by the nonlinear effect observed in previous experiments is responsible for the onset of the observed 'lock-on' behavior.
Two new circuit structures which exploit the properties of the fast opening GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch are described. These new circuit structures, series current charged transmission lines, and dual of the Blumlein line, offer increased power output over our previous current charged transmission line circuit structure.
In addition, the electrical and optical response of the poly-ZnSe switch under high applied electrical fields has been further investigated. Non-linear behavior is observed in the poly-ZnSe switch under high fields both experimentally and in numerical simulation. This type of non-linear behavior may be useful in high power opening switch applications as predicted by numerical simulation.
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