Soluble organic semiconductors have attracted interest due to their potential in making flexible and cheap electronics. Though their use is being implemented in electronics today, the conduction mechanism is still under investigation. In order to study the charge transport, this study examines the position, voltage, and frequency dependence of charge induced changes in far infrared absorption in soluble organic semiconductors in thin-film transistor structures. Measurements are compared to a simple model of a one-dimensional conductor which gives insight into the charge distribution and timing in devices. Main results of the study are dynamic measurements of charge taken by varying the frequency of the applied gate voltage while observing signal at one position within the transistor; mobility values obtained from a comparison to the one-dimensional model compare well with standard current-voltage measurements. Two small molecule soluble organic semiconductors were studied: 6,13 bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-pentacene and fluorinated 5,11 bis(triethylsilylethynyl) anthradithiophene.

Materiais poliméricos podem exibir propriedades ópticas não lineares (ONL), o que motiva hoje em dia, muitas pesquisas para sua aplicação em dispositivos optoeletrônicos. Neste trabalho descreve-se a preparação do copolímero do tipo grupo lateral (\"side-chain\") formado pelos monômeros metacrilato de metila (MMA) e monômeros metacrilato de metila ligado a molécula disperso vermelho 13 (MMA-DR13). Como a atividade óptica não-linear de segunda ordem dos materiais poliméricos está diretamente ligada a sua polarização elétrica dipolar (alinhamento de dipolos), o presente trabalho investiga as propriedades do copolímero MMA-DR13 através de medidas de condução elétrica, correntes de despolarização estimuladas termicamente (CDET) e medidas eletroópticas. As medidas de condução elétricas feitas a diferentes temperaturas mostraram a ser dependentes do tipo substratos/eletrodos, da polaridade de tensão e atmosferas na qual foram realizadas as medidas. Nas medidas de CDET observou-se que aparecem mais de um pico de corrente em função da temperatura. As medidas do coeficiente eletroóptico r13 foram feitas em função da temperatura e do campo de polarização das amostras. Das medidas de r13 e de medidas de CDET conclui-se que o primeiro pico de corrente é associado a desorientação dipolar do grupo ONL. A falta de familiaridade com o copolímero MMADR13 e a dificuldade de se obter medidas com boa reprodutibilidade tornou difícil a sua caracterização deixando ainda vários aspectos não bem compreendidos. / Polymeric materials with nonlinear optical properties are attracting attention because of the interest of its application to NLO devices. In this work the side-chain copolymer MMA-DR13 having methyl methacrylate monomer (MMA) and a monomer of methyl methacrylate attached to the disperse red 13 (MMA-DR13) was prepared. Since the optical nonlinear activity is related with dipolar electrical polarization the properties of MMA-DR13 copolymer was investigated by means of electric conduction measurements, thermally stimulated depolarization current (CDET) and electro-optical measurements. The dependence of the electro-optic coefficient, r13 on temperature and polarization field of samples were investigated. From the measurements it was found that the electric conduction on samples depends on the electrodes, voltage polarity and on measurement environment. Measurements of r13 and CDET allowed to conclude that the first peak of current is related to dipolar relaxation of the DR13 groups. The inexperience on handling the MMA-DR13 copolymer and the difficulty to obtain reproducible results impaired the characterization of the MMA-DR13 copolymer.

This thesis presents studies on a novel ‘meta-material’ as a potential candidate to replace the traditional Electro-Optic crystals (GaP, ZnTe) used in ultrashort bunch monitors for electron/positron accelerators. This study is aimed at showing the linear and non-linear optical properties of such materials, and creating a toolbox for both optical characterisation and manipulation of their properties using an ultra-short pulsed laser. The material studied throughout this thesis is a composite of silver nanoparticles (a “nanocomposite”) embedded within soda-lime glass. The Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) is a feature of these particles that is responsible for its unique optical properties. It is shown in this work how SPR is utilised for shape modification of silver nanoparticles with the use of a ps- pulsed laser with various laser beam polarisations. The impact of linear polarisation irradiation is investigated. It is found that multipulse irradiation has the effect of elongating nanoparticles to form prolate spheroids, which results in a dichroic effect on the composite as a whole, caused by the anisotropic SPR band shift. It is also shown that changing the laser polarisation from linear to radial and/or azimuthal changes the character of the reshaped nanoparticles. It was observed that a localised change of ellipsoid orientation is achieved, resulting in a non-directionally-dependent SPR band shift. Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) has been observed from reshaped nanoparticles embedded in soda-lime glass. A comparison of the effect was made between ps-pulsed reshaped, fs-pulsed reshaped and mechanically stretched samples containing silver nanoparticles. Multiphoton Absorption Induced Luminescence (MAIL) was observed along with the SHG and characterised for the various laser polarisation components. The dependence of the aforementioned effects on the elongated nanoparticle aspect ratio was shown to have a great impact. A novel method for reshaped nanoparticles characterisation is presented. It is based on the laser-induced SHG and MAIL signal and is proved to give a precise measurement of the nanoparticle shape and orientation. Frequency Resolved Optical Gating (FROG) measurement of a fs-pulse is measured with great accuracy, in the case where the BBO nonlinear crystal is replaced by the reshaped nanoparticle composite. This was demonstrated to be caused by the anisotropic SHG of the ellipsoidal nanoparticles. Preliminary THz based measurements were performed as a part of a feasibility study of the application of these composites in the EO-based detection of ultrashort electron bunches. Future work is suggested in order to achieve more efficient EO detection.

Materiais poliméricos podem exibir propriedades ópticas não lineares (ONL), o que motiva hoje em dia, muitas pesquisas para sua aplicação em dispositivos optoeletrônicos. Neste trabalho descreve-se a preparação do copolímero do tipo grupo lateral (\"side-chain\") formado pelos monômeros metacrilato de metila (MMA) e monômeros metacrilato de metila ligado a molécula disperso vermelho 13 (MMA-DR13). Como a atividade óptica não-linear de segunda ordem dos materiais poliméricos está diretamente ligada a sua polarização elétrica dipolar (alinhamento de dipolos), o presente trabalho investiga as propriedades do copolímero MMA-DR13 através de medidas de condução elétrica, correntes de despolarização estimuladas termicamente (CDET) e medidas eletroópticas. As medidas de condução elétricas feitas a diferentes temperaturas mostraram a ser dependentes do tipo substratos/eletrodos, da polaridade de tensão e atmosferas na qual foram realizadas as medidas. Nas medidas de CDET observou-se que aparecem mais de um pico de corrente em função da temperatura. As medidas do coeficiente eletroóptico r13 foram feitas em função da temperatura e do campo de polarização das amostras. Das medidas de r13 e de medidas de CDET conclui-se que o primeiro pico de corrente é associado a desorientação dipolar do grupo ONL. A falta de familiaridade com o copolímero MMADR13 e a dificuldade de se obter medidas com boa reprodutibilidade tornou difícil a sua caracterização deixando ainda vários aspectos não bem compreendidos. / Polymeric materials with nonlinear optical properties are attracting attention because of the interest of its application to NLO devices. In this work the side-chain copolymer MMA-DR13 having methyl methacrylate monomer (MMA) and a monomer of methyl methacrylate attached to the disperse red 13 (MMA-DR13) was prepared. Since the optical nonlinear activity is related with dipolar electrical polarization the properties of MMA-DR13 copolymer was investigated by means of electric conduction measurements, thermally stimulated depolarization current (CDET) and electro-optical measurements. The dependence of the electro-optic coefficient, r13 on temperature and polarization field of samples were investigated. From the measurements it was found that the electric conduction on samples depends on the electrodes, voltage polarity and on measurement environment. Measurements of r13 and CDET allowed to conclude that the first peak of current is related to dipolar relaxation of the DR13 groups. The inexperience on handling the MMA-DR13 copolymer and the difficulty to obtain reproducible results impaired the characterization of the MMA-DR13 copolymer.

No description available.

No description available.

Integrated photonics is in high demand for various applications, such as optical communication, microwave photonics, optical sensing, and quantum information processing. Different material platforms have been explored for implementing photonic integrated circuits (PICs), such as silicon, indium phosphide, lithium niobate (LN), and more recently thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN). Choosing a platform depends on the specific requirements of the application. TFLN offers numerous advantages, including very strong electro-optical and nonlinear optical effects, and a broad spectral range without significant material loss. Particularly, TFLN is suitable for high-speed and low-power electro-optical modulation. LN is a widely used electro-optic material in telecommunication and TFLN has shown considerable potential for improved PICs, some of which are presented in this work. First, the feasibility of ultrahigh-speed electro-optic modulators using TFLNPICs is shown. Design guidelines are provided for optimizing key performance metrics, resulting in devices with a 3-dB modulation bandwidth of up to 400 GHz. Next, TFLN electro-optic modulators with an extrapolated 3-dB bandwidth of 170 GHz and low half-wave voltage-length product of 3.3 V.cm are experimentally demonstrated. The trade-off between bandwidth and voltage is addressed by the non-symmetric positioning of waveguides with respect to the radio-frequency (RF)electrodes, and by incorporating a dielectric buffer layer. Furthermore, integrated microwave-to-optical converters (MOCs) are demonstrated on TFLN for microwave photonics applications. The proposed design incorporates two types of antennas — patch and bow-tie — that can operate in two different frequency bands: K-band and W-band. The demonstrated TFLN MOCs are used in an optical system for photonic down-converter applications. These systems convert a high-frequencywireless RF input into a low-frequency signal (e.g., 100 MHz). This technique facilitates easier analysis and detection in the field of electromagnetic wave measurement.

Pour répondre aux questions que pose la faisabilité d’un dispositif de détection d’explosifsà l’aide de la technologie de spectroscopie térahertz, cette thèse a exploré troisaxes. Le premier a consisté à établir une base de données des signatures spectrales (indiceet absorption) d’une large gamme de matériaux d’intérêt pour ce type d’applications,à partir des données expérimentales que nous avons mesurées par spectroscopie dans ledomaine temporel. Nous avons identifié les matériaux montrant une signature spectralesignificative et nous avons aussi étudié l’effet des matériaux de dissimulation.Dans la seconde partie de ce travail, nous avons conçu et construit un banc de spectroscopieultra-large bande destiné à une meilleure identification spectrale des substances. Nousavons identifié les limites techniques de ce type de banc et donné les pistes pour atteindreles performances désirées.Ensuite, nous avons développé et validé un banc de spectroscopie en réflexion, de typegoniométrique, afin de détecter des signaux térahertz diffusés par des matériaux hétérogènes.Finalement, nous avons étudié les plasmons de surface dans le domaine térahertz, en vuede la détection de très faibles quantités de matière. / This PhD work was performed in view of using terahertz electromagnetic signals forthe detection and identification of dangerous and prohibited substances. In a first stage,a database of the terahertz properties (namely refractive index and absorption) of thesesubstances was created from the measurements we performed using terahertz time-domainspectroscopy. Then a large bandwidth terahertz time-domain set up has been built, togetherwith a goniometric-type set up that allows us recording signals scattered by roughor heterogeneous samples. Finally, we studied the excitation and propagation of surfaceplasmons in the terahertz domain, which may be used for the detection of small amountsof matter.

No description available.

<p>Electro-optic phase modulation can be used to generate high repetition rate optical frequency combs. The optical frequency comb (OFC) has garnered much attention upon its inception, acting as a crucial component in applications ranging from metrology and spectroscopy, to optical communications. Electro-optic frequency combs (EO combs) can be generated by concatenating an intensity modulator and phase modulator together. The first part of this work focuses on broadening the modest bandwidth inherent to the EO combs. This is achieved by propagation in a nonlinear medium, specifically propagation in a nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM). This allows for broadening the EO frequency comb spectrum to a bandwidth of 40 nm with a spectral power variation of < 10 dB. This spectrally broadened EO comb is then used in dual comb interferometry measurements to characterize the single soliton generated in an anomalous dispersion silicone-nitride microresonator. This measurement allows for rapid characterization with low average power. Finally, electro-optic phase modulation is used in a technique to prove frequency-bin entanglement. A quantum network based on optical fiber will require the ability to perform phase modulation independent of photon polarization due to propagation in optical fiber scrambling the polarization of input light. Commercially available phase modulators are inherently dependent on the polarization state of input light making them unsuited to be used in such a depolarized environment. This limitation is overcome by implementing a polarization diversity scheme to measure frequency-bin entanglement for arbitrary orientations of co- and cross- polarized frequency-bin entangled photon pairs.</p>