Denna avhandling innefattar såväl experimentella som numeriska studier av laserkylda atomer i optiska kristallgitter. Bland annat har laserkylningsprocesser studerats, där atomers rörelser i optiska kristallgitter har uppvisat andra typer av bakomliggande mekanismer än de som tidigare förutsågs genom “Sisyfoskylningsmodellen”. Sedan atomer kylda till några mikrokelvin först realiserades (sent 60-tal) så har Sisyfoskylningsmodellen varit hörnstenen för förståelsen av laserkylda och lokaliserade atomer i dissipativa optiska kristallgitter. I dissipativa optiska kristallgitter finns det en balans mellan den uppvärmande diffusionen och den kylande friktionen. Studier i denna avhandling visar att laserkylningsprocesser är mer komplexa än vad denna modell innefattar. Både experimentella och numeriska resultat visar att atomer i optiska kristallgitter har två hastighetsfördelningar där en “kallare” och en “varmare” mod av atomer omfördelas mellan moderna. Speciellt så visar det sig att varma atomer dels värms och diffunderar ut ur gittret, men samtidigt populeras den kalla moden med en tidsutveckling som inte förändrar dess temperatur nämnvärt. I detta arbete presenteras också resultat från den första realiserade tredimensionella Brownska motorn baserad på ljus-atom-växelverkan. Det unika med denna Brownska motor är att den är kontrollerbar både vad gäller dess hastighet som dess riktning. Den underliggande principen för denna Brownska motor är tämligen generell och den kan därför vara applicerbar inom andra vetenskapliga discipliner såsom nanoteknik, biologi, kemi och elektronik. Generellt så är förståelsen av Brownska motorer viktigt eftersom de återfinns i vår omgivning, från exempelvis härkomsten av muskelsammandragningar och materialtransporter i levande celler till rörelsen hos bakterier och mindre organismer. Det flesta av de experimentella resultaten presenterade i denna avhandling har varit möjliga genom utveckling och förbättringar av den experimentella uppställningen. Framförallt så har kvaliten och reproducerbarheten vid de olika mätningar som gjorts blivit avsevärt förbättrade jämfört med tidigare vilket utgör en bra grund för framtida studier av ultrakalla atomer. / In this thesis, detailed experimental studies and numerical simulations are presented of laser cooling mechanisms in dissipative optical lattices and results of the first realized three dimensional Brownian motor in optical lattices. A dissipative optical lattice is a periodic light shift potential, created in the interference patterns of laser beams. In this, atoms can be both cooled and trapped, and the most important relaxation mechanism is generally considered to be “Sisyphus cooling”. However, careful experimental and theoretical investigations indicate the presence of other cooling processes as well. This is studied by varying different parameters such as irradiance and frequency of the lattice light. The time evolution of atoms in optical lattices show strong evidence of a bimodal velocity distribution, where a population transfer between one mode containing “hot” atoms and one mode containing “cold” atoms is evident. The normal diffusion of atoms in optical lattices is characterized by isotrop random fluctuations and exhibit the nature of Brownian motion. We have realized a technique where this motion is rectified and controlled. This is done in a three dimensional double optical lattice. This Brownian motor has control properties for both its speed and its direction in three dimensions. Our three dimensional double optical lattice is created by using laser light, exploiting two transitions, in the D2 line of cesium. Two three dimensional optical lattices are spatially overlapped; each optical lattice traps atoms in one of two hyperfine ground states. The controllability comes about by inducing phase shifts in the lattice laser beams, which displace the lattices relative to each other. This type of highly controlled Brownian motor is of fundamental interest since Brownian motion is present in almost all systems and for the role they play in protein motors and the function of living cells, and for the potential applications in nanotechnology. Brownian motors of this kind also open the way to possible studies of quantum Brownian motors and quantum resonances that are predicted for atomic ratchets. Optical lattices, and especially double optical lattices, have also been suggested as a platform for quantum state manipulations due to the good isolation from environment and ambient effects. Most of the work in this thesis is a first step towards the implementation of quantum manipulation schemes in a double optical lattice.

The research work presented in this thesis deals with characterization ofdynamics of active photonic devices that are based on semiconductormaterials. The thesis contains an introduction and a collection of publishedarticles in peer reviewed international journals and conferences.The introduction starts with the physical background and a review of thesemiconductor material properties which both affects the design andfabrication of the devices and determine their performance in applicationssuch as wavelength, optical power and attenuation, drive current andvoltage, temperature sensitivity and modulation bandwidth.The next chapter of the introduction is dedicated to various kinds ofsemiconductor lasers. It describes the physical principles, steady stateoperation and the dynamical response. The laser is essentially an opticalcavity consisting of a material with optical gain inbetween two reflectivemirrors. Special attention is given to the spectral shape of the mirrorreflectivity and its effect on the laser dynamics and how these effects canbe distinguished from those of the gain material.In order to improve dynamic performance, it is common that the laser,instead of being directly modulated by varying the drive current, isconnected to a separate modulator. The next chapter is therefore devotedto electroabsorption modulators for high speed intensity modulation andtheir integration to lasers. In order to fully take advantage of the highintrinsic modulation bandwidth of these devices it is important to havea good microwave design to avoid electrical parasitics. A segmented paddesign to achieve this is briefly described.The last part of the introduction covers measurements techniques that wereimplemented to experimentally investigate above devices. A description ofthe measurement methods, including practical hints and methods forevaluation of the measured results are provided. / QC 20100707

<p>Over the last few years, the available computing power allows us to have a deeper insight into photonics components than we ever had before. In this thesis we use the finite element method (FEM) to explore the behavior of the waves in 2D planar microcavities. We demonstrate the tunability of the cavity over a wide range of frequencies taking into account both the thermo-mechanical and the thermo-optical effect. Geometry and material choices are done so that the latter is predominant. We also demonstrate an odd mode disappearing phenomenon reported here for the first time as far as we know. Using this knowledge, we design two structures with these remarkable properties.</p><p>One of the devices will be used as micro-sized solid-state dye laser with Rhodamine 6G as the active medium and SU-8 polymer as a cavity material in sizes that have never been reached before. This opens new opportunities not only for future implementation for “labs-on-a-chip” (LOC) but also for a higher integration density of optical communication systems. The second device is a wavefront shaper creating plane waves from a point source performing the functions of beam shaper and beam splitter with plane wave as the output result.</p><p>After an introduction to FEM and comparison with a rival algorithm, some issues related to FEM in electromagnetic simulation are resolved and explained. Finally, some fabrication techniques with feature sizes <100 nm, such as electron beam lithography (EBL) and nano-imprint lithography (NIL), are described and compared with other lithographic techniques.</p>

This thesis contains the results of research in the fields of spectral control, efficiency andlifetime of high-power, rare-earth doped fiber lasers, properties which are of greatimportance for scientific and industrial applications. Volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) has forthe first time been used together with fiber lasers and the laser performance in terms ofspectral purity, thermal stability, and tunability was evaluated. It was found that VBGs arean excellent high-contrast spectral filter for many fiber laser designs where bulk optics arenecessary, or for speciality fibers such as photonic crystal fibers or large-mode area fibers. Itis also shown that they work equally well in low power and very high-power configurations,i.e. for fiber lasers ranging three orders of magnitude in output power, from ~100 mW to &gt;100 W. Furthermore, VBGs are shown to work very well as tunable spectral filters,producing a narrow emission linewidth in a compact setup. Concerning efficiency, it was shown how cryogenic cooling of the fiber gain-mediasubstantially increased the efficiency. The reasons are an increased pump absorption, anincreased gain cross-section, and a decreased threshold. The broad spectral output resultingfrom the low temperatures is shown to be easily mitigated by implementing a VBG as oneof the cavity mirrors. The low operating temperature is also shown to efficiently suppressself-pulsing in the fiber laser, which, if left unchecked, can lead to catastrophic break-downof the fiber end-faces. The increased absorption and suppressed self-pulsing allowed a fiberlength long enough to almost completely absorb the pump, which meant that, for the samepump power, more than 60 % higher output-power was attained. Finally, the lifetime issue of Yb-doped fiber lasers was addressed. It was found that Cecodopingsubstantially reduced the photodarkening-rate while leaving other fiber parametersessentially unchanged. This is especially important for Yb-doped fiber lasers emitting at 980nm, as the high inversion required make them very susceptible to photodarkening. It wasshown that the output power in Yb-doped fiber lasers degraded quickly when no Cecodopingwas present and, conversely, with the right Yb/Ce-codoping ratio, degradationfreelasing could be achieved for many hours. The research results obtained in this work could be of great interest to scientists andengineers working with spectroscopy, display systems, non-linear optics to just name a fewexamples. / QC 20100721

<p>Detta examensarbete utgår ifrån en artikel i vilken en metod för att skapa holografisk video beskrivs. Syftet med arbetet är att återskapa denna metod. Metoden bygger på projicering av hologram med hjälp av delar från en projektor, en laser och några linser.</p><p>Först görs en litteraturstudie för att få förståelse över hur metoden fungerar. Här behandlas hur ögat ser djup och vilka olika typer av displayer det finns för att återge tredimensionella holografiska bilder. Vidare beskrivs skillnaden mellan optisk och datorgenererad holografi. Detta arbete hanterar enbart datorgenererad holografi.</p><p>Diffraktion, böjning av ljusstrålar och interferens mellan ljusstrålar ligger som grund för metoden att skapa holografiska bilder. I optisk holografi låter man ljusstrålar från ett objekt och en referensstråle interferera med varandra. Deras interferensmönster fångas upp på en fotografisk film. Ett hologram av objektet kan därefter rekonstrueras genom att belysa den fotografiska filmen med samma referensstråle.</p><p>För att återge tredimensionella holografiska bilder så behövs en SLM (”Spatial Light Modulator”). Den SLM som används här är Texas Instruments DLP (”Digital Light Processing”). Denna återfinns i DLP-projektorer i vilken huvudkomponenten är en DMD (”Digital Micromirror Device”). En DMD är ett datorchip bestående av mikroskopiska små speglar i ett rutmönster. DMD:n belyses i projektorn av en lampa och här av en laser. Vardera mikrospegel kan vinklas mot resp. från ljuskällan och därigenom föra sitt lilla ljusknippe vidare eller inte.</p><p>Datorgenererad holografi simulerar optisk holografi, genom en fouriertransform. Denna transform har som indata en numerisk beskrivning av ett objekt och som utdata ett interferensmönster som matas in i DLP:n. De infallande ljusstrålarna på DMD:n agerar utifrån interferensmönstret och återger ett hologram. Jämför här med den fotografiska filmen inom optisk holografi.</p><p>Den andra delen av examensarbetet hanterar min återskapning av metoden. För att beskriva transformen valdes datorprogrammet Matlab. Indata till programmet är två tvådimensionella bilder. Dessa placeras i en rymd med ett inbördes avstånd mellan varandra i z-led. Denna rymd är det objekt som ska skapas ett hologram för. Programmet ger som utdata en tvådimensionell bild som utgör interferensmönstret för objektet.</p><p>Stor vikt har lagts vid optimering av detta program genom att utnyttja Matlabs styrka i matrisoperationer och att förenkla beräkningen för de punkter som i hologrammet är genomskinliga, dvs. de punkter som inte hör till objektet.</p><p>I resultatdelen presenteras interferensmönstret för ett givet objekt. En slutsats är att beräkna transformen för normalstora eller större objekt är en mycket tidsödande process. Det krävs stor datorkraft och bättre optimering för att få acceptabla tider för beräkningen. Här beräknas bara interferensmönster för enstaka objekt, för att skapa holografisk video så behövs runt 24 bilder per sekund. Det är fullt möjligt att skapa holografisk video med det presenterade programmet men det skulle ta allt för lång tid för beräkning.</p>

Detta examensarbete utgår ifrån en artikel i vilken en metod för att skapa holografisk video beskrivs. Syftet med arbetet är att återskapa denna metod. Metoden bygger på projicering av hologram med hjälp av delar från en projektor, en laser och några linser. Först görs en litteraturstudie för att få förståelse över hur metoden fungerar. Här behandlas hur ögat ser djup och vilka olika typer av displayer det finns för att återge tredimensionella holografiska bilder. Vidare beskrivs skillnaden mellan optisk och datorgenererad holografi. Detta arbete hanterar enbart datorgenererad holografi. Diffraktion, böjning av ljusstrålar och interferens mellan ljusstrålar ligger som grund för metoden att skapa holografiska bilder. I optisk holografi låter man ljusstrålar från ett objekt och en referensstråle interferera med varandra. Deras interferensmönster fångas upp på en fotografisk film. Ett hologram av objektet kan därefter rekonstrueras genom att belysa den fotografiska filmen med samma referensstråle. För att återge tredimensionella holografiska bilder så behövs en SLM (”Spatial Light Modulator”). Den SLM som används här är Texas Instruments DLP (”Digital Light Processing”). Denna återfinns i DLP-projektorer i vilken huvudkomponenten är en DMD (”Digital Micromirror Device”). En DMD är ett datorchip bestående av mikroskopiska små speglar i ett rutmönster. DMD:n belyses i projektorn av en lampa och här av en laser. Vardera mikrospegel kan vinklas mot resp. från ljuskällan och därigenom föra sitt lilla ljusknippe vidare eller inte. Datorgenererad holografi simulerar optisk holografi, genom en fouriertransform. Denna transform har som indata en numerisk beskrivning av ett objekt och som utdata ett interferensmönster som matas in i DLP:n. De infallande ljusstrålarna på DMD:n agerar utifrån interferensmönstret och återger ett hologram. Jämför här med den fotografiska filmen inom optisk holografi. Den andra delen av examensarbetet hanterar min återskapning av metoden. För att beskriva transformen valdes datorprogrammet Matlab. Indata till programmet är två tvådimensionella bilder. Dessa placeras i en rymd med ett inbördes avstånd mellan varandra i z-led. Denna rymd är det objekt som ska skapas ett hologram för. Programmet ger som utdata en tvådimensionell bild som utgör interferensmönstret för objektet. Stor vikt har lagts vid optimering av detta program genom att utnyttja Matlabs styrka i matrisoperationer och att förenkla beräkningen för de punkter som i hologrammet är genomskinliga, dvs. de punkter som inte hör till objektet. I resultatdelen presenteras interferensmönstret för ett givet objekt. En slutsats är att beräkna transformen för normalstora eller större objekt är en mycket tidsödande process. Det krävs stor datorkraft och bättre optimering för att få acceptabla tider för beräkningen. Här beräknas bara interferensmönster för enstaka objekt, för att skapa holografisk video så behövs runt 24 bilder per sekund. Det är fullt möjligt att skapa holografisk video med det presenterade programmet men det skulle ta allt för lång tid för beräkning.

<p>The objective of this thesis has been to investigate novel host material configurations for high-power end-pumped Er-Yb co-doped, or Yb doped microchip lasers and try to increase their performance. In Er-Yb co-doped systems, the main limitation is the thermal shortcomings of the phosphate glass host material. The thesis presents some novel results that contribute to the search for a crystalline replacement. In Yb doped systems, most end-pumped schemes reported have been using relatively low-power single-emitter diodes. The thesis presents experiments with Yb:KGW microchips end-pumped by high-power diode bars. Another common limitation of end-pumped Yb microchip lasers is the thermal lens that destabilizes the cavity and decreases the beam quality. The approach to reduce the thermal lens by using an athermal propagation direction has been evaluated and the results are presented in the thesis.</p><p>In the search for a crystalline host material for Er-Yb systems, borates have been found increasingly interesting. Consequently, we started out by investigating Gadolinium-calcium-oxoborate, GdCOB, which could be grown in platinum crucibles. It was found that the cw performance of such monolithic microchips is quite comparable to glass hosts in terms of slope efficiency, but the threshold is significantly larger. As for Q-switched performance, which is essential to most Er-Yb applications, the first efficient Q-switched results with a crystalline host is presented in the thesis. Similar to the cw regime, the slope efficiencies are comparable to glass, while the threshold is quite high. However, the perhaps most important parameter, maximum output power before thermal fracture, is neither significantly improved nor worsened compared with phosphate glass. This is believed to be due to higher threshold and a stronger thermal expansion that negates the benefit of a thermal conductivity that is only 2-3 times higher. To find a host material that could withstand higher pump powers, we turned our attention to the double-tungstates KGW and KYW, which have higher thermal conductivity and higher cross-sections. They have, however, energy level lifetimes which differ significantly from glass or borates and as a consequence, a thorough spectroscopic investigation has been undertaken to optimize dopant concentrations. Laser experiments on crystals with dopant concentrations based on this investigation are expected in the near future.</p><p>When pumping Yb:KGW with a high-power diode bar, we achieved output powers of 9 – 12.4 W under different experimental conditions with incident powers of 18.3 – 26 W. The incident power of 26 W in one design was enough to fracture the crystal. Using a crystal cut for propagation along an athermal direction and comparing it with an identical b-cut crystal, we found that the thermal lens in the athermally oriented crystal was about a factor two weaker at the same absorbed power.</p>

<p>The paper and the graphics industries use two instruments with different optical geometry (d/0 and 45/0) to measure the quality of paper prints. The instruments have been reported to yield incompatible measurements and even rank samples differently in some cases, causing communication problems between these sectors of industry.A preliminary investigation concluded that the inter-instrument difference could be significantly influenced by external factors (background, calibration, heterogeneity of the medium). A simple methodology for eliminating these external factors and thereby minimizing the instrument differences has been derived. The measurements showed that, when the external factors are eliminated, and there is no fluorescence or gloss influence, the inter-instrument difference becomes small, depends on the instrument geometry, and varies systematically with the scattering, absorption, and transmittance properties of the sample.A detailed description of the impact of the geometry on the results has been presented regarding a large sample range. Simulations with the radiative transfer model DORT2002 showed that the instruments measurements follow the physical radiative transfer model except in cases of samples with extreme properties. The conclusion is that the physical explanation of the geometrical inter-instrument differences is based on the different degree of light permeation from the two geometries, which eventually results in a different degree of influence from near-surface bulk scattering. It was also shown that the d/0 instrument fulfils the assumptions of a diffuse field of reflected light from the medium only for samples that resemble the perfect diffuser but it yields an anisotropic field of reflected light when there is significant absorption or transmittance. In the latter case, the 45/0 proves to be less anisotropic than the d/0.In the process, the computational performance of the DORT2002 has been significantly improved. After the modification of the DORT2002 in order to include the 45/0 geometry, the Gauss-Newton optimization algorithm for the solution of the inverse problem was qualified as the most appropriate one, after testing different optimization methods for performance, stability and accuracy. Finally, a new homotopic initial-value algorithm for routine tasks (spectral calculations) was introduced, which resulted in a further three-fold speedup of the whole algorithm.The paper and the graphics industries use two instruments with different optical geometry (d/0 and 45/0) to measure the quality of paper prints. The instruments have been reported to yield incompatible measurements and even rank samples differently in some cases, causing communication problems between these sectors of industry.A preliminary investigation concluded that the inter-instrument difference could be significantly influenced by external factors (background, calibration, heterogeneity of the medium). A simple methodology for eliminating these external factors and thereby minimizing the instrument differences has been derived. The measurements showed that, when the external factors are eliminated, and there is no fluorescence or gloss influence, the inter-instrument difference becomes small, depends on the instrument geometry, and varies systematically with the scattering, absorption, and transmittance properties of the sample.A detailed description of the impact of the geometry on the results has been presented regarding a large sample range. Simulations with the radiative transfer model DORT2002 showed that the instruments measurements follow the physical radiative transfer model except in cases of samples with extreme properties. The conclusion is that the physical explanation of the geometrical inter-instrument differences is based on the different degree of light permeation from the two geometries, which eventually results in a different degree of influence from near-surface bulk scattering. It was also shown that the d/0 instrument fulfils the assumptions of a diffuse field of reflected light from the medium only for samples that resemble the perfect diffuser but it yields an anisotropic field of reflected light when there is significant absorption or transmittance. In the latter case, the 45/0 proves to be less anisotropic than the d/0.In the process, the computational performance of the DORT2002 has been significantly improved. After the modification of the DORT2002 in order to include the 45/0 geometry, the Gauss-Newton optimization algorithm for the solution of the inverse problem was qualified as the most appropriate one, after testing different optimization methods for performance, stability and accuracy. Finally, a new homotopic initial-value algorithm for routine tasks (spectral calculations) was introduced, which resulted in a further three-fold speedup of the whole algorithm.</p> / QC 20100707 / PaperOpt, Paper Optics and Colour

<p>GaN quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy are examined by micro-photoluminescence. The exciton and biexciton emission are identified successfully by power-dependence measurement. With two different samples, it can be deduced that the linewidth of the peaks is narrower in the thicker deposited layer of GaN. The size of the GaN quantum dots is responsible for the binding energy of biexciton (E^b_XX); E^b_XXdecreases with increasing size of GaN quantum dots. Under polarization studies, polar plot shows that emission is strongly linear polarized. In particular, the orientation of polarization vector is not related to any specific crystallography orientation. The polarization splitting of fine-structure is not able to resolve due to limited resolution of the system. The emission peaks can be detected up to 80 K. The curves of transition energy with respect to temperature are S-shaped. Strain effect and screening of electric field account for  blueshift of transition energy, whereas Varshni equation stands for redshifting. Both blueshifting and redshifting are compensated at temperature ranging from 4 K to 40 K.</p>

<p>Complex surface structures in nature often have remarkable optical properties. By understanding the origin of these properties, such structures may be utilized in metamaterials, giving possibilities to create materials with new specific optical properties. To simplify the optical analysis of these naturally developed surface structures there is a need to assist data analysis and analytical calculations with numerical calculations.</p><p>In this work an application tool for numerical calculations of optical properties of surface structures, such as reflectances and ellipsometric angles, has been developed based on finite element methods (FEM). The data obtained from the application tool has been verified by comparison to analytical expressions in a thorough way, starting with reflection from the simplest of interfaces stepwise increasing the complexity of the surfaces.</p><p>The application tool were developed within the electromagnetic module of Comsol Multiphysics and used the script language to perform post-process calculations on the obtained electromagnetic fields. The data obtained from this application tool are given in such way that easily allows for comparison with data received from spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements.</p>