<p> With the increasing demand for data rate and transmission distance, the trend in fiber-optic communications is to build an ultra-high, long-haul transmission system. One of the challenges in this kind of systems comes from the fiber dispersion and dispersion slope. For the wide-band wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) system or ultra-high bit rate optical time-division multiplexing (OTDM) system, the dispersion slope could be a serious problem to impair the system performance.</p> <p> Many studies have shown that the dispersion and dispersion slope affect the long-haul fiber transmission dramatically, especially for the high-capacity systems. Most of them recommend to totally compensate the dispersion and the dispersion slope simultaneously. And a lot of compensating techniques are proposed. However, it is not easy to realize the simultaneous compensation for the dispersion and dispersion slope in the practical systems. Therefore, the necessity of compensating the dispersion slope in wide-bandwidth systems should be verified.</p> <p> We focus on the study of ultra-high bit rate (160-Gb/s) single-channel fiber-optic transmission. The results show that the dispersion slope is not necessary for the dispersion-managed system when the optimal launch parameters are given. Then we present how to find out the optimum in fiber-optic systems and a novel optimizing technology, space mapping technology (SM) is introduced, which has been successfully applied to the electromagnetic area. An application of SM in optical systems is implemented. By using this smart optimization technique, lots of computational efforts for evaluating the fine model in optimization process are saved.</p> / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

In comparison to traditionally fabricated steels that can undergo extensive processing to produce a complex-shaped component, the powder metallurgy (PM) technique can provide a more efficient approach as it is capable of producing intricately-shaped components that require little to no additional processing and machining [1], [2]. A key factor in being able to do so pertains to quenching and utilizing an appropriate quenching agent that can provide dimensional stability to the part being quenched [3], [4]. To ensure that a PM component can perform equally well when being quenched by a quenchant of reduced cooling capability, the PM component should be if not more, then just as hardenable. Steel hardenability can inevitably be improved with the increase of overall alloying content [5], however, if overall alloying content is to be kept at a minimum, the concept of lean PM steel design is one worth investigating; where a lean steel entails that each and every alloying addition is utilized to its maximum potential. This study evaluates the homogenization behaviour of alloying elements in PM steels during sintering as well as the efficiency of wide-spread industrial practices involving the use of various master alloys and ferroalloys, and investigates the realm of liquid phase sintering to understand and optimize the homogenization behaviour of alloying elements and mechanical properties of PM steels. In the context of this work, multi-component master alloys contain at least three of non-ferrous metals as alloying elements and ferroalloys are master alloys containing iron in addition to typically a maximum of two other non-ferrous alloying additions. Part one of this study discusses a combination of thermodynamic software (DICTRA and Thermo-Calc), incremental sintering experiments and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) - wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (WDS) that were used in order to form a deeper understanding of the homogenization behaviour of alloying elements within PM steel during sintering. Electron microscopy analyses on partially and industrially sintered components provide elemental maps to track the evolution of alloying elements as they relax to homogeneity. Electron microscopy analyses for this portion of the study were conducted on an industryproduced automotive component that was sectioned and sintered industrially as well as experimentally at 1280°C for 30 minutes and 13.4 hours. DICTRA simulations carried out for this research provide a 1-D insight into the evolution of concentration profiles and phases throughout various sintering times for systems involving Cr, Mn, C and Fe. DICTRA simulation results of alloying sources were studied alongside alloying element profiles obtained by compiling point quantification from wavelength dispersive spectroscopy maps for the sintered automotive component. Computational results provided conservative, semi-quantitative recommendations on optimal alloy addition forms that lead to an improvement in homogenization. Part two of this study involves the approach of fabricating and testing multi-component master alloy additions. As these materials are widely employed in PM and are typically fabricated by solidification, their states are non-equilibrium and therefore have regions containing phases precipitating in the beginning of freezing which have higher melting temperatures than regions with phases forming later on. During heating, it is hypothesized that Scheil’s solidification path backtracks and as a result, a fraction of liquid in the ferroalloy can be estimated at sintering temperature. If the fraction is significant, the utilization of this ferroalloy implies liquid phase sintering. Through a combination of Thermo-Calc and Fortran softwares, multi-component ferroalloys with promising compositions were discovered in Fe-C-Cr-Mn, Fe-C-Cr-Mn-Ni, FeC-Mn-Mo, Fe-C-Mn-Mo-Ni and Fe-C-Cr-Mn-Mo-Ni systems for low temperature liquid phase sintering. Those of the Fe-C-Cr-Mn-Mo, Fe-C-Cr-Mn-Mo-Ni and Fe-Mn-Mo-Ni system were fabricated and tried in practice. Compositional maps and mechanical properties of PM steels made with variations of this specially tailored multi-component master alloys were compared with those for which traditional alloy additions were used. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is a category of imaging techniques that can retrieve the phase information of the sample quantitatively. QPI features label-free contrast and non-contact detection. It has thus gained rapidly growing attention in biomedical imaging. Capable of resolving biological specimens at tissue or cell level, QPI has become a powerful tool to reveal the structural, mechanical, physiological and spectroscopic properties. Over the past two decades, QPI has seen a broad spectrum of evolving implementations. However, only a few have seen successful commercialization. The challenges are manifold. A major problem for many QPI techniques is the necessity of a custom-made system which is hard to interface with existing commercial microscopes. For this type of QPI techniques, the cost is high and the integration of different imaging modes requires nontrivial hardware modifications. Another limiting factor is insufficient sensitivity. In QPI, sensitivity characterizes the system repeatability and determines the quantification resolution of the system. With more emerging applications in cell imaging, the requirement for sensitivity also becomes more stringent. In this work, a category of highly sensitive full-field QPI techniques based on wavelength shifting interferometry (WSI) is proposed. On one hand, the full-field implementations, compared to point-scanning, spectral domain QPI techniques, require no mechanical scanning to form a phase image. On the other, WSI has the advantage of preserving the integrity of the interferometer and compatibility with multi-modal imaging requirement. Therefore, the techniques proposed here have the potential to be readily integrated into the ubiquitous lab microscopes and equip them with quantitative imaging functionality. In WSI, the shifts in wavelength can be applied in fine steps, termed swept source digital holographic phase microscopy (SS-DHPM), or a multi-wavelength-band manner, termed low coherence wavelength shifting interferometry (LC-WSI). SS-DHPM brings in an additional capability to perform spectroscopy, whilst the LC-WSI achieves a faster imaging rate which has been demonstrated with live sperm cell imaging. In an attempt to integrate WSI with the existing commercial microscope, we also discuss the possibility of demodulation for low-cost sources and common path implementation. Besides experimentally demonstrating the high sensitivity (limited by only shot noise) with the proposed techniques, a novel sensitivity evaluation framework is also introduced for the first time in QPI. This framework examines the Cramér-Rao bound (CRB), algorithmic sensitivity and experimental sensitivity, and facilitates the diagnosis of algorithm efficiency and system efficiency. The framework can be applied not only to the WSI techniques we proposed, but also to a broad range of QPI techniques. Several popular phase shifting interferometry techniques as well as off-axis interferometry is studied. The comparisons between them are shown to provide insights into algorithm optimization and energy efficiency of sensitivity. / Doctor of Philosophy / The most common imaging systems nowadays capture the image of an object with the irradiance perceived by the camera. Based on the intensity contrast, morphological features, such as edges, humps, and grooves, can be inferred to qualitatively characterize the object. Nevertheless, in scientific measurements and research applications, a quantitative characterization of the object is desired. Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is such a category of imaging techniques that can retrieve the phase information of the sample by properly design the irradiance capturing scheme and post-process the data, converting them to quantitative metrics such as surface height, material density and so on. The imaging process of QPI will neither harm the sample nor leave exogenous residuals. As a result, it has thus gained rapidly growing attention in biomedical imaging. Over the past two decades, QPI has seen a broad spectrum of evolving implementations, but only a few have seen successful commercialization. The challenges are manifold whilst one stands out - that they have expensive optical setups that are often incompatible with existing commercial microscope platforms. The setups are also very complicated such that without professionals having solid optics background, it is difficult to operate the system to perform imaging applications. Another limiting factor is the insufficient understanding of sensitivity. In QPI, sensitivity characterizes the system repeatability and determines its quantification resolution. With more emerging applications in cell imaging, the requirement for sensitivity also becomes more stringent. In this work, a category of highly sensitive full-field QPI techniques based on wavelength shifting interferometry (WSI) is proposed. WSI images the full-field of the sample simultaneously, unlike some other techniques requiring scanning one probe point across the sample. It also has the advantage of preserving the integrity of the interferometer, which is the key structure to enable highly sensitive measurement for QPI methods. Therefore, the techniques proposed here have the potential to be readily integrated into the ubiquitous lab microscopes and equip them with quantitative imaging functionality. Differed by implementations, two WSI techniques have been proposed, termed swept source digital holographic phase microscopy (SS-DHPM), and low coherence wavelength shifting interferometry (LC-WSI), respectively. SS-DHPM brings in an additional capability to perform spectroscopy, whilst the LC-WSI achieves a faster imaging rate which has been demonstrated with live sperm cell imaging. In an attempt to integrate WSI with the existing commercial microscope, we also discuss the possibility of demodulation for low-cost sources and common path implementation. Besides experimentally demonstrating the high sensitivity with the proposed techniques, a novel sensitivity evaluation framework is also introduced for the first time in QPI. This framework not only examines the realistic sensitivity obtained in experiments, but also compares it to the theoretical values. The framework can be widely applied to a broad range of QPI techniques, providing insights into algorithm optimization and energy efficiency of sensitivity.

We used the first station of the Long Wavelength Array (LWA) to observe giant pulses (GPs) from pulsars and search for other radio transients. Using the LWA with a bandwidth of 16 MHz at 39 MHz, we made a 24-hour observation of pulsar radio pulses from PSR B0950+08. The average pulse ux density and pulse width (dominated by "normal" pulses) are consistent with previous studies by others. Using techniques we developed for searching for radio transients, in this observation we detected 119 giant pulses (with signal-to-noise ratios 10 times larger than for the mean pulse). The giant pulses have a narrower temporal width (17.8 ms, on average) than the mean pulse (30.5 ms). Giant pulses occur at a rate of about 5.0 per hour, or 0.035% of the total number of pulse periods. The strength and rate of giant pulses is less than observed by others at ~100 MHz. The probability distribution of the cumulative pulse strength is a power law, but deviates from the Gaussian distribution of normal pulses. These results suggest PSR B0950+08 produces less frequent and weaker giant pulses at 39 MHz than at 100 MHz. We detected no other transients in this observation within a dispersion measure (DM) range from 1 to 90 pc cm³. Furthermore, we conducted observations of giant pulses from PSR B0950+08 in a separate set of observations of 12 hours made simultaneously at 42 and 74 MHz. In these observations we detected a total of 275 at 42 MHz and a total of 465 giant pulses at 74 MHz. Giant pulses with double-peak temporal structure have a shorter peak-to-peak separation compared to the average pulse. Once again, PSR B0950+08 appears to produce less frequent and weaker giant pulses than reported at 100 MHz. Giant pulses are identified with signal-to-noise ratios 10 times larger than for the mean pulse, and the probability distribution of the cumulative pulse strength is a power law, but deviate from the Gaussian distribution of normal pulses, for both frequencies. There were only 128 giant pulses detected simultaneously at 42 and 74 MHz, which implies that more than half of them are narrow-band radio pulses. Using these observations we analyzed the effect of scattering due to the interstellar medium on pulses with signal-to-noise ratio > 7 and the average pulse using a CLEAN-based algorithm, assuming a thin-screen scattering model. The scatter-broadening time constant τ ∝ ν^α, where ν is the observing frequency. The resulting α as calculated from pulses with signal-tonoise ratio > 7 and for the average pulses is found to be α = −1.45±0.14 and −0.14±0.03, respectively. These results indicate differences along the line of sight from a Kolmogorov spectrum for electron density uctuations. We calculated the altitude of the emission region for the pulsar using the dipolar magnetic field model. We found a similar magnitude for the emission region altitudes of normal and giant pulses. We detected no other transient pulses in a wide DM range from 1 to 4990 pc cm⁻³. We also conducted another a 12-hour observational study of PSR B0031−07 at 38 and 74 MHz, simultaneously. Giant pulses were identified with ux densities of a factor of ≥ 90 and ≥ 80 times that of an average pulse, at 38 and 74 MHz. The cumulative pulse strength distribution follows a power law, and has a much more gradual slope than a Gaussian distribution for the normal pulses. We found 158 of the observed pulses at 38 MHz qualified as giant pulses. At 74 MHz a total of 221 of the observed pulses were giant pulses. Only 12 giant pulses were detected within the same pulse period at both 38 and 74 MHz, meaning that the majority of them are narrow-band radio pulses. No other radio transients were detected within a DM range 1 to 4990 pc cm⁻³. We used the same data processing pipeline for observations of pulsar GPs to search within the pulsar observations for fast radio bursts (FRBs). We did not detect any nonpulsar signals with signal-to-noise ratio larger than 10. When the radio transient signals propagate through the interstellar medium, they are affected by propagation effects such as dispersion and scattering. Scattering may limit the detectability of radio transients. By examination of archived pulsar profiles, we investigated the impact of scattering on observed pulses. We utilized a CLEAN-based strategy to decide the scatter-broadening time, τ , under both the thin-screen and uniform-medium scattering models and to determine the scatter-broadening time frequency scaling index, α, where τ ∝ ν^α. In most cases the scattering tail was not large compared to the pulse width at half maximum. Still, we deconvolved 1342 pulse profiles from 347 pulsars assuming a Kolmogorov spectrum of the interstellar medium turbulence. For a subset of 21 pulsars the scattering-boarding tails were suficiently long to be estimated at the lowest frequencies. Since the scatter-broadening times were only determined distinctly for the subset of pulsars at the lowest observed frequency, we were restricted to utilizing upper limits on scatter-broadening times at higher frequencies for the assessment of the scatter-broadening-time frequency dependence. We include three new direct scatter-broadening time measurements at low frequencies and they are consistent with previous studies which were scaled from higher frequencies. Our findings are consistent with a relationship between the DM and scatter-broadening time which can range over more than two orders of magnitude in DM. One of the potential reasons that we did not detect FRBs is that transients may be highly scatter-broadened at low frequencies for high DM values. / Ph. D.

No description available.

The detection and measurement of gas properties has become essential to meet rigorous criteria of environmental unfriendly emissions and to increase the energy production efficiency. Although low cost devices such as pellistors, semiconductor gas sensors or electrochemical gas sensors can be used for these applications, they offer a very limited lifetime and suffer from cross-response and drift. On the contrary, gas sensors based on optical absorption offer fast response, zero drift, and high sensitivity with zero cross response to other gases. Hence, over the last forty years, diode laser spectroscopy (DLS) has become an established method for non-intrusive measurement of gas properties in scientific as well as industrial applications. Wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) is derivative form of DLS that has been increasingly applied for making self-calibrated measurements in harsh environments due to its improved sensitivity and noise rejection capability compared to direct absorption detection. But, the complexity in signal processing and higher scope of error (when certain restrictions on operating conditions are not met), have inhibited the widespread use of the technique. This dissertation presents a simple and novel strategy for practical implementation of WMS with commercial diode lasers. It eliminates the need for pre-characterization of laser intensity parameters or making any design changes to the conventional WMS system. Consequently, sensitivity and signal strength remain the same as that obtained from traditional WMS setup at low modulation amplitude. Like previously proposed calibration-free approaches, this new method also yields absolute gas absorption line shape or absorbance function. Residual Amplitude Modulation (RAM) contributions present in the first and second harmonic signals of WMS are recovered by exploiting their even or odd symmetric nature. These isolated RAM signals are then used to estimate the absolute line shape function and thus removing the impact of optical intensity fluctuations on measurement. Uncertainties and noises associated with the estimated absolute line shape function, and the applicability of this new method for detecting several important gases in the near infrared region are also discussed. Absorbance measurements from 1% and 8% methane-air mixtures in 60 to 100 kPa pressure range are used to demonstrate simultaneous recovery of gas concentration and pressure. The system is also proved to be self-calibrated by measuring the gas absorbance for 1% methane-air mixture while optical transmission loss changes by 12 dB. In addition to this, a novel method for diode laser absorption spectroscopy has been proposed to accomplish spatially distributed monitoring of gases. Emission frequency chirp exhibited by semiconductor diode lasers operating in pulsed current mode, is exploited to capture full absorption response spectrum from a target gas. This new technique is referred to as frequency chirped diode laser spectroscopy (FC-DLS). By applying an injection current pulse of nanosecond duration to the diode laser, both spectroscopic properties of the gas and spatial location of sensing probe can be recovered following traditional Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (OTDR) approach. Based on FC-DLS principle, calibration-free measurement of gas absorbance is experimentally demonstrated for two separate sets of gas mixtures of approximately 5% to 20% methane-air and 0.5% to 20% acetylene-air. Finally, distributed gas monitoring is shown by measuring acetylene absorbance from two sensor probes connected in series along a single mode fiber. Optical pulse width being 10 nanosecond or smaller in the sensing optical fiber, a spatial resolution better than 1 meter has been realized by this technique. These demonstrations prove that accurate, non-intrusive, single point, and spatially distributed measurements can be made in harsh environments using the diode laser spectroscopy technology. Consequently, it opens the door to practical implementation of optical gas sensors in a variety of new environments that were previously too difficult. / Ph. D. / The detection and measurement of gas properties has become essential to meet rigorous criteria of environmental unfriendly emissions and to increase the energy production efficiency. Although a lot of electrical gas sensors has been explored to meet these demands, they offer a very limited lifetime and suffer from cross-response and drift. On the contrary, gas sensors based on molecular spectroscopy offer fast response, zero drift, and high sensitivity with zero cross response to other gases. With the recent boom in telecomm sector, low cost diode lasers are now readily available for numerous applications. This makes them an excellent optical source for spectroscopy based gas monitoring. Hence, measurement of gas parameters using diode lasers (also known as <i>diode laser spectroscopy</i>) has become very popular over the last few decades. However, the harsh and rapidly changing conditions encountered in most industrial environments have inhibited its widespread use. This dissertation presents novel strategies for practical implementations of diode laser spectroscopy systems. The proposed gas sensing system can simultaneously recover the concentration of a target gas and the ambient pressure at ultrahigh speed. It does not require any future calibration at installation site, which makes it quite ideal for applications like underground mine safety, monitoring combustion cycles in power plants, or monitoring leakage in natural gas pipelines. Furthermore, optical pulse generated by these diode lasers can be used to collect additional information regarding the location of gas leakage. This is demonstrated for measuring methane and acetylene gas in 60 to 100 kilopascal pressure range. Also, gas leakage location monitoring is proved by acetylene measurement from two sensor probes connected in succession along an optical fiber. These demonstrations prove that accurate and non-intrusive measurements can be made using the diode laser spectroscopy technology even in harsh conditions. Consequently, it opens the door to practical implementation of optical gas sensors in a variety of new environments that were previously too difficult.

Globally increasing levels of bandwidth and capacity requirements force the optical communications industry to produce new products that are faster, more powerful, and more efficient. In particular, optical-electronic-optical (O-E-O) conversions in Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) mechanisms prevent higher data transfer speeds and create a serious bottleneck for optical communications. These O-E-O transitions are mostly encountered in the Wavelength converters of WDMs, and as a result, all-optical wavelength conversion methods have become extremely important. The main discussion in this thesis will concentrate on a specific all-optical wavelength conversion mechanism. In this mechanism, photonic crystal structures are integrated with moving MEMS/NEMS structures to create a state-of-the-art all-optical wavelength converter prototype. A wavelength conversion of 20% is achieved using this structure. Since the interaction of light with moving MEMS/NEMS structures plays an important role in the proposed wavelength conversion mechanism, modeling and simulation of electromagnetic waves becomes a very crucial step in the design process. Consequently, a subsection of this thesis will focus on a proposed enhancement to the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) to model moving structures more efficiently and more realistically. This technique is named "Linear Dielectric Interpolation" and will be applied to more realistically and efficiently model the proposed photonic crystal MEMS/NEMS wavelength conversion mechanism.

No description available.

abstract: To detect and resolve sub-wavelength features at optical frequencies, beyond the diffraction limit, requires sensors that interact with the electromagnetic near-field of those features. Most instruments operating in this modality scan a single detector element across the surface under inspection because the scattered signals from a multiplicity of such elements would end up interfering with each other. However, an alternative massively parallelized configuration, consisting of a remotely interrogating array of dipoles, capable of interrogating multiple adjacent areas of the surface at the same time, was proposed in 2002. In the present work a remotely interrogating slot antenna inside a 60nm silver slab is designed which increases the signal to noise ratio of the original system. The antenna is tuned to resonance at 600nm range by taking advantage of the plasmon resonance properties of the metal’s negative permittivity and judicious shaping of the slot element. Full-physics simulations show the capability of detecting an 8nm particle using red light illumination. The sensitivity to the λ/78 particle is attained by detecting the change induced on the antenna’s far field signature by the proximate particle, a change that is 15dB greater than the scattering signature of the particle by itself. To verify the capabilities of this technology in a readily accessible experimental environment, a radiofrequency scale model is designed using a meta-material to mimic the optical properties of silver in the 2GHz to 5GHz range. Various approaches to the replication of the metal’s behavior are explored in a trade-off between fidelity to the metal’s natural plasmon response, desired bandwidth of the demonstration, and ii manufacturability of the meta-material. The simulation and experimental results successfully verify the capability of the proposed near-field sensor in sub-wavelength detection and imaging not only as a proof of concept for optical frequencies but also as a potential imaging device for radio frequencies. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 2016

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are well established as sub-Poissonian sources of entangled photon pairs. To improve the utility of a QD light source, it would be advantageous to extend their emission further into the near infrared, into the low absorption wavelength windows utilised in long-haul optical telecommunication. Initial experiments succeeded in interfering O-band (1260—1360 nm) photons from an InAs/GaAs QD with dissimilar photons from a laser, an important mechanism for quantum teleportation. Interference visibilities as high as 60 ± 6 % were recorded, surpassing the 50 % threshold imposed by classical electrodynamics. Later, polarisation-entanglement of a similar QD was observed, with pairs of telecom-wavelength photons from the radiative cascade of the biexciton state exhibiting fidelities of 92.0 ± 0.2 % to the Bell state. Subsequently, an O-band telecom-wavelength quantum relay was realised. Again using an InAs/GaAs QD device, this represents the first implementation of a sub-Poissonian telecom-wavelength quantum relay, to the best knowledge of the author. The relay proved capable of implementing the famous four-state BB84 protocol, with a mean teleportation fidelity as high as 94.5 ± 2.2 %, which would contribute 0.385 secure bits per teleported qubit. After characterisation by way of quantum process tomography, the performance of the relay was also evaluated to be capable of implementing a six-state QKD protocol. In an effort to further extend the emitted light from a QD into the telecom C-band (1530—1565 nm), alternative material systems were investigated. InAs QDs on a substrate of InP were shown to emit much more readily in the fibre-telecom O- and C-bands than their InAs/GaAs counterparts, largely due to the reduced lattice mismatch between the QD and substrate for InAs/InP (~3 %) compared to InAs/GaAs (~7 %). Additionally, to minimize the fine structure splitting (FSS) of the exciton level, which deteriorates the observed polarisation-entanglement, a new mode of dot growth was investigated. Known as droplet epitaxy (D-E), QDs grown in this mode showed a fourfold reduction in the FSS compared to dots grown in the Stranski-Krastanow mode. This improvement would allow observation of polarisation-entanglement in the telecom C-band. In subsequent work performed by colleagues at the Toshiba Cambridge Research Labs, these D-E QDs were embedded in a p-i-n doped optical cavity, processed with electrical contacts, and found to emit entangled pairs of photons under electrical excitation. The work of this thesis provides considerable technological advances to the field of entangled-light sources, that in the near future may allow for deterministic quantum repeaters operating at megahertz rates, and in the further future could facilitate the distribution of coherent multipartite states across a distributed quantum network.