This paper proposes phase-shift-amplified optical fiber interferometry based on microwave photonics (MWP) for sensing applications with substantially-improved sensitivity. The principal idea of the system combines a destructive interference-based phase-shift amplification technique with optical carrier-based microwave interferometry (OCMI). The phase sensitivity of the OCMI system is significantly

A minimum mean squared error (MMSE) equalizer is a way to effectively increase transmission performance for nonlinear Fourier transform (NFT) based communication systems. Other equalization schemes, based on nonlinear equalizer approaches or neural networks, are interesting for NFT transmission due to their ability to deal with nonlinear correlations of the NFTs’ eigenvalues and their coefficients

Electro-optic modulators are utilized ubiquitously ranging from applications in data communication to photonic neural networks. While tremendous progress has been made over the years, efficient phase-shifting modulators are challenged with fundamental tradeoffs, such as voltage-length, index change-losses or energy-bandwidth, and no single solution available checks all boxes. While voltage-driven phase

We introduce an analytical model describing the statistical and spectral properties of laser phase noise induced intensity noise in ring-resonator-based modulation. The model is validated with single sideband orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (SSB-OFDM) implemented with a silicon photonics resonantly-assisted Mach-Zehnder modulator (RA-MZM). Excellent agreement of experimental data with full

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we discuss the efficiency-speed tradeoff in slow-light (SL) silicon photonic (SiP) modulators. For this, a comprehensive model for the electro-optic (EO) response of lumped-electrode SL Mach-Zehnder modulators (SL-MZMs) is presented. The model accuracy is verified by comparing it to experiments. Our analysis shows that slowing down the optical wave helps

Hybrid Lithium Niobate (LN) and Silicon photonic (SiPh) integration platform has emerged as a promising candidate to combine the scalability of silicon photonics with the excellent modulation performance of LN. Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs) based on this platform exhibit outstanding performance with low insertion loss, low drive voltage, and large bandwidth. In this paper, we discuss the technologies

The all-optical cross-wavelength quadrature amplitude modulation orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (QAM-OFDM) data switching in the silicon rich silicon carbide (Si-rich SiC) micro-ring (μ-ring) waveguide is demonstrated for the first time by using the two-photon absorption (TPA) induced free carrier absorption (FCA) process. With enlarging the allowable 4-QAM OFDM data bandwidth to 1.16 GHz

This paper presents our technological approach for Externally Modulated Lasers (EMLs), based on Semi-Insulating Buried Heterostructure (SIBH) waveguide. We use Gas Source Molecular Beam Epitaxy (GSMBE) to grow the Phosphorus-based multi-quantum wells for both laser and modulator sections with butt-joint integration. The same GSMBE grows the p-doped InP claddings with low-diffusion Be dopant, leading

Silicon photonics has become an industrial reality for datacom applications. Nevertheless, as Si suffers from a low electro-optic effect, commercial modulators are few-mm long. The efficiency can be enhanced by using strained-SiGe or by using a semiconductor insulator semiconductor (SIS) architecture. In this paper, we develop a model based on a perturbative approach to optimize capacitive modulator

For next-era optical interconnects in data centers, development of compact, energy-efficient, low-cost, and high-speed optical transceivers are required, for which high-performance external modulators in silicon photonics will be key components. We present a silicon photonic crystal waveguide slow light Mach-Zehnder modulator suitable for this purpose. The enhancement in the modulation efficiency via

Silicon Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs) utilizing carrier depletion usually adopt traveling-wave (TW) electrodes for their long phase shifters, which have inherent challenges in miniaturization, limiting the integration density of monolithic transceivers. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate non-TW carrier-depletion MZMs that give better compromises between compact footprint, modulation depth

Silicon photonics is a key-enabling technology leveraging decades of effort and infrastructure of the microelectronics CMOS industry resulting in high yield, low cost and potential high volume manufacturing. Furthermore, due to the high index contrast of the platform, very compact, high-complexity photonic integrated circuits can be devised. To benefit from these advantages, high-speed modulators should

A novel maximum-ratio combined receiver (MRC-RX) is proposed and demonstrated through a proof-of-concept experiment, conducted to mitigate the system performance degradation caused by the low linearity of the silicon modulator when deployed in passive optical network (PON)-based access. By employing the proposed MRC-RX, an optimized receiver sensitivity is achieved, which enables the mitigation of

Realization of on-board and inter-chip optical interconnects requires a photonic data link with power consumption well below their electrical counterparts (i.e., <<1 pJ/bit). Currently, directly modulating 850 nm vertical cavity surface emitting lasers at >50 Gb/s requires 2–4 pJ/bit/channel. External reverse-biased modulators could drastically reduce this power consumption. Here we design ultralow

Sinc-shaped Nyquist pulses have wide applications in optical communications and microwave photonics. The quality of the generated Nyquist pulses has a significant effect on the overall performance of the communication system and the signal processing system. Generating high-quality Nyquist pulses with integrated silicon modulators is however still challenging due to the highly nonlinear response and

Based on femtosecond laser ablated processing, one-dimensional arrays with different line spacings were fabricated on titanium disulfide (TiS 2 ) nanosheet. Optical modulated measurements with these devices were demonstrated. Photo-induced complex conductivity changes of the TiS 2 nanosheet devices were studied by an optical-pump THz-probe (OPTP) measurement system. For the 700 μm line spacing device

Protein-protein interactions can be measured in live cells, at nanometer scale, using Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM) enabled Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET). There are growing interests in exploring protein-protein interactions in drug discovery applications. Traditional single point confocal microscopes, however, are slow and unsuited to small molecule screening, especially

Light sheet fluorescence microscopy has become a basic tool in biology and medical research with its fast imaging speed, low phototoxicity and high spatiotemporal resolution. Here, we report a novel method to generate multiplane parallel light sheets with a micro structure named isosceles triangular array. The thickness of light sheet in each plane can approach 3.12 μm along with the working distance

The papers in this special section examine neuromorphic photonics which combines optical physics and unconventional computing, resulting in a new class of ultrafast information processors for neuromorphic information and signal processing, machine learning, and high-performance computing. These processors can enable applications where low latency, high bandwidth, and low switching energies are paramount

We report electrically pumped, continuous-wave (cw) InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) lasers directly grown on quasi-nominal Si (001) substrates with offcut angle as small as 0.4°. No GaP, Ge buffer layers or substrate patterning is required. An anti-phase boundary free epitaxial GaAs film was grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) with a low threading dislocation density of 3 × 10 7 cm

The propagation of light transmitting through a scattering medium generates random speckle. Transmission matrix (TM) is introduced to describe this transmission process. In general, only scalar TM is considered. Meanwhile, for a nonpolarization maintaining multimode fiber (MMF), depolarization effect is extremely strong. Therefore, the field at the exit end of a MMF is a speckle with random distribution

Fiber optic distributed acoustic sensor (DAS) and distributed temperature sensor (DTS) are considerably important for many applications. Itis challenging to design a hybrid DAS-DTS system using the same optical fiber because the operation principles of the two sensors are different. We here deploy the widespread standard multimode fiber (MMF) for simultaneous distributed acoustic and temperature sensing

Fano lineshapes and electro-magnetically induced transparency-like peaks in the transmittance of a transverse electric polarization silicon-on-insulator symmetric meandering distributed feedback photonic structure are demonstrated. The coupling constants at the five identical directional couplers are varied to obtain the desired spectral responses. The numerically simulated and experimentally measured

We investigate the use of quantum scissors, as candidates for non-deterministic amplifiers, in continuous-variable quantum key distribution. Such devices rely on single-photon sources for their operation and as such, they do not necessarily preserve the Guassianity of the channel. Using exact analytical modeling for the system components, we bound the secret key generation rate for a protocol that

A plasmonic in-plane zone-plate (IPZP) is analytically proposed and numerically analyzed. The proposed scheme consists of several discretely metallic nano-slits, which couple incident vortices into SPP and form focal spots. Wave front information of incident beam is reflected in the field distribution along “focal plane” of IPZP, and therefore, the proposed structure can be used for topological charge

Graphene, a two-dimensional monatomic layer of carbon material, has demonstrated as a good candidate for applications of ultrafast photodetectors, transistors, transparent electrodes, and biosensors. Recently, many studies have shown that using metallic deep gratings could enhance the absorptance of graphene of 2.3% up to 80% in the near infrared region for applications in photon detection. This paper

Controlling terahertz (THz) waves, especially the polarization state and deflection angle, is important in THz application systems. But most of conventional THz metasurfaces have limitations in efficiency and working bandwidth. Although Pancharatnam-Berry (P-B) metasurfaces shows excellent manipulation for the circular polarized (CP) waves (or called photonic spin states) without phase dispersion,

We demonstrate that unidirectional and backscattering immune propagation of terahertz optical waves can be achieved in a topological valley-Hall waveguide made of graphene nanohole plasmonic crystals. In order to gain deeper physical insights into these phenomena, the band diagram of graphene nanohole plamsonic crystals has been investigated and optimized. We found that a graphene plasmonic crystal

We present a multiwavelength, multichannel, time-domain near-infrared spectroscopy system named MAESTROS. This instrument can measure absorption and scattering coefficients and can quantify the concentrations of oxy- and deoxy-haemoglobin ([HbO2], [HHb]), and oxidation state of cytochrome-c-oxidase ([oxCCO]). This system is composed of a supercontinuum laser source coupled with two acousto-optic tuneable

Fluorescence acquisition and image display over a high dynamic range is highly desirable. However, the limited dynamic range of current photodetectors and imaging CCDs impose a limit on the fluorescence intensities that can be simultaneously captured during a single image acquisition. This is particularly troublesome when imaging biological samples, where protein expression fluctuates considerably

An indium phosphide (InP)-based photonic integrated circuit (PIC) transmitter for free space optical communications was demonstrated. The transmitter consists of a sampled grating distributed Bragg reflector (SGDBR) laser, a high-speed semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA), a Mach-Zehnder modulator, and a high-power output booster SOA. The SGDBR laser tunes from 1521 nm to 1565 nm with >45 dB side

Endoscopic integrated photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging has the potential for early detection of the cancer in the gastrointestinal tract. Currently, slow imaging speed is one of the limitations for clinical translation. Here, we developed a high speed integrated endoscopic PA and US imaging system, which is able to perform PA and US imaging simultaneously up to 50 frames per second. Using this

We report on SwissSPAD2, an image sensor with 512×512 photon-counting pixels, each comprising a single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD), a 1-bit memory, and a gating mechanism capable of turning the SPAD on and off, with a skew of 250ps and 344ps, respectively, for a minimum duration of 5.75ns. The sensor is designed to achieve a frame rate of up to 97,700 binary frames per second and sub-40ps gate shifts

We report a plasmonic interferometer array (PIA) sensor and demonstrate its ability to detect circulating exosomal proteins in real-time with high sensitivity and low cost to enable the early detection of cancer. Specifically, a surface plasmon wave launched by the nano-groove rings interferes with the free-space light at the output of central nano-aperture and results in an intensity interference

Dual-axis confocal (DAC) microscopy is an optical imaging modality that utilizes simple low-numerical aperture (NA) lenses to achieve effective optical sectioning and superior image contrast in biological tissues. The unique architecture of DAC microscopy also provides some advantages for miniaturization, facilitating the development of endoscopic and handheld DAC systems for in vivo imaging. This

Magnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles have been developed as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and as therapeutic agents in magnetic hyperthermia. They have also recently been demonstrated as contrast and elastography agents in magnetomotive optical coherence tomography and elastography (MM-OCT and MM-OCE, respectively). Protein-shell microspheres containing suspensions of these magnetic

Continuous and longitudinal monitoring of cerebral blood flow (CBF) in animal models provides information for studying the mechanisms and interventions of various cerebral diseases. Since anesthesia may affect brain hemodynamics, researchers have been seeking wearable devices for use in conscious animals. We present a wearable diffuse speckle contrast flowmeter (DSCF) probe for monitoring CBF variations

This paper reports the application of endoscopic light scattering spectroscopy (LSS) with light gating to detect malignancies in the biliary and pancreatic ducts, and also reviews the application of endoscopic LSS for differentiating cystic neoplasms in the pancreas and detecting invisible dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus. Information about tissue structure within the superficial epithelium where malignancy

Planar optofluidics provide a powerful tool for facilitating chip-scale light-matter interactions. Silicon-based liquid core waveguides have been shown to offer single molecule sensitivity for efficient detection of bioparticles. Recently, a PDMS based planar optofluidic platform was introduced that opens the way to rapid development and prototyping of unique structures, taking advantage of the positive

Single-molecule and single-nanoparticle biosensors are a growing frontier in diagnostics. Digital biosensors are those which enumerate all specifically immobilized biomolecules or biological nanoparticles, and thereby achieve limits of detection usually beyond the reach of ensemble measurements. Here we review modern optical techniques for single nanoparticle detection and describe the single-particle

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been used in many diagnostic and therapeutic biomedical applications over the past few decades to enhance imaging contrast, steer drugs to targets, and treat tumors via hyperthermia. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an optical biomedical imaging modality that relies on the detection of backscattered light to generate high-resolution cross-sectional images of

Photobiomodulation (PBM) also known as low-level laser (or light) therapy (LLLT), has been known for almost 50 years but still has not gained widespread acceptance, largely due to uncertainty about the molecular, cellular, and tissular mechanisms of action. However, in recent years, much knowledge has been gained in this area, which will be summarized in this review. One of the most important chromophores

Three-dimensional high-resolution optical imaging systems are generally restricted by the trade-off between resolution and depth-of-field as well as imperfections in the imaging system or sample. Computed optical interferometric imaging is able to overcome these longstanding limitations using methods such as interferometric synthetic aperture microscopy (ISAM) and computational adaptive optics (CAO)

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a promising research tool for brain imaging and developmental biology. Serving as a three-dimensional optical biopsy technique, OCT provides volumetric reconstruction of brain tissues and embryonic structures with micrometer resolution and video rate imaging speed. Functional OCT enables label-free monitoring of hemodynamic and metabolic changes in the brain in

In the past two decades significant advances have been made in single-molecule detection, which enables the direct observation of single biomolecules at work in real time and under physiological conditions. In particular, the development of single-molecule tracking (SMT) microscopy allows us to monitor the motion paths of individual biomolecules in living systems, unveiling the localization dynamics

New diagnostic methods are needed for the accurate assessment of caries lesion activity to establish the need for surgical treatment. Detection of the highly mineralized surface layer that forms near the surface of the lesions as a result of remineralization is important for diagnosis of the lesion activity. Previous studies have demonstrated that novel imaging methods can be used to detect remineralization

Simultaneous imaging of cerebral hemodynamic changes in response to functional activation during drug intoxication provides a valuable strategy to assess cocaine induced neurovascular dysfunction. However, this requires tools with sufficient spatiotemporal resolution and adequate signal to noise ratio (SNR). Though several technologies have been developed to address this demand during functional brain

The mechanical properties of tissues can provide valuable information about tissue integrity and health and can assist in detecting and monitoring the progression of diseases such as keratoconus. Optical coherence elastography (OCE) is a rapidly emerging technique, which can assess localized mechanical contrast in tissues with micrometer spatial resolution. In this work we present a noncontact method

Silicon-based optofluidic devices are very attractive for applications in biophotonics and chemical sensing. Understanding and controlling the properties of their dielectric waveguides is critical for the performance of these chips. We report that thermal annealing of PECVD-grown silicon dioxide (SiO2) ridge waveguides results in considerable improvements to optical transmission and particle detection

Mechanical flexibility and the advent of scalable, low-cost, and high-throughput fabrication techniques have enabled numerous potential applications for plasmonic sensors. Sensitive and sophisticated biochemical measurements can now be performed through the use of flexible plasmonic sensors integrated into existing medical and industrial devices or sample collection units. More robust sensing schemes

The imaging of dysregulated cell-surface receptors (or biomarkers) is a potential means of identifying the presence of cancer with high sensitivity and specificity. However, due to heterogeneities in the expression of protein biomarkers in tumors, molecular imaging technologies should ideally be capable of visualizing a multiplexed panel of cancer biomarkers. Recently, surface-enhanced Raman-scattering

We present fluorescence detection of single H1N1 viruses with enhanced signal to noise ratio (SNR) achieved by multi-spot excitation in liquid-core anti-resonant reflecting optical waveguides (ARROWs). Solid-core Y-splitting ARROW waveguides are fabricated orthogonal to the liquid-core section of the chip, creating multiple excitation spots for the analyte. We derive expressions for the SNR increase

Small molecule therapeutic drugs must reach their intended cellular targets (pharmacokinetics) and engage them to modulate therapeutic effects (pharmacodynamics). These processes are often difficult to measure in vivo due to their complexities and occurrence within single cells. It has been particularly difficult to directly measure cellular drug target binding. Fluorescence polarization is commonly

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has gained widespread application for many biomedical applications, yet the traditional array of contrast agents used in incoherent imaging modalities do not provide contrast in OCT. Owing to the high biocompatibility of iron oxides and noble metals, magnetic and plasmonic nanoparticles, respectively, have been developed as OCT contrast agents to enable a range of

We report on a real-time acoustic radiation force optical coherence elastography (ARF-OCE) system to map the relative elasticity of corneal tissue. A modulated ARF is used as excitation to vibrate the cornea while OCE serves as detection of tissue response. To show feasibility of detecting mechanical contrast using this method, we performed tissue-equivalent agarose phantom studies with inclusions

Here, we review our current knowledge on the etiology and treatment of port-wine stain (PWS) birthmarks. Current treatment options have significant limitations in terms of efficacy. With the combination of 1) a suitable preclinical microvascular model, 2) laser speckle imaging (LSI) to evaluate blood-flow dynamics, and 3) a longitudinal experimental design, rapid preclinical assessment of new phototherapies

Microbial contamination of cell culture is a major problem encountered both in academic labs and in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industries. A broad spectrum of microbes including mycoplasma, bacteria, fungi, and viruses are the causative agents of cell culture contamination. Unfortunately, the existing disinfection techniques lack selectivity and/or lead to the development of drug-resistance,