Tamara A. Leskova

Single-mode Er-doped fiber random laser with distributed Bragg grating feedback

We report the implementation of a one-dimensional random laser based on an Er/Ge co-doped single-mode fiber with randomly spaced Bragg gratings. The random grating array forms a complex cavity with high quality factor resonances in the range of gain wavelengths centered around 1535.5 nm. The reflection spectra of the grating array and the emission spectra of the laser are investigated for different numbers of gratings. The experimental results are compared qualitatively with numerical simulations of the light propagation in one-dimensional Bragg grating arrays based on a transfer matrix method. The system is pumped at 980 nm and the experimentally observed output radiation presents a typical laser threshold behavior as a function of the pump power. We find that the laser output contains several competing spectral modes.

Design and fabrication of random phase diffusers for extending the depth of focus

We present a method for designing non-absorbing optical diffusers that, when illuminated by a converging beam, produce a specified intensity distribution along the optical axis. To evaluate the performance of the diffusers in imaging systems we calculate the three-dimensional distribution of the mean intensity in the neighborhood of focus. We find that the diffusers can be used as depth-of-focus extenders. We also propose and implement a method of fabricating the designed diffusers on photoresist-coated plates and present some experimental results obtained with the fabricated diffusers.

Photofabrication of random achromatic optical diffusers for uniform illumination

We propose a method of designing two-dimensional random surfaces that scatter light uniformly within a specified range of angles and produce no scattering outside that range. The method is first tested by means of computer simulations. Then a procedure for fabricating such structures on photoresist is described, and light-scattering measurements with the fabricated samples are presented. The results validate the design procedure and show that the fabrication method is feasible.

Scattering of electromagnetic waves from two-dimensional randomly rough perfectly conducting surfaces: The full angular intensity distribution

Author(s): Simonsen, I; Maradudin, AA; Leskova, TA | Abstract: By a computer simulation approach we study the scattering of p- or s-polarized light from a two-dimensional, randomly rough, perfectly conducting surface. The pair of coupled inhomogeneous integral equations for two independent tangential components of the magnetic field on the surface are converted into matrix equations by the method of moments, which are then solved by the biconjugate gradient stabilized method. The solutions are used to calculate the mean differential reflection coefficient for given angles of incidence and specified polarizations of the incident and scattered fields. The full angular distribution of the intensity of the scattered light is obtained for strongly randomly rough surfaces by a rigorous computer simulation approach.

Multiple-scattering effects in the second-harmonic generation of light in reflection from a randomly rough metal surface

We present a rigorous numerical simulation analysis of the second-harmonic generation of p-polarized light in reflection from a one-dimensional, randomly rough, metal surface when the plane of incidence is perpendicular to the generators of the surface. When the incident light cannot couple to surface electromagnetic waves supported by the metal surface at the fundamental frequency, the angular distribution of the intensity of the incoherent component of the scattered light at the harmonic frequency displays either well-defined peaks or dips in the retroreflection direction and in the direction normal to the mean plane of the surface. These effects are suppressed by the direct excitation of surface polaritons at the fundamental frequency.

Scattering of electromagnetic waves from two-dimensional randomly rough penetrable surfaces.

An accurate and efficient numerical simulation approach to electromagnetic wave scattering from two-dimensional, randomly rough, penetrable surfaces is presented. The use of the Müller equations and an impedance boundary condition for a two-dimensional rough surface yields a pair of coupled two-dimensional integral equations for the sources on the surface in terms of which the scattered field is expressed through the Franz formulas. By this approach, we calculate the full angular intensity distribution of the scattered field that is due to a finite incident beam of p-polarized light. We specifically check the energy conservation (unitarity) of our simulations. Only after a detailed numerical treatment of both diagonal and close-to-diagonal matrix elements is the unitarity condition found to be well satisfied for the nonabsorbing case (U>0.995), a result that testifies to the accuracy of our approach.

Light scattering from anisotropic, randomly rough, perfectly conducting surfaces

Article history: An approach is introduced for performing rigorous numerical simulations of electromagnetic wave scattering from randomly rough, perfectly conducting surfaces. It is based on a surface integral technique, and consists of determining the unknown electric surface current densities from which the electromagnetic field everywhere can be determined. The method is used to study the scattering of a p-polarized beam from an anisotropic Gaussian, randomly rough, perfectly conducting surface. It is demonstrated that the surface anisotropy gives rise to interesting and pronounced signatures in the angular intensity distribution of the scattered light. The origins of these features are discussed.

Scattering of light from the random interface between two dielectric media with low contrast

We calculate the coherent and incoherent scattering of p- and s-polarized light incident from a dielectric medium characterized by a real, positive, dielectric constant epsilon0 onto its one-dimensional, randomly rough interface with a dielectric medium characterized by a real, positive, dielectric constant epsilon. We use a perturbation theory with a new small parameter, namely, the dielectric contrast eta = epsilon0 - epsilon between the medium of incidence and the scattering medium. The proper self-energy entering the expression for the reflectivity is obtained as an expansion in powers of eta through the second order in eta, and the reducible vertex function in terms of which the scattered intensity is expressed is obtained as an expansion in powers of eta through the fourth. The roughness-induced shifts of the Brewster angle (in p polarization) and of the critical angle for total internal reflection (epsilon0 > epsilon) are obtained. The angular dependence of the intensity of the incoherent component of the scattered light displays an enhanced backscattering peak, which is due to the coherent interference of multiply scattered lateral waves supported by the interface and their reciprocal partners. Analogs of the Yoneda peaks observed in the scattering of x rays from solid surfaces are also present. The results obtained by our small-contrast perturbation theory are in good agreement with those obtained in computer simulation studies.

Random surfaces that suppress single scattering.

We present a method for numerically generating a one-dimensional random surface, defined by the equation x(3)=zeta(x(1)), that suppresses single-scattering processes in the scattering of light from the surface within a specified range of scattering angles. Rigorous numerical calculations of the scattering of light from surfaces generated by this approach show that the single-scattering contribution to the mean scattered intensity is indeed suppressed within that range of angles.

Speckle correlations in the light scattered from a weakly rough one-dimensional random metal surface

Perturbation theory is used to compute the angular-intensity correlation function C(q, k|q(?), k(?)) = ?[I(q|k) - ?I(q|k)?][I(q(?)|k(?)) - ?I(q(?)|k(?))]? for p-polarized light scattered from a weakly rough, one-dimensional random metal surface. I(q|k) is the squared modulus of the scattering matrix for the system, and q , q(?) and k , k(?) are the projections on the mean scattering surface of the wave vectors of the scattered and the incident light, respectively. Contributions to C include (a) short-range memory effect and time-reversed memory effect terms, C((1)) ; (b) an additional short-range term of comparable magnitude C((10)) ; (c) a long-range term C((2)) ; (d) an infinite-range term C((3)) ; and (e) a new term C((1.5)) that along with C((2)) displays peaks associated with the excitation of surface polaritons. These new features arise when the factorization approximation is not made in calculating the correlation function C .