Toni Saastamoinen

Propagation characteristics of partially coherent beams with spatially varying correlations.

We introduce a class of partially coherent beams with spatially varying correlation properties. It is shown that mathematically simple modifications in the coherence function of conventional Gaussian Schell-model beams lead to partially coherent fields with extraordinary free-space propagation characteristics, such as locally sharpened and laterally shifted intensity maxima. We study the properties of such fields based on an elementary-mode interpretation and by numerical simulations. The results demonstrate the potential of coherence modulation for beam shaping applications.

Atomic layer deposited titanium dioxide and its application in resonant waveguide grating

We demonstrate good optical quality TiO(2) thin films grown by atomic layer deposition at 120 degrees C. The optical properties were studied using spectroscopic ellipsometry and prism coupling methods. The refractive index was 2.27, and the slab waveguide propagation loss was less than 1dB/cm at 1.53microm. A high quality resonant waveguide grating was fabricated using a thin TiO(2) layer on top of a SiO(2) grating.

Non-uniformly correlated partially coherent pulses

We consider partially coherent plane-wave pulses with non-uniform correlation distributions and study their propagation in linear second-order dispersive media. Particular models for coherence functions are introduced both in time and frequency domains. It is shown that the maximum peak of the pulse energy can be accelerating or decelerating and also self-focusing effects are possible due to coherence-induced propagation effects.

Electromagnetic coherence theory of laser resonator modes

A theory of open laser resonators is formulated within the framework of the electromagnetic coherence theory. It is shown that if only one Fox-Li mode contributes to the field at a given frequency, then the field at that frequency is necessarily completely coherent in view of the space-frequency counterpart of the recently introduced degree of coherence of electromagnetic fields [Opt. Express 11, 1137 (2003)]. It is also shown that the relation between the number of Fox-Li modes and the new degree of coherence is analogous to the relation established in the scalar theory of laser resonator modes. Difficulties that arise with the formerly introduced visibility-based definition of the electromagnetic degree of coherence are briefly discussed.

Exact self-imaging of transversely periodic fields.

Conditions for exactly self-imaging nonparaxial fields that are periodic also in the transverse direction are introduced. The theory is first derived by assuming full coherence and then extended into the domain of partial coherence. Different types of solutions are discussed, and some illustrations of the existence of solutions and intensity distributions of the fields are presented.

Geometric approach to the degree of polarization for arbitrary fields

Abstract The eigenvalue decomposition of the polarization matrix is employed to find out the geometric interpretation of the traditional degree of polarization and, in particular, of the degree of polarization for arbitrary electromagnetic fields put forward recently by Setälä et al. [2002, Phys. Rev. Lett., 88, 123902]. It is shown that both measures have similar geometric meaning as a measure for the purity of the polarization state. Possible extensions to the analysis are discussed.

Injection moulding integration of a red VCSEL illuminator module for a hologram reader sensor

A red VCSEL illuminator module demonstrator was manufactured by injection moulding integration. A red VCSEL chip was first attached to a simple FR4 substrate, which contains bonding pads and conducting wires for the VCSEL chip attachment and electrical driving. The substrate was then placed as an insert in an injection mould. The VCSEL chip shielding and optics formation was made in a one-step injection moulding process. The used optical thermoplastic in the processing was polycarbonate (PC). The pursued optical function of the single spherical surface attained in the moulding was to collimate the emitted red light (&lgr;=664.5 nm) from the VCSEL chip. The main critical issue related to the manufacturing of the illuminator module in the injection moulding process was the durability of bonding wire contacts. A single 25 &mgr;m diameter gold wire was used in wire bonding in order to create the upper contact to the chip. The lower contact was processed by attaching the chip to the substrate using conductive epoxy. A test series of 20 modules using FR4 substrate materials were produced. The number of fully operative modules was 12 resulting total module yield of 60%. The main reason for a non-operative module was loosening of the bonding wire during the injection moulding process. The bonding wire durability in the moulding process can be improved by using glob-top shielding of the VCSEL device before injection moulding and using a lower holding pressure in the injection moulding process. A diamond turned insert was used in the mould in order to create a high quality lens surface on the top of the VCSEL chip. The tower average length after one iteration round by mould modification was 8.676 &mgr;m, so the measured value was on average 20 &mgr;m larger than nominal value. The measured RMS roughness of the processed lens surface was 5 ... 7 nm and the radius -3.23 ... 3.83 mm. The radius of the lens and the length of the tower varied depending of the used process parameters. The manufactured illumination module can be integrated with a CMOS image matrix sensor in order to form a compact hologram reader system. The injection moulding integration principle seems to be very promising method to manufacture intelligently integrated and cost-effective optoelectronic products according to experience with this demonstrator.

Common-path interferometer with diffractive lens

We introduce a novel common-path interferometric measurement setup for optical quality testing. The setup is based on an optimized diffractive lens which produces two diffraction orders with equal efficiency and thus forms two interfering beams without any beam splitting or mirror alignments. The fabrication steps of the diffractive element are presented and the testing of the setup with injection molded millimeter scale lenses is briefly discussed.

Increase of spatial coherence by subwavelength metallic gratings.

We study the coherence changes in partially coherent beams transmitted through binary metallic gratings. The interaction of Gaussian Schell-model beams with grating structures supporting surface plasmons is rigorously modeled using the Fourier modal method and the coherent mode representation of partially coherent fields. Our numerical results show that, by choosing suitable parameters for the grating, the degree of coherence of the beam can be significantly increased. The studied approach offers new possibilities to alter the coherence properties of fields using nanophotonic components.

Radiation from arbitrarily polarized spatially incoherent planar sources

Using the exact electromagnetic theory of partially coherent and partially polarized light, we show by asymptotic techniques that the far-field radiation pattern produced by a spatially incoherent planar source depends significantly on the state and degree of polarization of the source. In general it is different from the cosine-squared law predicted by scalar theory in the non-paraxial domain. The coherence and polarization properties in the far field are examined for incoherent planar sources, which are either linearly, circularly, or azimuthally polarized, or unpolarized.