This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 7141, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, and the Conference Committee listing.

The success of free-space optical links operating indoors or in the atmosphere or deep space shows a good perspective of the technology. There is no doubt that free-space technology is ready for wide practical application. Optical links have several advantages in comparison with radio links, namely high transmission rates and high security. Advance in systems for the detection and tracking of moving objects allowed the development of mobile optical wireless links. This paper is focused on satellite and mobile optical links. Included are basic characteristics of such links and current results of international research projects.

We report results obtained from measurements of UV Vis, FTIR and Raman spectra carried out on a series of silicon thin films deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) from silane diluted with hydrogen. Spectral refractive indices, extinction coefficients, optical band gap energies, hydrogen content, the microstructure factor, and grain size were determined as a function of the hydrogen dilution. Hydrogen dilution of silane results in an inhomogeneous growth during which the material evolves from amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H) to microcrystalline hydrogenated silicon (µc-Si:H). With increasing dilution Si:H films become mixed-phase materials with changing volume fractions of crystalline and amorphous phases and voids. The optical band gap energies were determined from transmittance spectra. The grain size was determined from Raman spectra and the contribution of small and large grains was detected.

Joint signal-idler photoelectron distributions of twin beams have been measured recently in two distinct regimes: either the mean number of photon pairs per one pump pulse is lower that the number of independent modes or vice versa. Exploiting a microscopic quantum theory for joint quasi-distributions in parametric down-conversion based on the model of superposition of signal and noise we characterize properties of twin beams in terms of quasidistributions using experimental data. In parallel to the microscopic model, joint signal-idler photon-number distribution is reconstructed using the method of maximum likelihood. Negative values as well as oscillating behavior in quantum region are characteristic for the joint signal-idler quasi-distributions of integrated intensities. The larger the mean number of photon pairs per mode the weaker the quantum features are. However, they survive even in the mesoscopic regime, i.e. when tens of photon pairs per mode are present on average. Also the conditional and difference photon-number distributions are shown to be sub-Poissonian and sub-shot-noise, respectively. Violation of classical inequalities for photon-number distributions is discussed.

In this paper some results of investigations concerning interaction of EUV radiation with inorganic and organic materials were presented. Samples of different materials were irradiated with a 10 Hz laser - plasma EUV source based on a gas puff target. The source was equipped with grazing incidence and multilayer collecting mirrors. The grazing incidence collector was used in experiments concerning surface modification and micromachining of different materials. The micromachining experiments were performed for different polymers that were irradiated through a fine metal grid as a contact mask. For fluoropolymers, EUV radiation with fluence of 10 mJ/cm² was enough for efficient photo-etching. The photo-etching speed was maximal for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) reaching 30nm per shot. It was shown that using such a method microstructures with high aspect ratio could be produced. Experiments connected with surface modification were performed either with organic or inorganic materials. Different kinds of surface structures were obtained depending on irradiated materials and irradiation parameters. The Mo/Si collector together with argon plasma was used for obtaining a quasi-monochromatic radiation for EUV microscopy and some metrological applications.

A rapid penetration of multimedia into our daily lives triggered unparallel demand for high data rates Internet access by businesses, institutions, and by individual household users. To fulfil these demands will require low cost, high speed, high granularity access networks which can not be built using merely current technology and approaches to the data and signal processing. In this paper, we will review some advanced previously demonstrated all-optical techniques which may help to address the electronic bottleneck which is the major limiting factor in communication networks today.

Continuous wave (cw) distributed feedback (DFB) telecom diode lasers are increasingly being used as light sources in the near-IR regions of the spectrum for cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS). They are compact, operate economically at room temperature, are able to generate suitable narrowband tunable coherent radiation on a single longitudinal mode and are compatible with a variety of optical components, including fibre-optic devices. The very high sensitivities enabling to measure weak absorption with cw CRDS plus the quantitative nature of the absorption measurements are enabling an expanding range of applications of cw CRDS in molecular spectroscopy, atmospheric chemistry, plasma and medical diagnosis.

We report on experimental investigations towards application of birefringent microstructured fibers as active elements of fiber optic sensors for measurements of different physical parameters. The sensing characteristics including spectral behavior of phase and group modal birefringence, polarimetric sensitivity to temperature, hydrostatic pressure and elongation are presented for three different index guiding microstructured fibers and hollow core photonic bandgap fiber with residual birefringence.

The Nd:YAG ceramics of nominal 1% and 2% Nd dopant were produced by a solid-state reaction of high-purity (4N) nanometric oxides powders i.e. Al₂O₃, Y₂O₃ and Nd₂O₃. Yttrium oxide nanopowder (XRD crystallite size of 79 nm) was produced by precipitation from water solution of high-purity hydrated nitrate, by means of ammonia hydro-carbonate. The cold isostatic pressing method was applied to densify granulated powder. Further the sintering and annealing processes were deployed to produce the final Nd:YAG ceramic samples. Mean grain sizes of about 20 µm and grain boundaries less than 10 nm of elaborated Nd:YAG ceramic samples were evaluated in SEM and TEM measurements. Thus, in microscale the quality of obtained ceramic was quite satisfactory. However, in macroscale, the samples had unacceptable level of voids and pores observed in visual inspection, which resulted in low 76% transmission, corresponding to extinction coefficient of 0.32 cm-1 at 1064-nm wavelength. The sizes of defects, pores and inclusions were of several dozens of micrometer. The active elements of rod and slab shape were fabricated and characterized in two diode pumping laser set ups. In end pumping configuration as a pump source 20-W fiber coupled laser diode was deployed. For the low duty cycle pumping (1 ms/20 Hz) above 30% slope efficiency was achieved. In the best case, 3.7 W of output power for 18 W of pump power, with M² <1.4 were demonstrated for uncoated ceramics rod of φ4x3mm size. We have used uncoated elements, thus we can expect increase in laser parameters for optimized pumping conditions and samples with anti-reflective coatings. The parameters of elaborated ceramic material at this stage of work are unsatisfactory for laser application. However, the results of TEM measurements and laser characterizations seems to be quite promising..

The numerical model of Q-switching regime for quasi-III-level laser including thermal effects was developed and verified with experiment. The room-temperature, high repetition rate, actively Q-switched Tm:YLF oscillator operating near 2-μm wavelength was constructed and examined. The 25-W fiber coupled laser diode with emission spectrum centered at 792-nm wavelength was deployed as a pump source. We have demonstrated in a short linear cavity above 5 W of output power for CW pumping and above 7 W for quasi-CW pumping regime (10 Hz repetition rate, 10 ms pump duration). The divergence angle was about 2.6 mrad, beam quality parameter M² < 1.1 for higher pump level. Applying 2-plates Lyot's filter, the continuous tuning in the range of 1845-1935 nm was achieved. The linewidth of tunable spectrum was less than 0.7 nm for all pump power range. The acousto-optic modulator made of fused silica was deployed for Q-switching. For the quasi-CW regime of pumping, the maximum Q-switched energy was 10.5 mJ with pulse duration of 22 ns corresponding to near 450 kW of peak power. For CW pumping regime we also demonstrated above 10 mJ for the repetition rate of 133 Hz, however with longer, 46-ns pulse duration as a result of significant increase in temperature of crystal. The output energy and peak power were limited in Q-switching regime by damages of applied laser elements.

In recent years we have observed growing interest in mode-locked fiber lasers. Development of erbium doped fiber (EDF) amplifiers and WDM technique made 3rd telecommunication window extremely interesting region for ultrafast optics. The main advantages of fiber lasers i.e. narrow linewidth and wide gain bandwidth make them very attractive sources in various applications. In this paper we present an actively mode-locked erbium doped fiber ring laser. Modelocking is obtained using an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) coupled into the laser cavity. The impact of different parameters (e.g. light polarization, modulation frequency) is investigated. We study mechanisms of controlling the wavelength of the laser.

We report on continuously tunable operation of a diode pumped lasers based on Tm-doped materials, emitting in the 1.8 - 2.μ1 m spectral band. In our study we compare results obtained with three various single crystals doped by Tm³⁺ ions: Yttrium Aluminum perovskite YAP (YAlO₃), Gadolinium orthovanadate GdVO₄, and Yttrium Lithium Fluoride YLF (YLiF₄). Following samples were available: the 3mm long a-cut crystal rod of Tm:YAP with 4% at. Tm/Y (diameter 3 mm); the 8mm long b-cut crystal rod of Tm:YLF with 3.5% at. Tm/Y (diameter 3 mm); the 2.7mm long a-cut crystal block of Tm:GdVO₄ with 2% at. Tm/Gd (crystal face 5×3 mm). For active medium pumping, the laser diode radiation was used. Because the tested samples differs significantly in absorption spectra, two fibre-coupled (core diameter 400 µm) temperature-tuned laser diodes were used: first operating at wavelength 793nm was used for Tm:YAP and Tm:YLF; the second operating at wavelength 802nm was used for Tm:GdVO₄. In both cases, the continuous power up to 20W was available for pumping. The diode radiation was focused into the active crystal by two achromatic doublet lenses with the focal length f = 75 mm. The measured radius of pumping beam focus inside the crystal was 260 µm. The longitudinally diode pumped crystals were tested in linear, 80mm long, hemispherical laser cavity. The curved (radius 150mm) output coupler reflectivity was ~ 97 % in range from 1.8 up to 2.1 μm. The pumping flat mirror had maximal reflectivity in this range and it had high transmission around 0.8 μm. A 1.5mm thick birefringent plate made from quartz (Lyot filter) inserted under a Brewster's angle was used as a tuning element. This plate was placed inside the resonator between the crystal and the output coupler. Using Tm:YAP crystal, the maximal output power of 2.8W in this set-up was obtained. The laser could be tuned from 1865nm up to 2036nm with a maximum at 1985 nm. Laser based on Tm:YLF crystal was tunable from 1835nm up to 2010nm with a maximum at 1928 nm (3.0W was reached). Using the Tm:GdVO₄ tunable operation with greater that 1W output at 1920nm and 130nm tuning range (1842-1972 nm) was demonstrated. The overall reached tuning range of over 200nm covers many important atmospheric absorption lines and contains also the local absorption peak of liquid water, making them attractive for applications such as high resolution spectroscopy, atmospheric remote sensing, laser radar, and laser microsurgery.

Rapid development of micromanipulation and experimental techniques increases the need for easy-to-handle tools, which are suitable for routine operations. Our new concept represents a very suitable platform for incorporating such new experimental techniques into standard laboratory microscopy equipment. Implementing of microscopy methods such as optical trapping, cutting, fluorescence excitation, photopolymerization and most spectroscopic techniques is very expensive and time consuming. In most cases, microscope parts and body must be adapted to insert additional lasers, detectors etc. We overcome these difficulties by inserting source of radiation directly between microscope body and microscope objective. Our concept allows using arbitrary source of radiation (laser diodes, solid-state lasers, gas lasers). Laser diode source can be incorporated inside the adapter. Optical fiber is used to deliver other sources of radiation. Light microscopy adapter (LMA) can be easily mounted on most types of microscopes including special types as confocal microscope. We demonstrate ability of LMA for stable optical trapping of particle in the range of hundreds of nanometers to tens of micrometers, bleaching (FRAP, FLIP) and microdissection experiments. Mechanical and optical construction of LMA addresses spatial constrains of commercially available microscopes, mainly the fact that optical parts of microscopes are optimized for visible spectrum of light. Our solution preserves all microscope properties unaffected and it is possible modern microscopy techniques to many types of microscopes.

We demonstrate the 3%mol ytterbium doped phosphate glass air-clad photonic crystal fibre (PCF) laser of 43 cm length in single-mode operation. The fabrication and testing of the fibre laser is introduced. The laser generates from the 12 μm core of photonic microstructure at wavelength of 1030 nm. Near 4-W output power and 14.6% slope efficiency against the launched pump power is demonstrated in preliminary characterization.

In this work we present the experimental results of measurements of spatial solitons (nematicons) in chiral nematic liquid crystalline film. We measured the propagation of light beam at the distance of few millimeters and the nonlinear selffocusing was observed for a light power of order of few tenths of milliwats. The experimental results are in a good agreement with theoretical predictions.

In the paper we consider propagation of (3+1)D ultra-short spatio-temporal light pulses (bullets) in saturable nonlinear medium of Kerr type. The envelope of the complex amplitude describing such pulse is a solution of (3+1)D Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation. In order to obtain possibility of stationary and stable transmission along the z-axis we assume dielectric permittivity with square graded index linear profile and saturable nonlinearity of cubic-quintic type. The corresponding Higher Order Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation (HONSE) can be solved approximately by means of variational method. Following after the solutions in linear medium we predict existence of the whole series of solution in a form of higher-order modes. Assuming the trial function with appropriate spatial profile we obtain corresponding Euler-Lagrange equations. We solve these equations analytically in stationary case obtaining parameters of stationary light pulses. Assuming small deviations from stationary pulse parameters we obtain and solve equations of oscillatory type that describe non-stationary propagation of bullets. We compare the exact numerical and approximate analytical solutions. We analyze coupling between oscillations with different frequencies in the evolution of higher-order light bullets.

Sensors built with the help of optical fibers can measure almost all magnitudes in these days [3]. In our research we design new novel multifunctional structures that afford concurrently utilizing of optical fiber for telecommunications and measurements. These fibers are designed to work on two wavelengths. On telecommunication wavelength of 1550 nm these fibers are operating in single mode regime and on measurement wavelength of 850 nm they are working in quasisingle mode regime. Complicated profiles of refractive indexes provide four LP modes on 850 nm that are supported by fibers and that transmit a significant amount of power. First samples of these hybrid fibers have already been made thanks to grant cooperation with Academy of Science of Czech Republic. These refractive index profiles have to be designed in such way that all supported modes should carry approximate the same amount of optical power. The usage of both wavelength means that the light of communication wavelength must not be affected by the fiber activities at the wavelength of 850nm. The consequence is that only redistribution of optical power among supported modes can be applied. The Fourier and wavelet analysis is used to find out the significant points in the progression of the optical power. There are changes in the Fourier spectra and changes in wavelet coefficients. From the Fourier analysis we can predict the progression; wavelet analysis [2] enables us to find out singularities. It is expected, that every change on the fiber has its own "fingerprint" in the redistribution of the optical power. The main instrument is the coupled mode equations [1] following directly from the wave equations for individual modes. They contain a detailed description of the phase and amplitude of all the modes at any point z along the waveguide. But usually we are not interested in the phases and amplitudes of the individual modes. For the most of practical intentions, it is sufficient to know the average of the amount of power carried by each mode. Coupled power equations for the average mode power are derived for weak coupling between modes. It means that coupling requires a distance of 1000 wavelengths for a complete exchange of power between two modes. It is a set of finite number of first-order differential equations with symmetric constant coefficients. Coupling to forward traveling guided modes occurs for distortion function f(z) whose Fourier spectra are limited to spatial frequencies. In the contribution refractive index profiles will be presented together with first camera photos analysis of such fiber temperature sensor. Temperature crosstalk to communication wavelength of 1550nm will be also specified.

We demonstrate an efficient higher order rocking filter, which resonantly couples polarization modes guided in birefringent photonic crystal fibers. The grating was inscribed in the birefringent fiber with two large holes adjacent to the core by periodic mechanical twisting and heating with an arc fusion splicer. Because in photonic crystal fibers the phase birefringence is very dispersive and increases against wavelength, the phase matching between coupled modes can be obtained simultaneously at several wavelengths. In particular, we demonstrate that for the grating period Λ =8 mm, resonant coupling can be obtained at three different wavelengths. The first order coupling (-13dB) is obtained for Λ = L_B . This condition is fulfilled at λ = 856 nm. The second order coupling (-20dB) is obtained for Λ = 2L_B at λ =1270 nm and the third order coupling (- 17dB) occurs for Λ = 3L_B at λ =1623 nm. The length of the filter was 9.6 cm, which corresponds to 13 periodic twists. We also present the results of sensitivity measurements of this filter to hydrostatic pressure and temperature.

Given paper describes the measurements of liquid samples by excitation surface plasmon resonance (SPR) method. The results are present for the specimen of NaCl melted in water.

New method in plasma polarimetry is considered, which is based on the phenomenon of normal wave transformation in the vicinity of orthogonality point, where the probing beam is perpendicular to the static magnetic. Phenomenon of normal wave transformation near orthogonality point is analyzed in the frame of quasi-isotropic approximation of geometrical optics, both theoretically and numerically. It is shown that measuring polarization state of the beam, passing through the orthogonality point allows estimating local electron density in the vicinity of that point. This property seems to be great advantage of the method under consideration as compared with traditional plasma polarimetry, which deals with line averaged measurements.

We present the results of birefringent media properties measurement using two different interferometers with polarizing elements. These setups allow to generate regular and stable lattice of optical vortices (OVs) and to record the lattice deformations caused by introduced birefringent plate. The first setup is a polariscope arrangement with two Wollaston compensators placed between crossed polarizers. The shape of lattice basic cell is determined by the Wollaston's shearing angle and examined birefringent medium causes only the shift of the whole OVs lattice. The calculated displacement vector allows determining at least two parameters of measured medium simultaneously. This setup was used also to measure the absolute value of the phase shift introduced by examined birefringent sample by using two light sources with slightly different wavelength. We manage to determine the phase retardance order by tracking the center of two interferograms made with and without sample. The second setup is based on modified Mach-Zehnder interferometer in which the Wollaston compensator is inserted into the one of interferometer's arm. The measured birefringent medium placed in another interferometer's arm causes the mutual displacement of two OVs sublattices with different topological signs. Calculated displacements vectors between those two sublattices allows to determine birefringent sample parameters.

The polarization state of the infrared beam reflected from a metallic cube-corner retroreflector (CCR) is analyzed using the Mueller matrix formalism. In a given paper polarization changes of an electromagnetic beam reflected from the CCR are studied in a rather wide range of parameters: complex reflection coefficients of metallic surfaces, beam wavelength, initial polarization state and incidence angle. It is shown that for definite parameters combination polarization changes are small, what is very important for plasma polarimetry on thermonuclear devices.

The present work shows a simple polariscopic module which enables measurements of optical properties of objects with the micrometer order dimensions. The main part of this setup consists of polarizing elements - polarizers and Wollaston prisms. The waves generating the vortex lattice leaving the polariscopic module are inclined to each other and they constitute a four-point scanning system in the focal plane of the objective. Having measured the lattice shift or/and deformation, one can determine object's different properties. The setup can work in both the transmission and reflection mode. In the paper the theoretical background, numerical simulations and experimental results are presented.

We report on the development of ultrafast coherent soft X-ray beamline at the Prague Asterix Laser System (PALS) Research Center intended for interdisciplinary applications such as ablation and controlled surface modification of solid materials for a micro/nano-patterning, soft X-ray interferometry and holography for surface probing with nanometric resolution, and improvement of focusing optics for soft X-ray beams. The beamline is based on 1 kHz, table-top, highorder harmonic generation (HHG) source capable of delivering fully coherent beam, tunable in the 13 - 40 nm spectral range. The Ti:sapphire (810 nm) laser pulses with a duration of 35 fs and energy 1.1 mJ are focused into a static gas cell containing conversion medium (Ar). To achieve highly efficient HHG at 30 nm we apply the technique of guided laser pulses. Experimental results on HHG source characterization, optimization, and spectral tunability are presented. Achievements on the implementation of so called two-color HHG using gas cell have been reported for the first time. The complete beamline will consist of a tandem of two vacuum chambers: one for the HHG source and its diagnostics, and second intended for the application experiments. The access to this new soft X-ray installation will be opened to external users since 2009.

Laser plasma source in WAT, Poland, is used as the source of EUV radiation for lithography and illumination of biological samples. The source has to be equipped with a complementary condensor with the goal of having a higher peak intensity than using current systems and moreover with the ability to illuminate larger areas homogeneously. The work concentrates on the analysis and design process of the optics based on the known source parameters, namely typical spectra, angular and intensity distributions and other constraints. Further, the question of illuminating the samples via multi shot approach by shifting the sample is discussed and estimates on the optimal sample shift in between two shots are explained.

Interferometric methods are used for definition of length by distance translation to one of the interferometric arms. The Fabry-Perot interferometer or etalon with very high stable laser produces length etalon sensitive in nanometer scale with linear response to its change. We present in our work improvements of such method by removing the very high stable laser by the femtosecond stabilized optical frequency comb. Train of femtosecond laser pulses produces an optical frequency spectrum separated by equidistant frequency f_rep with frequency offset f_ceo called frequency comb. Stabilized frequency comb generates a very precise frequency rule. Locking the scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer to one of the frequency components could perform length etalon. The Fabry-Perot etalon in simple geometry transmits only the frequencies with integer multiple of f_cav which depends inversely to the mirror spacing. The principle of the first method is based on the direct relation between the repetition frequency of the comb and the etalon length. Fabry-Perot etalon transmits only the optical frequencies of the comb for those f_ceo equal to zero and f_cav is an integer multiple of f_rep. The detected scanning spectrum is characterized by interferogram. The center of the gravity fulfills the condition for direct length transfer between the Fabry-Perot mirror distance length and f_rep of the femtosecond frequency synthesizer. Discrete value of length etalons is obtained. The improvement of the method is based on separation of few optical frequency lines (narrowing the frequency spectrum) from the wide frequency range of the optical frequency synthesizer. It suppresses the presence of the interferogram which has very high demands on the further computer analysis. Widening the scanning Fabry-Perot free spectral range as much as possible enable us to observe each frequency line (line of the comb) only once. The detected scanning spectrum better characterizes the frequency output of the optical frequency synthesizer. This feature enable us to lock the Fabry-Perot intermode distance to one of the detected comb line. Moreover the mirror distance in the Fabry-Perot is arbitrary. We verified the experiment by the fiber based femtosecond stabilized optical frequency synthesizer working at central wavelength 1560 nm and with f_rep 100 MHz. Two He-Ne stabilized lasers for coarse Fabry-Perot mirror spacing length adjustment were separated by different optical polarization. Dielectric multilayer mirror coatings were wavelength dependent. DFB laser diode working on the 1542 nm were added into the set-up. Intermode beat between the frequency comb component and the DFB diode well defines the exact frequency position on which the etalon is locked. Comparison between different Fabry-Perot etalon has been made.

White-light interferometry measuring on rough surface commonly does not resolve the lateral structure of the surface. Thus the height differences within one resolution cell of the imaging system can exceed one-fourth of the wavelength of the used light. Consequently the phase of the interferogram, which is recorded at the interferometer's output during the depth scan, becomes a random variable. In the image plane of the imaging system, a speckle pattern arises. Therefore in white-light interferometry on rough surface, the phase is not evaluated and the zero path difference is determined by seeking the maximal contrast of the interference fringes. Because of the rough surface, the measured value of the height coordinate is the result of a statistical process. In this way the rough surface gives rise to a measurement error. By means of numerical simulations we determine, how the surface roughness influences the measurement uncertainty of whitelight interferometry.

The surface flatness of transparent plates is frequently tested in a conventional Fizeau interferometer. In case of quasiparallel plates, however, a common problem is the additional reflection from the plate rear surface. Unwanted parasitic intensity distribution modulates the two-beam interferogram of the plate front surface and makes the application of phase methods for automatic fringe pattern analysis inefficient. On the other hand parasitic fringes contain the information on the light double passage through the plate (i.e., optical thickness variations). Several methods to suppress unwanted fringe modulations are available. However, these methods require either modification of a sample or sophisticated equipment and complicated data analysis. In this paper we present our proposal of processing the three-beam interferograms obtained in a Fizeau interferometer when testing quasi-parallel optical plates. The modulation distribution of acquired pattern encodes the information of the plate optical thickness variations, whereas the phase distribution contains the information about the sum of profiles of both surfaces (uniform refractive index distribution is assumed). Both maps can be derived using a combination of different interferogram analysis techniques such as Temporal or Spatial Carrier Phase Shifting and Vortex Transform. As the result separate information about both surfaces from a single measurement can be obtained.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the accuracy of 2D fringe pattern denoising performed by two chosen methods using quasi-1D two-arm spin filter and 2D Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) signal decomposition and thresholding. The ultimate aim of this comparison is to estimate which algorithm is better suited for high-accuracy interferometric measurements. In spite of the fact that both algorithms are designed to minimize possible fringe blur and distortion, the evaluation of errors introduced by each algorithm is essential for proper estimation of their performance.

A mathematical model with graphical output that simulates the change of optical properties of crystals after attaching electrical field is presented in the paper. The model is based on the theory of anisotropy and electrooptical effect. Taking into account the input parameters (dimensions of the crystal, refractive indices, matrix of electrooptical coefficients, arrangement of the experiment, direction of electric field, etc.) program generates the picture, displaying output intensity distribution of light that originates from interference of converging polarized light beam in crystal. The resulting light distribution on the picture allows us to decide whether the crystal is suitable for electrooptical modulation. The advantage of the model is its usability for any direction of electrical field (E_x, _Ey, E_z).

We present a simple white-light spectral-domain technique based on tandem interferometry that employs a low-resolution spectrometer for a direct measurement of the group dispersion of optical components over a wide wavelength range. The technique utilizes a tandem configuration of a Michelson interferometer and an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer with a component under test inserted into one arm and the other arm with adjustable path length. We resolve the spectral interference fringes when suitable path length diff;erence is adjusted in both interferometers. From the recorded spectral interference signals, the equalization wavelength is determined for which the overall group optical path difference between the beams is zero. By measurement of the equalization wavelength as a function of the path length difference adjusted in the Mach-Zehnder interferometer, the group dispersion of a glass sample is determined and agreement is confirmed with measurement using a Michelson interferometer only.

In recent years a lot of effort was put into testing and improving the idea of a three beam interferometer known as Optical Vortices Interferometer (OVI). Devices based on the idea of an OVI allow measuring small rotation angles and small shifts with a superb resolution^1,2. Unfortunately there are still many problems that have to be solved before an OVIbased device can go into production. In this paper there are presented theoretical calculations and experimental results of using another type of OVI - OVI with focused beam, for measuring small displacements and small rotation angles of reflecting areas.

A white-light spectral interferometric technique employing a Michelson interferometer with same metallic mirrors is used to measure the effective thickness of a beamsplitter cube. The thickness is measured for four different beamsplitters being in two different orientations. Moreover, it is revealed that the phase function of a thin-film structure measured by a similar interferometric technique depends on the path length difference adjusted in the Michelson interferometer. This phenomenon is due to a dispersion error of a beamsplitter cube, the effective thickness of which varies with the adjusted path length difference. A technique for eliminating the effect in measurement of the phase function is described. First, the effective thickness of the beamsplitter cube as a function of the path length difference is measured. Second, the phase function of the thin-film structure is measured for the same path length differences as those adjusted in the first case. In both cases, the phase is retrieved from the recorded spectral interferograms by using a windowed Fourier transform applied in the wavelength domain.

The purpose of the paper is to describe the measurement of shape of ceramic insert of coxal implant. In contrast to polyethylene inserts, the ceramic inserts suffer very low wear during its usage, just about micrometers per year. It is necessary to use coherence optical methods to sensitive enough to measure such small deformation. The contribution describes principles of interferometry, the construction of experimental setup using Fizeau interferometer and discusses the qualitative results of measurement of low-weared ceramic inserts of hip endoprothesis. These results will be used to compare the wear of polyethylene and ceramic endoprothesis inserts and to create a statistic file of ceramic inserts wear. This statistic file will be used to compare the wear of each ceramic insert with the age, gender, condition, way of life and etc. of patients, who were using these implants.

Optical vortex interferometer (OVI) is a useful tool to generate a regular lattice of optical vortices. The lattice is generated by the interference of the three plane waves. As was shown in earlier papers such a vortex lattice can be practically used in metrology. Application of optical vortex interferometer in metrology depends on the precision of the vortex points localization. In this paper we present a novel localization method, which uses the phase shifting technique applied to the additional fourth wave. Phase shift of the fourth wave doesn't change intensity in vortex points and increases intensity gradient in their vicinity. The applicability of this method was verified in the experiment.

The design of 3D optical system for multidirectional phase tomograph is presented in detail. The suggested tomograph uses a multidirectional holographic interferometer with diffusive light. The method of dividing of the laser-beam to object and reference beams is described. The optimisation of geometrical dimensions of the testing area and optical parameters of projection beams was done in order to increase the number of obtainable angular projections. Finally, projecting properties of the scanning system of the tomograph are presented.

We describe and characterize an experimental system for Raman microspectroscopy of micro- and nanoobjects optically trapped in aqueous suspensions with the use of a single-beam gradient optical trap (Raman tweezers). This system features two separate lasers providing light for the optical trapping and excitation of the Raman scattering spectra from the trapped specimen, respectively. Using independent laser beams for trapping and spectroscopy enables optimizing the parameters of both beams for their respective purposes. Moreover, it is possible to modulate the position of the trapped object relative to the Raman beam focus for maximizing the detected Raman signal and obtaining spatially resolved images of the trapped specimen. Using this experimental system, we have obtained Raman scattering spectra of individual optically confined micron and sub-micron sized polystyrene beads and baker's yeast cells. Sufficiently high signal-to-noise ratio of the spectra could be achieved using a few tens of milliwatts of the Raman beam power and detector integration times on the order of seconds.

We demonstrate optical manipulation with micrometer-sized dielectric particles. Instead of well-known optical tweezers we use complex interference pattern (so-called optical landscape) to trap and confine polymer microspheres in maxima and minima of optical intensity. The optical pattern is created by interference of two or three beams, respectively, which results in interference fringes or hexagonal interference structure. Multiple beam setup uses spatial light modulator to divide incoming laser beam into several directions by diffraction on the phase grating. Small particles are trapped in maxima of intensity, while larger particles are attracted by neighbouring maxima and are confined in minima of intensity with their center.

We used two counter-propagating incoherent (non-interfering) quasi-Bessel beams propagating in a suspension of polystyrene microparticles and created so-called one dimensional optically bound matter. Due to the relatively high degree of homogeneity of the Bessel beams the created self-organized structures were up to 200 micrometers long with well dened distances between objects. Static and dynamic behaviour of each particle in the self- arranged structure was recorded by fast CCD camera and analyzed. The inter-particle distances were compared with the theoretical predictions based on coupled dipole method and very good coincidences were found.

We considered a prolate cylindrical object made from overlapping spheres placed into the standing wave. By tuning the radius and overlap of these spheres we found the optimal shape providing maximal axial optical force. Analytical results are presented for an object formed from weakly polarizable spheres.

Behaviour of Laguerre{Gaussian beams (optical vortices are their attributes) impinged at a dielectric interface under distinct angles is discussed. For different incident angles the beams interact with the interface differently. Two ranges of incident angles, specified by diverse optical vortices excitation which is caused by cross-polarization effect, is analyzed. "Significant" boundary between these two ranges is defined. Theoretical analyses are confirmed by numerical simulations.

This paper presents numerical analysis of imaging quality of a refractive light sword optical element (LSOE). For comparison other optical imaging elements with extended focal depth, such as the bifocal lens, the trifocal lens, the forward axicon and the backward axicon, were also checked. The parameters of all elements were assumed according to the human eye parameters in order to check possibilities of presbyopia compensation. Obtained results allow to state that the LSOE is a promising solution for compensation of insufficient human eye accommodation.

Intraocular pressure (IOP) varies quasi-periodically due to blood pulsation in vessels inside the eye globe. This variations cause the eye deformations and displacements of the outer surface of the eye. The aim of this paper is to calculate the correlation between longitudinal corneal apex displacement and cardiovascular activity. Using ultrasound transducer at sampling frequency of 100Hz we have measured longitudinal corneal apex displacement (LCAD) of the left eye for 5 subjects. Synchronically we have registered ECG and blood pulsation signals at the same sampling frequency. Cross-correlation function was applied to investigate dependencies between these signals. To find time shift between LCAD and ECG or pulse, the time window of 3 seconds length have been chosen from all signals and had been shifting with the step of 0.01 seconds from 0 to 7s. For each shift the cross-correlation function and its extrema were calculated in the window area. We have obtained information about extrema position of cross-correlation function and its stability in time for particular subjects. The time shift between LCAD and ECG or pulse is individual feature of each subject. Such calculations may lead us to better understanding of pulse propagation in human eye and creation a non invasive method of eye hemodynamics and ocular diagnosis.

The kinetics of three-dimensional red blood cell (RBC) aggregates during sedimentation using an optical method was studied. The blood was taken from healthy donors. Sedimentation of RBCs and glutaraldehyde hardened RBCs in autologous plasma and the sedimentation of RBCs in Dextran at haematocrits 5% was investigated. Light intensity in the image plane of the suspension of the cells was recorded. The movement of the aggregates was visualized by means of a spatiotemporal analysis of the light intensity. With the use of Hough transform and two-dimensional Fourier transform the velocity of the aggregates was estimated. The velocity depends on the sample height and changes with time. Spatiotemporal distributions of the aggregate velocity were determined. A comparison of velocity distributions obtained with the two methods is presented.

The optical properties of suspensions of red blood cells (RBCs) were studied. Fresh human venues blood was obtained from adult healthy donors. RBCs were suspended in isotonic salt solution, and in autologous plasma. Suspensions with haematocrit 0.25 - 3% were investigated. Novel technique was proposed to determine the scattering coefficient μ_s for the suspensions. The intensity of He-Ne laser light transmitted through a wedge-shape container filled with a suspension was recorded. To find the dependence of the intensity on the thickness of the sample the container was moved horizontally. The dependence of μ_s on the haematocrit was determined for RBCs suspended in the isotonic salt solution. RBCs suspended in plasma tend to form rouleaux. For the RBCs suspended in plasma, the scattering coefficient as a function of time was obtained. It is shown that this technique can be useful in the study of rouleaux formation.

An optomechanical model of human eye containing artificial cornea and a cuvette with immersion liquid is developed. An artificial implantable intraoculer lens (IOL) inserted into the cuvette stands for the eye crystalline lens. A special mechanical handle holding the IOL enables to move and rotate it thus simulationg possible errors during lens implantation procedure. The "retinal" image is recorded with the high resolution CCD camera. The image of Siemens star serves as qualitative measure of "retinal" image, while more quantitatively data come from Modulation Transfer Function obtained by the analysis of the images of sinusoidal tests generated on the computer screen. The whole eye model can be used for investigation of the impact of type and location of the IOL on the optical performance.

Surface plasmon resonance of metal nanoparticles shifts if these nanoparticles are coated with proteins (e.g. BSA or HSA). It is related to the changes of refractive index of medium around nanoparticles. A value of this shift depends on the kind of nanoparticles, kind of proteins and pH of solution in which proteins are solved and nanoparticles suspended. The further shift in surface plasmon resonance occurs if molecules of drugs are bound to these protein layer coating nanoparticles. This additional shift is called as biosensor response. It depends on the number of drug molecules bound to protein layer. By measurement of biosensor response the affinity constant for the binding of drug to proteins is determined in this paper. The surface plasmon resonance was used also to monitor the structural changes of albumin at different pH values. The interaction between gold nanoparticles and albumin was investigated by red-shift of extinction maximum of gold nanoparticles.

More effective method for description of the form of a 3D object and curved surface, than shadow moiré topography and current illumination by interference modulated laser beam, was proposed. Interference modulated laser beam that illuminates reference plane screen and the object using modification of the interference pictures by means of maxima of interference fringes, enables characterization of the object by map of contour lines. Due to the change of the position of contour lines by shift of original phase we get more precisely description of the 3D surface and also the space imagine of the studied object. The change of the initial phase of interference fringes with the stationary and appropriate low space frequency of fringes can step by step very precisely describe the shape of irregular 3D object, more easy and distinct than the system of fringes with high space frequency. That's why this method seems to be advisable on the study of the shape of physiological models, e.g. the model of human set of teeth.

The aim of this work is to determine the influence of colloidal silver on the intensity of Raman scattering observed for rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) dissolved in the water. A special emphasis is placed on the exploration of the role of chloride ions and the influence of pH on the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) efficiency and stability of colloid. Rh6G is an extremely SERS active compound so in even relatively simple experiments up to 106 108 fold increase of Raman scattering is achieved. In the colloidal systems chloride ions are mainly responsible for an aggregation of nanoparticles what is the most important factor in the SERS enhancement. Moreover, Rh6G as a cationic dye co-adsorbing with chloride ions exhibits a strong direct interactions with the metallic surface. It results in additional enhancement of the intensity of Raman scattered light and probably is responsible for observed dimerization of Rh6G molecules. The reduction of pH by addition of nitric acid also leads to a decrease of surface potential of colloid and causes in its aggregation. Simply Raman spectrometer and UV-Vis spectrophotometer are used for spectroscopic measurements. The dynamic light scattering technique is used to estimate the size of particles and the degree of their aggregation. It is observed that the magnitude of SERS enhancement strongly depends on the kind and concentration of the used aggregating agent. The differences of SERS efficiency were reflected in the absorption spectra as well as in particles/aggregates size distribution.

Total hip arthroplasty significantly improves the quality of life in majority of patients with osteoarthritis. However, prosthetic wear is a problem because of inducing the development of aseptic loosening and periprosthetic osteolysis which needs the revision surgery. Thus, the polyethylene wear measurement is the central to contemporary orthopaedics and this interesting has encouraged the development and improvement of both radiologic (in vivo) and non-radiologic (in vitro) methods for polyethylene wear quantification. The principles of polyethylene liner wear measurements are predominantly geometric; nevertheless, the realization of individual types of in vivo measurements brings with it the necessity of many simplifications and compromising steps to acquire approximately accurate values. In fact, the volumetric wear can be obtained by mathematical conversion based on the most linear shift of femoral head in the cup. However, such approach is understood to be somewhat insufficient. Our ongoing research pointed to the development of optical non-contact method for wear measurement and its results are introduced in this paper including the methodology designed for the usability validation of the method for the given purpose and the description of sensor, its principle, technical realization, design and parameters.

In this paper we report on the fabrication of a non-symmetric double core microstructured fiber made of in-house synthesized silicate glass. The micro-structured fiber uses three rings of holes around two cores separated with a single hole. This fiber has a birefringence of about 10^-3 at 1.5 μm and zero dispersion wavelengths at 1.3- 1.5 nm range. For experimental verification of nonlinear properties of the fiber we use a femtosecod Ti:Sapphire oscillator emitting in the range of 750-900 nm in the normal dispersion regime of the pumped fiber. Measurements we performed with excitation of one of the core and readout at the output from both cores separately. Registered spectra show a strong coupling between cores and there is no evident difference between signals for excited or other core. Generated spectrum is flat and relatively narrow, which is a result of pumping in normal region of fiber dispersion as we predicted with simulations.

Propagation of continuous-wave (CW) Gaussian beams through a RHM-LHM interface as well as a metamaterial slab or a metallo-dielectric stack is subject to both spatial filtering and dispersive reshapement. Spatial filtering is polarisation-dependent and results from diraction, multiple reflections, and multiple positive or negative refractions on the layer boundaries. Structures with a broad and flat transmission spatial spectrum are capable of imaging with resolution exceeding the diraction limit. Due to strong Drude-type dispersion and absorption of the layers, it is possible to identify higher order dispersion eects taking place within very short distances. This opens the possibility of designing novel filters for joint reshaping of the spatial and temporal pulse envelopes. In the present work, we analyse the transmission of time-modulated CW Gaussian beam through structures with dispersive and lossy layers. Depending on beam divergence and the attenuation strength of the layers, the dominant eect may be identified as one-dimensional propagation with absorption and dispersion, negative refraction with dispersive modulation of the wavefront, or two-dimensional diractive focusing. We propose a theoretical model to explain the interplay of the observed spatial and dispersive phenomena. In the near diraction field pulses are reshaped and broadened. The slopes of the pulses become aected with side-lobes, and with a probable presence of superluminal eects. It is shown that the second-order dispersion eects do not yet provide a suciently accurate model for the pulse evolution. The simulations rely on a rigorous quasi-analytical planewave-based model of propagation. Transfer Matrix method (TMM) is used for numerical calculations.

We identify the conditions of imaging using a metal-dielectric nanolayered superlens within the regime of resonant tunneling that allows for superresolution. Resonant tunneling is a mechanism which leads to effective transparency of metals present in nanolayered stacks. The resonant tunneling operation regime is based on the coupling of incident waves to Bloch waves through the external layers which minimize reflection. This regime enables transmission within a broad spectral range through layered metallic structures with the total thickness reaching several wavelengths. We consider imaging from the near field to the near field and aim at increasing of the lens-image distance. We show that under certain conditions imaging with subwavelength resolution is possible. The present analysis relies on full-wave modeling based the transfer matrix method (TMM) and the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method.

Development of nanotechnologies demands optical characterization and measurement techniques that yield information with resolutions well below the diffraction limit. This requires an increase of the resolution of scanning near-field optical microscopes (SNOMs) from 50-70 nm commercially available nowadays in the visible range, to beneficial 30 nm, where λ is the wavelength of light in free space. High resolution SNOM probes would be crucial in measurements of point spread functions of superlenses based on negative refraction and characterization of plasmonic circuitry. The resolution of SNOMs is ▵r = d + 2a, where d is the diameter of a radiating aperture of a tapered-fiber metal-coated probe and a is a skin depth, that is the distance the electromagnetic field penetrates the metal coating. The size of the radiated field does not exceed the diameter ▵r when the aperture-sample distance h is kept constant by the shear-force tuning fork method. One of the resolution parameters, the skin depth a, depends on the metal that coats the dielectric probe and the shape of the metal rim. For Ag and Al, the values of a are on the level of 10nm, when measured on a flat metal surface illuminated with a plane wave. Thus, the other resolution parameter which we intend to decrease is a probe diameter d. The probe should radiate enough energy to be detected in a reasonable scanning measurement time. Recently, we proved that probe emission depends on the charge density induced on the probe rim. To increase this density we propose enhancement of the photon-plasmon coupling on the interface between the dielectric core and the metal coating. To this end we corrugate the interface. In this paper we analyze the role of parameters of the corrugations and report on attempts to fabricate them.

In this paper we report on the fabrication and characterization of a double glass micro-structured fiber with low index core and photonic cladding made of high index micro-rods. Micro rods are made of lead-oxide F2 commercially available glass (SCHOTT Inc.) with a refractive index n_D=1.619, while as background we use a borosilicate NC21 glass with a refractive index n_D=1.533. The fiber cladding is composed of 8 rings of F2 glass micro rods ordered in hexagonal lattice. A core is created by replacement of seven F2 rods with NC21 rods. A fabricated fiber has a linear filling factor of 0.75 and micro rods diameter of 1.2 μm. A core has a diameter of 3.7 μm while cladding and total fiber diameter are 42,6μm and 120 μm, respectively. Using supercontinuum source we have measured transmission properties of the fabricated fiber. Based on measurements of the fiber samples of 18-80 cm long we have identified two photonic band gaps. Fist band gap is localized in visible range at 610 nm central wavelength. The second broadband photonic band gap is localized in near infrared and it is 80 nm wide at 840 nm central wavelength.

We present some results of experimental study of modal dispersion measurement using a simple technique for determination of time-delay of optical beams based on low coherence interferometry in Michelson configuration usually used for chromatic dispersion measurement. The time delay observed at experiments is induced by modal dispersion of modes with small difference of their phase constants. For determination of the character of the modes was used a polarisation measurement.

We present two different white-light spectral interferometric techniques to measure birefringence dispersion in two different elliptical-core polarization-maintaining fibers (PMFs). The first method is based on application of a lateral point-like force on a fiber under test and resolution of the spectral interference fringes and is used for measuring the wavelength dependence of the phase modal birefringence. The second method employs a Michelson interferometer that compensates the differential group optical path difference in the tandem PMF and is used for measuring the wavelength dependence of the group modal birefringence. The second method is also utilized for determining the sign of the group modal birefringence.

We present the results of numerical analysis showing that high geometrical birefringence can be obtained in large mode area photonic crystal fibers. Simulations were carried out using Finite Element Method with Perfectly Matched Layer boundary conditions. To induce possibly high phase modal birefringence, we introduced a few small holes into the central region of the core, which breaks its hexagonal symmetry. Such modification of the fiber geometry is additionally responsible for increasing the effective area of the guided mode. For the optimized fiber design with a pitch distance Λ = 8.8 μm, the phase birefringence reaches B = 1.0×10^-4 at wavelength λ = 1.3 μm and B = 1.5×10^-4 at λ = 1.5 μm. In addition to high modal birefringence, an important advantage of the proposed fiber design is a single mode operation for wavelength greater than 1.3 μm.

In the presented paper we summarize some results obtained by testing the recently prepared mathematical model for an inverse optical scattering problem. The computational scheme is based on the matrix model of the multilayer [1] and implemented in Matlab-code which uses the built-in Nelder-Mead algorithm for non-linear regression.

Some problems relevant to study and application of coherent light in the frame of advanced laboratory works (MSc study, programme Optics and Lasers) are presented in the paper. The attention is devoted to study and application of coherent properties of laser diode module (LDM), which became accessible in a relatively simply and inexpensive way [1]. The laboratory topics come from the former research having been conducted at our optical division [2, 3]. Fabry-Perot interferometry and diffraction by a suitable holographic grating (produced at the laboratory) are applied to demonstrate and study the coherence properties of LDM. A device based on Peltier cooling, developed at our division [4], is used to stabilize the coherence properties of LDM. This way improved LDM can be used for any coherent experiment (holography, interferometry, optical information processing...)

The optical methods to determine refractive index profile of layered materials are commonly used with spectroscopic ellipsometry or transmittance/reflectance spectrometry. Measurements of spectral reflection and transmission usually permit to characterize optical materials and determine their refractive index. However, it is possible to characterize of samples with dopants, impurities as well as defects using optical methods. Microstructures of a hydrogenated crystalline Si wafer and a layer of SiO₂ - ZrO₂ composition are investigated. The first sample is a Si(001):H Czochralski grown single crystalline wafer with 50 nm thick surface Si0₂ layer. Hydrogen dose implantation (D ≤ 4x10^l6 cm^-2) results in a creation of porous (spongy) -like buried Si layer. Interaction between hydrogen atoms and a semiconductor, involving adsorption, surface diffusion, and desorption, continue to be an important issue in microelectronic device and sensor fabrication. Hydrogen-implanted silicon (Si: H) has become a topic of remarkable interest, mostly because of the potential of implantation-induced platelets and micro-cavities for the creation of gettering -active areas and for Si layer splitting. Oxygen precipitation and atmospheric impurity are analysed. The second sample is the layer of co-evaporated SiO₂ and ZrO₂ materials using simultaneously two electron beam guns in reactive evaporation methods. The composition structure was investigated by X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and spectroscopic ellipsometry methods. A non-uniformity and composition of layer are analysed using average density method.

Ti-Si material compositions with layered structures are very interesting for sensors and optoelectronics applications. The ultra-thin multilayered Ti/Si films were prepared by pulsed excimer laser ablation (PLA) at wavelength of 193 nm from the Ti and Si targets. Two samples S1 and S2 with multilayered structures of four bilayer period of ~20 nm and five bilayer period of ~1 nm thickness of the Ti-Si layers on Si(100) substrates, respectively were deposited. Samples were post-deposition heated at 600°C in argon atmosphere for 10 min by rapid thermal process (RTP). The composition structures were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), grazing X-Ray reflectance (XRR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. The results show that intermixing of the Ti- and Si-based films appears even in the as deposited layers. The multilayered structure of the S2 sample after post-deposition annealing indicates the formation of the titanium silicide layer. The domination of interfacial and surface energies leads to the formation of metastable phase with a low interfacial energy.

Contemporary the claims on the geometrical precision of form, mutual position of surfaces and axis of the machined mechanical parts are increasing in field of the mechanical production. Besides that the producers require that the measuring and control processes can be realised directly at the manufacturing process. It is the active quality control of the production which is connected with the control of machine-tools. This article deals with the development of special laser scattering sensors used for the fast control of the precision mechanical parts in production process.

The application of digital holographic microscope (DHM) imaging and inspection of fine surface structures, dimensions of which are in the range from units of nanometers up to units of micrometers in optical axis direction, is described in this paper. Accurate results of surface structures measurement, in the case the surface profile height is of three orders range, is achieved by simultaneous processing of optically sectioned image intensity and image phase. Surface profile height is roughly specified by the image intensity and the precise height information is acquired from the image phase. Full width at half maximum of the axial intensity response is adjusted properly for particular specimen by the modification of the spectral function of illumination and by resizing of the incoherent illumination source. It means the intervention into spatial and temporal coherence of the illumination. The content of this paper is the description of imaging characteristics of the DHM for individual illumination modes together with experimental results.

The paper is aimed at describing measurement methodology for characterizing quality of a silicon wafer applied as a focusing element in the Scanning Helium Microscope and continues the struggle against phenomena decreasing accuracy. The focusing mirror being the heart of the system and the decisive factor, which defines the resolution of the microscope, indicates the importance of testing methods. The systems made specially for this purpose provide the ability to create maps of the surface shape, thickness and surface roughness of the wafers. The paper shows many multidisciplinary issues associated with the measurements procedures and concludes with discussion on accuracy limits.

The Pt films with mass thicknesses ranging from 0.8 to 4.7 nm were evaporated onto quartz-glass substrates under vacuum conditions (p~10^-4 Pa) with evaporation rate ~0.01÷0.2 nm/s. Transmittance spectra were measured in the wavelength range from 196 to 2500 nm. The microstructures were examined by electron microscope. The films with low coverage coefficient consist of islands regular in shape, they prevail in the structure. With coverage coefficient increase the islands become more irregular and join one with other. The experimental and calculated histogram are presented. It has been found that for the films examined the dependencies of transmittance on wavelength exhibit the minima which shift to longer wavelengths with coverage coefficient increase. These optical properties are typical for the island films. The structural examinations confirm island structures of the films examined.

In this paper a quantative discussion upon the frequency dependence of the refractive index of metal, in wide range of frequency, is performed on the basis of nonlocal potential theory connected with the concept of quasiparticles. Obtained results, for chosen metals, have been compared to evidence.

An analytical solution of the surface impedance is obtained using the kinetic equation with the collision integral that takes into account the Fermi liquid effects. It is assumed that the reflection of electrons is purely diffusive. Particular attention is paid to the influence of external magnetic field and polarization of the incident wave on the real and imagine part of the surface impedance.

In this work the paraxial optical imaging is generally described by means of three square matrices: one unitary system matrix and two operation matrices with determinants equal the Lagrange-Helmholtz invariant. Elements of system matrix are functions of design parameters while elements of the operation matrix depend on input and output coordinates of characteristic rays. Each matrix has only three independent elements. Internal system parameters are determined from equations created of system matrix elements, which values are dependent on the operation matrix. Matrix approach enables the solution of only three non-linear equations with respect to system parameters. Matrix approach has also another advantage. It enables the determination of number of degrees of freedom. We have a superiority of parameters over the number of equations when the number of components is bigger than 2. The more complex is model the higher degree of freedom it has. There are special ways of reducing the number of degree of freedom: by selection of spaces between component, introduction of additional requirements and criteria of distribution of optical powers. Significant help is in defining all the spaces between components, what means full control of the components position and their di-mensions. In such a case the only thing left is the determination of optical powers, while the number of degree of freedom is equal k-1 (k is the number of components). In this work the computer program realizing described algorithms has been developed. This program was tested with specially selected examples. Results of calculation for two interesting applica-tions are also given.

The double-sided telecentric optical zoom system can consist of only three components. Output data of the algorithm include transversal magnification in terminal positions, spaces between components in their start position and the object to image distance. Optical powers are determined from the start position but spaces - from the final position and condition on the object to image distance. In both cases it is necessary to solve the system of three non-linear equations. Afoc-al type of the entire system is taken into account in one equation. Solutions of equations depend on a free parameter val-ue which is the matrix element "b", sometimes called the modified thickness of the optical system. Powers and spaces being determined are functions of the free parameter. This parameter generates many solutions of the optical system, but the designer has to select the most useful one. Important role in the design methodology plays the use of computer graphics for the localization of the free parameter. Recommended solution is such where powers of components aren't too strong and spaces in both terminal positions enable convenient movements of components simultaneously limiting the total length of a system. When the free parameter becomes fixed it is necessary to check the components kinematics. Recommended kinematics should provide for smooth operation from start to final position while keeping the spaces as small as possible. Described methodology of calculations is illustrated by the example.

The imaging quality of an optical system depends on the magnitude of residual aberrations of the optical system. Aberrations of optical systems can be analytically expressed as a sum of aberrations of different orders. The most important for practice are the third-order aberrations (Seidel aberrations) and the fifth-order aberrations. Our work shows one of possible methods for determination of third-order aberration coefficients that is based on measurement of spherical aberration of the investigated optical system. The advantage of this method for determination of the third-order aberration coefficients is the fact that the measurement of spherical aberration can be experimentally relatively easily performed with a sufficient accuracy. This work presents a detailed theoretical analysis of the proposed method and relations for calculation of the third-order aberration coefficients.

In this paper we study the small scale inhomogeneities at the thin 1D phase screen, using weighted Fourier transform (WFT), which contains quadratic in phase weighted function and represents a simplified version of double weighted Fourier transform (DWFT), suggested earlier [1,2]. The phase screen is assumed to be illuminated by the point source, and the wave field, scattered by the phase screen, is measured by the set of receivers. Integral, performing weighted Fourier transform is shown to contain delta-like function, which localizes inhomogeneities at the thin phase screen and allows their reconstructing. Such tomography-like measurement scheme is shown to provide super Fresnel resolution, close to diffraction limit. These results may serve as basis for developing 2D and 3D tomography system in IR or microwave bands for studying small-scale turbulent inhomogeneities in thermonuclear devices like tokamaks and stellarators.

The paper presents experiments with a refractive light sword optical element (LSOE). A refractive version of the LSOE was prepared in photoresist by gray scale photolithography. Then we examined chromatic aberrations of the produced element and compared them with those corresponding to a lens. For this purpose we performed two experiments, the first one where white light illumination was used and the latter one by the help of monochromatic illumination with three different wavelengths. The obtained results lead to the conclusion that the refractive LSOE does not exhibit significant chromatic aberrations and can be successfully used for imaging with extended depth of focus in polychromatic illumination.

The numerical iterative method of design of multi-plane Fresnel holograms is presented. It assumes encoding several flat grayscale images into a single thin phase-only element. Each image is placed at a variable distance and the number of images is not limited, thus many interesting applications can be considered. The paper presents the application of such holograms to reconstruct a colorful two-dimensional image with the use of a single spatial light modulator and three laser beams, i.e. red, green and blue. The given solution helps reduce the total cost of a potential holographic projection device since a single light modulator is used instead of three and no refractive volume optics is necessary to form the final image. The reconstructed three component RGB images overlap to form the color image on the screen. Sub-images are reconstructed simultaneously therefore no time-domain sequential switching is required, which is known to cause the obstructing rainbow effect. The proposed holographic projection method allows to obtain a fine image even when several pixels of the light modulator are damaged. The description of the method is given, followed by the results of numerical simulations.

The digital reconstruction of an optically recorded hologram has become a fast developing method and has found a vast practical application in many branches of science and industry. An especially invented diffractive optical element with self imaging properties is placed in the reference beam. In the recording process this element forms its self-image in the hologram plane. Self-imaging properties of the diffractive optical element provide the possibility of recording a digital hologram by means of the phase-shifting without any additional imaging components. The innovation of the proposed method lies in using a self-imaging diffractive optical element which enables a significant simplification of a spatial phase shifting optical setup used to record the digital hologram with only a small decrease of the quality of the reconstructed image.

The possibility of encoding multiple asymmetric symbols into a single thin binary Fourier hologram would have a practical application in the design of simple translucent holographic head-up displays. A Fourier hologram displays the encoded images at the infinity so this enables an observation without a time-consuming eye accommodation. Presenting a set of the most crucial signs for a driver in this way is desired, especially by older people with various eyesight disabilities. In this paper a method of holographic design is presented that assumes a combination of a spatial segmentation and carrier frequencies. It allows to achieve multiple reconstructed images selectable by the angle of the incident laser beam. In order to encode several binary symbols into a single Fourier hologram, the chessboard shaped segmentation function is used. An optimized sequence of phase encoding steps and a final direct phase binarization enables recording of asymmetric symbols into a binary hologram. The theoretical analysis is presented, verified numerically and confirmed in the optical experiment. We suggest and describe a practical and highly useful application of such holograms in an inexpensive HUD device for the use of the automotive industry. We present two alternative propositions of car viewing setups.

This paper presents design of the linear binary phase diffractive axicon with radially varying diffraction efficiency. The designed element was manufactured using the method based on the application of the High Energy Beam Sensitive (HEBS) glasses. The parameters of the produced axicon were measured showing close resemblance to the Bessel beam. The obtained results lead to the conclusion that the linear diffractive axicon with radially varying diffraction efficiency represents an asymptotic version of the Bessel beam and can be successfully used as a single element for producing focal segments of constant width and constant axial intensity.

We focused here on the real shape of the tip of the axicon - which is not sharp but rather oblate. We simulated numerically and verified experimentally that tiny deviations of the tip shape from the ideal sharp profile induce significant oscillations of the beam intensity along its propagation. Such unwanted intensity modulation disturbs the unique properties of the quasi-Bessel beam - constant shape of the lateral intensity profile and especially slow variation of the on-axis intensity along the beam propagation. We demonstrate how the spatial filtration of the beam in the Fourier plane removes such undesired modulation and restores the properties of the quasi-Bessel beam.