Letter abstract
Nature Materials 5, 532 - 536 (2006)
Published online: 25 June 2006 | doi:10.1038/nmat1674
Subject Categories: Semiconductors | Optical, photonic and optoelectronic materials
Large-scale optical-field measurements with geometric fibre constructs
Ayman F. Abouraddy1, Ofer Shapira1,2, Mehmet Bayindir1,5, Jerimy Arnold2, Fabien Sorin3, Dursen S. Hinczewski3, John D. Joannopoulos1,4 & Yoel Fink1,3
Optical fields are measured using sequential arrangements of optical components such as lenses, filters, and beam splitters in conjunction with planar arrays of point detectors placed on a common axis1. All such systems are constrained in terms of size, weight, durability and field of view. Here a new, geometric approach to optical-field measurements is presented that lifts some of the aforementioned limitations and, moreover, enables access to optical information on unprecedented length and volume scales. Tough polymeric photodetecting fibres drawn from a preform2 are woven into light-weight, low-optical-density, two- and three-dimensional constructs that measure the amplitude and phase of an electromagnetic field on very large areas. First, a three-dimensional spherical construct is used to measure the direction of illumination over 4
steradians. Second, an intensity distribution is measured by a planar array using a tomographic algorithm. Finally, both the amplitude and phase of an optical wave front are acquired with a dual-plane construct. Hence, the problem of optical-field measurement is transformed from one involving the choice and placement of lenses and detector arrays to that of designing geometrical constructions of polymeric, light-sensitive fibres.
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Present address: Department of Physics, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
Correspondence to: Yoel Fink1,3 e-mail: yoel@mit.edu
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