Abstract: Various systems and methods are implemented for controlling stimulus of a cell. One such method is implemented for optical stimulation of a cell expressing a NpHR ion pump. The method includes the step of providing a sequence of stimuli to the cell. Each stimulus increases the probability of depolarization events occurring in the cell. Light is provided to the cell to activate the expressed NpHR ion pump, thereby decreasing the probability of depolarization events occurring in the cell.

Abstract: A VCSEL array device formed of a monolithic array of raised VCSELs on an electrical contact and raised inactive regions connected to the electrical contact. The VCSELs can be spaced symmetrically or asymmetrically, in a manner to improve power or speed, or in phase and in parallel. The VCSELs include an active region positioned between two mirrors generating a pulsed light operating at a frequency of at least 1 GHz. The VCSELs having an output power of at least 120 mW. The raised VCSELs and raised inactive regions are positioned between the electrical contact and an electrical waveguide.

Abstract: A laser diode driving device (1) of the present invention includes: a variable DC power supply (3) for outputting a voltage for driving laser diodes (LD1 to LDn); a current driving element (4) for causing a current If to flow; a current control section (5) for controlling (i) turning on and off of the current driving element (4) and (ii) the amount of the current If; and a power supply control section (7) for controlling an output voltage of the variable DC power supply (3). The power supply control section (7) controls, on the basis of If-Vf characteristic data (D2), voltage drop characteristic data (D3), and Vds setting data (D4) all stored in a memory section (8), the output voltage of the variable DC power supply (3) so that the current driving element (4) has a constant inter-terminal voltage regardless of the amount of the current If.

Abstract: A broad area laser, with high efficiency and small far-field divergence, has an active layer, a first contact and a second contact, each having a width larger than 10 ?m. An anti-wave guiding layer, which is positioned laterally with respect to the active region, is enclosed between the first and second contacts, wherein a refractive index of the anti-wave guiding layer is larger than a minimum refractive index of cladding layers. A minimum distance between the anti-wave guiding layer and a projection of one of the contacts on the plane of the anti-wave guiding layer is between 0 and 100 ?m.

Abstract: The present invention provides improved ophthalmic lenses and methods for their design and use. Monofocal and multifocal diffractive ophthalmic lenses having reduced light scatter, improved light energy distribution properties, and/or other improvements in optical performance are provided. These properties are provided, at least in part, by the diffractive profiles of the invention, often having subtlety shaped echelettes with appropriately curving profiles. Smooth diffractive profiles may be used reduce light scatter. Diffractive profiles may be configured to limit the light energy in certain selected orders, thereby improving viewing quality and mitigating unwanted effects such as dysphotopsia. Diffractive profiles of may additionally or alternatively vary the light energy distributed between individual echelettes, providing additional advantages in various viewing situations.

Abstract: A laser processes a workpiece with laser pulses delivered at random time intervals and at substantially constant energy levels by characterizing the laser cavity discharge behavior and utilizing that information for adjusting dummy pulse time periods to compensate for the energy errors. Dummy pulses are laser pulses that are blocked from reaching a workpiece. A second way for providing constant pulse energies employs an AOM for varying amounts of laser energy passed to the workpiece. A third way of providing constant pulse energies entails extending the pulse period of selected pulses to allow additional laser cavity charging time whenever a dummy pulse is initiated.

Abstract: An optical phase lock loop (OPLL) system is disclosed that includes a master external cavity laser (ECL), and a substantially identical slave ECL. The master and slave ECLs are fabricated using a planar semiconductor device with waveguide-integrated planar Bragg gratings (PBG). Both the master and slave ECLs have a narrow linewidth and a low frequency-noise. Each of the ECLs has their own controller-modulator circuits for thermal tuning or electrical tuning via direct modulation. A laser-select-logic (LSL) module receives and processes a filtered phase error signal from a loop filter coupled to an electronic PLL device, and directs the processed phase error signal to one or both of the master and slave controller-modulators according to a logical determination of a required mode of operation of the OPLL system in order to achieve a stable and identical phase performance of the master and the slave ECLs.

Abstract: Diode lasers type of devices with good coupling between field distribution and gain are disclosed. A single element has a flat field distribution that couples with the uniform current injection in a contact region. A multi element array having almost flat field distribution in each element and almost equal amplitude for the field intensity in all elements is provided. Injection by multiple contacts couples well with the overall field distribution. Also, the lasers are stable against filament formation and mode switching.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing the light emitting component of a VECSEL and the corresponding VECSEL. In the method a layer stack (2) is epitaxially grown on a semiconductor substrate (1). The layer stack comprises an active region (4), an upper distributed Bragg reflector (5) and a n- or p-doped current injection layer (13) arranged between the active region (4) and the semiconductor substrate (1). A mechanical support (6) or submount is bonded to an upper side of the layer stack (2) and the semiconductor substrate (1) is subsequently removed. A metallization layer (7) is optionally deposited on the lower side of the layer stack (2) and an optically transparent substrate (8) is bonded to this lower side. The proposed method allows the manufacturing of such a component in a standard manner and results in a VECSEL with a homogenous current injection and high efficiency of heat dissipation.

Abstract: A mode-locked short pulse laser resonator including a pump laser beam input, a non-linear laser medium, a plurality of resonator mirrors as well as a first outcoupler mirror and a second outcoupler mirror, wherein the first outcoupler mirror is arranged for coupling out laser radiation having first spectral properties, and the second outcoupler mirror is arranged for coupling out laser radiation having second spectral properties which are different from the first spectral properties.

Abstract: A multi-pass optical cell with an actuator for actuating a reflective surface is provided. In one preferred embodiment, an apparatus is provided comprising a first reflective surface, a second reflective surface, and a support structure supporting the first and second reflective surfaces. The support structure positions the first and second reflective surfaces to create an optical cell. The apparatus also comprises a source and a detector, which are positioned such that light emitted from the source is reflected in the optical cell at least one time between the first and second reflective surfaces before reaching the detector. The apparatus further comprises an actuator coupled with and operative to actuate the first reflective surface. In some embodiments, the actuator rotates the first reflective surface. Also, in some embodiments, the multi-pass optical cell is an open path multi-pass optical cell, while, in other embodiments, the multi-pass optical cell is a closed path multi-pass optical cell.

Abstract: A semiconductor chip has at least two DFB etched facet laser cavities with one set of facets with AR coatings and a second set of etched facets with HR coatings that have a different relative position with respect to the gratings. This creates a difference in the phase between each of the etched facets and the gratings which changes the operational characteristics of the two laser cavities such that at least one of the lasers provides acceptable performance. As a result, the two cavity arrangement greatly improves the yield of the fabricated chips.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides in a first aspect a mode-locked laser for generating laser pulses. The mode-locked laser comprises an optical coupler and a first optical path capable of carrying optical signals from and to the optical coupler. The first optical path includes an optical amplifier that is arranged so that saturation of optical amplification causes amplitude modulation of the light. The optical amplifier has a saturation time that is shorter than a pulse transition period of the mode-locked laser and is arranged for recovery of amplifying properties after the saturation within a period of time that is shorter than the pulse transition period of the mode-locked laser. The laser further comprises a second optical path capable of carrying optical signals from and to the optical coupler. The second optical path includes an optical isolator.

Abstract: A large number of passes of pump light through an active mirror in a solid state disk laser is realized using a pair of coupled imaging systems, where the optical axes of imaging systems are not coincident. Two imaging systems are optically coupled, so that an image of the first imaging system is an object of the second imaging system, and vice versa. An active mirror is disposed at the object or image plane, or at the focal plane of any one of the coupled imaging systems, where the position of the reflected pump beam during the multi-reflection between the first and second imaging systems is substantially unchanged.

Abstract: A device having a light cavity includes, at one end, a plasmonic reflector having a grating surface for coupling incoming light into traverse plasmon waves and for coupling the traverse plasmon wave into broaden light, the surface serving to redistribute light within the cavity, the reflector being well suited for use in laser diodes for redistributing filamental cavity laser light into spatially broaden cavity laser light for translating multimodal laser light into unimodal laser light for improved reliability and uniform laser beam creation.

Abstract: A laser diode includes a substrate having a lattice constant of GaAs or between GaAs and GaP, a first cladding layer of AlGaInP formed on the substrate, an active layer of GaInAsP formed on the first cladding layer, an etching stopper layer of GaInP formed on the active layer, a pair of current-blocking regions of AlGaInP formed on the etching stopper layer so as to define a strip region therebetween, an optical waveguide layer of AlGaInP formed on the pair of current-blocking regions so as to cover the etching stopper layer in the stripe region, and a second cladding layer of AlGaInP formed on the optical waveguide layer, wherein the current-blocking regions having an Al content substantially identical with an Al content of the second cladding layer.

Abstract: The proposed gas discharge laser comprises extended solid main discharge electrodes, at each of which at least one ultraviolet pre-ionizer is placed, a gas flow area being formed by means of dielectric gas flow guides and the work surfaces of main electrodes and the pre-ionizers being placed outside of the gas flow area for illuminating a space between the main discharge electrodes through a gap defined between the main electrodes and dielectric guides. The proposed invention makes it possible to design a gas discharge laser for a high pulse repetition frequency mode with high-quality laser radiation.

Abstract: Methods and systems for providing brightness control in an interferometric modulator (IMOD) display are provided. In one embodiment, an interferometric modulator display pixel is provided that includes a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) interferometric modulator having an associated first color spectrum, and a color absorber located substantially in front of the interferometric modulator display pixel, in which the color absorber has an associated second color spectrum. The microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) interferometric modulator is operable to shift the first color spectrum relative to the second color spectrum to control a visual brightness of the interferometric modulator display pixel independent of a color of the interferometric modulator display pixel.

Abstract: The present invention provides a fabrication method of coaxial line laser diodes and a coaxial lighting optical fiber which disperses and guides uniform emission of light from a coaxial line laser diode. The line coaxial laser diode can be extended at a greater length to generate more spontaneous emission photons which are emitted from an elongated tubular active layer. The active layer has a uniform built-in electric field to distribute uniform current therein to get higher quantum efficiency. The length of the coaxial laser diode can be increased through a VLSED method. A longer laser ingot can be produced and cut to a large number of coaxial laser diodes. This method can reduce the waste of cutting in the wafer process and get larger lighting areas. Both the coaxial line laser diode and the coaxial lighting optical fiber can be coupled to form a high efficiency white-emitting luminescence device.

Abstract: A lens drive device may include a movable body having a lens and a coil, a support body movably supporting the movable body, a magnetic drive mechanism having a magnet for driving the movable body together with the coil, a restricting member for restricting movement of the movable body due to an electromagnetic force generated when an electric current is supplied to the coil, a magnetic member disposed in the movable body to be magnetically attracted by the magnet. In a non-energized state where the coil is not energized, following relationships are satisfied: W>F1, W>F2, and W<F1+F2. wherein a force with which the restricting member urges the movable body toward a non-energized position is “F1”; a force in the optical axis direction with which the magnetic member is attracted by the magnet is “F2”; and a weight of the entire movable body is “W”.