Adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy in fundus imaging, a review and update

Adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy（AOSLO） has been a promising technique in funds imaging with growing popularity. This review firstly gives a brief history of adaptive optics（AO） and AO-SLO. Then it compares AO-SLO with conventional imaging methods（fundus fluorescein angiography, fundus autofluorescence, indocyanine green angiography and optical coherence tomography） and other AO techniques（adaptive optics flood-illumination ophthalmoscopy and adaptive optics optical coherence tomography）. Furthermore, an update of current research situation in AO-SLO is made based on different fundus structures as photoreceptors（cones and rods）, fundus vessels, retinal pigment epithelium layer, retinal nerve fiber layer, ganglion cell layer and lamina cribrosa. Finally, this review indicates possible research directions of AO-SLO in future.

Automated cone photoreceptor cell identication in confocal adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope images based on object detection

Cone photoreceptor cell identication is important for the early diagnosis of retinopathy.In this study,an object detection algorithm is used for cone cell identication in confocal adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope(AOSLO)images.An effectiveness evaluation of identication using the proposed method reveals precision,recall,and F_(1)-score of 95.8%,96.5%,and 96.1%,respectively,considering manual identication as the ground truth.Various object detection and identication results from images with different cone photoreceptor cell distributions further demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.Overall,the proposed method can accurately identify cone photoreceptor cells on confocal adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope images,being comparable to manual identication.

Theoretical Design of a Wedged Output Coupler Coated by Capacitive Strip-Grating for Optically Pumped Terahertz Lasers

An output coupler for optically pumped terahertz laser consisting of capacitive strip-grating and wedged high- resistivity silicon substrate is designed theoretically and its transmittance performance is also discussed. The etalon effects frequently occurring in previous experiments are effectively suppressed, and thus a fiat and accurate transmittance spectrum is obtained in a narrow wavenumber interval of 2 cm^-1 near a particular center wavenumber. Furthermore the transmittance sensitivity to the slight shift of substrate thickness is also completely eliminated. The wedged output coupler is easy to fabricate and its substrate may be used repeatedly to meet various transmittance requirements.

High Characteristic Temperature 1.3μm InAs/GaAs Quantum-Dot Lasers Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

We report the molecular beam epitaxy growth of 1.3 μm InAs/GaAs quantum-dot （QD） lasers with high characteristic temperature T0. The active region of the lasers consists of five-layer InAs QDs with p-type modulation doping. Devices with a stripe width of 4 μm and a cavity length of 1200 μm are fabricated and tested in the pulsed regime under different temperatures. It is found that T0 of the QD lasers is as high as 532 K in the temperature range from 10°C to 60°C. In addition, the aging test for the lasers under continuous wave operation at 100°C for 72 h shows almost no degradation, indicating the high crystal quality of the devices.

Comparison of corneal flaps created by Wavelight FS200 and Intralase FS60 femtosecond lasers

AIM：To assess and compare the morphology of corneal flaps created by the Wavelight FS200 and Intralase FS60 femtosecond lasers in laser in situ keratomileusis（LASIK）.METHODS：Four hundred eyes of 200 patients were enrolled in this study and divided into Wavelight FS200 groups（200 eyes） and Intralase FS60 groups（200 eyes）.Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography（RTVue OCT） was used to measure the corneal flap thickness of 36 specified measurements on each flap one week after surgery.Results were used to analyze the regularity,uniformity and accuracy of the two types of LASIK flaps.RESULTS：The mean thickness of corneal flap and central flap was 105.71±4.72 μm and 105.39±4.50 μm in Wavelight FS200 group and 109.78±11.42 μm and 109.15±11.59 μm in Intralase FS60 group,respectively.The flaps made with the Wavelight FS200 femtosecond laser were thinner than those created by the Intralase FS60 femtosecond laser（P=0.000）.Corneal flaps in the 2 groups were uniform and regular,showing an almost planar configuration.But the Wavelight FS200 group has more predictability and uniformity of flap creation.The mean deviation between achieved and attempted flap thickness was smaller in the Wavelight FS200 group than that in the Intralase FS60 group,which were 5.18±3.71 μm and 8.68±7.42 μm respectively.The deviation of more than 20 μm was 0.2% measurements in Wavelight FS200 group and 8.29% measurements in Intralase FS60 group.CONCLUSION：The morphologies of flaps created by Wavelight FS200 are more uniform and thinner than those created by Intralase FS60.

Configuration optimization of laser guide stars and wavefront correctors for multi-conjugation adaptive optics

Multi-conjugation adaptive optics（MCAOs） have been investigated and used in the large aperture optical telescopes for high-resolution imaging with large field of view（FOV）.The atmospheric tomographic phase reconstruction and projection of three-dimensional turbulence volume onto wavefront correctors,such as deformable mirrors（DMs） or liquid crystal wavefront correctors（LCWCs）,is a very important step in the data processing of an MCAO＇s controller.In this paper,a method according to the wavefront reconstruction performance of MCAO is presented to evaluate the optimized configuration of multi laser guide stars（LGSs） and the reasonable conjugation heights of LCWCs.Analytical formulations are derived for the different configurations and are used to generate optimized parameters for MCAO.Several examples are given to demonstrate our LGSs configuration optimization method.Compared with traditional methods,our method has minimum wavefront tomographic error,which will be helpful to get higher imaging resolution at large FOV in MCAO.

Accuracy design of ultra-low residual reflection coatings for laser optics

Refractive index inhomogeneity is one of the important characteristics of optical coating material, which is one of the key factors to produce loss to the ultra-low residual reflection coatings except using the refractive index inhomogeneity to obtain gradient-index coating. In the normal structure of antireflection coatings for center wavelength at 532 nm, the physical thicknesses of layer H and layer L are 22.18 nm and 118.86 nm, respectively. The residual reflectance caused by refractive index inhomogeneity（the degree of inhomogeneous is between -0.2 and 0.2） is about 200 ppm, and the minimum reflectivity wavelength is between 528.2 nm and 535.2 nm. A new numerical method adding the refractive index inhomogeneity to the spectra calculation was proposed to design the laser antireflection coatings, which can achieve the design of antireflection coatings with ppm residual reflection by adjusting physical thickness of the couple layers. When the degree of refractive index inhomogeneity of the layer H and layer L is-0.08 and 0.05 respectively, the residual reflectance increase from zero to 0.0769% at 532 nm. According to the above accuracy numerical method, if layer H physical thickness increases by 1.30 nm and layer L decrease by 4.50 nm, residual reflectance of thin film will achieve to 2.06 ppm. When the degree of refractive index inhomogeneity of the layer H and layer L is 0.08 and -0.05 respectively, the residual reflectance increase from zero to 0.0784% at 532 nm. The residual reflectance of designed thin film can be reduced to 0.8 ppm by decreasing the layer H of 1.55 nm while increasing the layer L of 4.94 nm.

High Characteristic Temperature InGaAsP/InP Tunnel Injection Multiple-Quantum-Well Lasers

We fabricate 1.5 μm InGaAsP/InP tunnel injection multiple？quantum-well （TI-MQW） Fabry-Perot （F-P） ridge lasers. The laser heterostructures, including an inner cladding layer and an InP tunnel barrier layer, are grown by metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition （MOCVD）. Characteristic temperature T0 of 160 K at 20°C is obtained for 500？μm？long lasers. T0 is measured as high as 88 K in the temperature range of 15？75°C. Cavity length dependence of T0 is investigated.

Transmittance investigation on capacitive mesh on thick dielectric substrates as output windows for optically pumped terahertz lasers

This paper reports that an output window for optically pumped terahertz （THz） laser has been fabricated by depositing a capacitive nickel-mesh on a thick high-resistivity silicon substrate （approximating to 5 mm thick）. Unlike the conventional process of depositing a gold film approximating to 100 nm on negative photoresist using electron-beam evaporation, a nickel film approximating to 1.5 μm thick is directly deposited on the clean surface of dielectric substrate using magnetron sputtering and then a positive photoresist is spun onto the nickel metal surface at 6000 r for 60 s. A transmittance spectrum of the output window in a certain frequency range （say, from zero to 1 THz） has been obtained by using THz time domain spectroscopy. Moreover a transmittance spectrum simulated numerically has also been estimated with respect to the output window using the transmission-line model （TLM） containing attenuation component from dielectric substrate. The simulation results show that the TLM can explain well the experimental curve in a certain frequency range from zero to 1 THz. Thus it is demonstrated that the improved optical component can be efficiently used as both output coupler and output window for optically pumped THz lasers.

Time-Delay Signature of Chaotic Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers with Polarization-Rotated Optical Feedback

To quantitatively evaluate the time-delay （TD） signatures of chaotic signals generated by vertical-cavity surface- emitting lasers （VCSELs） with polarization-rotated optical feedback （PROF）, we propose four cases of resolution coefficients R based on correlation functions. The resolution coefficient characteristics for the x-polarization （XP） mode, g-polarization （YP） mode and the total output are considered. The dependences of R on the feedback strength and feedback delay are discussed and compared carefully. The two-dimensional maps of R show that the TD signatures for the single polarization mode （i.e., XP or YP mode） are much more difficult to retrieve than those for the total output in the entire parameter space. Thus, by using single polarization mode as a chaotic carrier, the TD signatures are extremely difficult to be identified, which contributes a lot in the security-enhanced VCSELs-based chaotic optical communication systems.

Mid-IR Dual-Wavelength Difference Frequency Generation Using Fiber Lasers as Pump and Signal Light Sources

A continuous-wave mid-IR difference frequency laser source, which respectively uses an ytterbium-doped fiber laser as the pump source and a multiwavelength erbium-doped fiber laser cascaded with an erbium-doped fiber amplifier as the signal source, is demonstrated. Our experimental results show that two stable mid-IR radiation lines with a spacing of about 5.4nm may be simultaneously emitted by a suitable setting the pump and signal polarization orientations. The number of the mid-IR radiation lines is limited by the quasi-phase-matching acceptance bandwidth. By changing the PPMgLN temperature the two mid-IR radiation lines may be synchronously tuned in the mid-IR range between 3295 and 3356.3nm.

A high precision phase reconstruction algorithm for multi-laser guide stars adaptive optics

Adaptive optics（AO） systems are widespread and considered as an essential part of any large aperture telescope for obtaining a high resolution imaging at present.To enlarge the imaging field of view（FOV）,multi-laser guide stars（LGSs） are currently being investigated and used for the large aperture optical telescopes.LGS measurement is necessary and pivotal to obtain the cumulative phase distortion along a target in the multi-LGSs AO system.We propose a high precision phase reconstruction algorithm to estimate the phase for a target with an uncertain turbulence profile based on the interpolation.By comparing with the conventional average method,the proposed method reduces the root mean square（RMS） error from 130 nm to 85 nm with a 30% reduction for narrow FOV.We confirm that such phase reconstruction algorithm is validated for both narrow field AO and wide field AO.

Control of gain and thermal carrier loss profiles for mode optimization in 980-nm broad-area vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Optical gain and thermal carrier loss distributions regarding current diffusion and various electric contact areas are investigated to improve the near-field modes from the ring-shape to a Gaussian-like configuration for extra-broad-area and oxide-confined vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. In this work an equivalent circuit network model is used. The resistance of the continuously-graded distributed Bragg reflectors （DBRs）, the current diffusion and the temperature effect due to different electric-contact areas are calculated and analyzed at first, as these parameters affect one another and are the key factors in determining the gain and thermal carrier loss. Finally, the gain and thermal carrier loss distributions are calculated and discussed.

Planar Metamaterial Absorber Based on Lumped Elements

We present the design of a planar metamaterial absorber based on lumped elements, which shows a wide-band polarization-insensitive and wide-angle strong absorption. This absorber consists of metal electric resonators, the dielectric substrate, the metal film and lumped elements. The simulated absorbances under two different loss conditions indicate that high absorbance in the absorption band is mainly due to lumped resistances. The simulated absorbances under three different load conditions indicate that the local resonance circuit （lumped resistance and capacitance） could boost up the resonance of the whole RLC circuit. The simulated voltage in lumped elements indicates that the transformation efficiency from electromagnetic energy to electric energy in the absorption band is high, and electric energy is subsequently consumed by lumped resistances. This absorber may have potential applications in many military fields.

Effects of Turbulent Aberrations on Probability Distribution of Orbital Angular Momentum for Optical Communication

Effects of atmospheric turbulence tilt, defocus, astigmatism and coma aberrations on the orbital angular momentum measurement probability of photons propagating in weak turbulent regime are modeled with Rytov approximation. By considering the resulting wave as a superposition of angular momentum eigenstates, the or- bital angular momentum measurement probabilities of the transmitted digit are presented. Our results show that the effect of turbulent tilt aberration on the orbital angular momentum measurement probabilities of photons is the maximum among these four kinds of aberrations. As the aberration order increases, the effects of turbulence aberrations on the measurement probabilities of orbital angular momentum generally decrease, whereas the effect o[ turbulence defocus can be ignored. For tilt aberration, as the difference between the measured orbital angular momentum and the original orbital angular momentum increases, the orbital angular momentum measurement probability decreases.

Accurate Phase Shift Extraction for Generalized Phase-Shifting Interferometry

An accurate phase shift extraction method for generalized phase-shifting interferometry is suggested. Based on the nearly random phase distribution of the diffraction field of the object, a singular formula is derived to calculate the unknown phase shift without the requirements of an iteration process or the selection of the correct value from two or more possible phase shift solutions as needed before. This method can be used in the cases of two or more frames with both smooth and diffusing object surfaces. Computer simulations and optical experiments have satisfactorily verified the efficiency and accuracy of this method.

Three-Dimensional Analytical Formula for Oblique and Off-Axis Gaussian Beams Propagating through a Cat-Eye Optical Lens

Based on the Collins formula in a cylindrical coordinate system and the method of introducing a hard aperture function into a finite sum of complex Gaussian functions, an approximate three-dimensional analytical formula for oblique and off-axis Gaussian beams propagating through a cat-eye optical lens is derived. Numerical results show that a reasonable choice of the obliquity factor would result in a better focus beam with a higher central intensity at the return place than that without obliquity, whereas the previous conclusion based on geometry optics is that the highest central intensity could be obtained when there is no obliquity.

Highly Efficient Continuous-Wave Mid-Infrared Intracavity Singly Resonant Optical Parametric Oscillator Based on MgO：PPLN

We present a compact all-solid-state cw mid-infrared intracavity singly resonant optical parametric oscillator （OPO） that is based on a self-fabricated 1-mm-thick 40-mm-long doped MgO periodically poled lithium niobate （MgO：PPLN）. At a diode pump power of 15.6 W, the compact intracavity Nd：YVO4/MgO：PPLN OPO produced 1.9 W output power at 3.19μm, corresponding to conversion efficiency of 12.2% from the laser diode pump to OPO idler output.

Low Threshold and High Conversion Efficiency Nanosecond Mid-Infrared KTA OPO

Based on a Type II non-critically phase-matched KTA crystal, a low-threshold and high conversion efficiency mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator （OPO） pumped by a diode-end-pumped Nd：YVO4 laser is demonstrated. The OPO threshold is only 0.825W. The maximum output power of 435mW at 3.47μm is achieved with the repetition rate of 30kHz, corresponding to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 4.4%. The photon conversion efficiency is as high as about 64%. The pulse width is 3.5ns with a peak power of 4kW for the maximum output power.

A Single-Fundamental-Mode Photonic Crystal Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser

Single-fundamental-mode photonic crystal （PhC） vertical cavity surface emitting lasers （VCSEL） are produced and their single-fundamental-mode performances are investigated and demonstrated. A two-dimensional PhC with single-point-defect structure is fabricated using UV photolithography and inductive coupled plasma reactive ion etching on the surface of the VCSEL＇s top distributed Bragg-reflector. The PhC VCSEL maintains single-fundamental-mode operating with output power 1.7 mW and threshold current 2.5 mA. The full width half maximum of the lasing spectrum is less than 0.1 nm, the far field divergence angle is less than 10° and the side mode suppression ratio is over 35 dB. The device characteristics are analyzed based on the effective index model of the photonic crystal fiber. The experimental results agree well with the theoretical expectation.