Related papers: Advanced Optics with Laser Pointer and Metersticks
Accurate calibration of polarization dependent optical elements is often necessary in optical experiments. A versatile polarimeter device to measure the polarization state of light is a valuable tool in these experiments. Here we report a…
A microscope based on the Linnik interferometer was designed, built, and tested. Two methods were used for interference pattern measurement: phase-shifting and polarized single-shot methods. The former uses a low coherence light emitting…
We demonstrate a smart laser-diffraction analysis technique for particle mixture identification. We retrieve information about the size, geometry, and ratio concentration of two-component heterogeneous particle mixtures with an efficiency…
We present a method to measure the vector-field light scattering of individual microscopic objects. The polarization-dependent optical field images are measured with quantitative phase imaging at the sample plane, and then numerically…
A laser diffraction experiment was conducted to study light propagation in air. The experiment is easy to reproduce and it is based on simple optical principles. Two optical sensors (segmented photo-diodes) are used for measuring the…
Precision wavefront control on future segmented-aperture space telescopes presents significant challenges, particularly in the context of high-contrast exoplanet direct imaging. We present a new wavefront control architecture that…
Surface acoustic wave (SAW) is utilized in diverse fields ranging from physics, engineering, to biology, for transducing, sensing and processing various signals. Optical measurement of SAW provides valuable information since the amplitude…
Ellipsometry is a powerful and well-established optical technique used in the characterisation of materials. It works by combining the components of elliptically polarized light in order to draw information about the optical system. We…
Laser speckle can provide a powerful tool that may be used for metrology, for example measurements of the incident laser wavelength with a resolution beyond that which may be achieved in a commercial device. However, to realise highest…
It is shown that the diffraction on a polycrystal can be used for investigation and diagnostics of X-ray radiation emitted in a forward direction by relativistic charged particles moving in crystalline or other targets or fields. Methods…
We describe a teaching-lab experiment that applies basic optical spectroscopy to examine the physics of semiconductor diode lasers. By using a low-power visible laser, this experiment is suitable for use in an open lab environment, where…
Many optical measurement techniques, such as light scattering from wavelength-scale particles or detecting motion from a surface with an optical lever, encode information in a complex radiation pattern. Extracting all available information…
Pulsed UV lasers can provide useful "testbeams" for observatories that use optical detectors, especially fluorescence detectors, to measure high energy cosmic-rays. The light observed by the detector is proportional to the energy of the…
An easily constructed and operated polarimeter precisely determines the relative Stokes parameters that characterize the polarization of laser light. The polarimeter is calibrated in situ without removing or realigning its optical elements,…
A rapid method of finding light leaks in photomultiplier systems is described, in which an audible signal derived from the light level is produced. It uses equipment commonly available in laboratories. In practice it is like using a geiger…
Most current astronomical adaptive optics (AO) systems rely on the availability of a bright star to measure the distortion of the incoming wavefront. Replacing the guide star with an artificial laser beacon alleviates this dependency on…
Compact radio sources have been observed to undergo large, frequency dependent changes in intensity due to lensing by structures in the interstellar medium, in so-called "extreme scattering events" (ESEs). While the study of astrophysical…
Resolving fine details of astronomical objects provides critical insights into their underlying physical processes. This drives in part the desire to construct ever-larger telescopes and interferometer arrays and to observe at shorter…
The optimal performance of adaptive optics systems can only be maintained if the wavefront reference is bright and compact. Experience has shown that both of these important criteria are remarkably difficult to achieve with laser guide…
We demonstrate a method to create arbitrary intensity distributions of multiple wavelengths of light, which can be useful for ultracold atom experiments, by using regional phase-calculation algorithms to find a single hologram which is…