This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 10976, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Author and Conference Committee lists.

In this paper a phase recovering scheme from the optical vortex microscope is presented. Laguerre-Gaussian beam with the vortex charge equal to one passes through the phase sample and then is detected at the observation plane. The sample modifies the internal structure of the vortex beam. The way of measuring such perturbation is presented. Numerical results are confirmed by the experiment.

Contemporary, the magneto-optical Kerr effect present in the base of methods used to analyze magnetization of surfaces and thin layers is a point of a great interest. A local application, high sensibility and fast feedback belong to its advantages. The paper shows some results obtained while verifying the functionality of a new one-beam magnetometer setup designed in ILC at Bratislava. A great numerical aperture of the objective used to direct both, the light incident and light reflected from the sample, provided a high mechanical stability of the setup, important especially when lowintensity light recorded. The recording electronics enabled to average the measured signal and suppress the broadband noise. A 70 nm thick layer of Co deposited on Si substrate in AC external magnetic field and longitudinal, polar and transverse configurations was used. Obtained results showed the influence of he light polarization (TE, TM) and wavelength (450 nm, 640 nm) on the magneto-optical Kerr effect detection sensitivity. The mutual influence of the components of the resulting magnetization of the sample was observed and discussed, too.

We present the development of new methods and techniques of splicing and forming optical fibers with focusing on the development of new ionizing radiation sensors. Optical fiber-based ionizing sensors can be prepared by the combination of scintillation material and optical fibers. The type of optical fibers forming depends on the scintillation material structure. The type of scintillation material to ionizing radiation sensor preparation which can be used primary depends on the efficiency of ionizing radiation to scintillation radiation conversion. The standard types of optical fibers with different core diameters can be used for the powdered or crystalline structure of scintillation material. On the other side, the liquid scintillation material can be used in combination with microstructure fiber mainly. We prepared techniques for splicing and closing special hollow-core Photonic Crystal Fibers (PCF) and theirs cross splicing methods with standard optical fibers to using with this liquid scintillation materials. To powdered scintillation materials we prepared forming technology to optical fibers narrowing, etching etc. These techniques of fibers forming are presented.

The laser spectroscopy is a fundamental approach for the realisation of traceable optical frequency standards. In the 1:55 μm wavelength band, widely used in telecommunications, the acetylene is the typical and the most widespread absorption media. We present our investigation of using the hydrogen cyanide (HCN) as a cost-efficient and readily available alternative, that also provides a wider frequency span (from 1527nm to 1563 nm). We have compared the practical aspects of using new absorption media in comparison to existing experience with the acetylene with an outlook to carry out an independent measurement of the entire spectra. The results should contribute to the future inclusion of the HCN spectroscopic data into the Mise en pratique, thus allowing for the use of HCN as a reference for the realisation of traceable laser standards.

The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon in the Kretschmann configuration comprising an SF10 glass prism, a gold coated SF10 slide and an analyte is analyzed theoretically and experimentally in the spectral domain utilizing the ratio of the re ectances of p- and s-polarized waves. Using the dispersion characteristics of a metallic layer according to the known model, the analysis for one angle of incidence can give the results that agree well with the experimental data. However, if the different angles of incidence are considered, the agreement fails because the SPR response is very sensitive to the dispersion characteristics of a metallic layer. A simple technique to obtain the dispersion of the complex permittivity of a metallic layer is proposed. To minimize the effect of an analyte, the SPR phenomenon is considered for air when a desirable angle of incidence is adjusted. Using this technique, we measure parameters of the ratio of the reflectance's of p- and s-polarized waves at different angles of incidence, that is, the minimum of the reflectance ratio and the resonance wavelength, to obtain the real and imaginary part of the complex permittivity. In the processing of every dip, we used the linear approximation of the real part and the quadratic approximation of the imaginary part of the complex permittivity of gold. The dispersion of the gold layer thus retrieved is compared with the model dispersion.

In the present days light emitting diodes (LED) based light sources become very common in most areas of life and scientific applications. Due to the nature characteristic of the LED’s, angular and spectral distribution of the emitted light must be improved for specific purposes of light source. It could be done by standard bulk optics, reflective and refractive, or in modern way by integrating planar diffractive structures. Measuring system of spatial distribution of illumination was developed, which could be used in general but with advantage mainly for improved progressive diffraction optics components. The measurement system consists of three main parts. The first one is rigid optical bench with goniometric light source holder driven by stepper motor, which operates in three degrees of freedom. The source holder has ability to correct thickness of the light source with respect to the plane of the radiation. Maximal size of the light source is 500 by 500 mm and maximal length between the source and detector part is over 3 meters. The second detection part includes fiber spectrometer, photopic photodiode and elevation laser. Latter ensures correct repeatable setting of the light source. The third part - control and acquisition hardware is crucial for proper measurement of spectral and intensity data sets. The whole system is driven by custom software, which is able to generate most types of output reports, charts and file formats.

We report on a traceable calibration system for a 3500mm-long console that carries a measurement system for inspecting the diameter of a circular reactor chassis. The system uses two single-pass laser interferometers with homodyne fringe detection for measurement in two degrees of freedom. The hybrid FPGA-microcontroller control module carries out the fringe detection together with the application-specific scale linearization approach and the compensation of environmental influences such as thermal elongation and the refractive index of air fluctuations. We demonstrated the system feasibility with an accuracy of a few microns and translation velocity higher than 0:1 metre per second.

Analysis of fringe patterns with greatly variable density is a huge challenge for the single-frame fringe pattern analysis algorithms. The broad range of spatial frequencies contained in the image widens the Fourier spectrum and makes the separation of the information difficult or even impossible. The background and information differentiation is also a challenging task in the case of fringe pattern preprocessing. On the other hand single-frame fringe pattern analysis algorithms need to be taken into the consideration and developed because of their ability to analyze transient events. One of the newest phase demodulation method is the Hilbert spiral transform (HST). At the output of the HST the fringesignal which is in quadrature with the input fringe pattern is obtained. Both fringe-signals form the 2D analytic signal with phase and amplitude clearly defined by angle and modulus of this complex valued analytic fringe pattern. Nevertheless, HST input signal has to fulfill a few requirements: zero mean value (which can be obtained by successful background removal), low-pass amplitude modulation function (according to Bedrosian’s theorem) and successful noise removal. In this work the new approach to the preprocessing of images containing wide range of spatial frequencies will be introduced using modified variational image decomposition. By modifications we mean acceleration and improved background and fringes differentiation. It will be also proven that quality of the preprocessing plays a key role in the phase demodulation process. Received results will be compared with the ones provided by already well-established and versatile 2D Hilbert-Huang Transform technique.

The optical activity measurements have been widely performed using a simple polarimeter with a monochromatic source so far. This work introduces versatile and simple technique of the optical activity measurements using Mueller matrix spectroscopic ellipsometer (Woollam RC2-DI) with the spectral range from 0.73 eV to 6.42 eV (wavelength range from 193 nm to 1700 nm). First, we present the measurements of chiral solutions under constant temperature, where the dependences of the optical activity on solution concentration were determined. The measured spectra were compared to a dispersion model and the specific rotatory powers were calculated. Second, temperature-dependent measurements were performed using homemade, specially designed temperature control cells with 1 °C accuracy. The calculated specific rotatory powers were compared to commonly tabulated data for the wavelength of 589 nm with a good agreement, which proves us repeatability and robustness of the proposed method.

We present a novel method for determining a spectral phase derivative from a single spectral interferogram obtained by using a white-light interferometry technique, which is further used for calculation of chromatic dispersion profile. The method is based on direct calculations of a second derivative of the registered spectral intensity at extremal points. We explain theoretical background of the method, discuss its limitations and evaluate an accuracy by numerical simulations. Additionally, we validate the proposed method in dispersion measurements of the BK7 glass plate and the SMF-28 fiber.

We report the comprehensive application of double wavelength multifunctional optical tweezers. In the presented setup the measurement system is based on an inverted biological microscope. The system is equipped with two lasers of different wavelengths. The lasers’ beams, which generated optical traps, are controlled by galvanometer mirrors systems. Application of this setup has been presented in three examples. First one describes measurement of liposomes’ deformation, which is widely utilized in medical research. Secondly, the application of double wavelength multifunctional optical tweezers in precise control of micro-tools such as micro-dumbbells is presented. The third application of this system is the measurement of cell-to-cell adhesion forces, what is essential to understand the physical characteristics of living cells. In this paper we described preparation and process of samples measurement.

Indirect optical micro-manipulation refers to mechanical manipulation of microscopic objects by means of optically trapped micro-tools. Two-photon polymerization is used to prepare the micro-tools, which are then trapped by focused laser beams through their spherical “handle” parts. Simultaneous control of several laser traps by Holographic Optical Tweezers (HOT) allows for positioning (both transfer and rotation) of the micro-tools in 3D. We report on the development of micro-tools and their testing in an automated HOT system. In order to facilitate the manipulation of objects in large systems (exceeding the field-of-view of the trapping microscope objective) the HOT apparatus is equipped with an additional low-resolution microscope. The two live images are processed with the system of several computers communicating with each other via local network and displayed side-by-side on remote client computer to allow interaction with the user. Initially, the user clicks the positions of laser traps matching micro-tool handles. Subsequently, traps are merged into a set with one representative control point serving for manual mouse operations (drag and drop, rotation and by mouse wheel). In the autopilot mode, the micro-tool moves in the given direction and velocity until it reaches the image border where it turns back. In the simulator mode, the manipulation is performed with animated micro-tools instead of real ones captured by camera.

Description of stochastic motion of a particle in an unstable potential is a challenging topic since even small number of diverging trajectories leads to undefined statistic moments of particle position. This breaks down the standard statistical analysis of unstable mechanical processes and their applications. Therefore, we employ a different approach taking advantage of the local characteristics of the most-likely particle motion instead of the average motion. We experimentally verify theoretical predictions for a Brownian particle moving near an inflection in a cubic optical potential. Notably, the most-likely position of the particle atypically shifts against the force despite the trajectories diverge in opposite direction. In this work we study the influence of the analytical formula used for quantification of the most likely particle position parameters in the case where only limited number of trajectories is available.

The paper brings new concept and useful technique, how to modify optical properties of different optical and optoelectronical devices by application of three dimensional (3D) photonic crystal structures made of polymer in the surface of photonic devices. This paper is focused on the design, fabrication and characterization of 3D woodpile structures based on IP-Dip polymer for application on photonic devices. The woodpile structures with period 500 nm was designed, simulated and fabricated for direct application on photonic devices by 3D laser lithography. The proposed photonic band gap was characterized from transmission measurement.

Optically levitated nanoparticles in vacuum have gained much attention for their ultrasensitivity to forces of zN·Hz^-1/2 orders and for the potential investigation in the field of quantum physics. In contrast to other nano-and micromechanical oscillators, the optically trapped nanoparticle in vacuum has no clamping losses, its motion is influenced only by a laser beam and its potential profile and therefore the mechanical quality factor of such oscillator is very high. In water solution, an optical trap can be considered as harmonic but in vacuum the optical potential anharmonicity starts to play an important role. This can be observed in power spectrum density profile where the oscillation peak is asymmetric. Here we show that commonly used method employing power spectrum density fitting for revealing the system parameters is not sufficient and other approach has to be developed.

We review the results of investigation of a special mode of self-pulsing, longitudinal-mode-instability regime, so-called self-induced laser line sweeping. This description reflects the fact that the self-pulsing (in the form of self-sustained relaxation oscillations) coexists with a spectacular laser line drift with time. It is accompanied by creation of dynamic refractive index gratings along the active fiber in the laser cavity. Such gratings have pitch of less than a micrometer, defined by half of the wavelength of the laser mode responsible for the grating build-up. Although longitudinal mode instabilities in fiber lasers are known for a long time, the associated refractive index gratings were studied just recently. An estimation of reflectivity of the dynamics gratings in self-swept fiber lasers is given using numerical model.

Black silicon structures were formed by etching of silicon substrates based on the surface structure chemical transfer method. Formed structures show gradient of material density in the nanocrystalline Si layer leading to ultralow spectral reflectance below 3% in wide spectral region. In study of the development of microstructure properties during the forming procedure the TEM images were used. Information abut the microstructure observed in the TEM images was analysed by the Abbott-Firestone method. By using this approach limiting conditions for the black silicon layer formation were obtained. Spectral reflectances of studied samples were modelled by using the effective medium theory. Multilayer theoretical model based on splitting the black silicon layer into 20 sublayers was constructed. Optical properties of each individual sublayer were described by using Bruggeman effective media theory combining Si, SiO₂ and void fractions. Gradual development of real and imaginary part of complex index of refraction was observed in the volume of black silicon layers. Results of optical analysis correspond to the microstructure development during sample forming.

The leaky-mode resonant diffraction gratings fabricated in a high-refractive index layer deposited on the facet of an optical fibre can serve as wavelength- and polarization-selective elements in fibre lasers. We predict a modal reflectance peak as high as 86% with a 3 dB spectral bandwidth of about 50 nm and a polarization extinction ratio of 17 dB using a theoretical model based on a 3D FDTD method. Gratings were fabricated by focused ion beam milling. Experimentally measured transmission spectra were compared with numerical simulations adapted to real grating profiles.

Laser-produced plasmas (LPP) are efficient sources of soft X-ray (SXR) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation. The emitted radiation can be collected and focused using grazing incidence or multilayer mirrors. This way radiation beams of high fluence can be formed. Their interaction with gases results in formation of photoionized plasmas of different parameters, depending on the fluence and properties of the gas. In this work LPP SXR and EUV sources, based on nanosecond Nd:YAG lasers and a double stream gas puff target are described. Parameters of the radiation pulses focused using the corresponding collectors, were measured. The sources were used for creation of the EUV induced, low temperature plasmas. For measurements of the weak EUV emission signals from these plasmas, a special detection system, containing a paraboloidal collector, was prepared. Time integrated, EUV intensity distribution in a focal spot of the collector, was measured using a back-illuminated CCD detector. Temporal measurements of the EUV signals were performed employing an AXUV photodiode mounted in the focal plane.

High-power supercontinuum (SC) generation in soft glass fibers is a relatively new research domain and the number of research groups dealing with this topic is still very small. Nevertheless, the results already achieved are very impressive and promising regarding potential applications of SC sources. In this paper I briefly reviewed recent results on highpower SC generation in fluoride fibers achieved at the Institute of Optoelectronics (Military University of Technology, MUT). The works are mainly focused on achieving high spectral flatness as well as very good power distribution towards the long wavelengths, while keeping the output time-averaged power at the level of over 1 W. To this aim, different home-built pump sources (e.g. mode-locked fiber laser and amplifier, gain-switched fiber laser and amplifier) and some selected nonlinear fibers (fluorozirconate, fluoroindate) were used for tests. Such light sources can find applications in a lot of important areas, like stand-off detection, directional countermeasure, and medicine. For these applications, the magnitude of bandwidth, spectral flatness as well as the level of output power together with efficient power distribution towards the mid-IR are very important factors.

The method of laser interferometry is presented appropriate for precise determination of the depth of etching in a deep reactive ion etching system (DRIE), primarily used for the manufacturing of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). The system uses previous interferometer designs developed at the Institute of Institute of Scientific Instruments of the CAS, v. v. i. (ISI). We designed and manufactured a measurement system for specific MEMS and its functionality verified with the KLATencor D-120 profilometer.

We present construction development of new ionizing radiation sensors based on silica optical fibers. Optical fiber based ionizing sensors can be prepared from silica optical fibers by adding a scintillation material. Scintillation material can be in liquid, powdered or crystalline structure. Then the sensor construction has to be prepared with focus to the scintillation material structure and to efficiency of ionizing radiation to scintillation radiation conversion. The best conversion efficiency is usually for the crystalline or powdered types of scintillation material structure. The liquid scintillation material has smaller efficiency conversion and can be used in combination with microstructure fiber mainly. Our first set-ups of silica optical fiber based ionizing radiation sensors with powdered and crystalline structure of the scintillation material are presented.

White-light interferometry is an established and proven method for the measurement of the shape of objects. It is able to measure the shape of objects with both smooth and rough surface. However, white-light interferometry suffers from some limitations. One of them is the necessity of the depth scan (the measured object is mechanically moved relative to the measuring device). We present an optical 3D sensor based on white-light interferometry that can measure the shape of objects without the mechanical depth scan. The output of a fiber optic interferometer is used as the light source for the measuring interferometer. An optical modulator inserted into one arm of the fiber optic interferometer changes the optical path difference between the interferometer arms so that the spectrum at the output is periodic. The variation of the spectral period replaces the depth scan. A focus tunable lens is a part of the imaging system. This lens secures that the object’s surface is still in the focalization plane of the imaging system.

A new method of sensing small refractive index changes of a liquid analyte using the effect of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) at different angles of incidence is presented. The method is based on detection of the phase shift induced by SPR in the Kretschmann configuration with an SPR structure comprising an SF10 glass prism, a gold coated SF10 slide with chromium adhesion layer, and an analyte (aqueous solutions of ethanol). First, the theoretical modeling of the phase shift at different angles of incidence induced by SPR is performed using the material dispersion characteristics. The phase shift at different angles of incidence is evaluated at a specific wavelength as a function of the analyte parameter and sensitivity is specified. Second, the theoretical modeling is accompanied by an experiment utilizing a polarimetry setup to detect the spectral phase shift induced by SPR. In addition, the phase shift is measured at a specific wavelength as a function of the analyte parameter, and the sensitivity is determined for different angles of incidence.

The reach of any all-optical transmission is limited by attenuation of transmission path and other factors as signal to noise ratio, and it can be extended by all-optical amplification. Bidirectional single fibre transmission introduces an issue of bidirectional symmetrical amplifiers in order not to lose advantage of path symmetry. In case of time transfer, quasibidirectional amplification might be acceptable when supported by specific arrangements, e.g. as much as possible equal arrangement for disjoint segments of the path. Time transfer with best available accuracy or optical frequency transfers require single path optical amplifiers that are further considered. In this constitution, unfortunately, reflections together with Rayleigh back-scattering will create feedback. In case feedback is strong enough and discrete amplifier operates in high gain regime (about 20dB), the whole system will start to oscillate. It saturates the gain of amplifiers and also can generate errors, when lasing in a transmission band. In the article, we review possible all optical amplification methods including those allowing to use untraditional transmission bands (outside C band).

Point-of-care diagnosis leads to integration of sensors, electrical and optical components in one device and stimulated the area of lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices where all operations and analysis are realized on a single chip. In LOC applications, the optical components based on interference principles play also important role. The Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) is well-known photonic device from on-chip applications, especially used in the field of silicon photonics. We proposed design of symmetric MZI based on polymer IP-Dip. Prepared MZIs with interrupted gap in sensing arm were proposed for high sensitive refractive index change detection. The MZIs were realized by laser lithography and optically investigated of different concentration of sucrose/water solutions.

In this paper we demonstrate possibilities of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology based on two-photon polymerization for application in optoelectronics and optical sensing applications. We use three-dimensional laser lithography based on direct-laser-writing (DLW) for fabrication of 3D polymeric microstructural device integrated at the end of optical fiber. The microstructure consist of mechanical holder and ring resonator as microoptical photonic device. Such 3D photonic device integrated at the end of optical fiber can work as fiber probe for optical sensing.

In this paper we proposed new concept for fabrication of 3D polymer waveguides with surface Bragg grating (SBG). For the structures fabrication we used 3D laser lithography based on direct laser writing process with nonlinear two-photon absorption in photosensitive material. High-resolution negative IP-Dip photoresist for the structure fabrication was used. The 3D photonic structure consists of supporting structure and waveguide with SBG. To improve the light guiding properties, waveguide part was isolated from the supporting structure by thin polymer pillars. The SBG parameters were numerically proposed by transfer matrix method to reflect narrow spectral band at 1.55 μm wavelength. Design of the proposed structure is suitable as a sensor for on-chip application for measurement of temperature or refractive index. Reflection characteristics of the SBG waveguide were measured with direct edge optical fiber coupling by optical spectrum analyzer. Quality of prepared structure was investigated by scanning electron microscope.

In this paper, we present design and preparation of polymer components for microspectrometer fabrication on a chip. The graphical program was used to design novel components in 3D arrangement. In experimental we used two-photon polymerization for direct laser writing of designed structures in IP-Dip photoresist material. Shape and morphological properties of prepared devices were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Finally, optical properties were examined by diffraction measurements.

This contribution presents special polymer-based 3D structures that were prepared via dip in laser lithography using Nanoscribe Photonic Professional 3D lithography system. As 3D structures, three different arrangements of microcones were performed: microcone decorated with in-line protrusions with two different periods (400 nm and 1 μm), and microcone with protrusions arranged in spiral. After that, 10 nm of Ag was evaporated onto the prepared samples. The micro-Raman measurements for Rhodamine 6G as a probe molecule show usability of metal-coated IP-Dip structures for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Lab-on-a-fiber-tip-devices combine the different materials and different configurations (for example photonic structures) to optical fiber tips. We propose, fabricated and experimentally demonstrated a fiber tip device, the 3D polymer photonic structure of Fabry-Perot cavity integrated at the end of the optical fiber. Also, we prepared and experimentally demonstrated a fiber tip device with Bragg reflector integrated at the end of the optical fiber. Both structures, the Bragg’s reflector and the Fabry-Perot cavity, were created in IP Dip polymer cylinder with a diameter like a diameter of an optical fiber which is advantageous for integration. Layers of structures consist a material with refractive index 1.5 and air. In addition, a method of transferring and bonding of a photonic structure at the end of the optical fiber is described. In all investigated interval of wavelengths there is good agreement between measured and calculated reflection spectra.

In this paper we present modification of angular photoresponse of InGaAsN-based photodiode with applied polymer (IPDIP) three-dimensional (3D) woodpile structure. 3D woodpile structure was prepared as effective diffractive element for using in optoelectronic devices with possibility of direct application on a chip surface. 3D woodpile structure was prepared using laser lithography by direct laser writing process. The effect of woodpile structure on angular photoresponse structure was investigated from goniophotometer measurements. Spatial modulation of light coupling into the photodiode chip with applied 3D woodpile structure was documented for irradiation by broad-band green light.

In this paper, we present new technique for modification of diffraction properties of light emitting devices by direct surface application of three-dimensional (3D) woodpile photonic crystal structure. For fabrication of woodpile structure, a commercial direct laser writing system Photonic Professional GT from Nanoscribe GmbH was used. This 3D laser lithography system is based on nonlinear two-photon absorption in liquid IP-Dip negative photosensitive polymer. Quality of prepared structure was analyzed using scanning electron microscope. The diffraction patterns of fabricated woodpile structure were measured using monochromatic light emitting diode and laser sources. After surface application on the output of the optical fiber, we investigated angular diffraction by goniophotometer.

In today's overwhelming world of data, ultra-wideband communication systems are the inevitable parts of the communication society that has faced scientists with challenging and new problems. Appearance of nonlinear effects in optical fiber communication systems due to wideband data transmissions with the aid of ultra-short pulses has recently attracted a lot of publicity. In this paper a finite-difference method is used to solving the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. A not frequently used numerical method is developed by replacing the time end space derivates by central-difference replacements. Results from solving the nonlinear Schrödinger equation by using the numerical method called method of lines is used to simulate the propagation of Gaussian pulses in optical fibers. Gaussian input pulse was used for the analysis of dispersion effects. For the simulation was chosen the nonlinear Schrödinger equation modified for dispersion mode. Based on the changes of the chirp parameter have been achieved final shapes of transmitted Gaussian pulses. The main objective was to demonstrate the impact of the broadening factor of the pulse and to clarify the correlation between the change in phase and frequency chirp. The main goal of this paper is to describe and simulate effects of dispersion and nonlinear effects by using short Gaussian and super-Gaussian optical pulses. The effect of dispersion caused frequency shift which can be compensated by effect of self-phase modulation. Due to this numerical simulation we can identified the channel properties and also the control the domination of effects. This option can be very interesting in nowadays high-speed optical communication system.

With growing demands of Internet Protocol services for transmission capacity and speed, the solution for future highspeed optical networks is Optical Burst Switching that is a technology for transmitting large amounts of data bursts through a transparent optical switching network. To successfully transmit bursts over OBS network and reach the destination node, resource reservation schemes have to be implemented to allocate resources at each node. The OBS network model with one-way resource reservation schemes performed using OMNeT++ simulation environment is presented.

We propose the second-order correlation function g⁽²⁾ as an indicator of quantum chaotic evolution. We discuss a nonlinear Kerr-like oscillator's system excited by a series of ultra-short coherent pulses. For such model, we study the time-evolution of the function g⁽²⁾ for various values of the strength of excitation which corresponds to the regular and chaotic behaviors of the classical counterpart of the Kerr-like quantum system.

We discuss a system consisting of two coupled nonlinear Kerr-like oscillators. For such a model, we study the time-evolution of the steering parameter and the normally ordered variances of the quadratures operators. We discuss the relationships between the generation of steerable and squeezed states.

Surface plasmon resonance has emerged as a powerful optical detection technique. Among others, one can find its applications in sensorics, material characterization or detection of molecules and their interactions. The existence of surface plasmons can be identified in a setup consisting of a glass prism, thin metallic layer and analyte. This effect manifests itself as a plasmonic wave propagating on a boundary between two layers, which are metal and analyte, and its detection can be performed via measurement of reflectivity of the incident light. Indeed, if we illuminate the prism face under certain angle, spectrum of the reflected light contains a minimum, i.e. a dip. This dip occurs for certain wavelength for which the plasmonic wave is excited. In the other words, it appears for a wavelength, fulfilling a certain resonance condition. The resonance condition provides, after some approximations, widely used expression describing dependence of the resonant wavelength on the angle of incidence. Nevertheless, even this expression has some limits and works well only if certain constraints are imposed. We study possible corrections to this expression providing better match even in the cases where we go behind the constraints.

Transmission measurements using THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) are often affected by amplitude and phase changes due to spatial properties of the focused beam. This axial anomaly is called the complex Gouy phase and significantly influences measurements as well as determination of material parameters of a measured sample. The method of the Gouy phase shift compensation has been published in our previous paper [1]. In this paper, we suggest a model of spatial-frequency dependence of the complex phase with additional effects of non-axial components due to focusing on a finite size detector.

The aim of work was the development of semi-analytical model for evaluation of coherent combining optical systems. The far-field intensity distributions were calculated based on coherent summation of individual Fourier images. To define measures of combining efficiency, Strehl Ratio and Power in Bucket (PIB) distribution were calculated for each case. In such a way we can determine maximal intensity and power content in main diffraction lobe, the horizontal-PIB to define beam diameter at certain level (e.g. 86.5% PIB) and power content for a given beam diameter (vertical-PIB). The effects of the individual tilts and phase errors on the effectiveness of the combining, Strehl Ratio and PIB were investigated.

The birefringence of the lithium niobate samples with different dopants is studied in visible and near-infrared spectral regions using a broadband light source, set of linear polarizers and VIS/NIR optical spectral analyzers. From the interference pattern observed behind the polarizer (one from the pair used) the dispersion of birefringence of the investigated samples is estimated. The results show that the dispersion of birefringence can be used for rapid and effective distinguishing among crystal samples of different origins.

Optical fiber links in Europe are with growing importance utilized in comparison campaigns of experimental optical clocks to verify their ultimate relative stability. We present a 306 km long optical fiber link established in the Czech Republic between ISI CAS Brno and CESNET Prague. This link will to deliver stable optical frequencies from laser standards located at ISI CAS in Brno to prospective academic and industrial partners in the Prague area. Our contribution reports on the current state of the fiber link for phase-coherent transfer of optical frequency. The long-haul link operates on an internet communication fiber in a dedicated 1540-1546nm DWDM window. A narrow-linewidth laser (Koheras BASIK) working at 1540.5 nm locked to a high-finesse optical cavity (Q = 300 000) serves as the optical frequency standard and source of highly coherent laser light at the transmitting side.

Analyzing the cells in various body fluids can greatly deepen the understanding of the mechanisms governing the cellular physiology. Because of the variability of physiological and metabolic states, it is important to be able to perform such studies on individual cells. Therefore, we developed an optofluidic system in which we precisely manipulated and monitored individual cells of Escherichia coli. We used laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy (LTRS) in a microchamber chip to manipulate and analyze individual E. coli cells. We subjected the cells to antibiotic cefotaxime, and we observed the changes by the time-lapse microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. We found observable changes in the cellular morphology (cell elongation) and in Raman spectra, which were consistent with other recently published observations. We tested the capabilities of the optofluidic system and found it to be a reliable and versatile solution for this class of microbiological experiments [18].

Optofluidics, a research discipline combining optics and microfluidics, currently aspires to revolutionize the analysis of biological and chemical samples, e.g. for medicine, pharmacology, or molecular biology. In order to detect low concentrations of analytes in water, we have developed an optofluidic device containing a nanostructured substrate for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The geometry of the gold surface allows localized plasmon oscillations to give rise to the SERS effect, in which the Raman spectral lines are intensified by the interaction of the plasmonic field with the electrons in the molecular bonds. The SERS substrate was enclosed in a microfluidic system, which allowed transport and precise mixing of the analyzed fluids, while preventing contamination or abrasion of the highly sensitive substrate. To illustrate its practical use, we employed the device for quantitative detection of persistent environmental pollutant 1,2,3-trichloropropane in water in submillimolar concentrations. The developed sensor allows fast and simple quantification of halogenated compounds and it will contribute towards the environmental monitoring and enzymology experiments with engineered haloalkane dehalogenase enzymes.

Sinusoidal gratings often in form of Gabor patches are used in popular contrast sensitivity tests. They're presented in one, three or six positions. Increasing the number of positions allows for decrease of the impact of the residual astigmatism and other non-rotationally symmetric aberrations of the eye on the results, but at the same time it makes the examination longer. Patients may get weary and answer incorrectly. The purpose of this study is to check whether using rotationally symmetric targets modulated by a Bessel profile leads to a reduction of the examination time while preserving the low sensitivity to astigmatism. Two types of patterns of different spatial frequencies, that are static Gabor patches and targets modulated by a Bessel profile, were presented to subjects as contrast sensitivity test targets. They were presented monocularly in an increasing contrast procedure to avoid afterimages effect. Forty subjects were healthy, without refractive errors or with the best possible vision correction and visual acuity 1.0 or higher. As a result, contrast sensitivity thresholds was measured and compared. The usability of Bessel modulated tests was confirmed.