US5825790A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Optical sources having a strongly scattering gain medium providing laser-like action
Assignee: Brown University Research Foundation Inc
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Filing: 1996-11-12
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Granted: 1998-10-20
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Expires: 2016-11-12
Abstract
Abstract A gain medium is comprised of a multi-phase system wherein: a first phase is an electromagnetic radiation emission phase; a second phase is an electromagnetic radiation scattering phase; and a third phase is a transparent matrix phase. By example, the emission phase may consist of dye molecules, the scattering phase may consist of high contrast particles, and the matrix phase may consist of a solvent such as methanol. In some embodiments of this invention the emission and scattering phases may be the same phase, as when semiconductor particles are employed. A smallest dimension of a body comprised of the gain medium may be less than a scattering length associated with the scattering phase. It is shown that nearly thresholdless laser behavior is observed in strongly scattering optically pumped dye-methanol solutions containing colloidal TiO 2 or Al 2 O 3 ruby nanoparticles. The emission from the high gain colloid exhibits a slope change in the linear input-output characteristics above a critical pump pulse energy. The change in slope is accompanied by a spectral line narrowing with a bichromatic spectrum appearing at high pump energies.
Inventors
- 👤 Nabil M. Lawandy
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 15:22
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61N; A61N5/00; A61N5/06; A61N5/0613; A61N5/062; H; H01; H01S; H01S3/00; H01S3/14; H01S3/16; A61N5/0601; D; D06; D06F; D06F93/00; G; G01; G01N; G01N21/00; G01N21/01; G01N21/62; G01N21/63; G01N21/64; G01N21/6428; G01N21/643; G07; G07D; G07D7/00; G07D7/003; G07D7/06; G07D7/12; G07D7/1205; H01S3/05; H01S3/06; B; B01; B01J; B01J2219/00; B01J2219/00274; B01J2219/00277; B01J2219/00279; B01J2219/00306; B01J2219/00313; B01J2219/00315; B01J2219/00317; B01J2219/00583; B01J2219/00603; B01J2219/00659; B01J2219/0068; B01J2219/00702; B01J2219/00707; B82; B82Y; B82Y30/00; C; C40; C40B; C40B60/00; C40B60/14; H01S3/09; H01S3/091; H01S3/094; H01S3/0941; H01S3/163; H01S3/1631; H01S3/1636; H01S3/168; H01S3/20; H01S3/213; H01S5/00; H01S5/04; H01S5/041; H01S5/30
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
64 words
An object, comprising: a substrate; and coupled to said substrate, a wavelength encoded region comprising a plurality of electromagnetic radiation emitter and amplification portions each of which is optically coupled to a scattering portion for increasing a residence time of the electromagnetic radiation within the region, said wavelength encoded region emitting, when energized by incident light, a plurality of wavelengths that identify said object.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
64 words
An object, comprising: a substrate; and coupled to said substrate, a wavelength encoded region comprising a plurality of electromagnetic radiation emitter and amplification portions each of which is optically coupled to a scattering portion for increasing a residence time of the electromagnetic radiation within the region, said wavelength encoded region emitting, when energized by incident light, a plurality of wavelengths that identify said object.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
An object as in claim 1, wherein at least said wavelength encoded region is covered by a transparent protective layer or coating.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
15 words
An object as in claim 1, wherein at least said wavelength encoded region is encapsulated.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
96 words
A system for generating and detecting an optical signal, comprising: a region comprised of an electromagnetic radiation emitter and amplification material that is optically coupled to a scattering material for increasing a residence time of electromagnetic radiation within the region; an optical source for illuminating said region with electromagnetic radiation for stimulating an emission from said emitter and amplification material such that said emitter and amplification material, in cooperation with said scattering material, provides an optical signal comprised of an emission of a spectrally collapsed band of wavelengths; and an optical detector for detecting the emission.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
96 words
A system for generating and detecting an optical signal, comprising: a region comprised of an electromagnetic radiation emitter and amplification material that is optically coupled to a scattering material for increasing a residence time of electromagnetic radiation within the region; an optical source for illuminating said region with electromagnetic radiation for stimulating an emission from said emitter and amplification material such that said emitter and amplification material, in cooperation with said scattering material, provides an optical signal comprised of an emission of a spectrally collapsed band of wavelengths; and an optical detector for detecting the emission.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
70 words
A system as in claim 4, wherein the region is disposed on individual ones of a plurality of substrate bodies for emitting an optical signal that distinguishes one substrate body from other substrate bodies, and wherein said optical detector has an output coupled to means for segregating the plurality of substrate bodies into two or more groups of substrate bodies in accordance with the detected emissions from the substrate bodies.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
An system as in claim 5, wherein at least said region of each substrate body is covered by a protective layer or coating.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
An system as in claim 5, wherein at least said region of each substrate body is encapsulated.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
126 words
A method for identifying individual ones of items provided as an assemblage of items, comprising steps of: providing a wavelength encoded region that forms a portion of each item, the wavelength encoded region comprising a plurality of electromagnetic radiation emitter and amplification portions each of which is optically coupled to a scattering portion for increasing a residence time of electromagnetic radiation within the region; illuminating individual ones of the items with electromagnetic radiation for stimulating emissions from said plurality of emitter and amplification portions such that each emitter and amplification portion, in cooperation with said scattering portion, emits a distinctive narrow band of wavelengths; detecting the emission of the distinctive narrowband of wavelengths from an item; and identifying the item in accordance with the detected emission.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
126 words
A method for identifying individual ones of items provided as an assemblage of items, comprising steps of: providing a wavelength encoded region that forms a portion of each item, the wavelength encoded region comprising a plurality of electromagnetic radiation emitter and amplification portions each of which is optically coupled to a scattering portion for increasing a residence time of electromagnetic radiation within the region; illuminating individual ones of the items with electromagnetic radiation for stimulating emissions from said plurality of emitter and amplification portions such that each emitter and amplification portion, in cooperation with said scattering portion, emits a distinctive narrow band of wavelengths; detecting the emission of the distinctive narrowband of wavelengths from an item; and identifying the item in accordance with the detected emission.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method as in claim 8, and further comprising a step of segregating an identified item from the assemblage of items.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
91 words
A method for generating and detecting an optical signal, comprising steps of: providing a region comprised of an electromagnetic radiation emitter and amplification material that is optically coupled to a scattering material for increasing a residence time of electromagnetic radiation within the region; illuminating the region with electromagnetic radiation for stimulating an emission from said emitter and amplification material such that said emitter and amplification material, in cooperation with said scattering material, provides an optical signal comprised of an emission of a spectrally collapsed band of wavelengths; and detecting the emission.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
91 words
A method for generating and detecting an optical signal, comprising steps of: providing a region comprised of an electromagnetic radiation emitter and amplification material that is optically coupled to a scattering material for increasing a residence time of electromagnetic radiation within the region; illuminating the region with electromagnetic radiation for stimulating an emission from said emitter and amplification material such that said emitter and amplification material, in cooperation with said scattering material, provides an optical signal comprised of an emission of a spectrally collapsed band of wavelengths; and detecting the emission.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
68 words
A method as in claim 10, wherein the region is provided so as to disposed on individual ones of a plurality of substrate bodies for emitting an optical signal that distinguishes one substrate body from other substrate bodies, and further comprising a step of segregating the plurality of substrate bodies into two or more groups of substrate bodies in accordance with the detected emissions from the substrate bodies.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
38 words
A method as in claim 11, wherein at least the region of each substrate body is covered by a protective layer or coating such that the step of illuminating illuminates the region through the protective layer or coating.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method as in claim 11, wherein at least the region of each substrate body is encapsulated such that the step of illuminating illuminates the region through the encapsulation.
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| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-10-19 | 2006-04-20 | 2006-10-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-10-19 | 2010-04-20 | 2010-10-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |