Significance: Corneal diseases is a major cause of reversible blindness in the world. Monitoring the progression of human corneal edema or corneal scarring to prevent the disease entering into the end stage is crucial.
Aim: We present a method for sensing human corneal composition at different depths, namely focused on the epithelium and stromal layer, using high-sensitivity terahertz (THz) broadband spectroscopy.
Approach: From the proposed methodology, the THz temporal and absorption spectra of human corneas at different edema stages have been studied. THz wave signals were collected from the direct reflection and four other collection points along the THz wave propagation direction as reviewed from the simulation THz electrical field.
Result: Our results show that the epithelium layer acts as a good barrier to maintain hydration level of the stroma, and the quality of the epithelium can be used to predict the level of corneal swelling in corneal edema. At the detection points near to the incident point, the THz frequency spectra demonstrated interference oscillation behavior. At the final edema observing time, results showed that the epithelium lose its barrier properties. The intactness of the epithelium can be used to predict the edema severity in the final stage. When the detection points are further away from the incident point, the THz spectra are believed to contain information from stromal layer. Stromal absorption spectra demonstrated correlation with optical coherence tomography thickness results.
Conclusion: The hydration concentration from stromal layer was further quantitatively calculated. At the end of the experiment, all the corneal hydration levels reach to the same value which shows that the edema hydration has reached maximum saturation. The information of individual sublayers of the cornea is obtained by characterizing noninvasively with the use of THz spectroscopy. To our knowledge, this is the first report of using THz for noninvasive characterization of sublayers of the cornea.
Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are increasingly used in aerospace applications due to its superior mechanical properties and reduced weight. Adhesive bonding is commonly used to join the composite parts since it is capable of joining incompatible or dissimilar components. However, insufficient adhesive or contamination in the adhesive bonds might occur and pose as threats to the integrity of the plane during service. It is thus important to look for suitable nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques to detect and characterize the sub-surface defects within the CFRP composites. Some of the common NDT techniques include ultrasonic techniques and thermography. In this work, we report the use of the abovementioned techniques for improved interpretation of the results.
Theoretical and experimental investigation of 980nm quantum well ridge waveguide lasers suitable for pumping Er3+ doped fiber amplifiers are carried out. The valence hole subbands, the TE and TM mode optical gains, and the radiative current density of the In0.2Ga0.8As/GaAs/GaAs strained quantum well lasing at 980 nm have been investigated using a 6 by 6 Hamiltonian model. A very low threshold current density is predicted. These theoretical results would be useful for the design and further performance improvements of the ternary InGaAs and quaternary InAlGaAs strained QW laser diodes. Mesa, stripe geometry and ridge waveguide three quantum wells lasers have fabricated from a graded index separate confinement heterostructure grown by molecule beam epitaxy. For a 4 micrometers wide and 1000micrometers long ridge waveguide laser, a cw threshold current of 12.5mA, the threshold current density of 313A/cm2, an external quantum efficiency of 0.31mW/mA and power slope efficiency of 0.37mW/mA per facet were obtained.
A series of theoretical investigations of the quaternary InAlGaAs material system are carried out. The electronic band structures, the density-of-states, the optical gain spectra and the radiative current density have been investigated based on the Hamiltonian derived using the k.p method. We investigated the dependence of the optical gain and transparent current density on the well width, barrier height, and strain using a numerical approach with high accuracy. By varying the well width, mole fraction in the well material and the Al mole fraction in the barrier the effects of quantum confinement and compressive strain are examined. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a reduction of the well width offers improved modal gain over all radiative current densities. Two different material systems, InAlGaAs on InP and GaAs substrates, strained and unstrained, are examined, respectively. Our results suggest that a suitable combination of well width and barrier height should be selected in improving the TE mode optical gain in InAlGaAs single QW. A very low transparent threshold current density 35 A/cm2 of (formula available in paper) strained quantum well laser is predicted. These theoretical results would be useful for design and further performance improvement of the quaternary InAlGaAs strained QW laser diodes.
Conference Committee Involvement (4)
Terahertz, RF, Millimeter, and Submillimeter-Wave Technology and Applications XVIII
27 January 2025 | San Francisco, California, United States
Terahertz, RF, Millimeter, and Submillimeter-Wave Technology and Applications XVII
29 January 2024 | San Francisco, California, United States
Terahertz, RF, Millimeter, and Submillimeter-Wave Technology and Applications XVI
30 January 2023 | San Francisco, California, United States
Terahertz, RF, Millimeter, and Submillimeter-Wave Technology and Applications XV
25 January 2022 | San Francisco, California, United States
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