A Narrow-Linewidth Optical Parametric Oscillator Inserted with Fabry–Perot Etalon

Nowadays, the Fabry–Perot etalon (F–P) has been widely utilized in the optical parametric oscillator (OPO) to improve the filtering performance. In this paper, we reported an F–P etalon composed of two ultra-thin silicon wafers spaced with the air. The linewidth of the signal laser and the threshold are 0.03 nm and 0.6 W, respectively when the proposed etalon is employed to a OPO system based on the MgO-doped LiNbO3 (MgO: PPLN). A stabilized output at 1492.4 nm is obtained, and a tunable, high-precision filtering performance can be achieved by varying the gap distance of the F–P etalon arbitrarily due to its ultra-thin thickness. In addition, the F–P etalon can work on a very wide bandwidth due to its weak absorption during the infrared and terahertz waveband. The high-precision tuning capability and wide-band function of proposed etalon may benefit many applications, including spectroscopy, filtering, and optical communication.

Fabrication of Antireflection Micro/Nanostructures on the Surface of Aluminum Alloy by Femtosecond Laser

Designed micro-nano structures on the surface of aluminum alloy provide excellent light trapping properties that can be used extensively in thermal photovoltaics, sensors, etc. However, the fabrication of high-performance antireflective micro-nano structures on aluminum alloy is challenging because aluminum has shallow intrinsic losses and weak absorption. A two-step strategy is proposed for fabricating broadband antireflection structures by superimposing nanostructures onto microscale structures. By optimizing the processing parameters of femtosecond laser, the average reflectances of 2.6% within the visible spectral region (400–800 nm) and 5.14% within the Vis-NIR spectral region (400–2500 nm) are obtained.

Optimization of operating modes of the weak absorption spectrometer

The possibilities of improving the characteristics of a weak absorption spectrometer consisting of a frequency-tunable laser and an external analytical resonator with the test substance are analyzed. The influence of the scanning speed of the laser frequency on the choice of the spectrometer operating modes that provide the required resolution and the required sensitivity of spectral measurements is considered. Particular attention is paid to assessing the role of the interaction of modes in an analytical cavity on the structure of the recorded spectra. It was found that at a high rate of change in the laser frequency and superposition of fields of longitudinal modes, an improvement in the resolving power is combined with a certain decrease in the sensitivity and accuracy of recording weak spectral lines. It is shown that the optimization of the spectrometer operation modes requires correct accounting of the Q-factor of the analytical resonator and the line width of the probe radiation.

EXPRESS: Photoacoustic Detection of Weak Absorption Bands in Infrared Spectra of Calcite

Photoacoustic spectroscopic (PAS) detection of infrared absorption often produces spectra with enhanced intensities for weaker peaks, enabling the detection of features due to overtones and combinations, as well as less-abundant isotopic species. To illustrate this phenomenon, we present and discuss PAS infrared spectra of calcite (CaCO₃). We use linearization of rapid-scan spectra, as well as comparing step-scan and rapid-scan spectra, to demonstrate that saturation is not the driving force behind these enhanced intensities. Our results point to a new knowledge gap, since a theoretical basis for the enhancement of these weak bands has not yet been developed.

The band engineering of 2D hybridized nanomaterials g-C3N4-Sb2MoO6-Bi2O3 with dual Z-scheme heterojunction for enhanced photocatalytic water splitting without sacrificial agents

Bi2O3 has the broad application prospects on the field of photocatalysts. However, the inevitable effects from the inherent properties of weak absorption under visible light and easy recombination of photo-generated...

Weak spectral features on (101995) Bennu from the OSIRIS-REx Visible and InfraRed Spectrometer

Context. The NASA Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission has obtained thousands of spectra of asteroid (101955) Bennu with the OSIRIS-REx Visible and InfraRed Spectrometer. Aims. We present a spectral search for minor absorption bands and determine compositional variations on the surface of Bennu. Methods. Reflectance spectra with low and high spatial resolutions were analyzed for evidence of weak absorption bands. Spectra were also divided by a global average spectrum to isolate unique spectral features, and variations in the strongest band depths were mapped on a surface shape model. The global visible to near-IR spectrum of Bennu shows evidence of several weak absorption bands with depths of a few percent. Results. Several observed bands are consistent with phyllosilicates, and their distribution correlates with the stronger 2.74-μm hydration band. A 0.55-μm band is consistent with iron oxides and is deepest in the spectrally reddest areas on Bennu. The presence of hydrated phyllosilicates and iron oxides indicates substantial aqueous alteration in Bennu’s past. Conclusions. Bennu’s spectra are not identical to a limited set of carbonaceous chondrite spectra, possibly due to compositional properties and spatial scale differences; however, returned samples should contain a mixture of common chondrite materials.

Establishment of the Qy Absorption Spectrum of Chlorophyll a Extending to Near-Infrared

A weak absorption tail related to the Qy singlet electronic transition of solvated chlorophyll a is discovered using sensitive anti-Stokes fluorescence excitation spectroscopy. The quasi-exponentially decreasing tail was, at ambient temperature, readily observable as far as −2400 cm−1 from the absorption peak and at relative intensity of 10−7. The tail also weakened rapidly upon cooling the sample, implying its basic thermally activated nature. The shape of the spectrum as well as its temperature dependence were qualitatively well reproduced by quantum chemical calculations involving the pigment intramolecular vibrational modes, their overtones, and pairwise combination modes, but no intermolecular/solvent modes. A similar tail was observed earlier in the case of bacteriochlorophyll a, suggesting generality of this phenomenon. Long vibronic red tails are, thus, expected to exist in all pigments of light-harvesting relevance at physiological temperatures.