Phase flicker optimisation in digital liquid crystal on silicon devices.

Phase flickers in the digital liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) devices employing the pulse width modulation (PWM) driving scheme have a detrimental effect on optical performances, especially in the non-display applications. This paper investigated the relationship between the PWM waveform and the corresponding phase flicker in digital LCOS devices. It has been identified that the magnitude of the phase flicker depends on the pulse patterns in the driving waveform as well as the dynamic response of the liquid crystal molecules at different tilting angles. A simple but generic method has been developed based on these findings, which is able to accurately predict the temporal phase response of the liquid crystal to any PWM waveforms. This method is further used for rapid identifications of low-flicker PWM waveforms, without the need for increasing the complexity of the driving circuitry. The peak-to-peak phase flicker in the LCOS device under our investigation has been reduced by >80% from ∼0.16pi to ∼0.03pi when operating at 30°C.

Coarse integral holography approach for real 3D color video displays.

A colour holographic display is considered the ultimate apparatus to provide the most natural 3D viewing experience. It encodes a 3D scene as holographic patterns that then are used to reproduce the optical wavefront. The main challenge at present is for the existing technologies to cope with the full information bandwidth required for the computation and display of holographic video. We have developed a dynamic coarse integral holography approach using opto-mechanical scanning, coarse integral optics and a low space-bandwidth-product high-bandwidth spatial light modulator to display dynamic holograms with a large space-bandwidth-product at video rates, combined with an efficient rendering algorithm to reduce the information content. This makes it possible to realise a full-parallax, colour holographic video display with a bandwidth of 10 billion pixels per second, and an adequate image size and viewing angle, as well as all relevant 3D cues. Our approach is scalable and the prototype can achieve even better performance with continuing advances in hardware components.

Improved layer-based method for rapid hologram generation and real-time interactive holographic display applications.

Layer-based method has been proposed as an efficient approach to calculate holograms for holographic image display. This paper further improves its calculation speed and depth cues quality by introducing three different techniques, an improved coding scheme, a multilayer depth- fused 3D method and a fraction method. As a result the total computation time is reduced more than 4 times, and holographic images with accommodation cue are calculated in real time to interactions with the displayed image in a proof-of-concept setting of head-mounted holographic displays.

Application of the fractional Fourier transform to the design of LCOS based optical interconnects and fiber switches.

It is shown that reflective liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) spatial light modulator (SLM) based interconnects or fiber switches that use defocus to reduce crosstalk can be evaluated and optimized using a fractional Fourier transform if certain optical symmetry conditions are met. Theoretically the maximum allowable linear hologram phase error compared to a Fourier switch is increased by a factor of six before the target crosstalk for telecom applications of -40 dB is exceeded. A Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm incorporating a fractional Fourier transform modified for use with a reflective LCOS SLM is used to optimize multi-casting holograms in a prototype telecom switch. Experiments are in close agreement to predicted performance.

Use of wavefront encoding in optical interconnects and fiber switches for cross talk mitigation.

A technique of cross talk mitigation developed for liquid crystal on silicon spatial light modulator based optical interconnects and fiber switches is demonstrated. By purposefully introducing an appropriate aberration into the system, it is possible to reduce the worst-case cross talk by over 10 dB compared to conventional Fourier-transform-based designs. Tests at a wavelength of 674 nm validate this approach, and show that there is no noticeable reduction in diffraction efficiency. A 27% spot increase in beam diameter is observed, which is predicted to reduce at longer datacom and telecom wavelengths.

A study of capacitance-voltage characteristics of lead zirconate titanate ferroelectric thin films and their usage to investigate polarization and coercive field.

Capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films with a thickness of 130 nm were measured between 300 and 533 K. The transition between ferroelectric and paraelectric phases was revealed to be of second order in our case, with a Curie temperature at around 450 K. A linear relationship was found between the measured capacitance and the inverse square root of the applied voltage. It was shown that such a relationship could be fitted well by a universal expression of C/A = k(V+V(0))(-1/2) and that this expression could be derived by expanding the Landau-Devonshire free energy at an effective equilibrium position of the Ti/Zr ion in a PZT unit cell. By using the derived equations in this work, the free energy parameters for an individual material can be obtained solely from the corresponding C-V data, and the temperature dependences of both remnant polarization and coercive voltage are shown to be in quantitative agreement with the experimental data.

Atomic Layer Deposition of ZnO on Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes and Its Use for Synthesis of CNT-ZnO Heterostructures.

In this article, direct coating of ZnO on PECVD-grown multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is achieved using atomic layer deposition (ALD). Transmission electron microscopy investigation shows that the deposited ZnO shell is continuous and uniform, in contrast to the previously reported particle morphology. The ZnO layer has a good crystalline quality as indicated by Raman and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. We also show that such ZnO layer can be used as seed layer for subsequent hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods, resulting in branched CNT-inorganic hybrid nanostructures. Potentially, this method can also apply to the fabrication of ZnO-based hybrid nanostructures on other carbon nanomaterials.

Flux closure vortexlike domain structures in ferroelectric thin films.

Enhanced piezoresponse force microscopy was used to study flux closure vortexlike structures of 90° ferroelastic domains at the nanoscale in thin ferroelectric lead zirconium titanate (PZT) films. Using an external electric field, a vortexlike structure was induced far away from a grain boundary, indicating that physical edges are not necessary for nucleation contrary to previous suggestions. We demonstrate two different configurations of vortexlike structures, one of which has not been observed before. The stability of these structures is found to be size dependent, supporting previous predictions.

Bundles of polytwins as meta-elastic domains in the thin polycrystalline simple multi-ferroic system PZT.

We used enhanced piezo-response force microscopy (E-PFM) to investigate both ferroelastic and ferroelectric nanodomains in thin films of the simple multi-ferroic system PbZr(0.3)Ti(0.7)O(3) (PZT). We show how the grains are organized into a new type of elastic domain bundles of the well-known periodic elastic twins. Here we present these bundle domains and discuss their stability and origin. Moreover, we show that they can arrange in such a way as to release strain in a more effective way than simple twinning. Finally, we show that these bundle domains can arrange to form the macroscopic ferroelectric domains that constitute the basis of ferroelectric-based memory devices.

Spontaneous formation of highly ordered nanostructures: thermal instability and mode selection in surface-capped polymer films.

We demonstrate a controllable formation process of wave-like patterns in thermally unstable surface-capped polymer films on a rigid substrate. Self-ordered wave-like structures over a large area can be created by applying a small lateral tension to the film, whereupon it becomes unstable. A clear mode selection process which includes creation, decay and interference between coexisting waves at different annealing conditions has been observed, which makes it possible to restrain the patterns which are formed finally. Our results provide a clear and new evidence of spinodal behaviour in such a film due to thermal instability. Furthermore, we show that the well-controlled patterns generated in such a process can be used to fabricate nanostructures for various applications.

Dynamic roughening of tetrahedral amorphous carbon.

The roughness of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) films grown at room temperature is measured as a function of film thickness by atomic force microscopy, to extract roughness and growth exponents of alpha approximately 0.39 and beta approximately 0-0.1, respectively. This extremely small growth exponent shows that some form of surface diffusion and relaxation operates at a homologous temperature of 0.07, much lower than in any other material. This is accounted for by a Monte Carlo simulation, which assumes a smoothening during a thermal spike, following energetic ion deposition. The low roughness allows ta-C to be used as an ultrathin protective coating on magnetic disk storage systems with approximately 1 Tbit/in.(2) storage density.