Bound-state-in-continuum guided modes in a multilayer electro-optically active photonic integrated circuit platform.

In many physical systems, the interaction with an open environment leads to energy dissipation and reduced coherence, making it challenging to control these systems effectively. In the context of wave phenomena, such lossy interactions can be specifically controlled to isolate the system, a condition known as a bound-state-in-continuum (BIC). Despite the recent advances in engineered BICs for photonic waveguiding, practical implementations are still largely polarization- and geometry-specific, and the underlying principles remain to be systematically explored. Here, we theoretically and experimentally study low loss BIC photonic waveguiding within a two-layer heterogeneous electro-optically active integrated photonic platform. We show that coupling to the slab wave continuum can be selectively suppressed for guided modes with different polarizations and spatial structure. We demonstrate a low-loss same-polarization quasi-BIC guided mode enabling a high extinction Mach-Zehnder electro-optic amplitude modulator within a single Si3N4 ridge waveguide integrated with an extended LiNbO3 slab layer. By elucidating the broad BIC waveguiding principles and demonstrating them in an industry-relevant photonic configuration, this work may inspire innovative approaches to photonic applications such as switching and filtering. The broader impact of this work extends beyond photonics, influencing research in other wave dynamics disciplines, including microwave and acoustics.

Effects of 3D virtual reality motionless imagery training program with an avatar.

The present study aimed to explore the effects of motionless imagery training with an avatar in virtual reality (VR) on emotion, cognition, and physiological response changes in healthy adults. Participants were 30 healthy adults aged between 19 and 35 years. All participants were randomly divided into the experimental group (n = 18), which executed the imagery training with an avatar in VR, or the control group (n = 12), which merely experienced the VR without an avatar. Both groups underwent the intervention, a 20-min session, 3 times a week for 6 weeks. VR experience questionnaires and physiological response changes were measured at pre- and post-test and emotional states and cognition tests were measured at pre-, post-, and follow-up test. The experimental group showed no significant changes in the Presence Questionnaire (PQ) and the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) after the intervention while the control group showed a significant decrease in the PQ after the intervention. In all emotional states, there were no significant differences in the interaction between times and groups. A significant main effect of time was revealed in all cognition tests except the delayed recall and the delayed recognition in K-Auditory Verbal Learning Test (K-AVLT). In physiological response changes, the experimental group showed significant improvements in the electromyogram (EMG) at rectus femoris on the left side after the intervention. Thus, imagery training with an avatar in VR can be considered to be effective for enhancements of cognitions and physiological response changes.

Visible upconversion luminescence of doped bulk silicon for a multimodal wafer metrology.

We report the experimental observation of the UV-visible upconverted luminescence of bulk silicon under pulsed infrared excitation. We demonstrate that non-stationary distribution of excited carriers leads to the emission at spectral bands never to our knowledge observed before. We show that the doping type and concentration alter the shape of luminescence spectra. Silicon nanoparticles have a size between quantum-confined and Mie-type limits (10-100 nm) yet show increased luminescence intensity when placed atop a silicon wafer. The findings demonstrate that upconversion luminescence can become a powerful tool for nearest future silicon wafer inspection systems as a multimodal technique of measuring the several parameters of the wafer simultaneously.

InP high power monolithically integrated widely tunable laser and SOA array for hybrid integration.

We present a monolithic InP-based photonic integrated circuit (PIC) consisting of a widely tunable laser master oscillator feeding an array of integrated semiconductor optical amplifiers that are interferometrically combined on-chip in a single-mode waveguide. We demonstrate a stable and efficient on-chip coherent beam combination and obtain up to 240 mW average power from the monolithic PIC, with 30-50 kHz Schawlow-Townes linewidths and >180 mW average power across the extended C-band. We also explored hybrid integration of the InP-based laser and amplifier array PIC with a high quality factor silicon nitride microring resonator. We observe lasing based on gain from the interferometrically combined amplifier array in an external cavity formed via feedback from the silicon nitride microresonator chip; this configuration results in narrowing of the Schawlow-Townes linewidth to ∼3 kHz with 37.9 mW average power at the SiN output facet. This work demonstrates a new approach toward high power, narrow linewidth sources that can be integrated with on-chip single-mode waveguide platforms for potential applications in nonlinear integrated photonics.

Controlling light emission by engineering atomic geometries in silicon photonics.

By engineering atomic geometries composed of nearly 1000 atomic segments embedded in micro-resonators, we observe Bragg resonances induced by the atomic lattice at the telecommunication wavelength. The geometrical arrangement of erbium atoms into a lattice inside a silicon nitride (SiN) microring resonator reduces the scattering loss at a wavelength commensurate with the lattice. We confirm dependency of light emission to the atomic positions and lattice spacing and also observe Fano interference between resonant modes in the system.

Factors affecting cognition and emotion in patients with traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive and emotional disturbances are common serious issues in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, predictors associated with neuropsychological functions were not consistent. OBJECTIVE: To investigate factors affecting cognition and emotion in patients with TBI, we evaluated executive function, memory, and emotion based on injury severity and lesion location. METHODS: Neuropsychological outcomes of 80 TBI patients were evaluated via Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Color Trail Test (CTT), Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT), Everyday Memory Questionnaire (EMQ), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Agitated Behavior Scale (ABS). WCST, CTT, and COWAT assessed executive function; EMQ assessed everyday memory; and GDS, STAI, and ABS assessed emotion. Patients were categorized according to lateralization of lesion and existence of frontal lobe injury. RESULTS: Patients with longer duration of loss of consciousness (LOC) showed more severe deficits in everyday memory and agitated behaviors. The frontal lesion group showed poorer performance in executive function and higher agitation than the non-frontal lesion group. Patients with bilateral frontal lesion showed greater deficits in executive function and were more depressed than unilateral frontal lesion groups. Especially in those unilateral frontal lesion groups, right side frontal lesion group was worse on executive function than left side frontal lesion group. CONCLUSIONS: Duration of LOC and lesion location are main parameters affecting executive function, everyday memory, and emotion in neuropsychological outcomes following TBI, suggesting that these parameters need to be considered for cognitive rehabilitation interventions.

Binary code DOE optimization for speckle suppression in a laser display.

Using a laser light source in imaging devices provides a wide color gamut, high brightness, resolution, and efficiency. At the same time, it creates a speckle pattern that deteriorates the image quality. This paper is related to the application of the moving binary code diffractive optical element (DOE) for speckle suppression in a laser display. Analytical optimization of DOE parameters is made in this paper. The optimal DOE pitch is found analytically. Limitation of the DOE code length is shown, and the highest possible code length is estimated. Application of the compound Barker code for the DOE design is suggested. As an alternative, the M-sequence and minimum peak side-lobe codes are considered. The expected residual speckle contrast ratio after application of those codes is estimated for the number of codes. A comparison of the different codes is done, and recommendations for speckle suppression DOE design are provided.

Controlling evanescent waves using silicon photonic all-dielectric metamaterials for dense integration.

Ultra-compact, densely integrated optical components manufactured on a CMOS-foundry platform are highly desirable for optical information processing and electronic-photonic co-integration. However, the large spatial extent of evanescent waves arising from nanoscale confinement, ubiquitous in silicon photonic devices, causes significant cross-talk and scattering loss. Here, we demonstrate that anisotropic all-dielectric metamaterials open a new degree of freedom in total internal reflection to shorten the decay length of evanescent waves. We experimentally show the reduction of cross-talk by greater than 30 times and the bending loss by greater than 3 times in densely integrated, ultra-compact photonic circuit blocks. Our prototype all-dielectric metamaterial-waveguide achieves a low propagation loss of approximately 3.7±1.0 dB/cm, comparable to those of silicon strip waveguides. Our approach marks a departure from interference-based confinement as in photonic crystals or slot waveguides, which utilize nanoscale field enhancement. Its ability to suppress evanescent waves without substantially increasing the propagation loss shall pave the way for all-dielectric metamaterial-based dense integration.

50-GHz-spaced comb of high-dimensional frequency-bin entangled photons from an on-chip silicon nitride microresonator.

Quantum frequency combs from chip-scale integrated sources are promising candidates for scalable and robust quantum information processing (QIP). However, to use these quantum combs for frequency domain QIP, demonstration of entanglement in the frequency basis, showing that the entangled photons are in a coherent superposition of multiple frequency bins, is required. We present a verification of qubit and qutrit frequency-bin entanglement using an on-chip quantum frequency comb with 40 mode pairs, through a two-photon interference measurement that is based on electro-optic phase modulation. Our demonstrations provide an important contribution in establishing integrated optical microresonators as a source for high-dimensional frequency-bin encoded quantum computing, as well as dense quantum key distribution.

Dispersion engineering and frequency comb generation in thin silicon nitride concentric microresonators.

Kerr nonlinearity-based frequency combs and solitons have been generated from on-chip microresonators. The initiation of the combs requires global or local anomalous dispersion which leads to many limitations, such as material choice, film thickness, and spectral ranges where combs can be generated, as well as fabrication challenges. Using a concentric racetrack-shaped resonator, we show that such constraints can be lifted and resonator dispersion can be engineered to be anomalous over moderately broad bandwidth. We demonstrate anomalous dispersion in a 300 nm thick silicon nitride film, suitable for semiconductor manufacturing but previously thought to result in waveguides with high normal dispersion. Together with a mode-selective, tapered coupling scheme, we generate coherent mode-locked frequency combs. Our method can realize anomalous dispersion for resonators at almost any wavelength and simultaneously achieve material and process compatibility with semiconductor manufacturing.Kerr frequency comb generation from microresonators requires anomalous dispersion, imposing restrictions on materials and resonator design. Here, Kim et al. propose a concentric racetrack-resonator design where the dispersion can be engineered to be anomalous via resonant mode coupling.

Assessing psychological flexibility in patients with chronic pain: the Korean adaptation of the Brief Pain Response Inventory.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Brief Pain Response Inventory (K-BPRI) regarding patients with chronic pain. METHODS: This study employed a retrospective survey design. One hundred sixty-four Korean patients with chronic pain participated in the study. Construct validity was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis and Pearson correlation. Internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, and measurement error were examined using Cronbach's α, the inter-item correlation coefficients, and the item-total correlation coefficients; the intra-class correlation coefficient; and the standard error of measurements, respectively. RESULTS: Confirmatory factory analysis showed the best fit to the data for the adjusted two-factor structure of the K-BPRI. The K-BPRI demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Measurement errors for the K-BPRI and subscale scores were standard error of measurements = 5.74, 5.63, and 10.26, respectively, and minimum detectable change = 15.86, 15.56, and 28.35, respectively. Weak-to-moderate negative correlations were observed between the K-BPRI and the numerical rating scale for pain intensity and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, and moderately positive correlations were observed between the K-BPRI and Short Form-12. CONCLUSION: This study provided evidence for the psychometric properties of the K-BPRI, suggesting that it can be a brief and efficient instrument for measuring psychological flexibility in coping with chronic pain.

Strip-slot direct mode coupler.

We present a direct strip-slot waveguide mode coupler without any auxiliary structures. Contrary to popular belief, an apparent mode mismatch between strip and slot waveguide does not deteriorate conversion efficiency. Separated electric and magnetic field distributions in a slot waveguide lead to highly efficient modal coupling in the direct strip-slot coupler and result in high conversion efficiency. Accurate experimental characterization shows that the direct strip-slot waveguide mode coupler is capable of up to 96% conversion efficiency with a broad bandwidth. Being simplest and of high efficiency, the direct strip-slot waveguide mode coupler can encourage potential applications of slot waveguides.

Synthetic aperture microscopy based on referenceless phase retrieval with an electrically tunable lens.

Phase imaging microscopy, based either on holography or nonholographic methods such as phase retrieval, has seen considerable attention recently. Phase retrieval offers the advantage of being free of a reference arm and enables a more stable and compact setup. We present an optical setup that provides enhanced resolution by implementing synthetic aperture imaging based on phase retrieval using an electrically tunable lens (ETL). The ETL is a more compact and less expensive alternative to computerized translation stages and spatial light modulators. Before applying phase retrieval, we discuss a general calibration algorithm, which performs image registration, corrects for magnifications, and determines the axial locations of image planes. Finally, we obtain resolution-enhanced images of a phase grating and of cells to demonstrate the practical application of our technique.

Psychosocial factors for influencing healthy aging in adults in Korea.

BACKGROUND: Healthy aging includes physical, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being in later years. The purpose of this study is to identify the psychosocial factors influencing healthy aging and examining their socio-demographic characteristics. Perceived health status, depression, self-esteem, self-achievement, ego-integrity, participation in leisure activities, and loneliness were identified as influential factors in healthy aging. METHODS: 171 Korean adults aged between 45 and 77 years-old participated in the study. Self-reporting questionnaires were used, followed by descriptive statistics and multiple regressions as inferential statistical analyses. RESULTS: There were significant differences between participants' general characteristics: age, education, religion, housing, hobby, and economic status. The factors related to healthy aging had positive correlation with perceived health status, self-esteem, self-achievements, and leisure activities, and negative correlation with depression and loneliness. The factors influencing healthy aging were depression, leisure activities, perceived health status, ego integrity, and self-achievements. These factors were able to explain 51.9%. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results, depression is the factor with the greatest influence on healthy aging. Perceived health status, ego integrity, self-achievement, self-esteem, participation of leisure activities were also influential on healthy aging as beneficial factors.

Effect of acupuncture on patients with insomnia: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Hypnotic drugs tend to be the dominant form of treatment of insomnia, but these come with a number of reported side effects. Acupuncture has been studied as an alternative, resulting in a rising need for methodological research towards verifying its efficacy as insomnia treatment. METHODS/DESIGN: We describe a proposal for a single-center, patient-assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial with two parallel arms. A total of 38 patients complete screening tests at the first visit, are registered into the clinical trial, and then randomly assigned to the experimental or sham control groups (19 patients for each group). All subjects are clinical insomnia patients who score a 6 or above on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and meet all inclusion criteria. All subjects are treated with acupuncture and intradermal acupuncture (IDA) three times during the first week. Five sham acupoints are used in the control group. In the experimental group, five real acupoints (PC6, SP6, HT7, KI6, and BL62) are used unilaterally in turn. Sham acupoints are over 1 cm away from each real acupoint.The primary outcomes are the scores on the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and PSQI. Secondary outcomes are the sleep log, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the World Health Organization Quality of Life Abbreviated Version (WHOQOL-BREF), the Korean-Auditory Verbal Learning Test (K-AVLT), the Digit Span Test (DS), Event Related Potentials (ERPs) and heart rate variability (HRV) to assess emotional states, sleep quality, cognitive functioning, and electro-physiological changes.Subjects are assessed at three time points: baseline, post-treatment and follow-up. The duration of the clinical trial is 18 days. DISCUSSION: To study the enhancement of the effectiveness of acupuncture for insomnia, we test the intradermal acupuncture method, which is performed continuously on the subject's skin and stimulated at home by the subject every night. In the trial, objective measurements including ERPs and HRV are used to evaluate states of cognition and autonomic nervous system functioning and subjective self-report questionnaires assess insomnia symptoms.'Sham' acupuncture points provided by STRICTA are used for the control group. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01956760, registered 5 September 2013.

Impairment of vocal expression of negative emotions in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Vocal expression of emotions (EE) in retrieval of events from autobiographical memory was investigated in patients in early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Twenty-one AD patients and 19 controls were interviewed, and EE of the reported memories was rated by 8 independent evaluators. The AD group had lower EE of both recent and remote memory than controls, although EE in remote memories was better preserved in both groups. We observed positive correlations between EE and indicators of cognitive competence in AD patients. AD Patients are impaired in the ability to express emotions already at early stages of the disease, and EE seems to deteriorate along with the progression of cognitive impairment.