Retinal nerve fiber layer retardation measurements using a polarization-sensitive fundus camera.

To measure the retardation distribution of the optic retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) from a single image, we have developed a new polarization analysis system that is able to detect the Stokes vector using a fundus camera. The polarization analysis system is constructed with a CCD area image sensor, a linear polarizing plate, a microphase plate array, and a circularly polarized light illumination unit. In this system, the Stokes vector expressing the whole state of polarization is detected, and the influence of the background scattering in the retina and of the retardation caused by the cornea are numerically eliminated. The measurement method is based on the hypothesis that the retardation process of the eye optics can be quantified by a numerical equation that consists of a retardation matrix of all the polarization components. We show the method and the measurement results for normal eyes. Our results indicate that the present method may provide a useful means for the evaluation of retardation distribution of the RNFL.

Two-spherical-wave ultraviolet interferometer for making an antireflective subwavelength periodic pattern on a curved surface.

An ultraviolet two-spherical-wave interferometer was developed in order to make a subwavelength structured surface on a curved surface. The change in fringe period on the curved surface was significantly suppressed compared with the two-plane-wave interferometer. The optical setup method for suppressing the change in fringe period is described. The effect of the two-spherical-wave interferometer was investigated by numerical simulations. In an experimental demonstration for a concave spherical surface with 11.1 mm radius of curvature and 10 mm diameter, the change in period of the photoresist pattern was reduced to 12 nm for the target period of 250 nm.

Numerical study on a micro prism and micro lenses with metal-dielectric multilayered structures.

A micro optical prism and micro lenses with metal-and-dielectric multilayered subwavelength structure (MDMS) are discussed. The MDMS prism has a highly dispersive optical property. Light waves do not spread out in the small prism because of the restriction of propagation direction of light. Optical properties of a curved MDMS prism were investigated by theoretical analysis and numerical simulations. The curved MDMS prism with a structure period of 0.4 microm and an apex angle of 90 degrees had angular dispersion of 0.11 degrees /nm for light of 1.5 microm wavelength. A convexo-plane MDMS lens and a gradient-index MDMS lens were also investigated, and the optical behavior for the curved prism with the convexo-plane lens was demonstrated by a numerical simulation.

Ray tracing of an aspherical lens with antireflective subwavelength structured surfaces.

A method of ray tracing for an aspherical lens with subwavelength periodic structured surfaces has been developed. The ray tracing in the antireflective subwavelength structure is based on the group velocity of the Bloch wave. Transmittance and phase delay for the surface structure are determined with rigorous coupled wave analysis. Calculated wavefront aberration was smaller than 20 mlambda for an aspherical lens with numerical aperture of 0.6. For a lens with a higher numerical aperture, the wavefront aberrations increase drastically.

Refraction and diffraction by a metal-dielectric multilayered structure.

An optical refraction prism consisting of metal and dielectric, subwavelength, periodic multilayered thin films has been proposed. The multilayered structure of metal and dielectric thin films has a cylindrical dispersion surface for TM polarized light. The light behaviors are very different from those of conventional glass prisms and photonic crystal superprisms. Refraction and diffraction of the light wave for the metal-dielectric multilayered prism has been investigated by numerical simulations and graphical representation based on the dispersion surface. A prism with 0.2 microm period had an angular dispersion of 0.20 degrees /nm for approximately 0.8 microm wavelength light. The finite thick metal-dielectric multilayered structure acted as a slab waveguide.

Reduced wavelength-dependent quarter-wave plate fabricated by a multilayered subwavelength structure.

We developed a novel fabrication method of a reduced wavelength-dependent quarter-wave plate (QWP) based on form birefringence of a multilayered subwavelength structure. The multilayered structure was constructed by depositing a high-refractive-index thin film on a subwavelength-structured substrate with a low refractive index. The surface structure of the substrate was shallow enough to be formed by a mass replication technology. A high-refractive-index subwavelength grating was formed on ridges of the substrate by sputtering Zn2SnO4 (refractive index of 2.03 at a wavelength of 633 nm). Moreover, since the grooves of the high-refractive-index grating were very deep and narrow, the dispersion of form birefringence suppressed the dependency of phase retardance on the wavelength of light in a limited spectral region. The phase retardance of the fabricated QWP was 89 degrees at a 633 nm wavelength and 79 degrees at a 785 nm wavelength.

Estimation method for the light extraction efficiency of light-emitting elements with a rigorous grating diffraction theory.

The light extraction efficiency of a light-emitting element with microstructured surface is analyzed with a rigorous grating diffraction theory. The grating theory reveals an improvement of extraction efficiency due to diffraction of light by the surface microstructure. The simulation results show that the improvement of extraction efficiency is due mainly to the reflected diffraction rather than to the transmitted diffraction. A part of total-internal-reflection light is diffracted into directions at less than the critical angle. Extraction efficiency is improved by multiple reflection and diffraction of light in a high-refractive-index layer. We propose a simple design method for an efficient surface microstructure from the viewpoint of reflected diffraction.

Method for calibrating system parameters of a multidirectional interferometers system.

A multidirectional interferometer system has been proposed and developed to measure the position and orientation of a positioning stage. In this method the system parameters, such as positions of the corner-cube reflectors and directions of the rays in the interferometers, must be determined beforehand. However, it is difficult to find ways to determine the system parameters for each different system with necessary accuracy. This paper proposes a systematic method for calibrating the system parameters when the number of the interferometers is larger than the degrees of freedom of the stage. The method is verified for a two-dimensional stage by both simulation and experiment.

Dynamic guided-mode resonant grating filter with quadratic electro-optic effect.

We propose a novel and simple concept of dynamic switching of guided-mode resonant grating filters with quadratic electro-optic effect within a waveguide layer modulated by external fields due to comb-shaped electrodes that also behave as a grating. As the device has subwavelength structure, the performance must be analyzed electromagnetically. We describe numerical simulation with the finite-difference time-domain method specially modified so that it can treat inhomogeneous anisotropic media such as lead lanthanum zirconate titanate.

Numerical study on an asymmetric guided-mode resonant grating with a Kerr medium for optical switching.

Optical switching effects of a guided-mode resonant grating (GMRG) with a Kerr medium have been simulated with the nonlinear finite differential time domain (FDTD) method. An asymmetric waveguide grating with a large second spatial harmonic component has been proposed for the optical switch. Resonant reflection occurs at both of the band-edge wavelengths. These wavelengths are used for the pump light and the probe light. The enhanced electric field of the pump light changes the resonant wavelength for the probe light as a result of the Kerr effect. We designed the GMRG with resonant wavelengths of 1489.6 and 1630 nm, which were used for the pump light and the probe light, respectively. When the grating material has a third-order susceptibility chi(3) of 8.5 x 10(-10) esu, the transmittance of the probe light changes from 0 to 80% by increasing the intensity of the pump light from 0 to 60 kW/mm2.

Optimization of diffraction grating profiles in fabrication by electron-beam lithography.

We propose a new design method for periodic diffraction gratings to be fabricated with direct-writing electron-beam lithography. When the grating has a small period, the proximity effect of electron scattering restricts the grating profile after developing. Our design method optimizes the electron-dose profile and grating profile simultaneously to obtain the desired diffraction efficiency under the restriction of the proximity effect. The optimization is made with rigorous electromagnetic grating analysis and the resist development simulator. When we designed the diffraction grating with a period of 1.0 microm to obtain the highest efficiency of the first-order diffracted light of a 633-nm wavelength, the calculated grating profile was really different from the profile optimized only with rigorous electromagnetic grating analysis. Moreover, the diffraction grating of the electron-beam resist was fabricated according to the simulation result. The estimated diffraction efficiency was 82%, and the measured efficiency was 70%.

Measurement by multidirectional interferometers of the position and orientation of a positioning stage.

A multidirectional interferometer system is developed to determine the position and orientation of a stage moved in a two-dimensional (2-D) space. In this system four corner-cube prisms are mounted on the moving stage, and four laser beams are incident on the corner cubes in different directions. Moving distances in the observed directions are measured by laser interferometers. The position and orientation of the stage are calculated from the moving distances of the corner cubes. Some experiments are done on the 2-D moving stage with four interferometers, and measurement errors are estimated from redundant data. The estimated accuracy is higher than 0.2 microm for translation and 0.3 x 10(-3) deg for rotation for a measurement range of 0.5 mm and 0.5 deg.

Guided-mode resonant grating filter with an antireflection structured surface.

We describe a new structure of guided-mode resonant grating (GMRG) filters with low sideband reflectance. This GMRG filter consists of a high-index thin film on an antireflective structured surface called "moth-eye structure." Since the high-index film undulates along the surface structure, the film acts as a modulated optical waveguide. An incident light wave satisfying a resonant condition is reflected by the GMRG filter, and nonresonant light waves pass through the filter. This GMRG filter is valid for reducing reflection of nonresonant light waves in a wide spectral range. The resonant reflection of this new filter was investigated by numerical calculation based on an electromagnetic grating analysis. In the case of a triangular antireflective surface structure whose thickness is 2x greater than its period, the sideband reflectance for nonresonant light waves was lower than 0.5% for TM-polarized light in a wide range of wavelengths.