500 W peak power cavity dumped 2 µm GaSb-based VECSEL.

A single transverse mode high-pulse-energy vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL) was developed. The GaSb-based VECSEL emits at a wavelength of 2.04 µm with a peak power exceeding 500 W while maintaining good beam quality. The cavity employs a Pockels cell combined with a low-loss thin film polarizer to selectively dump the intracavity energy into a 10 ns pulse. The laser has promise for incoherent LIDAR, materials processing, gas sensing, and nonlinear optics.

Beam deflection measurement of bound-electronic and rotational nonlinear refraction in molecular gases: erratum.

We provide an updated comparison of second hyperpolazability of carbon disulfide reported in [Opt. Express23(17), 22224 (2015)10.1364/OE.23.022224Optica3(6), 657 (2016)10.1364/OPTICA.3.000657].

Beam deflection measurement of bound-electronic and rotational nonlinear refraction in molecular gases.

A polarization-resolved beam deflection technique is used to separate the bound-electronic and molecular rotational components of nonlinear refractive transients of molecular gases. Coherent rotational revivals from N(2), O(2), and two isotopologues of carbon disulfide (CS(2)), are identified in gaseous mixtures. Dephasing rates, rotational and centrifugal distortion constants of each species are measured. Polarization at the magic angle allows unambiguous measurement of the bound-electronic nonlinear refractive index of air and second hyperpolarizability of CS(2). Agreement between gas and liquid phase second hyperpolarizability measurements is found using the Lorentz-Lorenz local field correction.

Numerical study of mode excitation in a partially illuminated silver rod.

Using electrodynamics theory, we numerically demonstrated that when the incident light polarization direction is parallel to a silver rod axis, the modes that are forbidden in a fully illuminated silver rod can be excited when the rod is partially illuminated. The modes are excited due to the symmetry breaking of the rod when it is partially illuminated. They are characterized by the even number of nodes in the excited surface plasmons and quadrupole pattern of the scattered light in the space. These modes are different from the allowed modes in a fully illuminated rod, which shows an odd number of nodes in the excited surface plasmons and a dipole pattern of the scattered light. The conclusion was further supported by the calculation results when the illuminated spot was moved from the rod end to its center and when the illuminated length was varied. We also demonstrated dark modes when the incident light polarization is perpendicular to the rod axis. Contrary to the hypothesis that a dark mode will be an efficient waveguide mode, the dark mode shows very poor waveguide applications when the incident polarization is perpendicular to the rod axis.

Effective light bending and controlling in a chamber-channel waveguide system.

A novel chamber-channel system is proposed to achieve the bending of light at a 90 deg angle with relatively high transmission efficiencies. An ultrathin film is introduced into the chamber to couple more light into the system, which makes the chamber as a light absorber, while the channel serves as an output pathway to guide the light through the system. We show that the light propagation is significantly affected by the output position of the channels. By setting the output to specific positions, the device can be considered as a light switch, amplifier, or filter. This work holds great potential for controlling light in nanoscale photonic devices.

Shape of Fano resonance line spectra calculated for silver nanorods.

Using theoretical tools, we numerically demonstrated Fano line shapes in the scattering spectra of silver rods resulting from different mechanisms. One of the Fano line shapes is due to the coupling of an in-plane quadrupole and a dipole mode in a single rod. Two nodes were observed at the resonance wavelength, each of which is located at a quarter of the rod length from the two ends. The Fano resonance is strengthened when the silver rod is cut at the two nodal positions. The second mechanism that gives rise to a new Fano resonance peak occurs when the symmetry of the rod is broken and is a result of the asymmetric coupling between the two excited dipoles.

Surface-plasmon-assisted electromagnetic wave propagation.

Using electrodynamics tools, we investigated the effect of surface plasmons on the propagation direction of electromagnetic waves around a spherical silver nanoparticle and nano-structured silver film. The studies showed that the calculated effective index of refraction of a spherical silver nanoparticle from the Kramers-Kronig transformation method may not represent the index of refraction of the system but is consistent with the Poynting vector (the energy flow) direction at the microscopic scale. Using a silver film composed of periodic triangular prisms, we numerically demonstrated that electromagnetic waves may propagate along different directions depending on the incident polarization direction. When the incident polarization is in the plane of incidence and the surface plasmons are excited, the refracted light ray propagates along the same side of the surface normal as the incident wave. When the incident polarization is perpendicular to the plane of incidence, the refracted light ray always propagates on the opposite side of the surface normal. The results show that a silver film composed of periodic nano-sized triangular prisms may be used as a filter to simultaneously generate two polarized light rays of orthogonal polarizations from one light source.

Interferon gamma enhances clonal expansion and survival of CD4+ T cells.

Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) serves numerous functions in the regulation of the immune response. During the early phase of the immune response IFN-gamma is produced by natural killer and natural killer T cells. Although the effects of this cytokine on antigen presenting cells and other cell types are known, its direct role on CD4(+) T cells remains unclear. We demonstrate that CD4(+) T cells exposed to IFN-gamma proliferate more vigorously than the controls in response to signals through the antigen receptor. The increased proliferation of IFN-gamma-treated CD4(+) T cells is not due to enhanced signaling through the antigen receptor, but is accounted for by their increased survival. Our data suggest that enhanced survival of IFN-gamma-treated CD4(+)T cells is independent of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT 1), a transcription factor that controls the expression of a variety of IFN-gamma-targeted genes. In addition, we demonstrate that independent of STAT 1, IFN-gamma treatment increases the expression of double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase, a kinase involved in regulating protein synthesis. Taken together, our findings suggest a direct role of IFN-gamma on unstimulated CD4(+) T cells that is likely to enhance the advent of adaptive immunity by augmenting their survival during the initiation of the immune response.