2 Ge is considered to be one of the most promising materials for realizing full monolithic integra3 tion of a light source on a silicon (Si) photonic chip. Tensile-strain is required to convert Ge into an 4 optical gain material and to reduce the pumping required for population inversion. Several meth5 ods of strain application to Ge are proposed in literature, of which the use of free-standing...

The dynamic spatial control of light fields is essential to a range of applications, from microscopy to optical micro-manipulation and communications. Here we describe the use of a single digital micro-mirror device (DMD) to generate and rapidly switch vector beams with spatially controllable intensity, phase and polarisation. We demonstrate local spatial control over linear, elliptical and cir...

We discuss the Stark deflectometry of micro-modulated molecular beams for the enrichment of biomolecular isomers as well as single-wall carbon nanotubes, and we demonstrate the working principle of this idea with fullerenes. The sorting is based on the species-dependent susceptibility-to-mass ratio χ/m. The device is compatible with a high molecular throughput, and the spatial micro-modulation ...

An increasing number of experiments in the field of low energy ion physics (< 25 keV/charge) requires pulsed beams of highly charged ions. Whereas for high-intensity beams (> μA) a pulsed beam chopper, installed downstream to the analyzing dipole, is used. For low-intensity beams (< 100 nA) the ion intensity delivered during the pulse may be increased by operating the ECR discharge in the after...

Several advances in materials research have been made due to the wide array of tools currently available for the processing of materials: plasmas, electron beams, ion beams and lasers. The area of material science is fortunate to have seen the development of these tools over the years, be it for new bulk materials, coatings or for surface modification. Several applications have benefited and ma...

A novel beam position monitor, operated at zero bias voltage, based on high-quality chemical-vapor-deposition single-crystal Schottky diamond for use under intense synchrotron X-ray beams was fabricated and tested. The total thickness of the diamond thin-film beam monitor is about 60 µm. The diamond beam monitor was inserted in the B16 beamline of the Diamond Light Source synchrotron in Harwell...

Generation of Bessel-like beam array from polymeric microstructures, which were created using four-beam interference lithography is demonstrated. Quality of the produced Bessel-like beams depends on the geometrical parameters of the manufactured axicon-like structures, and their shape can be efficiently controlled through the laser treatment parameters. The output beam characteristics indicate ...

Currently, cylindrical beams with radial or azimuthal polarization are being used successfully for the optical manipulation of micro- and nano-particles as well as in microscopy, lithography, nonlinear optics, materials processing, and telecommunication applications. The creation of these laser beams is carried out using segmented polarizing plates, subwavelength gratings, interference, or ligh...

Phenomena of nonlinear light-matter interaction that occur during the propagation of intense ultrashort laser pulses in continuous media have been extensively studied in ultrafast optical science. In this vibrant research field, conversion of the input laser beam into optical filament(s) is commonly encountered. Here, we demonstrate generation of distinctive single or double super-luminescent o...