Three dimensional gels of aligned collagen fibers were patterned in vitro using microfluidic channels. Collagen fiber orientation plays an important role in cell signaling for many tissues in vivo, but alignment has been difficult to realize in vitro. For microfluidic collagen fiber alignment, collagen solution was allowed to polymerize inside polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) channels ranging from ...

A simulation scheme for the transmission spectrum of a photonic crystal fiber infiltrated with a nematic liquid crystal and subject to an external bias is presented. The alignment of the biased liquid crystal is simulated using the finite element method to solve the relevant system of coupled partial differential equations. From the liquid crystal alignment the full tensorial dielectric permitt...

MEMS technology offers some unique product opportunities for optical networking applications. One of the critical factors that determine the commercial success of any optical MEMS components is the cost for packaging and optical fiber alignment. Small form factor MEMS components such as protection switches and variable optical attenuators require the integration of optical fibers and lenses wit...

We discuss the efficiency with which coherent plane waves can be coupled to single-mode fibers in the presence of deterministic or stochastic misalignments of the fiber relative to the focal point of a lens. We point out how the alignment demands can be relaxed by means of graded-index-lens fiber-pigtailed collimators.

Effects of fabrication conditions on the double-peak structure observed in fiber Bragg gratings at harmonics of the Bragg wavelength were investigated, showing that slight variations in the alignment of the phase mask can affect the grating spectra significantly. A single peak occurs only when the incident beam direction is perfectly normal with respect to the fiber.

Prior studies on carbon-filler based, conductive polymer composites have mainly investigated how filler morphology and concentration can tailor a material's electrical conductivity overlooks the effects of alignment due to difficulty control quickly quantify alignment. Here, direct ink write 3D printing's unique ability is utilized carbon fiber with single process parameter, velocity ratio, ins...

PURPOSE Previous studies have suggested that the lamina cribrosa (LC) and its surrounding sclera are biomechanically important in the pathogenesis of glaucoma, but many were limited by assumptions of tissue isotropy and homogeneity. Here, we used an improved biomechanical model driven by experimental measurements of scleral and LC collagen fiber organization to more accurately evaluate optic ne...

White matter fiber bundles of the brain can be delineated by tractography utilizing multiple regions-of-interest (MROI) defined by anatomical landmarks. These MROI can be used to specify regions in which to seed, select, or reject tractography fibers. Manual identification of anatomical MROI enables the delineation of white matter fiber bundles, but requires considerable training to develop exp...

We report recent progress made in a complete fiber-optic, high-precision, long-term stable timing distribution system for synchronization of next generation X-ray free-electron lasers. Timing jitter characterization of the master laser shows less than 170-as RMS integrated jitter for frequencies above 10 kHz, limited by the detection noise floor. Timing stabilization of a 3.5-km polarization-ma...

36 LLE Review, Volume 97 Fiber laser and amplifier development in the wavelength region near 1 μm has experienced significant progress owing to the exceptional efficiency and gain bandwidth of ytterbiumdoped fibers.1–5 In fact, both ytterbium fiber lasers and amplifiers are becoming more attractive than their bulk counterparts due to their confined spatial mode, impressive bandwidth, good pump ...