Visible spectrum | EPFL Graph Search

The visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called visible light or simply light. A typical human eye will respond to wavelengths from about 380 to about 700 nanometers. In terms of frequency, this corresponds to a band in the vicinity of 400–790 terahertz. These boundaries are not sharply defined and may vary per individual. Under optimal conditions these limits of human perception can extend to 310 nm (ultraviolet) and 1100 nm (near infrared). The optical spectrum is sometimes considered to be the same as the visible spectrum, but some authors define the term more broadly, to include the ultraviolet and infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum as well. The spectrum does not contain all the colors that the human visual system can distinguish. Unsaturated colors such as pink, or purple variations like magenta, for example, are absent because they

High Performance InP-Based Quantum Dash Semiconductor Mode-Locked Lasers for Optical Communications

Anthony Martinez

Several applications are pushing the development of high performance mode-locked lasers: generation of short pulses for extremely high bit rate transmission at 100 Gb/s and beyond, all-optical clock recovery at 40 Gb/s and beyond, generation of millimeter wave signals through mode-beating on a high speed photodiode, optical sampling for analog-to-digital conversion, and generation of wavelength-division-multiplexing channels. This paper will report on new advances in InP-based quantum dash mode-locked lasers, which largely surpass the performance of their bulk or quantum well counterparts in terms of the mode-beating spectral purity and the bandwidth of optical spectrum. In particular, we will describe the quantum dash nanostructures used for the mode-locked lasers and the dependence of the mode-locking properties on detailed quantum dash structures. We will demonstrate that these quantum dash lasers can be actively mode-locked, generating sub-picosecond or picosecond pulses at different repetition frequencies with extremely low timing jitter. They can also be used to achieve all-optical clock recovery, with timing jitter compliant with International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standards even for highly degraded input optical signal-to-noise ratio. Finally, we demonstrate that, owing to the very wide and flat optical spectrum and the low relative-intensity noise level of the mode-locked laser, error-free transmission over 50 km single mode fiber has been achieved for eight wavelength division multiplexing ITU channels at 10 Gb/s with a channel spacing of 100 GHz. (C) 2009 Alcatel-Lucent.

2009

Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic activity of commercial TiO2 powders co-doped by N and S

Julian Andrés Rengifo Herrera

Heterogeneous photocatalysis over TiO2 using the sunlight seems to be a promising technology for waste-water treatment and drinking water production. However, the overall efficiency of TiO2 under natural sunlight is limited to the UV-driven activity (λ < 400 nm), accounting only to ~ 4% of the incoming solar energy on the Earth's surface. The increase of the TiO2 absorption towards wavelengths more abundant on the planet's surface has, thus become recently an interesting challenge. In this framework, the main objective of this work was to study the modification of TiO2 by non metallic doping (N and S) in order to increase its light absorption in the visible region (45% of the light hitting the terrestrial surface). Commercial TiO2 powders were doped by a simple preparation method consisting of manual grinding them with a N or S precursor (thiourea) and then annealing at 400 and 500 °C. At both temperatures N, S co-doped commercial TiO2 powders with visible response were obtained. However, the annealing step produced a reduction on the specific surface area and dehydroxylation causing a detrimental effect on the photocatalytic UV-driven activity principally on photocatalyst annealed at 500 °C. E. coli bacteria inactivation, phenol and di-chloroacetate (DCA) oxidation was achieved when the co-doped photocatalyst annealed at 400 °C was illuminated upon UV light the •OH radical being the main oxidative species, that was detected by Electronic Spin Resonance (ESR) spin-trapping with DMPO. In contrast, upon visible light irradiation, N, S co-doped TiO2 powders showed a diminished oxidation power since phenol and DCA were not oxidized. On the other hand, it was possible to inactivate E. coli cells demonstrating that under these conditions, the photocatalytic mechanism was different. In order to elucidate this mechanism, characterization by Diffuse Reflectance Time Resolved Spectroscopy (DRTRS), Low Temperature-ESR and ESR-spin trapping measurements were done. By DRTRS measurement, it was found that under visible light excitation, electrons would be promoted from N, S localized states within the band gap to the conduction band. These electrons were probably trapped on shallow traps such as oxygen vacancies (Vo) allowing them to reach lifetimes of ms. LT-ESR data revealed that N, S co-doping probably could benefit the formation of Vo. ESR spin trapping with TMP-OH as a singlet oxygen quencher, revealed the formation of singlet oxygen as the main oxidative species instead of the •OH radical. Thus, it was suggested that a photo-promoted electron, instead of the localized hole on N, S states, would be the carrier charge playing the main role in photocatalytic reactions on N, S co-doped commercial TiO2 powders. When the electron is trapped on Vo, it could react with molecular oxygen previously adsorbed producing superoxide radical (•O2-). Finally, the oxidation of •O2- by localized holes seems to be thermodynamically favored leading the singlet oxygen (1O2) production. It is well known that singlet oxygen is a Reactive Oxygen Species with a lower oxidative power than the hydroxyl radical. Singlet oxygen is not able to oxidize organic substances such as phenol and DCA but this species is very toxic to microorganism producing lipid peroxidation reaction on biological membranes. It was also concluded that N, S co-doped TKP 102 annealed at 400 °C did not present an enhancement on their photocatalytic activity towards phenol oxidation and E. coli inactivation when simulated solar light was used. Undoped Degussa P-25 was the commercial powder with highest photocatalytic activity. Evidences are reported about the classical photocatalytic process where •OH radicals are produced mainly by oxidation of water or hydroxyl ions with photo-induced valence band holes prevails upon simulated solar light exposition. Localized states induced by N or S-doping and responsible of visible light absorption did not play an important role on the photocatalytic activity of these novel materials under the experimental conditions used.

EPFL2009

Synthesis of NIR-Absorbing Squaraine Dyes and their Use in Organic Upconversion Devices

Karen Verena Strassel

Squaraines are organic dyes showing the advantages of a simple synthesis, high absorption coefficients and tunable bandgaps from the visible to the near-infrared (NIR) region. Their molecular structure is based on a polymethine chain and a donor-acceptor-donor structure that can be easily matched to the requirements of new application fields. This thesis focuses on the synthesis of squaraine dyes absorbing beyond 1000 nm and their use in organic upconversion devices. Organic dyes are widely studied and applied in optoelectronic devices such as organic solar cells, organic photodetectors (OPDs) and organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). However, investigations so far were mainly focused on dyes absorbing and emitting in the visible range. With increasing interest in NIR-technology for biomedical and optoelectronic applications, there is a growing demand for organic NIR dyes. Here, a systematic chemical synthesis approach is used to tune the properties of benz[cd]indole substituted squaraine dyes. The donor part of the dye is modified by introducing Ï-conjugated substituents that increase the donor strength and enlarge the Ï-system. Additionally, a stronger acceptor part is introduced. A series of eight dyes is synthesized and characterized. The absorption maxima show bathochromic shifts with increasing conjugation, increasing donor strength and increasing acceptor strength. The beneficial properties of the NIR-absorbing squaraine dyes are demonstrated in organic upconversion devices with sensitivity beyond 1000 nm. The device is composed of a NIR-absorbing OPD possessing an external quantum efficiency of around 80% in the reverse bias and a visible OLED. The upconversion device converts NIR light into visible light without the need of intermediate electronics, allowing for direct NIR imaging. The organic semiconducting layers of the device stack absorb very little in the visible range. Combined with an optimized semitransparent metal top electrode, a device with an average visible transmittance of 65% is achieved. The advantages of visible transparent upconversion devices can be exploited e.g. in window-integrated electronic circuits. Another major benefit of organic electronics is the possibility to fabricate devices from solution, allowing low-cost and large-area production on flexible substrates. Here, the NIR-absorbing squaraine dye is used in upconversion devices consisting of five solution-processed layers. As emitting part, a fluorescent copolymer (super yellow)-based OLED or light-emitting electrochemical cell (LEC) is investigated. The solution-processed upconversion device converts NIR light with a wavelength of 980 nm efficiently to yellow light with a wavelength of around 575 nm, exhibiting a low turn-on voltage of 2.7 V. Replacing the OLED by a LEC allows for eliminating the sensitive calcium layer that acts as electron-injection layer. Due to the presence of ions, the LEC-based device shows a dynamic behavior, which is characterized in detail. A great deal of progress has been made with upconversion devices over the last years, but a number of challenges must be resolved to finally transform present-day prototype NIR imagers into a technology. Here, I address some of the scientific opportunities and challenges, including upconverters with sensitivity beyond 1000 nm, and visibly transparent and solution-processed devices with a narrow spectral response in the NIR.

EPFL2021