Light Intensity Control Using Polaroids

In today’s era of illuminating devices, there are a wide variety of devices available in aesthetics but the none with variable intensity of light. Using the basic principle of polarization of light using a Polaroid filter or polarizer, the designing of a light intensity control was done. The polarizing angle of the filter decides the intensity of the light that would pass through the filters. According to the principle of propagation of light, the electric and magnetic vibrations of a light wave occur perpendicularly to each other. A light wave that is vibrating in more than one plane is known as unpolarized light. The light emitted by the sun, by a lamp or a tube light are all unpolarized light sources. The other kind of wave is a polarized wave. A Plane polarized light vibrates on only one plane. The process of transforming unpolarized light into the polarized light is known as polarization. Using the same principle and with the use of a LDR (light dependent resister) as a sensor to sense the intensity of the surrounding light and then rotate the polaroid filter sheets accordingly using a stepper motor for the required change in intensity. The sensing and sending of feedback and subsequent rotation of the Polaroid filter sheets would be automated by ATMEGA32 microcontroller and L293D. Keywords: Polaroids, LDR, Light Variation, ATMEGA32, L293D

Optical properties of semiconductor “anisotropic” quantum dot

The optical properties of an “anisotropic” semiconductor nanodot – a nanoscale object in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped - with sides a ≠ b ≠ c are considered. Such dimensions are closely related to the values of the effective masses of the electron. The analysis of the spectral dependence of the absorption coefficient a(w) under different degrees of "anisotropy" and under different polarizations of the electromagnetic wave is carried out. The cases of the most intense optical transitions, i.e. between electronic states separated by the Fermi level, are analyzed. The obtained results indicate that 1) a(w) is of line structure, and 2) the positions of the peaks of a(w) in identical optical transitions in the isotropic nanodot and in the “anisotropic” ones coincide qualitatively. However, different masses in the “anisotropic” nanodot lead to a shift to the left or right of the peaks relative to identical peaks in the isotropic nanodot with simultaneous splitting of its degenerate peaks. Such shifts and their magnitudes are determined both by the degree of anisotropy (i.e. by the ratio between the effective masses), and by the polarization of light. It is pointed out that modern achievements in the creation of ordered semiconductor materials with nanoobjects of different shapes and sizes in nanostructures allows us to consider polarized electromagnetic wave as an effective factor in achieving the desired physical characteristics.

Discrete optical Zeno effect for polarization of light

Quantum Zeno effect concerns deterministic dynamics of a quantum system induced by a series of projective quantum measurements. Applying this effect in optics, one can achieve an arbitrary lossless transformation of linear polarization of light with help of linear polarizers. However, to demonstrate this effect in practice, we have to take into account unavoidable losses in each polarizer that limits probability of successful transformations. In this work, we theoretically study a realistic quantum Zeno effect with an optimal discrete set of polarizers and find the maximum success probability

Insect Color Vision

Color plays an important role in insect life—many insects forage on colorful flowers and/or have colorful bodies. Accordingly, most insects have multiple spectral types of photoreceptors in their eyes, which gives them the capability to see colors. However, insects cannot perceive colors in the same way as human beings do because their eyes and brains differ substantially. An insect was the first nonhuman animal whose ability to discriminate colors has been demonstrated - in the beginning of the 20th century, von Frisch showed that the honeybee, Apis mellifera, can discriminate blue from any shade of gray. This method, called the gray-card experiment, is an accepted “gold standard” for the proof of color vision in animals. Insect species differ in the combinations of photoreceptors in their eyes, with peak sensitivities in ultraviolet (UV) and/or blue, green, and sometimes red parts of the spectrum. The number of photoreceptor spectral types can be as little as one or two, as in the grasshopper Phlaeoba and the beetle Tribolium, and as many as 10 and more in some species of butterflies and dragonflies. However, not all spectral receptor types are necessarily used for color vison. For example, the butterfly Papilio xuthus uses only four of its eight photoreceptors for color vision. Some insects have separate channels for processing chromatic and achromatic (lightness) information. In the honeybee, the achromatic channel has high spatial resolution and is mediated only by long-wavelength sensitive, or “green,” photoreceptors alone, whereas the spatial resolution of chromatic vision is low and mediated by all three spectral types of photoreceptors. Whether other insects have a similar separation of chromatic and achromatic vision remains uncertain. In contrast to vertebrates, insects do not use distinct sets of photoreceptors for nocturnal vision, and some nocturnal insects can see color at night. Insect photoreceptors are inherently polarization sensitive because of their microvillar organization. Therefore, some insects cannot discriminate changes in polarization of light from changes in its spectral composition. However, many insects sacrifice polarization sensitivity to retain reliable color vision. For example, in the honeybee, polarization sensitivity is eliminated by twisting the rhabdom in most parts of its compound eye except for the dorsal rim area that is specialized in polarization vision. Insects experience color constancy and color-contrast phenomena. Although in humans these aspects of vision are often attributed to cortical processing of color, simple models based on photoreceptor adaptation may explain color constancy and color induction in insects. Color discriminations can be evaluated using a simple model, which assumes that it is limited by photoreceptor noise. This model can help to predict discrimination of colors that are ecologically relevant, such as flower colors for pollinating insects. However, despite the fact that many insects forage on flowers, there is no evidence that insect pollinator vision coevolved with flower colors. The diverse color vision in butterflies appears to adaptively facilitate the recognition of their wing colors.

Laser Imaging Nephelometer for aircraft deployment

Validation of remote sensing retrievals of aerosol microphysical and optical properties requires in situ measurements of the same properties. We present here an improved imaging nephelometer for measuring the directionality and polarization of light (i.e. polarimetry) scattered at two wavelengths (405 nm and 660 nm) with high temporal resolution. The instrument was designed for airborne deployment and is capable of ground-based measurements as well. The Laser Imaging Nephelometer (LiNeph) uses two orthogonal detectors with wide-angle lenses and linearly polarized light sources to measure both the phase function, P11(θ), and degree of linear polarization, -P12/P11(θ). In this work, we will describe the instrument function and calibration, as well as data acquisition and reduction. The instrument was first deployed aboard the NASA DC-8 during the 2019 FIREX-AQ campaign. Here, we present field measurements of smoke plumes that show that the LiNeph has sufficient resolution for 0.24 Hz polarimetric measurements at two wavelengths, 405 and 660 nm, at integrated scattering coefficients ranging from 50–80,000 Mm−1.

2D-Heterostructure Photonic Crystal Formation for On-Chip Polarization Division Multiplexing

Herein, we offer a numerical study on the devising of a unique 2D-heterostructure photonic crystal (PC) that can split two orthogonally polarized light waves. The analysis is performed via a two-dimensional finite element method (2D-FEM) by utilizing the COMSOL Multiphysics software. The device consists of two discrete designs of PC formation. The first PC formation is optimized so that it permits both TE- and TM-polarization of light to transmit through it. Whereas, the second PC formation possesses a photonic bandgap (PBG) only for TE-polarized light. These two formations are combined at an angle of 45°, resulting in a reflection of self-collimated TE-polarized light at an angle of 90° owing to the PBG present in the second PC formation. While permitting the self-collimated TM-polarized light wave to travel uninterrupted. The proposed device has a small footprint of ~10.9 μm2 offering low transmission loss and high polarization extinction ratio which makes it an ideal candidate to be employed as an on-chip polarization division multiplexing system.

2D-Heterostructure Photonic Crystal Formation for On-Chip Polarization Division Multiplexing

Herein, we offer a numerical study on the devising of a unique 2D-heterostructure Photonic crystal (PC) that can split two orthogonally polarized light waves. The analysis is performed via a two-dimensional finite element method (2D-FEM) by utilizing COMSOL Multiphysics software. The device consists of two discrete designs of PC formation. The first PC formation is optimized so that it permits both TE and TM-polarization of light to transmit through it. Whereas the second PC formation possesses a Photonic Bandgap (PBG) only for TE-polarized light. These two formations are combined at an angle of 45 degrees, resulting in a reflection of self-collimated TE-polarized light at an angle of 90 degrees owing to the PBG present in the second PC formation. While permitting the self-collimated TM-polarized light wave to travel uninterrupted. The proposed device has a small footprint of ~10.5 μm2 offering low transmission loss and high polarization extinction ratio which makes it an ideal candidate to be employed as an on-chip polarization division multiplexing system.