We have investigated the propagation dynamics of super-Gaussian optical beams in fractional Schrödinger equation. We have identified the difference between the propagation dynamics of super-Gaussian beams and that of Gaussian beams. We show that, the linear propagation dynamics of the super-Gaussian beams with order m > 1 undergo an initial compression phase before they split into two sub-beams. The sub-beams with saddle shape separate each other and their interval increases linearly with propagation distance. In the nonlinear regime, the super-Gaussian beams evolve to become a single soliton, breathing soliton or soliton pair depending on the order of super-Gaussian beams, nonlinearity, as well as the Lévy index. In two dimensions, the linear evolution of super-Gaussian beams is similar to that for one dimension case, but the initial compression of the input super-Gaussian beams and the diffraction of the splitting beams are much stronger than that for one dimension case. While the nonlinear propagation of the super-Gaussian beams becomes much more unstable compared with that for the case of one dimension. Our results show the nonlinear effects can be tuned by varying the Lévy index in the fractional Schrödinger equation for a fixed input power.

Highly stretchable and robust superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted tremendous interest due to their broad application prospects. In this work, silicone elastomers were chosen to fabricate superhydrophobic surfaces with femtosecond laser texturing method, and high stretchability and tunable adhesion of the superhydrophobic surfaces were demonstrated successfully. To our best knowledge, it is the first time flexible superhydrophobic surfaces with a bearable strain up to 400% are fabricated by simple laser ablation. The test also shows that the strain brings no decline of water repellency but an enhancement to the superhydrophobic surfaces. In addition, a stretching-induced transition from “petal” state to “lotus” state of the laser-textured surface was also demonstrated by non-loss transportation of liquid droplets. Our results manifest that femtosecond laser ablating silicone elastomer could be a promising way for fabricating superhydrophobic surface with distinct merits of high stretchability, tunable adhesion, robustness, and non-fluorination, which is potentially useful for microfluidics, biomedicine, and liquid repellent skin.

The CLP Publishing collects CLP journals and partnered optics and photonics journals, and provides readers an optical publishing platform with global influence. SPIE, OSA, CUP. Chinese Laser Press (CLP), established by Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Optical Society (COS) in 2009, nowadays publishes eight journals and manages three online platforms.

In this study, laser sintering of TiO₂ nanoparticle films on plastic substrates was conducted in order to improve the incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) of flexible dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). Lasers with different wavelengths (355 nm and 1064 nm) were used to process the TiO₂ electrodes. With an optimized processing parameter combination, the 1064 nm laser can sinter 13 μm thick TiO₂ films uniformly, but the uniform sintering cannot be achieved by the 355nm ultraviolet (UV) laser, since the films possess a high absorption ratio at 355 nm. The experimental results demonstrate that the near-infrared laser sintering can enhance the electrical connection between TiO₂ nanoparticles without destroying the flexible plastic substrate, reduce the transmission impedance of electrons and increase the absorption rate of incident light. Furthermore, the charge collection efficiency, fill factor, and short-circuit current have all been improved to some extent, and the solar conversion efficiency increased from 4.6% to 5.7%, with an efficiency enhancement reaching 23.9%.

A high-power and high-efficiency diode-end-pumped Tm:YLF laser at 1.83 μm is demonstrated for the first time, to our best knowledge. To make the laser operate at 1.83 μm, a simple way of controlling the transmittance of the output coupler is used, and the criteria of the transmittance of the output coupler at the emission peaks of Tm:YLF are theoretically analyzed, which are verified by experimental results. Based on the theoretical analysis, laser oscillation at only 1.83 μm is realized. Maximum output power at 1833 nm is 8.5 W with corresponding slope efficiency of 53.4% regarding absorbed pump power. In addition, tunability of this laser from 1827 nm to 1837 nm is obtained. Laser beam quality at 1833 nm is measured to be 1.4 at maximum output power. The achieved laser performance represents considerable improvement compared to any other bulk laser emitting around 1.83 μm.