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Arrayed Waveguide Grating Technology

Katsunari Okamoto

The capacity of arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs) has increased dramatically, to the point that as many as 400 channels can now be incorporated into a single wafer. A capacity of 1080 channels with 25-GHz channel spacing has been reported in tandem AWGs with a multichip configuration. Although the total capacity of the transport can be increased to the terabit level by use of wavelength-division multiplexing, signal processing in the electrical layer remains a serious problem because of the limits in electrical signal processing speed. The optical signal processing devices that can play an important role in solving this issue include dispersion slope equalizers, polarization-mode dispersion (PMD), equalizers, temporal pulse shapers, and optical label recognition circuits. more>>

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Fast Light, Slow Light

Raymond Y. Chiao and Peter W. Milonni

Light pulses can be made to propagate with group velocities exceeding the speed of light in a vacuum or, at the opposite extreme, to come to a complete stop. more>>

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Nonlinear Atom Optics

Brian P. Anderson and Pierre Meystre

Interatomic interactions can introduce nonlinear behavior into a system of trapped ultracold atoms, similar to the dynamics of light propagating in a refractive nonlinear medium. Bose-Einstein condensates are now providing the means for studying coherent nonlinear dynamics with dilute atomic systems. more>>

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Photothermal Diagnostic Technologies

Andreas Mandelis

Photothermal diagnostics (PTD) has been responsible for the emergence of a growing number of revolutionary new measurement technologies in both academic and industrial environments. The common element among these diffusion-based methodologies is that they are complementary to purely optical detection techniques because they rely on the detection of optically produced thermal phenomena, or on other processes that result in the occlusion of thermal energy or the emission of thermal infrared photons. more>>

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Slow, Ultraslow, Stored, and Frozen Light

Yuri Rostovtsev, Olga Kocharovskaya, George R. Welch, and Marlan O. Scully

The article illustrates recent experiments in which light is slowed, frozen, reversed, and stored in hot atomic vapors via electromagnetically induced transparency. more>>

Stationary light created within nanostructures, optical-trapping system tested on living cells, technique gives atoms a novel spin

Tyler Krupa

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Education

Let There Be Light...and Color

Stephen M. Pompea

This year, OSA sponsored four optics workshops in conjunction with the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) annual meeting. more>>

The History of OSA

An Executive Secretary for OSA

John N. Howard

In the third installment of John N. Howard’s column on the history of OSA, the appointment of the Society’s first executive secretary signals the beginning of a new era. more>>

Washington Focus

Optics Technology Plays Key Role in Afghan War

Tom Price

The war in Afghanistan is a demonstration of the central role optics has played in establishing the global supremacy of U.S. armed forces—a role that is guaranteed to continue for the foreseeable future. more>>