Image of the Week

Raman Interaction

Generation of Raman sidebands in diamond. Two Gaussian laser beams, pump (purple) and Stokes (dark orange), enter a Raman medium (diamond) and generate a broadband of higher order anti-Stokes. The photo was taken with a Canon EOS 80D, by moving a white screen in front of the beams at a 30-second time exposure. The experimental setup was made by Aysan Bahari from Alexei Sokolov's group at Texas A&M University, USA, and the photo was taken by Aysan Bahari and Dustin Scriven, also at Texas A&M. [Honorable mention, 2019 After Image photo contest.]

—Aysan Bahari, Texas A&M University

13 Jan 2020

Multiple simulated solar radiation beams

Multiple simulated solar radiation beams penetrate in a low-scattering, high-clarity silica aerogel. Because of the weak scattering effect (especially toward the shorter wavelengths), the light path is visible and appears blue within the aerogel. Multiple mirrors in the solar simulator produced multiple light beams, which are then focused on the aerogel sample. [Honorable mention, 2019 After Image photo contest.]

—Lin Zhao, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

06 Jan 2020

Fresnel Cone

A solid glass Fresnel cone, illuminated by a rainbow-colored light source. The cone uses total internal reflection of incident polarized light to easily generate white-light orbital angular momentum and radially polarized vector vortex beams. Image taken in collaboration with QuantIC imaging hub, based at the University of Glasgow, U.K. [Honorable mention, 2019 After Image photo contest.]

—Kevin J. Mitchell, University of Glasgow

30 Dec 2019

Lighting Up the Holidays

Holiday lights at Shore Acres State Park, Coos Bay, Oregon. Nikon Cool Pix, 1/2 second ISO 400.

—Robert Schalck, Senior Member

23 Dec 2019

Laser-Induced Damage

Microscopic image of damage caused by intense laser irradiation on a dielectric surface. [Honorable mention, 2019 After Image photo contest.]

—LIDARIS Laser Damage Testing Team, Vilnius, Lithuania

16 Dec 2019

The galactic center of the Milky Way

The galactic center of the Milky Way rising over a tree. During the 30-sec exposure, the tree was illuminated from behind with a torch [flashlight]. This photo was taken in the Karijini National Park in Western Australia, a southern-hemisphere location where an absence of light pollution and a dry atmosphere offer perfect conditions to shoot the Milky Way. [Third-place winner 2019 After Image photo contest.]

—Moritz Floess, 4th Physics Institute, University of Stuttgart

09 Dec 2019

Beamsplitter Cubes

White light strikes a pair of beamsplitter cubes with anti-reflective coatings for infrared light. These coatings separate white light into its constituent colors. The surrounding lab environment was darkened to highlight the mesmerizing colors captured in this picture with a cellphone camera. The texture of the sheet of paper on which the cubes were placed can be seen on the front of the image. [Second place winner 2019 After Image photo contest.]

—Gibraham A. Graciano, CICESE, Mexico

02 Dec 2019

Cross-section through a bean

The picture was shot at Offenburg University using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) by Pascale Müller, and then digitally mastered by Dan Curticapean. [First-place winner, 2019 After Image photo contest.]

—Dan Curticapean, Offenburg University, Germany

25 Nov 2019

$Diffraction-based rainbow$

Diffraction-based rainbow

The picture shows an example of spectrum-invariant propagation. It was produced in the diffraction of a spatially coherent and collimated white-light beam from an amplitude radial grating. The pattern is shape (and spectrum) invariant under propagation and demonstrates colorful radial Talbot carpet at the transverse plane. [For additional information see S. Rasouli et al., Opt. Express 27, 17435-17448 (2019).]

—Saifollah Rasouli, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS), Zanjan, Iran

18 Nov 2019

The Evolution Of Electric Light Bulbs: An X-Ray View

Celebrate World Radiography Day! X-rays were discovered on November 8th, 1895. X-ray image depicting the evolution of electric light bulbs (left: incandescent light bulb, center: fluorescent light bulb, right: LED light bulb). Light bulbs play a vital role in the daily life of a 'World of Light'. Image obtained with a Nikon XTH225 ST X-ray machine.

—Herminso Villarraga-Gómez, Nikon Metrology, Brighton, MI, USA

08 Nov 2019

Optics & Photonics News