We report results of numerical simulations on the multiple soliton generation and soliton energy quantization in a soliton fiber ring laser passively mode-locked by using the nonlinear polarization rotation technique. We found numerically that the formation of multiple solitons in the laser is caused by a peak power limiting effect of the laser cavity.It is also the same effect that suppresses the soliton pulse collapse, an intrinsic feature of solitons propagating in the gain media, and makes the solitons stable in the laser.Furthermore, we show that the soliton energy quantization observed in the lasers is a natural consequence of the gain competition between the multiple solitons. Enlightened by the numerical result we speculate that the multi-soliton formation and soliton energy quantization observed in other types of soliton fiber lasers could have similar mechanism.

Complex-valued neural networks have many advantages over their real-valued counterparts. Conventional digital electronic computing platforms are incapable of executing truly complex-valued representations and operations. In contrast, optical computing platforms that encode information in both phase and magnitude can execute complex arithmetic by optical interference, offering significantly enhanced computational speed and energy efficiency. However, to date, most demonstrations of optical neural networks still only utilize conventional real-valued frameworks that are designed for digital computers, forfeiting many of the advantages of optical computing such as efficient complex-valued operations. In this article, we highlight an optical neural chip (ONC) that implements truly complex-valued neural networks. We benchmark the performance of our complex-valued ONC in four settings: simple Boolean tasks, species classification of an Iris dataset, classifying nonlinear datasets (Circle and Spiral), and handwriting recognition. Strong learning capabilities (i.e., high accuracy, fast convergence and the capability to construct nonlinear decision boundaries) are achieved by our complex-valued ONC compared to its real-valued counterpart.

Boron nitride (BN) domains are easily formed in the basal plane of graphene due to phase separation. With first-principles calculations, it is demonstrated theoretically that the band gap of graphene can be opened effectively around K (or K') points by introducing small BN domains. It is also found that random doping with boron or nitrogen is possible to open a small gap in the Dirac points, except for the modulation of the Fermi level. The surface charges which belong to the π states near Dirac points are found to be redistributed locally. The charge redistribution is attributed to the change of localized potential due to doping effects. The band opening induced by the doped BN domain is found to be due to the breaking of localized symmetry of the potential. Therefore, doping graphene with BN domains is an effective method to open a band gap for carbon-based next-generation microelectronic devices.

Transformation optics represents a new paradigm for designing light-manipulating devices, such as cloaks and field concentrators, through the engineering of electromagnetic space using materials with spatially variable parameters. Here we analyse liquid flowing in an optofluidic waveguide as a new type of controllable transformation optics medium. We show that a laminar liquid flow in an optofluidic channel exhibits spatially variable dielectric properties that support novel wave-focussing and interference phenomena, which are distinctively different from the discrete diffraction observed in solid waveguide arrays. Our work provides new insight into the unique optical properties of optofluidic waveguides and their potential applications.

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This letter reports the measurement of single living cells' refractive index ͑RI͒ using an on-chip fiber-based Fabry-Pérot cavity by a differential method. In experiment a single cell is captured into the cavity, then the spectral shift in response to the buffer change and the cell presence/absence can be used to determine the cell's RI and size. Experiment on kidney cancer cells measures an effective RI of 1.399 at 0.1% accuracy. Compared with other approaches, the differential method eliminates uncertain factors and thus ensures high accuracy. The microchip facilitates automatic detection and makes it promising for label-free drug screening.

A hemodynamic Lab-on-a-chip system was developed in this study. This system has two unique features: (1) it consists of a microfluidic network with an array of endothelial cell seeding sites for testing them under multiple conditions, and (2) the flow rate and the frequency of the culture medium in the microchannel are controlled by a pulsation free pump to mimic the flow profile of the blood in the blood vessel under different physiological conditions. The investigated physiological conditions were: (1) the resting condition in a normal shear stress of 15 dyne cm(-2) with a normal heart rate of 70 bpm, (2) an exhaustive exercise condition with a high shear stress of 30 dyne cm(-2) and a fast heart rate of 140 bpm, and (3) a constant high shear stress of 30 dyne cm(-2). Two chemical conditions were investigated (10 mM and 20 mM glucose) to mimic hyperglycemic conditions in diabetes patients. The effects of various shear stresses either alone or in combination with different glucose concentrations on endothelial cells were examined using the developed hemodynamic Lab-on-a-chip system by assessing two parameters. One is the intracellular level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) determined by a fluorescent probe, H(2)DCFDA. Another is the mitochondrial morphology revealed with a fluorescent dye, MitoTracker Green FM. The results showed that ROS level was elevated nearly 4-fold after 60 min of exhaustive exercise. We found that the pulsatile nature of the fluid was the determination factor for causing ROS generation in the cells as almost no increase of ROS was detected in the constant shear stress condition. Similarly, much higher level of ROS was detected when 10 mM glucose was applied to the cells under normal or high pulsatile shear stresses compared with under a static condition. These results suggest that it is necessary to use pulsatile shear stress to represent the physiological conditions of the blood flow, and demonstrate the advantage of utilizing this newly developed hemodynamic Lab-on-a-chip system over the conventional non-pulsatile system in the future shear stress related studies.

Particle trapping and binding in optical potential wells provide a versatile platform for various biomedical applications. However, implementation systems to study multi-particle contact interactions in an optical lattice remain rare. By configuring an optofluidic lattice, we demonstrate the precise control of particle interactions and functions such as controlling aggregation and multi-hopping. The mean residence time of a single particle is found considerably reduced from 7 s, as predicted by Kramer’s theory, to 0.6 s, owing to the mechanical interactions among aggregated particles. The optofluidic lattice also enables single-bacteria-level screening of biological binding agents such as antibodies through particle-enabled bacteria hopping. The binding efficiency of antibodies could be determined directly, selectively, quantitatively and efficiently. This work enriches the fundamental mechanisms of particle kinetics and offers new possibilities for probing and utilising unprecedented biomolecule interactions at single-bacteria level.