-Engels, S. (2013). Deep tissue optical imaging of upconverting nanoparticles enabled by exploiting higher intrinsic quantum yield through use of millisecond single pulse excitation with high peak power. Nanoscale, 5(20), 10034-10040. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3nr01917aRegistered Charity Number 207890 Accepted ManuscriptThis is an Accepted Manuscript, which has been through the RSC Publishing peer review process and has been accepted for publication.Accepted Manuscripts are published online shortly after acceptance, which is prior to technical editing, formatting and proof reading. This free service from RSC Publishing allows authors to make their results available to the community, in citable form, before publication of the edited article. This Accepted Manuscript will be replaced by the edited and formatted Advance Article as soon as this is available.To cite this manuscript please use its permanent Digital Object Identifier (DOI®), which is identical for all formats of publication.More information about Accepted Manuscripts can be found in the Information for Authors.Please note that technical editing may introduce minor changes to the text and/or graphics contained in the manuscript submitted by the author(s) which may alter content, and that the standard Terms & Conditions and the ethical guidelines that apply to the journal are still applicable. In no event shall the RSC be held responsible for any errors or omissions in these Accepted Manuscript manuscripts or any consequences arising from the use of any information contained in them. We have accomplished deep tissue optical imaging of upconverting nanoparticles at 800 nm, using millisecond single pulse excitation with high peak power. This is achieved by carefully choosing the pulse parameters, derived from time-resolved rateequation analysis, which result in higher intrinsic quantum yield that is utilized by upconverting nanoparticles for generating this near infrared upconversion emission. The pulsed excitation approach thus promises previously unreachable imaging depths and shorter data acquisition times compared with continuous wave excitation, while simultaneously keeping the possible thermal side-effects of the excitation light moderate. These key results facilitate means to break through the general shallow depth limit of upconverting-nanoparticle-based fluorescence techniques, necessary for a range of biomedical applications, including diffuse optical imaging, photodynamic therapy and remote activation of biomolecules in deep tissues. www.rsc.org/nanoscale

The NASA Perseverance rover Mast Camera Zoom (Mastcam-Z) system is a pair of zoomable, focusable, multi-spectral, and color charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras mounted on top of a 1.7 m Remote Sensing Mast, along with associated electronics and two calibration targets. The cameras contain identical optical assemblies that can range in focal length from 26 mm ($25.5^{\circ }\, \times 19.1^{\circ }\ \mathrm{FOV}$ 25.5 ∘ × 19.1 ∘ FOV ) to 110 mm ($6.2^{\circ } \, \times 4.2^{\circ }\ \mathrm{FOV}$ 6.2 ∘ × 4.2 ∘ FOV ) and will acquire data at pixel scales of 148-540 μm at a range of 2 m and 7.4-27 cm at 1 km. The cameras are mounted on the rover’s mast with a stereo baseline of $24.3\pm 0.1$ 24.3 ± 0.1  cm and a toe-in angle of $1.17\pm 0.03^{\circ }$ 1.17 ± 0.03 ∘ (per camera). Each camera uses a Kodak KAI-2020 CCD with $1600\times 1200$ 1600 × 1200 active pixels and an 8 position filter wheel that contains an IR-cutoff filter for color imaging through the detectors’ Bayer-pattern filters, a neutral density (ND) solar filter for imaging the sun, and 6 narrow-band geology filters (16 total filters). An associated Digital Electronics Assembly provides command data interfaces to the rover, 11-to-8 bit companding, and JPEG compression capabilities. Herein, we describe pre-flight calibration of the Mastcam-Z instrument and characterize its radiometric and geometric behavior. Between April 26$^{th}$ t h and May 9$^{th}$ t h , 2019, ∼45,000 images were acquired during stand-alone calibration at Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) in San Diego, CA. Additional data were acquired during Assembly Test and Launch Operations (ATLO) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Kennedy Space Center. Results of the radiometric calibration validate a 5% absolute radiometric accuracy when using camera state parameters investigated during testing. When observing using camera state parameters not interrogated during calibration (e.g., non-canonical zoom positions), we conservatively estimate the absolute uncertainty to be $<10\%$ < 10 % . Image quality, measured via the amplitude of the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) at Nyquist sampling (0.35 line pairs per pixel), shows $\mathrm{MTF}_{\mathit{Nyquist}}=0.26-0.50$ MTF Nyquist = 0.26 − 0.50 across all zoom, focus, and filter positions, exceeding the $>0.2$ > 0.2 design requirement. We discuss lessons learned from calibration and suggest tactical strategies that will optimize the quality of science data acquired during operation at Mars. While most results matched expectations, some surprises were discovered, such as a strong wavelength and temperature dependence on the radiometric coefficients and a scene-dependent dynamic component to the zero-exposure bias frames. Calibration results and derived accuracies were validated using a Geoboard target consisting of well-characterized geologic samples.

A high-power narrow-linewidth laser system based on a tapered semiconductor optical amplifier in external cavity is demonstrated. The external cavity laser system uses a new tapered amplifier with a super-large optical-cavity (SLOC) design that leads to improved performance of the external cavity diode lasers. The laser system is tunable over a 29 nm range centered at 802 nm. As high as 1.95 W output power is obtained at 803.84 nm, and an output power above 1.5 W is achieved from 793 to 812 nm at operating current of 3.0 A. The emission linewidth is below 0.004 nm and the beam quality factor M2 is below 1.3 over the 29 nm tunable range. As an example of application, the laser system is used as a pump source for the generation of 405 nm blue light by single-pass frequency doubling in a periodically poled KTiOPO4. An output power of 24 mW at 405 nm, corresponding to a conversion efficiency of 0.83%/W is attained.

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Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z instrument provides high-resolution stereo and multispectral images with a unique combination of spatial resolution, spatial coverage, and wavelength coverage along the rover’s traverse in Jezero crater, Mars. Images reveal rocks consistent with an igneous (including volcanic and/or volcaniclastic) and/or impactite origin and limited aqueous alteration, including polygonally fractured rocks with weathered coatings; massive boulder-forming bedrock consisting of mafic silicates, ferric oxides, and/or iron-bearing alteration minerals; and coarsely layered outcrops dominated by olivine. Pyroxene dominates the iron-bearing mineralogy in the fine-grained regolith, while olivine dominates the coarse-grained regolith. Solar and atmospheric imaging observations show significant intra- and intersol variations in dust optical depth and water ice clouds, as well as unique examples of boundary layer vortex action from both natural (dust devil) and Ingenuity helicopter–induced dust lifting. High-resolution stereo imaging also provides geologic context for rover operations, other instrument observations, and sample selection, characterization, and confirmation.

The Mastcam-Z Camera is a stereoscopic, multispectral camera with zoom capability on NASA’s Mars-2020 Perseverance rover. The Mastcam-Z relies on a set of two deck-mounted radiometric calibration targets to validate camera performance and to provide an instantaneous estimate of local irradiance and allow conversion of image data to units of reflectance (R∗ or I/F) on a tactical timescale. Here, we describe the heritage, design, and optical characterization of these targets and discuss their use during rover operations. The Mastcam-Z primary calibration target inherits features of camera calibration targets on the Mars Exploration Rovers, Phoenix and Mars Science Laboratory missions. This target will be regularly imaged during flight to accompany multispectral observations of the martian surface. The primary target consists of a gold-plated aluminum base, eight strong hollow-cylinder Sm2Co17 alloy permanent magnets mounted in the base, eight ceramic color and grayscale patches mounted over the magnets, four concentric, ceramic grayscale rings and a central aluminum shadow post (gnomon) painted with an IR-black paint. The magnets are expected to keep the central area of each patch relatively free of Martian aeolian dust. The Mastcam-Z secondary calibration target is a simple angled aluminum shelf carrying seven vertically mounted ceramic color and grayscale chips and seven identical, but horizontally mounted ceramic chips. The secondary target is intended to augment and validate the calibration-related information derived from the primary target. The Mastcam-Z radiometric calibration targets are critically important to achieving Mastcam-Z science objectives for spectroscopy and photometric properties.

Diode lasers are by far the most efficient lasers currently available. With the ever-continuing improvement in diode laser technology, this type of laser has become increasingly attractive for a wide range of biomedical applications. Compared to the characteristics of competing laser systems, diode lasers simultaneously offer tunability, high-power emission and compact size at fairly low cost. Therefore, diode lasers are increasingly preferred in important applications, such as photocoagulation, optical coherence tomography, diffuse optical imaging, fluorescence lifetime imaging, and terahertz imaging. This review provides an overview of the latest development of diode laser technology and systems and their use within selected biomedical applications. 670 nm external cavity diode laser for Raman spectroscopy built on a 13 × 4 mm 2 microbench (Copyright FBH/Schurian.com).

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