Real-time holographic image correction using bacteriorhodopsin

Spatio-temporal study of non-degenerate two-wave mixing in bacteriorhodopsin films

A spatio-temporal analysis of non-degenerate two-wave mixing in a saturable absorber, such as bacteriorhodopsin (bR) film, is performed. To do this, a theoretical model describing the temporal variation of the intensities is developed by taking into account the dielectric constant as a function of bR population. A good agreement between theory and experimental measurements is obtained. Thus, the dependence of the optical gain and the main dielectric constant parameters are studied at different intensities and frequencies. As a result, the best intensity-frequency zones where higher coupling is reached are proposed, and it is also demonstrated that non-uniform patterns, which evolve over time as a function of frequency difference, can be observed.

Real-time UV-visible spectroscopy analysis of purple membrane-polyacrylamide film formation taking into account Fano line shapes and scattering

We theoretically and experimentally analyze the formation of thick Purple Membrane (PM) polyacrylamide (PA) films by means of optical spectroscopy by considering the absorption of bacteriorhodopsin and scattering. We have applied semiclassical quantum mechanical techniques for the calculation of absorption spectra by taking into account the Fano effects on the ground state of bacteriorhodopsin. A model of the formation of PM-polyacrylamide films has been proposed based on the growth of polymeric chains around purple membrane. Experimentally, the temporal evolution of the polymerization process of acrylamide has been studied as function of the pH solution, obtaining a good correspondence to the proposed model. Thus, due to the formation of intermediate bacteriorhodopsin-doped nanogel, by controlling the polymerization process, an alternative methodology for the synthesis of bacteriorhodopsin-doped nanogels can be provided.

Nonlinear optical Fourier filtering technique for medical image processing

Real-time nonlinear optical Fourier filtering for medical image processing is demonstrated, exploiting light modulating characteristics of thin films of the biophotonic material bacteriorhodopsin (bR). The nonlinear transmission of bR films for a 442 nm probe beam with a 568 nm control beam and vice versa is experimentally studied in detail. The spatial frequency information carried by the blue probe beam is selectively manipulated in the bR film by changing the position and intensity of the yellow control beam. The feasibility of the technique is first established with different shapes and sizes of phantom objects. The technique is applied to filter out low spatial frequencies corresponding to soft dense breast tissue and displaying only high spatial frequencies corresponding to microcalcifications in clinical screen film mammograms. With the aid of an electrically addressed spatial light modulator (SLM), we successfully adapt the technique for processing digital phantoms and digital mammograms. Unlike conventional optical spatial filtering techniques that use masks, the technique proposed can easily accommodate the changes in size and shape of details in a mammogram.

Modeling the grating-formation process in thick bacteriorhodopsin films

We model the grating-formation process in bacteriorhodopsin films for the interference of two plane waves. We simulate the temporal dependence of grating recording and readout, and we examine the behavior of the diffraction efficiency with respect to exposure, write and read wavelengths, and film parameters such as initial optical density and lifetime of the upper state. Gratings written in thick bacteriorhodopsin films are generally nonuniform and nonsinusoidal owing to the absorption and saturation properties of the material. The simulations also show that one can often obtain optimization of hologram recording and readout by writing and reading at wavelengths far off the peak of the ground-state absorbance spectrum, especially for films with high values of the peak optical density.

Measurements of holographic properties of bacteriorhodopsin films

Several different bacteriorhodopsin (BR) films are characterized with respect to general holographic properties. Experimental measurements include diffraction efficiency and sensitivity as functions of the writing intensity and grating frequency, hologram thermal-decay behavior, diffraction efficiency as a function of the grating tilt within the film and the modulation depth, and estimates of the refractive-index change from the diffraction-efficiency data. The films studied include those made from wildtype BR and the genetic variants D96N and D96N/T46V. The film holographic properties were found to be relatively insensitive to the grating frequency and the grating-tilt angle. The diffraction efficiency dropped off more sharply as a function of the modulation depth than did a purely linear medium, and only the hydrated wildtype film exhibited significant behavior variation with different writing intensities because of its short M-state lifetime. The maximum diffraction efficiency measured was approximately 7.5% for a hydrated D96N BR film. We also find that the hydrated BR films exhibit significantly higher refractive-index modulation than do dry films.

Optical Fourier processing using photoinduced dichroism in a bacteriorhodopsin film

The photoinduced dichroism in bacteriorhodopsin films has been investigated in view of its application for optical Fourier processing. A simple optical system for Fourier processing is demonstrated that does not require precise alignment and vibration isolation. The basic principle of operation relies on the intensity dependence of photoinduced dichroism in a bacteriorhodopsin film. Experimental results with Fourier processing are shown for edge enhancement.

Programmable spatial filtering with bacteriorhodopsin

We describe a programmable spatial-filtering system using bacteriorhodopsin (BR) film as a programmable, optically addressed spatial light modulator illuminated by a single wavelength of light. We use a computer-controlled mirror scanning system to write time-varying filter functions to the BR film and present proof-of-principle experimental results that demonstrate several elementary filtering operations.

Optical device with excitatory and inhibitory optical outputs

We propose a novel optical device that can produce either an excitatory or an inhibitory optical output, depending on the state of the device. The state depends on the previous optical input. The device is expected to possess novel bistable characteristics useful for implementation of an all-optical neuron.

Nonlinear coherent optical image processing using logarithmic transmittance of bacteriorhodopsin films

The transmission properties of some bacteriorhodopsin-film spatial light modulators are uniquely suited to allow nonlinear optical image-processing operations to be applied to images with multiplicative noise characteristics. A logarithmic amplitude-transmission characteristic of the film permits the conversion of multiplicative noise to additive noise, which may then be linearly filtered out in the Fourier plane of the transformed image. I present experimental results demonstrating the principle and the capability for several different image and noise situations, including deterministic noise and speckle. The bacteriorhodopsin film studied here displays the logarithmic transmission response for write intensities spanning a dynamic range greater than 2 orders of magnitude.