This disclosure provides systems and methods for mapping and/or measuring a mechanical property of a medium. The mechanical property can be measured by Brillouin spectroscopy. The systems and methods can include a three-dimensional imaging modality that is co-registered with a Brillouin probe beam of a Brillouin spectrometer. The three-dimensional imaging modality can be optical coherence tomography or Scheimpflug camera imaging.

Spectrometer for analyzing the spectrum of a Brillouin scattered light including input means receiving the scattered light, and selecting means for selecting and separating specific multiple frequency components of the scattered light. The selecting means has at least one main input, and at least an optical detector is coupled to the selecting means for measuring the intensity of the different frequency components and reconstructing the spectrum profile of the scattered light. The selecting means include an optical integrated circuit having at least one optical ring resonator of a first type having an input waveguide for receiving the light from the input means, a closed loop waveguide having an effective refractive index n.sub.eff, and an output waveguide. The selecting means further have at least a modulator element of the effective refractive index n.sub.eff coupled to the closed loop waveguide of the optical ring resonator of the first type.

Arrangements and methods are provided for obtaining information associated with an anatomical sample. For example, at least one first electro-magnetic radiation can be provided to the anatomical sample so as to generate at least one acoustic wave in the anatomical sample. At least one second electro-magnetic radiation can be produced based on the acoustic wave. At least one portion of at least one second electro-magnetic radiation can be provided so as to determine information associated with at least one portion of the anatomical sample. In addition, the information based on data associated with the second electro-magnetic radiation can be analyzed. The first electro-magnetic radiation may include at least one first magnitude and at least one first frequency. The second electro-magnetic radiation can include at least one second magnitude and at least one second frequency. The data may relate to a first difference between the first and second magnitudes and/or a second difference between the first and second frequencies. The second difference may be approximately between −100 GHz and 100 GHz, excluding zero.

A method of identifying a viral compound, which includes modulating a narrow linewidth laser over a range of frequencies to provide a modulated optical signal that includes a single optical sideband, optically focusing the modulated optical signal with the single optical sideband at a viral sample to excite the viral sample and stimulate an emission of photons therefrom, and detecting amplification of the optical sideband emanating from the viral sample indicating an emission of photons at an acoustic resonance of the viral sample.

Surface sensing methods for imaging a scanned surface of a sample via sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy are disclosed herein. The methods include exposing a sampled location of the scanned surface to a visible light beam and exposing the sampled location to a tunable infrared beam such that the tunable infrared beam is at least partially coincident with the visible light beam. The methods also include varying a frequency of the tunable infrared beam an inducing optical resonance within an imaged structure that extends at least partially within the sampled location. The methods further include receiving at least a portion of an emitted light beam from the sampled location and scanning the visible light beam and the runnable infrared beam across the scanned portion of the scanned surface. The methods also include generating an image of the scanned portion of the scanned surface based upon the receiving and the scanning.

Disclosed is an optical device for deflecting a light beam, including: —a first flat reflective element arranged so as to reflect an incoming light beam into a reflected light beam, extending in a first plane, the incoming light beam and the reflected light beam defining an incidence plane; and —a second flat reflective element, arranged to reflect the reflected light beam into an outgoing light beam, extending in a second plane that is transverse to the plane of incidence. The first plane and the second plane are secant along a line of intersection and form between them a dihedral angle. The first reflective element and the second reflective element can be rotated together about an axis of rotation substantially coincident with the line of intersection.

A method for determining at least one property of magnetic matter includes: applying a magnetic field to magnetic matter; directing first light on the magnetic matter at a first set of incident angles; receiving a first set of signatures associated with the first light scattered from the magnetic matter; varying orientation of the magnetic matter with respect to the magnetic field; directing second light on the magnetic matter at a second set of incident angles; receiving a second set of signatures associated with the second light scattered from the magnetic matter; determining, by processing the first set and the second set of signatures according to a dispersion relation, at least one property of the magnetic matter.

Input light comprising an optical signal associated with a spectrum of at least a portion of the input light is received into an interferometer. Data comprising an image is provided using a detector array comprising detection elements. Output light is received from the interferometer into a set of one or more optical elements, which provide an optical interference pattern associated with an intensity of at least a portion of the output light that is distributed over a set of detection elements. Detection of the optical signal is stabilized based at least in part on the data using a control system comprising: a light-control module that controls a first feedback loop that stabilizes the portion of the output light; and/or a temperature-control module that controls a second feedback loop that stabilizes a temperature sensed by at least one temperature sensor within a thermal environment associated with the interferometer.

In a measurement requiring a high space resolution using S-BOTDR, a pulse train composed of a plurality of pulses having the interval between the pulses longer than the phonon lifetime is interpulse-code-modulated. A Golay code is used for the interpulse code modulation to eliminate the sidelobes of the correlation in using a technique of correlation. In a technique without using correlation, an Hadamard matrix is used for the interpulse code modulation and the resultant matrix is inverted in the signal processing.

A method of measuring at least one biomechanical property of a reproductive cellular structure is provided. The method includes illuminating the reproductive cellular structure with radiation; detecting at least a portion of radiation scattered from the illuminated reproductive cellular structure; analyzing a frequency spectrum of the detected scattered radiation to identify at least one Brillouin frequency shift in the frequency spectrum; and determining the at least one biomechanical property based on the Brillouin frequency shift. The method further includes determining a viability index of the reproductive cellular structure based on the at least one biomechanical property.