Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Zener Diodes

Zener Diodes

Zener diodes are specialized semiconductor devices designed to operate in the reverse breakdown region, where they allow current to flow into the cathode, making it positive relative to the anode. This reverse operation distinguishes Zener diodes from conventional diodes and enables their use in various applications, most notably as voltage regulators. One of the defining characteristics of Zener diodes is their nearly vertical I-V (current-voltage) characteristic curve above a certain...

The Ideal Diode

The Ideal Diode

A diode is a semiconductor device that allows current to flow in one direction only, making it a crucial component in electronic circuits for controlling the direction of current flow. An ideal diode is a simplified version of a real diode used to understand how diodes work in circuits. It possesses two terminals: the positive anode and the cathode, which is negative. When a positive voltage is applied to the anode relative to the cathode, the diode is in a forward-biased state, allowing...

Diode: Forward bias

Diode: Forward bias

In semiconductor devices, diodes play a crucial role in directing current flow, and its operation is primarily categorized into forward bias and reverse bias. A diode is said to be forward-biased when its p-type region is connected to the positive terminal of a battery and its n-type region is linked to the negative terminal. This configuration reduces the potential barrier within the diode, allowing current to flow easily from the p to the n-type region.
The behavior of a diode in forward bias...

The Wave Nature of Light

The Wave Nature of Light

The nature of light has been a subject of inquiry since antiquity. In the seventeenth century, Isaac Newton performed experiments with lenses and prisms and was able to demonstrate that white light consists of the individual colors of the rainbow combined together. Newton explained his optics findings in terms of a "corpuscular" view of light, in which light was composed of streams of extremely tiny particles traveling at high speeds according to Newton's laws of motion.

Modeling of Diode Forward Characteristics

Modeling of Diode Forward Characteristics

Understanding the behavior of diodes when forward-biased is a fundamental aspect of electronic circuit design and analysis. This analysis primarily utilizes two models: the exponential diode model and the constant-voltage-drop model. The exponential model comes into play when the source voltage exceeds 0.5 volts, pushing the diode current to rise exponentially above the saturation current. This relationship is graphically depicted in the current-voltage (I-V) curve, illustrating the diode's...

Diode: Reverse bias

Diode: Reverse bias

A diode is reverse-biased when the positive terminal of an external voltage source is connected to the n-type material and the negative terminal to the p-type material. This configuration opposes the natural direction of current flow through the diode, effectively increasing the width of the depletion region and the barrier potential. The reverse bias condition produces a minimal leakage current, primarily due to minority charge carriers. This leakage becomes significant when the reverse...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Recording skin oxygenation by dual-wavelength ultra-bandwidth optoacoustic mesoscopy.

Npj imaging·2026

Same author

An Ultra-Low-Cost Optoacoustic Method for Imaging Specific Biological Structures.

Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)·2026

Same author

Feasibility study of a novel mHealth clinical decision support application to enable Community Health Workers to manage hypertension in rural Guatemala.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences·2026

Same author

Quantitative susceptibility mapping of deep brain nuclei in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

Frontiers in psychiatry·2026

Same author

Single-capillary endothelial dysfunction resolved by optoacoustic mesoscopy.

Light, science & applications·2026

Same author

Response to Letter to the Editor-Assessing UWB-RSOM for non-invasive melanoma depth: Diagnostic potential and critical limitations.

Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography for Functional Imaging in Vascular Research

Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography for Functional Imaging in Vascular Research

Published on: June 8, 2022

Continuous wave laser diodes enable fast optoacoustic imaging.

Antonios Stylogiannis¹, Ludwig Prade¹, Andreas Buehler¹

¹Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany and Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany.

|February 2, 2018

Summary

Overdriving continuous wave (CW) laser diodes creates powerful, high-repetition-rate pulses for optoacoustic imaging. This cost-effective method outperforms traditional pulsed lasers, enabling new imaging applications.

Keywords:

CNR, contrast to background ration COD, catastrophic optical damage CW, continuous wave Current drivers DAQ, data acquisition card FWHM, full width at half maximum Light sources Light-emitting diodes MIP, maximum intensity projection NIR, near-infrared Near-infrared OPO, optical parametric oscillator PLD, pulsed laser diode Photoacoustic SNR, signal-to-noise ratio TTL, transistor-transistor-logic UST, ultrasound transducer VIS, visible Visible

More Related Videos

Construction and Characterization of External Cavity Diode Lasers for Atomic Physics

Construction and Characterization of External Cavity Diode Lasers for Atomic Physics

Published on: April 24, 2014

Continuous-wave Thulium Laser for Heating Cultured Cells to Investigate Cellular Thermal Effects

Continuous-wave Thulium Laser for Heating Cultured Cells to Investigate Cellular Thermal Effects

Published on: June 30, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography for Functional Imaging in Vascular Research

Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography for Functional Imaging in Vascular Research

Published on: June 8, 2022

Construction and Characterization of External Cavity Diode Lasers for Atomic Physics

Construction and Characterization of External Cavity Diode Lasers for Atomic Physics

Published on: April 24, 2014

Continuous-wave Thulium Laser for Heating Cultured Cells to Investigate Cellular Thermal Effects

Continuous-wave Thulium Laser for Heating Cultured Cells to Investigate Cellular Thermal Effects

Published on: June 30, 2017

Area of Science:

Optics
Biomedical Engineering
Laser Physics

Background:

Pulsed laser diodes are conventional optoacoustic sources but have limitations in pulse rate and wavelength.
Continuous wave (CW) laser diodes offer wider wavelength availability and lower cost but are not typically used for optoacoustic imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the feasibility of using overdriven CW laser diodes as effective light sources for optoacoustic imaging.
To assess if CW diodes can achieve high pulse rates and energy levels comparable to or exceeding pulsed laser diodes.

Main Methods:

Overdriving CW laser diodes with peak currents exceeding 40-fold the maximum CW rating.
Characterizing the output pulses in terms of duration, energy, and repetition rate.
Acquiring optoacoustic images of phantoms and biological tissues (mouse ear, human arm) in vivo.

Main Results:

Overdriven CW diodes generated ~10 ns pulses with ~200 nJ/pulse energy.
Achieved repetition rates exceeding 600 kHz without diode damage.
Successfully obtained optoacoustic images of phantoms and in vivo biological samples.

Conclusions:

Overdriven CW laser diodes serve as a viable, high-performance alternative to conventional pulsed laser sources for optoacoustic imaging.
This technique offers a smaller, less expensive, and more versatile optoacoustic light source.
The system demonstrates potential for advanced optoacoustic imaging and sensing applications.