We are excited to announce the winners of the new Best Paper Prizes for Applied Optics in three technical categories derived from the Journal’s core technical areas: Imaging Systems, Optical Instrumentation, and Optical Interactions. As you can imagine, it was a difficult endeavor to choose the best paper in each of these categories. To begin with, Applied Optics receives nearly 3000 submissions per year with acceptance rates just under 50%, making it challenging to choose a best paper without some grouping and filtering processes. The criteria included scientific significance, quality, and reviewer feedback of papers published in the 2022 volume year. A committee of Deputy Editors including Martha Rosete-Aguilar, Muhammad Nadeem Akram, and Weiyao Zou, and Features Editors Md Selim Habib and David Haefner, carefully considered the final subset of papers in each category.

Here are the three winning papers:

In the Optical Interactions category, the winning paper is “Sensitivity of a Rydberg-atom receiver to frequency and amplitude modulation of microwaves” [1]. The reviews for this paper were outstanding. It was an Editors’ Pick in 2022 and has an impressive number of downloads. In both quantum communication and quantum sensing, Rydberg-atom receivers would play a crucial role in detecting and interpreting the quantum information encoded in the Rydberg atoms. This paper proposed an intelligible analytical model of a Rydberg atomic receiver’s response to amplitude- and frequency-modulated (AM, FM) signals, presenting a setup that allows sending signals with either AM or FM and evaluating their efficiency with demodulation. Rydberg-atom receivers could be designed to detect and decode the quantum states, facilitating secure and efficient quantum communication channels.

From Naibo Jiang, the corresponding author: “This work is a collaboration between Spectral Energies and AFRL. Drs. Paul S. Hsu, Sukesh Roy, Stephen W. Grib, and S. Alexander Schumaker worked on optical diagnostics for the experiment and Dr. Matthew Borg operated the hypersonic wind tunnel.”

Left to right: Drs. Paul Hsu, Sukesh Roy, S. Alexander Schumaker, Matthew Borg, and Naibo Jiang. Not pictured: Dr. Stephen W. Grib.

In the Optical Instrumentation category, the winning paper is “High-repetition-rate krypton tagging velocimetry in Mach-6 hypersonic flows” [2]. This paper was a Spotlight on Optics selection in 2022. It is well-written, providing a clear flow for the experimental setup and subsequent analysis of results. The authors demonstrate the potential use of high-repetition rate KTV measurements to large-scale systems for difficult conditions. In this paper the performance of a krypton tagging velocimetry (KTV) technique, based on a burst-mode laser-pumped optical parametric oscillator, is improved by using two excitation beams: a 355 nm laser beam to increase the probability of resonant-enhanced multiphoton ionization and a 212 nm beam to promote efficient two-photon Kr excitation at 212 nm. The signal enhancement is about 6 times under static conditions providing a strong long-lasting KTV whose signal is observable for about 2 microseconds.

The work was done by a team led by Dr. Michał Parniak, consisting of then doctoral student Mateusz Mazelanik (now Ph.D.), MSc student Sebastian Borówka and B.Sc. student Uliana Pylypenko.

Left: Corresponding author, Dr. Michał Parniak. Right: Uliana Pylypenko, Sebastian Borówka, and Mateusz Mazelanik.

In the Imaging Systems category, the winning paper is “Tomographic imaging of carbon dioxide in the exhaust plume of large commercial aero-engines” [3]. This paper was a Spotlight on Optics selection and one of the press releases for 2022. It is thorough in the analysis and groundbreaking for the industry. The authors introduce a method for imaging the CO₂ absorption in large commercial engines using chemical species tomography (CST). The CST can replace the current techniques for quantifying gaseous emissions that require samples from the exhaust that is highly intrusive with a reduction in resolution of measurement results. They demonstrate the ability for non-invasive measurement techniques to improve CO₂ measurements.

The corresponding author, Dr. Michael Lengden, is part of a consortium that has evolved from the initial ideas of Profs. Hugh McCann, Johan Nilsson and Walter Johnstone, to now include six university partners, three blue-chip companies, national research facilities and numerous small-medium enterprises, with Dr. Lengden currently managing the latest £6M research program ‘Laser Imaging of Turbine Engine Combustion Species.’ Dr. Lengden adds, “A special mention must be given to Dr. Gordon Humphries, who died tragically young in March 2023, only five years after graduating for a Ph.D. Gordon’s work

Several members of the author group.

was critical to the success of the Applied Optics paper, and along with other younger consortium members, spent a significant amount of time and effort ensuring the technical elements of the project were successfully delivered.”

Please join us in congratulating all of the authors on their Best Paper Prize selection. We are happy to offer this new opportunity to recognize the excellence that is published in Applied Optics. The selection process for the 2023 prizes will begin next spring. Be on the lookout for a call for your inputs into the Best Paper selection.