Characterisation of PMMA microfluidic channels and devices fabricated by hot embossing and sealed by direct bonding

In this study we fabricated a silicon-based stamp with various microchannel arrays, and demonstrated successful replication of the stamp micro-structure on poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) substrates. We used maskless UV lithography for the production of the micro-structured stamp. Thermal imprint lithography was used to fabricate microfeatured fluidic platforms on PMMA substrates, as well as to bond PMMA lids on the fluidic platforms. The microfeature in the silicon-based (silicon wafer coated with SU-8) stamp includes microchannel arrays of approximately 30 μm in depth and 5 mm in width. We produced various channels without pillars, as well as with SU-8 pillars in the range of 50–100 μm wide and 6 μm in height. PMMA discs of 1 mm thickness were utilized as the molding substrate. We found 10 kN applied force and 100 °C embossing temperature were optimum for transferring the micro-structure to the PMMA substrate.     

Enhanced photoluminescence intensity of 1.3-μm multi-layer InAs/InGaAs dots-in-well structure using the high growth temperature spacer layer step

The effects of growth temperature of the GaAs spacer layers (SPLs) on the photoluminescence (PL) efficiency of multi-layer GaAs-based 1.3-μm InAs/InGaAs dots-in-well (DWELL) structures have been investigated. It is found that the PL intensity of DWELLs is enhanced by incorporating a high growth temperature step for GaAs SPLs. This improved PL efficiency could be understood in term of reducing the non-radiative recombination centers. An extremely low continuous-wave room-temperature threshold current density of 35 A/cm² is achieved for an as-cleaved 5-layer device with emission at 1.31 μm by using this growth technique.     

X射线背光成像的实现

为了实现对惯性约束聚变的诊断,获取聚爆过程中高温等离子体X射线能谱信息和内爆靶丸的二维空间分辨信息,利用晶体的布拉格衍射特性设计制作了球面晶体分析器,晶体弯曲半径为125 mm。为了验证球面晶体的空间分辨能力,搭建了背光成像平台进行了背光成像实验,石英球面晶体为衍射核心元件,接收装置IP板得到了Cu靶的二维空间分辨信息,基于石英球面晶体的成像平台得到的空间分辨率约为100 μm。     

Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy Combined with a Tapping Mode Atomic Force Microscope

Tapping mode atomic force microscopy is used to control the tip-sample distance in near field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM), which gives both topographic and near-field images simultaneously. The evanescent waves are scattered by a vibrating silicon-nitride tip in the proximity of sample surfaces and are detected through a microscope objective. This NSOM allows the observation of opaque samples with reflection illumination. A glass grating of 1-μm pitch and an InP grating of 0.5-μm pitch are observed with a lateral resolution of 100 nm.Presented at 1996 International Workshop on Interferometry (IWI ‘96), August 27-29, Saitama, Japan     

Single-Frequency Laser Using a 100-μm Thick Nd:YVO4 Crystal in a 50-mm Long Cavity

A new type of single-frequency solid state laser for achieving a highly stable second-harmonic generation in a simple configuration was developed using a quite thin laser medium. A 100-μm thick Nd:YVO4 crystal with one side coated for high reflection in a 50-mm long cavity which serves as automatic gain discriminator was end-pumped by a laser diode. Single-frequency output powers of 100 mW and 17 mW were obtained for fundamental and second-harmonic waves respectively by 1-W excitation. No chaotic fluctuation was observed with the frequency-doubled output.     

Design, analysis and optimization of silicon-on-insulator photonic crystal dual band wavelength demultiplexer

A highly efficient photonic crystal dual band wavelength demultiplexer (DBWD) using silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates is proposed for demultiplexing two optical communication wavelengths, 1.31 μm and 1.55 μm. Demultiplexing of two wavelength channels is obtained by modifying the propagation properties of guided modes in two arms of Y type photonic crystal structure. Propagation characteristics of proposed DBWD are analyzed utilizing 3D finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. Enhancement in spectral response is further obtained by optimizing the Y junction of demultiplexer giving rise to high transmission and extinction ratio for the wavelengths, 1.31 μm and 1.55 μm. Hence it validates the efficiency of proposed optimized DBWD design for separating two optical communication wavelengths, 1.31 μm and 1.55 μm. Tolerance analysis was also performed to check the effect of variation of air hole radius, etch depth and refractive index on the transmission characteristics of the proposed design of SOI based photonic crystal DBWD.     

Q-switching of a diode-pumped Nd : YVO4 laser with GaAs nonlinear output coupler

Passive Q-switching of a diode-pumped Nd : YVO₄ laser was demonstrated using GaAs as an output coupler and as a saturable absorber. When pumped with a 3-W diode laser at 809 nm, the highly compact laser produced 12-μJ pulses of 2.2 ns in duration at 1.064 μm in a single transverse mode, corresponding to a peak power of 5.6 kW.     

PREPARATION OF STRIPE-SHAPED DOMAIN STRUCTURE IN FERROELECTRIC LIQUID CRYSTAL AND THE FABRICATION OF SPATIAL LIGHT MODULATOR

The stripe-shaped domain (SSD) structure was prepared in the initial ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) alignment without the application of an external electric field, which was realized by the aligning layer modification through the doping of tin tetra-2, 4-dimethyl phenoxy phthalocyanine (SnPc) into the rubbed polyimide films. Atomic force microscopy was used to investigate the alignment films and the corresponding aligning ability was evaluated through the pre-tilt angle measurement. The memory capability and the contrast ratio of thus aligned SSFLC cells have been enhanced and improved with the appearance of the SSD structure. The electrically controlled 64×64 FLC spatial light modulator was fabricated using the improved ligning method, which proves valuable for the practical device fabrication.     

Influence of microsupersonic gas jets on nanosecond laser percussion drilling

This paper reports on etching rates and hole quality for nanosecond laser percussion drilling of 200-μm thick 316L stainless steel performed with micro supersonic gas jets. The assist-gas jets were produced using nozzles of 200, 300 and 500 μm nominal throat diameters. Air and oxygen were used separately for the process gas in the drilling trials and the drilling performance was compared to drilling in ambient conditions. The highest etch rate of 1.2 μm per pulse was obtained in the ambient atmosphere condition, but this was reduced by about 50% with assist-air jets from the 200 μm nozzle. Increasing the jet diameter and/or using oxygen assist gas also decreased the etching rate and increased the hole diameter. The 200 μm nozzle using air-assist jets produced the least amount of recast and gave the best compromise for etching rate. A combination of plasma shielding and different gas dynamic conditions inside the holes and at the surface are correlated to the observations of different drilling rates and hole characteristics.     

Small-bore fluorocarbon polymer-coated silver hollow glass waveguides for Er:YAG laser light

Several types of fluorocarbon polymer (FCP)-coated silver hollow glass waveguides have been fabricated for Er:YAG laser delivery by using the improved wet chemical technique and dynamic coating procedure. The straight losses of 2 m long 700 μmØ and 540 μmØ waveguides are 0.4 and 1.0 dB, respectively. The transmission losses of these waveguides are below 1.5 dB even when the waveguides are bent to 180° with the bending radius of either 20 or 15 cm. The waveguides with the small diameters of 320 and 200 μm have also been developed for clinical treatment, which exhibit low enough transmission losses for Er:YAG laser light.     

1.3-μm GaInAsP/InP Multi-Quantum-Well Surface-Emitting Lasers

A multi-quantum-well (MQW) active layer has been introduced to 1.3-μm GaInAsP/InP surface-emitting (SE) lasers. Room temperature pulsed operation of a 1.3-μm MQW SE laser was obtained for the first time and its threshold current was 15 mA. CW (continuous wave) operation up to 7°C (threshold current 1_th=7.6 mA at 7°C) was achieved.     

A time-of-scan laser triangulation technique for distance measurements

This paper reports the development of an electro-optic device for relative distance measurement. The time-of-scan triangulation technique has been used as measurement principle and a rotating mirror employed as beam deflection system. A calibration technique is needed to calculate the geometrical parameters of the system. The device has an accuracy of 100 μm, a working distance of 20 cm and a range of 10 mm. The accuracy obtained depends on the instability of the rotation speed of the mechanical scanner that affects the measurement of the scanning time.     

Design of an optical fiber sensor for linear thermal expansion measurement

Design and operation of an optical fiber device for temperature sensing and thermal expansion measurement are reported. The modulated intensity has been measured by using a pair of 450 μm core fiber, one acting as the source and the other one as receiving fiber. In this design, the light intensity modulation is based on the relative motion of the optical fibers and a reflective coated lens. By using displacement calibration data for this sensor, the linear thermal expansion of the aluminum rod is determined. This sensor shows an average sensitivity of about 11.3 mV/°C for temperature detection and 7 μm/°C for thermal expansion detection. Device resolution for a linear expansion measurement is about 3 μm for a dynamic range of 600 μm corresponding to a temperature change of 100°C. The measured linear expansion results are checked against the expected theoretical ones and an agreement within ±2 μm is noticed. The operation of this sensor was also compared with other types and some advantages are observed, which verify the capability of this design for such precise measurements.     

Structure and piezoelectric properties of 1-μm-thick polar-axis-oriented CaBi<Subscript>4</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>4</Subscript>O<Subscript>15</Subscript> films

1-μm-thick polar-axis-oriented CaBi₄Ti₄O₁₅ (CBTi144) films were fabricated by control of nucleation and growth in alkoxy-derived non-crystalline layers on Pt foils. The oxygen ambient during pre-baking impacted both the cross-sectional microstructure and the crystallographic orientation. The 1-μm-thick film showed relatively high intensities of (100)/(010) diffraction lines in the X-ray diffraction profile and simultaneously had a closely packed dense structure in the transmission electron microscopy cross-sectional profile. Resultantly, the leakage current density decreased to about 7×10^-8 A/cm² at 10 V. The piezoelectric constant d₃₃ was determined to be 260 pm/V at a maximum poling voltage of 60 V by measurements using piezoelectric force microscopy. PACS 77.55.+f; 77.84.-s; 77.65.-j; 68.55.Jk     

5 μm thick 3C-SiC layers grown on Ge-modified Si(100) substrates

The effect of the germanium coverage prior to the epitaxial growth of 5 μm thick 3C-SiC on Si(100) substrates were evaluated with Atomic Force Microscopy and μ-Raman spectroscopy. The 3C-SiC layers were grown by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition via a special procedure leading to layers with compressive instead of tensile stress. The Ge amount was varied from 0 up to 2 ML. The obtained results showed that the residual stress inside the layers is shifted in the compressive direction; the crystalline quality is improved with the Ge introduction but on the account of the surface roughness. These results open the route for the use of Ge-modified Si(100) as a potential substrate in order to improve the heteroepitaxial growth of 3C-SiC on silicon substrates.     

梳状电极胆甾相液晶激光器的激光辐射谱

设计制作了梳状电极染料掺杂胆甾相液晶激光器件,研究了外加电压下的激光辐射谱。器件的下基板ITO电极刻蚀成梳状条形电极,电极宽度约2 mm,相邻电极间距分别约为1,3,5 mm。上基板无ITO电极。上下基板取向膜平行摩擦取向处理,使胆甾相液晶平面态排列。以532 nm的Nd∶YAG激光器作为泵浦光源,测量器件激光辐射谱。改变外加电压0~100 V,3个区域均出现了多模输出。在1 mm电极间距区域,可获得633.65~621.52 nm（12 nm）和683.15~664.35 nm（18 nm）的可调谐波长范围;在电极间距3,5 mm区域,辐射激光波长变化微小。在外加电压作用下,液晶分子均匀的螺旋周期排列受到扰动,液晶分子层螺旋轴倾斜,各个液晶畴的螺旋轴取向不一致,使有效螺距值缩短并有所浮动,引起出射激光波长蓝移和多模输出。利用光子态密度理论数值模拟了激光辐射谱。当有效螺距为倾斜角的函数时,随着倾斜角增大出射激光波长蓝移。     

Low-temperature laser processes for synthesizing (100)-textured Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films on Si substrate

High-performance Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃, PZT, thin films were synthesized on Si substrates by using low-temperature laser-assisted processes, which combine pulsed laser deposition (PLD), laser lift-off (LLO) and laser-annealing (LA) processes. The PZT films were first grown on sapphire substrates at 400 °C, using Ba(Mg_1/3Ta_2/3)O₃, BMT, as seeding layer, by the PLD process, and were then transferred to Si substrates at room temperature by a LLO transferring process. Utilization of the BMT layer is of critical importance in those processes, since it acted as a nucleation layer for the synthesis of the PZT thin films on the sapphire substrates and, at the same time, served as a sacrificial layer during laser irradiation in the LLO process. After the LLO process, the surfaces of the PZT films were recovered by the LA process for removing the damage induced by the LLO process. A thin BMT (∼30 nm) layer is randomly oriented, resulting in non-textured PZT films with good ferroelectric properties, viz. P_r=20.6 μC/cm² and E_c=126 kV/cm, whereas a thick BMT (∼100 nm) layer is (100) preferentially oriented, leading to (100)-textured PZT films with markedly better ferroelectric properties, viz. P_r=34.4 μC/cm² and E_c=360 kV/cm. PACS 81.15.Fg; 77.84.-s     

Laser damage in silicon

Laser damage in silicon has been investigated using single crystals of p-type Si with thin wafers of 0.325 mm thickness being exposed to Nd³⁺ laser pulses. The laser was in a free generation mode, with wavelength 1.064 μm, and pulse duration time of 100 μs, with energy of 200 mJ pulse^-1. It was found that this energy caused visible damage at the sample surface, which is interesting topographically and from viewpoint of the theory of the interaction of laser light and solid dielectric matter.     

Effect of polymer relaxation on dielectric spectroscopic study of polymer–ferroelectric liquid crystal composites

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and ferroelectric liquid crystal (P–FLC) composite films (~ 4 μm) with varying proportions of ferroelectric liquid crystal have been prepared and the dielectric response of the composite films as a function of wide frequency (100 Hz–10 MHz) and temperature (127–40 °C) have been analyzed. The dielectric spectra of such composite systems are considerably modified compared to those of the corresponding pure LC or PMMA materials. The observed paraelectric to ferroelectric transition temperature of the composites is found to be lower (~ 85 °C) compared to that of the pure LC system (~ 98 °C), which makes these composites technologically more significant. The P–FLC composites also exhibit higher relaxation frequency and smaller dielectric strength for the Goldstone mode compared to those of the corresponding pure FLC. Depending on the percentage of the constitute materials, the molecular dynamics of the composite materials changes. Dielectric contributions of both liquid crystal and PMMA matrix forming the composites have been analyzed on the basis of Havriliak and Negami function.     

High-efficiency high-energy-resolution spectrometer for inelastic X-ray scattering

A nine-element analyzer system for inelastic X-ray scattering has been designed and constructed. Each individual analyzer crystal is carefully aligned with an inverse joystick goniometer. For the analyzers silicon wafers with 100 mm diameter are spherically bent to 1 or 0.85 m radius, respectively. Additionally, an analyzer with an extra small radius of 0.182 m and diameter of 100 mm was constructed for X-ray absorption spectroscopy in fluorescence mode. All analyzer crystals with large radius have highly uniform focusing property. The total energy resolution is approximately 0.5 eV at backscattering for the 1 m radius Si(440) analyzer array and approximately 4 eV for the 0.182 m radius Si(440) analyzer at 6493 eV.