Vectorial structure of Hermite–Laguerre–Gaussian beam in the far field

Starting from Maxwell's equations, a Hermite–Laguerre–Gaussian (HLG) beam is decomposed into the TE and TM terms by using the vector angular spectrum representation. By means of the method of stationary phase, the analytical TE and TM terms are presented in the far field. The energy flux distributions of the TE and TM terms are also investigated and depicted in the far field. The influences of the additional angle parameter and Gaussian waist width on the vectorial structure and energy flux pattern of HLG beam are also investigated. This research reveals the internal vectorial structure of HLG beam and may provide a new approach to the manipulation of laser beams.     

Influence of laser irradiation on the optical and structural properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibres

Laser irradiation has been previously investigated for achieving uniform heating of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibres in the hot-drawing stage of the production process, so as to obtain better fibre mechanical properties. The optical properties and dye uptake of PET fibres also depend on the polymer chain orientation and crystallinity within the fibre structure. This paper reports an investigation of a concept whereby laser irradiation and interferometry could be used to modify and trace a small change in the optical properties of a PET monofilament fibre, but the corresponding change in the dye uptake would not be detected visually. A copper vapour laser (550-580 nm wavelengths) was used to expose consecutive 4 mm lengths along a running length of monofilament to 39.8 W cm⁻², at a pulse rate of 9.89 kHz in order to modify, in a controlled way, the polymer crystallinity and orientation. A 3D finite element simulation, based on uncoupled heat-transfer analysis, indicated that rapid heating and cooling could be obtained with the laser to give the small changes required. Irradiated and untreated samples were analysed by interferometry and a 0.16% change was detected in the birefringence profiles, corresponding to a small reduction in the degree of orientation and crystallinity of the irradiated samples. Density measurements and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) analysis confirmed the change in crystallinity. Tests conducted for dye adsorption and tensile strength showed a small increase in the former and only a very small decrease in the latter. It was concluded that these changes in property provide the opportunity for a laser-irradiated PET monofilament fibre to be used as a subtle tracer element in brand labels for textile garments as an anti-counterfeit measure.     

Hyperspherical harmonics approach to the trinucleon system with Reid soft core potential: Calculation of geometrical structure coefficients

We present the full set of equations for the solution of the trinucleon problem by the hyperspherical harmonics expansion (HHE) method where nucleons interact via the Reid soft core (RSC) potential. The coupling potential matrix elements are expressed in terms of geometrical structure coefficients (GSC) and potential multipoles (PM). Introduction of GSC greatly simplifies the calculation of the potential matrix and makes the numerical algorithm efficient. A method for calculating all the twelve independent sets of GSC needed, by using the completeness property of the Jacobi polynomials has been presented. A convenient sum rule for each set of GSC has also been derived and precision of the calculated GSC has been checked by the sum rule. Such calculations of GSC are efficient and fast, in view of the complexity of the HHE equations.     

Effect of C doping on the structural and optical properties of sol–gel TiO2 thin films

Undoped and C-doped TiO₂ thin films have been prepared by sol–gel process. Their structure and optical properties have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV–vis spectroscopy. It has been observed that C dopants retard the transformation from anatase-to-rutile phase. Namely, C doping effect is attributed to the anatase phase stabilization. The optical analyses show that the optical band gap of anatase C-doped TiO₂ decreases with increasing amount of C. Also, it is founded that C dopants have been shown to make TiO₂ have a visible light photoresponse.     

Photostability of D–π–A nonlinear optical chromophores containing a benzothiazolium acceptor

For the practical application of second‐order NLO materials, not only a high molecular quadratic hyperpolarizability β but also good thermal, chemical, and photochemical stabilities are required. Most of the state‐of‐the‐art chromophores with high NLO response cannot be put to use because they are photochemically highly unstable. Good thermal and photochemical stabilities with preserved high hyperpolarizabilities can be achieved by replacement of an aromatic ring with easily delocalizable heteroaromatics, e.g., with benzothiazole. Furthermore, desirable modifications of the benzothiazole fragment lead to improvement in β values. Here we report results of a comprehensive investigation of the photochemical stability of seven D–π–A push–pull molecules based on a N‐methylbenzothiazolium acceptor and a N,N‐dimethylaminophenyl donor with a different length of conjugated bridge and different acceptor strength. The quantum yield (Φ) and the kinetic parameters of photoreactions were determined for existing photodegradation pathways on irradiation at 300–850 nm in MeOH. Trans–cis photoisomerization is proposed as a fast but inefficient photobleaching mechanism for these irradiation wavelengths. Self‐sensitized photooxidation by ¹O₂ makes very slow parallel photodegradation pathway and, albeit to small value of Φ, plays a dominant role in the photodegradation of the compounds investigated. Both structural modifications (extension of conjugated bridge and an additional acceptor group bonded to heterocycle) resulting in an increase of NLO response led to a decrease in photostability due to the self‐sensitized ¹O₂ photooxidative attack. Thus a compromise should be found between an increase in NLO response and a decrease in photostability to make a choice of studied compounds for practical applications. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vortex pinning properties of –Ba–Cu–O and –Ba–Cu–O superconducting bulks

We have studied the effect of a small amount of Y-site substitution by La or Pr ions on the vortex pinning in the Y–Ba–Cu–O system. (Y_1-xLa_x)–Ba–Cu–O and (Y_1-xPr_x)–Ba–Cu–O bulks were fabricated by the melt-textured growth, in which x was varied from 0 to 0.01. The critical current density J_c at 77 K is improved in magnetic fields parallel to the c-axis above 2–4.5 T and the corresponding irreversibility field, H_irr, shifts to the higher value in both bulks.     

Impact of interface geometric structure on organic–metal interface energetics and subsequent films electronic structure

We present the electronic structure of various pentacene thin films grown on Au(1 1 1), Cu(1 1 1), Cu(1 0 0), and Cu(1 1 0) surfaces studied by angle-resolved ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation. A systematic variation of the metal surface such as the substrate metal and its surface symmetry allows a comprehensive discussion on the correlation between the electronic structure and the interface geometric structure. In the monolayer regime, we observed the evidence of the formation of the organic–metal interface state depending on the metal surface, i.e., the interface geometric structure. This evidence is explained by the different organic–metal and intermolecular interactions, which originate from the hybridization of the molecular orbitals with the metal wavefunction. These interface geometric and electronic phenomena can be a seed for the subsequent film growth and resultant films electronic structure.     

Cu/C核/壳纳米结构的气相合成、形成机理及其光学性能研究

采用乙酰丙酮铜为原料, 通过化学气相沉积大批量制备出Cu/C核/壳纳米颗粒和纳米线. 研究结果表明, 通过控制沉积温度可对Cu/C核/壳纳米材料的形貌和结构进行很好的控制. 比如, 沉积温度为400 ℃时可获得直径约200 nm的Cu/C核/壳纳米线, 沉积温度为450 ℃ 时可获得直径约200 nm的Cu/C核/壳纳米颗粒和纳米棒的混合产物, 沉积温度为600 ℃时可获得直径约22 nm的Cu/C核/壳纳米颗粒. 获得的Cu/C核/壳纳米结构是由一个新颖的凝聚机理形成的, 而这种机理不同于著名的溶解-析出机理. 紫外-可见光谱和荧光光谱分析结果表明: Cu/C核/壳纳米线和纳米颗粒均在225 nm处出现Cu的吸收峰, 同时在620 和616 nm处分别出现了纳米线和纳米颗粒的表面等离子共振吸收峰. Cu/C核/壳纳米线在312 和348 nm处、 Cu/C核/壳纳米颗粒在304 和345 nm处出现荧光发射谱峰. 关键词： Cu/C核/壳结构 纳米线 纳米颗粒 光学性能     

Far-field properties and beam quality of vectorial Hermite–Laguerre–Gaussian beams beyond the paraxial approximation

The far-field properties and beam quality of vectorial nonparaxial Hermite–Laguerre–Gaussian (HLG) beams are studied in detail, where, instead of the second-order-moments-based M² factor, the extended power in the bucket (PIB) and βparameter are used to characterize the beam quality in the far field and the intensity in the formulae is replaced by the z component of the time-averaged Poynting vector S_z. It is found that the S_z PIB and βparameter of vectorial nonparaxial HLG beams depend on the mode indices n, m, αparameter and waist-width-to-wavelength ratio w₀/λ and the PIB and βparameter are additionally dependent on the bucket's size taken.     

Intramolecular Diels–Alder reaction in enyne–allenes: a computational investigation and comparison with the Myers–Saito and Schmittel reactions

The reaction mechanisms as well as substituted effect and solvent effect of the enyne–allenes are investigated by Density Functional Theory (DFT) method and compared with the Myers–Saito and Schmittel reactions. The Myers–Saito reaction of non‐substituted enyne–allenes is kinetically and thermodynamically favored as compared to the Schmittel reaction; while the concerted [4 + 2] cycloaddition is only 1.32 kcal/mol higher than the C₂? C₇ cyclization and more exothermic (Δ_RE = ?69.38 kcal/mol). For R₁ = CH₃ and t‐Bu, the increasing barrier of the C₂? C₇ cyclization is higher than that for the C₂? C₆ cyclization because of the steric effect, so the increased barrier of the [4 + 2] cycloaddition is affected by such substituted electron‐releasing group. Moreover, the strong steric effect of R₁ = t‐Bu would shift the C₂? C₇ cyclization to the [4 + 2] cycloaddition. On the other hand, for R₁ = Ph, NH₂, O^?, NO₂, and CN substituents, the barrier of the C₂? C₆ cyclization would be more diminished than the C₂? C₇ cyclization due to strong mesomeric effect; the reaction path of C₂? C₇ cyclization would also shift to the [4 + 2] cycloaddition. The solvation does not lead to significant changes in the potential‐energy surface of the reaction except for the more polar surrounding solvent such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), or water. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determining the opto-mechanical and geometrical properties of high-density polyethylene fibres

A method is described to determine the opto-mechanical and geometrical properties of high-density polyethylene, HDPE, fibres at the same time for the same region from the fibre. Variations of the transverse sectional shapes, areas, optical and mechanical properties of fibres during the cold drawing process were investigated. A rotator-mechanical drawing device was used for rotating the fibre around its longitudinal axis during the cold drawing process. The Pluta polarizing two-beam interference microscope was attached with the rotator-mechanical drawing device for detecting these variations under the interferometer. The rotator-mechanical drawing device permits determining the tensile stress–strain curve, Poisson's ratio and strain optical coefficient for HDPE fibres. Also, it permits determining the refractive index profile of the drawn fibres taking into considering the transverse sectional area and the enclosed area under the fringe shift. The optical orientation factor and orientation angle was calculated for HDPE fibre to clarify the orientation of molecules during the cold drawing process. Microinterferograms are utilized for illustrations.     

Experimental study of a semiconductor laser diode having a Mach–Zehnder interferometer in the cavity

The performance of a semiconductor laser diode that has an asymmetric Mach–Zehnder interferometer all-optical switch in the cavity has been studied experimentally. This novel device was designed to be free from clock pulse insertion, since mode-locked optical pulses are generated internally and change the balance of the interferometer periodically. The device was fabricated using a InGaAsP/InP buried heterostructure and the primary optical properties of the device were investigated. Lasing characteristics that were peculiar to the twin-cavity structure were observed, i.e., continuous-wave lasing power oscillation in relation to the injection current balance between the two arms, and cyclic changes in the single/multiple emission peaks as a function of bias voltage at the saturable absorber. Electrical spectrum analysis indicated 40 GHz modulation of lasing output from the twin-cavity laser.     

Synthesis and high-frequency magnetic properties of sol–gel derived Ni–Zn ferrite–forsterite composites

Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄–forsterite composites were synthesized by a sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction and SEM were used to characterize the crystallization behavior of the composite samples which were heat treated at temperatures varying from 800 to 1100°C. The results showed that Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄ and forsterite (Mg₂SiO₄) can co-crystallize and the crystallites grow even more larger with increasing heat-treatment temperature. High-frequency (10 MHz–1 GHz) magnetic and dielectric properties of the composite samples were presented. Permeability increased with heat-treatment temperature. Quality factor was found to be two orders higher than that of equivalent pure, bulk ferrite.     

Transport properties of carbon nanotube–metal nanocomposites

The performed investigations permit to reveal the effect of giant magnetic resistance in the specimens of the compacted nanocarbon materials containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified with the transition metals (Fe and Co).     

How glucosylation triggers physical–chemical properties of curcumin: an experimental and theoretical study

In the present study, we investigate the structures of glucosylated curcumin derivatives with DFT at B3LYP/6‐31G* level. A conformational analysis is performed in order to determine the conformational minimum (GS) and rotational transition state (TS) of curcumin derivatives and then their electronic features are evaluated. HOMO and LUMO frontier orbitals and maps of electron density potential (MEPs) are plotted and compared. In order to correlate their predicted spectroscopic properties with IR, UV–vis and NMR experimental data we extended the theoretical study on electronic properties to different solvents (H₂O, MeOH, ACN, DMSO). The main finding is that the curcuminic core maintains the same geometrical and electronic structures in all compounds miming the metal coordination capability showed by curcumin. Therefore, we may confirm that the presence of glucose does not affect the electronic properties of the derivatives. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of a Fabry–Perot etalon on a chirped optical pulse

Taking into consideration the fact that the output from a Fabry–Perot etalon is formed on the basis of the interference of the multi-reflected beams of the input pulse that enters the etalon, an analytical expression of the output pulse intensity has been derived for an input chirped Gaussian pulse passing through an etalon. Using the expression, the temporal width and the peak power of the output pulse is investigated. Results show that for a given etalon, the chirp factor and the width of the input pulse have intense effects on the width and the peak of the output pulse.     

The influence of indium on the structural modification of the amorphous Ge–In–Se system

The effect of both the chemical composition and the nature of the chemical bonding of amorphous alloyed samples of Ge_xIn_ySe_100−x−y prepared under vacuum with x=20, 4y15 on the efficiency of the structural modification Δφ is analysed using a simple consideration based on the coordination number Z, and the number of topological constraints N_co. The previously obtained parameters have been used for the determination of the number of continuous deformation (i.e. zero-frequency modes f ), and for the estimation of the cohesive energies of these glasses, assuming simple additivity of bond energies. A trial has been made to correlate the results of this paper with the previously published data of glass transition temperature T_g, activation energy ₀ and the shift of the K-absorption edge (ΔE_K) of the composition of vacuum prepared Ge_xIn_ySe_100−x−y. It was found that there is a correlation between the lone-pair electrons and the stability of the vitreous state. According to the criterion of Liang, the above correlation has been interpreted in terms of Δφ.     

A new form of the Sutton–Chen potential for the Cu–Ag alloys

The analytic construction of a many-body potential inspired from the Sutton–Chen parametrization is presented for copper and silver. A new approach is used to model the cross interaction for the Cu–Ag alloys. The parameters are fitted to first principles calculations based on the full potential linear plane wave method. The structural properties of the order and disorder Cu–Ag alloys in the B₂and fcc structures are presented for different concentration.     

Self‐association,tautomerism and E–Z isomerization of isatin–phenylsemicarbazones – spectral study and theoretical calculations

The self‐association and tautomerism of (E)‐isatin‐3‐4‐phenyl(semicarbazone) Ia and (E)‐N‐methylisatin‐3‐4‐phenyl(semicarbazone) IIa were investigated in solvents of various polarity. In weakly interacting non‐polar solvents, such as CHCl₃ and benzene, phenylsemicarbazone concentrations above 1×10^?5 mol dm^?3 result in the formation of dimers or higher aggregates of E‐isomers Ia and IIa . This aggregate formation prevents room temperature E–Z isomerization of Ia and IIa to more stable Z‐isomers. In contrast to the situation in non‐polar solvents, E–Z isomerization from the monomeric form of phenylsemicarbazone Ia and IIa E‐isomers occurs in highly interactive polar solvents including MeOH and DMF only at temperatures above 70 °C. Moreover, decrease in phenylsemicarbazone concentration below 1×10^?4 mol dm^?3 in these highly solute–solvent interacting systems leads to aggregate dissociation, and a new hydrazonol tautomeric form with a high degree of conjugation predominates in these solutions. Theoretical calculations confirm obtained experimental results. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.