Generation of broadband squeezed states pumped by CW mode-locked pulses

Broadband high level squeezing was clearly observed from 100 kHz to 80 MHz using crystals Ba₂NaNb₅O₁₅ of 5 mm length, MgO:LiNbO₃ of 19 mm length and KNbO₃ of 5.8 mm length. Maximum noise reductions detected on a spectrum analyzer were –1.2 dB (–24%), –1.25 dB (–25%), and –1.8 dB (–34%) for the three crystals, respectively. The maximum squeezing is limited mostly by optical index damage of the parametric crystals. A detailed analysis of the beam parameters traced along the pump beam, squeezed vacuum, etc. is given. A detailed discussion on the evaluation of the initial squeezed level is given. A preliminary experiment with compressed laser pulses to avoid the optical damage is also described.     

A comparison of the performance of LiNbO3, and LiTaO3, traveling-wave phase modulators

Abstract

A comparison of the phase modulators made by Ti:LiNbO₃ and Ti:LiTaO₃ optical waveguides is presented. Of particular interest is their halfwave voltages at the wavelength 0.6328 μm and the frequency responses for the same electrode structure. For the Ti:LiNbO₃ phase modulator, a halfwave voltage of 6.6 V and a band-width of 13 GHz are obtained. Whereas, the Ti:LiTaO₃, a 6.8 V halfwave voltage and 12 GHz bandwidth are obtained.     

GaAs travelling-wave optical modulator using a coplanar slow-wave electrode with periodic overlays

A coplanar slow-wave electrode with periodic cross-tie overlays has been used to satisfy the essential phase velocity matching between the modulation and optical waves for wideband travelling-wave optical modulators. For an optimized modulator of 4 mm length at 1.3 m light wavelength, the calculated halfwave modulation voltage (23 V) is slightly higher than that (20 V) of conventional coplanar modulators but the 3 dB bandwidth (100 GHz) is much wider than the bandwidth limit (30 GHz) of walkoff-limited conventional coplanar modulators. The measured effective index (4.61) of the modulation wave is much higher than that (2.65) of conventional coplanar electrodes and agrees very well with the calculated one (4.25).     

Optical,photoelectric and electric properties of single-crystalline Sb2Se3

Measurements of absorption coefficient in the region of the absorption edge, of spectral distribution of photoconductivity and dependence of electrical conductivity upon temperature on Sb₂Se₃ single crystals are given. The absorption of light was proved to correspond to indirect forbidden transitions. The value of optical gapE _g ^opt =(1·11±0·02) eV forE a andE c was determined. From photoconductivity and conductivity measurements the values of the gaps areE _g ^opt =1·11 eV andE _g ^el =1·04 eV. The anisotropy of the electrical conductivity parallel and perpendicular to the cleavage plane is 2·2.     

Optical and Photoelectric Inhomogeneity of CdTe:V Crystals

The optical and photoelectric properties of CdTe:V crystals with the doping impurity concentration N _V = 5·10¹⁸–5·10¹⁹ cm^–3 are investigated and the possibility of their use as a photorefractive material is considered. As is seen from the spectra of optical transmission, the crystals of both types possess high transparency (50–65%), which for CdTe:V specimens with N _V = 5·10¹⁹ cm^–3 decreases sharply and in the range 12–14 m does not exceed 5%, whereas for CdTe:V crystals with vanadium concentration of 5·10¹⁸ cm^–3 such a value of transmission remains unchanged up to 25 m, implying a good optical quality of the latter crystals and their possible application in the spectral range 1.06–1.25 m in modern fiber-optic communication lines.     

Electroabsorption modulators operating at 1.3 μm on GaAs substrates

This paper describes the growth and device performance of electroabsorption modulators on GaAs substrates operating near 1.3 m, the dispersion minimum for silica fibres. The key to the successful molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth of these devices was the incorporation of a linearly-graded buffer layer beneath the InGaAs/AlGaAs multi-quantum-well active layer. Both transmission and reflection modulators are produced. For transmission devices, larger modulation is achieved when the buffer is graded more slowly: The maximum modulation reported was 22% for T/T _O corresponding to a 0.86 dB contrast ratio with an insertion loss of roughly 5 dB at 1.34 m. Antireflection coating a transmission modulator yields a reasonable reflection modulator. However, improved performance is reported for a reflection modulator using a novel technique of integrating the bottom quarter-wave mirror into a buffer with linearly-graded In composition. At 1.33 m, a normally-off reflection modulator with an integrated mirror exhibited a R/R _O of 73%, a constrast ratio of 2.38 dB, and an insertion loss of 4 dB.     

Decay of Re186

The decay of Re 186 was investigated with a double focusing spectrometer and scintillation spectrometer. Four transitions were observed with energies of 122·7±0·1 keV, 137·2 keV, 632·2±1·5 keV and 768·2±1·5 keV and the relative-ray intensities 18, 246, 0·9 and 1 respectively. TheK-conversion coefficients determined for low-energy transitions are in good agreement with the theoretical values ( _K ^122·7 =0·53±0·05, _K ^137·2 =0·44±0·02). The relative intensities of theK, L, M andN conversion lines were also determined for these transitions:KL _I +IIL _III M=1·20±0·201·32±0·20 1±0·150·57±0·08 for 122·7 keV transition,KL _I +IIL _III MN=1·57±0·081· 72±0080·70±0·030·20±0·01 for 137·2 keV transition. In the beta spectrum two groups were observed with the end points of 1076±3 keV and 939±3 keV and relative intensities 74±4% and 21±4% respectively. For the branching ofK-capture it was found that 1·5% populates the 122·7 keV level and 3·5% the ground state. The decay scheme from the present results is proposed.The authors would like to thank M. Buriánek and V. Kopiva for help in the measurements.     

ИжМЕРЕНИЕ пОльРИжАцИИ пРОтОНОВ с ЁНЕРгИЕИ 6,7 MeV пРИ РАссЕьНИИ НА УглЕРОДЕ

A carbon polarimeter for proton polarization measurements at energies higher than 4 MeV has been designed. Considerable transmission has been attained by using a thick polarimeter target and larger scattering solid angles. The effective polarization value at the region ofE _p from 4·6 to 6·0 MeV varies only slightly with energy and attains an average value ofP _eff–0·8. Solid state detectors were used for proton recording. The instrument calibration curve was determined by means of a triple experiment.The angular distribution of polarized protons scattered elastically has been measured at an energy of 6·7 MeV and in an angle range of _lab form 30 to 120. This distribution has two minima ofP(40_lab)=–056±0·03 andP(100_lab)=–088±0·06 and one maximum ofP(70_lab)=+1·03±0·04.     

Some photoelectric properties of the nucleic acid bases in thin layers

The current-voltage characteristics of dark-conductivity and photoconductivity, the lux-ampere characteristics, the spectral dependence of photoconductivity and the relative quantum efficiency of vacuum deposited layers of adenine, thymine, uracil and cytosine were investigated at room temperature. The following values of photoconductivity thresholdE _th were obtained: 3·81 ±± 0·1 eV for adenine; 3·69±0·1 eV for thymine; 3·80±0·1 eV for uracil; 3·77 ± 0·1 eV for cytosine.It may be shown thatE _th is most probably the threshold value for intrinsic photoconductivity of NA bases and, consequently, corresponds to the first electron conductivity levelE _c or at leastE _c >E_th. The possible energy diagram of the NA bases is evaluated.     

Magnetic diffusion anomaly in the Fe-17·6 at.%V alloy

Results of measurement between 746 and 1231 C of the diffusion coefficient Fe-59 in the Fe-17·6 at.% V alloy, together with Mirani's et al., Lai-Borg's and Hettich's et al. data analysis, are presented. All the data show a marked ferromagnetic effect, i.e. the lnD(T) values measured at the temperaturesT< are distinctly lower than those extrapolated by the linear Arrhenius plot from the paramagnetic range. The results are interpreted in terms of the Heisenberg model, Kirkwood's and Girifalco's statistical theories. The computer fit of an analytical form, derived for the excess activation enthalpyH(T), to experimental data enabled us to calculate the values of the exchange integralJ ₀ and the paramagnetic temperatureT _p. The corresponding values for the Fe-17·6% V alloy are:J ₀=(315±11)k,k is the Boltzmann constant, andT _p=(1223±±18) K. The activation enthalpy of Fe self-diffusion in a completely ordered ferromagnetic Fe-17·6% V matrix is higher by the value ofH(0)=(55·2±1·9)kJ/mol than the value 236·35 kJ/mol corresponding to a fully paramagnetic state. Applying a three paramagnetic fit to Mirani's, Lai-Borg's and Hettichs data, we have found that the ratio of the vacancy migration enthalpy and of the formation enthalpy in -Fe, in Fe-17·6% and Fe-7·64% Si, may be expressed by the valueH _M/H _F=1·62 ± 0·18. A comparison ofJ ₀(-Fe) toJ ₀(17·6 %V) and toJ ₀(7·64% Si) shows that the magnetic dilution caused by 17·6% of vanadium is negligible withJ ₀(17·6% V)/ /J ₀(-Fe)=0·999. The dilution brought about by silicium is by about 1·24 times higher, and the ratioJ ₀(7·64% Si)/J ₀(-Fe)=0·86. The paramagnetic temperatures in the materials under study are given by the relationT _P=(gQ + 137) K, being the respective Curie-temperature. The present analysis makes it possible to calculate the Fe diffusion characteristicsD _0f aH _f in a fully ordered magnetic matrix.     

Inclusive production of φ-mesons in neutron-proton interaction at 30–70 GeV/c

A signal of the-K⁺K^– decays has been observed in neutron-hydrogen interactions at energies of 30–70 GeV in an experiment using the BIS-2 spectrometer. The longitudinal momentum spectrum in the forward region,x _F<0·1 atp _T<1 GeV/c, can be well described by a power law dependence (1–x _F)^N withN=4·28±0·42. Thep _T ² -spectrum has been parametrized by the exp(–Bp _T ² ) law with the exponentB=(3·02±0·55) (GeV/c)^–2. The extrapolation of the measured cross section to the full kinematic region yields a value of (220±85) b in agreement with measurements from the proton beams.     

Temperature dependence and input optical power tolerance of an InGaAsP electroabsorption modulator module

We report the temperature dependence and input optical power tolerance of an InGaAsP electroabsorption (EA) modulator module. Thermal stability of the module was found to be very high. The optimum E _g at 20°C has been estimated to be 48–55 meV. At E _g of 53 meV, the insertion loss was almost independent of the temperature, while the driving voltage was strongly dependent on the temperature. The breakdown phenomena were investigated in detail; these occurred under conditions of very high input power and/or high bias voltage. Input power for breakdown was smaller for higher bias voltage or smaller E _g. Allowable maximum input optical power has a large margin (>5 dB) for the conventional input level in practical systems.     

Decay of Cs134m

The decay of the isomeric state of Cs¹³⁴ was studied. The decay half-timeT _1/2=2·93±0·05 hours was determined. From measurements carried out by means of a spectrometer with short lens, scintillation measurements and chemical separations, the non-existence of the weak decay of this state was proved, contrary to statements found previously in the literature (maximum possible intensity 0·02%, compared to the value of 1% found in the literature). The spectrum of conversion electrons was measured by a double-focusing spectrometer, and the following transition energies were determined: 127·3±0·3 keV (E3) and 138·4±0·4 keV (M4) (K:L:M+N is 92 100 27 for the 127·3 keV transition, and 206 100 31 for the 138·4 keV transition). The conversion coefficient of the 127 keV transition was measured, resulting in a value of _k =2·55±±0·4. The ratio of transition intensities isI ₁₃₈ I ₁₂₇=5·7 1000.     

Optical-gyroscope application of efficient crossed-channel acoustooptic devices

An acoustooptic (AO) deflector/modulator using a single-mode crossed-channel waveguide of 2n type and an interdigital transducer is fabricated in aY-Z LiNbO₃ substrate. This module has shown a high diffraction efficiency. A 50% diffraction efficiency and a bandwidth of 13.4 MHz were obtained with 0.13 W of surface-acoustic wave power centered at 320MHz. Since the cross section of the channel waveguide and that of the optical fiber are comparable, the interfacting of the resultant acoustooptic devices with fiber optical systems would greatly simplified. In addition, the frequency-shifted optical beam can be conveniently used as a reference signal or local oscillator in heterodyne detection. Consequently, this cross-channel acoustooptic device should find a variety of applications in realizing an integrated-optics module with a 50–50% power slit, optical communication, and an optical fiber system. One of those applications, optical gyroscopes, is proposed by using this kind of crossed-channel AO device.     

Fermion masses

In this paper, we show that 2m _e m /(m _e ² +m ² = (g _V/g _A) _e ² . From this expression, the Weinberg mixing parameter is shown to be 0·2254 or 0·2746. Assuming that the electron and muon neutrino masses are degenerate, we find thatm _v = (g _V/g _A) _e ² . (m _e m )/M _WL, where M_WL is the mass of the standard W^± boson. The neutrino mass turns out to be 6·5 eV. The -neutrino mass is found to be about 81 MeV. The masses of c, t, s and b quarks are found to be respectively 1·7 GeV, 21·2 GeV, 0·57 GeV and 2·18 GeV by assumingm _d=m _u= 0·3 GeV. All these masses agree with other estimates except the b quark which has about half of its expected value.     

A compact optical isolator using a Y3Fe5O12 crystal for near infra-red radiation

Using a Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ crystal as a Faraday rotator material, a samarium cobalt permanent magnet and two iron yokes, a compact optical isolator was constructed at 1.153m for optical transmission systems. The developed isolator is 13 mm in diameter and 25 mm in length, including two polarizers. The isolator characteristics are 1.3 dB forward loss and greater than 30 dB backward loss. A broadband isolator is realized by inserting a 45 degree Faraday rotator and an optically active 45 degree quartz rotator between the two polarizers set at 90 degrees in relation to each other.     

Study of the influence of iron and lanthanum oxides on the band structure of Pb(Zr,Ti) O3

The measurements of diffuse reflectance spectra in the range of 400; 2500 nm and of photoacoustic spectra in the range of 350; 800 nm were used for the study of the influence of iron (III) oxide and lathanum oxide additions on the band structure of polycrystalline lead zirconate — lead titanate solid solutions. The molar ratio of zirconium and titanium in the studied solid solutions was 60 40, and the concentrations of the dopants werex FeO_1.5, andy LaO_1.5, werex 0; 0·05 mol, andy 0; 0·10 mol, respectively. The diffuse reflectance spectra were expressed in terms of the Kubelka-Munk function values versus incident electromagnetic radiation energy. These dependences were decomposed into partial absorption bands using a computer. Transitions of charged carriers between energy levels or bands which differ mutually by the energy of 0·9, 1·2–1·3, 1·6, 1·65–1·7, 2·4–2·5, 2·75–2·8, 2·9–3·2, 3·4–3·8 eV, were identified. Their intensities depend on the concentration of Fe and/or on La in the Pb(Zr_0.60 Ti_0.40) solid solutions.The authors are very grateful to Mrs. Iva Havlasová, Vra Andrsová, Ing. Jan Netuka, and Mrs. Liana Karlíková from the first authors' institute, for their technical assistance.     

Population of the excited Ne atoms in 3d levels by dissociative recombination in the neon afterglow plasmas at room temperature

The paper deals with the optical investigation of the dissociative recombination of Ne ₂ ⁺ molecular ions with electrons in the afterglow period of d.c. and high-frequency glow discharges. It has been confirmed experimentally that the dissociative recombination produces excited atoms in the Ne (3p _i ) states and in the Ne (3d _j states at room electron temperature. Then, the normalized partial recombination coefficients have been determined as (3d)=0·26 and t<(3p)=0·74.     

Heterodiffusion of Cr in molten Fe in the temperature range 1800 to 1970 K

Heterodiffusion of Cr has been studied using the method of thin layer and the radionuclide⁵¹Cr. The diffusion characteristics determined from the experimental results in the temperature range 1800 KT1970 K areD _o=1·59×10^–2 cm²/s andE=22·3±1·6 kcal/mol. The experimental method is discussed in detail and the results are compared with those of other authors.     

Pitfalls in the Use of Common Luminescent Probes for Oxidative and Nitrosative Stress

Lucigenin (LC²⁺, bis-N-methylacridinium) and 2,7-dichlorofluorescin (DCFH₂) are widely used as chemiluminescent or fluorescent probes for cellular oxidative stress, to reflect levels of superoxide (O₂ ^·–) and hydrogen peroxide, respectively. We report mechanistic studies that add to the growing evidence for the unsuitability of either probe except in very well-defined circumstances. The ability for lucigenin to generate superoxide via reduction of LC²⁺ to LC^·+ and redox cycling with oxygen depends on the reduction potential of the LC²⁺/LC^·+ couple. Redox equilibrium between LC^·+ and the redox indicator benzyl viologen is established in microseconds after generation of the radicals by pulse radiolysis and indicated E(LC²⁺/LC^·+) –0.28 V vs. NHE. Reaction of LC^·+ with O₂ to generate O₂ ^·– was also observed directly similarly, occurring in milliseconds, with a rate constant k 3 × 10⁶ M ^–1 s^–1. Quinones act as redox mediators in LC^·+/O₂ redox cycling. Oxidation of DCFH₂ to fluorescent DCF is not achieved by O₂ ^·– or H₂O₂, but NO₂ ^·) reacts rapidly: k 1 × 10⁷ M ^–1 s^–1. Oxidation by H₂O₂ requires a catalyst: cytochrome c (released into the cytosol in apoptosis) is very effective (even 10 nM). Fluorescence reflects catalyst level as much as O₂ ^·–) production.