Accuracy analysis of parallel plate interferometer for angular displacement measurement

The measurement accuracy of a parallel-plate interferometer for angular displacement measurement is analyzed. The measurement accuracy of angular displacement is not only related to the accuracy of phase extraction, but also related to initial incident angle, refraction index and thickness of plane-parallel plate as well as wavelength's stability of laser diode, etc. Theoretical analysis and computer simulation show that the measurement error of the angular displacement bears a minimum value when choosing an optimal initial incident angle in a large range. These analytical results serve as a guide in practical measurement. In this interferometer, reducing the refraction index or increasing the thickness of the parallel plate can improve the measurement accuracy; and the relative error of the phase measurement is 3.0×10⁻⁴ corresponding to 1 °C temperature variation. Based on these theoretical and experimental results, the measurement accuracy of the parallel-plate interferometer is up to an order of 10⁻⁸ rad.     

Novel optical film sensor design based on p-polarized reflectance

A new scheme of optical film sensor is presented. The sensor is based on p-polarized reflectance, consisting of a sensing coated substrate, is easily optimized for maximum sensitivity in different applications. The resolutions of refractive index n_f, extinction coefficient k_f and thickness h_f of the sensitive films are predicted to be 10⁻⁷, 10⁻⁵ and 10⁻³ nm, respectively. Experimentally, we selected the sol–gel derived SnO₂ films as gas-sensitive films and conducted preliminary gas-sensing test. The results indicate that novel optical film sensor scheme has higher sensitivity, and the detection sensitivity is available to 10⁻¹ ppm on the condition of optimum optical parameters and incident angle.     

Millimeter-wave spectrum of DCCCHO in the ground vibrational state

About 140 a- and b-type millimeter-wave transitions of propynal-d₁, DCCCHO, were measured in the ground vibrational state. The accurate rotational and centrifugal distortion constants were determined from the observed frequencies including the previous microwave measurements. Seven microwave transitions observed by infrared-microwave double resonance were also included in the analysis. The determined constants are A = 66778.016(12), B = 4463.8489(7), C = 4177.7950(7), Δ_J = 0.0015919(5), Δ_JK = −0.139214(13), Δ_K = 9.4328(18), δ_J = 0.0002885(4), δ_K = 0.03069(4), H_JK = −0.817(13) × 10⁻⁶, H_KJ = −9.62(4) × 10⁻⁶, H_K = 0.00255(8), h_J = 0.0047(3) × 10⁻⁶, in MHz.     

Dependences of structural and electrical properties on thickness of polycrystalline Ga-doped ZnO thin films prepared by reactive plasma deposition

Polycrystalline Ga-doped (Ga content: 4 wt%) ZnO (GZO) thin films were deposited on glass substrates at 200 C by a reactive plasma deposition with DC arc discharge technique. The dependences of structural and electrical properties of GZO films on thickness, ranging from 30 to 560 nm, were investigated. Carrier concentration, n, and Hall mobility, μ, increases with increasing film thickness below 100 nm, and then the n remains nearly constant and the μ gradually increases until the thickness reaches 560 nm. The resistivity obtained of the order of 10⁻⁴ Ω cm for these films decreases with increasing film thickness: The highest resistivity achieved is 4.4×10⁻⁴ Ω cm with n of 7.6×10²⁰ cm⁻³ and μ of 18.5 cm²/V s for GZO films with a thickness of 30 nm and the lowest one is 1.8×10⁻⁴ Ω cm with n of 1.1×10²¹ cm⁻³ and μ of 31.7 cm²/V s for the GZO film with a thickness of 560 nm. X-ray diffraction pattern for all the films shows a hexagonal wurtzite structure with its strongly preferred orientation along the c-axis. Full width at half maximum of the (002) preferred orientation diffraction peak of the films decreases with increasing film thickness below 100 nm.     

A new coumarin laser dye 3-(benzothiazol-2-yl)-7-hydroxycoumarin

The electronic absorption, and emission spectra as well as fluorescence quantum yield of 3-(benzothiazol-2-yl)-7-hydroxycoumarin (BTHC) were measured in different solvents and are affected by solvent polarity (Δf). The deprotonation of BTHC by triethylamine is a reversible process. BTHC is relatively photostable, the quantum yield of photodecomposition (φ_c) was found to be 2×10⁻⁴ and 2.7×10⁻⁴ in EtOH and DMF, respectively. The fluorescence lifetimes of BTHC were measured in the absence and in the presence of molecular oxygen and were found to be 2.82 and 2.78 ns, respectively. BTHC acts as good laser dye upon pumping with nitrogen laser (λ_ex=337.1 nm) in ethanol and gives laser emission with maxima at 508 and 522 nm.     

Nonlinear optical properties of Cu nanocluster composite fabricated by 180 keV ion implantation

Metal nanocluster composite glass prepared by 180 keV Cu ions into silica with dose of 5×10¹⁶ ions/cm² has been studied. The microstructural properties of the nanoclusters has been verified by optical absorption spectra and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Third-order nonlinear optical properties of the nanoclusters were measured at 1064 and 532 nm excitations using Z-scan technique. The nonlinear refraction index, nonlinear absorption coefficient, and the real and imaginary parts of the third-order nonlinear susceptibility were deduced. Results of the investigation of nonlinear refraction by the off-axis Z-scan configuration were presented and the mechanisms responsible for the nonlinear response were discussed. Third-order nonlinear susceptibility χ⁽³⁾ of this kind of sample was determined to be 8.7×10⁻⁸ esu at 532 nm and 6.0×10⁻⁸ esu at 1064 nm, respectively.     

Isobar-hole description of pion-nucleus inelastic scattering

The Δ−h formalism is applied to a systematic study of π-nucleus inelastic scattering. In the formal part of this work, the following basic excitation mechanisms are identified in π-nucleus inelastic scattering: coupling to the transition density, coupling to convection and magnetization currents and coupling to the spin-flux tensor. The properties of these modes of coupling are discussed, in particular implications of certain symmetries of the corresponding transition amplitudes. As an application, calculations are presented for various excitations in π−¹²C scattering in the resonance region. In the comparison with the data the interplay is emphasized between the nuclear structure aspects, on the one hand, and the reaction mechanisms contained in the Δ−h formalism, on the other hand.     

Thermo-optical properties of a solar energy storage material

A dual wavelength laser Mach–Zehnder interferometric technique is applied for measuring the absolute values of refractive index n and its thermo-optic coefficients dn/dT for paraffin wax. The values of n and dn/dT are used to calculate a number of the decisive thermo-optic properties. Applying Maxwell’s equation (=n²) the optical permittivity and its thermal coefficient d/dT, specific refraction, specific dispersivity, polarizability per unit volume and the ratio of atomic to electronic polarizabilities are calculated. On the other hand the optical dispersion dn/dλ and dielectric dispersion d/dλ are calculated according to Cauchy’s equation. Different important relationships between −dn/dT, −dn/dλ, −d/dT and d/dλ as a function of wavelength and other important constants are calculated and graphically represented.     

Study on the interaction between theasinesin and human serum albumin by fluorescence spectroscopy

The binding properties on theasinesin to human serum albumin (HSA) have been studied for the first time using fluorescence spectroscopy in combination with UV–vis absorbance spectroscopy. The results showed that theasinesin strongly quenched the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA through a static quenching procedure, and non-radiation energy transfer happened within molecules. The number of binding site was 1, and the efficiency of Förster energy transfer provided a distance of 4.64 nm between tryptophan and theasinesin binding site. At 298, 310 and 323 K, the quenching constants of HSA–theasinesin system were 2.55×10³, 2.16×10³ and 1.75×10³ mol L⁻¹. ΔH^θ, ΔS^θ and ΔG^θ were obtained based on the quenching constants and thermodynamic theory (ΔH^θ<0, ΔS^θ>0 and ΔG^θ<0). These results indicated that hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions are the mainly binding forces in the theasinesin–HSA system. In addition, the results obtained from synchronous fluorescence spectra showed that the binding of theasinesin with HSA could induce conformational changes in HSA.     

Calculation of current–voltage characteristics of a Cu (II) complex/n-Si/AuSb Schottky diode

In this study, Cu (II) complex/n-Si structure has been fabricated by forming a thin organic Cu (II) complex film on n-Si wafer. It has been seen that the structure has clearly shown the rectifying behaviour and can be evaluated as a Schottky diode. The contact parameters of the diode such as the barrier height and the ideality factor have been calculated using several methods proposed by different authors from current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of the device. The calculated barrier height and ideality factor values from different methods have shown the consistency of the approaches. The obtained ideality factor which is greater than unity refers the deviation from ideal diode characteristics. This deviation can be attributed to the native interfacial layer in the organic/inorganic interface and the high series resistance of the diode. In addition, the energy distribution of the interface state density (N_ss) in the semiconductor band gap at Cu (II) complex/n-Si interface obtained from I–V characteristics range from 2.15 × 10¹³ cm⁻² eV⁻¹ at (E_c − 0.66) eV to 5.56 × 10¹² cm⁻² eV⁻¹ at (E_c − 0.84) eV.     

Status of the CHORUS neutrino oscillation experiment

The CHORUS experiment is designed to search for ν_μ → ν_τ oscillation with a hybrid detector system containing 800 kg nuclear emulsions as target and vertex detector. Run I (320 000 recorded ν_μCC in 1994/5) and more than half of the run II (460 000 ν_μCC in 1996/7) data taking have been successfully completed. Approximately 80 000 events have been analyzed so far, searching for and τ⁻ → h⁻ (nπ⁰) ν_τ decays. No candidate has been found, leading to a limit sin² 2θ_μτ ≤ 4.5 10⁻³ for large Δm².     

Effect of oxygen partial pressure on the structural and optical properties of dc reactive magnetron sputtered molybdenum oxide films

Molybdenum oxide films (MoO₃) were deposited on glass and crystalline silicon substrates by sputtering of molybdenum target under various oxygen partial pressures in the range 8 × 10⁻⁵–8 × 10⁻⁴ mbar and at a fixed substrate temperature of 473 K employing dc magnetron sputtering technique. The influence of oxygen partial pressure on the composition stoichiometry, chemical binding configuration, crystallographic structure and electrical and optical properties was systematically studied. X-ray photoelectron spectra of the films formed at 8 × 10⁻⁵ mbar showed the presence of Mo⁶⁺ and Mo⁵⁺ oxidation states of MoO₃ and MoO_3−x. The films deposited at oxygen partial pressure of 2 × 10⁻⁴ mbar showed Mo⁶⁺ oxidation state indicating the films were nearly stoichiometric. It was also confirmed by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the films formed at oxygen partial pressure of 2 × 10⁻⁴ mbar showed the presence of (0 k 0) reflections indicated the layered structure of α-phase MoO₃. The electrical conductivity of the films decreased from 3.6 × 10⁻⁵ to 1.6 × 10⁻⁶ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹, the optical band gap of the films increased from 2.93 to 3.26 eV and the refractive index increased from 2.02 to 2.13 with the increase of oxygen partial pressure from 8 × 10⁻⁵ to 8 × 10⁻⁴ mbar, respectively.     

Rotational absorption spectrum of methylene fluoride in the 20–100 cm region

The pure rotational spectrum of CH₂F₂ was recorded in the 20–100 cm⁻¹ spectral range and analyzed to obtain rotation and centrifugal distortion constants. Analysis of the data yielded rotation constants: A = 1.6392173 ± 0.0000015, B = 0.3537342 ± 0.00000033, C = 0.3085387 ± 0.00000027, τ_aaaa = −(7.64 ± 0.46) × 10⁻⁵, τ_bbbb = −(2.076 ± 0.016) × 10⁻⁶, τ_cccc = −(9.29 ± 0.12) × 10⁻⁷, T₁ = (4.89 ± 0.20) × 10⁻⁶, and T₂ = −(1.281 ± 0.016) × 10⁻⁶cm⁻¹.     

On the rise of the proton structure function F2 towards low x

A measurement of the derivative (∂ lnF₂/∂ lnx)_Q²≡−λ(x,Q²) of the proton structure function F₂ is presented in the low x domain of deeply inelastic positron–proton scattering. For 5×10⁻⁵x0.01 and Q²1.5 GeV², λ(x,Q²) is found to be independent of x and to increase linearly with lnQ².     

Study of the interaction of Na9[SbW9O33]·19.5H2O with bovine serum albumin: Spectroscopic and voltammetric methods

The interaction of Na₉[SbW₉O₃₃]·19.5H₂O (SbW) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) is studied by spectroscopic and voltammetric methods. Absorption spectroscopy of BSA and the linear sweep voltammetry of SbW proved the formation of ground-state SbW–BSA complex. Fluorescence quenching of serum albumin by SbW is also found to be a static quenching process. The binding constant K_a is 4.13×10⁴ L mol⁻¹ for SbW–BSA at pH 7.40 Tris–HCl buffer at 295 K. The number of binding sites and the apparent binding constants at different temperatures are obtained from the analysis of the fluorescence quenching data. The thermodynamic parameters determined by the Van’t Hoff analysis of the binding constants (ΔH=−80.01 kJ mol⁻¹ and ΔS=−182.85 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹) clearly show that the binding is absolutely entropy driven. Hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interaction force play major role in stabilizing the complex. The effect of SbW on the conformation of BSA is analyzed using synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy.     

Waveguide and diode heterodyne measurements with CO2 laser and assignment of the CW FIR laser emission of OCS

Heterodyne spectra of carbonyl sulfide have been obtained with saturation in a CO₂ waveguide laser and without saturation with a diode laser. The absolute uncertainties of the measured positions lie between 10⁻⁴ and 7 × 10⁻⁶ cm⁻¹. The CW submillimeter laser line of OCS at 378 μm has been assigned to the J = 65 → 64 transition in the 02²0e state of ¹⁶O¹²C³²S, with a pumping through the R(64) line of 02²0e ← 00⁰0, a Δ-Σ transition weakly allowed by the l-type resonance.     

Determination of the refractive index and thickness of a transparent film on a transparent substrate from the angles of incidence of zero reflection-induced ellipticity

Linearly polarized light incident on a transparent film coating a transparent substrate remains linearly polarized after reflection only at a set of discrete angles of incidence φ_m (m integer). Measurement of these angles of incidence for zero reflection-induced ellipticity (ZRIE) allows simple, direct and explicit determination of the refractive index and thickness of the film, independent of the substrate refractive index. The latter can be separately and easily determined from the azimuths of the incident and reflected linear vibrations at one of the angles of incidence φ_m or, alternatively, from the angle of refraction of light into the substrate using Snell's law. The proposed technique requires that the thickness of the film exceed one-fourth the wavelength of light in the medium of the film, and that it does not fall in a “higher-order” thickness gap when the ratio of the refractive index of the film to that of the ambient is greater than $\text{2}\text{√3}$.     

Polarization spectroscopy of ion-pair states of ICl

Molecular constants for the E0⁺(³P₂) and 1(³P₂) ion-pair states of ICl vapor have been determined using sequential two-photon polarization-labeling spectroscopy. The two states are coupled by a heterogeneous perturbation which is analyzed in some detail for low-lying vibrational levels of 1(³P₂). The I³⁵Cl potential constants for the 1(³P₂) state and the rotation-vibration constants for the set of f sublevels—i.e., the constants unaffected by coupling with the E state—are (in cm⁻¹) 1(³P₂): Y_0,0= 39103.814(32), Y_1,0= 170.213(15), Y_2,0= −0.4528(22), Y_3,0= −7.0(12) × 10⁻⁴, Y_4,0= −1.48(24) × 10⁻⁵ and Y_5,0= −6.6(19) × 10⁻⁸, Y^(f)_0,1= 5.6878(17) × 10⁻² Y^(f)_1,1= −2.110(24) × 10⁻⁴, Y^(f)_2,1= −1.23(62) × 10⁻⁷, and Y^(f)_0,1= −3.08(22) × 10⁻⁸Likewise, the I³⁵Cl constants determined for the E 0⁺(³P₂) state are E 0⁺(³P₂: Y_0,0= 39054.38(61), Y_1,0= 166.96(10), Y_2,0 = −0.3995(42), Y_0,1= 5.738(31) × 10⁻², and Y_1,1= −1.67(26) × 10⁻⁴Practical constraints in pumping the sequence E 0⁺ ← B 0⁺ ← × 0⁺ restrict the analysis of the E state to levels v = 9–15. Given the long extrapolation to the equilibrium state the 3σ statistical uncertainties quoted for these constants should be treated with caution.     

Structural properties of 10 μm thick InN grown on sapphire (0001)

The structural properties of a 10 μm thick In-face InN film, grown on Al₂O₃ (0001) by radio-frequency plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and high resolution x-ray diffraction. Electron microscopy revealed the presence of threading dislocations of edge, screw and mixed type, and the absence of planar defects. The dislocation density near the InN/sapphire interface was 1.55×10¹⁰ cm⁻², 4.82×10⁸ cm⁻² and 1.69×10⁹ cm⁻² for the edge, screw and mixed dislocation types, respectively. Towards the free surface of InN, the density of edge and mixed type dislocations decreased to 4.35×10⁹ cm⁻² and 1.20×10⁹ cm⁻², respectively, while the density of screw dislocations remained constant. Using x-ray diffraction, dislocations with screw component were found to be 1.2×10⁹ cm⁻², in good agreement with the electron microscopy results. Comparing electron microscopy results with x-ray diffraction ones, it is suggested that pure edge dislocations are neither completely randomly distributed nor completely piled up in grain boundaries within the InN film.     

Effect of fluorine doping on highly transparent conductive spray deposited nanocrystalline tin oxide thin films

The undoped and fluorine doped thin films are synthesized by using cost-effective spray pyrolysis technique. The dependence of optical, structural and electrical properties of SnO₂ films, on the concentration of fluorine is reported. Optical absorption, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Hall effect studies have been performed on SnO₂:F (FTO) films coated on glass substrates. The film thickness varies from 800 to 1572 nm. X-ray diffraction pattern reveals the presence of cassiterite structure with (2 0 0) preferential orientation for FTO films. The crystallite size varies from 35 to 66 nm. SEM and AFM study reveals the surface of FTO to be made of nanocrystalline particles. The electrical study reveals that the films are degenerate and exhibit n-type electrical conductivity. The 20 wt% F doped film has a minimum resistivity of 3.8 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm, carrier density of 24.9 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³ and mobility of 6.59 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. The sprayed FTO film having minimum resistance of 3.42 Ω/cm², highest figure of merit of 6.18 × 10⁻² Ω⁻¹ at 550 nm and 96% IR reflectivity suggest, these films are useful as conducting layers in electrochromic and photovoltaic devices and also as the passive counter electrode.