Phase Conjugation in Saturable Absorbing Dye Films by Degenerate Four-Wave Mixing and Holographic Processes Using Nanosecond Pulse and CW Lasers

We report on the simultaneous generation of phase-conjugate signals by degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) and holographic processes using a nanosecond pulse and a CW lasers in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films doped with four kinds of saturable absorbing dyes. For the pulse laser, of the four kinds of dye-doped PVA films, the erythrosine B-doped PVA and uranine doped-PVA films generate PC signals only by the DFWM process, while the other dye-doped PVA films generate PC signals simultaneously by not only the DFWM process but also the holographic process. Especially, the safranin T-doped PVA film generates strong PC signals by the holographic process. In contrast, all of the dye-doped PVA films generate the two types of PC signals for the CW laser. The fading of dye molecules is found to result in the generation of the holographic component of PC signals which governs the temporal behavior of the total PC signals.     

Mechanical Properties,Rheology, and Crystallization of Epoxy-Resin-Compatibilized Polyamide 6/Polycarbonate Blends: Effect of Mixing Sequences

Blends of polyamide 6 (PA6)/polycarbonate (PC)/epoxy resin (EP) were melt blended with three different mixing sequences. Their mechanical properties, crystallization, and rheological behaviors, as well as the morphology, were investigated via mechanical testing, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic rheometry, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was noted that the mixing sequences affected the distribution of EP in the PA6 matrix, as well as the reactivity of EP with PA6 and PC. Mechanical testing showed that the blends prepared by the first (S₁, blending PA6, PC, and EP simultaneously) and second mixing sequences (S₂, blending PC with a premixture of PA6/EP) had higher notched Izod impact strengths due to the formation of PA6-EP-PC block copolymer (named as the AEC structure) during compounding, as evidenced by the results of dynamic rheology and SEM. Whereas for the third sequence (S₃, blending PA6 with a premixture of PC/EP), EP could barely react with PA6 and PC, leading to little formation of AEC structure, which resulted in a poor notched Izod impact strength of the blends. The incorporation of EP actually acted as a plasticizer to improve the elongation at break of the S₃ blends. In addition, the DSC results and SEM observations showed that there were distinct differences in the crystallization and morphology of the samples prepared by the different mixing sequences.     

A calibration technique for frequency domain photothermoacoustics

Photoacoustic (or more precisely, photothermoacoustic) signals are generated by the absorption of photons, expressed as acoustic waves, and can be related to the incident laser fluence rate. Here a calibration procedure for frequency domain (FD) photoacoustics is presented which utilizes the relationship between photoacoustic (PA) signal amplitude and laser fluence rate. The sample is irradiated with a continuous wave laser which is amplitude modulated at varying frequencies. Applying the calibration procedure to the PA detected signals, a linear relationship is obtained between the fluence rate and the signal amplitude.     

Development of a PC interface board for true color control using an Ar–Kr white-light laser

For the optimal laser display, it is crucial to select and control color signals of proper wavelengths in order to construct a wide range of laser display colors. In traditional laser display schemes, color control has been achieved through the mechanical manipulation of red, green, and blue (RGB) laser beam intensities using color filters. To maximize the effect of a laser display and its color contents, it is desirable to generate laser beams with wide selection of wavelengths. We present an innovative laser display control technique, which generates six channel laser wavelengths from a white-light laser using a RF-controlled polychromatic acousto optical modulator (PCAOM). This technique enables us not only to control the intensity of individual channels, but also to achieve true color signals for the laser beam display including RGB, yellow, cyan, and violet (YCV), and other intermediate colors. For the optimal control of the PCAOM and galvano-mirror, we designed and fabricated a PC interface board. Using this PC control, we separated the white-light from an Ar–Kr mixed gas laser into various wavelengths and reconstructed them into different color schemes. Also we demonstrated the effective control and simultaneous display of reconstructed true color laser beams on a flat screen.     

纳米孔径核孔膜的制备研究

高能硫、氪、氙离子轰击聚酯(PET)和聚碳酸酯(PC)膜后,对样品进行陈化和紫外线照射敏化.用电导法着重研究蚀刻条件对样品的归一化径迹蚀刻速率(灵敏度)的影响,结果表明优化条件下灵敏度较通用条件下提高约2倍,PET的灵敏度可达1000,PC的灵敏度可达2000,可以用于制备纳米孔径核孔膜.核孔膜中填充的铜纳米线的电镜照片显示出纳米线最小直径为20nm.用电导法计算纳米孔的孔径,该值与纳米线直径的电镜测量值在孔径大于30nm时符合良好.     

Photoacoust1C Studies on Very Thin Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) Films Prepared by a Cast1Ng-On-Water Method

Photoacoustic (PA) responses from very-thin poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films were investigated at various lamination conditions. The PA signal increased when the dye-doped films were laminated up to five layers, but tended to saturate beyond five layers. When the blank films were superimposed on the dye-doped film, the signal became smaller. The signal was larger when the dye-doped film was arranged outermost in the laminated film assembly of dye-doped and blank films. The results imply the effect of film vibration on the PA response.     

Photoacoustic monitoring of thermal wave interference effects during the formation of polymeric thin films from solutions

In this work, the potential of photoacoustic (PA) technique in the analysis of the formation of polymer films by evaporation from aqueous solutions is explored. Experiments are performed using different aqueous volume fractions of two different polymers, PEDT:PSS and a white liquid glue. The liquid sample is deposited on a metallic substrate attached to a modified PA cell that allows the monitoring of the evaporation process and development of the polymeric film. It is shown that when the thickness of the sample is of the order of the thermal diffusion length, maxima and minima of the PA signal, due to thermal wave interference effects, are observed. In the last stage of the process, the PA signal reaches a stable value which depends on the thickness of the formed film. The kinetics of the polymeric film formation, the dependence of the evaporation rate of the solvent as well as the final thickness of the polymeric film is discussed. These results can be useful in establishing a methodology for the photothermal monitoring and thermal characterization of the development of polymeric films from solutions.     

稀土配合物中重叠峰分离的相分辨光声光谱研究

首次利用相分辨光声光谱法对稀土配合物中不同吸收中心的重叠谱峰进行了分离。在Nd(Trp) 3 Cl3 ·H2 O固态配合物中 (Trp :色氨酸 ) ,30 0～ 4 0 0nm这一波段内由于色氨酸配体强的π π 跃迁吸收 ,Nd3 +的光声峰被掩盖。通过光声谱同相和交相信号可以计算配体光声吸收的位相为 10 6° ,位相改变 90°后就得到仅与Nd3 +相关的光声光谱。相分辨光声光谱法用于谱峰分离时有它独特的优点 ,它不受谱峰形状和重叠程度的限制 ,而仅与不同吸收峰对应的光声位相有关     

Analytical model of signal amplification in silicon waveguides

In this paper, an analytical model to investigate the parametric amplification (PA) and the PA + stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in silicon waveguides is put forward. When two pump signals are employed, the PA bandwidth of the probe signal is so large that the Raman contribution has to be considered. When Raman contribution fraction f is set to be 0, only the PA occurs to amplify the probe signal, and when f is set to be 0.043, the PA and the SRS amplify the probe signal at the same time. The signal amplifications of both single and dual pump schemes are investigated by using this model. With this model, three main affecting factors, i.e., zero dispersion wavelength (ZDWL), third-order dispersion (TOD), and fourth-order dispersion (FOD), are discussed in detail.     

Organic dye-doped polymer films for optical phase-conjugate processing

Erythrosin B-doped polyvinyl alcohol (EB/PVA) film, a methyl-orange-doped polyvinyl alcohol (MO/PVA) film and a (EB+MO)/PVA film serve as not only phase conjugators but also hologram-recording media. A phase-conjugate (PC) wave is generated even when a probe wave is linear-polarized orthogonal to the pump polarization direction. Using these dye-doped films, we demonstrate optical PC processing for detecting the phase and amplitude difference between two objects and a moving or time-varying object in a backward degenerate four-wave mixing arrangement.     

Photoacoustic detection of phase transitions at low temperatures in CsPbCl3 crystals

Phase transitions in CsPbCl₃ crystals have been explored by the photoacoustic (PA) method in the wide temperature range of 150–300?K. The PA signals, induced by ns-pulsed laser excitation of electronic states and detected with a piezoelectric transducer, are thermoelastic ultrasonic waves lasting for hundreds of microseconds. The wavelet analysis of the PA wave has clarified that the thermoelastic wave includes several MHz components. The PA signals have been made use of in order to examine phase transitions at low temperatures in the crystal. Changes of PA signals indicate that two phase transitions take place at low temperatures around 200?K. The types of phase transitions are discussed taking into account recent experimental results.     

Phase diagram of solution of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes

We study a solution of long polyanions (PA) with shorter polycations (PC) and focus on the role of Coulomb interaction. A good example is solutions of DNA and PC which are widely studied for gene therapy. In the solution, each PA attracts many PCs to form a complex. When the ratio of total charges of PA and PC in the solution, x, equals to 1, complexes are neutral and they condense in a macroscopic drop. When x is far away from 1, complexes are strongly charged. The Coulomb repulsion is large and free complexes are stable. As x approaches to 1, PCs attached to PA disproportionate themselves in two competing ways. One way is inter-complex disproportionation, in which PCs make some complexes neutral and therefore condensed in a macroscopic drop while other complexes become even stronger charged and stay free. The other way is intra-complex disproportionation, in which PCs make one end of a complex neutral and condensed in a small droplet while the rest of the complex forms a strongly charged tail. Thus each complex becomes a “tadpole”. We get a phase diagram of PA–PC solution in a plane of x and the inverse screening radius of the monovalent salt, which includes phases with both kinds of disproportionation.     

Oriented Crystallization of Polyethylene in Compatible Blends with Polyamide 11

The oriented crystallization of polyethylene (PE) in uniaxially oriented films of compatible blends with polyamide 11 (PA11) was studied. The PE sample used was a random copolymer of PE with methacrylic acid (MAA), poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) (PEMAA), with 4wt% MAA units. Oriented films of PA11/PEMAA blends were prepared by uniaxial drawing of the melt-mixed blends. The drawn films with fixed lengths were heat-treated at 120°C for 3min to melt the PE component, followed by cooling the sample to room temperature at a rate of 2°C/min to recrystallize the PE (designated slowly crystallized sample). The PE component crystallized in elongated domains of PEMAA with diameters of 0.5–2 μ m and lengths of 5–10 μ m for the PA11/PEMAA = 80/20 blend, resulting in the oriented crystallization of PE crystals. The crystal b-axis of PE was highly oriented in the direction perpendicular to drawing, while the crystal a-axis was weakly oriented in the drawing direction in the slowly crystallized sample of the PA11/PEMAA = 80/20 blend. The a-axis orientation of PE crystals in the PA11/PEMAA = 80/20 blend contributes to the improvement of mechanical properties in the direction perpendicular to drawing.     

Computational study of plasma-assisted photoacoustic response from gold nanoparticles irradiated by off-resonance ultrafast laser

The gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are capable of enhancing the incident laser field in the form of scattered near field for even an off-resonance irradiation where the incident laser wavelength is far away from the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). If the intensity of the pulse laser is large enough, this capability can be employed to generate a highly localized free electron (plasma) in the vicinity of the particles. The generated plasma can absorb more energy during the pulse, and this energy deposition can be considered as an energy source for structural mechanics calculations in the surrounding media to generate a photoacoustic (PA) signal. To show this, in this paper, we model plasma-mediated PA pressure wave propagation from a 100-nm AuNPs and the surrounding media irradiated by an ultrashort pulse laser. In this model, the AuNP is immersed in water and the laser pulse width is ranging from 70 fs to 2 ps at the wavelength of 800 nm (off-resonance). Our results qualitatively show the substantial impact of the energy deposition in plasma on the PA signal through boosting the pressure amplitudes up to ～1000 times compared to the conventional approach.     

Two stage electrostatic separator for the recycling of plastics from waste electrical and electronic equipment

The aim of study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new facility for recycling of plastics from granular waste electrical and electronic equipment. The installation consists of two sections, the products of a first tribo-aero-electrostatic separator being subsequently treated in two free-fall electrostatic separators. The tests were performed on a mixture of polycarbonate (PC) and polyamide (PA). Analysis of the purity of the products obtained was performed using a program of image processing in MATLAB. Products of very high purity (roughly 95% for both PC and PA) were obtained at a recovery rate higher than 70%.     

Nonlinear photoacoustic imaging dedicated to thermal-nonlinearity characterization

We proposed a nonlinear photoacoustic(PA) technique as a new imaging contrast mechanism for tissue thermalnonlinearity characterization. When a sine-modulated Gaussian temperature field is introduced by a laser beam, in view of the temperature dependence of the thermal diffusivity, the nonlinear PA effect occurs, which leads to the production of second-harmonic PA(SHPA) signals. By extracting the fundamental frequency PA and SHPA signal amplitudes of samples through the lock-in technique, a parameter that only reflects nonlinear thermal-diffusivity characteristics of the sample then can be obtained. The feasibility of the technique for thermal-nonlinearity characterization has been studied on phantom samples. In vitro biological tissues have been studied by this method to demonstrate its medical imaging capability,prefiguring great potential of this new method in medical imaging applications.     

Chemical bond strain in molecules of polyamide 6 coatings on the steel surface

The structure and stresses of chemical bonds in a 20 μm thick polyamide 6 (PA 6) coating on the steel surface are studied by IR spectroscopy. It is found that PA 6 molecules in the coating are oriented parallel to the metal surface and the content of metastable crystalline (γ) and mesomorphic (β) phases in it is twice as low as in PA 6 films. In the crystalline α phase, the molecular skeleton is compressed and “lateral” (respective to the skeleton) chemical bonds are extended. In the mesomorphic β phase, the concentration of overstressed (extended to a prerupture state) parts in the molecular skeleton is higher than in the film. These effects are explained by a change in the PA 6 low-frequency vibration spectrum at the PA 6-metal interface.     

Lensless high-resolution photoacoustic imaging scanner for in vivo skin imaging

We previously launched a high-resolution photoacoustic (PA) imaging scanner based on a unique lensless design for in vivo skin imaging. The design, imaging algorithm and characteristics of the system are described in this paper. Neither an optical lens nor an acoustic lens is used in the system. In the imaging head, four sensor elements are arranged quadrilaterally, and by checking the phase differences for PA waves detected with these four sensors, a set of PA signals only originating from a chromophore located on the sensor center axis is extracted for constructing an image. A phantom study using a carbon fiber showed a depth-independent horizontal resolution of 84.0 ± 3.5 µm, and the scan direction-dependent variation of PA signals was about ± 20%. We then performed imaging of vasculature phantoms: patterns of red ink lines with widths of 100 or 200 μm formed in an acrylic block co-polymer. The patterns were visualized with high contrast, showing the capability for imaging arterioles and venues in the skin. Vasculatures in rat burn models and healthy human skin were also clearly visualized in vivo.     

Effect of thermal annealing on r.f. sputtering-deposited nanocrystalline GaN<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>As<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> thin films

GaNAs thin films were deposited on Corning glass substrates by radio frequency (r.f.) sputtering in molecular nitrogen ambient. The stoichiometry in the GaNAs alloy was controlled by changing the nitrogen incorporation in the film during the growth process, through the variation of the r.f. power in the range 30–80 watts which produced films with N concentrations in the range: x = 0.85–0.90. The structural and optical properties of the GaNAs thin films were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoacoustic (PA) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. XRD measurements show a broad diffraction band with a peak close to the (002) diffraction line of the GaN hexagonal phase, and a slight shoulder at the position corresponding to the (111) GaAs cubic phase. The PA absorption spectra showed a remarkable shift to higher energies of the absorption edge as the r.f. power decreases corresponding to the films with higher N concentrations. Thermal annealing of the GaNAs films at temperatures of 450 °C produced a GaAs nanocrystalline phase with grain sizes in the range 10–13 nm, as confirmed by the XRD measurements that showed a well-defined peak in the (111) GaAs direction, and also by the PA spectra which showed an absorption band at energies around 1.45 eV due to the quantum confinement effects. PL spectra of thermal-annealed GaNAs films showed a very intense emission at 1.5 eV which we have associated to transitions between the first electron excited level and acceptor states in the GaAs nanocrystallites.     

Effects of crystallinity on laser-induced voltage effect from Zn0.9Co0.1O thin film

Co-doped ZnO epilayer films were grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on vicinal cut silicon and sapphire substrates. Changes in deposition time were observed as a moderate effect on the quality of the films, and the influence of the thickness on thermoelectric signals from Zn_0.9Co_0.1O thin films were discussed. The effect of one of the main deposition parameters, the deposition time, on the crystallinity and electron mobility properties of the Zn_0.9Co_0.1O thin films grown on sapphire was investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and laser-induced voltage (LIV) effect. It shown that the XRD rocking curve full-width half-maximun (FWHM) decreased as time increasing, and the LIV signals were observed along the tilting angle of the substrate orientation when the pulsed KrF excimer laser of 248 nm were irradiated on the films. When the films illuminated in pulse lasers, the highest signals occurred in the films with best crystalline quality, and the signals were higher in the films grown on sapphire than those on silicon substrates. It suggested that the electrical resistivity and electron mobility have close relations with not only the crystallinity but also with the interface of the thin films.