Absolute absorber quantification in turbid media at small source–detector separations

The aim of our studies was to develop a method to determine the absorption coefficient of a turbid medium in a reflection geometry with small source–detector separations. Therefore, the time-integrated microscopic Beer–Lambert law (MBL) was modified in order to obtain the absolute absorption coefficient from mean time of flight and dc-intensity measurements. The new technique was evaluated using turbid phantoms having varying scattering (μ_s ^′ between 0.2 and 2.2 mm^-1) and absorbing properties (μ_a between 0.04 and 0.14 mm^-1), comparable to many biological tissues at various source–detector separations between 3 and 11 mm. The measurements were performed at a wavelength of 1064 nm. We found that this new method was able to determine the absolute absorption coefficient of the selected phantoms with a standard error of less than 0.005 mm^-1 over the range of optical properties investigated. Received: 23 November 2001 / Revised version: 28 February 2002 / Published online: 14 May 2002     

Optical parameters measurement for diagnostic and photodynamic therapy of human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cell line

The purpose of this study was to investigate the optical properties, absorption coefficient (μ _a ) scattering coefficient (μ _s ) and refractive indices, (n) of HeLa cell line in a suspension of 2% minimum essential medium (MEM) at two different (632.8 and 532.0 nm) wave lengths of laser light. Optical properties were determined with Kubelka Munk Model (KMM) and refractive index measurement was made through minimum angle of deviation method (MAD). We reported μ _a = 8.643 ± 0.187 and 2.348 ± 0.249 cm⁻¹ and μ _s = 5.609 ± 0.287 and 88.166 ± 2.833 cm⁻¹ at 632.8 and 532.0 nm, respectively. Refractive index was found to be 1.332 and 1.312 at 632.8 nm and 532.0 nm, respectively. The discussed results provide a route of information for clinical diagnosis, therapeutic application and dosimetry studies in HeLa and other cell lines.     

Determination of parameters of Cu surface mass transport on sapphire from morphological changes of beaded films caused by evaporation

s , the surface diffusion coefficient, D_s ^′, and the surface reaction rate coefficient, β_s ^′, of Cu on alumina are determined in the temperature range 1048–1198 K. Measuring simultaneously the time dependence of the effective thickness, H_eff(t), the lateral shift of the boundary, y(t) of beaded films (BF) and using vapour pressure data we concluded that the process is controlled by surface reaction at the perimeters of beads. Supposing Arrhenius-type temperature dependence for D_s ^′, β_s ^′ and λ_s the activation energies and preexponential factors have been calculated. Received: 2 October 1996/Accepted: 27 November 1996     

Modeling of light propagation in turbid medium using Monte Carlo simulation technique

The aim of the current study is to simulate the laser photon through biological tissue during PDT therapy using Monte Carlo simulation technique. The model is coded using MATLAB. Interaction of laser light with turbid medium e.g. human tissue depends on the optical properties of the medium i.e. refractive index n, absorption coefficient μ _a , scattering coefficient μ _s and anisotropy factor g. Laser light transport through tissue is governed by the radiative transport equations based on absorption and scattering. Direct sampling is used for step-size generation before interaction via absorption or scattering with the transmitting medium, for deflection and azimuthal angle (θ and ϕ) when the scattering even occurs. The tissue medium considered is divided into radial, axial and angular grid elements and an infinite narrow beam with normal incidence on the tissue is considered. The laser light absorbance inside the tissue, reflectance at the top boundary of the tissue and transmittance at the bottom are estimated and these quantities are shown varying radially and angularly. Results of reflectance, transmittance and fluence are compared with the already published results to confirm the authenticity of our coding and these results are found to lie at only 3–4% error.     

Measurements of optical parameters of phantom solution and bulk animal tissues in vitro at 650 nm

Optical parameters of bulk animal tissue in vitro, including absorption coefficient (μ_a), reduced scattering coefficient (μ′_s) or scattering coefficient (μ_s), total attenuation coefficient (μ_t), anisotropy factor (g) and refractive index (n) are measured at wavelength of 650 nm. Clinical Intralipid-10% is diluted in distilled water into different concentrations to use as tissue phantoms. Four types of animal tissues in vitro are studied. The relationships among the optical parameters are analyzed systemically. For animal tissues, μ_a, μ′_s or μ_s and n rely on muscle fiber orientations. μ_s and μ_t range from 10 to 20 mm⁻¹, μ_a from 10⁻² to 10⁻³ mm⁻¹ and g from 0.95 to 0.99.     

The superconducting properties of YBa2(Cu1−xMx)3O7 for M=Zn and Ni

Transverse and zero-field μSR measurements were made on YBa₂(Cu_1−xNi_x)₃O_7−y withx=0.1 and 0.2, and YBa₂(Cu_1−x Zn _x )₃O_7−y withx=0.03, 0.06, 0.1, and 0.16, wherey≈0.1. Since doping may lead to magnetic ordering this was searched for with both zero and transverse field μSR, but no evidence was found over the temperature range studied: 10–100 K. However, depolarization rates as functions of temperature were obtained, and the low temperature values of these are σ=3.2 μs⁻¹.1.6μs⁻¹, and 1 μs⁻¹ forx=0.01, and 0.2 Ni, respectively, and σ=0.8 μs⁻¹, 0.75 μs⁻¹, 0.65 μs⁻¹, and 0.4 μs⁻¹ forx=0.03, 0.06, 0.1, and 0.16 Zn, respectively. Estimates for the effect of decreasing electron concentration for Zn are made, but these alone do not account for the drop in σ. Estimates for the effect of scattering on λ and hence σ are made. The reduction in σ for Ni dopant is in surprisingly good agreement with these estimates. For Zn the order of magnitude is correct, but the relative lack of further change in σ after the effect of the first 0.03 addition seems to imply a saturation of the effect of scattering.     

Interface optical anisotropy in a heterostructure with different cations and anions

A theory of optical anisotropy and quantum-confined Pockels effect in CA/C′A′(001) quantum-well structures with different cations and anions, i.e. for C≠C′ and A≠A′, has been developed. The theory is based on a generalized effective-mass method, in which the boundary conditions for the envelope functions were constructed taking into account the mixing of heavy-and light-hole states under normal incidence of the hole on the interface. It is shown that an absorption anisotropy in interband transitions occurs for different mixing coefficients t _l−h in the boundary conditions for the right-hand (A-C′) and left-hand (A′-C) interfaces. An analysis is made of the interface contribution to the anisotropy induced by an external electric field for coinciding and different band offsets at the interfaces. The microscopic sp ³ s* tight-binding model is used to estimate the difference between the t _l−h(A-C′) and t _l−h(A′-C) coefficients. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 1925–1931 (October 1998)     

A Measurement of the ψ′ to J/ψ production ratio in 920?GeV proton-nucleus interactions

Ratios of the ψ^′ over the J/ψ production cross sections in the dilepton channel for C, Ti and W targets have been measured in 920 GeV proton-nucleus interactions with the HERA-B detector at the HERA storage ring. The ψ^′ and J/ψ states were reconstructed in both the μ⁺μ^- and the e⁺e^- decay modes. The measurements covered the kinematic range -0.35≤x_F≤0.1 with transverse momentum p_T≤4.5 GeV/c. The angular dependence of the ratio has been used to measure the difference of the ψ^′ and J/ψ polarization. All results for the muon and electron decay channels are in good agreement: their ratio, averaged over all events, is R_ψ′(μ)/R_ψ′(e)=1.00±0.08±0.04. This result constitutes a new, direct experimental constraint on the double ratio of branching fractions, (B^′(μ)B(e))/(B(μ)B^′(e)), of ψ^′ and J/ψ in the two channels. The ψ^′ to J/ψ production ratio is almost constant in the covered x_F range and shows a slow increase with p_T.     

Electron beam irradiation induced changes in liquid-crystal compound 5CB

Electron beam irradiation studies on liquid crystal material 5CB have been carried out at a temperature where the compound exists in the isotropic liquid phase. In situ time-resolved spectroscopic characterization was carried out during the irradiation. Three different transients were observed during the 2-μs electron pulse. After about 50 μs, only one transient species was found to be present, which has an absorption peak at 360 nm. Radiolysed sample exhibits a broad absorption at ∼400 nm. The dielectric measurements show that even a low level of irradiation results in a dramatic increase in the component of dielectric permittivity normal to the long axes of the molecules ε_⊥^′, and a corresponding decrease in the dielectric anisotropy (Δε′=ε_∥^′−ε_⊥^′ ). These studies show that 5CB is prone to substantial radiation damage on exposure to the beam of high-energy electrons.     

哺乳动物五种离体组织光学特性的测量

光在哺乳动物组织中的传输依赖于组织体的光学特性,组织的光学特性是由吸收系数、散射系数和散射相位函数决定的。我们设计并实现了哺乳动物5种离休组织光学特性的测量。对实验方法和技术作了较大的改进,联合组织体漫反射特性和光能流率的测定,获得了满意的结果:光穿透深度δ=1.1～5.06mm,吸收系数μ_a=0.4～1.6cm^-1.有效散射系数μ_s(1-g)=2.7～17.7cm^-1.这种测量方法可用于人体组织光学特性的测量。     

Quasi-monocrystalline silicon for thin-film devices

Thermal crystallization of a double layer porous Si film creates a monocrystalline Si film with a thin separation layer between the Si film and the reusable starting wafer. The process enables transfer of thin monocrystalline Si films to foreign substrates, whereby devices may be formed before or after separation of the film. Sub-micrometer thick films are almost compact, while films with a thickness of several μm contain voids, and are therefore termed “quasi-monocrystalline”. Internal voids strongly enhance optical absorption by light scattering. The hole mobility is 78 cm² V^-1 s^-1 at a p-type starting wafer resistivity of 0.05 Ω cm. Received: 24 March 1999 / Accepted: 29 March 1999 / Published online: 5 May 1999     

Iron based carbon nanocomposites for electromagnetic wave absorber with wide bandwidth in GHz range

The electromagnetic wave absorption properties of resin compacts containing 40 vol. % composite powders of α-Fe/C(a), and Fe₃C/C(a) were characterized in a frequency range of 0.05–26.5 GHz, according to a conventional reflection/transmission technique. The real part (ε_r ^′) and the imaginary part (ε_r ^′′) of relative permittivity were constantly low in the 2–14 GHz (ε_r ^′= ∼12.4 and ε_r ^′′= ∼0.6) for α-Fe/C(a) resin composites, and in the 1–26.5 GHz (ε_r ^′= ∼9.6 and ε_r ^′′= ∼0.8) for Fe₃C/C(a) ones. The imaginary part (μ_r ^′′) of relative permeability exhibited wide peaks in the 1–9 GHz range for α-Fe/C(a), and in the 2–26.5 GHz range for Fe₃C/C(a) owing to their different magnetocrystalline anisotropy field values. Consequently, the resin compacts with 40 vol. % α-Fe/C(a), and Fe₃C/C(a) powders provided good electromagnetic wave absorption performances (reflection loss <-20 dB) in ranges of 4.3–8.2 GHz, and 9–26.5 GHz over absorber thicknesses of 1.8–3.3 mm, and 1.0–2.4 mm, respectively. PACS 76.50.+g; 61.46.+w; 75.50.Bb; 75.30.Gw; 75.20.En     

Total rates of nuclear capture of negative muons in the isotopes 132Xe and 40Ar

The lifetimes of a negative muon in the isotopes ¹³²Xe and ⁴⁰Ar in the solid phase are measured. The lifetime of μ ⁻ in the 1s state of the isotope ¹³²Xe is τ(¹³²Xe)=101.7±1.7 ns, which corresponds to a total nuclear capture rate Λ_c(¹³²Xe)=9.4±0.2 μs⁻¹. The lifetime of μ ⁻ in the isotope ⁴⁰Ar, viz., τ (⁴⁰Ar)=568±6 ns, corresponding to a capture rate Λ_c(⁴⁰Ar)=1.31±0.01 μs⁻¹, is obtained to several times better accuracy as compared to previously published results. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 3, 181–183 (10 February 1999)     

Test of the universal rise of hadronic total cross sections at super-high energies

The increase of the total cross sections at very high energies described by log²(s/s₀) appears to be confirmed. In the analysis of the COMPETE collaboration in the Particle Data Group (2006), the Blog²(s/s₀) was assumed to extend the universal rise of all the total hadronic cross sections to reduce the number of adjustable parameters. We test if the assumption on the universality of B is justified, through investigation of the values of B for π^±p(K^±p) and p̄p,pp scatterings. We search for the simultaneous best fit to the σ_tot and ρ ratios, using a constraint from the FESR of the P^′ type for π^∓p scatterings and constraints that are free from the unphysical regions for the p̄p,pp and K^±p scatterings. By including rich information of the low-energy scattering data owing to the use of FESR, the errors of the B parameters decrease especially for πp. The resulting value of B_pp is consistent with B_πp within two standard deviations, which appears to support the universality hypothesis. PACS 11.55.Hx; 13.85.Lg     

Relaxation phenomena of polar non-polar liquid mixtures under low and high frequency electric field

Simultaneous calculation of the dipole moment μ_j and the relaxation time τ_j of a certain number of non-spherical rigid aliphatic polar liquid molecules (j) in non-polar solvents (i) under 9.8 GHz electric field is possible from real ε′_ij and imaginary ε″_ij parts of the complex relative permittivity ε*_ij. The low frequency and infinite frequency permittivities ε_0ij and ε_∞ij measured by Purohitet al [1,2] and Srivastava and Srivastava [3] at 25, 35 and 30°C respectively are used to obtain static μ_s. The ratio of the individual slopes of imaginary σ″_ij and real σ′_ij parts of high frequency (hf) complex conductivity σ*_ij with weight fractionsw _jatw _j → 0 and the slopes of σ″_ij— σ′_ij curves for differentw _js [4] are employed to obtain τ_js. The former method is better in comparison to the existing one as it eliminates polar-polar interaction. The hf μ_js in Coulomb metre (C m) when compared with static and reported μs indicate that μ_s s favour the monomer formations which combine to form dimers in the hf electric field. The comparison among μs shows that a part of the molecule is rotating under X-band electric field [5]. The theoretical μ_theos from available bond angles and bond moments of the substituent polar groups attached to the parent molecules differ from the measured μ_js and μs to establish the possible existence of mesomeric, inductive and electromeric effects in polar liquid molecules.     

Gemma experiment: Three years of the search for the neutrino magnetic moment

The result of the 3-year neutrino magnetic moment measurement at the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) with the GEMMA spectrometer is presented. Antineutrino-electron scattering is investigated. A high-purity germanium detector of 1.5 kg placed at a distance of 13.9 m from the 3 GW_th reactor core is exposed to the antineutrino flux of 2.7 × 10¹³ cm⁻² s⁻¹. The scattered electron spectra taken in (5184 + 6798) and (1853 + 1021) h for the reactor ON and OFF periods are compared. The upper limit for the neutrino magnetic moment μ_v < 3.2 × 10⁻¹¹μ _B at 90% CL is derived from the data processing.     

Effect of constant-energy surface anisotropy on the thermoelectric figure-of-merit of the n-Bi2 (Te,Se,S)3 solid solutions

A study is reported of the thermoelectric and galvanomagnetic properties of n-Bi₂Te_3−x−y Se_xSe_y solid solutions for 0.12⩽x⩽0.36 and 0.12⩽y⩽0.21 within the 80–300 K temperature region. The thermoelectric figure-of-merit Z has been found to correlate with the parameters of the many-valley energy-band model including anisotropic carrier scattering. It is shown that a decrease in the constant-energy surface anisotropy and scattering anisotropy results in a growth of Z for optimum carrier concentrations in the solid solution. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 187–192 (February 1999)     

Interaction of Muons with H2/H3-Centres in Diamond

We report on transverse field muon spin rotation measurements on a nitrogen-rich type Ia diamond, both before and after the conversion of some of the aggregated nitrogen centres to nitrogen-vacancy complexes known as H2/H3-centres. The prompt fractions f and the spin relaxation rates λ were determined for the diamagnetic (μ_d) and the paramagnetic (Mu_T) states in the temperature range 10–300 K. The production of the nitrogen-vacancy complexes had little effect on the parameters of the Mu_T state for which f and λ remained unchanged at approximately 30% and 4 μs⁻¹, respectively. For the μ_d state, on the other hand, the formation of the H2/H3-centres resulted in an increase of the prompt fraction from 10(2)% to 20(3)%, and (for the first time) the spin relaxation rate showed a non-zero value of 0.020(3) μs⁻¹. These results show evidence of strong μ_d interactions with the nitrogen-vacancy complexes in diamond, and suggest a more complex structure for this state than a bare μ⁺. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Towards new lasers in Ti:Er:LiNbO3 waveguides: a study of the excited Er3+ states

Detailed excited state absorption measurements under pumping at 980 nm and 1.5 μm together with conventional absorption and emission spectroscopy is employed to investigate optical transitions of Er³⁺ in Ti:LiNbO₃ channel-waveguides. The experimental data were evaluated using the Judd–Ofelt method giving parameters close to those in the bulk. The good agreement between theoretical prediction and measurements allows us to calculate cross section, lifetimes, and branching ratios. Based on these results we developed and tested a model which is able to predict the conditions for which laser operation at 550 nm and 2.7 μm will be possible under 980 nm pumping. Received: 9 December 1998 / Revised version: 8 January 1999 / Published online: 24 March 1999     

Spin exchange and chemi-ionization during collisions of polarized metastable helium atoms with ground-state cesium atoms

The kinetics of the optical orientation of atoms in a helium-cesium gas-discharge plasma are considered, and kinetic equations describing the optical orientation of atoms in the case of two simultaneously occurring processes, viz., an elastic process (spin exchange) and an inelastic process (chemi-ionization), are derived. The rate constants of these processes are determined experimentally: C _se=(2.8±0.8)×10⁻⁹ cm³s⁻¹, C _ci=(1.0±0.3)×10⁻⁹ cm³s⁻¹. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 36–40 (September 1999)