Applied electric field to fabricate colloidal crystals with the photonic band-gap in communication waveband

The macropore silica colloidal crystal templates were assembled orderly in a capillary glass tube by an applied electric field method to control silica deposition. In order to achieve the photonic band gap (PBG) of colloidal crystal in optical communication waveband, the diameter of silica microspheres is selected by Bragg diffraction formula. An experiment was designed to test the bandgap of the silica crystal templates. This paper discusses the formation process and the close-packed fashion of the silica colloidal crystal templates was discussed. The surface morphology of the templates was also analyzed. The results showed that the close-packed fashion of silica array templates was face-centered cubic (FCC) structure. The agreement is very good between the experimental data and the theoretical calculation.     

Vibration analysis of a new polymer quartz piezoelectric crystal sensor for detecting characteristic materials of volatility liquid

We present a new polymer quartz piezoelectric crystal sensor that takes a quartz piezoelectric crystal as the basal material and a nanometer nonmetallic polymer thin film as the surface coating based on the principle of quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The new sensor can be used to detect the characteristic materials of a volatile liquid. A mechanical model of the new sensor was built, whose structure was a thin circle plate composing of polytef/quartz piezoelectric/polytef. The mechanical model had a diameter of 8 mm and a thickness of 170 μ. The vibration state of the model was simulated by software ANSYS after the physical parameters and the boundary condition of the new sensor were set. According to the results of experiments, we set up a frequency range from 9.995850 MHz to 9.997225 MHz, 17 kinds of frequencies and modes of vibration were obtained within this range. We found a special frequency f_sp of 9.996358 MHz. When the resonant frequency of the new sensor’s mechanical model reached the special frequency, a special phenomenon occurred. In this case, the amplitude of the center point O on the mechanical model reached the maximum value. At the same time, the minimum absolute difference between the simulated frequency based on the ANSYS software and the experimental measured stable frequency was reached. The research showed that the design of the new polymer quartz piezoelectric crystal sensor perfectly conforms to the principle of QCM. A special frequency value f_sp was found and subsequently became one of the most important parameters in the new sensor design.     

Lasing emission of dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal microdroplet wrapped by polyglycerol in hollow glass microsphere

In this Letter,a dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal(DDCLC)-filled hollow glass microsphere is demonstrated to be a resonator with good temperature response.A diglycerol layer is used to wrap the DDCLCs microdroplet to keep it steady and control its orientation.The whispering gallery mode(WGM)lasing and photonic band gap(PBG)lasing caused by two different mechanisms were obtained under the pump of a pulsed laser,and the temperature response of these two kinds of lasing was studied.For the liquid crystal and chiral material used in this Letter,both the WGM lasing and the PBG lasing have a blue shift in wavelength with increasing temperature.     

Thickness shear mode quartz crystal resonators with optimized elliptical electrodes

Quartz crystal resonators (QCRs) with circular electrodes have been widely used for various liquid and gas sensing applications. In this work,quartz crystal resonators with elliptical electrodes were studied and tested for liquid property measurement. Mindlin’s theory was used to optimize the dimension and geometry of the electrodes and a 5-MHz QCR with minimum series resistance and without any spurious modes was obtained. A series of AT-cut QCRs with elliptical electrodes of different sizes were fabricated and their sensing performances were compared to devices with circular electrodes. The experimental result shows that the device with elliptical electrodes can obtain lower resonance impedance and a higher Q factor,which results in a better loading capability. Even though the sensitivities of devices with elliptical and circular electrodes are found to be similar,the sensor with elliptical electrodes has much higher resolution due to a better frequency stability. The study indicates that the performance of QCRs with elliptical electrodes is superior to that of traditional QCRs with circular electrodes.     

Rotational viscosity of a liquid crystal mixture: a fully atomistic molecular dynamics study

Fully atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at 293, 303 and 313~K have been performed for the four-component liquid crystal mixture, E7, using the software package Material Studio. Order parameters and orientational time correlation functions (TCFs) were calculated from MD trajectories. The rotational viscosity coefficients (RVCs) of the mixture were calculated using the Nemtsov--Zakharov and Fialkowski methods based on statistical-mechanical approaches. Temperature dependences of RVC and density were discussed in detail. Reasonable agreement between the simulated and experimental values was found.     

Vibration analysis of a new polymer quartz piezoelectric crystal sensor for detecting characteristic materials of volatility liquidVibration analysis of a new polymer quartz piezoelectric crystal sensor for detecting characteristic materials of volatility liquid

We present a new polymer quartz piezoelectric crystal sensor that takes a quartz piezoelectric crystal as the basal material and a nanometer nonmetallic polymer thin film as the surface coating based on the principle of quartz crystal microbalance （QCM）. The new sensor can be used to detect the characteristic materials of a volatile liquid. A mechanical model of the new sensor was built, whose structure was a thin circle plate composing of polytef/quartz piezoelectric/polytef. The mechanical model had a diameter of 8 mm and a thickness of 170 ~tm. The vibration state of the model was simulated by software ANSYS after the physical parameters and the boundary condition of the new sensor were set. According to the results of experiments, we set up a frequency range from 9.995850 MHz to 9.997225 MHz, 17 kinds of frequencies and modes of vibration were obtained within this range. We found a special frequency fsp of 9.996358 MHz. When the resonant frequency of the new sensor＇s mechanical model reached the special frequency, a special phenomenon occurred. In this case, the amplitude of the center point O on the mechanical model reached the maximum value. At the same time, the minimum absolute difference between the simulated frequency based on the ANSYS software and the experimental measured stable frequency was reached. The research showed that the design of the new polymer quartz piezoelectric crystal sensor perfectly conforms to the principle of QCM. A special frequency value fsp was found and subsequently became one of the most important parameters in the new sensor design.     

Effects of Ⅴ/Ⅲ ratio on species diffusion anisotropy inthe MOCVD growth of non-polar a-plane GaN films

Non-polar a-plane (110) GaN films have been grown on r-plane (102) sapphire substrates by metal organic chemical vapour deposition. The influences of Ⅴ/Ⅲ ratio on the species diffusion anisotropy of a-plane GaN films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, cathodoluminescence and high-resolution x-ray diffraction measurements. The anisotropy of a-plane GaN films may result from the different migration length of adatoms along two in-plane directions. Ⅴ/Ⅲ ratio has an effect on the growth rates of different facets and crystal quality. The stripe feature morphology was obviously observed in the film with a high V/III ratio because of the slow growth rate along the [100] direction. When the Ⅴ/Ⅲ ratio increased from 1000 to 6000, the in-plane crystal quality anisotropy was decreased due to the weakened predominance in migration length of gallium adatoms.     

Structural and electron charge density studies of a nonlinear optical compound 4,4 di-methyl amino cyano biphenyl

The 4,4 dimethyl amino cyano biphenyl crystal(DMACB) is characterized by its nonlinear activity. The intra molecular charge transfer of this molecule results mainly from the electronic transmission of the electro-acceptor(cyano) and electro-donor(di-methyl-amino) groups. An accurate electron density distribution around the molecule has been calculated based on a high-resolution X-ray diffraction study. The data were collected at 123 K using graphite-monochromated Mo Kα radiation to sin(θ)/λ = 1.24 A 1. The integrated intensities of 13796 reflections were measured and reduced to 6501 independent reflections with I ≥ 3σ(I). The crystal structure was refined using the experimental model of Hansen and Coppens(1978). The crystal structure has been validated and deposited at the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre with the deposition number CCDC 876507. In this article, we present the thermal motion and the structural analysis obtained from the least-square refinement based on F2 and the electron density distribution obtained from the multipolar model.     

Crystal growth of β’—Gd2（Mo4）3 and in situ observation of its domain structure by the microscope and the synchrotron X—ray topography

We report that β’-Gd2(MoO4)3 crystals have been grown by the Czochralski(CZ) method.We studied the growth conditions fo β’-Gd2(MoO4)3 crystal.A compatison between the resistance-heated method and radio frequency induction-heated method is described.Also,the in situ observation of the domain structure by the microscope and by synchrotron radiation X-ray topography under the conditions of DC polarization voltage and tempertature change were carried out.Experiments showed that multidomain structure including ferroelectric and ferroelastic domains occurred in β’-Gd2(MoO4)3 cystal.Usually ferroeletiric domains appeared in the as-grown crystal and ferroelastic domains appeared in the polished thinner piece.Both ferroelectric and ferroelastic domains disappeared when the temperature of the crystal piece was higher than the Curie tempperature Tc and they could be reproduced when the temperature of the crystal piece was lowered below TC.When a DC polarization voltage ranging from 150 to 500V was applied on a c-axis β’-Gd2(MoO4)3 piece having a thickness of 0.5mm ,the multidomain would gradually transform to a single domain.This resual means that it is possible to make a periodically poled β’-Gd2(MoO4)3 crystal.2001 Elsevier Science B.V.All rights reserved.     

Generation of UV radiation at 335.5 nm based on frequency-quadrupling of a diode-pumped Nd:YVO_4 laser

The generation of ultraviolet(UV)light at 335.5 nm based on frequency quadrupling of a diode-end- pumped Q-switched Nd:YVO_4 laser at 1342 nm was demonstrated.KTP crystal was used for generation of wavelength of 671 nm by intracavity doubling and LBO(BBO)crystal was exploited for the subsequent external fourth harmonic generation(FHG).With 6.3-W absorbed pump power and 10-kHz frequency repetition rate,the UV output power of 35 and 63 mW were obtained by using LBO and BBO as frequency quadrupling nonlinear crystals,respectively.The experimental results show that the conversion efficiency (red-UV)of 6.4% for BBO crystal is higher than that of 3.5% for LBO crystal,but the UV beam quality obtained by LBO crystal is better than by BBO crystal.     

Effects of pressure and/or magnetism on superconductivity of δ-MoN single crystal

Effects of pressure and/or magnetism on the critical superconducting temperature(Tc)ofδ-Mo N single crystal were investigated using a Maglab system.Theδ-Mo N single crystal was synthesized at extreme conditions of high pressure and high temperature.The carrier density ofδ-Mo N single crystal as a function of applied pressure was determined using Hall coefficient measurement.     

High precision Zernike modal gray map reconstruction for liquid crystal corrector

This paper proposes a new Zernike modal gray map reconstruction algorithm used in the nematic liquid crystal adaptive optics system. Firstly, the new modal algorithm is described. Secondly, a single loop correction experiment was conducted, and it showed that the modal method has a higher precision in gray map reconstruction than the widely used slope method. Finally, the contrast close-loop correction experiment was conducted to correct static aberration in the laboratory. The experimental results showed that the average peak to valley (PV) and root mean square (RMS) of the wavefront corrected by mode method were reduced from 2.501\lambda (\lambda =633~nm) and 0.610\lambda to 0.0334\lambda and 0.00845\lambda , respectively. The corrected PV and RMS were much smaller than those of 0.173\lambda and 0.048\lambda by slope method. The Strehl ratio and modulation transfer function of the system corrected by mode method were much closer to diffraction limit than with slope method. These results indicate that the mode method can take good advantage of the large number of pixels of the liquid crystal corrector to realize high correction precision.     

Application of a characterized difference-frequency laser source to carbon monoxide trace detection

A tunable continuous wave(cw) mid-infrared(MIR) laser based on difference-frequency generation(DFG) in a 1.5-cm long AgGaS2 nonlinear crystal for trace gas detection is reported.Two visible and near-infrared diode lasers were used as pump and signal sources.The MIR-DFG laser was tunable in a wavelength range of 4.75 μm-4.88 μm.The phase-matching(PM) condition was non-critically achieved by adjusting the temperature of the crystal for fixed pairs of input pump and signal wavelengths.The required PM temperatures of the generated MIR-DFG wavelengths have been calculated by using three sets of recent Sellmeier equations and the temperature-dispersion equations of AgGaS2 given by Willer U,et al.(Willer U,Blanke T and Schade W 2001 Appl.Opt.40 5439).Then the calculated PM temperatures are compared with the experimental values.The performance of the MIR-DFG laser is shown by the trace detection of the P(16) carbon monoxide(12C16O) absorption line in a laboratory-fabricated absorption cell.The enhanced sensitivity of about 0.6×10 4 was obtained through the long path absorption provided by consecutive reflections between coated cylindrical mirrors of a constructed cell.     

Laser-induced damage and periodic stripe structures of a CaF2 single crystal by an ArF excimer laser

The laser-induced damage threshold of a calcium fluoride(CaF2)single crystal was obtained by a 193 nm ArF excimer laser.The damage morphology of the crystal was analyzed.The results showed that the surface of CaF2 single crystal broke along the natural cleavage plane under ArF excimer laser irradiation,some fragments fell off,and Newton’s rings were observed on the curved fragments.Laser-induced periodic stripe structures(LIPSS)appeared on the surface layer beneath the fragments that peeled off.The spacing of LIPSS was measured,and the formation mechanism of LIPSS was analyzed based on the interference model.     

Structural,magnetic, and dielectric properties of Ni–Zn ferrite and Bi_2O_3 nanocomposites prepared by the sol-gel method

Ni–Zn ferrite and Bi_2O_3 composites were developed by the sol-gel method. The structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties were studied for all the prepared samples. X-ray diffraction(XRD) was performed to study the crystal structure.The results of field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM) showed that the addition of Bi_2O_3 can increase the grain size of the Ni–Zn ferrite. Magnetic properties were analyzed by a hysteresis loop test and it was found that the saturation magnetization and coercivity decreased with the increase of Bi_2O_3 ratio. In addition, the dielectric properties of the Ni–Zn ferrite were also improved with the addition of Bi_2O_3.     

Thermal phase change and activation energy of crystallization of Ge-Sb-Te-Sn thin films

To improve the optical storage performance, Sn was doped into Ge2Sb2Te5 phase change thin films. The optical and thermal properties of Sn-doped Ge2Sb2Te5 film were investigated. The crystal structures of the as-sputtered and the annealed films were identified by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. The differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) method is used to get the crystallization temperature and crystallization energy (Ea). It was found that proper Sn-doping could highly improve storage performance of the Ge2Sb2Te5 media.     

Installation and cosmic ray test of the high voltage system of the BESⅢ drift chamber

After examination of the designed high voltage power supply system of the BESⅢ drift chamber in the beam test of the full length prototype of drift chamber, a full system covering all the channels of high voltage was installed. The system's training and the high voltage value adjustment were carried out in the cosmic ray test of the BESⅢ drift chamber. The cosmic ray test for the full system and its final installation on the BESⅢ drift chamber were reported. The full system of high voltage power supply works stably and reliably.     

Temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopic study of bismuth borate Bi2ZnOB2O6

A temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopic study on Bi2Zn OB2O6crystal was carried out to investigate the structure change of the crystal with the increase of temperature.Raman spectra of crystal Bi2Zn OB2O6were recorded in the spectral range 10–1600 cm-1at room temperature first.Compared with the vibrational spectra of the referred compounds,satisfactory assignment of most of the high-energy modes to vibrations of Bi–O,B–O,and Zn–O bonds was achieved.In particular,the Raman high-frequency peak located at 1344 cm-1was attributed to the B–O vibration in the BO3triangle.This temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopic study was carried out up to 600°C.It was found that all the Raman lines exhibit decreases in frequency and the widths of the Raman peaks increase with increasing temperature.No phase transition was observed under 600°C.     

Theoretical analysis and experimental research on thermal focal length of a YVO4/Nd:YVO4 composite crystal

This paper investigates the temperature field distribution and thermal focal length within a laser diode array (LDA) end-pumped YVO4/Nd:YVO4 rectangular composite crystal. A general expression of the temperature field distribution within the Nd:YVO4 rectangular crystal was obtained by analysing the characteristics of the Nd:YVO4 crystal and solving the Poisson equation with boundary conditions. The temperature field distributions in the Nd:YVO4 rectangular crystal for the YVO4/Nd:YVO4 composite crystal and the Nd:YVO4 single crystal are researched respec- tively. Calculating the thermal focal length within the Nd:YVO4 rectangular crystal was done by an analysis of the additional optical path differences (OPD) caused by heat, which was very identical with experimental results in this paper. Research results show that the maximum relative temperature on the rear face of the Nd:YVO4 crystal in the composite crystal is 150 K and the thermal focal length is 35.7 mm when the output power of the LDA is 22 W. In the same circumstances, the experimental value of the thermal focal length is 37.4 mm. So the relative error between the theoretical analysis and the experimental result is only 4.5%. With the same conditions, the thermal focal length of the Nd:YVO4 single crystal is 18.5 mm. So the relative rate of the thermal focal length between the YVO4/Nd:YVO4 crystal and the Nd:YVO4 crystal is 93%. So, the thermal stability of the output power and the beam quality of the YVO4/Nd:YVO4 laser is more advantageous than the laser with Nd:YVO4 single crystal.     

Experimental studies on the multistage constant modulus array for the estimation of directions-of-arrival

The performance of the multistage Constant Modulus (CM) array, one of the most striking blind beamforming algorithms, for the source Directions-of-Arrival (DOA) estimation was analyzed via computer simulations and water tank experiments, and was compared to that of other DOA estimation algorithms including the ‘non-blind‘ and the ‘blind‘. Firstly, a nominal array model and an array model with gain and phase perturbations were established,respectively. Secondly, the multistage CM array algorithm was described and computer simulations were conducted. Simulation results showed that the multistage CM array could correctly estimate the DOA at the same time when the sources were blindly recovered, and the angle separating ability of the algorithm was beyond the Rayleigh resolution limit. By changing the variance of the array model errors, it was also verified that the multistage CM array was more robust to the errors than some other algorithms mentioned in this paper. Finally, water tank experiments and data processing results were provided. Situations with different array sizes and source angular separations were considered. It was shown that the results were in good agreement with computer simulations. Results of computer simulations and water tank experiments verified that the DOAs of the multiple independent sources could be blindly and robustly estimated with the multistage CM array.