Realization of periodic transmission filter based on a pair of cascaded long-period fibre gratings of different strength/wavelength position

Using high-intensity (560–650 GW/cm²) 264 nm 220 femtosecond laser pulses, we inscribed a periodic (comb) transmission filter in a photosensitive Ge/B-codoped fibre, based on a pair of long-period gratings of different strength/wavelength position. The irradiation conditions and grating parameters for the successful realization of the 24–28-nm-wide transmission filter in the region 1480–1580 nm with the fringe period of 1.7–3.1 nm and the fringe bandwidth of 0.8–1.3 nm were established.     

Evaluation of probe size in STEM imaging at 30 and 60 kV

In order to estimate the probe size on the specimen surface in a newly developed low-acceleration-voltage (30–60 kV) atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), we compared the intensity profiles of experimentally obtained annular dark field (ADF)-STEM images of Si–Si dumbbells and those of images simulated using a multislice method which takes chromatic aberration into account. However, the simulated ADF images at 30 and 60 kV were found not to match the corresponding experimental images. Subsequently, the simulated images were convolved with probe functions (normal distributions) of different widths until a good match was obtained between the images. This allowed the probe shapes corresponding to the experimental conditions to be determined. ADF-STEM images with chromatic aberration could then be calculated by an incoherent superposition of these probe functions over a range of energies. The full widths at half maximum for the probe functions were estimated to be 99.2 pm for 30 kV and 92.8 pm for 60 kV. The D59 diameters were calculated to be 154.0 pm for 30 kV and 127.8 pm for 60 kV. This means that the 30-kV probe has a larger tail than the 60-kV probe.     

Design parameters of stainless steel plates for maximizing high frequency ultrasound wave transmission

This work validated, in a higher frequency range, the theoretical predictions made by Boyle around 1930, which state that the optimal transmission of sound pressure through a metal plate occurs when the plate thickness equals a multiple of half the wavelength of the sound wave. Several reactor design parameters influencing the transmission of high frequency ultrasonic waves through a stainless steel plate were examined. The transmission properties of steel plates of various thicknesses (1–7 mm) were studied for frequencies ranging from 400 kHz to 2 MHz and at different distances between plates and transducers. It was shown that transmission of sound pressure through a steel plate showed high dependence of the thickness of the plate to the frequency of the sound wave (thickness ratio). Maximum sound pressure transmission of ∼60% of the incident pressure was observed when the ratio of the plate thickness to the applied frequency was a multiple of a half wavelength (2 MHz, 6 mm stainless steel plate). In contrast, minimal sound pressure transmission (∼10–20%) was measured for thickness ratios that were not a multiple of a half wavelength. Furthermore, the attenuation of the sound pressure in the transmission region was also investigated. As expected, it was confirmed that higher frequencies have more pronounced sound pressure attenuation than lower frequencies. The spatial distribution of the sound pressure transmitted through the plate characterized by sonochemiluminescence measurements using luminol emission, supports the validity of the pressure measurements in this study.     

Surface modified polymeric gate insulators for pentacene organic thin-film transistors

This paper demonstrates effects of a surface modification of polymeric gate insulators on a performance of organic thin-film transistor (OTFT). Pentacene OTFTs were fabricated with three types of polymer gate insulators—poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVP, G1) with comparably high dielectric constant, polyimide (PI, G2) with n-octadecyl (C₁₈) side chain, which resulted in hydrophobicity and low dielectric constant, and surface modified PVP(G3). The G3 was prepared by a spin-coating the solution of G2 onto the G1 film. We found that the n-octadecyl group of the G3 protruded from the surface and made the PVP surface more hydrophobic. The less polar surface strongly improved the device performance. Subthreshold slope (s.s.) of the OTFT with G3 as the gate insulator decreased significantly to 2.7 V/dec, which was much smaller than that of OTFTs fabricated with G1 (4.0 V/dec). That is, thin layer with fewer C₁₈ group in contact with pentacene induced a good electrical property like lower s.s. Further the higher dielectric constant of the underlying layer resulted in higher mobility of the device. The mobility (0.50 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹) of the OTFT with G3 as the gate insulator showed a higher value compared to that (0.25 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹) of the OTFT with G2.     

Thorium free antireflection coating in MWIR region on Silicon optics

Most infrared transmitting optics have high refractive indices which in turn have high per surface reflection loss. So antireflection coating has very important role in increasing the transmission in the desired wavelength region. In this paper a study has been carried out on the design and fabrication of Thorium free antireflection coating effective for Silicon substrate in MWIR (3.6–4.9 μm) region. The wave band 3.6–4.9 μm is chosen for the reported work because the detected system used in MWIR region has a band selection filter effective in the same wavelength region. Comprehensive search method was used to design the multilayer stack on Silicon substrate. The coating materials used in the design were Germanium (Ge) and Silicon dioxide (SiO₂). The fabrication of coating was made in a coating plant fitted with Cryo pump system and Residual Gas Analyzer. The evaporation was carried out at high vacuum (2–6 × 10–6 mbar) using Electron Beam Gun and layer thicknesses were measured with crystal monitor. The result achieved for the antireflection coating was 96% average transmission in 3.6–4.9 μm band which withstood MIL-F-48616 environmental testing. This work provides an alternate antireflection coating on Silicon by replacing radioactive Thorium Fluoride, used as a coating material in most IR antireflection coating designs.     

Picosecond laser cutting and drilling of thin flex glass

We investigate the feasibility of cutting and drilling thin flex glass (TFG) substrates using a picosecond laser operating at wavelengths of 1030 nm, 515 nm and 343 nm. 50 μm and 100 μm thick AF32^®Eco Thin Glass (Schott AG) sheets are used. The laser processing parameters such as the wavelength, pulse energy, pulse repetition frequency, scan speed and the number of laser passes which are necessary to perform through a cut or to drill a borehole in the TFG substrate are studied in detail. Our results show that the highest effective cutting speeds (220 mm/s for a 50 μm thick TFG substrate and 74 mm/s for a 100 μm thick TFG substrate) are obtained with the 1030 nm wavelength, whereas the 343 nm wavelength provides the best quality cuts. The 515 nm wavelength, meanwhile, can be used to provide relatively good laser cut quality with heat affected zones (HAZ) of <25 μm for 50 μm TFG and <40 μm for 100 μm TFG with cutting speeds of 100 mm/s and 28.5 mm/s, respectively. The 343 nm and 515 nm wavelengths can also be used for drilling micro-holes (with inlet diameters of ⩽75 µm) in the 100 μm TFG substrate with speeds of up to 2 holes per second (using 343 nm) and 8 holes per second (using 515 nm). Optical microscope and SEM images of the cuts and micro-holes are presented.     

High efficiency antireflection coating in MWIR region (3.6–4.9 μm) simultaneously effective for Germanium and Silicon optics

Antireflection coatings have critical importance in thermal imaging system working in MWIR region (3–5 μm) since optics of high refractive index materials are used. Germanium (Ge) and Silicon (Si) optics are used extensively in the MWIR thermal systems. In this paper a study has been carried out on the design and fabrication of multi-substrate antireflection coating effective for Germanium and Silicon optics in MWIR (3.6–4.9 μm) region. The wave band 3.6–4.9 μm is chosen for the reported work because detector system used in MWIR region has a band selection filter effective in the same wavelength region and atmospheric transmission window in MWIR region is effective in 3–5 μm spectral band. Comprehensive search method was used to design the multilayer stack on the substrate. The coating materials used in the design were Germanium (Ge), Hafnium oxide (HfO₂) and Y-Ba-Fluoride (IR-F625). The fabrication of coating was made in a coating plant fitted with Cryo pump system and residual gas analyzer (RGA). The evaporation was carried out at high vacuum (2–6 × 10^?6 mbar) with the help of electron beam gun system and layer thicknesses were measured with crystal monitor. The result achieved for the antireflection coating was 98.5% average transmission in 3.6–4.9 μm band for Germanium and Silicon optics. This work will be helpful in reducing the plant operation time, material and power consumption, as two different kinds of optics are simultaneously coated in a single coating cycle.     

Research on reflection and transmission characteristics of electromagnetic wave to corn leaf

In this paper, the coefficient of reflection and transmission of electromagnetic wave on corn leaf are computed under room temperature. The relationship is given when the thicknesses of leaves are 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm and 1.5 mm and the proportion of water in the weight are 0.25, 0.5 and 0.68. The rules are concluded that there would be longer period and easier expression of the two coefficients on the incident electromagnetic wave, when leaf is thicker or the proportion of water is heavier. On the contrary, opposite results are obtained. There are less affection that the changes of the leaves thickness on the maxima of the reflectance coefficient and the average of the transmission coefficient, but add the proportion of water can less increase maxima of reflect coefficient, at the same time, the average of the transmission coefficient will come down.     

Efficient high voltage pulser for piezoelectric air coupled transducer

The design of high voltage pulser for air coupled ultrasound imaging is presented. It is dedicated for air-coupled ultrasound applications when piezoelectric transducer design is used. Two identical N-channel MOSFETs are used together with 1200 V high and low side driver IC. Simple driving pulses’ delay and skew circuit is used to reduce the cross-conduction. Analysis of switch peak current and channel resistance relation to maximum operation frequency and load capacitance is given. PSPICE simulation was used to analyze the gate driver resistance, gate pulse skew, pulse amplitude influence on energy consumption when loaded by capacitive load. Experimental investigation was verified against simulation and theoretical predictions. For 500 pF capacitance, which is most common for piezoelectric air coupled transducers, pulser consumes 650 μJ at 1 kV pulse and 4 μJ at 50 V. Pulser is capable to produce up to 1 MHz pulse trains with positive 50 V–1 kV pulses with up to 10 A peak output current. When loaded by 200 kHz transducer at 1 kV pulse amplitude rise time is 40 ns and fall time is 32 ns which fully satisfies desired 1 MHz bandwidth.     

Numerical analysis of a broadband spectrum generated in a standard fiber by noise-like pulses from a passively mode-locked fiber laser

This paper covers a numerical analysis of supercontinuum spectrum generation in a piece of standard fiber by using as the pump noise-like pulses produced by a passively mode-locked fiber laser. An experimental study was also carried out, yielding results that support the numerical results. In the numerical study we estimated that the spectral extension of the generated supercontinuum reaches ~ 1000 nm, and that it presents a high flatness over a region of ~ 220 nm (1630 nm-1850 nm) when we use as the pump noise-like pulses with a wide optical bandwidth (~ 50 nm) and a peak power of ~ 2 kW. Experimentally, the output signal spectrum extends from ~ 1530 nm to at least 1750 nm and presents a high flatness over a region of 1640 nm to 1750 nm for the same value of numerical input power, 1750 nm being the upper limit of the optical spectrum analyzer. The numerical analysis presented here is thus an essential part to overcome the severe limitation in measuring capabilities and to understand the phenomena of supercontinuum generation, which is mainly related to Raman self-frequency shift. Finally, this work demonstrates the potential of noise-like pulses from a passively mode-locked fiber laser for broadband spectrum generation.     

EHD flow measured by 3D PIV in a narrow electrostatic precipitator with longitudinal-to-flow wire electrode and smooth or flocking grounded plane electrode

In this work, results of three-dimensional (3D) Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements of the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) flow velocity fields in a narrow electrostatic precipitator (ESP) with a longitudinal-to-flow placed wire electrode are presented. The ESP was a narrow transparent acrylic box (90 mm×30 mm×30 mm). The electrode set consisted of a single wire discharge electrode and two plane collecting electrodes. Either two smooth stainless-steel plates or two stainless-steel plane meshes with nylon flocks were used as the collecting electrodes. The 3D PIV measurements were carried out in two parallel planes, placed longitudinally to the flow duct. The positive DC voltage of up to 9.5 kV was applied to the wire electrode through a 10 MΩ resistor. The collecting electrodes were grounded. The measurements were carried out at a primary flow velocity of 0.5 m/s. Obtained results show that the flow patterns for the smooth-plate electrodes and for the flocking plane electrodes are similar in the bulk of the flow. However, the flow velocities near the flocking plane electrodes are much lower than those near the smooth-plate electrodes. This is a beneficial phenomenon, because the lower the flow near the collecting electrodes, the lower re-entrainment of the particles deposited on the collecting electrodes occurs.     

Design of a compact polarization splitter based on the dual-elliptical-core photonic crystal fiber

We propose a compact polarization splitter based on dual-elliptical-core photonic crystal fiber. Two elliptical cores are introduced to increase the difference of effective index between x-polarized and y-polarized mode and three elliptical modulation air holes are used to control the power transfer between the two cores. By optimizing the structure parameters, the length of the polarization splitter is distinctly shortened. Numerical results demonstrate that the compact splitter has the length of 775 μm and up to 50 dB extinction ratio at the central wavelength of 1.55 μm. The corresponding bandwidth of 32 nm could be achieved from the wavelength of 1.534–1.566 μm with the extinction ratio over 20 dB     

Single image rectification of thermal images for geometric studies in façade inspections

This work presents a photogrammetric technique that provides geometric and thermal information about building façades. It uses low cost and portable scale bars, specially designed for thermal imaging, and processing software based on single image rectification. Image rectification corrects the original photo displacement due to the projection and perspective, and radial distortions introduced by the lens of the camera.The technique is tested by comparing laser scanning and thermal data. Seven segments of different orientation and length are selected for the measurement. Accuracy tests show errors between 44 mm and 151 mm. Precision values range between 22 mm and 61 mm for a maximum length of 7259 mm. The accuracy and precision results obtained for the technique open the possibility of extending its use to building inspection tasks.     

Using an improved electrostatic precipitator for poultry dust removal

Pubic concerns related to particulate matter emissions from animal housing operations are increasing. The goal of this study was to custom develop a simple and low cost electrostatic precipitator (ESP) for poultry dust control. The performance of the improved electrostatic precipitator (iESP) to remove a test aerosol was evaluated under a series of operating voltages between ?60 kV and 60 kV. The mass and size distributions of the particles were measured by a cascade impactor. The overall dust removal efficiency ranged from 37% to 79% with the maximum efficiency obtained at ?30 kV. The iESP shows high removal efficiencies for particles less than 2.1 μm.     

Photo-curable epoxy functionalized cyclotetrasiloxane as a gate dielectric for organic thin film transistors

We synthesized a new photo-curable organic/inorganic hybrid material, cyclotetrasiloxane (CTS) derivative containing cyclohexene-1,2-epoxide functional groups (CTS-EPOXY), and its characteristics are compared with a prototypical organic gate insulator of poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVP) in the organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) using pentacene as an active p-type organic semiconductor. Compared with PVP, CTS-EPOXY shows better insulating characteristics and surface smoothness. A metal/insulator/metal (MIM) device with the 300-nm-thick CTS-EPOXY film shows more than two orders of magnitude lower current (less than 40 nA/cm² over the voltage range up to 60 V) compared with PVP. In addition, the pentacene TFT with CTS-EPOXY as a gate dielectric layer shows slightly higher field-effect mobility of μ_FET = 0.20 cm²/V s compared to that with PVP.     

Structural and photoluminescence investigation on the hot-wire assisted plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition growth silicon nanowires

High density of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were synthesized by a hot-wire assisted plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. The structural and optical properties of the as-grown SiNWs prepared at different rf power of 40 and 80 W were analyzed in this study. The SiNWs prepared at rf power of 40 W exhibited highly crystalline structure with a high crystal volume fraction, X_C of ～82% and are surrounded by a thin layer of SiO_x. The NWs show high absorption in the high energy region (E>1.8 eV) and strong photoluminescence at 1.73 to 2.05 eV (red–orange region) with a weak shoulder at 1.65 to 1.73 eV (near IR region). An increase in rf power to 80 W reduced the X_C to ～65% and led to the formation of nanocrystalline Si structures with a crystallite size of <4 nm within the SiNWs. These NWs are covered by a mixture of uncatalyzed amorphous Si layer. The SiNWs prepared at 80 W exhibited a high optical absorption ability above 99% in the broadband range between 220 and ～1500 nm and red emission between 1.65 and 1.95 eV. The interesting light absorption and photoluminescence properties from both SiNWs are discussed in the text.     

Specific features of nonlinear optical effects in several stilbene derivatives

Measurements of three different stilbene derivative molecules incorporated into the PMMA and polycarbonate (PC) matrices using 10 ns Nd:YAG nanosecond laser λ = 1064 nm) as the fundamental ones were done. The chromophore molecules were incorporated into the corresponding matrices and aligned by the dc-electric field up to 4 kV/cm during the spin coating. We have established that the optimal content of the chromophore corresponded to the concentration of about 8.9% in weighting units. The samples had a thickness of about 0.5 mm. Theoretical quantum chemical simulations of the theoretical hyperpolarizability tensor β (SHG) and the magnitude polarizability tensor α for various excitation energies for the three modified stilbenes principally confirm the obtained results.     

Ultrastructure of germ cells,Sertoli cells and mitochondria during spermatogenesis in mature testis of the Chinese Taihang black goats (Capra hircus)

The objective of this study was to describe the ultrastructure of germ cells, Sertoli cells and mitochondria in mature testis of the Chinese Taihang black goat. The characteristics of germ cell nucleus and mitochondria changing during spermatogenesis were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that the spermatogonium was elliptical, and its nucleus was about 4–5 μm. The round mitochondria can be observed throughout the cytoplasm around the nucleus. Small patches of heterochromatin were distributed throughout the nucleus. Spermatocyte was oval-shaped with a nucleus of about 4–4.5 μm in diameter. The heterochromatin began to attach to the inner surface of the nuclear membrane. Spermatid was about 4 μm and oval in shape. Its nucleus was oval or round and approximately 2–3 μm in diameter. The borderline between nucleus membrane and karyoplasm was distinct. During spermiogenesis, spermatid nucleus was condensed and elongated, and chromatin reached the highest condensation in the mature spermatozoon. The mid-piece was surrounded by mitochondria at the neck region. The sperm tail showed the typical “9 + 2″ structure, contained axoneme and central singlet microtubules. The nuclei of the Sertoli cells were irregular shaped and showed indentations in the membrane. In the mature testes of goat bucks, abundant mitochondria were around the germ cells and Sertoli cells. The scattered mitochondria were aggregated around the base of the flagellum (axoneme) during the spermatid differentiation stage. In conclusion, the present study showed that the spermatogenic process of Taihang black goat followed the pattern of mammals with some specific.     

Investigation of optimum condition in oxygen gas-assisted laser cutting

Laser cutting characteristics including power level and cutting gas pressure are investigated in order to obtain an optimum kerf width. The kerf width is investigated for a laser power range of 50–170 W and a gas pressure of 1–6 bar for steel and mild steel materials. Variation of sample thickness, material type, gas pressure and laser power on the average cut width and slot quality are investigated. Optimum conditions for the steel and mild steel materials with a thickness range of 1–2 mm are obtained. The optimum condition for the steel cutting results in a minimum average kerf width of 0.2 mm at a laser power of 67 W, cutting rate of 7.1 mm/s and an oxygen pressure of 4 bar. A similar investigation for the mild steel cutting results in a minimum average kerf width of 0.3 mm at the same laser power of 67 W, cutting rate of 9.5 mm/s, and an oxygen pressure of 1 bar. The experimental average kerf is about 0.3 mm, which is approximately equal to the estimated focused beam diameter of 0.27 mm for our focusing lens (f=4 cm and 100 W power). This beam size leads to a laser intensity of about 1.74×10⁹ W/m² at the workpiece surface. The estimated cutting rate from theoretical calculation is about 8.07 mm/s (1.0 mm thickness and 100 W power), which agrees with the experimental results that is 7.1 mm/s for 1.0 mm thickness of mild steel at the laser power of 88 W.     

Investigation on two dimensional photonic crystal resonant cavity based bandpass filter

In this paper, different cavities, namely quasi square, tri-quarter square, square, hexagonal, circular, elliptical, diamond and annular ring based photonic crystal bandpass filters (PCBPFs) are proposed and investigated by exploiting coupling between two in-line quasi waveguides and a resonant cavity. The resonant wavelength, output efficiency and bandwidth of designed PCBPFs are studied by varying the size of the cavity. The normalized transmission spectra of PCBPF are observed using 2D finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. The photonic band gap (PBG) is calculated by plane wave expansion (PWE) method. The circular cavity based PCBPF gives better performance than others because of its circular resonating modes. The number of passbands is increased linearly while increasing the size of the cavity. The overall size of the PCBPF chip is about 11.4 μm × 11.4 μm, which is more suitable for photonic integrated circuits (PIC), wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems and sensing applications.