Propagation invariants of twisted Gaussian Schell-model beams

The second-order moments method is used to study the M² factor and intrinsic astigmatism of twisted Gaussian Schell-model (GSM) beams. It is shown that the M² factor of twisted GSM beams defined by the determinate of the 4×4 variance matrix is a propagation invariant and is independent of the beam twist, whereas the twist affects the intrinsic astigmatism of twisted GSM beams.     

Practical common-path heterodyne surface profiling interferometer with automatic focusing

In modern semiconductor and optics industries, there is a strong demand for a highly sensitive and non-contact surface profilometer. This paper describes a practical heterodyne surface profiling interferometer for on-line non-contact measurement which has been developed recently. The essential feature of the profilometer is a newly designed common-path configuration to minimize the effects caused by vibration, air turbulence and other environmental variations. A single-mode frequency-stabilized laser diode (780 nm) serves as the light source to make the whole system compact (total volume 250L×200W×100H mm). A powerful signal processing scheme is also developed, which includes three parts: automatic voltage control, phase measurement with wide range and automatic focusing control. All these make the repeatability and stability of the profiling interferometer greatly improved. The system has vertical resolution of 0.39 nm and lateral resolution of 0.73 μm. During approximately an hour, the stability is within 1.95 nm(3σ).     

High power diode single-end-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser

A fiber-coupled diode-single-end-pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser with an Nd:YVO₄ crystal of 0.3 at% doping concentration and 3×3×10 mm³ dimensions was reported. 14.850 W of continuous-wave output power in an M² factor of 1.12 was obtained under pump power of 27.365 W, with an optical conversion efficiency of 60.49%, and a slope efficiency of 64.5%.     

High-efficiency longitudinally-pumped miniature Nd:YVO4 laser

We report on fundamental and intracavity frequency-doubled emission in a miniature Nd:YVO₄ (3×3×1 mm) laser. A maximum slope efficiency of η_s=58.6%, with optical efficiency of η₀=53.0% at 780 mW pump power was realized in a TEM₀₀ output beam. To obtain the optimum pump-beam focusing conditions we applied a new formalism in which the pump-beam propagation in the active medium was described by its M² factor. A good agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental results was observed. In second-harmonic regime, obtained by a KTP crystal, 230 mW green power that corresponds to 54% nonlinear conversion efficiency was reached.     

Kerr property of cubic K0.95Li0.05Ta0.60Nb0.40O3 single crystal

The Kerr (quadratic electro-optic) property of K_0.95Li_0.05Ta_0.60Nb_0.40O₃ was measured by using an automated scanning Mach–Zehnder interferometer. K_0.95Li_0.05Ta_0.60Nb_0.40O₃ has large Kerr effect with R₁₁ = 7.2 × 10⁻¹⁶ m²/V² and R₁₂ = −1.2 × 10⁻¹⁶ m²/V² at 632.8 nm near its phase-transition temperature. The dielectric and Kerr properties as function of temperature were also investigated, thus the quadratic polarization-optic coefficients were calculated. The values of g₁₁ and g₁₂ are 0.083 m⁴/C² and −0.014 m⁴/C², respectively, and do not depend on temperature within the measurement accuracy of 5%.     

Magnetic behaviour of Cu2FeGeSe4

Measurements of magnetic susceptibility χ as a function of temperature T and of magnetisation M as a function of applied magnetic field H at a number of fixed temperatures were made on polycrystalline samples of Cu₂FeGeSe₄. The χ versus T data show that an antiferromagnetic transition occurs at 20 K and that a second transition occurs at 8 K, indicating a transition to weak ferromagnetic form. The M versus H curves indicated that at all temperatures below 70 K bound magnetic polarons (BMP) occur, in the paramagnetic, antiferromagnetic and weak ferromagnetic ranges. Below 8 K, the M versus H curves exhibited magnetic hysteresis, and this is attributed to the interaction of the BMPs with tetragonally anisotropic matrix. The B versus H curves were well fitted by a Langevin-type of equation, and the variation of the fitting parameters determined as a function of temperature. These showed that above 20 K the total BMP magnetisation fell almost linearly with increasing temperature and effectively disappeared at 70 K. The number of BMPs remained practically constant with temperature having a mean value of 6.55×10¹⁸/cm³. The analysis gave a value of 213 μ_B for the average magnetic moment of a BMP, corresponding to 42.4 Fe atoms. Using a simple spherical model, this gives the radius of a BMP as 12.0 Å.     

Two series of triple- and single-domain reconstructions induced by europium on vicinal Si(1 1 1) [ ]-miscut surface

The growth and properties of Eu-induced one-dimensional reconstructions on vicinal Si(1 1 1) surface miscut in the [ ] direction have been studied by low energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscope in the submonolayer range. The focus has been attended to the formation of single-domain structures and the influence of preparation parameters on the domain orientation. We have found the critical conditions for the preparation of a variety of Eu-induced single-domain (n×2) and (n×1) structures. In addition, a new intermediate phase showing the 9×1 periodicity between 3×2 and 2×1 phases is detected.     

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.     

Suppression of Noise Effects in Color Correction by Spectral Sensitivities of Image Sensors

The accurate transformation of device responses to tristimulus values is important at an early stage in color management and this transformation is usually called color correction. In this paper it is shown that the influence of noise on color correction can be suppressed if the square of the singular values by the singular value decomposition (SVD) of a sensor matrix represented by surface reflectance, SLVA^1/2, is larger than the noise variance, where S is the M × N matrix of M channel spectral sensitivities, L is the N × N diagonal matrix for an recording illuminant, V is the N × N matrix which is composed of eigenvectors of an autocorrelation matrix for spectral reflectance of samples, A is the N × N diagonal matrix with eigenvalues of the autocorrelation matrix along the diagonal and N is the number of the dimension, respectively. A method to suppress the influence of noise on color correction by spectral sensitivities of sensors is presented for the first time.     

Liver schwannoma: findings on MRI

Magnetic resonance imaging features of benign liver schwannoma in a 52-year-old woman are described. An oval shaped, 4.4×3.6×2.9-cm lesion was located in Segment 7 of the right hepatic lobe. The lesion was hypointense on T₁-weighted images and mixed hypo- and hyperintense on T₂-weighted images. On serial contrast-enhanced images, the lesion revealed gradually increasing centrilobular enhancement. The tumor was surgically removed thereafter.     

Exceptional sensitivity to neutrino parameters with a two-baseline Beta-beam set-up

We examine the reach of a Beta-beam experiment with two detectors at carefully chosen baselines for exploring neutrino mass parameters. Locating the source at CERN, the two detectors and baselines are: (a) a 50 kton iron calorimeter (ICAL) at a baseline of around 7150 km which is roughly the magic baseline, e.g., ICAL@INO, and (b) a 50 kton Totally Active Scintillator Detector at a distance of 730 km, e.g., at Gran Sasso. We choose ⁸B and ⁸Li source ions with a boost factor γ of 650 for the magic baseline while for the closer detector we consider ¹⁸Ne and ⁶He ions with a range of Lorentz boosts. We find that the locations of the two detectors complement each other leading to an exceptional high sensitivity. With γ=650 for ⁸B/⁸Li and γ=575 for ¹⁸Ne/⁶He and total luminosity corresponding to 5×(1.1×10¹⁸) and 5×(2.9×10¹⁸) useful ion decays in neutrino and antineutrino modes respectively, we find that the two-detector set-up can probe maximal CP violation and establish the neutrino mass ordering if sin²2θ₁₃ is 1.4×10⁻⁴ and 2.7×10⁻⁴, respectively, or more. The sensitivity reach for sin²2θ₁₃ itself is 5.5×10⁻⁴. With a factor of 10 higher luminosity, the corresponding sin²2θ₁₃ reach of this set-up would be 1.8×10⁻⁵, 4.6×10⁻⁵ and 5.3×10⁻⁵ respectively for the above three performance indicators. CP violation can be discovered for 64% of the possible δ_CP values for sin²2θ₁₃10⁻³ (8×10⁻⁵), for the standard luminosity (10 times enhanced luminosity). Comparable physics performance can be achieved in a set-up where data from CERN to INO@ICAL is combined with that from CERN to the Boulby mine in United Kingdom, a baseline of 1050 km.     

NOx generation in laser-produced plasma in air as a function of dissipated energy

An experimental study on the production of NO_x as a function of dissipated energy in laser-produced plasma in air is presented. A plasma was produced by focusing a (60–180) mJ, 5 ns, 532 nm pulse from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The results show that for laser energy in the range of 13–99 mJ the laser plasma generates 6.7×10¹⁶ NO_x molecules per joule and 4.6×10¹⁶ NO molecules per joule. An order of magnitude estimate of the NO and NO_x production per unit volume of heated gas based on a simple model show that the NO_x and NO production efficiency in air are about 3×10²² and 2×10²² molecules J⁻¹ m⁻³.     

The bending energy levels of C2H2

Absorption spectra of C₂H₂ have been recorded between 50 and 1450 cm⁻¹, with a resolution always better than 0.005 cm⁻¹, using two different Fourier transform spectrometers. Analysis of the data provided two sets of results. First, the bending levels with Σ_t V_t(t = 4, 5) ≤ 2 were characterized by a coherent set of 34 parameters derived from the simultaneous analysis of 15 bands, performed using a matrix Hamiltonian. The following main parameters were obtained (in cm⁻¹): ω₄⁰ = 608.985196(14), ω₅⁰ = 729.157564(10); B₀ = 1.17664632(18), α₄ = −1.353535(86) × 10⁻³, α₅ = −2.232075(40) × 10⁻³; q₄⁰ = 5.24858(12) × 10⁻³, and q₅⁰ = 4.66044(12) × 10⁻³, with the errors (1σ) on the last quoted digit. Second, a more complete set of bending levels with Σ_t V_t ≤ 4, some of which have never previously been reported, and also including V₂ = 1 have been fitted to 80 parameters. This simultaneous fit involved 43 bands and used the same full Hamiltonian matrix. Some perturbations which affect the higher excited levels are discussed.     

Electron stimulated desorption of CO from

The electron impact behavior of CO adsorbed on was investigated. The desorption products observed were neutral CO, CO⁺, and O⁺. After massive electron impact residual carbon, C/W = 0.15, but not oxygen was also found, suggesting that energetic neutral O, not detected in a mass analyzer must also have been formed. Formation of β-CO, i.e., dissociated CO with C and O on the surface was not seen. The total disappearance cross section varies only slightly with coverage, ranging from 9 × 10 ⁻¹⁸ cm² at low to 5 × 10⁻¹⁸ cm² at saturation (CO/W = 0.75). The cross section for CO⁺ formation varies from 4 × 10⁻²² cm² at satura to 2 × 10⁻²¹ cm² at low coverage. That for O⁺ formation is 1.4 × 10⁻²² cm² at saturation and 2 × 10⁻²¹ cm² Threshold energies are similar to those found previously [J.C. Lin and R. Gomer, Surf. Sci. 218 (1989) 406] for and CO/Cu₁/W(110) which suggests similar mechanisms for product formation, with the exception of β-CO on clean W(110). It is argued that the absence or presence of β-CO in ESD hinges on its formation or absence in thermal desorption, since electron impact is likely to present the surface with vibrationally and rotationally activated CO in all cases; β-CO formation only occurs on surfaces which can dissociate such CO. It was also found that ESD of CO led to a work function increase of the remaining Pd₁/W(110) surface of 500 meV, which could be annealed out only at 900 K. This is attributed to surface roughness, caused by recoil momentum of energetic desorbing entities.     

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.     

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.     

Holographic visualisation of a combustion flame

A series of experiments have been completed which use holographic interferometry to visualise a propane flame. The flame was produced by a 0·1 m diameter combustor, which swirled the flow to maximise its burning effeciency. The interferometric fringes obtained show the temperature profile across the flame and the turbulent burning cell structure within it. The holograms were made in close proximity to the flame using a high power ruby double pulse laser combined with sharp optical filters and a fast large aperture shutter.A semi-automatic system has been developed to digitise the complex interferometric fringe patterns generated. The system has been designed, using scanning optics held under computer control, to operate as an active microdensitometer. The microdensitometer has an optical resolution of 4000 × 4000 pixel points per picture and a potential resolution of 60 000 × 60 000 pixels.     

Determination of solid materials rigidity modulus by a new nondestructive optical method

We propose a new optical method for the determination of the rigidity modulus G of solid materials. The rigidity modulus is determined by measuring the twisted angle θ as a response of the material sample, depending on the applied force. The measuring of this twisted angle can be carried out by using an adapted polarimetric sensor. The effective measurement of rigidity modulus G for aluminum, Plexiglas and steel was experimentally obtained 1.4464×10¹⁰,0.99417×10⁹ and 1.0395×10¹¹ N m, respectively. The study has demonstrated the effective usefulness of our method for evaluating the rigidity modulus. A good agreement between the theoretical and experimental results was achieved.     

Carrier-induced ferromagnetic order in the narrow gap III–V magnetic alloy semiconductor (In,Mn)Sb

Preparation and physical properties of p- and n-InMnSb epitaxial films with Mn contents up to 10% were studied with the aim of seeking phenomena induced by the spin exchange interaction between carrier and Mn spins. For p-type samples with Mn_eff=4.5×10²⁰ and p=1.1×10²⁰ cm⁻³, carrier-induced ferromagnetic order with a Curie temperature of 20 K was observed. The sign of the anomalous Hall coefficient is found to be negative. Tellurium-doped n-type samples (n=8.6×10¹⁸ cm⁻³) with net Mn contents of 10% are found to be paramagnetic.     

A turn-on fluorescent chemosensor for Hg based on phenanthroline fluorophore

Dipyrido[3,2-a:2′,3′-c]-phenazine (L) was employed as a selectively fluorescent chemosensor for Hg²⁺ in DMF solution under buffered conditions with its fluorescence being strongly increased. The fluorescence increasing was attributed to the formation of L–Hg²⁺ by 1:1 complex ratio (K=3.7×10⁵ M⁻¹), which constitutes the basis for the determination of Hg²⁺ with the prepared chemosensor. The experiment results also show that the response behavior of L to Hg²⁺ is pH independent in the range of pH 6.0–9.0 and show excellent sensitivity and selectivity for Hg²⁺ over other examined metal ions.