Femto-Second Transform Limited Pulse Generation with Higher Order Dispersion Effects for Dispersion-Shifted Optical Communication System

The paper deals with the influence of higher-order effects of dispersion on the femto-second transform limited pulse generation by compensating for linear chirp of self-phase modulation spectra in the dispersion-shifted fibers. It has been shown that the minimum propagation length with first-order dispersion term is 23 m, as reported earlier. If the higher-order dispersion effects are taken into consideration, this length is reduced to 11.5 m. With compensation of the first-order dispersion term, this length can be enhanced to 6.8161 × 10³ km. This length can further be improved to 6.0343 × 10⁹ km by compensation of first- and second-order dispersion terms together. The minimum pulse width and linewidth product without dispersion, with dispersion including higher-order dispersion effects, and with dispersion compensation, is found to be 0.44, 0.4418, and 0.4411, respectively.     

Domain wall pinning in polycrystalline perovskite La0.7Sr0.3MnO3

Reversible and irreversible domain wall (DW) motions have been investigated in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ ceramic samples using frequency-response complex permeability with various amplitudes of AC field. We also examine the effects of temperature in the range from 293 to 368 K and transverse DC magnetic field with a maximum of 4.40×10⁵ A/m on the real part of permeability (μ′). Two relaxations corresponding to reversible wall motions and domain rotations occur in low and high frequency regions, respectively. The irreversible DW displacements can be activated as the amplitude larger than the pinning field of 3 A/m, leading to an increase in μ′. The μ′ obeys a Rayleigh law at the temperature below 343 K or under DC field of less than 4.22×10⁴ A/m. The Rayleigh constant η increases from 5.45×10⁻² to 1.54×10⁻¹ (A/m)⁻¹ as the temperature rises from 293 to 343 K, and η decreases from 5.58×10⁻² to 3.67×10⁻² (A/m)⁻¹ with increasing DC field from 1.99×10³ to 4.22×10⁴ A/m.     

Evaluation of optical loss minima in thallium halide crystals

Fundamental optical losses in the highly transparent region for thallium halide KRS-6 and KRS-5 crystals were evaluated. The projected loss minima are 12 × 10^--⁴ dB/ km at 7.9 μm for KRS-6 and 7 × 10^--⁴ dB/km at 12.9 μm for KRS-5 crystals. The material dispersion becomes zero near 5.05 μm for KRS-6 and near 6.62 μm for KRS-5 crystals.     

Hydrogen action in the surface space charge region of highly doped silicon

The action of atomic hydrogen on clean cleaved (1 1 1) surfaces of highly doped silicon samples, both phosphorus ([n] = 2 × 10¹⁹ cm^-3) and boron ([p] = 4 × 10¹⁹ cm^-3) doped has been compared to the case of lightly doped samples ([n] = 1 × 10¹⁴ cm^-3). Once cleaved under ultra high vacuum, the samples were exposed to increasing doses of atomic hydrogen up to saturation. Before and after each hydrogen exposure, the Si(1 1 1) 2 × 1 surface was studied by low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and photoemission yield spectroscopy (PYS). The compared PYS measurements show that H atoms adsorbed on the Si(1 1 1) surface at room temperature do totally compensate the shallow-acceptor impurities (boron) and only partially the shallow-donor impurities (phosphorus) in the space charge region. They also remove the surface dangling bond states. These effects are reversible upon heating under vacuum. Both surface stresses and space charge electric field play a role in this compensation effect.     

Study of cluster decay of Cm using SSNTD

Cluster decay of ²⁴²Cm with emission of ³⁴Si-particles was measured using track-recording phosphate glass detectors. The corresponding partial half-life is (1.4±0.3)×10²³ s. The branching ratio relative to decay is 1.0×10⁻¹⁶ and relative to spontaneous fission 1.6×10⁻⁹.     

Study of fossil tracks due to VH and VVH groups of cosmic ray nuclei in olivine crystals from Luna-16 and Luna-24

The olivine crystals from lunar regolith samples taken by the Soviet unmanned spacecrafts Luna-16 and Luna-24 were investigated. Eleven 0.5 –1.0 mm size olivine crystals were mounted in epoxy, polished and then etched in modified WO₄ solution. The Fe-group track densities up to 10⁸ tracks.cm⁻² (Fe-group) were measured under optical microscope. The tracks of length greater than 30 microns due to Z ≥ 36 cosmic ray nuclei are counted for VVH tracks density for all the crystals. The VVH / VH track densities ratio for these lunar olivine crystals varies from 1.25×10⁻⁴ to 2×10⁻³. It corresponds to the averaged depth of these crystals in lunar soil of 2–8 cm during galactic cosmic ray exposure. Lunar crystals are well suited for VVH track studies due to a very high track density. Two crystals were annealed at 430°C for 32 hrs. This procedure eliminates iron group tracks completely and leaves etchable tracks of nuclei with Z 50 even in the olivine crystals with Fe-group tracks up to 1–2×10⁸ tracks cm⁻². We were able to measure two tracks with the length 195 and 210μm which were produced by Th---U group of Galactic cosmic ray nuclei.     

Specific activity and derived intervention levels for Cesium-137 in Costa Rican export goods: Tuna fish, coffee and powdered milk

Cesium-137 is a fission product of ²³⁵U and ²³⁹Pu. After a major nuclear accident, it is released into the atmosphere and in the far field region it will produce radioactively contaminated food and drinking water. This paper will study the specific activity of ¹³⁷Cs in three Costa Rican export products: tuna fish, coffee and powdered milk. The average specific activities found are as follows: 0.89±0.41, 1.16±0.76 and 4.53±2.00 Bq kg⁻¹. They represent low values compared to their derived intervention levels: 1.25 × 10⁷, 1.25 × 10⁷ and 2.44 × 10⁵ Bq kg⁻¹, respectively.     

Multipulse operation regime in a self-mode-locked Cr:forsterite femtosecond laser

We report the observation of pulse splitting generated from a self-mode-locked Cr⁴⁺:forsterite laser operating near zero group-velocity dispersion. This new behavior of a femtosecond Cr⁴⁺:forsterite laser could be due to a combination of self-phase modulation, group-velocity dispersion and higher-order phase dispersion inside the laser cavity. The experimental study shows that large third- and fourth-order dispersion inside the cavity leads to the splitting of the solitary pulse into two or three identical pulses, and the results fit reasonably well with those of theoretical calculations.     

Doping of latent tracks in polyethylene by iodine diffusion

Anomalous iodine diffusion was observed on polyethylene implanted with 150 keV F⁺ and As⁺ ions (1×10¹¹−1×10¹⁵cm⁻²) and exposed to iodine vapours at 90°C.     

Comparison of nanosecond laser ablation at 1064 and 308 nm wavelength

To study the solid Cu ablation in vacuum, two different laser sources operating at 1064 and 308 nm wavelength are employed at similar values of laser fluences. The infrared laser is a Q-switched Nd:Yag having 9 ns pulse width (INFN-LNS, Catania), while the ultraviolet one is a XeCl excimer having 20 ns pulse width (INFN-LEA, Lecce). Both experiments produced a narrow angular distribution of the ejected material along the normal to the target surface. The ablation showed a threshold laser power density, of about 7 and 3 J/cm² at 1064 and 308 nm, respectively, below which the ablation effect was negligible. The laser interaction produces a plasma at the target surface, which expands very fast in the vacuum chamber. Time-of-flight (TOF) measurements of the ion emission indicated an average ion velocity of the order of 4.7×10⁴ and 2.3×10⁴ m/s for the infrared and ultraviolet radiation, respectively. We also estimated approximately the corresponding temperature of the plasma from which ions originated, i.e. about 10⁶ and 10⁵ K for IR and UV wavelength, respectively. A discussion of the analysis of the ablation mechanism is presented. At the used laser power densities the produced Cu ions showed ionisation states between 1+ and 5+ in both cases.     

Structure and properties of molybdenum implanted with high-flux carbon ion

High purity molybdenum was implanted by C ion in a metal vapour vacuum arc (MEVVA) implanter. The influence of implantation parameters was studied by varying ion fluence and ion current density. The samples were implanted by 45 keV C ion with fluences from 1×10¹⁵ to 1×10¹⁸ ions/cm², respectively. The as-implanted samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and nanoindenter. Different morphologies were observed on the surfaces of the as-implanted samples due to irradiation damage, and clearly related to implantation parameters. XRD spectra confirm formation of β-Mo₂C with ion fluences equal to or larger than 1×10¹⁶ ions/cm², and formation of -Mo₂C with ion fluence of 1×10¹⁸ ions/cm². The maximum nanohardness and maximum modulus of the as-implanted samples increased gradually with increasing ion fluence, and reached the corresponding maximum values with ion fluence of 1×10¹⁸ ions/cm². The experimental results suggest that the structure and properties of the as-implanted Mo samples exhibited strong dependence on implantation parameters.     

Field emission from quantum size GaN structures

Whisker structures and quantum dots fabricated by photoelectrochemical (PEC) etching of undoped and doped metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)-grown GaN (2×10¹⁷ or 3×10¹⁸ cm⁻³) are investigated in relation with their field-emission characteristics. Different surface morphologies, corresponding to different etching time and photocurrent, results in different field-emission characteristics with low turn-on voltage down to 4 V/μm and the appearance of quantum-size effect in the I–V curves.     

A new measurement of the weak magnetism term in the betaspectra of B and N

The betaspectra of ¹²B and ¹²N have been measured with a NaI crystal as spectrometer. Assuming a shape correction factor 1 + aW + bW² and b₋ = 1.106 × 10⁻⁴ MeV⁻², b₊ = −1.397 × 10⁻⁴ MeV⁻², the spectra yield a₋ = (+0.91 ± 0.11) × 10⁻² MeV⁻¹ and a₊ = (−0.07 ± 0.09) × 10⁻² MeV⁻. the a₋ − a₊ = (+0.98 ± 0.09) × 10⁻² MeV⁻¹ is in agreement with the weak magnetism prediction.     

Chemical effects of Ne bombardment on the MoS2(0001) surface studied by high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy

The effect of 1 keV Ne⁺ bombardment on the clean MoS₂(0001)-1 × 1 surface with fluences between 4 × 10¹⁴ and 4 × 10¹⁶ Ne⁺/cm² was studied using high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy excited with synchrotron radiation. Spectra of the Mo 3d and S 2p core levels were measured with photon energies that ensured that the kinetic energy of the photoelectrons was the same, resulting in the same depth being probed for both core levels. For lower fluences (i.e., 2 × 10¹⁵ Ne⁺/cm²), S vacancy defect formation occurs in the MoS₂ lattice, with the concurrent formation of a small amount (< 10%) of dispersed elemental molybdenum [Mo(0)]. For fluences greater than l × 10¹⁶ Ne⁺/cm², the Mo(0) is the predominant species in the surface region, while the remaining species consist of amorphous MoS_2−x and polysulfide species. Valence band spectra taken with photon energies of 152 and 225 eV were consistent with the core level results. The movement of the valence band maximum toward the Fermi level indicated the formation of a metallic surface region. Annealing the sample to temperatures up to 1000 K resulted in the formation of metallic Mo coexisting, in approximately equal amounts, with reformed MoS₂ in a surface with no long-range order as determined by LEED. Finally, a qualitative depth distribution of the chemical species present after Ne⁺ bombardment was determined by varying the photon energies used for the core level spectra. The results indicate that the preferential sputtering of sulfur over molybdenum occurs predominantly through a mechanism involving chemical bonding effects, specifically, through the preferential emission of polysulfide ions over other species in the bombarded region.     

The observation of sonic range velocities of normal zone propagation in high current density superconductor

The sonic range velocities of normal zone propagation in high current density superconductor were observed. The experimental results were obtained on samples of 0.16–0.11 mm thickness of a monofilamentary NbTi wire with critical current density J_c about 10⁶ A/cm². The s→n change of the sample sections was recorded after the normal zone stimulation by the magnetic field impulse. The voltage increasing speed reached 1.5×10⁷ V/s, and the normal zone propagation velocity exceeded 5±1 km/s. This high velocity can be caused by the detonation-like propagation of normal phase in superconductor with high current density.     

High resolution cw cars spectroscopy of the q-branch of the ν2 band in C2H2

The fully resolved spectrum of the Q-branch of the ν₂ band in acetylene has been obtained by cw CARS spectroscopy with a resolution of 40 MHz. The dispersion of χ⁽³⁾ and the linewidth of this Raman mode were investigated over the pressure range 0.05–5 atm. The constant of rotational-vibrational coupling was measured to be £ = (5.91 ± 0.05) × 10^-3 cm^-1.     

Defect versus nanocrystal luminescence emitted from room temperature and hot-implanted SiO2 layers

Silicon nanocrystals have been synthesized in SiO₂ matrix using Si ion implantation. Si ions were implanted into 300-nm-thick SiO₂ films grown on crystalline Si at energies of 30–55 keV, and with doses of 5×10¹⁵, 3×10¹⁶, and 1×10¹⁷ cm⁻². Implanted samples were subsequently annealed in an N₂ ambient at 500–1100°C during various periods. Photoluminescence spectra for the sample implanted with 1×10¹⁷ cm⁻² at 55 keV show that red luminescence (750 nm) related to Si-nanocrystals clearly increases with annealing temperature and time in intensity, and that weak orange luminescence (600 nm) is observed after annealing at low temperatures of 500°C and 800°C. The luminescence around 600 nm becomes very intense when a thin SiO₂ sample is implanted at a substrate temperature of 400°C with an energy of 30 keV and a low dose of 5×10¹⁵ cm⁻². It vanishes after annealing at 800°C for 30 min. We conclude that this luminescence observed around 600 nm is caused by some radiative defects formed in Si-implanted SiO₂.     

Incorporation of hydrogen in CdTe and HgTe epitaxial layers grown by MOCVD

The incorporation of hydrogen into MOCVD-grown layers of CdTe, HgTe and CdHgTe using H₂ as the vector gas has been studied. Concentrations of incorporated H going from 6.5 × 10¹⁷ cm^-3 to 5 × 10¹⁸ cm^-3 have been found by SIMS in CdTe layers. This concentration decreases with increasing growth temperature and decreasing bond strength of the host material.     

Joint transfer of time and frequency signals and multi-point synchronization via fiber network

A system of jointly transferring time signals with a rate of 1 pulse per second(PPS) and frequency signals of 10 MHz via a dense wavelength division multiplex-based(DWDM) fiber is demonstrated in this paper.The noises of the fiber links are suppressed and compensated for by a controlled fiber delay line.A method of calibrating and characterizing time is described.The 1PPS is synchronized by feed-forward calibrating the fiber delays precisely.The system is experimentally examined via a 110 km spooled fiber in laboratory.The frequency stabilities of the user end with compensation are1.8×10~(-14) at 1 s and 2.0×10~(-17) at 10~4 s average time.The calculated uncertainty of time synchronization is 13.1 ps,whereas the direct measurement of the uncertainty is 12 ps.Next,the frequency and 1PPS are transferred via a metropolitan area optical fiber network from one central site to two remote sites with distances of 14 km and 110 km.The frequency stabilities of 14 km link reach 3.0×10~(-14) averaged in 1 s and 1.4×10~(-17) in 10~4 s respectively;and the stabilities of 110 km link are 8.3×10~(-14) and 1.7×10~(-17),respectively.The accuracies of synchronization are estimated to be 12.3 ps for the14 km link and 13.1 ps for the 110 km link,respectively.     

Reversible H2 passivation of Si ≡ Si3 interface defects in (1 1 1)Si/SiO2

K-band electron spin resonance (ESR) at 4.3 K has revealed the dipole-dipole (DD) interaction effects between [1 1 1]P_b centers (^*Si ≡ Si₃ defects with unpaired sp³ hybrid [1 1 1]) at the 2 dimensional (1 1 1)Si/SiO₂ interface. This has been enabled by the perfectly reversible H₂ passivation of P_b, which affects the defect's spin state. Sequential hydrogenation at 253–353°C and degassing treatments in high vacuum at 743–835°C allowed to vary the P_b density in the range 5 × 10¹⁰ < [P_b] (1.14 ± 0.06) × 10¹³ cm^-2. With increasing [P_b] fine structure doublets are clearly resolved. It is found that (1 1 1)Si/SiO₂ interfaces, dry thermally grown at ≈920°C, naturally comprise a ^*Si ≡ Si₃ defect density — passivated or not — of 1.14 × 10¹³ cm^-2.