Saturation recovery EPR and ELDOR at W-band for spin labels

A reference arm W-band (94 GHz) microwave bridge with two sample-irradiation arms for saturation recovery (SR) EPR and ELDOR experiments is described. Frequencies in each arm are derived from 2 GHz synthesizers that have a common time-base and are translated to 94 GHz in steps of 33 and 59 GHz. Intended applications are to nitroxide radical spin labels and spin probes in the liquid phase. An enabling technology is the use of a W-band loop-gap resonator (LGR) [J.W. Sidabras, R.R. Mett, W. Froncisz, T.G. Camenisch, J.R. Anderson, J.S. Hyde, Multipurpose EPR loop-gap resonator and cylindrical TE₀₁₁ cavity for aqueous samples at 94 GHz, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 78 (2007) 034701]. The high efficiency parameter (8.2 GW^−1/2 with sample) permits the saturating pump pulse level to be just 5 mW or less. Applications of SR EPR and ELDOR to the hydrophilic spin labels 3-carbamoyl-2,2,5,5-tetra-methyl-3-pyrroline-1-yloxyl (CTPO) and 2,2,6,6,-tetramethyl-4-piperidone-1-oxyl (TEMPONE) are described in detail. In the SR ELDOR experiment, nitrogen nuclear relaxation as well as Heisenberg exchange transfer saturation from pumped to observed hyperfine transitions. SR ELDOR was found to be an essential method for measurements of saturation transfer rates for small molecules such as TEMPONE. Free induction decay (FID) signals for small nitroxides at W-band are also reported. Results are compared with multifrequency measurements of T_1e previously reported for these molecules in the range of 2–35 GHz [J.S. Hyde, J.-J. Yin, W.K. Subczynski, T.G. Camenisch, J.J. Ratke, W. Froncisz, Spin label EPR T₁ values using saturation recovery from 2 to 35 GHz. J. Phys. Chem. B 108 (2004) 9524–9529]. The values of T_1e decrease at 94 GHz relative to values at 35 GHz.     

Photon confinement in photonic crystal nanocavities

The quest for enhanced light‐matter interactions has enabled a tremendous increase in the performance of photonic‐crystal nanoresonators in the past decade. State‐of‐the‐art nanocavities now offer mode lifetime in the nanosecond range with confinement volumes of a few hundredths of a cubic micrometer. These results are certainly a consequence of the rapid development of fabrication techniques and modeling tools at micro‐ and nanometric scales. For future applications and developments, it is necessary to deeply understand the intrinsic physical quantities that govern the photon confinement in these cavities. We present a review of the different physical mechanisms at work in the photon confinement of almost all modern PhC cavity constructs. The approach relies on a Fabry‐Perot picture and emphasizes three intrinsic quantities, the mirror reflectance, the mirror penetration depth and the defect‐mode group velocity, which are often hidden by global analysis relying on an a posteriori analysis of the calculated cavity mode. The discussion also includes nanoresonator constructs, such as the important micropillar cavity, for which some subtle scattering mechanisms significantly alter the Fabry‐Perot picture.     

Performance of a 80 W copper vapor laser with “alignment free” unstable CAT-EYE resonator and other configurations using intra-cavity apertures

Performance of a kinetically enhanced copper vapor laser (KE-CVL) with various stable/unstable “alignment free” CAT-EYE resonator configurations are presented here in this paper. The laser used in the experiment was a 45 mm bore (∼2 l discharge volume) kinetically enhanced copper vapor laser developed in our laboratory and capable of generating maximum power of ∼80 W (at ∼9.8 kHz). The efficiency of the laser was ∼1.4% and beam divergence of ∼3.5 mrad in a plane-plane standard multimode cavity. For the first time performance of unstable CAT-EYE resonator is demonstrated with a CVL/KE-CVL. On using unstable CAT-EYE resonator the divergence of the laser beam reduced to ∼0.22 mrad (∼20-fold reduction as compared to conventional plane-plane cavity), ∼40 W output power and with excellent misalignment tolerance. The laser output power was found to be within ∼5% drift/decline with misalignment angle of about 4 mrad between the mirrors. This is a significant improvement in comparison to standard conventional unstable resonator (M ∼ 50) CVL where ∼0.5 mrad divergence is achieved with power drift/decline of about 45% at ∼4 mrad misalignment angle.Off-axis unstable CAT-EYE unstable resonator was also demonstrated for the first time with further reduction in beam divergence to ∼0.13 mrad and with output power of ∼28 W. The misalignment tolerance was found to be highest in case of off-axis unstable CAT-EYE resonator with decline/drift in laser power of only ∼10% for misalignment angle as high as ∼8 mrad. Performance with intra-cavity apertures in plane-plane type CAT-EYE resonator for transverse mode control is also presented for the first time in CVLs. It is observed that the laser beam divergence reduces significantly to 1.25 mrad (a factor of 2) on using an aperture of ∼3.5 mm at the CAT-EYE reflector as compared to its normal (R = F = d) configuration without aperture. In case of stable CAT-EYE resonator the average beam divergence reduces from 8 mrad to 4 mrad (factor of 2) on using intra-cavity aperture of about 3 mm. It was also observed that high misalignment tolerance was retained on using intra-cavity apertures in almost all the CAT-EYE resonators. Use of intra-cavity mesh was also demonstrated for the first time with stable CAT-EYE resonator for improving the beam focus-ability. Average beam divergence was reduced by a factor of 2.5 (from 8 mrad to 3 mrad) on using intra-cavity mesh. These new configurations in CAT-EYE resonators in KE-CVLs are found to be effective in improving and controlling the laser beam divergence significantly with additional characteristic of high misalignment tolerance.     

Photonic crystal bends and power splitters based on ring resonators

In this paper, theoretical and numerical analysis of low-loss right angle waveguide bends and T-junctions based on ultra-compact photonic crystal ring resonators (PCRR) is presented. Desirable characteristics are obtained by designing the waveguide bends and T-junctions as low-Q resonant cavities with certain symmetries and small radiation loss. A simple analysis, based on coupled mode theory (CMT) in time, is used to explain the operation principles which agree qualitatively with the numerical results. These structures have high transmission efficiency over a large bandwidth in third communication window. Also effects of changing the ring size on power splitter transmission characteristics are discussed. The perfect transmission and zero reflection conditions are discussed by applying coupled mode theory. Results obtained by the finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations are consistent with those from the coupled mode theory.     

Measurements of excess loss of the crossed waveguide using optical waveguide ring resonators

Crossed waveguide is widely used in optical devices, whose excess loss has a strong impact on multi-turn optical waveguide ring resonator and resonator integrated optic gyro. The resonance curve of the ring resonator is sharply dependent on the loss within the resonator. This paper presents how to get excess loss of the crossed waveguides nondestructively through the comparison of the resonance characteristics between one-turn and multi-turn optical waveguide ring resonators.     

Fabrication and analysis of ZnO thin film bulk acoustic resonators

This study employs RF magnetron sputter technique to deposit high C-axis preferred orientation ZnO thin film on silicon substrate, which is then used as the piezoelectric thin film for a thin film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR). Electrical properties of the FBAR component were investigated by sputtering a ZnO thin film on various bottom electrode materials, as well as varying sputter power, sputter pressure, substrate temperature, argon and oxygen flow rate ratio, so that structural parameters of each layer were changed. The experimental results show that when sputter power is 200 W, sputter pressure is 10 mTorr, substrate temperature is 300 °C, and argon to oxygen ratio is 4:6, the ZnO thin film has high C-axis preferred orientation. The FBAR component made in this experiment show that different bottom electrode materials have great impact on components. In the experiment, the Pt bottom electrode resonant frequency was clearly lower than the Mo bottom electrode resonant frequency, because Pt has higher mass density and lower acoustic wave rate. The component resonant frequency will decrease as ZnO thin film thickness increases; when top electrode thickness is higher, its resonant frequency also drops, due to top electrode mass loading effect and increased acoustic wave path. Therefore, ZnO thin film and top/bottom electrode thickness can be fine-tuned according to the required resonant frequency.     

Open Resonator System for Automatic and Precise Dielectric Measurement at Millimeter Wavelengths

As low loss dielectric materials, ZnS, MgF₂, MgAl₂O₄ and quartz ceramic have a very important application at millimeter frequencies. However, there is little information about their dielectric properties in the millimeter wavelength band. To obtain their dielectric properties, an automatic open resonator measurement system at Ka-band is designed and constructed. The importance on the precision determination of cavity length over a broad band and the checking of a measurement system are emphasized and their solutions are put forward in this paper for the first time so far as we know. The solutions of above problems ensure the credibility and high accuracy of our measurement system. The certified measurement system after a series of checking is used to measure the above materials. Lots of measurement results show that the standard deviation of measurement error is less than 0.154% in permittivity and 20.42% in loss tangent. Meanwhile, some experimental summaries on the open resonator technique are provided. Software that controls the measurement system is developed and it improves the testing efficiency greatly.     

MRI methodological development of intervertebral disc degeneration: a rabbit in vivo study at 9.4 T

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a complex process characterized by biochemical and structural changes in both the nucleus pulposus and the anulus fibrosus. In this study, we were able to obtain in vivo magnetic resonance (MR) images of the rabbit spine, with several MR imaging (MRI) contrasts (ρ, T₁ and T₂). We quantified several parameters (T₂, apparent diffusion coefficient, disc height and area) to differentiate between healthy and degenerative IVDs and to characterize the degeneration process. To our knowledge, there has not been any previous in vivo study of rabbit IVDs at high-field MRI (9.4 T).A custom radio frequency (RF) coil for 9.4 T was designed to match rabbit IVD morphology, to study the degeneration in vivo on a model of human lumbar disease. Our new probe, a custom half-birdcage-type coil, obtains the necessary exploration depth while meeting the requirements for signal homogeneity and sensitivity of the study. This design addresses some of the difficulties with constructing RF coils at high field strengths.     

具有二维光子带隙结构的太赫兹谐振腔的谐振特性

采用数值计算方法,模拟了具有二维光子带隙结构的太赫兹频段谐振腔的谐振模式场分布,计算了这种谐振腔的品质因数,详细分析了光子晶体结构、缺陷腔几何参量对谐振特性的影响.计算得到频率落在光子晶体禁带内的单一、高阶谐振模式,且缺陷腔横向尺寸越大,谐振模式的阶数越高.这种谐振腔具有很高的品质因数,腔体的纵向长度对品质因数的影响较大.     

聚合物微环电光开关的模拟和优化

利用耦合模理论、电光调制理论和微环谐振理论,提出一个完善合理的聚合物微环电光开关的器件模型,并给出了可用以分析微环谐振过程的光强传递函数,据此在谐振波长1 550 nm下对该器件进行了模拟和优化.结果表明：微环波导芯截面尺寸为1.8×1.8 μm2,波导芯与电极间的限制层厚度为1.1 μm,电极厚度为0.15 μm,微环半径为15.2 μm,微环与信道间的耦合间距为0.16 μm,光绕微环转300 圈即可形成稳定的谐振状态,此时的谐振时间约为147.4 ps.不加电压时,下信道的插入损耗约为0.8 dB,上信道的串扰约为－26 dB;当取工作电压等于19.7 V为开关电压时,上信道的插入损耗约为0.34 dB,下信道的串扰约为－20 dB.