Optical system and lens design for Blu-ray disc optical pick-up

During the design process of Blu-ray disc optical pick-up (BD OPU), the optical system and the collimator lens design is especially important. This paper designs an optical system and some lenses for the BD OPU, including collimator lens, beam shaping lens for laser beam shaping, and cylinder lens for signal detecting. In this OPU, we use a triplet lens to collimate the laser beam. At the same time, we build a series of assembly jigs to make sure that each lens can be put into the OPU basement properly. At last, we get the reading spot image and S-curve photo of OPU, which can be used to read Blu-ray disc (BD).     

A study of time over threshold (TOT) technique for plastic scintillator counter

A new charge measurement method, time over threshold (TOT), has been used in some gas detectors lately. Here TOT is studied for TOF system, made of plastic scintillator counter, which can simplify the electronics of the system. The signal characteristics are measured and analyzed with a high quality oscilloscope, including noise, pedestal, signal amplitude, total charge, rise time and the correlation between them. The TOT and charge are related and can be fitted by some empirical formula. The charge measurement resolution by TOT is given and this will help the design of TOF electronics.     

Optical Single-Sideband Modulators and Their Applications

We review our recent work in the implementation of optical single-sideband (OSSB) modulation and in the application of this modulation format to microwave photonics and optical testing systems. We have developed an enhanced OSSB modulator for wide-band operation, the so-called bidirectional OSSB modulator, and a simplification of this scheme for narrow-band applications. These OSSB modulators are based on the use of a standard single-electrode Mach-Zehnder electro-optic modulator (MZ-EOM) and passive fiber-optic components. In both designs, the OSSB operation is shown to be independent of the MZ-EOM bias. Therefore, the optical modulation depth at the output of the device can be enhanced using minimum transmission biasing to provide suppression of the optical carrier. Finally, we demonstrate the application of OSSB modulators to the improvement of microwave/millimeter-wave subcarrier multiplexing fiber-optic links and to narrow-band fiber radio systems. In addition, we analyzed the feasibility and the limitations of an optical vector network analysis technique based on OSSB modulation that can provide sub-picometer wavelength resolution.     

Spin-lattice relaxation and a fast T1-map acquisition method in MRI with transient-state magnetization

The magnetization under the spin-lattice relaxation and the nuclear magnetic resonance radiofrequency (RF) pulses is calculated for a signal RF pulse train and for a sequence of multiple RF pulse-trains. It is assumed that the transverse magnetization is zero when each RF pulse is applied. The result expressions can be grouped into two terms: a decay term, which is proportional to the initial magnetization M0, and a recovery term, which has no M0 dependence but strongly depends on the spin-lattice relaxation and the equilibrium magnetization Meq. In magnetic resonance pulse sequences using magnetization in transient state, the recovery term produces artifacts and can seriously degrade the function of the preparation sequence for slice selection, contrast weighting, phase encoding, etc. This work shows that the detrimental effect can be removed by signal averaging in an eliminative fashion. A novel fast data acquisition method for constructing the spin-lattice relaxation (T1) map is introduced. The method has two features: (i) By using eliminative averaging, the curve to fit the T1 value is a decay exponential function rather than a recovery one as in conventional techniques; therefore, the measurement of Meq is not required and the result is less susceptible to the accuracy of the inversion RF pulse. (ii) The decay exponential curve is sampled by using a sequence of multiple pulse-trains. An image is reconstructed from each train and represents a sample point of the curve. Hence a single imaging sequence can yield multiple sample points needed for fitting the T1 value in contrast to conventional techniques that require repeating the imaging sequence for various delay values but obtain only one sample point from each repetition.     

Early Gravity-Wave Detection Experiments, 1960-1975

I discuss the experiments of Joseph Weber (1919-2000) of the University of Maryland between 1960 and 1973 that were aimed at the detection of gravity waves. He used throughout a quadratic detector to demodulate his antenna signal, which I analyze and compare to a linear detector.The latter was used by all of the other groups that entered the field. Of these, Richard Garwin and I at IBM were one of the first groups to publish, and I discuss in detail our experiments between 1973 and 1975. I then discuss the experiments that were carried out at Bell Labs-Rochester, Glasgow, Munich-Frascati,Moscow, and Tokyo. I compare the results, all of which were negative, with Webers claimed detection of large numbers of gravity-wave events, as many as seven per day. I conclude that these were not in fact gravity waves, but artifacts of his extremely hands-on data-analysis procedures, which I discuss in detail. Finally, I speculate on how this came about.     

HT-7U超导托卡马克极向场反馈控制系统

HL-7U超导托卡马克的极向场反馈控制系统是装置正常运行的重要保证。该控制系统以VXI总线机箱为基本单元、数字信号处理器为核心,组成反馈时间为2-4ms的高速实时反馈系统。简要地叙述了该系统的基本组成以及软件算法的研究。     

A definitive synthesis of D-myo-inositol 1,4,5,6-tetrakisphosphate and its enantiomer D-myo-inositol 3,4,5,6-tetrakisphosphate from a novel butane-2,3-diacetal-protected inositol

New and rapid syntheses of the enantiomeric intracellular signalling molecules d-myo-inositol 1,4,5,6-tetrakisphosphate (1 a) and D-myo-inositol 3,4,5,6-tetrakisphosphate (1 b) are described. The synthetic strategy employs the novel butane-2,3-diacetal-protected (BDA-protected) myo-inositol (+/-)-3 ab, directly accessible from myo-inositol on a large scale, and an optical resolution with diastereoisomeric (R)-(-)-acetylmandelate esters. The X-ray crystal structure of (+/-)-4, an unusual side product of acid-catalysed reaction of myo-inositol with butanedione is also presented, and the absolute configurations of 1 a and 1 b are definitively assigned by conversion of key precursors into (+)-bornesitol and L-iditol hexaacetate, respectively. Biological activity of synthetic 1 b was confirmed in comparison with the natural polyphosphate.     

Biosensors for phenol derivatives using biochemical signal amplification

Two different approaches, both exploiting two enzymes cooperative functioning, to enhance the sensitivity of tyrosinase (PPO) based biosensor for amperometric detection of phenols have been compared. For this purpose, one monoenzyme electrode (PPO) and two bienzyme electrodes (PPO and d-glucose dehydrogenase, GDH; PPO and horseradish peroxidase, HRP) were constructed using agar-agar gel as enzyme immobilization matrix. The biosensors responses for l-tyrosine detection were recorded at −50 mV versus saturated calomel electrode (SCE). The highest sensitivity (74 mA M⁻¹) was observed for the PPO-GDH couple, while that recorded for PPO-HRP couple system was only 32 times higher than that measured for monoenzyme electrode (0.01 mA M⁻¹). The ability of the PPO-, PPO-GDH-, PPO-HRP-based biosensors to assay phenols was demonstrated by quantitative determination of phenol, 1,2-dihydroxybenzene, 1,3-dihydroxybenzene, 1,4-dihydroxybenzene, 2-amino-3 (4-hydroxyphenyl) propanoic acid, 2-hydroxytoluene, 3-hydroxytoluene, 4-hydroxytoluene, 4-clorophenol, 3-clorophenol, 2-clorophenol, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid.     

The benefit of the retrofitting of a conventional LC system to micro LC: a practical evaluation in the field of bioanalysis with fluorimetric detection

The interests in liquid micro-chromatography (higher column efficiencies, increase in sensitivity) are now well established. The enhancement of fluorimetric response induced by the reduction of the inner diameter of columns (4.6, 3.0, 1.0 and 0.3 mm respectively) coupled with adapted detection cells to control the loss of efficiency (8 micro L for the two first columns and 100 nL for the two smaller ones) has been studied in the bioanalytical field, using the plasma determination of native fluorescent antibacterial agents: fluoroquinolones. Ten-fold enhancement of the signal can easily be obtained when substituting a 0.3 mm i.d. column and 100 nL detection cell for a 4.6 mm i.d. column, and 8 micro L detection cell. In addition to inner diameter reduction, the detection cell geometry appears to be an essential parameter to obtain the best enhancement of the recorded signal. Hence, the enhancement of signal with micro-chromatography with fluorimetric detection appears to be a compromise between column inner diameter and flow cell volume reduction.     

Influence of the Structure of an Inhomogeneously Broadened NMR Line on the Shape of the Free Precession Signal

We have obtained theoretically an expression for the nuclear free precession signal in an inhomogeneously broadened spin system with a complex structure of the NMR spectrum. It is shown that in this case in the nuclear precession signal there appear maxima the moments of whose formation depend on the detuning of the pulse carrier frequency from the central frequencies of the NMR lines, their widths, and the Rabi frequency. The theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental data on the observation of proton free precession in toluene. We have constructed a physical model explaining the appearance of maxima in the free precession signal of the spin system.