Wavelength and power monitoring of DWDM systems using scanning F–P filter calibrated with a F–P laser

A novel technique to overcome the long-term drift and hysteresis of a scanning Fabry–Perot filter was developed and applied to wavelength and power monitoring of DWDM system. By using the comb peaks generated by a temperature-stabilized, near threshold-biased Fabry–Perot diode laser as wavelength reference for the scanning Fabry–Perot filter, wavelength and power measurement accuracy of better than ±10 pm and 0.2 dB, respectively, were achieved.     

Roles of rhenium diimine complexes as metal‐ion probes and photosensitizers in functional polyurethanes

Polyurethanes incorporated with rhenium diimine complexes were synthesized. The polymers exhibited interesting morphologies and solution properties. Results from gel permeation chromatography suggested the formation of polymer aggregates in solutions. The polymers could act as probes for metal ions. The addition of metal ions to polymer solutions led to significant changes in the electronic absorption properties of the polymer solutions. This was attributed to the interactions between the polyether moieties and metal ions. The metal complexes could also act as efficient photosensitizers. After doping with charge‐transport viologens, the photoconductivity of the polymers was greatly enhanced. The experimental quantum efficiency was simulated with Onsager's theory. The thermalization distances and the primary yields were typically 12–14 Å and 10^?3, respectively. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1708–1715, 2003     

A boundary element method for the calculation of noise barrier insertion loss in the presence of atmospheric turbulence

Atmospheric turbulence is an important factor that limits the amount of attenuation a barrier can provide in the outdoor environment. It is therefore important to develop a reliable method to predict its effect on barrier performance. The boundary element method (BEM) has been shown to be a very effective technique for predicting barrier insertion loss in the absence of turbulence. This paper develops a simple and efficient modification of the BEM formulation to predict the insertion loss of a barrier in the presence of atmospheric turbulence. The modification is based on two alternative methods: (1) random realisations of log-amplitude and phase fluctuations of boundary sources and (2) de-correlation of source coherence using the mutual coherence function (MCF). An investigation into the behaviours of these two methods is carried out and simplified forms of the methods developed. Some systematic differences between the predictions from the methods are found. When incorporated into the BEM formulation, the method of random realisations and the method of MCF de-correlation provide predictions that agree well with predictions by the parabolic equation method and by the scattering cross-section method on a variety of thin barrier configurations.     

Self-organized ZnAl2O4 nanostructures grown on -sapphire

Self-organized ZnAl₂O₄ nanostructures with the appearance (in SEM) of high aspect ratio horizontal nanowires are grown on uncatalysed c-sapphire by vapour phase transport. The nanostructures grow as three equivalent crystallographic variants on c-sapphire. Raman and cathodoluminescence spectroscopy confirm that the nanostructures are not ZnO and TEM shows that they are the cubic spinel, zinc aluminate, ZnAl₂O₄, formed by the reaction of Zn and O with the sapphire substrate.     

Working group report: Neutrino and astroparticle physics

This is the report of neutrino and astroparticle physics working group at WHEPP-7. Discussions and work on CP violation in long baseline neutrino experiments, ultra high energy neutrinos, supernova neutrinos and water Cerenkov detectors are discussed.     

Spectral distributions in nuclei: General principles and applications

The subject of spectral distribution methods where one derives and applies the locally smoothed forms of observables in nuclei is briefly reviewed. It is well understood that the local forms (with respect to energy) of the level density function, expectation values and strength densities are Gaussian, linear (or ratio of Gaussians) and a bivariate Gaussian respectively. To accomodate symmetries in the above forms, one has to deal with multivariate distributions in general; for example the angular-momentum (J) decomposition leads to a bivariate Gaussian form for the level density. These results extend to indefinitely large spaces by method of partitioning and they generate convolution forms. The origin of these remarkable spectral properties is discussed and shell model examples are given to substantiate their applicability to nuclear systems. Spectral distribution theory is a practical, usable theory because the smoothed forms are defined in terms of traces of low particle-rank operators, and the trace information propagates. Finally we discuss the application of the spectral methods for a wide range of nuclear problems; these include binding energies, orbit occupancies, electromagnetic andβ-decay sum rule quantities, analysis of operators, symmetry breaking, numerical level densities, and determination of bounds on time-reversal non-invariant part of nucleon-nucleon interaction.     

Flicker noise in degenerately doped Si single crystals near the metal-insulator transition

In this paper we report some of the important results of experimental investigations of the flicker noise near the metal-insulator (MI) transition in doped silicon single crystals. This is the first comprehensive work to study low-frequency noise in heavily doped Si over an extensive temperature range (2 K<T<500 K). The measurements of conductance fluctuations (flicker noise) were carried out in the frequency range 10⁻²<f<4 × 10¹ Hz in single crystalline Si across the MI transition by doping with phosphorous and boron. The magnitude of noise in heavily doped Si is much larger than that seen in lightly doped Si over the whole temperature range. The extensive temperature range covered allowed us to detect two distinct noise mechanisms. At low temperatures (T<100 K) universal conductance fluctuations (UCF) dominate and the spectral dependence of the noise is determined by dephasing the electron from defects with two-levels (TLS). At higher temperatures (T>200 K) the noise arises from activated defect dynamics. As the MI transition is approached, the 1/f spectral power, typical of the metallic regime, gets modified by the presence of discrete Lorentzians which arise from generation-recombination process which is the characteristic of a semiconductor.     

The effect of solvents on the extraction of lanthanoids with 18-crown-6 and trichloroacetate

The effect of solvents on the extraction of lanthanoids with 18-crown-6 and trichloroacetic acid was investigated for the solvents, 1,1,-dichloroethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,1, 2,2-tetrachloroethane, chloroform, di-2-chloroethyl ether, and methylene chloride. Distribution coefficients (25 °C) normalized to the water solubility (wt./vol.) in the solvents correlated to the polarizability index (^*) for La³⁺, Ce³⁺, Pr³⁺, and Nd³⁺ with r values=0.93,0.93,0.95, and 0.98, respectively. The distribution coefficients for Nd³⁺ also correlated with the Hildebrand solubility parameter () (r=0.98). These correlations agree with the literature that for large ions, the extraction thermodynamic properties correlate with the polarizability index and Hildebrand solubility parameter.     

Ultraviolet photolysis of CH2I2 in methanol: O-H insertion and HI elimination reactions to form a dimethoxymethane product

Ultraviolet photolysis of low concentrations of CH2I2 in methanol solution found that CH2I2 is converted into dimethoxymethane and some H+ and I- products. Picosecond time-resolved resonance Raman (ps-TR3) experiments observed that the isodiiodomethane (CH2I-I) photoproduct decayed faster as the concentration of methanol increases, suggesting that isodiiodomethane is reacting with methanol. Ab initio calculations indicate isodiiodomethane is able to react with methanol via an O-H insertion/HI elimination to form an iodoether (ICH2-O-CH3) and HI products. The iodoether can then further react via another O-H insertion/HI elimination reaction to form the dimethoxymethane (CH3-O-CH2-O-CH3) observed in the photochemistry experiments. A reaction mechanism consistent with these experimental and theoretical observations is proposed.