Reliability of stopping power tables and codes for heavy ions (8 ≤ Z ≤ 92) in gases

A comparative study of various stopping power tables and codes for heavy ions in gases has been made through comparison of computed values and the corresponding experimental data. Ten gaseous media: five monatomic rare gases (He to Xe), two diatomic gases (H₂, N₂) and three polyatomic gaseous compounds (CH₄, CF₄ and CO₂) have been chosen to study the stopping power investigations of heavy ions (8 ≤ Z ≤ 92) having energy ranges of ∼0.10–10.00 MeV/n and ∼20.00–57.00 MeV/n. We compare the experimental data of stopping power to values calculated using various tables and computer codes by ICRU-73, Ziegler et al (SRIM2003.26), Grande and Schiwietz (CasP3.1), Paul and Schinner (MSTAR3.12), and Bazin and Tarasov (LISE ++:2-ATIMA1.2). On the basis of statistical analysis, we estimate the reliability of these tables and codes. It has been observed that the MSTAR3.12 code shows the best agreement with the experimental data for projectile ions (8 ≤ Z ≤ 18) in the entire energy range. The SRIM2003.26 code provides good results except for some heavy projectiles (Xe, Pb and U). The values tabulated by CasP3.1 code underestimate especially at low energy region. No significant trend is observed in case of LISE++:2-ATIMA1.2 code and ICRU-73 report.     

AlGaInP visible quantum well lasers for information technology

650 nm-range AlGaInP multi-quantum well (MQW) laser diodes grown by low pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD) have been studied and the results are presented in this paper. Threshold current density of broad area contact laser diodes can be as low as 350 A/cm². Laser diodes with buried-ridge strip waveguide structures were made, threshold currents and differential efficiencies are (22–40) mA and (0.2–0.7) mW/mA, respectively. Typical output power for the laser diodes is 5 mW, maximum output power of 15 mW has been obtained. Their operation temperature can be up to 90°C under power of 5 mW. After operating under 90°C and 5 mW for 72 hrs, the average increments for the threshold currents of the lasers at 25°C and the operation currents at 5 mW (at 25°C) are (2–3) mA and (3–5) mA, respectively. Reliability tests showed that no obvious degradation was observed after 1400 hours of CW operation under 50°C and 2.5 mW. Presented at the 1st Czech-Chinese Workshop “Advanced Materials for Optoelectronics”, Prague, Czech Republic, June 13–17, 1998.     

Unstable plasma characteristics in mirror field electron cyclotron resonance microwave ion source

Electron cyclotron plasma reactor are prone to instabilities in specific input power [3–7] region (150–450 watts). In this region power absorption by gas molecules in the cavity is very poor and enhanced input power gets reflected substantially without increasing ion density. There are abrupt changes in plasma characteristics when input power was decreased from maximum to minimum, it was observed that reflected power changed from <2% to ∼50%. Minimum two jumps in reflected power were noticed in this specific power region and these appear to be highly sensitive to three stub tuner position in the waveguide for this particular input power zone. Unstable plasma region of this source is found to be dependent upon the magnetic field strength. Some changes in reflected power are also noticed with pressure, flow and bias and they are random in nature.     

Stopping power contribution due to target and projectile excitation/ionization: a comparative study

A comparative study of stopping power codes for different ions in compounds has been made by comparing the computed stopping power values using different codes with the corresponding experimental data. Two computer codes, semiempirical SRIM2006.02 and theoretical CasP3.2 have been used to evaluate and compare the stopping powers of different compounds for protons (125 KeV), helium (500 KeV) and lithium ion (175 KeV) projectiles. The energy behaviour of stopping power of various compounds for helium ion in the energy range (0.3–2.0 MeV) has been studied. The merits and demerits of the adopted formulations are highlighted. It has been observed that the calculation based on SRIM2006.02 provides the best agreement with the experimental data as compared to CasP3.2 code. The stopping power contribution due to target and projectile excitation/ionization at low energies has been evaluated and discussed with reference to CasP3.2 code. From these comparative studies it has been concluded that the target and projectile excitation-ionization increases the stopping power (>20%) at lower energies.     

Thermoelectric power of cerium at high pressures

The electronic phase transition in cerium occurring near 7 kbar pressure at room temperature which is attributed to the 4f–5d electron promotion has been studied using thermoelectric power as a tool. The important results that have emerged out of this work are: (a) the relatively large variation in the absolute thermoelectric power ofγ-cerium (normal fcc phase) with pressure prior to the phase transition (in contrast to the rather small resistivity change with pressure in this region); (b) a sharp decrease in the thermoelectric power accompanying the iso-structuralγ-α phase transition; and (c) the continuous decrease in the thermoelectric power ofα-cerium (collapsed fcc phase) with pressure, ultimately changing sign at higher pressures. An explanation based on the “virtual bound state” model is proposed to account for these results.     

Experiments on the GIT-4 with the load connected upstream of the plasma opening switch

Experiments have been performed on the GIT-4 generator with a plasma opening switch to study the operation of a circuit connecting the load and the switch through an untriggered spark gap depending for its operation on a discharge over the surface of a dielectric in vacuum. The current switching into inductive loads of different inductance was investigated. The dependence of the time the switch is open on load inductance has been found. It has been demonstrated that the surface-discharge spark gap can be used at current rise rates of up to ∼2·10¹³ A/s. Institute of High Current Electronics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp. 31–35, December, 1999.     

基于网络连接度指标的脑梗死患者脑电信号相同步分析

基于图论的脑功能网络分析是近年来的一个研究热点,而相同步分析已被证实为揭示多导联脑电信号之间功能连接的有效工具.针对当脑电采集系统中导联数目较少而不适用于采用图论分析的情况,提出使用基于导联间相同步分析的网络连接度指标研究脑功能网络的关联特性和整体特性.采用新的频带划分方法,将0.5—30 Hz带宽内的脑电信号划分到5个子带上,计算了不同数据长度下各子带分量的网络连接度指标,并对比分析了各子带分量的相对功率.结果表明:在对脑梗死患者的脑电图和正常人的脑电图进行分析时,需要合理的数据长度量化不同动力学系统之间的差异;在合理的数据长度下,在网络连接度指标的区分效果方面,19—24 Hz分量信号优于其他分量,而且仅在19—24 Hz频带上,脑梗死患者组的所有导联出现了与对照组的所有导联相同趋势的变化.研究表明19—24 Hz频带是脑梗死最佳的脑电图诊断频段,可将该频段下的网络连接度指标作为脑梗死辅助诊断的新指标.     

X-ray source for irradiation of large-area objects

The results of experiments with a three-ring large-area diode that were conducted on an MIG pulse generator are reported. The MIG generator makes it possible to produce in a matched load electrical pulses up to 2 TW in power with an FWHM of 50–60 ns (1.2–1.4 TW and 80–90 ns in our experiments). In the operating mode of the generator, the current amplitude through the load is 2 MA (the current of a relativistic electron beam) at a diode voltage of ≈ 500 kV. As a load, a large-area vacuum diode with three ring-shaped cathodes is used. It is shown that about 20% of the energy stored in the capacitor bank can be converted to the energy of a relativistic electron beam by matching the output resistance of the MIG generator to the load resistance. When the beam slows down on a condensed foil target, the parameters of the resulting source are the following: the mean energy of X-ray quanta is ≈ 70 keV; irradiated area, 500 cm²; pulse FWHM, 65 ns; energy flux in the spectrum, 2 J/cm²; and percentage of X-ray radiation (10–100 keV) in the flux, ≈ 50%.     

Single-frequency regime of oscillation of a high-power He—Ne laser with a transverse SHF discharge

The possibility of producing a single-frequency regime of oscillation of a He−Ne laser with a transverse shf discharge by changing the pressure of the gas mixture is investigated. A single-frequency regime of oscillation with a high radiation power (10 mW) and a low level of amplitude noise (10⁻⁵ Hz^−1/2) has been produced at a pressure above 6 mm Hg. The laser power in the single-frequency regime comprises 60–80% of the power in the regime of multifrequency oscillation. Physics Department, Tashkent State University, Campus, Tashkent, 700095, Uzbekistan. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 64, No. 1, pp. 116–118, January–February, 1997.     

Table-top KrF amplifier delivering 270 fs output pulses with over 9 W average power at 300 Hz

Applying the combination of a solid-state Ti:Sa laser system and a newly developed wide-aperture, discharge-pumped KrF amplifier, output pulses with over 9 W average power at 300 Hz have been achieved in a single output beam. The frequency-tripled seed pulses of the Ti:Sa system – delivering approximately 10 μJ energy at 248 nm – were amplified to over 30 mJ using a 3-pass off-axis amplification scheme. The optical set-up has been fitted to the amplifier’s parameters, and stored-energy measurements were carried out with different parameters in order to optimize the operational conditions of the device for the highest average power. Received: 10 June 2002 / Published online: 25 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-551/503-599, E-mail: jbekesi@llg.gwdg.de     

Design and implementation of the CAPS receiver

In this paper, based on analyses of the Chinese Area Positioning System (CAPS) satellite (GEO satellite) resources and signal properties, the signal power at the port of the receiver antenna is estimated, and the implementation projects are presented for a switching band C to band L CAPS C/A code receiver integrated with GPS receiver suite and for a CAPS dual frequency P code receiver. A microstrip receiving antenna is designed with high sensitivity and wide beam orientation, the RF front end of the C/A code and P code receivers, and a processor is designed for the navigation baseband. A single frequency CAPS C/A code receiver and a CAPS dual frequency P code receiver are built at the same time. A software process flow is provided, and research on relatively key techniques is also conducted, such as signal searching, code loop and carrier loop algorithms, a height assistant algorithm, a dual frequency difference speed measurement technique, a speed measurement technique using a single frequency source with frequency assistance, and a CAPS time correcting algorithm, according to the design frame of the receiver hardware. Research results show that the static plane positioning accuracy of the CAPS C/A code receiver is 20.5–24.6 m, height accuracy is 1.2–12.8 m, speed measurement accuracy is 0.13–0.3 m/s, dynamic plane positioning accuracy is 24.4 m, height accuracy is 3.0 m, and speed measurement accuracy is 0.24 m/s. In the case of C/A code, the timing accuracy is 200 ns, and it is also shown that the positioning accuracy of the CAPS precise code receiver (1 σ) is 5 m from south to north, and 0.8 m from east to west. Finally, research on positioning accuracy is also conducted. Supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of Major Projects, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KGCX1-21) and the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2004AA105030)     

Efficient, single frequency, high repetition rate, PPLN OPO pumped by a prelase Q-switched diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser

Single axial mode operation (<200 MHz optical bandwidth) of a high repetition rate periodically poled lithium niobate optical parametric oscillator (OPO) has been obtained at signal wavelengths between 1.46 μm and 1.64 μm. OPO signal slope efficiencies of 35% have been measured for repetition rates of 5–20 kHz. Single mode operation required spectral narrowing of both the pump laser and the OPO. A simple technique of prelase Q-switching was implemented to reduce the optical bandwidth of the cw diode-pumped Nd:YAG pump laser to <1 GHz. A single intracavity étalon was then sufficient to ensure single frequency oscillation of the OPO signal. The OPO output was stable with a smooth spatial profile and an M ² value of 1.3. Received: 29 September 1999 / Published online: 27 January 2000     

Two-channel 100-MW microwave compressor for the three-centimeter wavelength range

We present the results of the studies of a 100-megawatt active two-channel compressor of microwave pulses for the three-centimeter wavelength range. The compressors of the transit and reflector types are excited at the TE₀₁ mode of a circular waveguide, and the energy is output by using resonance plasma switches. The channels of the compressors are connected to a microwave oscillator and a load via a special quasioptical 3-dB directional coupler with enhanced electric strength. The use of the quasioptical coupler allows one to ensure the decoupling of the input microwave line (by about 20 dB) and combine coherently the pulses compressed in each of the compressor channel. High-and low-power tests of the compressors have been performed and the wave phase in the compressed pulses has been measured. The pulses obtained for an incident power of 5 MW have a power of 40–53 MW, a duration of 40–60 ns, and a power gain greater than 10. The compression efficiency amounts to 55%. The stability and good reproducibility of the amplitude and frequency characteristics of the radiation from a two-channel compressor make it promising for use in the linear accelerators of charged particles. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 51, No. 8, pp. 660–674, August 2008.     

The principle of the positioning system based on communication satellites

It is a long dream to realize the communication and navigation functionality in a satellite system in the world. This paper introduces how to establish the system, a positioning system based on communication satellites called Chinese Area Positioning System (CAPS). Instead of the typical navigation satellites, the communication satellites are configured firstly to transfer navigation signals from ground stations, and can be used to obtain service of the positioning, velocity and time, and to achieve the function of navigation and positioning. Some key technique issues should be first solved; they include the accuracy position determination and orbit prediction of the communication satellites, the measuring and calculation of transfer time of the signals, the carrier frequency drift in communication satellite signal transfer, how to improve the geometrical configuration of the constellation in the system, and the integration of navigation & communication. Several innovative methods are developed to make the new system have full functions of navigation and communication. Based on the development of crucial techniques and methods, the CAPS demonstration system has been designed and developed. Four communication satellites in the geosynchronous orbit (GEO) located at 87.5°E, 110.5°E, 134°E, 142°E and barometric altimetry are used in the CAPS system. The GEO satellites located at 134°E and 142°E are decommissioned GEO (DGEO) satellites. C-band is used as the navigation band. Dual frequency at C1=4143.15 MHz and C2=3826.02 MHz as well as dual codes with standard code (CA code and precision code (P code)) are adopted. The ground segment consists of five ground stations; the master station is in Lintong, Xi’an. The ground stations take a lot of responsibilities, including monitor and management of the operation of all system components, determination of the satellite position and prediction of the satellite orbit, accomplishment of the virtual atomic clock measurement, transmission and receiving navigation signals to and from each satellite. In the north, the south, the east, the west and the center of Chinese main land, the function of CAPS demonstration system is checked and measured. In cars and on board the system is also checked and measured. The results are as follow: CA-code, horizontal positioning accuracy, 15–25 m (1 σ), vertical, 1–3 m; P-code, horizontal positioning accuracy, 8–10 m (1 σ), vertical, 1–3 m; velocity accuracy, CA-code, 0.13–0.30 m/s, P-code, 0.15–0.17 m/s; time accuracy, CA-code, 160 ns, P-code, 13 ns; determination accuracy of orbit ≤2 m. About 20 million US $ and two years are spent for the development of demonstration. A complete CAPS system is now being established. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10453001), the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2007CB815500), the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2004AA105030), and the Funds of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for Key Topics in Innovation Engineering (Grant No. KGCXI-21)     

High-power nanosecond bipolar voltage pulses

This paper presents the design and testing results for a generator of bipolar voltage pulses of amplitude ±200 kV, duration ∼3.5 ns, and repetition rate up to 100 Hz across a 12.5-Ω matched load. The mode of multichannel switching of spark gaps with subnanosecond time delays between the operation of the channels has been realized. A numerical simulation of the generator operation has been performed with its design represented by homogeneous lines and with the parameters of spark gaps described in terms of the Felsenthal-Praud criterion for the breakdown delay and by the Rompe-Weitzel spark model. It has been demonstrated that mixtures of ordinary and inert gases as well as hydrogen show promise as fill gases for spark gaps to reduce losses. The generator is intended to excite wideband transmitting antennas. Institute of High Current Electronics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp. 41–46, December, 1999.     

Managing, profiling and analyzing a library of 2.6 million compounds gathered from 32 chemical providers

Summary The data for 3.8 million compounds from structural databases of 32 providers were gathered and stored in a single chemical database. Duplicates are removed using the IUPAC International Chemical Identifier. After this, 2.6 million compounds remain. Each database and the final one were studied in term of uniqueness, diversity, frameworks, ‘drug-like’ and ‘lead–like’ properties. This study also shows that there are more than 87 000 frameworks in the database. It contains 2.1 million ‘drug-like’ molecules among which, more than one million are ‘lead-like’. This study has been carried out using ‘ScreeningAssistant’, a software dedicated to chemical databases management and screening sets generation. Compounds are stored in a MySQL database and all the operations on this database are carried out by Java code. The druglikeness and leadlikeness are estimated with ‘in–house’ scores using functions to estimate convenience to properties; unicity using the InChI code and diversity using molecular frameworks and fingerprints. The software has been conceived in order to facilitate the update of the database. ‘ScreeningAssistant’ is freely available under the GPL license.     

Sub-nanosecond single-frequency 10-kHz diode-pumped MOPA laser

A single-axial-mode, passively Q-switched (PQS) diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser, generating a diffraction-limited beam train of ≈40–60 μJ, ∼500-ps pulses with adjustable repetition rate in the range 1–10 kHz, was efficiently amplified by a single side-pumped Nd:YVO₄ bounce amplifier. After double-pass amplification, ≈1-MW pulse peak power with 577-ps duration and 545-μJ energy was achieved, still maintaining diffraction-limited beam performance. The average output power was 5.45 W at 10 kHz, corresponding to 13% extraction efficiency. The high brightness of this laser system seems ideal for nonlinear optics and some particular laser processing applications.     

Efficient tunable laser operation of diode- pumped Yb,Tm:KY(WO4)2 around 1.9 μm

A new laser medium – Yb,Tm:KY(WO₄)₂ – for diode pumped solid state laser applications operating around 1.9 to 2.0 μm has been investigated and the main laser characteristics are presented. Diode pumping at 981 nm and around 805 nm was realised. For 981-nm pumping, the excitation occurs into Yb³⁺ ions followed by an energy transfer to Tm³⁺ions. A slope efficiency of 19% was realised. For pumping around 805 nm, the excitation occurs directly into the Tm³⁺ ions. Here a maximum slope efficiency of 52%, an optical efficiency of 40%, and output powers of more than 1 W were realised. Using a birefringent quartz plate as an intracavity tuning element, the tunability of the Yb,Tm:KY(WO₄)₂ laser in the spectral range of 1.85–2.0 μm has been demonstrated. The possibility of laser operation in a microchip cavity configuration for this material has also been shown. Received: 12 March 2002 / Revised version: 20 May 2002 / Published online: 25 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-531/592-4116, E-mail: stefan.kueck@ptb.de     

Laser-driven vehicles – from inner-space to outer-space

Laser-supported propulsion of a micro-airplane with a water-covered ablator is demonstrated. The repetitive use of an overlay structure is experimentally demonstrated with a specially designed water supply. Various transparent overlays are investigated by the CIP-based hydrodynamic code and by experiments using a pendulum and using a semi-conductor load cell. A momentum-coupling efficiency of ∼10⁴ N s/MJ is achieved by water–exotic-target experiments, in agreement with the simulation code, which predicts a maximum efficiency of ∼10⁵ N s/MJ. The concept of laser-supported propulsion can also be used for driving a Mach 5 airplane in the stratosphere, a micro-ship inside the human body, and a robot in a nuclear power reactor accident, during which large numbers of neutrons make electronic devices useless. Received: 7 October 2002 / Accepted: 20 January 2003 / Published online: 28 May 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +81-3/5734-2165, E-mail: yabe@mech.titech.ac.jp     

Efficient and widely step-tunable terahertz generation with a dual-wavelength CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> laser

Coherent terahertz radiation in a widely step-tunable range of 72.3–2706 μm (0.11–4.15 THz) has been generated in GaAs crystal by difference-frequency generation using one CO₂ laser with dual-wavelength output. The peak power of THz pulse reaches 35 W at the wavelength of 236.3 μm, which corresponds to a pulse energy of 2.1 μJ. An average power of 10 μW has been achieved when working repetitively. This efficient terahertz radiation source is more compact and widely tunable than other THz sources pumped by CO₂ laser.