Time-resolved nonlinear surface plasmon optics

A new surface-sensitive method of time-resolved optical studies is proposed. The method consists in the independent excitation of several surface electromagnetic waves (SEW) by two laser femtosecond pulse beams with varied time delay Δτ and distance Δr between corresponding excitation regions on the surface. To fulfill the phase-matching condition for plasmon-photon coupling, metal grating is used. Due to nonlinear plasmon interaction, the optical radiation with ω₁ + ω₂ and 2ω₁ ? ω₂ (where ω₁, ω₂ are corresponding laser beam frequencies) is generated. The intensity of this nonlinear response versus Δτ and Δr are studied. The direct measurements of the SEW temporal properties are presented. Experiments of this type are important for the development of femtosecond surface plasmon optics.     

Electrodeless microwave source of UV radiation

The parameters of an electrodeless microwave low-pressure discharge in an Ar + Hg vapor mixture are studied, the design of a UV radiation source for water disinfection is suggested, and its main characteristics are presented. The domestic microwave oven (f = 2.45 GHz; N = kW) is used as a microwave radiation source. The maximal UV power at wavelength λ = 254 nm amounts to 120–130 W.     

New method for determining refractive index and thickness of fluorescent thin films

The optical parameters of homogeneous, isotropic, and fluorescent thin films are determined by comparing measured with calculated angular intensity distributions of the s- and p-polarized light emitted into the substrate. The method also yields information about the multipole nature of the emitted radiation. The theory is presented for electric and magnetic dipole transitions. For extremely thin layers of optical thickness n₀d₀ ? λ/8 (where λ is the emission wavelength) analytic expressions for the angular intensity distributions are given. For between 25–30 nm thick evaporated layers of an europium-benzoyltrifluoro-acetone- chelate the refractive index was determined to be n₀ = 1.57 at λ = 612 nm. The fluorescent light emitted by these layers in an about 6 nm wide band centered at λ = 612 nm is emitted by randomly oriented electric dipoles.     

X-ray structure analysis of the polycrystalline complex of copper (II) chloride with 1,5-dimethyltetrazole. Application of synchrotron radiation and laboratory diffraction data

The structure of the complex of copper (II) chloride CuCl₂ L, where L is 1,5-dimethyltetrazole, was refined with the Rietveld method using three sets of powder diffraction data obtained at laboratory diffractometers and with synchrotron radiation. The comparative analysis of the results of the structure refinement was performed; this analysis showed that the application of the laboratory data for the wavelength of X-rays λ = 1.7902 Å (CoKα radiation) provides the structural characteristics of the complex comparable in accuracy with those obtained using the synchrotron radiation for the wavelength λ = 1.5443 Å.     

Squeezing millimeter waves into microns

Microstructured metallic devices will play a vital role in the continuing search to manipulate the passage of electromagnetic radiation relevant to optical, microwave, and communication technologies. Here, we investigate the electromagnetic response of a completely novel and ultrathin (< wavelength) structure within which is buried a metal-clad waveguiding layer ("core") of subwavelength width. By removing metal from the core cladding to form a periodic array of slits, radiation is coupled into a standing wave within the layer and the structure resonantly absorbs or transmits radiation of wavelength more than 100 times its thickness. Additionally, such structures display the truly remarkable capability of compressing half of the standing-wave wavelength into a fraction of the expected distance.     

Experimental studies of polarization of laser radiation in a rotating optical glass

The results of experiments on observation of rotation of the plane of polarization of coherent laser radiation with wavelength λ = 0.632991 μm after propagation through a rotating optical disk made of TF3 glass with refractive index n = 1.71250 are analyzed. The experiments were conducted at angle of ray incidence on the flat disk surface ?₀ = 60°, and the rotational speed of the disk was varied from 0 to 200 Hz in both directions. The results indicate that rotation of optically transparent, homogeneous, and isotropic dielectric causes rotation of linear polarization of the monochromatic electromagnetic plane wave by several tens of degrees. At a rotational speed of 3 Hz, the rotation of polarization reached Δφ = 70° for the vertical component of laser output polarization. The dependences of the angle of rotation of polarization and the degree of polarization of the rays on rotational speed are nonlinear and are attributed to the appearance of substantial anisotropic properties in a rotating dielectric.     

On accurate computations of slowly convergent atomic properties in few-electron ions and electron-electron correlations

We discuss an approach to accurate numerical computations of slowly convergent propertiesin two-electron atoms/ions which include the negatively charged Ps^? (e^?e⁺e^?)and H^? ions, Heatom and positively charged, helium-like ions from Li⁺ to Ni²⁶⁺. All these ions areconsidered in their ground 1¹S-state(s). The slowly convergent properties selected inthis study include the electron-nulceus (r^2k_eN) and electron-electron (r^2k_ee) expectation values for k = 2, 3, 4 and 5.     

E.S.R. evidence for the planarity of the t-butyl radical

Monte Carlo calculations are reported for the radial distribution function g ₂(r; λ) of a fluid in which the intermolecular pair potential is [u ^ref(r) + λu ^p(r)], u ^ref(r) being the Weeks-Chandler-Andersen (WCA) reference fluid, and [u ^ref(r) + u ^p(r)] being the Lennard-Jones (6, 12) fluid. The calculations are performed for λ values in the range 0 to 1, at the state condition ρσ³ = 0·80, kT/ε = 0·719. It is shown that at high densities the perturbation expansion of g ₂(r; λ = 1) about g ₂(r; λ = 0) is rapidly convergent, but that the corresponding expansion for y ₂(r; λ) = exp [βu(r; λ)] × g ₂(r; λ) is not. In addition Monte Carlo estimates of the individual terms that contribute to the first-order perturbation term, (?g ₂/?λ)_λ=0, are presented. It is shown that these terms are individually large, but that (?g ₂/?λ)_λ=0 is small because there is strong cancellation between the various terms. Consequently, the calculation of (?g ₂/?λ)_λ=0 is highly sensitive to the approximation used to evaluate the individual terms.     

Wavelength Tuning Characteristics of a Vertival Cavity Surface Emitting Laser Diode with an External Short Cavity

The characteristics of a wavelength tunable vertical cavity surface emitting laser diode (VCSEL) with an external short cavity are analyzed, in which the oscillation wavelength can be changed over several tens of nanometers with a nearly constant optical power by slightly altering the external cavity length. Analysis is based on rate equations for the optical power and carrier density, taking the effect of carrier-induced refractive index change into consideration, together with the study of behaviors of a complex resonator. The reflection coefficient r₂ of a laser facet facing the external mirror is shown to affect notably the characteristics of wavelength tuning, optical power and carrier density for a change of the external cavity length. It is also noticed that the wavelength change for this length becomes slower with relatively larger r₂ due to an increasing contribution of the effect of carrier-induced refractive index change, within the optical gain spectrum of the laser diode.     

Spontaneous periodic structures induced in thin AgCl-Ag films by the continuum in the case of optical rotation of the plane of polarization

The formation of spontaneous periodic structures in thin AgCl-Ag films subject to the continuum (λ≈450–700 nm) in the case of rotation of the plane of polarization with the help of crystalline quartz is studied. The periodic structures are formed due to the excitation of waveguide TE₀ modes in spontaneous Rayleigh scattering of radiation with a wavelength λ incident on the film. The structure periods are smaller than λ and vary in proportion with λ. After special treatment of the irradiated sample (fixing and deposition of an Al layer), periodic structures form a thin reflection hologram capable of reproducing the direction of linear polarization, the angle of optical rotation, and the color of the spectrum recorded. The study of diffraction patterns and small-angle scattering from small portions of a hologram, which were exposed to light with various wavelengths in the recording process, with the help of a probing UV beam (λ_p=337 nm), made it possible to reveal special features of the manifestation of Rayleigh and Wood anomalies associated with the domain structure of PS.     

Effect of magnetic field on the IR optical properties of dielectrics

Magnetic-field induced changes revealed in reflectance spectra R(λ) of nonmagnetic dielectrics Al₂O₃, LiF, and MgO in the IR range (λ = 2.5–25 μm) are reported. The reflectance spectra are shown to have specific features in the vicinity of the wavelengths corresponding to optical phonon mode excitation in these crystals, with the magnetic field giving rise to a noticeable change of reflectance ΔR/R(λ) at these wavelengths. The value of ΔR/R(λ) for p-(s-) polarized IR radiation in a magnetic field of ～13 kOe is ～0.6% (～0.4%) for Al₂O₃ at λ ≈ 9.6 μm, ～1.63% (～1.15) for LiF at λ ≈ 11.1 μm, and ～ 0.07 (～0.2%) for MgO at λ ≈ 11.7 μm, respectively. These changes can be increased substantially by irradiating the dielectric crystals by x-ray radiation. It is shown that the optical and magnetooptical properties of the above dielectrics in the IR spectral region can be described in terms of the polaron excitation theory.     

General relativity in a (2+1)-dimensional space-time: An electrically charged solution

We have found a static electrically charged solution to the Einstein-Maxwell equations in a (2+1)-dimensional space-time. Studies of general relativity in lower dimensional space-times provide many new insights and a simplified arena for doing quantum mechanics. In (2+1)-dimensional space-time, solutions to the vacuum field equations are locally flat (point masses are conical sigularities), but when electromagnetic fields are presentT ^ab O and the solutions are curved. For a static chargeQ we find andds ²= –(kQ ² /2)In(r _c /r)dt ² + (2/kQ ²[ln(r _c /r)]^–1 dr ² +r ² d ² wherer _c is a constant. There is a horizon atr =r _c like the inner horizon of the Reisner-Nordström solution. We have produced a Kruskal extension of this metric which shows two static regions (I and III) withr <r _c and two dynamical regions (II and IV) withr>r _c . A spacelike slice across regions I and III shows a football-shaped universe with chargeQ at one end and –Q at the other. Slices in the dynamical regions (II and IV) show a cylindrical universe that is expanding in region II and contracting in region IV. Electromagnetic solutions to the Einstein-Maxwell field equations in lower dimensional space-times can be used to provide new insights into Kaluza-Klein theories. In terms of the Kaluza-Klein theory, for example, electromagnetic radiation in a (2+1)-dimensional space-time is really gravitational radiation in the associated (3+1)-dimensional Kaluza-Klein space-time. According to Kaluza Klein theory the absence of gravitational radiation in (2+1)-dimensional space-time implies (correctly) the absence of electromagnetic radiation in (1+1)-dimensional space-time.     

Determination of the possibility of controlling the optical properties of dielectric photonic-crystal fibers with semiconductor inclusions

We have shown that the characteristics of propagation of optical radiation in a photonic-crystal fiber that contains semiconductor elements can be controlled by external radiation that acts on the structure. We have studied a photonic-crystal fiber that is formed by air holes in a dielectric that contains a semiconductor (GaAs) tube in the central region (core region) filled inside with the same dielectric. We have shown that the power of the radiation that is necessary to control the transmission characteristics at a wavelength λ = 1550 nm is determined by the construction of the device and can be fairly small (10⁹ W/m²).     

Effective deexcitation time of lithium vapor

The method of numerical simulation was used to study the effective deexcitation time of the resonance transition in lithium vapor at the wavelength λ = 670.776 nm. Taking into account the partial frequency redistribution and the cylindrical geometry of the medium, the rate equations of the population balance of a two-level atom were solved along with the equation of radiation transfer. The light scattering by an atom was simulated by a linear combination of the angle-averaged frequency distribution functions R _II and R _III. The Biberman-Holstein escape factor was calculated as a function of the optical thickness of lithium vapor for different geometries of the luminescing gas and different models of the frequency redistribution functions.     

Spectral and luminescence properties of gadolinium gallium garnet epitaxial films doped with terbium

Gadolinium gallium garnet single-crystal films containing terbium are grown through liquid-phase epitaxy from a supercooled solution melt in the PbO-B₂O₃ system. The optical absorption spectra in the wavelength range 0.2–10.0 μm and the luminescence spectra excited by synchrotron radiation with energies in the range 3.5–30.0 eV are investigated at temperatures of 10 and 300 K. It is revealed that the optical absorption spectra contain an absorption band with the maximum at a wavelength λ ≈0.260 μm, which corresponds to the spin-allowed electric dipole transition between the electronic configurations 4f ⁸(⁷ F ₆) → 4f ⁷(⁸ S)5d of the Tb³⁺ ions. The narrow low-intensity absorption bands attributed to the 4f → 4f transitions from the ⁷ F ₆ ground level to the ⁷ F _0–5 multiplet levels of the Tb³⁺ ions are observed in the wavelength range 1.7–10.0 μm. In the luminescence spectra measured at a temperature of 10 K, the highest intensity is observed for a band with the maximum at a wavelength λ ≈ 0.544 μm, which is associated with the ⁵ D ₄ → ⁷ F ₅ radiative transition in the Tb³⁺ ion.     

A possible interpretation of enhanced raman scattering in the vicinity of a nanotip

Theoretical and experimental studies on Raman scattering in a space with small bodies are briefly reviewed. Probabilities of radiative transitions for atoms (molecules) in the vicinity of bodies with dimensions much smaller than a wavelength are calculated. It is shown that in the vicinity of a nanosphere with |ε|?1, the probability of a single-photon electric dipole transition increases by a factor of 9, and the probability of a two-photon transition—by a factor of 81. In the vicinity of a conical needle resting on a plane (the needle and plane have |ε|?1), the radiative transition probability increases by a factor (λ/R _in)² and (λ/R _in)⁴ for single-and two-photon transitions, respectively (R _in is the radius of the needle tip curvature). This theoretical result is offered to interpret the enhancement of radiative processes experimentally observed in the referenced studies.     

An Experimental Study of Ultra-Wide-Band and Ultra-Wide-Aperture Non-Collinear Acousto-Optic Diffraction in an Optically Biaxial Potassium Arsenate Titanyl Crystal

Acousto-optic interaction in an optically biaxial crystalline medium under propagation of light close to one of the optical axes of a potassium arsenate titanyl KTiOAsO₄ crystal has been studied. The experimental dependences of the intensity of a diffracted optical beam on the angle of light incidence on an ultrasonic wave have been obtained. It has been shown that a flat cut of a wave-vector surface provides development of an ultra-wide-aperture and ultra-wide-band acousto-optic deflector to control radiation in the visible and infrared electromagnetic spectral ranges.     

Analytical Study of Filters Dimensions and Spectral Thermal Effects on Optical Filters Operation Performance Characteristics

We study the different optical filters design considerations over wide range of the operation conditions in near infrared optical spectrum transmission region. There are many operating conditions parameters describing optical filter properties such as the amount absorbed electromagnetic radiation which depends on the operating signal wavelength; the amount of the absorbing material in the filter thickness; and the absorption coefficient of the material at that wavelength. Filter modulation depth, filtration signal quality, filter delay time, filter bit error rate, and filter correction are the major interesting performance parameters in the current study. Best candidate materials based optical filters are used which namely barium fluoride (BaF₂), and zinc selenide (ZnSe) and compared with published measured works. Our results are validated against published experimental studies and show a good agreement and matching.     

Gas-discharge source of the noncarcinogenic UV radiation based on the mixture of helium and heavy-water (D2O) vapor

The spectrum of radiation and the results of optimization are presented for a UV lamp that works on the He-D₂O mixture and is pumped using a repetitively pulsed barrier discharge. The dependences of the radiation intensity of the OD (X-A) band with the wavelength λ ≈ 309 nm on the partial pressure of the heavywater vapor, working voltage across the working capacitor of the high-voltage modulator, and repetition rate of the current pulses are studied.