Microbubble-enhanced hemorrhage control using high intensity focused ultrasound

Our objective was to investigate whether hemorrhage control can be achieved faster when high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is applied in the presence of ultrasound contrast agents (UCA) as compared to HIFU only application. Incisions (3 cm long and 0.5 cm deep) were produced in the livers of anesthetized rabbits. UCA Optison (0.18 ml/kg) was injected into the mesenteric vein. A HIFU applicator (5.5 MHz, 6800 W/cm² in situ) was scanned at a rate of 1–2 mm/s in one direction over the incision (with multiple passes if needed), until hemostasis was achieved. Hemostasis times were 59 ± 23 s (n = 21) in the presence of Optison and 70 ± 23 s (n = 29) without Optison. The presence of Optison produced on average 37% reduction in hemostasis times normalized to initial bleeding rates (p < 0.05), as well as 60% faster formation of the coagulum seal over the incision (p < 0.05). Gross and histological observations showed similar appearance of HIFU lesions produced in the presence of Optison and HIFU lesions produced without Optison. Our results suggest potential utility of UCA for increasing efficiency of HIFU-induced hemostasis of solid organ injuries.     

Si doped GaAs/AlGaAs terahertz detector and phonon effect on the responsivity

Terahertz detection capability of an n-type heterojunction interfacial work function internal photoemission (HEIWIP) detector is demonstrated. Threshold frequency, f₀, of 3.2 THz (93 μm) was obtained by using n-type GaAs emitter doped to 1 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ and Al_0.04Ga_0.96As single barrier structure. The detector shows a broad spectral response from 30 to 3.2 THz (10–93 μm) with peak responsivity of 6.5 A/W at 7.1 THz under a forward bias field of 0.7 kV/cm at 6 K. The peak quantum efficiency and peak detectivity are 19% and 5.5 × 10⁸ Jones, respectively under a bias field of 0.7 kV/cm at 6 K. In addition, the detector can be operated up to 25 K.     

Atomic coherence effects on optically pumped cesium atoms in static magnetic field

The population difference between ground states F = 4 and F = 3 is calculated for Cs atoms pumped on the D₂ line by a resonant laser beam. The pumping efficiency for Cs atoms in a static magnetic field on two hyperfine transitions (6S_1/2 F = 4 → 6P_3/2 F′ = 3 and F′ = 4) is calculated for various pump laser intensities. The population difference as a function of the static magnetic field exhibits a dip centered at the zero magnetic field, which corresponds well with the Zeeman coherence between sublevels of the F = 4 state. The full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the dip as a function of the pump laser intensity shows abnormal power broadening behavior that differs for different hyperfine transitions. We present experimental results that agree with the theoretical calculations.     

Z-scan study of third-order optical nonlinearities in bismuth-based glasses

The third-order optical nonlinearity was measured in bismuth-based glasses by Z-scan technique using femto-second laser pulses. Re(χ⁽³⁾) = 4.9 × 10⁻¹¹ esu at 748 nm was obtained in the glass containing 65.5 mol% of Bi₂O₃. Although, the wavelength dependence of Re(χ⁽³⁾) shows resonant effect significantly, relatively small nonlinear absorption coefficient β = 0.8 cm/GW at 769 nm was estimated. Bismuth-based glass exhibits the largest third-order optical nonlinearity in oxide glasses, indicating they are promising materials used for nonlinear optical devices.     

UV-induced two-photon absorption in BiB3O6 single crystals

We show that BiB₃O₆ (BiBO) crystals, well known for their excellent second harmonic generation (SHG) properties, may also be of interest for third-order optical phenomena, particularly for two-photon absorption (TPA). Photoinduced TPA measurements were performed under illumination of excimer Xe–F laser (λ = 217 nm) as a photoinducing (pumping) beam. It created a thin surface layer (about 85 nm) that was a source of the observed photoinduced TPA. Raman shifted Nd-YAG laser radiation (λ = 1.9 μm) as well as its second and fourth harmonics (λ = 950 and λ = 475 nm, respectively) were used as fundamental (probing) beams of the TPA. The highest values of the TPA β coefficient were achieved for a polarization of the pumping light directed along crystallographic axis b. Quantum chemical simulations indicate on substantial contribution of UV-induced electron–phonon anharmonicity to the observed TPA. The obtained values of TPA coefficients indicate a possibility of using BiBO crystals as UV-operated optical limiters in a wide spectral range.     

High-birefringence hollow-core anti-resonant THz fiber

A novel high-birefringence hollow-core anti-resonant THz fiber is proposed in this paper. This fiber has a simple structure which consists of only ten Topas tubes. High birefringence is achieved by introducing two large tubes. The first two resonant frequencies are 1.44 and 2.88 THz by fixing tube thickness at 0.09 mm, which makes two low-loss transmission windows exist in the frequency range from 0.8 to 3.0 THz. The lowest loss is 2.10 dB/m occurring at 1.2 THz in the first transmission window and 1.68 dB/m at 2.34 THz in the second transmission window. By optimizing the structure parameters, high birefringence above 7 × 10^?4 in the frequency range from 1.0 to 1.24 THz are obtained. The highest birefringence is up to 8.7 × 10^?4 at 1.04 THz. Birefringence can be further increased to the order of 10^?3 by adjusting the structure parameters at the cost of loss increasing and the bandwidth decreasing. In addition, bent performance of this fiber is also discussed. In addition, this fiber can keep good performance when it is bent for x-direction. At the bend radius of 15 cm, the loss and birefringence has a more slightly change in the first transmission window than the second transmission window. The first transmission window own much better bent-insensitive characteristics.     

Characterization of optical and nonlinear optical properties of silver nanoparticles prepared by laser ablation in various liquids

The optical, structural, and nonlinear optical properties of silver nanoparticles prepared by laser ablation in various liquids were investigated at 397.5, 532, and 795 nm. The TEM and spectral measurements have shown temporal dynamics of size distribution of Ag nanoparticles in solutions. The thermal-induced self-defocusing dominated in the case of high pulse repetition rate as well as in the case of nanosecond pulses. In the case of low pulse repetition rate, the self-focusing (γ = 3 × 10⁻¹³ cm² W⁻¹) and saturated absorption (β = −1.5 × 10⁻⁹ cm W⁻¹) of picosecond and femtosecond radiation were observed in these colloidal solutions. The nonlinear susceptibility of Ag nanoparticles ablated in water was measured to be 5 × 10⁻⁸ esu (at λ = 397.5 nm).     

Interaction of oxygen with the Pt(1 1 1) surface in wide conditions range. A DFT-based thermodynamical simulation

We present the results of ab initio calculations of oxygen atomic adsorption in a wide range of coverage on Pt(1 1 1). At θ = 0.25 ML, the O adsorption at fcc hollow site is clearly favoured over the hcp site. At θ = 0.5 ML, the O adsorption energy decreases but the same site is favoured. When experimental or theoretical previously reported data are available, the calculated adsorption energies and site preferences are in good agreement. Among the various configurations and coverages investigated in the present work, no adsorption is stable beyond θ = 0.5 ML, except by occupation of a subsurface tetrahedral site. In that case, a total O coverage of 0.75 ML could be achieved, which is only slightly less stable than the θ = 0.5 ML configuration.

The use of thermodynamics permitted to explore the temperature–pressure stability domain corresponding to 0.25 ML, 0.5 ML and 0.75 ML. From this, we conclude that subsurface O species could be stable at temperatures lower than 700 K, with O₂ pressures of 1 bar or less.     

Strain relaxation and surface morphology of high indium content InAlAs metamorphic buffers with reverse step

Low-temperature step-graded high indium content InAlAs (In% = 0.75) metamorphic buffer layers with reverse step layer grown on GaAs substrate by molecular beam epitaxy are investigated in this paper. The composition and the strain relaxation of the top InAlAs layer are determined by high-resolution triple-axis X-ray diffraction measurements, which show that the top InAlAs layer is nearly fully relaxed and the growth parameters for these samples have little influence on the strain relaxation ratio. Surface morphology is observed by reflection high-energy electron diffraction pattern and atomic force microscopy. The surface morphology is found to depend strongly on both the growth temperature and the As flux. Compared with other samples, the sample growth under the optimized conditions has the smallest value of root mean square surface roughness. Furthermore, the ω − 2θ and ω scans of the triple-axis X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy result also show the sample grown under the optimized conditions has good crystalline quality.     

Experimental analysis of true left-handed behaviour and transmission properties of composite metamaterials

We report the true left-handed transmission of a composite metamaterial (CMM) consisting of periodically stacked split-ring resonator (SRR) and wire elements. The negative permeability (μ < 0) gap is demonstrated explicitly by comparing SRR and closed-ring resonator structures. We confirm experimentally that the plasma cut-off frequency of the CMM is determined by the combined dielectric response of SRR and wire elements, and it is much lower than that of the wire-only medium. This is crucial to identify the left-handed transmission bands of the CMM. We further investigate the effect of intralayer and interlayer disorder on the transmission spectrum of CMM arising from misaligned fabrication and stacking of the SRR layers. We found that the intralayer disorder affects the μ < 0 gap of SRRs and the left-handed transmission band of CMM significantly, whereas the SRR transmission is rather immune to interlayer disorder.     

2.5THz环烯烃聚合物中空芯光子晶体光纤设计与实验

采用全矢量有限元法,仿真设计了一种工作在2.5THz频段的中空芯太赫兹光子晶体光纤,用环烯烃聚合物材料(COC)制备了光纤样品,利用CO2激光泵浦气体太赫兹源搭建了测试平台并对光纤的太赫兹波传输性能进行了测试。实测光纤最低损耗0.17dB/cm、平均损耗约0.5dB/cm,在弯曲90°情况下光纤传输损耗波动小于5%,具有良好的可弯曲性;光纤输出端口的模场分布测试结果表明,光纤是以主模进行传输,太赫兹能量很好地被束缚在光纤芯中。     

Structure and optical properties of sol–gel derived Gd2O3 waveguide films

Pure and rare earth doped gadolinium oxide (Gd₂O₃) waveguide films were prepared by a simple sol–gel process and dip-coating method. Gd₂O₃ was successfully synthesized by hydrolysis of gadolinium acetate. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) were used to study the thermal chemistry properties of dried gel. Structure of Gd₂O₃ films annealed at different temperature ranging from 400 to 750 °C were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that Gd₂O₃ starts crystallizing at about 400 °C and the crystallite size increases with annealing temperature. Oriented growth of (4 0 0) face of Gd₂O₃ has been observed when the films were deposited on (1 0 0) Si substrate and annealed at 750 °C. The laser beam (λ=632.8 nm) was coupled into the film by a prism coupler and propagation loss of the film measured by scattering-detection method is about 2 dB/cm. Luminescence properties of europium ions doped films were measured and are discussed.     

Population lensing effect in Cr:LiSAF probed by Z-scan technique

An experiment has been performed for measuring a nonlinear refractive index that is due to the polarizability difference Δ_P between excited (⁴T₂) and ground (⁴A₂) states in a Cr³⁺:LiSAF crystal at λ = 647 nm. The latter one is responsible for a population lensing effect which has been monitored by using the eclipsing Z-scan technique. We have performed a data analysis that allows to distinguish between thermal and population contributions to the lensing effect. We have found Δ_P = 4.6 × 10⁻²⁵ cm³ which is in a good agreement with our previous measurements with a different technique.     

Excess molar heat capacity of isobutyric acid–water binary liquid mixtures near and far away from the critical temperature

The heat capacity of the liquid–liquid mixture isobutyric acid–water has been measured for the first time near and far away from its critical point using an adiabatic calorimeter. The measurements were performed at atmospheric pressure, in the one phase region as a function of three temperatures: (1) T − T_C = 0.055 °C, (2) T − T_C = 3.055 °C, (3) T − T_C = 8.055 °C and of the composition X in acid (IA). The heat capacity C_p decreases rapidly when X increases at the used temperatures. Near the critical composition, C_p is not affected by the correlation of the concentration fluctuations.

The molar excess heat capacity of the system under investigation was analysed along the phase diagram and considered as a structural transformation effect.     

Higher-order elastic constants of La1.84Sr0.16CuO4 high-temperature superconductor

Finite deformation theory is used to obtain the strain energy density of a tetragonal 2–1–4-type single crystal of the high-temperature superconductor La_2−xSr_xCuO₄. The complete set of second and third-order elastic constants of the high-temperature superconductor La_2−xSr_xCuO₄ (x = 0.16) is calculated by taking into account the interactions between nine nearest-neighbour atoms in the lattice and using Mie–Grüneisen interatomic potential. For the sake of comparison we have also computed the values of these constants for x = 0.13–0.20. The values of third-order elastic constants of La_2−xSr_xCuO₄ (x = 0.13–0.20) are negative and their absolute magnitudes are one order higher than those of the second-order elastic constants.     

Temperature dependence of thermal and electrical conductivity of Bi-based high-Tc (2 2 2 3) superconductor

Superconducting samples with nominal composition Bi_1.6Pb_0.4Sr₂Ca₂Cu₃O_δ were prepared by the conventional solid-state reaction technique. The samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, dc electrical resistivity, ac magnetic susceptibility and thermal conductivity. The X-ray diffraction studies were done at room temperature and the lattice constants of the material were determined by indexing all the peaks. All the above measurements show that, there exists two phases i.e. high-T_c (2 2 2 3) and low-T_c (2 2 1 2). The information obtained from dc electrical resistivity data agrees with ac magnetic susceptibility measurements. The onset temperature T_c (onset) and zero resistivity temperature T_c (R = 0) of the samples remains within the temperature 120 ± 1 K and 103 ± 1 K. Thermal conductivity has been measured with a transient plane source (TPS) technique in the temperature range 77–300 K. The estimation of the electrical resistivity change due to scattering by phonons and impurities has been discussed. An increase in thermal conductivity is observed above and below T_c (R = 0). The electron–phonon scattering time, phonon-limited mobility and the size of the electron–phonon constant are also calculated. Wiedemann–Franz law is applied to gain prediction about the magnitude of electronic and phonon contribution to the total thermal conductivity of the samples. It is observed that heat is mainly conducted by the phonons in this system.     

The wavelet response as a multiscale characterization of scattering processes at granular interfaces

We perform a multiscale analysis of the backscattering properties of a complex interface between water and a layer of randomly arranged glass beads with diameter D = 1 mm. An acoustical experiment is done to record the wavelet response of the interface in a large frequency range from λ/D = 0.3 to λ/D = 15. The wavelet response is a physical analog of the mathematical wavelet transform which possesses nice properties to detect and characterize abrupt changes in signals. The experimental wavelet response allows to identify five frequency domains corresponding to different backscattering properties of the complex interface. This puts quantitative limits to the validity domains of the models used to represent the interface and which are flat elastic, flat visco-elastic, rough random half-space with multiple scattering, and rough elastic from long to short wavelengths respectively. A physical explanation based on Mie scattering theory is proposed to explain the origin of the five frequency domains identified in the wavelet response.     

Terahertz absorption window and high transmission in graphene bilayer

A detailed theoretical study of terahertz (THz) optical absorption and transmission in graphene bilayer is presented. Considering an air/graphene/dielectric-wafer system, it is found that there is an absorption window in the range 3-30 THz and the optical transmission is up to 96%. Such an absorption window is induced by different transition energies required for inter- and intra-band optical absorption in the presence of the Pauli blockade effect. As a result, the position and width of this THz absorption window depend sensitively on temperature and carrier density of the system. These results are pertinent to the applications of recently developed graphene systems as novel optoelectronic devices such as THz photodetectors.     

Transparent conductive oxide thin films of CdTe-doped indium oxide prepared by pulsed-laser deposition

Transparent conducting oxide thin film CdTe-doped indium oxide (In₂O₃) has been grown by pulsed-laser deposition from a target of CdTe powder embedded in metallic indium. The electro-optical and structural properties were investigated as a function of oxygen partial pressure (PO₂) and substrate temperature (T_s). A film deposited at T_s=420 °C and PO₂=4 Pa shows the minimum resistivity 7.5×10⁻⁴ Ω cm, its optical transmission is 83% and the carrier concentration was 8.9×10²⁰ cm³. The optical band gap and the average roughness of that sample were 3.6 eV and 6.45 Å, respectively. X-ray diffraction studies indicated that the films were polycrystalline. This material is a good candidate for being used as transparent conductor in the CdTe–CdS solar cell.