Interferometric monitoring of single-mode operation of a tunable injection laser

We propose a technique for rapid monitoring of single-mode operation of a tunable injection laser, based on analysis of the fine structure of the power-current characteristic obtained with self-heterodyning, using a Michelson interferometer. The technique makes it possible to determine the range for single-mode lasing and mode tuning as well as the presence of spurious optical feedback, and to estimate the coherence length. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 1, pp. 119–123, January–February, 2006.     

Raman optical activity of an achiral element in a chiral environment

Raman optical activity (ROA) is a relatively new technique used to determine the structure of chiral molecules and is proving useful in the study of biological molecules such as proteins and DNA/RNA. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate the applicability of ROA as a technique to study achiral groups in chiral environments, detecting the induced chirality of N‐(fluorenyl‐9‐methoxycarbonyl) (Fmoc) in a chiral self‐assembled structure of Fmoc‐dipeptides. This technique is therefore of interest to those studying self‐assembled systems that adopt a chiral structure. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optical Design of a Space Retroreflector Using a Hybrid Search

Retroreflectors on satellites are used as targets for laser ranging and laser long-path absorption measurements of atmospheric trace species. To compensate for the velocity aberration, slight tuning of the design is necessary. The curvatures of mirrors, the angles between mirrors, and the direction of the retroreflector on the satellite must be tuned to optimize the optical efficiency of the retroreflector. An enumerative scheme is not applicable when the number of parameters is large. We proposed earlier a technique using a genetic algorithm for the optical design of a space retroreflector.¹⁾ In this paper, we have improved the method introducing a hybrid technique that is a combination of a genetic algorithm and simulated annealing.     

Quantum memory process with a four-level atomic ensemble

We examine in detail the quantum memory technique for photons in a double Λ atomic ensemble in this work. The novel application of the present technique to create two different quantum probe fields as well as entangled states of them is proposed. A larger zero-degeneracy class besides dark-state subspace is investigated and the adiabatic condition is confirmed in the present model. We extend the single-mode quantum memory technique to the case with multi-mode probe fields, and reveal the exact pulse matching phenomenon between two quantized pulses in the present system.     

SPRITE MRI of bubbly flow in a horizontal pipe

Bubble flow is characterised by numerous phase interfaces and turbulence, leading to fast magnetic resonance signal decay and artefacts in spin-warp imaging. In this paper, the SPRITE MRI pulse sequence, with its potential for very short encoding times, is demonstrated as an ideal technique for studying such dynamic systems. It has been used to acquire liquid velocity and relative intensity maps of two-phase gas–liquid dispersed bubble flow in a horizontal pipe at a liquid Reynolds number of 14,500. The fluids were air and water and a turbulence grid was used to generate a dispersed bubble flow pattern. The SPRITE technique shows promise for future research in gas–liquid flow.     

Evaluation of solid electrolyte cells with a versatile electrochemical technique

Voltage losses in fuel cells and other solid electrolyte systems are due to several mass transport and kinetics processes at the electrode/electrolyte interface as well as to ohmic contributions from the electrolyte, electrodes, current collectors and contact resistances. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has been in use for several decades in fuel cell research and is quite effective in determining the contribution of individual electrode and electrolyte processes. However, data acquisition and analysis can be time-consuming and the technique has many limitations whilst cell performance and operating conditions are varying rapidly with time especially when the cells are under current load. The galvanostatic current interruption (GCI) technique is fast and can be used under a wide range of operating as well as for rapidly varying loads and cell performance conditions. In this paper a totally new and very simple way of adapting commercially available equipment has been described to perform high quality, reliable and fast GCI measurements over a range of different currents in one sequence without having to use an electronic switch or a solid state relay or a separate fast data logging system. Its versatility has been demonstrated with a number of standard RC circuits simulating slow electrode and fast electrolyte processes and by evaluating a number of solid oxide fuel cell materials. The GCI technique has been shown to be able to determine the composition of all standard test circuits within ±1 % of those determined from the EIS technique and actual values of circuit components. The technique has been applied to investigating solid electrolyte cells and produced excellent results.     

Measurement of infrared transition of NH3 from a microwave line shift due to a non-resonance infrared field

An i.r. spectroscopic technique is proposed which may be useful for the determination of i.r. transitions and for the assignment of molecular spectra. This method is based on the microwave line shift in the presence of a non-resonant laser field. For NH₃ gas, the accuracy is of about the same order of magnitude as the one obtained from the i.r. Stark spectroscopy technique.     

Acoustic impulse response method as a source of undergraduate research projects and advanced laboratory experiments

A straightforward and inexpensive implementation of acoustic impulse response measurement is described utilizing the signal processing technique of coherent averaging. The technique is capable of high signal-to-noise measurements with personal computer data acquisition equipment, an amplifier/speaker, and a high quality microphone. When coupled with simple waveguide test systems fabricated from commercial PVC plumbing pipe, impulse response measurement has proven to be ideal for undergraduate research projects-often of publishable quality-or for advanced laboratory experiments. The technique provides important learning objectives for science or engineering students in areas such as interfacing and computer control of experiments; analog-to-digital conversion and sampling; time and frequency analysis using Fourier transforms; signal processing; and insight into a variety of current research areas such as acoustic bandgap materials, acoustic metamaterials, and fast and slow wave manipulation.     

采用球面波叠加法还原自由声场的方法

为解决非自由声场中近场声全息重建时,干扰声在目标声源表面产生的散射影响,提出一种基于球面波叠加法的自由场还原技术。该技术首先采用基于球面波叠加法的声场分离技术获得向内和向外传播的声场,然后以目标声源的表面导纳作为边界条件,实现目标声源辐射声和散射声的分离,从而获得等效于自由声场的测量条件。该技术为准确实现非自由声场中的噪声源识别创造了条件。文中首先详细描述了该技术的基本原理,并提出一种最优球面波展开项数选取方法,最后通过数值仿真说明了该技术的有效性。结果表明:在频率较低时,散射声影响较小,采用声场分离技术和自由场还原技术效果相当;但随着频率升高,散射声影响逐步增强,必须采用自由场还原技术才能准确获得目标声源辐射声。      

Determining the Size of Pores in a Partially Transparent Ceramics from Total-Reflection Spectra

A technique is proposed for determining the pore-size distribution based on measuring the dependence of total reflectance in the domain of partial transparency of a material. An assumption about equality of scattering-coefficient spectra determined by solving the inverse radiation transfer problem and by theoretical calculation with the Mie theory is used. The technique is applied to studying a quartz ceramics. The poresize distribution is also determined using mercury and gas porosimetry. All three methods are shown to produce close results for pores with diameters of <180 nm, which occupy ~90% of the void volume. In the domain of pore dimensions of >180 nm, the methods show differences that might be related to both specific procedural features and the structural properties of ceramics. The spectral-scattering method has a number of advantages over traditional porosimetry, and it can be viewed as a routine industrial technique.     

Application of microwave amplitude modulation technique to measure spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation times accurately with a continuous-wave EPR spectrometer: Solution of Bloch’s equations by a matrix technique and least-squares fitting

A matrix technique to calculate signals recorded using the microwave amplitude-modulation technique is described. The calculations are carried out for spin packets, on and off resonance, to take into account inhomogeneous broadening. Both, the transverse component of magnetization representing the continuous-wave signal in a resonator, such as a cross-looped resonator, as well as the signal (electromotive force) induced in a pickup coil oriented parallel to the external magnetic field, are calculated for an arbitrary value of the coefficient of modulation. This is accomplished by solving the relevant Bloch equations in the rotating frame for the case when the amplitude of the microwave field is modulated by a sinusoidal wave, using Fourier expansions of the longitudinal and transverse components of the magnetization in Bloch equations. This results in a series of coupled equations inM _α(n) (α=y,zz), the magnetic moments of vaarious orders, leading to a penta-diagonal matrix of infinite dimension. These equations are then truncated and solved by a fast matrix technique to calculateM _α(n), required to calculate the modulation signals as functions of the amplitudemodulation frequency Ω. It is outlined how to exploit the expressions for the modulation signals to estimate the spin-lattice relaxation timesT ₁ and spin-spin relaxation timesT ₂ accurately by the leastsquares procedure, fitting simultaneously all signals obtained for spin packets, on and off resonance, at various modulation frequencies. Illustrative examples are provided.     

Digital Holography for Instantaneous Spray Diagnostics on a Plane

We present a measurement technique that is capable of simultaneously determining sizes and positions of multiple transparent droplets in a plane from scattered light features. The technique is largely independent of particle intensity and mutual obscuration. Reflected and refracted light from the droplets in a pulsed laser sheet is recorded holographically to yield the smallest possible probe volume and the largest possible number density. Larger droplets are best analyzed at the image plane; in this case, the droplets appear as two spots (glare points), whose separation is proportional to the droplet diameter. Smaller droplets are easier to analyze at an out‐of‐focus plane, where their images appear as fringe patterns whose spatial frequency is related to droplet size. Photographic techniques allow only one of these planes to be chosen and are therefore not suitable for multidisperse sprays. Optical holography allows to analyze arbitrary depths, but often suffers from low sensitivity and long analysis times. With digital holography, the spray images are captured digitally by a CCD camera and reconstructed numerically; as in optical holography, the particle reconstruction plane can be freely chosen a posteriori to optimize the measurement. We discuss the issues raised by the transition from holographic film to a CCD sensor as the recording medium, and demonstrate the capabilities of the digital technique.     

Measurement of the diameter of a laser beam

A new and simple technique for measuring the effective diameter of a laser beam used in material processing is described. The time for the temperature of a spot heated by the laser beam to rise to 90% of equilibrium is compared with that predicted theoretically for a Gaussian TEM₀₀ laser beam. A Gaussian beam diameter equivalent is thus deduced. This calculated diameter is of particular relevance to applications where the laser is used as a heat source.     

Efficient detection and control of the carrier-envelope offset frequency in a self-referencing optical frequency synthesizer

An efficient means of isolating and detecting the carrier-envelope offset frequency signal in an optical frequency synthesizer is demonstrated. The technique uses spliced and connectorized fiber for comb broadening, a periodically poled KTP crystal for doubling 1064-nm light in the supercontinuum, and a laser-line filter at 532 nm for comb-section selection. The technique produces an offset frequency with a 40-dB signal-to-noise ratio in a resolution bandwidth of 100 kHz with as little as 55 GW/cm² of peak pulse intensity inside the fiber. The strong signal-to-noise ratio helps realize an offset frequency signal with frequency instability of 1 mHz at 1 s when controlled through feedback to the optical power driving the femtosecond laser. PACS 06.30.Ft; 06.20.Fn; 42.62.-b; 42.60.-v     

Track-etch membranes as templates enabled nano/micro technology: a review

Many techniques are being used in order to synthesize nano-micro materials falling under the realm of nanotechnology. It need not be overemphasized that the miniaturization of devices and synthesis of new materials have a tremendous role in the development of powerful electronics as well as material based technologies in other areas but for the laws of quantum mechanics posing limitations besides the increasing cost and difficulties in manufacturing in such a small scale. The quest, therefore, for the alternative technologies, have stimulated a surge of interest in nano-meter scale materials and devices in the recent years. Metallic as well as semiconducting nano wires are the most attractive materials because of their unique properties having myriad of applications like interconnects for nano-electronics, magnetic devices, chemical and biosensors, whereas the hollow tubules are equally considered to be candidates for more potent applications — both in physical as well as biosciences. Materials’ processing for nano-structured devices is indispensable to their rational design. The technique, known as “Template Synthesis”, using electrochemical-electro less deposition is one of the most important processes for manufacturing nano-micro structures, nano-composites and devices and is relatively inexpensive and simple. The technique involves using membranes — ion crafted ones (popularly known as Particle Track-Etch Membranes or Nuclear Track Filters), alumite substrate membranes, besides other types of membranes as templates. The parameters viz., diameter as well as length i.e., aspect ratio, shape and wall surface traits in these membranes are controllable. In the present article a detailed review of this technique using track-etch membranes as templates in synthesis of nano-micro materials including hybrid materials and devices like field-ion emitters, resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs) etc. is presented including most of the results obtained in our laboratory.      

Skin-effect analysis of a shielded polymer Y-fed coupler electro-optic modulator over a wide bandwidth of 94 GHz

A novel technique and related formulations are proposed for analyzing the influences of the skin-effect on the performances of a polymer Y-fed coupler electro-optic modulator with shielded push-pull micro-strip electrodes. Using the extended point-matching method, coupled mode theory and electro-optic modulation theory, thorough design and optimization are performed. By introducing the effective applied voltage, formulas of the high-frequency response under skin-effect are deduced, and characteristics under skin-effect are analyzed. Under the central wavelength of 1550 nm, the half-wave voltage is as low as 1.097 V for the device with an active region length about 8.884 mm. Considering the influences of the skin-effect, the 3-dB modulating bandwidth of the microwave signal is up to 94 GHz. A high extinction ratio of more than 20 dB and a low insertion loss of less than 4.18 dB are achieved when the microwave frequency is below 68 GHz under skin-effect. This design technique is proven to be accurate by the comparison with the beam propagation method (BPM).     

Test of a conical lens using a two-beam shearing interferometer

We describe a two-beam shearing interferometric technique for testing refractive conical lenses. The optical configuration requires two mutually coherent plane wave fronts transmitted through the conical lens under test. The method can also be considered as an interferometric fringe projection technique in which a fringe pattern produced by the two interfering wave fronts is projected through the optical elements. We describe the principle of the method and present application of the technique for determining the angle formed by the flat surface and the conical surface of a refractive conical lens.     

Plasma focus as a current switch for a capillary discharge

Experiments are described in which a plasma focus is used simultaneously as an inductive store and a current switch. The obtained rates of current growth on a load of 0.01 Ω is 10¹² A/s, and the maximum values of the switched current lie in the range 50–100 kA. The technique is seen as promising for employing a capillary discharge as a source of laser medium for the soft x-ray region. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 110–113 (November 1998)     

Feasibility investigations on a novel micro-embossing using laser-driven flyer

A novel micro-plastic microfabrication technique for embossing is presented, which uses laser-driven flyer as the loading method in forming. Experiments were performed by allowing the laser-driven flyer to impact the thin film, which is placed above a micromold. Micro-channel with dimension of 160 μm×45 μm was successfully fabricated on copper foil surface using laser-driven flyer. The effects of laser energy on deformation mechanism were investigated experimentally. Surface roughness changes on formed sample were discussed. The novel technique holds promise for achieving precise, well-controlled, low-cost, high efficiency of three-dimensional metallic microstructures. In addition, this technique can cold form high strength or difficult materials.     

The development of a shock-tube based characterization technique for air-coupled ultrasonic probes

The present paper proposes a new characterization technique for air-coupled ultrasound probes. The technique is based on a shock tube to generate a controlled pressure wave to calibrate transducers within their operating frequency range. The aim is to generate a high frequency pressure wave (at least up to 200 kHz) with the low energy levels typical of commonly used air-coupled ultrasound probes. A dedicated shock-tube has been designed and tested to assess calibration performances. The sensor transfer function has been measured by using a pressure transducer as reference.