Production of a spin-polarized,metastable He(23 S) beam for studies in atomic and surface physics

This beam was developed as a target for a crossed-beam electron-atom scattering experiment on the interaction of a polarized spin-1/2 electron with a polarized spin-1 atom. In the future this beam will be used in “Spin-Polarized Metastable Atom Deexcitation Spectroscopy” (SPMDS) for studying ferromagnetic surfaces without and with adsorbate layers. We use a discharge source for producing a beam of metastable helium atoms, a permanent sextupole magnet with a central stop at its exit for selecting He(2³ S) atoms in the Zeeman substatem _s =+1, a zero-field spin flipper for reversing the atomic beam polarization with respect to a magnetic guiding field, and a Stern-Gerlach magnet for analyzing the atomic polarization. At a distance of 90 cm beyond the exit of the sextupole, in the “interaction region” of an experiment, the polarized beam has a circular cross section of about 6 mm FWHM and a particle density of 1 · 10⁷ atoms/cm³. The reversible spin polarization was determined asP=0.90±0.02. A possible contamination of the beam with metastable singlet atoms is included within this value; the ground-state He atoms are not considered to be part of the polarized beam. An observed contamination with long-lived Rydberg atoms can easily be destroyed by applying a high electric field.     

X-ray fluorescence analysis in the nanogram region with a total reflected and a Bragg polarized primary beam

Improvements of the detection limit in photon induced X-ray fluorescence analysis are obtained by the reduction of the radiation background at constant excitation conditions. Two methods are presented: 1) Bragg-reflection at 2 ν=90° results in a beam linearly polarized and monchromatic. Positioning the detector at an angle 90° to the direction of the polarized beam suppresses the production of scattered photons from sample and sample carrier into the detector. The use of single crystals instead of amorphous scattering materials increases the intensity of the polarized beam, in some cases up to a factor 10⁴. Detection limits and actually used crystal materials and lattice planes for Braggreflection are given in tables. Samples may be of either form, liquid or solid, no special sample preparation is required. 2) The application of X-ray total reflection on the polished and plane surface of a reflector which serves as the sample carrier reduces the radiation background. In the case of X-ray total reflection there is scarcely a penetration of the X-rays into the reflector material. The penetration depth of some 100 Å in the reflector-substrate can be compared to an extreme thin foil of same thickness. Therefore the reflector-substrate combines its mechanical strenght, its compact and constant geometric form, its chemical resistance and the possibility of easy handling-with the low background properties of ultra-thin foils. Samples should be liquids where the liquid part of the matrix is evaporated and the remaining trace elements are investigated. Both method are capable of detecting elements in the nanogram region.     

Otto Stern and the double bank shot

In analogy to a double surface scattering study of Estermann, Frisch and Stern for selecting and detecting the velocity of a beam of particles, it is proposed to use double surface scattering to investigate the collision dynamics of a beam of polarized particles with a known surface. In this proposed experiment, the first surface scattering event prepares a polarized (aligned/oriented) beam of particles, and the second surface scattering event permits the measurement of how the polarized beam interacts with the surface under study.     

Photon polarization and spin asymmetry in the elementary process of bremsstrahlung

Experimental and theoretical results are reviewed concerning the photon polarization and spin asymmetry in the elementary process of bremsstrahlung. In electron–photon coincidence experiments using an unpolarized primary beam (300 keV) the electron–nucleus bremsstrahlung was found to be almost completely linearly polarized. The same behavior was found in electron–electron bremsstrahlung. By using a transversely polarized electron beam the photon emission asymmetry was measured for fixed direction of the outgoing electrons.     

The design of a spin-polarized slow positron beam

Spin-polarized low-energy positrons were considered as useful probes for studying electron spin states of both surface and bulk materials. Due to the spin-dependent interactions between electrons and positrons, the formation of positronium (Ps), an electron-positron bound system, can be distinguished from different electron spin states. Recently, a positron source of ¹⁸F has been developed for a spin polarized slow positron beam at the institute of physical and chemical research (RIKEN). The design of an electrostatic positron beam will be discussed in conjunction with a spin rotator.     

Observation of radially polarized terahertz radiation generated by a sub-picosecond electron beam

The fundamental property of radially polarized terahertz radiation, which is axial symmetry of the polarization state in the radial direction, was measured with a Schottky diode detector and with a terahertz camera and wire-grid linear polarizer. Radially polarized terahertz radiation was generated from coherent transition radiation using a 30-MeV sub-picosecond electron beam. Bow-tie intensity distributions, aligned along the polarization direction, were clearly observed with the terahertz camera and could be rotated by changing the direction of the linear polarizer. The measured intensity distribution agreed with the calculated value. A video of the data can be found online.     

主链型偶氮聚酯的合成和光响应性研究

合成了一种主链含偶氮生色团的线性聚酯,用核磁共振、热分析、紫外-可见光谱、红外光谱、GPC等方法对其结构进行了表征.该聚合物膜在线偏振激光的作用下,光致取向形成的双折射各向异性Δn可达0.07.聚合物的旋涂膜经干涉的P偏振488nmAr⁺激光照射60min后,得到了规则的正弦表面起伏光栅,光栅的一级衍射效率约为18%.     

Mechanistic insight into circularly polarized photoluminescence from a chiral-nematic film

Circularly polarized photoluminescence (CPPL) was characterized for rod-like molecules of Exalite 428 helically arranged in a chiral-nematic liquid crystalline film. With an unpolarized excitation at 370nm, CPPL intensities measured at 428nm, and a selective reflection wavelength ranging from 7.2 to 72.6mum, the observed dissymmetry factor, g, was found to be in excellent agreement with theoretical prediction, without resorting to adjustable parameters. As a result, new insight into liquid crystal-induced CPPL has emerged. Specifically, it was found that circular dichroism and circular polarization of the excitation beam prior to inducing linearly polarized photoluminescence (LPPL) at quasi-nematic layers play an insignificant role. The relatively large g value in the spectral region far removed from the selective reflection band was attributed to the circular polarization of LPPL emanating from all quasi-nematic layers comprising the chiral-nematic film. In the absence of a fluorescent dye, the propagation of unpolarized light through the chiral-nematic film under otherwise identical conditions results in no circular polarization. The present study has provided a foundation for generating circularly polarized light by way of photo-excitation with unpolarized light of a chiral-nematic film containing a fluorescent dye. e e     

Circular dichroism effect for linear molecules induced by a resonant circularly polarized pumping optical field

In this paper we propose and discuss the laser-induced circular dichroism (LICD) effect, which is expected to occur in linear molecules pumped by a strong circular resonant light beam. The effect is to be detected via the absorption of a weak circularly polarized probe beam on another transition. Analogous to the external magnetic field in magnetic circular dichroism the resonant circular polarized pumping optical field can induce the nonzero antisymmetric rotational polarizabilities of a linear molecule, and cause the LICD effect. LICD contains three distinct contributions from M-dependent splittings of the sublevels mid R:JM due to the ac Stark effect, from the differences of Boltzmann statistical distributions among the ground state sublevels mid R:JM due to the ac Stark splittings, and from the changes of occupation probability in rotational sublevels mid R:JM due to the pumping effect. The fundamental formulas for the above three terms of LICD have been deduced by the density matrix method. As an example, the LICD for CO molecules have been calculated. The results indicate that in comparison with the rotationally resolved magnetic vibrational circular dichroism experiment, LICD may be measurable and form a basis of a different kind of CD spectroscopy.     

Exact semiclassical solution for the time evolution of a quantum-mechanical system in a circularly polarized monochromatic driving field

A closed-form exact solution is presented for the time evolution operator of a nonrelativistic hydrogen atom driven by a circularly polarized monochromatic light beam. The solution has the form U(t, 0) = exp(?itF)exp(?itG), where F and G are time independent operators. All temporal effects of the oscillating field are included. Extension to other systems is easily made. A generalization of the rotating wave approximation to multilevel systems is also presented.     

Asymmetry of bremsstrahlung from transversely polarized electrons

By using an electron-photon coincidence method the photon emission asymmetry in the elementary process of bremsstrahlung from transversely polarized electrons was measured. For an electron beam of 300 keV incident on a gold target the asymmetry for spin up and down of the primary beam was measured for fixed direc-tions of the outgoing electrons and photons as a function of the energy split. Asymmetries up to 30% were found. The measurements are a proper test for theories going beyond the first Born approximation.     

X-ray resonant Raman scattering on Ni employing polarized and unpolarized exciting radiation

The X-ray resonant Raman scattering effect on nickel was studied by means of monochromatic polarized and unpolarized exciting radiation, respectively. Experiments involving polarized exciting radiation were carried out at the four crystal monochromator beamline of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt for synchrotron radiation from 4 to 10 keV at the electron storage ring BESSY II. Resonant Raman spectra of thin Ni foils were recorded at the Cu-K_α (8041 eV) exciting beam energy. In the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the N.C.S.R. Demokritos, the resonant Raman spectrum of a thick nickel target was also recorded for an unpolarized Cu-K_α (8041 eV) exciting beam produced after the ionization of a thick Cu target by 1.7 MeV protons in a triaxial, orthogonal geometry.In the present work, the individual spectral characteristics and the methodological approaches adopted for the extraction of the Ni-RRS cross sections, with respect to each mode of excitation, are presented, compared and discussed. An excellent agreement was found between the Ni KL-RRS cross sections determined for polarized and unpolarized exciting radiation confirming the theoretical predictions within the experimental uncertainties achieved.     

Formation of bragg gratings with large angular multiplicity by means of the photoinduced reorientation of azobenzene copolymers

Optically transparent thick films of methacrylate copolymer containing donor-acceptor-type azobenzene and cyanobiphenyl moieties were prepared, and their optical properties were explored in terms of a photoinduced change in molecular alignment and the formation of Bragg gratings with angular and polarization multiplicity. Azobenzene moieties substituted with ethoxy, cyano, and nitro groups were employed, and their photoresponsive behavior was investigated. It was found by polarized UV-vis spectroscopy that the alignment of azobenzene moieties in the films was random in the initial state but became perpendicular to the direction of polarization of the writing beam after irradiation with a linearly polarized beam from an Ar+ laser at 514 nm. The film containing the cyanoazobenzene moieties showed the fastest formation of optical anisotropy due to an efficient change in molecular alignment. When two linearly polarized beams from the Ar+ laser were allowed to interfere in the films with a thickness of 200 microm, the diffraction beam was observed immediately and reached 97% upon photoirradiation at 200 mW/cm2 for 5 min. It was clearly observed that the response time became shorter with an increase in the light intensity of the writing beams, maintaining the high diffraction efficiency. Furthermore, it was clearly seen that the diffraction efficiency strongly depended on the direction of polarization of the reading beam. Holographic multiple data storage in a film was demonstrated, and 55 holograms with angular multiplicity were recorded successfully. In addition, multiple data storage using the polarization and angle selectivity simultaneously was first demonstrated.     

Measurement of exchange and spin-orbit effects and their interference in elastic e-Cs scattering at 7 eV

Twenty years ago a theoretical analysis showed that electron scattering by high-Z one-electron atoms might lead to interference of exchange and spin-orbit interactions at low electron energies, observable as a cross-section asymmetry if unpolarized electrons are scattered by polarized cesium atoms. By using a highly polarized cesium atomic beam, we studied exchange and spin-orbit effects at different electron energies, starting at 20 eV and going down. We observed the first distinctly non-zero interference asymmetry at 7 eV: Over the angular range of 35 to 145°, it varies between +0.02 and ?0.02 and goes through zero near 110° being negative at larger angles.     

Polarization transfer in then 2 P-excitation of alkali atoms by longitudinally polarized electrons

In (ns — np)-excitation of alkali atoms by polarized electrons some of the spin orientation of the primary electron beam is transfered to the excited atoms because of exchange collisions. In the present work the polarization transfer to Na, K, Rb, and Cs respectively is studied by looking for the circular light polarization of (np — ns)-decay radiation emitted in forward direction following impact excitation by a beam of longitudinally polarized electrons. Maximum polarization transfers are observed at collision energies with values about 1.5 times that ofnp-thresholds. The transfer increases with increasing atomic number. In case of (6s — 6p)-excitation of cesium 45% of primary electron spin polarization is transfered to the atoms at maximum. The agreement with available close coupling data is satisfactory.     

Stretching effect of linearly polarized Ar+ laser single-beam on azo polymer colloidal spheres

This work shows that a linearly polarized Ar+ laser single-beam irradiation can cause stretching deformation of azo polymer colloidal spheres along the polarization direction of the laser beam. An epoxy-based polymer, containing 4-amino-4'-carboxyazobenzene at each repeat unit, was used to construct the colloidal spheres. The colloidal spheres were prepared by gradual hydrophobic aggregation of the polymeric chains in a THF/H2O dispersion medium, which was induced by a steady increase in the water content. When the obtained colloidal spheres were exposed to the spatially filtered and collimated Ar+ laser beam (488 nm, 150 mW/cm2), the colloids were stretched along the polarization direction of the laser beam. In the testing period (20 min), the colloids were deformed continuously as the irradiation time increased. When 2D close-packed arrays of the colloidal spheres were irradiated by the polarized laser single-beam, the colloidal spheres were all uniformly stretched along the polarization direction of the laser beam. On the contrary, when the arrays were irradiated by the interfering p-polarized laser beams, only the colloidal spheres in the bright regions of the interference pattern were significantly deformed.     

Pump–probe second harmonic generation study of ultrafast spin dynamics in semiconductor multilayers

We report the first application of pump–probe second harmonic generation (SHG) measurements to characterize optically induced magnetization in non‐magnetic multilayer semiconductors. In the experiment, spin‐polarized electrons are excited selectively by a pump beam in the GaAs layer of GaAs/GaSb/InAs structures. However, the resulting net magnetization manifests itself through the induced SHG probe signal from the GaSb/InAs interface, thus indicating a spin‐polarized electron transport across the heterostructure. We find that the magnetization dynamics are governed by an interplay between the spin density evolution at the interfaces and the spin relaxation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Imaging of tautomerism in a single molecule

Fluorescence imaging is used to visualize directly the transfer of two inner hydrogen atoms in single porphycene molecules. This reaction leads to a chemically equivalent but differently oriented structure and hence results in a rotation of the transition dipole moments. By probing single immobilized molecules with an azimuthally polarized laser beam in the focal spot of a confocal microscope we observe ring-like emission patterns, possible only for a chromophore with two nearly orthogonal transition dipole moments. Numerical simulations of the observed emission patterns yield a value of 72 degrees for the angle between the S0-S1 transition moments in the two tautomeric forms.     

激光诱导聚酰亚胺纳米微结构中分子链取向排列的研究

通过Nd:YAG偏振脉冲激光辐射聚酰亚胺薄膜,在其表面制得大面积纳米级周期性微线条,线条的周期性为200nm,线条方向始终平行于偏振激光束电场方向,线条横截面为圆形或椭圆形柱状结构.采用偏振反射红外光谱分别在平行与垂直纳米线条的方向上测试聚合物表面分子IR吸收光谱,结果发现,1722和1231cm^-1处的吸收有明显的二向色性,表明微线条内聚合物分子链部分呈现取向排列,且聚酰亚胺分子链方向与微线条方向垂直.     

Bragg-type polarization gratings formed in thick polymer films containing azobenzene and tolane moieties

Holographic gratings were formed in thick polymer films containing azobenzene and diphenylacetylene (tolane) moieties in the Bragg regime. Amorphous polymers containing various contents of the azobenzene moiety with photosensitivity and the tolane moiety with large birefringence in the side chain were synthesized, and optically transparent thick polymer films were prepared. The films were irradiated with a linearly polarized beam from an Ar+ laser (488 nm), and the transmittance of a He-Ne laser beam (633 nm) through a pair of crossed polarizers, with the film between them, was measured to estimate a photoinduced birefringence (deltan). The value of deltan increased with an increase in the tolane moiety content in the polymer films. When two linearly polarized beams at 488 nm were interfered in the film, a diffraction beam was observed, and the maximum diffraction efficiency (eta) increased with the tolane moiety content. In the film containing 70 mol% of the tolane moiety, the highest eta of 99% was achieved, and angular selectivity due to Bragg diffraction was clearly observed. We consider the cooperative molecular motion of the tolane moieties to be induced by the photoinduced change in alignment of the azobenzene moieties even if the polymers show no liquid-crystalline phase. When two orthogonal circularly polarized beams were allowed to interfere in the film, a Bragg-type polarization grating was formed. It was found that the value of eta reached 90% within 920 ms.