Frequency-comb-referenced quantum-cascade laser at 4.4 microm

We report what we believe to be the first absolute frequency measurement performed using a quantum-cascade laser (QCL) referenced to an optical frequency comb synthesizer (OFCS). A QCL at 4.43 microm has been used for producing near-infrared radiation at 858 nm by means of sum-frequency generation with a Nd:YAG source in a periodically poled lithium niobate nonlinear crystal. The absolute frequency of the QCL source has been measured by detecting the beat note between the sum frequency and a diode laser at the same wavelength, while both the Nd:YAG and the diode laser were referenced to the OFCS. Doppler-broadened line profiles of (13)CO(2) molecular transitions have been recorded with such an absolute frequency reference.     

Frequency spectrum of tantalum at temperatures of 293–2300 K

The temperature dependence of the frequency spectrum of tantalum in the temperature range from room temperature to 2300 K has been studied for the first time using inelastic slow-neutron scattering. The inelastic slow-neutron scattering spectra have been measured at different temperatures on a DIN-2PI time-of-flight spectrometer installed at the IBR-2 nuclear reactor (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia) with the use of a TS3000K high-temperature thermostat. From the measured spectra, the frequency spectra of the tantalum crystal lattice have been determined at temperatures of 293, 1584, and 2300 K by the iteration method. As the temperature increases, the frequency spectrum, on the whole, is softened and the specific features manifested themselves at room temperature are smoothed. The variations observed have been explained by the increase in the role of the effects of vibration anharmonism at high temperatures.     

Synchronization of spontaneous otoacoustic emissions to a 2f1-f2 distortion product

Synchronization of spontaneous otoacoustic emissions to a cubic distortion frequency fs = 2f1-f2 has been studied. Stimulus, consisting of two primary tones at frequency f1 and f2, could easily be filtered out of the microphone signal. This enabled us to monitor emission phase with respect to synchronization frequency fs, by recording zero-crossing moments of the microphone signal. When primaries were sufficiently loud (typically 30 dB SPL), phase fluctuated around a constant value: The emission was constantly synchronized to fs. Lowering primary levels (to typically 20 dB SPL) resulted in 2 pi-phase jumps at random moments: The emission occasionally slipped out of synchronization, trying to maintain its own natural frequency f0. This behavior can be described as synchronization of an oscillator (frequency f0) to a sinusoidal force (frequency fs) in the presence of noise.     

Measurement of the electric quadrupole moment of the 4d2D5/2 level in 88Sr+

The quadrupole moment of the 4d (2)D(5/2) level in 88Sr+ has been measured to be 2.6(3)ea(2)(0), where a(0) is the Bohr radius and e the elementary charge. A single laser-cooled strontium ion was confined in an end cap trap with a variable dc quadrupole potential, and measurements were made on the 5s (2)S(1/2)-4d (2)D(5/2) transition at 674 nm using a femtosecond optical frequency comb. This work shows that measurements of the unperturbed 88Sr+ transition frequency with sub-Hz uncertainty are possible and is important in understanding the reproducibility of ion trap optical frequency standards.     

Calculation of accurate imaginary frequencies and tunnelling coefficients for hydrogen abstraction reactions using IRCmax

The effect of level of theory on the imaginary frequency and corresponding tunnelling coefficients has been studied for a test set of hydrogen abstraction reactions: ?CH₂X + CH₃Y → CH₃X + ?CH₂Y for (X,Y) = (H,H), (H,CN), (H,F), (H,Li) and (F,Li). It is found that the imaginary frequency is very sensitive to the level of theory used, with Hartree-Fock (HF) methods severely overestimating the imaginary frequency compared with high-level CCSD(T)/6-311G(d,p) calculations. The errors for the other methods are smaller but nonetheless significant, with MP2 methods overestimating the imaginary frequency and density functional theory (DFT) methods underestimating it. In the case of the HF methods, this leads to errors in the tunnelling coefficient of several orders of magnitude, while for the better DFT and MP2 methods errors of a factor of 2–3 are observed. To address this problem, an IRCmax procedure for estimating the imaginary frequency has been developed and it is found that IRCmax imaginary frequencies calculated with CCSD(T)/6-311G(d,p) single points along a low-level HF/6-31G(d) minimum energy path provide excellent approximations to the high-level values, at a fraction of the computational cost.     

Testing the concept of softness imperception: loudness near threshold for hearing-impaired ears

Buus and Florentine [J. Assoc. Res. Otolaryngol. 3, 120-139 (2002)] have proposed that loudness recruitment in cases of cochlear hearing loss is caused partly by an abnormally large loudness at absolute threshold. This has been called "softness imperception." To evaluate this idea, loudness-matching functions were obtained using tones at very low sensation levels. For subjects with asymmetrical hearing loss, matches were obtained for a single frequency across ears. For subjects with sloping hearing loss, matches were obtained between tones at two frequencies, one where the absolute threshold was nearly normal and one where there was a moderate hearing loss. Loudness matching was possible for sensation levels (SLs) as low as 2 dB. When the fixed tone was presented at a very low SL in an ear (or at a frequency) where there was hearing impairment, it was matched by a tone with approximately the same SL in an ear (or at a frequency) where hearing was normal (e.g., 2 dB SL matched 2 dB SL). This relationship held for SLs up to 4-10 dB, depending on the subject. These results are not consistent with the concept of softness imperception.     

Improved analysis for SRS- and XPM-induced crosstalk in SCM-WDM transmission link in the presence of HOD

In this paper, the improved analysis for SRS- and XPM-induced crosstalk has been reported. The modified expression for XPM-induced crosstalk has been obtained and SRS- and XPM-induced crosstalks have been reported at varied walkoff parameter, modulation frequency, input optical power and transmission distance. It has been observed that there is exponent decrease in SRS-induced crosstalk with the increase in modulation frequency from 0 to 2.0 GHz. It varies with the increase in length and lie in the range of (−114 to −122.4) dB and (−115.5 to −124.4) dB at 20 and 100 km, respectively. Moreover, it increases exponentially with the increase in input optical power and lies in the range of (−121.6 to −130.6) dB at 10 mW and grows exponentially up to the range of (−114 to −122.8) dB at 60 mW optical powers at walkoff parameter of (13.6, 27.2, 54.4 and 81.6) ps/km. It has been observed that the XPM-induced crosstalk increases exponentially with the increase in transmission distance and modulation frequency for 2OD and 3OD. Furthermore, it has been found that the total SRS- and XPM-induced crosstalk rises exponentially with fluctuations with the increase in modulation frequency and transmission length in the presence of combined effect of 2OD and 3OD at varied walkoff parameters.     

Sum and difference frequency generation of white light continuum with the ps pulses of Nd:YAG laser in a thick BBO crystal

The white light continuum (WLC) generated in water/D₂O mixture by pumping with the fundamental of ps Nd⁺³:YAG laser has been used as a variable frequency source for the sum frequency generation as well as for its amplification. 35 ps long pulses with 8 mJ energy at 1064 nm were mixed collinearly with the WLC generated by the same laser beam in a 20 mm thick BBO crystal. The obtained tunable output has been identified as the sum frequency between the fundamental and a portion of the WLC with the required phase matching. Theoretical simulations are also given along with a few initial experiments to use this combination for the difference frequency generation (optical parametric amplification) under non-collinear geometry.     

Two-Dimensional MHD Simulations of Magnetic Field Penetration in the Plasma Opening Switch

Three mechanisms for anomalous magnetic field penetration have been investigated in computer simulations of Sandia's plasma opening switch (POS). The POS simulations have been performed using the two-dimensional (2-D) two-temperature single-fluid magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code HAM [1], [2]. The three penetration mechanisms considered are 1) the Chodura model based on the ion-acoustic instability where the saturated value of the anomalous collision frequency is approximated by the ion plasma frequency; 2) a model based on the lower hybrid instability in which the anomalous collision frequency is proportional to both the ion plasma frequency and the electron drift velocity; and 3) a model that limits the ion drift velocity to the plasma influx velocity. Two-dimensional MHD calculations of the POS will be presented which show these models to be qualitatively similar for densities above a few 1013 cm-3, though at lower densities they can be quite different. The calculations are compared to experiments, and some agreement is seen with the lower hybrid model. The other models compare only marginally to experimental results.     

High-frequency susceptibility of a multilayered ferromagnetic system with two-dimensional inhomogeneities

This paper reports on the results of the investigation of the high-frequency susceptibility of a layered ferromagnetic structure in which, apart from a periodic change in the magnetic anisotropy parameter from layer to layer, this parameter varies along layers according to a random law (the superlattice with two-dimensional phase inhomogeneities). The evolution of the frequency dependence of the imaginary part of the averaged Green’s function in the range of the energy gap (band gap) in the spectrum of waves propagating along the superlattice axis due to the change in the relative root-mean-square fluctuations of the phase γ2 has been studied at the boundaries of the odd Brillouin zones. It has been found that, for all odd Brillouin zones, the imaginary part of the Green’s function exhibits a universal behavior: the peak corresponding to the edge of the band gap with a lower frequency remains unchanged, and the peak corresponding to the edge of the band gap with a higher frequency is smoothed with an increase in the quantity γ₂. These effects, which were initially revealed at the boundary of the first Brillouin zone of the sinusoidal superlattice, have been explained, as before, by the specific features of the energy conservation laws for the incident and scattered waves in the lattice with two-dimensional inhomogeneities. It has been demonstrated that an increase in the Brillouin zone number leads to a decrease in the value of γ₂ at which the peak at the edge of the band gap with a higher frequency disappears.     

Phase-locked optical divide-by-3 system for visible radiation

An optical divide-by-3 system has been developed to phase lock a diode-pumped Tm:YAG laser at 148 THz (2022 nm) to a frequency near 1/3 that of an ultrastable diode laser system at 445 THz (674 nm). The 148-THz radiation is frequency doubled in angle-tuned AgGaS(2) and frequency differenced with the 445-THz radiation in noncritically phase-matched LiNbO(3) , generating two signals at 297 THz, which are mixed on a photodiode. An electronic servo system is used to control the frequency of the Tm:YAG laser and to phase lock it to the visible diode laser output. Phase-locking periods of several minutes are routinely obtained.     

Sizeable pure tensor polarization of deuterons in a solid

A new effect of dynamic nuclear orientation has been observed in deuterated 1, 2-ethanediol, (CD₂OH)₂, at 0.12 K in a magnetic field of 25 kG: a strong RF field applied at a frequency slightly different from the proton Larmor frequency changes the deuteron tensor polarization. Mechanisms for this effect are proposed.     

Picosecond parametric Raman laser based on KGd(WO4)2 crystal

Simultaneous frequency up and down conversion using a biharmonically pumped parametric Raman laser (PRL) based on a KGd(WO₄)₂ (KGW) crystal has been demonstrated experimentally. Collimated beams have been generated for both the 1st anti-Stokes (1AS) at 511 nm and 2nd Stokes (2S) at 579 nm by four-wave parametric Raman interaction. To excite PRL biharmonically, we pumped the KGW crystal with 20 ps pulses at the fundamental 530 nm and its 1st Stokes component at 555 nm. The 1st Stokes pump beam was generated using stimulated Raman scattering in a separate KGW Raman oscillator. The energy conversion efficiencies reached experimentally were 10% for the 2S and 4% for the 1AS.     

Microwave frequency modulation in CW EPR at W-band using a loop-gap resonator

Loop-gap resonator (LGR) technology has been extended to W-band (94GHz). One output of a multiarm Q-band (35GHz) EPR bridge was translated to W-band for sample irradiation by mixing with 59 GHz; similarly, the EPR signal was translated back to Q-band for detection. A cavity resonant in the cylindrical TE011 mode suitable for use with 100 kHz field modulation has also been developed. Results using microwave frequency modulation (FM) at 50 kHz as an alternative to magnetic field modulation are described. FM was accomplished by modulating a varactor coupled to the 59 GHz oscillator. A spin-label study of sensitivity was performed under conditions of overmodulation and gamma2H1(2)T1T2<1. EPR spectra were obtained, both absorption and dispersion, by lock-in detection at the fundamental modulation frequency (50 kHz), and also at the second and third harmonics (100 and 150 kHz). Source noise was deleterious in first harmonic spectra, but was very low in second and third harmonic spectra. First harmonic microwave FM was transferred to microwave modulation at second and third harmonics by the spins, thus satisfying the "transfer of modulation" principle. The loaded Q-value of the LGR with sample was 90 (i.e., a bandwidth between 3 dB points of about 1 GHz), the resonator efficiency parameter was calculated to be 9.3 G at one W incident power, and the frequency deviation was 11.3 MHz p-p, which is equivalent to a field modulation amplitude of 4 G. W-band EPR using an LGR is a favorable configuration for microwave FM experiments.     

色氨酸的非线性分频荧光研究

色氨酸 (Trp)在 350nm处产生一个荧光峰 ,在 70 0nm处产生一个 (分频 )荧光峰 ,此两峰荧光强度F3 50nm 和F70 0nm 均与Trp浓度 ( 0～ 1× 10 -5mol·L-1 )成线性关系 ,随着Trp浓度增大 ,350和 70 0nm半峰宽(Δλ) 3 50 ,(Δλ) 70 0 缓慢减小 ,而F70 0nm/F3 50nm 值和半峰宽比 (Δλ) 70 0 /(Δλ) 3 50 为一常数 ,此两峰具有相似的荧光特性。根据建立的分频荧光能级原理和非线性共振分频荧光原理探讨了色氨酸分频荧光峰产生的原因     

High-Resolution FTIR Spectrum of the nu(12) Band of trans-d(2)-Ethylene

The nu(12) band of trans-d(2)-ethylene (trans-C(2)H(2)D(2)) has been recorded with an unapodized resolution of 0.0024 cm(-1) in the frequency range of 1240-1360 cm(-1) by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. This band was found to be relatively free from any local frequency perturbations. By fitting a total of 1185 infrared transitions of nu(12) with a standard deviation of 0.00043 cm(-1) using a Watson's A-reduced Hamiltonian in the I(r) representation, a set of accurate rovibrational constants for v(12) = 1 state was derived. The nu(12) band is A type with a band center at 1298.03797 +/- 0.00004 cm(-1). Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Characterization and investigation of the unique plasma behavior caused by variable driving frequencies in the formation of cold atmospheric plasma

The study presents the characterization of a novel variable frequency (11–50 kHz) Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet (APPJ) source and comparison of the results with 13.56 MHz source, in terms of species generation and species temperature. The behavior of variable frequency APPJ at different frequency regimes was investigated using optical emission spectroscopy to understand the interaction with the ambient environment. The quantitative dependence of the radical generation on driving frequency and time of treatment was also analyzed by direct synthesis of H₂O₂ by plasma-water interaction. The plasma formed with a kHz driving frequency had a low treatment temperature, which was suitable for biological species, but the plasma generated with a 13.56 MHz driving frequency had a substantially higher radical density than the kHz plasma. As a result, the APPJ device's ability to tune the radical density and treatment temperature with a change in kHz frequency has been demonstrated.     

金原子团簇的分频散射光谱研究

液相金原子团簇是一种非线性光学介质.它在580nm处产生一个最强共振散射峰.当激发波长为290nm(1.03×10¹⁵Hz)时,液相金原子团簇在580nm(1/2×1.03×10¹⁵Hz)和870nm(1/3×1.03×10¹⁵Hz)分别产生一个1/2分频和1/3分频散射峰;当激发波长为580nm(5.02×10¹⁴Hz)时在290nm(2×5.02×10^-14Hz)和870nm(2/3×5.02×10¹⁴Hz)分别产生一个2倍频和2/3分频散射峰;当激发波长为870nm(3.34×10¹⁴Hz)时在580nm(3/2×3.34×10¹⁴Hz)和290nm(3×3.34×10¹⁴Hz)分别产生一个3/2分频和3倍频散射峰.分频散射和倍频散射峰与共振散射峰具有相似的散射行为.从激励光与液相金原子团簇相互作用的运动方程出发,根据傅氏变换理论,较好地解释了液相金原子团簇产生的一些非线性散射光谱.     

Evidence for the distortion product frequency place as a source of distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) fine structure in humans. I. Fine structure and higher-order DPOAE as a function of the frequency ratio f2/f1

Critical experiments were performed in order to validate the two-source hypothesis of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) generation. Measurements of the spectral fine structure of DPOAE in response to stimulation with two sinusoids have been performed with normal-hearing subjects. The dependence of fine-structure patterns on the frequency ratio f2/f1 was investigated by changing f1 or f2 only (fixed f2 or fixed f1 paradigm, respectively), and by changing both primaries at a fixed ratio and looking at different order DPOAE. When f2/f1 is varied in the fixed ratio paradigm, the patterns of 2 f1-f2 fine structure vary considerably more if plotted as a function of f2 than as a function of fDP. Different order distortion products located at the same characteristic place on the basilar membrane (BM) show similar patterns for both, the fixed-f2 and fDP paradigms. Fluctuations in DPOAE level up to 20 dB can be observed. In contrast, the results from a fixed-fDP paradigm do not show any fine structure but only an overall dependence of DP level on the frequency ratio, with a maximum for 2f1-f2 at f2/f1 close to 1.2. Similar stimulus configurations used in the experiments have also been used for computer simulations of DPOAE in a nonlinear and active model of the cochlea. Experimental results and model simulations give strong evidence for a two-source model of DPOAE generation: The first source is the initial nonlinear interaction of the primaries close to the f2 place. The second source is caused by coherent reflection from a re-emission site at the characteristic place of the distortion product frequency. The spectral fine structure of DPOAE observed in the ear canal reflects the interaction of both these sources.