Comparison of Overhauser DNP at 0.34 and 3.4?T with Frémy’s Salt

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) is investigated in the liquid state using a model system of Frémy's salt dissolved in water. Nuclear magnetic resonance signal enhancements at 0.34 and 3.4?T of the bulk water protons are recorded as a function of the irradiation time and the polarizer concentration. The build-up rates are consistent with the T(1n) of the observed water protons at room temperature (for 9?GHz/0.34?T) and for about 50?±?10?°C at 94?GHz/3.4?T. At 94?GHz/3.4?T, we observe in our setup a maximal enhancement of -50 at 25?mM polarizer concentration. The use of Frémy's salt allows the determination of the saturation factors at 94?GHz by pulsed ELDOR experiments. The results are well consistent with the Overhauser DNP mechanism and indicate that higher enhancements at this intermediate frequency require higher sample temperatures.     

First laser oscillation and broad tunability of 1 at. % Yb-doped Sc2O3 and Lu2O3 ceramics

We report the first oscillation achieved on 1?at. % Yb-doped Sc2O3 and Lu2O3 ceramics under quasi-CW pumping at 968?nm. With Sc2O3 we measured a maximum output power of 2.2?W with a slope efficiency of 59% at 1040.5?nm. Comparable results are obtained with Lu2O3 at 1032.5?nm, i.e., 1.8?W with a corresponding slope of 45%, while at 1078?nm we measured 1.5?W with 34% of slope efficiency. Finally, we present the range of tunability, which exceeds 41?nm for both samples. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first measurements reported in literature either in terms of laser emission or continuous tunability range achieved with 1?at. % doping level.     

High-power diode-pumped fiber laser operating at 3 μm

A high-power diode-cladding-pumped Ho3?-doped fluoride glass fiber laser operating in cascade mode is demonstrated. The ?I?→?I? and ?I?→?I? laser transitions produced 0.77 W at a measured slope efficiency of 12.4% and 0.24 W at a measured slope efficiency of 5.2%, respectively. Using a long fiber length, which forced a large threshold for the ?I?→?I? transition, a wavelength of 3.002 μm was measured at maximum output power, making this system the first watt-level fiber laser operating in the mid-IR.     

Nd:GdVO4 self-Raman laser using double-end polarised pumping at 880 nm for high power infrared and visible output

We report and evaluate a novel double-end polarised 880?nm pumping scheme for a Nd:GdVO₄ self-Raman laser, aimed at efficiently generating high output powers in the near-infrared and visible. Compared to conventional single-end pumping, this pump scheme has significant benefits in terms of absorption efficiency, temperature effects in the crystal, and mode-matching between the pumping beam and TEM₀₀ resonator mode. The maximum first-Stokes output powers were 4.1?W for CW operation and 5.63?W for quasi-CW (50?% duty-cycle) operation, with the diode-Stokes conversion efficiency of 11.2?% and 10.3?%, respectively. Visible emission was also realised by intra-cavity frequency-doubling (586.5?nm) or sum-frequency-generation (559?nm) using BBO or LBO crystals. For CW operation, the maximum output power was 3.46?W at 586.5?nm and 4.05?W at 559?nm, with diode-visible conversion efficiency of 10.7?% and 12.5?%; while for quasi-CW operation (50?% duty-cycle), the maximum output peak power was 6.5?W at 586.5?nm and 9.2?W at 559?nm, corresponding to 13.1?% and 18.9?% diode-visible conversion efficiency.     

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.     

A 7.5?W quasi-continuous-wave sodium D2 laser generated from?single-pass sum-frequency generation in LBO crystal

We report a high-power, narrow linewidth and tunable quasi-continuous-wave (QCW) yellow laser system at 589.159?nm. The system is of a design employing single-pass sum-frequency generation (SFG) in a LBO crystal by mixing the 1064?nm with 1319?nm lines from a two diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG master oscillator-power amplifier (MOPA) laser system. With the pump power of 35?W at 1064?nm and 25?W at 1319?nm, a 7.5?W QCW output of the SFG yellow laser at 589.159?nm, which is the vacuum wavelength of a general sodium D₂ line, is obtained with a linewidth less than 0.7?GHz and a beam-quality factor M ²=1.2. The wavelength of the laser can be precisely step-tuned from 589.148 to 589.167?nm with an increment of 0.13?pm by means of a temperature-controlled etalon.     

Compositional dependence of the deformation behaviour of ultrahigh-purity Ti–Al alloys

The present study is concerned with the effect of the O and Al concentrations on the deformation behaviour of ultrahigh-purity (UHP) Ti–(48,?50,?52)?at.%?Al alloys using UHP Ti with 30?wt?ppm?O. It has been shown that yield strength increases with increasing O content. Stoichiometric Ti–50?at.%?Al alloys had the lowest yield strength and the highest ductility when the O content was sufficiently low. It is suggested that the deformation mechanism of UHP binary Ti–Al is strongly related to the Al concentration. The deformation substructure of UHP Ti–48?at.%?Al is shown to be dominated by ordinary dislocation as well as deformation twinning and a small portion of superdislocations. The deformation substructure of UHP Ti–50?at.%?Al alloy was similar to that of Ti–48?at.%?Al, but deformation twinning was not observed. Most of dislocation structures of UHP Ti–52?at.%?Al alloy consisted of faulted dipoles. The major deformation mode of UHP Ti–48?at.%?Al and UHP Ti–50?at.%?Al alloys was ordinary dislocation in deformation orientation, which takes advantage of ordinary dislocation slip. However, the major deformation mode in this orientation for UHP Ti–52?at.%?Al alloys was superdislocation slip.     

All-passive phase locking of a compact Er:fiber laser system

A passively phase-locked laser source based on compact femtosecond Er:fiber technology is introduced. The carrier-envelope offset frequency is set to zero via difference frequency generation between a soliton at a wavelength of 2?μm and a dispersive wave at 860?nm generated in the same highly nonlinear fiber. This process results in a broadband output centered at 1.55?μm. Subsequently, the 40?MHz pulse train seeds a second Er:fiber amplifier, which boosts the pulse energy up to 8?nJ at a duration of 125?fs. Excellent phase stability is demonstrated via f-to-2f spectral interferometry.     

High-energy directly diode-pumped Q-switched 1617 nm Er:YAG laser at room temperature

We describe high-energy Erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) lasers operating at 1617?nm, resonantly pumped using 1532?nm fiber-coupled laser diodes. A maximum continuous wave output power of 4.3?W at 1617?nm was achieved with an output coupler of 20% transmission under incident pump power of 29.7?W, resulting in an optical conversion of 14% with respect to the incident pump power. In Q-switched operation, the pulse energy of 11.8?mJ at 100?Hz pulse repetition frequency and 81?ns pulse duration was obtained. This energy is the highest pulse energy reported for a directly diode-pumped Q-switched Er:YAG laser operating at 1617?nm.     

Demonstration of soft x-ray laser of Ne-like Ar at 69.8 nm pumped by capillary discharge

The demonstration of a 69.8?nm laser on 3p 3P2 - 3s 1P1 (J=2-1) transition of Ne-like Ar pumped by capillary discharge is reported in this Letter. A main current of 12?kA with rise time of 43?ns was chosen to generate the plasma in a 35?cm long capillary filling with pressure of Ar as low as 11?Pa, resulting in a gain coefficient of 0.34?cm(-1) and gain-length product of 11 at 69.8?nm. Also observed is a weak laser on 3p 3D2 - 3s 3P1 (J=2-1) transition of Ne-like Ar at 72.6?nm in the same condition. In addition, multiwavelength lasing at 46.9, 69.8, and 72.6?nm was simultaneously realized in a capillary discharge plasma column, conditioning the pressure of Ar to 13?Pa.     

Diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser at 1342 nm with periodically poled LiNbO3

In this Letter, we demonstrate a nonlinear-mirror (NLM) mode-locked diode-pumped solid-state Nd:YVO4 laser operating at 1342?nm, in which the NLM comprises a periodically poled LiNbO3 crystal and a dichroic mirror. The self-starting threshold for cw mode locking is 1.5?W, which is significantly lower than that of saturable absorber mode locking. An average power of 1.52?W at 1342?nm is obtained under diode pump power of 10?W at 808?nm, with the slope efficiency being up to 16.8%. The pulse width and the repetition rate of the mode-locked laser output are about 9.5?ps and 101?MHz, respectively.     

Rotational dynamics of gold nanoparticle chains in water solution

In this study, the optical properties of two nano-sized polymer colloids in optical coherence tomography (OCT) were compared in vitro with respect to their potential use as contrast agents. We used two types of particles: compact hydrophobic spherical polystyrene (PS) particles and soft water-swollen nanogel (NG) particles both with grafted hydrophilic shell, both prepared at two different sizes (PS at 300 and 150?nm, NG at 300 and 200?nm). The OCT backscattering signals of the particles in a vessel-mimicking highly scattering agar/TiO₂ phantom were compared on either number of particles or weight percent. Larger particles and higher concentrations produced higher OCT contrast. At each concentration tested, a markedly higher contrast was achieved by PS particles than NG particles. PS particles generated a markedly higher OCT contrast than the phantom at concentrations of at least 1?×?10¹⁰ or 0.1?% for PS 300?nm and at least 3?×?10¹¹ particles/mL or 0.4?% for PS 150?nm. The contrast generated by NG 300?nm was above the phantom contrast at concentrations of at least 3?×?10¹¹ particles/mL or 1?%, whereas NG 200?nm only at 4?%. At any given weight percent, the differences in OCT contrast between differently sized particles were much less evident than in the comparison based on particle number. PS 300?nm generated also a good contrast ex vivo on chicken muscle tissue. These results strongly suggest that PS spheres have strong potential as intravascular OCT contrast agent, while NG particles need further contrast enhancer for being used as OCT contrast agent.     

Atom location by channelling-enhanced microanalysis and the ordering of Ti2AlNb

Atom location by channelling-enhanced microanalysis (ALCHEMI) has been applied to a Ti₂AlNb compound of composition Ti–23?at.%?Al–21?at.%?Nb so as to deliver absolute compositions for the three sublattices. These compare well with our own neutron diffraction measurements and with previously reported neutron diffraction results. The thus-validated ALCHEMI method has been applied to a single-phase Ti₂AlNb compound of composition Ti–27.5?at.%?Al–23?at.%?Nb annealed at three different temperatures.     

Diversity combining for long-range acoustic communication in deep water

A recent experiment showed that coherent long-range acoustic communication is feasible in deep water over a ～550?km range between a source towed slowly at ～75?m depth and a horizontal line array towed at 3.5 knots at ～200?m depth. This letter further demonstrates that diversity combining mitigates channel fading and increases the output signal-to-noise ratio. Using sparse channel-estimate-based equalization, three transmissions are combined successfully to decode a 40?Hz bandwidth (230-270?Hz) 8 phase-shift-keying communication signal, achieving an effective data rate of 17 bits/s at ～550?km range.     

The effect of annealing on the proton conductivity of Mg-doped α-Al2O3

In order to evaluate the effect of annealing treatment on the proton conductivity of ??-alumina, the electrical conductivity of Mg-doped polycrystalline ??-alumina kept at 1,873?K under various conditions of the surrounding atmosphere and then cooled in the furnace was measured in the temperature range 1,173?C1,473?K. The H⁺/D⁺ isotope effect on the electrical conductivity was also examined under a hydrogen atmosphere at 1,273?K. The protonic conductivity measured at 1,273?K increased with the increase in the activity of oxygen and water vapor in the annealing atmosphere at 1,873?K. It is considered that the solubility limit of magnesium ions in ??-alumina in equilibrium with the small amount of the spinel phase increased with the increase in the activity of oxygen and water vapor at 1,873?K. This enhanced amount of magnesium ions is frozen in a non-equilibrium state to 1,273?K and works as the enriched acceptor dopant for the incorporation of protons.     

Sub-nanosecond, 1–10?kHz, low-threshold, non-critical OPOs based on periodically poled KTP crystal pumped at 1,064?nm

We employed a 9-mm long periodically poled KTiOPO₄ (PPKTP) crystal in an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) to generate sub-nanosecond idler pulses around 2.8???m. With a 1-cm long OPO cavity in a singly resonant configuration and double pass pumping by 1-ns pulses at 1,064?nm, the maximum idler energy reached 110???J at 1?kHz. Pumping with 500?ps pulses at 1?C10?kHz, resulted in an idler energy of ~50???J and the shortest pulse duration of ~250?ps, ever reported for an OPO. The corresponding quantum conversion efficiencies were 32.5 and 34.9?%, respectively.     

The structure and mechanical properties of Fe2AlMn single crystals

The microstructure and mechanical properties of off-stoichiometric single-crystal Fe₂AlMn have been investigated. After casting, the alloy contained two sets of thermal antiphase boundaries, (a/4)?111? and (a/2)?100?, which are attributed to the fact that the compound solidifies into a bcc structure and subsequently orders to a B2 structure and then a L2₁ structure respectively upon further cooling. Crystals strained under tension at room temperature in air at 1s^?1 showed 6% elongation, whereas specimens strained at 1?×?10^?5?s^?1 showed no elongation, indicating that the compound is sensitive to the testing environment. Fracture occurred on {100} in both cases. Compression tests showed that a yield anomaly was present at intermediate temperatures, with the peak yield strength occurring at about 800?K, which is slightly below the L2₁–B2 transition temperature of 898?K. The slip systems were found to be ?111?{110} at room temperature and 800?K. Transmission electron microscopy observations showed fourfold-dissociated ?111? dislocations in specimens strained at room temperature but only paired ?111? dislocations in specimens strained at the peak temperature. The room-temperature yield strength of quenched specimens increased with increasing quench temperatures from 700 to 1100?K.     

Electromagnetic Plasma Modes at ?pe

The problem of the electromagnetic plasma radiation near the electron plasma frequency ?pe is studied in the absence of an external magnetic field. Maxwell's equations together with the fluid equations, which include thermal effects, are solved for an infinite geometry as well as for a finite geometry, and the problem of the eigenmodes at a plasma frequency ? ?pe is studied. The excitation of these modes by a small density relativistic beam is discussed. It is shown that the presence of a small density beam with finite ?o/c (where ?o is the beam velocity and c the velocity of light in a vacuum) in a plasma of finite thermal velocity, can couple linearly the plasma oscillations excited by the beam with the electromagnetic plasma mode at ?pe. It is also shown that surface waves at a frequency ? ?pe can be excited by the beam.     

The thermal stability of and nature of damage in Ti alloys subject to high-strain-rate deformation

Samples of Ti–6?wt%?Al–4?wt%?V and Timet 550 (Ti–4?wt%?Al–4?wt%?Mo–2?wt%?Sn–0.5?wt%?Si?wt%), which have been deformed at a strain rate of 5?s^?1, were annealed after thinning so that the visibility of dislocations in transmission electron microscopy could be compared before and after annealing. It has been found that imaging with g?=?0002 produces clear images of dislocations before and after annealing, but that imaging with other diffracting vectors gives reasonable dislocation images only after annealing to at least 700°C. The sharpness of Kikuchi lines in diffraction patterns obtained from fully annealed samples, deformed at 10^?1 and 5?s^?1, has been examined. The lines are sharp for all planes in the fully annealed samples, but become more diffuse in samples deformed at 10^?1?s^?1. However, in samples deformed at 5?s^?1 the Kikuchi lines from (0002) planes are sharp but the lines from all other planes are diffuse. These observations are interpreted in terms of the presence of a high density of defects, which do not distort the elastically strong (0002) planes as significantly as they distort all other planes. These observations are discussed with respect to the recent claim that a particular Ti alloy deforms by a mechanism that does not involve dislocations.     

Thermal Conductivity of poly-p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole Film along the In-Plane Axis in the 10–300 K Temperature Range

The thermal conductivities of compression molded thin films of poly-p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole (PBO) were measured in directions along an in-plane axis in the 10–300?K temperature range by a steady-state heat flow method, with interest in the use of the material for superconductivity applications. The thermal conductivities of the PBO films increased from 0.3?W/mK to 9.0?W/mK with increasing temperature from 10?K to 300?K and these were much higher than those of polyimide films, epoxy resin and glass fiber reinforced plastics at all temperatures. The 9.0?W/mK at 300?K was 60% of that of stainless steel (SUS304). It was 6?W/mK at 150?K, which was half that of SUS304 and was 3.3?W/mK at 77?K, which was 33% of that of SUS304. The thermal conductivities of the PBO films were lower than those of a cloth of high strength ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene fiber reinforced plastics in the 30?K–180?K temperature range and were almost equivalent to its values in the 180?K–300?K temperature range. The main contribution to the thermal conduction in the PBO films was from thermal phonon conduction along the molecular chains. Although many kinds of high thermal conductivity polymeric materials have been prepared by a uni-directional drawing process or by adding high thermal conductive additives, the PBO film showed high thermal conductivity without a uni-directional drawing process or high thermal conductive additive.