Investigation of passive metal electrodes using modulation spectroscopy

There are many uncertainties left about the structure of semiconducting passive layers on metal electrodes. In this report an optic-electric method is described which makes it possible to determine the change of the layer structure in relation to the electrode potential. By modulating the electrode potential this method results in changing the oxidation degree in connection with the optical properties of the surface layer. Measuring the modulated reflectance of a passive nickel electrode yields new information about the structure of the layer in the potential region between the first and the second passivity. Further investigations of iron and titanium electrodes are described.     

Measurements of air discharges from insulating,electrostatic dissipative and conductive materials with different ESD probes

In this work, we have compared the performance of three different kinds of passive resistor-transmission line ESD probes: an unshielded ball probe, a shielded ball probe with the ESD current collected on a coaxial wire tip, and a needle-like probe. We have measured discharges from ESD sources having different surface resistivities including charged insulator surfaces, electrostatic dissipative materials and metal plates. In compliance with the results, there is no single probe type that is ideal for all kinds of situations—there are significant differences between the probe responses comprising sensitivity, charge transferred and peak ESD current. As expected, the initiation of air discharges was suppressed in accordance with increasing surface resistivity of the ESD source.     

Comparison of two representations of a random cut of identical sphere packing

We compare two-dimensional froths obtained by radical tessellation of random planar cuts made through disordered assemblies of monosize spheres at different packing fractions C from C=0 to C=0.64 with two-dimensional stereological cuts obtained through the three-dimensional froths made with the same packing. We have built numerically the packings using different algorithms. The study of both topological and metric properties shows significant differences between the two representations. Received 26 May 1999 and Received in final form 13 November 1999     

Sound radiation from point-excited structures: Comparison of plate and sphere

Acoustic radiation from a structure can be expressed in terms of “modal radiation” and “modal coefficients”. This paper investigates the contributions of these two modal properties to radiation excited by a point force. Sound radiation from two basic structures is considered: a baffled rectangular plate and a closed spherical shell. The plate behaviour is familiar, and governed by the relation between the natural frequency of a mode and its coincidence frequency. For a closed spherical shell, there are either zero or two “critical frequencies”, depending on the radius and thickness. When there are two the shell radiates well both above and below the two frequencies, and poorly in the frequency range between them.     

Piezoelectricity of porous polytetrafluoroethylene single- and multiple-film electrets containing high charge densities of both polarities

Single-film bipolar electrets of porous polytetrafluoroethylene are generated by means of a two-step corona-charging process at elevated temperatures. Quasi-static direct piezoelectric coefficients of up to 0.15 nC/N have been observed on these films. In addition, multiple-layer stacks of porous and non-porous polytetrafluoroethylene films with monopolar charge were also investigated. While the piezoelectric responses of the stacks were not as high as those of the single films, the multiple-film arrangements may have other advantages such as better electrical shielding or tunable mechanical properties and adjustable acoustical impedance. Our new results are discussed in the context of the emerging field of porous polymer electrets with many potential device applications.     

Comparison of two coplanar waveguide electrodes for Ti:LiNbO3 interferometric modulators

The coplanar waveguide travelling-wave electrodes widely used for Z-cut Ti:LiNbO₃ Mach-Zehnder optical modulators can be divided into two types. One has a wide centre electrode and small electrode gaps, while the other has a narrow centre conductor, wide gaps, and a relatively thick buffer layer. An accurate method for analysing the operational efficiency of the devices with these two electrode structures has been developed using the Galerkin method and the point matching method. Simulation results show that the interaction efficiency of the interferometric modulator with a narrow centre conductor is slightly lower than that with a wide centre electrode. However, the former is more promising because it can achieve a 50 transmission line matched with the drive circuit. The optimization of the optical waveguide position and the fabricational tolerance on the alignment of the electrode pattern are also discussed.     

Edge solitons of topological insulators and fractionalized quasiparticles in two dimensions

An important characteristic of topological band insulators is the necessary presence of in-gap edge states on the sample boundary. We utilize this fact to show that when the boundary is reconnected with a twist, there are always zero-energy defect states. This provides a natural connection among novel defects in the two-dimensional p{x}+ip{y} superconductor, the Kitaev model, the fractional quantum Hall effect, and the one-dimensional domain wall of polyacetylene.     

Comparison of methods for processing acoustic intensity from orthogonal multimicrophone probes

One design for three-dimensional multimicrophone probes is the four-microphone orthogonal design consisting of one microphone at an origin position with the other three microphones equally spaced along the three coordinate axes. Several distinct processing methods have been suggested for the estimation of active acoustic intensity with the orthogonal probe; however, the relative merits of each method have not been thoroughly studied. This comparative study is an investigation of the errors associated with each method. Considered are orthogonal probes consisting of matched point sensor microphones both freely suspended and embedded on the surface of a rigid sphere. Results are given for propagating plane-wave fields for all angles of incidence. It is shown that the lowest error for intensity magnitude results from having the microphones in a sphere and using just one microphone for the pressure estimate. For intensity direction, the lowest error results from having the microphones in a sphere and using Taylor approximations to estimate the particle velocity and pressure.     

Calculation of cladding modes using both two layer and three layer geometry in LPFG

In this paper we have calculated cladding modes of long period fiber grating. We have calculated cladding modes using both two layer (Graphical solution method) geometry and three layer geometry proposed by Erdogan. We have compared both these techniques, discussed the limitations of Graphical solution method and benefits of three layer geometry.     

Combined ellipsometric and reflectometric measurements of surface processes on noble metal electrodes

Linear approximation expressions for the optical effects due to the growth of very thin films on metal electrodes are discussed. It is concluded that the combined results of electromodulated reflectometric and ellipsometric measurements may provide better diagnostic criteria in the analysis of this type of surface processes. Transient measurements of the small changes in Δ may be performed with an off-null ellipsometric technique. Results of such experiments are discussed for three different surface processes: the early stage in the surface electro-oxidation of gold in acid solution, anionic electrosorption on platinum and hydrogen ad- and absorption on platinum and palladium. Variation of the modulation frequency allows to resolve surface processes which occur simultaneously, according to their characteristic relaxation times.     

A novel technique for measurement of self-generated magnetic fields and the plasma density in laser produced plasmas from the Faraday rotation using two color probes

Diagnostic information about the self-generated magnetic fields (SGMF) generated in laser produced plasmas is normally obtained by measuring the Faraday rotation angle (FRA) of a linearly polarized laser probe beam passing through the plasma. Simultaneous recording of the corresponding interferogram is required to get the density information necessary for estimating the magnetic field. The problem with this method is that the visibility of the fringes in the interferogram can be poor, and the SGMF cannot be calculated in the regions where the interference fringes are not observable. In this paper, we propose a new method to obtain the density distribution and the SGMF from two simultaneous measurements of FRA using two probe beams of different colors, which allows one to calculate the SGMF without the need of interferometry.     

Electrical and thermal behavior of non-ferrous noble metal electrodes exposed to MRI fields

MRI is a valuable tool in invasive epilepsy surgery evaluation. However, its use is limited due to concerns that under those conditions it may injure the brain. This study investigates the thermal and electrical behavior of electrodes exposed to MRI fields, using a phantom brain implanted with depth and grid electrodes. Voltages and temperatures were measured during various MRI scan sequences at electrodes whose numbers and orientations were varied in a pre-specified manner. Maximum SAR recorded during the scans was 1.5 W/kg. Temperature changes and DC voltages were negligible. Peak-to-peak voltage induction depended on the position, number of electrodes, MRI modality and sequence. Voltages exceeded 40 V at 63.6 MHz, only when electrode wires formed loops, reaching peak values of 72 V at RF. Estimated charge densities due to leakage currents were well within the safety limit for neural tissue, which is 30 microC/cm(2), even at the highest voltages. Although in the absence of loops, voltages and charge densities recorded in this study were, under most conditions within safe limits for brain tissue, their dependence on: a) the physical dimensions of electrode arrays; b) their position/orientation in reference to each other and to the plane of the magnetic field, and c) the MR sequence and slice thickness, may make these observations and conclusions not generalizable and thus not directly applicable to other conditions with regard to safety risks assessment.     

Spatial decay of the single-particle density matrix in insulators: analytic results in two and three dimensions

Analytic results for the asymptotic decay of the electron density matrix in insulators have been obtained in all three dimensions (D = 1,2,3) for a tight-binding model defined on a simple cubic lattice. The anisotropic decay length is shown to be dependent on the energy parameters of the model. The existence of the power-law prefactor, proportional, variant r(-D/2), is demonstrated.     

Interesting transmission and reflection from a magnetic film sandwiched between two identical metal films

Using the 4×4 transfer matrix method, we study the optical properties of a designed structure composing one magnetic film sandwiched between two identical metal films. There is a special resonant effect. At one special wavelength, the incidence of one linearly polarized light result in one pure left-handed circular polarization or one pure right-handed circular polarization with the same intensity.     

Excitation of ultrasonic Lamb waves using a phased array system with two array probes: Phantom and in vitro bone studies

Long bones are good waveguides to support the propagation of ultrasonic guided waves. The low-order guided waves have been consistently observed in quantitative ultrasound bone studies. Selective excitation of these low-order guided modes requires oblique incidence of the ultrasound beam using a transducer-wedge system. It is generally assumed that an angle of incidence, θ_i, generates a specific phase velocity of interest, c_o, via Snell’s law, θ_i = sin⁻¹(v_w/c_o) where v_w is the velocity of the coupling medium. In this study, we investigated the excitation of guided waves within a 6.3-mm thick brass plate and a 6.5-mm thick bovine bone plate using an ultrasound phased array system with two 0.75-mm-pitch array probes. Arranging five elements as a group, the first group of a 16-element probe was used as a transmitter and a 64-element probe was a receiver array. The beam was steered for six angles (0°, 20°, 30°, 40°, 50°, and 60°) with a 1.6-MHz source signal. An adjoint Radon transform algorithm mapped the time-offset matrix into the frequency-phase velocity dispersion panels. The imaged Lamb plate modes were identified by the theoretical dispersion curves. The results show that the 0° excitation generated many modes with no modal discrimination and the oblique beam excited a spectrum of phase velocities spread asymmetrically about c_o. The width of the excitation region decreased as the steering angle increased, rendering modal selectivity at large angles. The phenomena were well predicted by the excitation function of the source influence theory. The low-order modes were better imaged at steering angle ?30° for both plates. The study has also demonstrated the feasibility of using the two-probe phased array system for future in vivo study.     

A comparative study of ESD of positive and negative ions from CO on tungsten

Electron stimulated desorption of O^? ions has been demonstrated from the CO/W system. Ion yields are shown to be approximately a factor of 50 smaller for O^? than for O⁺. The O^? species is shown to originate from both α-CO adsorption states with an estimated 80% of the O^? signal coming from the CO⁺ producing α-state. Preliminary results indicate that the ion energy distribution for O^? is broader and peaks at a higher energy than for the O⁺ ions.     

Characterizing the topography of membrane receptors and signaling molecules from spatial patterns obtained using nanometer-scale electron-dense probes and electron microscopy

The flow of information through a cell requires the constant remodeling of cell signaling networks. Thus, spatially and temporally resolved microscopy of signaling components is needed to understand the behavior of normal cells as well as to uncover abnormal behavior leading to human disease. Nanoprobe labeling and transmission electron microscopy of cytoplasmic face-up sheets of cell membrane have been developed as a high-resolution approach to map the interactions of proteins and lipid during cell signaling. Membrane sheets are labeled with 3-15 nm electron-dense probes for receptors, signaling proteins and lipids and micrographs record the distributions of the probes relative to each other and to surface features. Here, we establish computational methods to extract spatial coordinates of probes from micrographs, to analyze and statistically validate the clustering and co-clustering of these probes and to integrate results between experiments in order to establish the relative spatial distributions of single and multiple probes. Our analyses, and the resulting programs for automating data collection and for carrying out statistical and clustering analyses provide toolboxes specialized for the spatiotemporal analysis and modeling of signal transduction pathways.     

Measurement of acoustic dispersion using both transmitted and reflected pulses

Traditional broadband transmission method for measuring acoustic dispersion requires the measurements of the sound speed in water, the thickness of the specimen, and the phase spectra of two transmitted ultrasound pulses. When the sound speed in the specimen is significantly different from that in water, the overall uncertainty of the dispersion measurement is generally dominated by the uncertainty of the thickness measurement. In this paper, a new water immersion method for measuring dispersion is proposed which eliminates the need for thickness measurement and the associated uncertainty. In addition to recording the two transmitted pulses, the new method requires recording two reflected pulses, one from the front surface and one from the back surface of the specimen. The phase velocity as well as the thickness of the specimen can be determined from the phase spectra of the four pulses. Theoretical analysis and experimental results from three specimens demonstrate the advantages of this new method.