Anomalous phonon-mediated damping of a driven quantum dot embedded in a high-Q semiconductor microcavity

We describe and employ a recently developed polaron master equation model to study the fluorescence spectra of a coherently driven quantum dot (QD) placed within a high-Q semiconductor microcavity (with Q the quality factor). We investigate phonon-induced damping in a regime where many cavity photons are required, and we also compare the resonance fluorescence spectra obtained using an effective phonon master equation in Lindblad form where simple analytical expressions are identified for various phonon-induced scattering rates. We consider two separate continuous-wave pumping scenarios, where either the system is driven through exciton pumping or the system is driven via the cavity. The cavity-QED (quantum electrodynamics) system is pumped sufficiently strongly such that the low-energy sideband of the Mollow triplet is tuned across the cavity mode resonance which is negatively detuned from the QD. For comparison, we also consider the case where the QD-cavity detuning is large enough such that the Mollow triplets do not spectrally overlap with the cavity mode. We find that the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the high-energy Mollow sideband shows a pronounced nonlinear dependence on the pump intensity when the low-energy component of the triplet overlaps with the cavity mode (or vice versa), and can even be reduced with increased pumping. However, the FWHM depends linearly on the pump intensity when the Mollow triplets are far from the cavity resonance. We observe similar fluorescence spectra for both the exciton-driven system and the cavity-driven system.     

Relaxation effects in two-dimensional zero-field nutation NQR spectroscopy

The relaxation and off-resonance effects on the NQR (nuclear quadrupole resonance) nutation frequency and on the damping constant of the nutation spectrum for spinsI = 3/2 are considered. Using the solution of dynamic equations for nuclear magnetisation in the rotating frame, we obtained a general expression for determination of the asymmetry parameter η, which includes the relaxation time and frequency offset. Specific requirements for the RF (radio frequency) field allowing the presence of nutation and the sufficient resolution of nutation spectra are determined. It is shown that at low RF field it is necessary to take into account theT ₂ relaxation effect on the location of frequency singularities in the nutation spectrum. The values ofH ₁ andT ₂ must be exactly known in nutation NQR spectroscopy. The 2D NQR spin-echo separation technique was used for determination of transverse relaxation of individual spin packets in case of inhomogeneously broadened NQR lines, so that the asymmetry parameter could then be determined by the nutation experiment with consideration of relaxation effects and frequency offset. The theoretical results are confirmed experimentally for the narrow and inhomogeneously broadened 2D-nutation NQR spectra in several molecular compounds containing the³⁵Cl and⁷⁵As nuclei.     

Some aspects of SERS temporal fluctuations: analysis of the most intense spectra of hydrogenated amorphous carbon deposited on silver

Surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a C:H) deposited on silver substrates have been recorded with a confocal Raman microscope. When scattered radiation is collected during a short time from an area of a few square micrometres, the subsequently measured SERS spectra often exhibit strong temporal changes (fluctuations). In this paper we present examples of spectra for which the intensity maxima of the fluctuating narrow Raman bands are significantly higher than that of the background (the background is usually dominated by two broad Raman bands centred at about 1350 and 1590 cm⁻¹). In a series of successively measured spectra, one can find spectra with noticeably different total integral intensity. This suggests that the results of averaging the spectra revealing strong and weak fluctuations may be different (at least in intensity). The influence of some electrolytes on the SERS spectral fluctuations is also analysed. Our experiments revealed that the efficiencies of quenching of the SERS spectral fluctuations by various electrolytes are significantly different. We suggest that only anions directly interacting with the metal surface quench strong SERS fluctuations, and that the large differences between chloride and perchloride solutions are caused by differences in the strength of interaction of Cl⁻ and ClO₄⁻ anions with the silver surface. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

反应磁控溅射法制备的氟化类金刚石薄膜的XPS结构研究

采用射频反应磁控溅射法用高纯石墨作靶、三氟甲烷(CHF₃)和氩气(Ar)作源气体制 备了氟化类金刚石（FDLC）薄膜，通过XPS光谱结合拉曼光谱、红外透射光谱和紫外 可见光光谱研究了源气体流量比等工艺条件对薄膜中键结构、sp2/sp3杂化比以及光学带隙等性能的影响.结果表明在低功率(60W)、高气压(2.0Pa)和适当的流量比(Ar/CHF₃=2∶ 1)下利用射频反应磁控溅射法可制备出氟含量高且具有较宽光学带隙和超低介电常数的FDLC薄膜. 关键词： 反应磁控溅射 氟化类金刚石薄膜 红外透射光谱 XPS光谱     

Dipolar Biexcitons in Lateral Traps in Si/SiGe/Si Heterostructures

Si/Si_1–xGe_x/Si heterostructures with large-scale (micrometer-size) lateral potential fluctuations at the upper SiGe/Si-cap heterointerface are grown. These potential fluctuations are caused by partial strain relaxation in the SiGe layer. Low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra show that these fluctuations form lateral traps where photoexcited nonequilibrium charge carriers are accumulated and bind into dipolar excitons, which ultimately recombine. At temperatures below 6 K, a new narrow line with a width considerably less than that of the dipolar exciton PL line emerges in the spectra as the level of excitation increases. It is shown that this line is associated with the recombination of dipolar biexcitons in large-scale traps.     

Radio-frequency μSR experiments at the ISIS pulsed muon facility

This paper explores the use of pulsed radio-frequency (RF) techniques to remove the frequency limitations imposed on conventional transverse muon spin rotation (μSR) experiments at a pulsed muon source by the finite muon pulse width. The implementation of the 90° pulse technique is demonstrated by observing the free precession signal of diamagnetic muons implanted in polythene, the change in signal amplitude as a function of RF pulse length is plotted and the precise condition for a 90° pulse determined. The technique is evaluated by comparing measurements made using conventional spin rotation experiments to those employing pulsed RF methods. The potential for applying standard NMR multiple-pulse methods to the μSR experiment is considered and the use of two-pulse RF sequences (90° _x ?τ?90° _x and 90° _x ?τ?180° _x ) to form a muon spin echo demonstrated.     

Similarity Changes Analysis for Heart Rate Fluctuation Regularity as a New Screening Method for Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a chronic cardiovascular condition associated with dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Heart rate variability (HRV) has been widely used to assess ANS. This paper proposes a new HRV analysis method, which uses information-based similarity (IBS) transformation and fuzzy approximate entropy (fApEn) algorithm to obtain the fApEn_IBS index, which is used to observe the complexity of autonomic fluctuations in CHF within 24 h. We used 98 ECG records (54 health records and 44 CHF records) from the PhysioNet database. The fApEn_IBS index was statistically significant between the control and CHF groups (p < 0.001). Compared with the classical indices low-to-high frequency power ratio (LF/HF) and IBS, the fApEn_IBS index further utilizes the changes in the rhythm of heart rate (HR) fluctuations between RR intervals to fully extract relevant information between adjacent time intervals and significantly improves the performance of CHF screening. The CHF classification accuracy of fApEn_IBS was 84.69%, higher than LF/HF (77.55%) and IBS (83.67%). Moreover, the combination of IBS, fApEn_IBS, and LF/HF reached the highest CHF screening accuracy (98.98%) with the random forest (RF) classifier, indicating that the IBS and LF/HF had good complementarity. Therefore, fApEn_IBS effusively reflects the complexity of autonomic nerves in CHF and is a valuable CHF assessment tool.     

Relaxationsphänomene in Mössbauerspektren von magnetisierten paramagnetischen Substanzen

The Mössbauer spectra of partly magnetized FeNH₄(SO₄)₂·12 H₂O show a broadening and a shift of the hyperfine structure lines, reflecting the paramagnetic spin fluctuations. These fluctuations and their influence on the γ-spectrum may be treated in a spin wave model without introducing phenomenological parameters. By means of a simple diagram technique we get a line broadening γ and line shift δ, proportional to second and third order polynomials of the magnetization and to ∫g ² dΩ and ∫g ³ dΩ, respectively.g(Ω) is the frequency spectrum of spin waves. The values of the two frequency integrals, as deduced from the measured Mössbauer data γ and δ of ferric alum, are in reasonable agreement with the results obtained from the calculated spin wave spectrum, assuming pure magnetic dipole-dipole coupling (long wave length approximation of Holstein-Primakoff). A small contribution of non-magnetic dipole-dipole interaction (van Vleck) cannot be excluded.     

Design optimization of tunneling field-effect transistor based on silicon nanowire PNPN structure and its radio frequency characteristics

Recently, a number of semiconductor devices have been widely researched in order to make breakthroughs from the short-channel effects (SCEs) and high standby power dissipation of the conventional metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). In this paper, a design optimization for the silicon nanowire tunneling field-effect transistor (SNW TFET) based on PNPN multi-junction structure and its radio frequency (RF) performances are presented by using technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulations. The design optimization was carried out in terms of primary direct-current (DC) parameters such as on-current (I_on), off-current (I_off), current ratio (I_on/I_off), and subthreshold swing (SS). Based on the parameters from optimized DC characteristics, basic radio frequency (RF) performances such as cut-off frequency (f_T) and maximum oscillation frequency (f_max) were analyzed. The simulated device had a channel length of 60 nm and a SNW radius of 10 nm. The design variable was width of the n-doped layer. For an optimally designed PNPN SNW TFET, SS of 34 mV/dec and I_on of 35 μA/μm were obtained. For this device, f_T and f_max were 80 GHz and 800 GHz, respectively.     

The design of a body RF coil for low-field open MRI using pseudo electric dipole radiation and simulated annealing

The paper presents a new body RF coil design scheme for a low-field open MRI system. The RF coil is composed of four rectangular loops which are made of wide copper strips located near the surfaces of the bottom and top pole faces of the permanent magnet. The body RF coil has been designed by using the pseudo electric dipole radiation (PEDPR) method with the Metropolis algorithm. In the calculation of the RF fields via the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method, the computational time increases as the RF frequency becomes lower. Moreover, the computational process using the FDTD method takes a very long time when the RF coil is optimized. The optimization requires varying the configuration of the RF coil system and performing successive calculations of field strength and field homogeneity. When we perform these successive calculations, the computational time can be reduced by using the PEDPR method, where the segmented current elements of the RF coil are treated as pseudo electric dipole radiation sources. Because the RF coil is made of wide strips, the variation of the current density on the strip has been considered in the B₁-field calculation. For each configuration of the RF coil system, the current distribution is calculated via circuit analysis, where each copper strip is considered as a parallel combination of current element lines. The preliminary field calculation study by the FDTD method verifies both the circuit analysis method for the current distribution and the PEDPR method for the radiation field strength. The optimization of the RF coil configuration is performed by the Simulated Annealing (SA) process using the Metropolis algorithm. Simulations have been performed for a 10 MHz RF frequency. The optimized RF coil has four rectangular loops of 37 cm × 100 cm with 6.5 cm wide strips which are separated vertically 49 cm and horizontally center-to-center 63 cm. In the 25 cm diameter of spherical volume (DSV), the design results show a good field inhomogeneity of the B₁-field below 0.49 dB (5.8%).     

Generalized RF Pulse Train with Insensitivity to B 1 Inhomogeneity

Adiabatic inversion recovery radiofrequency (RF) pulse techniques are used to address B ₁ inhomogeneity; however, the specific absorption rates of these techniques are significantly higher than that of non-adiabatic RF pulse techniques. In addition, time efficiency is poorer because of the required longer inversion recovery time. Therefore, an RF pulse train with three subpulses was previously developed and reported. The purpose of this article was to generalize the RF pulse train for tissues with different T ₁ relaxation times and in a different application. The RF pulse train B ₁ insensitivities and frequency responses were calculated with different T ₁ relaxation times and different subpulse durations using the Bloch equation. The previously reported optimal flip angle (FA) combination was used. When using the optimal FA combination, the RF pulse train B ₁ insensitivity did not change even if the T ₁ relaxation times and the subpulse durations did change. In other words, the optimal FA combination does not require adjustments according to the T ₁ and subpulse duration. The RF pulse train frequency responses with these subpulses can be dramatically improved even if the inherent subpulse frequency response is poor. This finding will facilitate RF pulse train technique implementation on magnetic resonance imaging scanners.     

Resonance fluorescence and Raman line shapes produced by monochromatic laser fields: Effects of branching ratio and homogeneous broadening

The Heitler-Ma damping theory is developed for a two level system in which the excited state is homogeneously, and irreversibly coupled to various continuum states with a total decay rate 1/τ. We give particular consideration to the channel consisting of a third, discrete, atomic level and a continuum of emitted photons, which simply corresponds to a spontaneous resonant Raman process. The theory applies to either a narrow, pulsed, laser beam, or injection of target atoms or molecules into a c.w. field.In this paper, we examine the t=∞ spectra as a function of field strength, detuning from resonance, and especially as a function of the upper state broadening, characterized by the branching ratio f_A=τ/t_A, where τ^-_A is the natural resonance fluorescence lifetime. For strong fields, we obtain the usual resonance fluorescence spectrum centered at the incident, pumping frequency, with two symmetric side bands displaced by the Rabi frequency. If f_A→0, the spectrum approaches the one-photon limit, with the height of the side bands equal to $\text{1}\text{2}$ that of the central peak and all of equal width. In this limit, the target predominantly decays into the Raman or other irreversible channels, and only a single laser photon contributes to the extremely weak resonance spectrum. At the opposite extreme, f_A→1, the target scatters many photons out of the laser-field before it is optically pumped into a non-interacting state and the spectrum exhibits the infinite cascade properties obtained by Mollow. The side bands become broadened, with a height equal to $\text{1}\text{3}$ of the central peak. In this theory, we obtain a more complete interpretation of the elastically scattered delta function, which is an artifact of the infinite lifetime of the atom in the usual two-level theories. In both limits of f_A, we obtain a Raman lineshape which is unchanged and is simply a function of the total width ?/τ of the excited state.     

Study of the structural, dielectric and magnetic properties of Bi2O3 and PbO addition on BiFeO3 ceramic matrix

In this paper we studied the effects of Bi₂O₃ and PbO addition on BiFeO₃ (BFO) ceramic matrix. The structural, dielectric and magnetic properties of fifteen BFO samples were discussed in view of possible applications in RF and microwave devices. The present work also reports the preparation of the samples. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) were also added as a binder in the fabrication procedure. The samples have been studied by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and magnetic hysteresis measurements. Further, a study based on impedance spectroscopy also has been done. Dielectric permittivity (ε′) and dielectric loss (tan δ) were measured at room temperature in the frequency range 100 Hz-10 MHz, as well as a.c. conductivity. The -Im[Z(f)] versus Re[Z(f)] plot has been obtained. The samples were investigated in view of possible applications like miniaturized filters, diplexers and dielectric resonator antennas (DRA). In the RF and MW frequency region, the application of magneto-dielectric and multiferroic perovskite composite materials is desirable for the miniaturization of components.     

Reconstruction of randomly under-sampled spectra for in vivo 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy

PurposeOver the past decade, many techniques have been developed to reduce radiofrequency (RF) power deposition associated with proton decoupling in in vivo Carbon-13 (¹³C) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). In this work we propose a new strategy that uses data under-sampling to achieve reduction in RF power deposition.Materials and methodsEssentially, proton decoupling is required only during randomly selected segments of data acquisition. By taking advantage of the sparse spectral pattern of the carboxylic/amide region of in vivo ¹³C spectra of brain, we developed an iterative algorithm to reconstruct spectra from randomly under-sampled data. Fully sampled data were used as references. Reconstructed spectra were compared with the fully sampled references and evaluated using residuals and relative signal intensity errors.ResultsNumerical simulations and in vivo experiments at 7 Tesla demonstrated that this novel decoupling and data processing strategy can effectively reduce decoupling power deposition by greater than 30%.ConclusionThis study proposes and evaluates a novel approach to acquire ¹³C data with reduced proton decoupling power deposition and reconstruct in vivo ¹³C spectra of carboxylic/amide metabolite signals using randomly under-sampled data. Because proton decoupling is not needed over a significant portion of data acquisition, this novel approach can effectively reduce the required decoupling power and thus SAR. It opens the possibility of performing in vivo ¹³C experiments of human brain at very high magnetic fields.     

An optical (Q)PSK-RF-signal transmitter based on two cascaded Mach-Zehnder modulators

This paper proposes an optical transmitter to generate phase-shift-keying (PSK) radio frequency (RF)-signal, using two cascaded single-drive Mach-Zehnder modulators (SDMZMs). With input of a continuous-wave (CW) light, an electrical non-return-to-zero (NRZ) data, and an RF-local oscillator (RF-LO) signal at a frequency of ω_l, the transmitter can simultaneously produce three PSK signals and two CW tones on both sides in spectrum, by employing nonlinear modulation technique. With the help of optical filters, the desired signals can be selected to mix at a photodetector (PD) to obtain a PSK-RF-signal with the carrier frequency of ω_l, 3ω_l, or 5ω_l. Our scheme can be easily extended to generate quadrature PSK-RF-signal. The feasibility of our proposal is experimentally and numerically verified.     

Coherence resonance on a forbidden magnetic-dipole transition excited in optically oriented Cs atoms by two magnetic fields: an Inclined SHF field and a transverse RF field

It is shown that the coherence created by a resonance transverse superhigh-frequency (SHF) field induces, under the action of a longitudinal SHF and transverse radio-frequency (RF) nonresonance fields, the Zeeman coherences on two adjacent allowed Δm = 1 transitions. Under the action of an RF transverse field these coherences induce further a coherence on a forbidden Δm = 2 transition. The resonance behavior of such coherence was earlier observed experimentally when the RF-field frequency coincided with the Δm = 2 transition frequency. The theoretical conclusions are in quantitative agreement with the experiment.     

Radiative corrections in laser-dressed atoms: formalism and applications

The dressing of atomic states in a strong laser field modifies the structure of the incoherently scattered fraction of the laser intensity, which is described to a good approximation by the Mollow spectrum. The incoherent spectrum is generated by the fluctuations of the atomic dipole moment about its expectation value, and the positions of the peaks are approximately given by the energy differences between the dressed atomic energy levels. In this paper, we investigate radiative corrections received by the dressed states. Our calculations are motivated by the quest to understand in detail the interplay of a bound electron dressed by the highly populated laser mode and its interaction with the vacuum modes. Alternatively, this may be seen as an electron experiencing modified stimulated and spontaneous radiative corrections in a vacuum tailored by the laser field. We obtain dressed self-energy shifts that depend on the Rabi flopping frequency (and in turn on the laser intensity) and on the detuning of the laser field relative to the atomic resonance frequency. We find that the dressed radiative corrections differ in a nontrivial manner from the radiative shifts of the ‘bare’ atomic states.     

Heteronuclear Polarization Transfer by Radiofrequency-Driven Dipolar Recoupling Under Magic-Angle Spinning

At high spinning speeds, standard cross polarization (CP) can be difficult due to the narrow sideband structure of the matching condition. Recent proposals have been made to broaden the matching condition with respect to the applied spin-locking field strengths through the use of simultaneous, rotor-synchronized phase inversions of the spin-locking fields (the SPICP pulse sequence), specifically as relevant to CP between ¹H and ¹³C at spinning speeds sufficient to modulate the relevant dipolar couplings. This has been shown to effectively reduce sensitivity to RF inhomogeneity and fluctuations in overall RF power; however, the sensitivity to chemical shift (offset and anisotropy) remains. Application of the technique to the problem of polarization transfer between low-γ nuclei with large bandwidths (e.g., ¹³C and ¹⁵N) is therefore problematic: the transfer efficiency varies across the spectrum and is optimized for only a narrow region around resonance. A solution to this problem is presented in the form of the RFDRCP (RF-driven recoupling in CP) sequence. In this new method, rotor-synchronized (composite) π pulses are placed between the simultaneous phase inversions of the SPICP sequence to periodically invert the chemical-shift terms in the Hamiltonian, thereby removing their effects to zero order. The zero-order average Hamiltonian for this sequence is analogous to the average Hamiltonian for the homonuclear RFDR sequence. The technique has successfully been used to acquire 2D ¹³C-¹⁵N correlation spectra of uniformly labeled amino acids.     

Deviation of 1/f voltage fluctuations from scale-similar Gaussian behavior

Recent measurements on thin metal films suggest a pulse model of resistance fluctuations in which scale similarity and power law spectra are only approximate. We show that such a pulse model is consistent with stationary Gaussian resistance fluctuations. This is to be contrasted with the phenomenological behavior, of fluctuations near phase transitions and in turbulent fluids where the fluctuations are non-Gaussian, but exhibit scale similarity of deep physical origin. We then critically examine other tests of the Gaussian behavior of the fluctuating voltageV(t) across a resistor. These include the relaxation of the conditional mean V(t)¦V(0)=V ₀, and the spectrum ofV ²(t). We consider also the question of time reversal invariance. We further ask under what conditions 1/f noise can be measured through fluctuations of the Johnson noise power with no applied voltage. We emphasize that this possibility, suggested and observed by Voss and Clarke, requires thatV(t) contain a non-Gaussian component.