Strain dependence of Brillouin frequency, intensity, and bandwidth in polarization-maintaining fibers

The strain dependence of the Brillouin gain-loss spectrum for PANDA, bow-tie, and tiger polarization-maintaining fibers has been studied in the range 0 to 50 degrees C. We found a linear relationship between the strain and the Brillouin frequency, intensity, and bandwidth for PANDA and bow-tie fibers. For PANDA fiber at 20-cm spatial resolution, Brillouin frequency gives 7-micro epsilon uncertainty, which is the highest accuracy among three parameters, whereas the Brillouin bandwidth gives 19-micro epsilon uncertainty.     

Temperature dependence of Brillouin frequency, power, and bandwidth in panda, bow-tie, and tiger polarization-maintaining fibers

We report a study of the temperature dependence of the Brillouin gain and loss for three different kinds of commercial polarization-maintaining fibers for the first time to our knowledge. The Brillouin frequency differences between the fast and slow axes are independent of the temperature, varying between 2.9 and 4.3 MHz. Using 2-ns pulses (equivalent to a spatial resolution of 20 cm), we find that the temperature coefficients for the relative Brillouin power at a wavelength of 1310 nm are 0.26%/degrees C (panda fiber), 0.23%/degrees C (bow-tie fiber), and 0.04%/degrees C (tiger fiber); the temperature coefficients for the Brillouin frequency are 1.37 MHz/degrees C (panda), 1.66 MHz/degrees C (tiger), and 2.30 MHz/degrees C (bow-tie). The temperature coefficients for the Brillouin gain bandwidth are 0.15 MHz/degrees C (panda), 0.20 MHz/degrees C (bow-tie), and 0.22 MHz/degrees C (tiger).     

Identification of human myocardial infarction in vitro based on the frequency dependence of ultrasonic backscatter.

It has been reported previously that acute and mature myocardial infarction in dogs can be differentiated in vitro and in vivo by ultrasonic tissue characterization based on measurement of the frequency dependence of ultrasonic backscatter. To characterize human infarction with an index of the frequency dependence of backscatter that could be obtained in patients, cylindrical biopsy specimens from 7 normal regions and 12 regions of infarction of 6 fixed, explanted human hearts in 2-deg steps around their entire circumference with a 5-MHz broadband transducer were insonified. One to six consecutive transmural levels were studied for each specimen. The dependence of apparent (uncompensated for attenuation or beam width) backscatter, /B(f)/2, on frequency (f) was computed from spectral analyses of radio-frequency data as /B(f)/2 = afn, where from theoretical considerations the magnitude of n decreases as scatterer size increases. Apparent integrated backscatter was computed as the average of /B(f)/2 from 3 to 7 MHz. The average value for n for normal tissue (0.9 +/- 0.1) exceeded that for tissue from regions of infarction (0.6 +/- 0.1; p less than 0.05). Infarct manifested a significant decrease of n from epicardial to endocardial levels (epi----mid----endo: 0.9----0.7----0.2; p less than 0.05) whereas normal tissue manifested similar values for n at each transmural level (0.8----1.1----0.9; p = NS). Average integrated backscatter across all transmural levels for infarct was significantly greater than for normal tissue (-48.3 +/- 0.5 vs -53.4 +/- 0.4 dB, infarct versus normal; p less than 0.05). The presence of fibrosis was associated with smaller values of n and greater integrated backscatter.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Comparison of measurements of phase velocity in human calcaneus to Biot theory

Biot's theory for elastic propagation in porous media has previously been shown to be useful for modeling the dependence of phase velocity on porosity in bovine cancellous bone in vitro. In the present study, Biot's theory is applied to measurements of porosity-dependent phase velocity in 53 human calcanea in vitro. Porosity was measured using microcomputed tomography for some samples (n = 23) and estimated based on bone mineral densitometry for the remaining samples (n = 30). The phase velocity at 500 kHz was measured in a water tank using a through-transmission technique. Biot's theory performed well for the prediction of the dependence of sound speed on porosity. The trend was quasilinear, but both the theory and experiment show similar slight curvature. The root mean square error (RMSE) of predicted versus measured sound speed was 15.8 m/s.     

The effects of source configuration on bandwidth and loss measurements in optical fibres

Bandwidth and attenuation are not uniquely defined for multimode fibres. We present a theoretical examination of the effects on bandwidth and loss measurements of varying source configurations. Choice of source radius and numerical aperture can greatly influence the results, particularly when those parameters are chosen to be substantially less than the corresponding fibre values. Other factors such as source efficiency for exciting only bound modes and the effects of source misalignments are discussed.     

Relationships of quantitative ultrasound parameters with cancellous bone microstructure in human calcaneus in vitro

Ultrasound parameters (attenuation, phase velocity, and backscatter), bone mineral density (BMD), and microarchitectural features were measured on 29 human cancellous calcaneus samples in vitro. Regression analysis was performed to predict ultrasound parameters from BMD and microarchitectural features. The best univariate predictors of the ultrasound parameters were the indexes of bone quantity: BMD and bone volume fraction (BV/TV). The most predictive univariate models for attenuation, phase velocity, and backscatter coefficient yielded adjusted squared correlation coefficients of 0.69-0.73. Multiple regression models yielded adjusted correlation coefficients of 0.74-0.83. Therefore attenuation, phase velocity, and backscatter are primarily determined by bone quantity, but multiple regression models based on bone quantity plus microarchitectural features achieve slightly better predictive performance than models based on bone quantity alone.     

Spectral modulation detection as a function of modulation frequency, carrier bandwidth, and carrier frequency region

The present study investigates the nature of spectral envelope perception using a spectral modulation detection task in which sinusoidal spectral modulation is superimposed upon a noise carrier. The principal goal of this study is to characterize spectral envelope perception in terms of the influence of modulation frequency (cycles/octave), carrier bandwidth (octaves), and carrier frequency region (defined by lower and upper cutoff frequencies in Hz). Spectral modulation detection thresholds measured as a function of spectral modulation frequency result in a spectral modulation transfer function (SMTF). The general form of the SMTF is bandpass in nature, with a minimum modulation detection threshold in the region between 2 to 4 cycles/octave. SMTFs are not strongly dependent on carrier bandwidth (ranging from 1 to 6 octaves) or carrier frequency region (ranging from 200 to 12 800 Hz), with the exception of carrier bands restricted to very low audio frequencies (e.g., 200-400 Hz). Spectral modulation detection thresholds do not depend on the presence of random level variations or random modulation phase across intervals. The SMTFs reported here and associated excitation pattern computations are considered in terms of a linear systems approach to spectral envelope perception and potential underlying mechanisms for the perception of spectral features.     

Group velocity, phase velocity, and dispersion in human calcaneus in vivo

Commercial bone sonometers measure broadband ultrasonic attenuation and/or speed of sound (SOS) in order to assess bone status. Phase velocity, which is usually measured in frequency domain, is a fundamental material property of bone that is related to SOS, which is usually measured in time domain. Four previous in vitro studies indicate that phase velocity in human cancellous bone decreases with frequency (i.e., negative dispersion). In order to investigate frequency-dependent phase velocity in vivo, through-transmission measurements were performed in 73 women using a GE Lunar Achilles Insight commercial bone sonometer. Average phase velocity at 500 kHz was 1489 +/- 55 m/s (mean +/- standard deviation). Average dispersion rate was -59 +/- 52 m/sMHz. Group velocity was usually lower than phase velocity, as is expected for negatively dispersive media. Using a stratified model to represent cancellous bone, the reductions in phase velocity and dispersion rate in vivo as opposed to in vitro can be explained by (1) the presence of marrow instead of water as a fluid filler, and (2) the decreased porosity of bones of living (compared with deceased) subjects.     

The linewidth dependence of resonant,small signal sum frequency mixing

For small input intensities, asymptotic approximations are derived for the dependence of sum frequency mixing on the pump laser linewidth, Doppler broadening, pressure broadening, and the pump laser detuning. Compared to the relations given by Stappaerts and coworkers, the results presented have a greatly extended range of validity and cover most situations of practical importance.     

The effects of window delay, delinearization, and frequency on tone-burst otoacoustic emission input/output measurements

Tone-burst otoacoustic emissions (TBOAEs) are a potential tool for objectively examining cochlear activity in humans. However, their use requires knowledge of how the TBOAE input/output depends on measurement and analysis paradigms. The present experiment examined the effect of variations in response-window timing, response delinearization, and local changes in stimulus frequency on TBOAE input/output measurement. None of these experimental manipulations had a profound effect on TBOAE measurements as long as reasonable parameter choices were made. Nonetheless, judicial choice of the experimental parameters can optimize the assessment of BM I/O functions. It is concluded that the consistency of TBOAE I/O across the parameters tested makes it a viable tool to consider for examining human cochlear activity.     

Fundamental precision limitations for measurements of frequency dependence of backscatter: applications in tissue-mimicking phantoms and trabecular bone.

Various models for ultrasonic scattering from trabecular bone have been proposed. They may be evaluated to a certain extent by comparison with experimental measurements. In order to appreciate limitations of these comparisons, it is important to understand measurement precision. In this article, an approach proposed by Lizzi and co-workers is adapted to model precision of estimates of frequency-dependent backscatter for scattering targets (such as trabecular bone) that contain many scatterers per resolution cell. This approach predicts uncertainties in backscatter due to the random nature of the interference of echoes from individual scatterers as they are summed at the receiver. The model is validated in experiments on a soft-tissue-mimicking phantom and on 24 human calcaneus samples interrogated in vitro. It is found that while random interference effects only partially explain measured variations in the magnitude of backscatter, they are virtually entirely responsible for observed variations in the frequency dependence (exponent of a power law fit) of backscatter.     

The effects of relativistic broadening and frequency down-shift on electron-cyclotron emission measurements in EAST

This paper presents a theoretical calculation of the effects of relativistic broadening and frequency down-shift on the electron cyclotron emission measurements for a wide range of plasma parameters in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). The calculation is based on the radiation transfer equation, with the reabsorption and reemission processes taken into account. The broadening effect contributes to the radial resolution of the measure- ment, and the calculation results indicate that it is ～ 2 cm in the case of the central electron temperature 10 keV. A pseudo radial displacement of the obtained electron temperature profile occurs if the relativistic frequency down-shift effect is not taken into account in the determination of the emission layer position. The shift could be a few centimeters as the electron temperature increases, and this effect should be taken into account.     

Higher-order frequency dependence of radiofrequency penetration in planar,cylindrical, and spherical models

In the last few years, solutions for radiofrequency penetration in various homogeneous geometric shapes have been presented. As imaging is pushed to very high fields, including those available in small-bore units, some further understanding of the effects of relative permittivity, ϵ_r, and conductivity, σ, is required. To this end, we compare the RF field and power deposition out to fourth order in frequency, ω, for planar, cylindrical, and spherical shapes. The expected reduced power deposition as conductivity increases is easily described. Further, modifications to the equations for the spherical model resulting from several errors in the literature are given. Even for high fields, the expressions also reveal that for physiologic values of a and ϵ, the higher-order term in ω⁴ can become small, leaving the usual first-order functional dependence on w, a, e, and geometry and, hence, a near-uniform RF penetration.     

The frequency and temperature dependence of the transverse optic mode self-energy in KCl

Measurements of the frequency dependence of the real and imaginary parts of the anharmonic self-energy of the q ≈ 0 transverse optic mode in KCl at 105 and 300 K are presented and compared to the predictions of theoretical calculations.     

The effects of relativistic broadening and frequency down-shift on electronben cyclotron emission measurements in EAST

This paper presents a theoretical calculation of the effects of relativistic broadening and frequency down-shift on the electron cyclotron emission measurements for a wide range of plasma parameters in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). The calculation is based on the radiation transfer equation, with the reabsorption and reemission processes taken into account. The broadening effect contributes to the radial resolution of the measurement, and the calculation results indicate that it is ～2 cm in the case of the central electron temperature 10 keV. A pseudo radial displacement of the obtained electron temperature profile occurs if the relativistic frequency down-shift effect is not taken into account in the determination of the emission layer position. The shift could be a few centimeters as the electron temperature increases, and this effect should be taken into account.     

Realization of low frequency and controllable bandwidth squeezing based on a four-wave-mixing amplifier in rubidium vapor

We experimentally demonstrate the creation of two correlated beams generated by a nondegenerate four-wave-mixing amplifier at λ=795 nm in hot rubidium vapor. We achieve intensity difference squeezing at frequencies as low as 1.5 kHz which is so far the lowest frequency to observe squeezing in an atomic system. The squeezing spans from 5.5 to 16.5 MHz with a maximum squeezing of -5 dB at 1 MHz. We can control the squeezing bandwidth by changing the pump power. Both low frequency and controllable bandwidth squeezing show great potential in sensitivity detection and precise control of the atom optics measurement.     

The detection of temporal gaps as a function of frequency region and absolute noise bandwidth.

Temporal gap detection was measured as a function of absolute signal bandwidth at a low-, a mid-, and a high-frequency region in six listeners with normal hearing sensitivity. Gap detection threshold decreased monotonically with increasing stimulus bandwidth at each of the three frequency regions. Given conditions of equivalent absolute bandwidth, gap detection thresholds were not significantly different for upper cutoff frequencies ranging from 600 to 4400 Hz. A second experiment investigated gap detection thresholds at two pressure-spectrum levels, conditions typically resulting in substantially different estimates of frequency selectivity. Estimates of frequency selectivity were collected at the two levels using a notched-noise masker technique. The gap threshold-signal bandwidth functions were almost identical at pressure-spectrum levels of 70 dB and 40 dB for the two subjects in experiment II, while estimates of frequency selectivity showed poorer frequency selectivity at the 70-dB level than at 40 dB. Data from both experiments indicated that gap detection in bandlimited noise was inversely related to signal bandwidth and that gap detection did not vary significantly with changes in signal frequency over the range of 600 to 4400 Hz. Over the range of frequencies investigated, the results indicated no clear relation between gap detection for noise stimuli and peripheral auditory filtering.