A simple roll measurement method based on a rectangular-prism

A novel roll measurement method based on a rectangular-prism is presented. A collimated beam is normally incident upon a rectangular-prism with splitting film, and it is divided into two parts, the reflected and the transmitted beams. The displacements of the reflected and the transmitted beams are measured by two quadrant photoelectric detectors QD₁ and QD₂, respectively. The displacement change in the y-axis caused by roll can be measured with differential measurements from two quadrant photoelectric detectors. Theoretic analyses show that the crosstalk of straightness errors and yaw errors are avoided, and the crosstalk of the pitch α can be neglected by adopting differential measurements because the direction changes of the reflected and the transmitted beams are both double the changes of pitch. In this way, the stability for the roll measurement can be greatly enhanced. The systemic model is established and the feasibility of such a system is verified by theoretical analysis and experiments. The resolution of 0.3″ and measurement accuracy of 2″ can be obtained by the set-up measurement system.     

About ageing and fading of Cr-39 PADC track detectors used as air radon concentration measurement devices

PADC detectors are widely used as air radon concentration measurement devices and the typical procedure that a Radon Service Laboratory uses to manage the detectors provides a calibration phase followed by the field measurement. The calibration is performed in a reference radon concentration atmosphere, using high radon concentration values in order to achieve typical exposure values of few MBq h m^?3 with an exposure time of few days. On the other hand the field measurement is characterized by long term exposures lasting up to six months and by radon concentrations that are quite lower than the ones used in the calibration.The aim of this study is to check whether the calibration procedure is actually representative of a field measurement, or, in other words, whether and how much ageing or fading can affect the calibration factor.We found that the ageing and fading effect can produce a decrease in the detector sensitivity leading to an underestimation of the radon concentration up to 40% for exposure lasting few months. An important issue is that both ageing and fading can be ascribed to a decrease in the track etching velocity V_t.In the paper we also provide an algorithm to compensate for the sensitivity variation due to fading/ageing effect.     

Localisation of optical modes in complex networks

Polarimeters were developed to measure the polarization of the proton beam at RHIC in relative scale through the asymmetry measurement of the elastic proton-carbon scattering. Recoil carbon ions with kinetic energy of 400 ≤ E ≤ 900 keV were detected by silicon strip detectors installed at 90° with respect to the beam. The absolute polarization is given by normalizing against another polarimeter implemented at RHIC, namely a polarized hydrogen gas jet polarimeter. In this report, the details of polarization measurements, data analysis, and systematic uncertainties are discussed based on the data taken during √s = 200 GeV operation of Run05 at RHIC.     

Improvement of confocal microscope performance by shaped annular beam and heterodyne confocal techniques

In order to further improve the performance of a confocal microscope (CM) used for measurement of surface profiles and 3D microstructures, a shaped annular beam heterodyne confocal measurement method based on annular pupil filter technique and reflection confocal microscopy, is proposed to expand the measurement range and to improve the defocused property of CM. The approach proposed uses a confocal dual-receiving light path arrangement and a heterodyne subtraction of two signals received from detectors with axial offset to enable CM to be used for bipolar absolute measurement and to improve the defocused property of CM, and it uses the annular pupil filter technique to produce a binary optical shaped annular beam, which expands the measurement range by expanding the full-width at half-maximum of intensity curve received from two detectors in a heterodyne confocal microscopy system. Theoretical analyses and experimental results indicate that a shaped annular beam heterodyne microscope has a measurement range expanded from 4 to 14 μm, achieved an axial resolution of 2 nm and improved the defocused property, when ε=0.5 and NA=0.65. It can be therefore concluded that the shaped annular beam heterodyne confocal measuring method proposed is a new approach to ultraprecision measurement of surface profiles and 3D microstructures.     

Calibration procedure of the Δ<Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis>–<Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis> detectors for <Emphasis Type="Italic">dp</Emphasis> breakup investigation at nuclotron

Calibration procedure of ΔE ? E detectors used in dp breakup reaction measurement in the framework of DSS project is discussed. Time information from all PMTs along with amplitude information and known energy values of pp quasi elastic reaction are used to find calibration coefficients for ΔE and E detectors. Calibration coefficients are used to recover deposited particle energies. ΔE vs. E plots, energies and missing mass spectra are compared with geant4 Monte Carlo simulation. Missing mass for particular physical configuration is calculated as a test of the calibration procedure quality.     

Low-temperature light detectors: Neganov–Luke amplification and calibration

The simultaneous measurement of phonons and scintillation light induced by incident particles in a scintillating crystal such as CaWO₄ is a powerful technique for the active rejection of background induced by γ?s and β  ?s and even neutrons in direct Dark Matter searches. However, ?1%$?1\text{\%}$ of the energy deposited in a CaWO₄ crystal is detected as light. Thus, very sensitive light detectors are needed for an efficient event-by-event background discrimination. Due to the Neganov–Luke effect, the threshold of low-temperature light detectors based on semiconducting substrates can be improved significantly by drifting the photon-induced electron–hole pairs in an applied electric field. We present measurements with low-temperature light detectors based on this amplification mechanism. The Neganov–Luke effect makes it possible to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of our light detectors by a factor of ∼9 corresponding to an energy threshold of ∼21 eV$\sim 21\text{eV}$. We also describe a method for an absolute energy calibration using a light-emitting diode.     

微波功率测量器件的误差分析

在微波测量领域,功率计、示波器、检波器和矢量网络分析仪都是常用测量器件,其使用过程中引入的误差对实验结果的准确性有直接的影响。在描述了功率计、示波器、检波器和矢量网络分析仪在微波功率测量领域的使用方法的基础上,分析对比了一些典型型号的测量器件在不同测量条件下引入的测量误差。实验结果表明:检波器测得的功率比示波器测得的功率最大大0.4 dB。示波器的不同带宽抑制对功率测量最大相差0.3 dB。N9917矢量网络分析仪比AV3672矢量网络分析仪在频率4 GHz,衰减器衰减幅值为60 dB时测得的功率大1 dB。     

Single event photon statistics characterization of a single photon source in an imperfect detection system

The single event photon statistics measurement of a single photon source based on the Hanbury-Brown-Twiss (HBT) configuration with an imperfect detection system is studied. It is shown that the imperfect detectors, the imperfect beam-splitter and the unbalanced linear propagation efficiencies will reduce the single event Mandel Q parameter.     

Hardware-Software Complex for Measurement of Energy and Angular Distributions of Charged Particles Formed in Nuclear Reactions

A hardware-software complex for measurement of energy and angular distributions of charged particles formed in nuclear reactions is presented. Hardware and software structures of the complex, the basic set of the modular nuclear-physical apparatus of a multichannel detecting system on the basis of ΔE–E telescopes of silicon detectors, and the hardware of experimental data collection, storage, and processing are presented and described.     

Further studies on ageing and fading of CR39 PADC track detectors used as air radon concentration measurement devices

PADC detectors are commonly used both as radon detectors and as personal dosemeters for neutron radiation. In both cases the measurement in workplace fields are characterized by long term irradiations, lasting up to several months. During this period the detectors undergo to uncontrolled and unmonitored environmental conditions. In a recent work the same authors demonstrated that the environmental conditions, mainly temperature, can seriously affect the detector sensitivity. The temperature effect is to reduce the V ratio by decreasing the track etching velocity V_t. This causes a decrease in limit angle and efficiency.This paper describes the same ageing/fading test made with CR39 from a different supplier. In this case it seems that the temperature has a negligible effect, so no compensation algorithm is needed.     

Recent infrared detector technologies,applications, trends and development of HgCdTe based cooled infrared focal plane arrays and their characterization

Infrared thermal imaging, using cooled and uncooled detectors, is continuously gaining attention because of its wide military and civilian applications. Futuristic requirements of high temperature operation, multispectral imaging, lower cost, higher resolution (using pixels) etc. are driving continuous developments in the field. Although there are good reviews in the literature by Rogalski [1–4], Martyniuk et al. [5] and Rogalski et al. [6] on various types of infrared detectors and technologies, this paper focuses on some of the important recent trends and diverse applications in this field and discusses some important fundamentals of these detectors.     

甚长波宽波段(6.4~15μm)红外探测器响应光谱特性的测量

使用傅里叶变换光谱仪(FTIR)测试甚长波宽波段(6.4~15μm)红外探测器响应光谱的过程中,发现短波方向响应光谱异常。通过分步测试分析发现:探测器和放大器工作在非线性工作区导致某些情况下仪器信号发生饱和,引起了短波方向响应光谱畸变的现象。对FTIR测量甚长波宽波段(6.4~15μm)红外探测器响应光谱的畸变现象进行了分析,认为探测器的响应时间是影响其响应光谱的重要因素,并通过试验确定了测试系统对不同探测器所设置的测试参数,消除了响应光谱畸变的现象,并提高了测试准确度。     

Diluted magnetic semiconductors based on II–VI compounds for photovoltaic detector applications

Infrared photovoltaic p−n junction detectors fabricated by using ternary and quaternary diluted magnetic semiconductors (also called semimagnetic semiconductors) are reviewed. The methods of material and detector preparation are described and the experimental results of the electrical and photoelectric measurements of the detectors are briefly discussed. Some singularities of both the materials and the technological techniques as well as their impact upon the properties of the detectors are analyzed.     

Prompt photon A N with the PHENIX MPC-EX detector

The PHENIX MPC-EX detector is a Si-W preshower extension to the existing Muon Piston Calorimeters (MPC). The combined detectors will make possible a measurement of the prompt photon single spin asymmetry A _N in 200 GeV transversely polarized p + p collisions, which will help elucidate the correlation of the transverse motion of valence partons in the proton with the proton spin.     

Polarization correlations in the two�Cphoton decay of hydrogen�Clike ions

Polarization properties of the photons emitted in the two?Cphoton decay of hydrogen?Clike ions are studied within the framework of the density matrix and second-order perturbation theory. In particular, we derive the polarization correlation function that gives the probability of the (two?Cphoton) coincidence measurement performed by polarization?Csensitive detectors. Detailed calculations of this function are performed for the 2s _1/2 ??1s _1/2 transition in neutral hydrogen as well as Xe^53?+? and U^91?+? ions. The obtained results allow us to understand the influence of relativistic and non?Cdipole effects on the polarization correlations in the bound?Cbound two?Cphoton transitions in heavy ions.     

Non-contact charge temperature measurement on industrial continuous furnaces and steel charge emissivity analysis

Continuous furnaces are commonly used for steel billet reheating before a rolling operation. It is necessary to perform a number of measurements to set-up and operate the optimization system of the furnaces correctly. A charge temperature measurement using infrared detectors can be one of the usable measurement techniques. This non-contact measurement method is based on the detection of infrared radiation emitted from a measured surface. The radiation intensity depends on the surface temperature and emissivity, which is one of the most important parameters for infrared measurements. Advantages of the non-contact temperature measurement, as well as some problems regarding the surface emissivity, are presented. The direct steel billet temperature measurement procedure using infra-red detectors, emissivity determination procedures, and example results are introduced. It is shown that steel emissivity can vary from approx. 0.17 to 0.8, depending on the surface state, scale formation, and wavelength interval. These problems are critical for the charge temperature measurement using the infra-red detectors, and are discussed in this paper.     

Intercomparison of the response of different photon and neutron detectors around a spent fuel cask

An intercomparison of the response of different photon and neutron detectors was performed in several measurement positions around a spent fuel cask (type TN 12/2B) filled with 4 MOX and 8 UO₂ 15 × 15 PWR fuel assemblies at the nuclear power plant Gösgen (KKG) in Switzerland. The instruments used in the study were both active and passive, photon and neutron detectors calibrated either for ambient or personal dose equivalent.The aim of the measurement campaign was to compare the responses of the radiation instruments to routinely used detectors.It has been shown that especially the indications of the neutron detectors are strongly dependent on the neutron spectra around the cask due to their different energy responses. However, routinely used active photon and neutron detectors were shown to be reliable instruments.     

Single photon frequency up-conversion and its applications

Optical frequency up-conversion is a technique, based on sum frequency generation in a non-linear optical medium, in which signal light from one frequency (wavelength) is converted to another frequency. By using this technique, near infrared light can be converted to light in the visible or near visible range and therefore detected by commercially available visible detectors with high efficiency and low noise. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has adapted the frequency up-conversion technique to develop highly efficient and sensitive single photon detectors and a spectrometer for use at telecommunication wavelengths. The NIST team used these single photon up-conversion detectors and spectrometer in a variety of pioneering research projects including the implementation of a quantum key distribution system; the demonstration of a detector with a temporal resolution beyond the jitter limitation of commercial single photon detectors; the characterization of an entangled photon pair source, including a direct spectrum measurement for photons generated in spontaneous parametric down-conversion; the characterization of single photons from quantum dots including the measurement of carrier lifetime with escalated high accuracy and the demonstration of the converted quantum dot photons preserving their non-classical features; the observation of 2nd, 3rd and 4th order temporal correlations of near infrared single photons from coherent and pseudo-thermal sources following frequency up-conversion; a study on the time-resolving measurement capability of the detectors using a short pulse pump and; evaluating the modulation of a single photon wave packet for better interfacing of independent sources. In this article, we will present an overview of the frequency up-conversion technique, introduce its applications in quantum information systems and discuss its unique features and prospects for the future.     

Dosimetry and spectrometry at accelerator based neutron source for boron neutron capture therapy

An innovative accelerator-based neutron source for boron neutron capture therapy has started operation at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Novosibirsk. This facility is based on a compact vacuum insulation tandem accelerator designed to produce proton current up to 10 mA. Epithermal neutrons are proposed to be generated by 1.915 MeV protons bombarding a lithium target using ⁷Li(p,n)⁷Be threshold reaction.In the article, techniques to detect neutron and gamma-rays at the facility are described. Gamma radiation is measured with NaI and BGO gamma-spectrometers. The total yield of neutrons is determined by measuring the 477 keV γ-quanta from beryllium decay. For the rough analysis of the generated neutron spectrum we used bubble detectors. As the epithermal neutrons are of interest for neutron capture therapy the NaI detector is used as activation detector. We plan to use a time-of-flight technique for neutron spectra measurement. To realize this technique a new solution of short time neutron generation is proposed.     

Fast response ultraviolet photoconductive detectors based on Ga-doped ZnO films grown by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering

A metal-semiconductor-metal photoconductive detector was fabricated on c-axis preferred oriented Ga-doped ZnO (ZnO:Ga) thin film prepared on quartz by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. With a 10 V bias, a responsivity of about 2.6 A/W at 370 nm was obtained in the ultraviolet region. The photocurrent increases linearly with incident power density for more than two orders of magnitude. The transient response measurement revealed photoresponse with a rise time of 10 ns and a fall time of 960 ns, respectively. The results are much faster than those reported in photoconductive detectors based on unintentionally doped n-type ZnO films.