Optical third-harmonic generation in coupled microcavities based on porous silicon

The resonance features of the third-harmonic generation have been observed in 1D coupled microcavities consisting of three Bragg reflectors and two identical half-wave layers of mesoporous silicon. The third-harmonic intensity increases by a factor of about 10³ in the resonance of fundamental radiation with each of the modes of coupled microcavities. It has been shown that the resonance positions in the angular spectra of the third-harmonic intensity depend on the coupling between microcavities that is determined by the transmission of the intermediate Bragg reflector. In the framework of the transfer-matrix method with nonlinear sources, it has been shown that the basic mechanism of the enhancement of the third-harmonic generation in coupled microcavities based on porous silicon is the constructive interference of the partial third-harmonic waves that are generated by near-surface layers.     

Terahertz spectroscopy with a Josephson oscillator and a SINIS bolometer

The voltage response of a thin-film normal-metal hot-electron bolometer based on a SINIS (superconductor-insulator-normal metal-insulator-superconductor) structure to the radiation of a high-temperature Josephson junction in the terahertz frequency region was measured. Bolometers were integrated with planar log-periodic and double-dipole antennas, and Josephson junctions were integrated with log-periodic antennas. Measurements showed that the Josephson junction at a temperature of 260 mK was overheated by the transport current, so that its electron temperature exceeded 3 K at a bias voltage of 1 mV. The maximum response of a bolometer with a double-dipole antenna was observed at a frequency of 300 GHz, which agreed well with the calculated value. The Josephson radiation was observed at frequencies up to 1.7 THz. The voltage response of a bolometer reached 4×10⁸ V/W, and the total noise-equivalent power reached 1.5×10^?17 W/Hz^1/2.     

Excitation of low-lying nuclear states by the ion line emission in femtosecond laser plasma

A scheme of nuclear excitation by the ionic X-ray lines in laser plasma using two femtosecond laser pulses is proposed. The first pulse produces plasma with a given degree of ionization, allowing the X-ray line energies of the target ions to be tuned to resonance with the nuclear transition, while the second pulse generates hot electrons that are necessary for X-ray generation.     

Spatial-temporal ion structures in the earth’s magnetotail: Beamlets as a result of nonadiabatic impulse acceleration of the plasma

The properties of high-energy ion beams (beamlets) observed in the boundary layer of the plasma sheet of the Earth’s magnetotail during short time intervals (1–2 min) have been considered. Beamlets are induced by nonlinear impulse accelerating processes occurring in the current sheet of the far regions of the geomagnetic tail. Then, moving toward the Earth along the magnetic field lines, they are detected in the magnetotail (in the plasma sheet boundary layer) and in the high-latitude part of the auroral zone in the form of short bursts of high-energy ions (with energies of several tens of keVs). The size of the localization region of the beamlets in the magnetotail and auroral zone has been determined by the epoch-superposition method, and it has been shown that beamlets are concentrated in a narrow region near the plasma sheet boundary, whose latitude size is no more than 0.8δ. This conclusion corroborates the theoretical prediction that the nonadiabatic resonant acceleration of ions occurs in a spatially localized region near the separatrix separating the open magnetic field lines and closed field lines, which contain the hot and isotropic plasmas of the plasma sheet. Based on the CLUSTER multisatellite measurements, the spatial structure of beamlets is analyzed and it has been found that the Alfvén wave arises due to the excitation of fire-hose instability at the instant of the exit of the ion beam from the current sheet to the high-latitude region of the far tail of the Earth’s magnetosphere. The longitudinal (along the magnetic field) and transverse sizes of a beamlet are estimated. It has been found that the beamlet is a dynamic plasma structure whose longitudinal size is several hundred times larger than its transverse size.     

Modeling of the Kinetics of Intramolecular Processes and Transient Spectra with Allowance for Nonradiative Transitions

It has been shown that the kinetics of intramolecular processes and time-resolved spectra with allowance for the quantum beats of the resonant states of isomers or isolated subsystems of levels of one isomeric form can be described with the use of a molecular model interpreting the effect of beats as a nonradiative transition. We have obtained an expression for the nonradiative transition probability, which is directly proportional to the beat frequency and depends oscillatorily on time, thus modeling the effect of beats. The parameter of the molecular system model is the beat frequency directly related to the parameter characterizing the intramolecular interisomeric interactions (the corresponding nondiagonal element of the energy matrix) rather than the value of the nonradiative transition probability. The character of the change in the level populations and, accordingly, in the band intensities in the spectra in the proposed model is in good agreement with the experiment, including the fine structure of the time dependences — oscillations of the line intensities. In analyzing the temporal experiment with a high resolution, it is necessary to take into account the instrument function leading to quantitative and qualitative changes in the time dependences. The traditional model of nonradiative transitions with a constant probability value has a very limited range of applicability — very high beat frequencies compared to the probability of optical transitions.     

A diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO4 laser with a GaAs saturable absorption

We have demonstrated a passively Q-switched operation of Nd:GdVO₄ laser in which a GaAs crystal is used as the saturable absorber for the first time as far as we know. A maximum average output power of 1.64 W was obtained at an incident pump power of 12 W, the corresponding optical conversion efficiency and peak power were 13.7% and 116.8 W, respectively. The maximum peak energy obtained in the experiment by 50% transmission couple was 19 μJ.     

Relaxor behavior of (Ba,Sr)(Zr,Ti)O3 ferroelectric ceramics

We examine the ferroelectric-relaxor behavior of (Ba_0.65Sr_0.35)(Zr_0.35Ti_0.65)O₃ (BSZT) ceramics in the temperature range from 80 to 380 K. A broad dielectric maximum, which shifts to higher temperature with increasing frequency, signifies the relaxor-type behavior of these ceramics. The value of the relaxation parameter γ∼2 estimated from the linear fit of the modified Curie-Weiss law, indicates the relaxor nature of the BSZT ceramics. The dielectric relaxation rate follows the Vogel-Fulcher relation with T_VF=107 K, E_a=0.121 eV, and ν₀=6.83×10¹⁴ Hz, further supports such relaxor nature. The slim P-E hysteresis loop and ‘butterfly’ shape dc bias field dependence of permittivity at T>T_m (T_m, the temperature of permittivity maximum) clearly signifies the occurrence of nanopolar clusters, which is the typical characteristic of ferroelectric relaxor. At 300 K and 10 kHz, the dielectric constant and loss tan δ are ∼1100 and 0.0015, respectively. The high tunability (∼25%) and figure of merit (∼130) at room temperature show that the BSZT ceramics could be a promising candidate for tunable capacitor applications.     

Energy spectrum of <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis> electrons in a plane crystal lattice and in a strong magnetic field

Harper equations are derived for a _px, _py electronic system. Analysis is carried out for extreme points of the quasi-continuous spectrum in the cases when the number of magnetic flux quanta through a unit cell is a rational number and calculations are made for square and triangular lattices as well as for a honeycomb lattice with two nonequivalent atoms. The possibility of application of the results for explaining the fractional Hall effect is considered.     

Approximation Properties AP s and p-Nuclear Operators (the Case 0 < s ≤ 1)

We investigate Banach spaces possessing (or not possessing) the approximation properties AP _s, 0 < s ≤ 1, in connection with the following known question in the geometric theory of operators: under which conditions on Banach spaces X and Y and on positive numbers r and p does the p-nuclearity of the second adjoint of a continuous operator T from X to Y imply the p-nuclearity of T? Actually, we give necessary and sufficient conditions under which this question is answered affirmatively. In addition, the corresponding counterexamples are obtained in the maximally strong form. For instance, it is shown (and this statement is a significant strengthening of the previous results of that sort) that there exists a pair of separable Banach spaces Z and W such that the spaces Z ^** and W have Schauder bases, while for every p, 1 ≤ p < 2, there is a non-p-nuclear operator from W to Z with a p-nuclear second adjoint. Earlier, in similar examples, the corresponding spaces did not possess even the Grothendieck approximation property. The technique developed in this paper does not allow us to treat the case p > 2. That case will be studied in a forthcoming paper of the author. Bibliography: 11 titles.     

Wave function mapping of self-assembled quantum dots by capacitance spectroscopy

We use frequency-dependent capacitance–voltage spectroscopy to study the dynamic charging of self-assembled InAs quantum dots. With increasing frequency, the AC charging becomes suppressed, beginning with the low-energy states. By applying an in-plane magnetic field, we generate an additional magnetic confinement that alters the tunneling barrier and hence the charging dynamics. In traveling through the potential barrier, the electrons acquire an additional momentum k₀, proportional to the magnetic field B. As the tunneling is enhanced, when k₀ matches the maximum of the electronic wave function Ψ (in momentum representation), we are able to map out the shape of Ψ by varying B.