Double Vivaldi antenna for wireless optical networks on chip

In this paper we present a double plasmonic Vivaldi antenna for on-chip optical wireless communication. The proposed antenna is a two-element broadside array fed by a silicon waveguide. The designs of the power splitter and of the hybrid Si-plasmonic coupler used for antenna excitation are described in detail. The array radiation characteristics are optimized through Finite Difference Time Domain simulations and the performance of a point-to-point link is evaluated. The proposed double Vivaldi array increases the gain of 3 dB with respect to a single antenna, improving the received power on a link of 6 dB when the double antenna is used for both transmitting and receiving sections.     

Monte Carlo study of impact ionization in n-type InAs induced by intense ultrashort terahertz pulses

Electron impact ionization induced in n-type InAs by single-cycle pulses of picosecond and subpicosecond duration has been investigated by Monte Carlo method. It is established that the rate of generation of electron–hole pairs decreases with the decrease of the pulse duration. The impact ionization threshold field is found to depend linearly on frequency for the fields oscillating at frequencies much higher than reciprocal momentum relaxation time. Good agreement between calculations and available experimental data has been obtained.     

Analysis of fiber optic SPR sensor utilizing platinum based nanocomposites

SPR based fiber optic sensor using nanocomposite is presented. Nanocomposites comprising of Pt nanoparticles with various volume fractions embedded in dielectric matrices of TiO₂ and SnO₂ are considered. Sensitivity enhances with increase in thickness of nanocomposite and volume fraction of nanoparticles for both nanocomposites. Optimized thicknesses are obtained to be 40 and 50 nm for Pt–TiO₂ and Pt–SnO₂ nanocomposites respectively while optimized volume fraction is found to be 0.85 for both nanocomposites. 40 nm thick Pt–TiO₂ nanocomposite based sensor with 0.85 volume fraction possesses utmost sensitivity.     

Supercontinuum generation with femtosecond optical pulse compression in silicon photonic crystal fibers at 2500 nm

In this paper, femtosecond optical pulses compression and supercontinuum generation in a triangular silicon photonic crystal fiber at 2500 nm are investigated. A region of large minimum anomalous group velocity dispersion, negligible higher order dispersions and unique nonlinearity of silicon are used to demonstrate compression of 100 fs initial input optical pulses to 2.5 fs and ultra-broadband supercontinuum generation with very low input pulse energy over short distances of the fiber.     

Injection-locked range and linewidth measurements at different seed-laser linewidths using a Fabry–Pérot laser-diode

In this paper we experimentally examine the dependence of the injection-locked range magnitude of a Fabry–Pérot (FP) laser on the linewidth of a seed laser. We measure the enhancement of the incident-power-dependent injection-locked range when changing the seed-light linewidth in three different ranges, starting with tens of GHz, then hundreds of MHz, and up to a few hundred kHz. We notice the progressive shrinkage of the locking range with an increase in the linewidth of the seed source. Simultaneously, the linewidth of a FP laser was measured and the cancellation of multiple longitudinal operating modes as well as a great reduction of linewidth are observed with a self-homodyne measurement.     

Description of spectrum and electromagnetic transitions in <Superscript>94</Superscript>Mo through the proton-neutron interacting boson model

We investigated the properties of low-lying states in ⁹⁴Mo within the framework of the proton-neutron interacting boson model (IBM-2), with special focus on the characteristics of mixed-symmetry states. We calculated level energies and M1 and E2 transition strengths. The IBM-2 results agree with the available quantitative and qualitative experimental data on ⁹⁴Mo. The properties of mixed-symmetry states can be well described by IBM-2 given that the energy of the d proton boson is different from that of the neutron boson, especially for the transition of B(M1; 4 ₂ ⁺ → 4 ₁ ⁺ ).     

Excitonic processes at organic heterojunctions

Understanding excitonic processes at organic heterojunctions is crucial for development of organic semiconductor devices. This article reviews recent research on excitonic physics that involve intermolecular charge transfer (CT) excitons, and progress on understanding relationships between various interface energy levels and key parameters governing various competing interface excitonic processes. These interface excitonic processes include radiative exciplex emission, nonradiative recombination, Auger electron emission, and CT exciton dissociation. This article also reviews various device applications involving interface CT excitons, such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic photovoltaic cells, organic rectifying diodes, and ultralow-voltage Auger OLEDs.     

Multiple magnetic transitions in single crystals of Ce<Subscript>12</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>57.5</Subscript>As<Subscript>41</Subscript> and La<Subscript>12</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>57.5</Subscript>As<Subscript>41</Subscript>

Measurements of magnetic and transport properties were performed on needle-shaped single crystals of Ce₁₂Fe_57.5As₄₁ and La₁₂Fe_57.5As₄₁. The availability of a complete set of data enabled a side-by-side comparison between these two rare earth compounds. Both compounds exhibited multiple magnetic orders within 2–300 K and metamagnetic transitions at various fields. Ferromagnetic transitions with Curie temperatures of 100 and 125 K were found for Ce₁₂Fe_57.5As₄₁ and La₁₂Fe_57.5As₄₁, respectively, followed by antiferromagnetic type spin reorientations near Curie temperatures. The magnetic properties underwent complex evolution in the magnetic field for both compounds. An antiferromagnetic phase transition at about 60 K and 0.2 T was observed merely for Ce₁₂Fe_57.5As₄₁. The field-induced magnetic phase transition occurred from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic structure. A strong magnetocrystalline anisotropy was evident from magnetization measurements of Ce₁₂Fe_57.5As₄₁. A temperature-field phase diagram was present for these two rare earth systems. In addition, a logarithmic temperature dependence of electrical resistivity was observed in the two compounds within a large temperature range of 150–300 K, which is rarely found in 3D-based compounds. It may be related to Kondo scattering described by independent localized Fe 3d moments interacting with conduction electrons.     

Two-dimensional matter-wave solitons and vortices in competing cubic-quintic nonlinear lattices

The nonlinear lattice — a new and nonlinear class of periodic potentials — was recently introduced to generate various nonlinear localized modes. Several attempts failed to stabilize two-dimensional (2D) solitons against their intrinsic critical collapse in Kerr media. Here, we provide a possibility for supporting 2D matter-wave solitons and vortices in an extended setting — the cubic and quintic model — by introducing another nonlinear lattice whose period is controllable and can be different from its cubic counterpart, to its quintic nonlinearity, therefore making a fully “nonlinear quasi-crystal”.A variational approximation based on Gaussian ansatz is developed for the fundamental solitons and in particular, their stability exactly follows the inverted Vakhitov–Kolokolov stability criterion, whereas the vortex solitons are only studied by means of numerical methods. Stability regions for two types of localized mode — the fundamental and vortex solitons — are provided. A noteworthy feature of the localized solutions is that the vortex solitons are stable only when the period of the quintic nonlinear lattice is the same as the cubic one or when the quintic nonlinearity is constant, while the stable fundamental solitons can be created under looser conditions. Our physical setting (cubic-quintic model) is in the framework of the Gross–Pitaevskii equation or nonlinear Schrödinger equation, the predicted localized modes thus may be implemented in Bose–Einstein condensates and nonlinear optical media with tunable cubic and quintic nonlinearities.     

On the improvement of signal repeatability in laser-induced air plasmas

The relatively low repeatability of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) severely hinders its wide commercialization. In the present work, we investigate the optimization of LIBS system for repeatability improvement for both signal generation (plasma evolution) and signal collection. Timeintegrated spectra and images were obtained under different laser energies and focal lengths to investigate the optimum configuration for stable plasmas and repeatable signals. Using our experimental setup, the optimum conditions were found to be a laser energy of 250 mJ and a focus length of 100 mm. A stable and homogeneous plasma with the largest hot core area in the optimum condition yielded the most stable LIBS signal. Time-resolved images showed that the rebounding processes through the air plasma evolution caused the relative standard deviation (RSD) to increase with laser energies of > 250 mJ. In addition, the emission collection was improved by using a concave spherical mirror. The line intensities doubled as their RSDs decreased by approximately 25%. When the signal generation and collection were optimized simultaneously, the pulse-to-pulse RSDs were reduced to approximately 3% for O(I), N(I), and H(I) lines, which are better than the RSDs reported for solid samples and showed great potential for LIBS quantitative analysis by gasifying the solid or liquid samples.