Pb/Al codoped germano-silicate optical fiber with high non-resonant third-order nonlinearity

A germano-silicate optical fiber codoped with Pb²⁺ and Al³⁺ was developed by modified chemical vapor deposition and solution doping techniques. The non-resonant third-order optical nonlinearity was measured to be 6.9105 × 10⁻²⁰ m²/W by using the continuous-wave self-phase modulation method. The enhanced non-resonant nonlinearity was ascribed to the increasing number of non-bridging oxygens due to the incorporation of the glass modifiers Pb²⁺ and Al³⁺, the large molar refraction from heavy metal ions Pb²⁺, and the enhanced hyper-polarization from PbO doped into the core of the made fiber.     

Continuous Miscibility from Dilute Solution to Fused Salt: Volumetric Properties of Binary Solutions of Nitrobenzene, 1-Butanol, and Anisole with Tetra-n-Butylammonium Picrate from 298.15 to 371.1 K

The densities and speeds of sound of binary solutions of nitrobenzene, 1-butanol, and anisole with tetra-n-butylammonium picrate have been measured over the full composition range from 298.15 to 371.1 K, in order to study the volumetric behavior of continuously miscible systems, made from an organic fused salt and a molecular organic liquid, at just above the melting point of the salt. The calculated apparent molar volumes and compressibilities are analyzed by using the equations of Petrenko and Pitzer. The thermal expansion coefficients of the above systems are also reported.     

Generalized linear prediction method in phase-shifting interferometry in the presence of noise

The effectiveness of phase-shifting interferometry (PSI) techniques employing piezoelectric device PZT in the estimation of phase depends largely on the accuracy with which the phase shifts are imparted to the device and the noise influencing the measurement. Several effective algorithms have been proposed to compute the phase shifts imparted to the device and subsequently obtain the phase using least-squares estimation technique. In this paper, we propose a generalized approach, which accurately estimates the phase shifts in the presence of noise. The method is based on the idea of linear prediction and explores the fact that sampling more data frames yields a reliable phase step estimate in a least-squares sense. We also compare our method with a commonly used generalized phase-shifting method based on histogram analysis and show that our proposed approach is highly effective. We also present simulation and experimental validations of our proposed method.     

Model-based processing of a holographic moiré

A state space model for the determination of dual phase distributions in a holographic moiré in the presence of nonsinusoidal waveforms, random noise, and miscalibration of the piezoelectric (PZT) devices is proposed. The extraction of these phase terms requires incorporating two PZTs into the moiré setup. A Toeplitz approximation method (TAM) is applied for phase determination, and modification to the Toeplitz covariance matrix formed from the phase-shifted moiré fringes by application of a denoising step in the state-feedback matrix is proposed. This step ensures that the phase terms can even be estimated at a signal-to-noise ratio much lower than that of the original TAM or by our previously suggested polynomial based method.     

2,5-Dialkyl cyclohexenones by Fe(CO)5-mediated carbonylation of alkenyl cyclopropanes: functional group compatibility

The preparation of alkenyl cyclopropanes 1 with a variety of common organic functionalities is reported. These substrates were subjected to the Fe(CO)(5)-mediated carbonylation process under a CO atmosphere, leading to the formation of 2,5-disubstituted cyclohexenones 2, important intermediates for target-directed synthesis.     

A phenomenological model for the undulating twist grain boundary-C* phase

We propose a simple phenomenological model which is able to account for the various twist grain boundary (TGB) phases, including the recently discovered undulating twist grain boundary-C* (UTGB_C*) phase. In the UTGB_C* phase, the smectic C* (SmC*)-like blocks and the grain boundaries separating them undulate to form a two-dimensional square lattice perpendicular to the TGB helix axis. We treat the grain boundaries separating adjacent smectic blocks as interfaces with an anisotropic interfacial tension. At moderate chiral strengths we find a TGB_A-TGB_C-SmC* sequence. As the chiral strength is increased this goes to the sequence TGB_A-UTGB_C*-SmC*. Such sequences have been observed experimentally.     

Efficient stepwise and one pot three-component synthesis of 2-amino-4-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)thiophene-3-carbonitriles

Environmentally benign conditions have been developed for the synthesis of 2-amino-4-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)thiophene-3-carbonitriles (3) starting from 3-acetyl-2H-chromen-2-one (1) through the intermediacy of 2-(1-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)ethylidene)malononitrile (2) using the Knoevenagel condensation followed by the Gewald reaction. Alternatively, 3 could also be prepared in a one pot method by treating equimolar amounts of 1, malononitrile, and elemental sulfur. The merits of this preparation are mild reaction conditions, easy work-up procedure, and good yields.     

First-principles investigation of low energy E' center precursors in amorphous silica

We show that oxygen vacancies are not necessary for the formation of E' centers in amorphous SiO? and that a single O deficiency can lead to two charge traps. Employing molecular dynamics with a reactive potential and density functional theory, we generate an ensemble of stoichiometric and oxygen-deficient amorphous SiO? atomic structures and identify low-energy network defects. Three-coordinated Si atoms appear in several low-energy defects both in stoichiometric and O-deficient samples where, in addition to the neutral oxygen vacancy, they appear as isolated defects.     

Application of complex-lag distributions for estimation of arbitrary order phase derivatives in digital holographic interferometry

This Letter proposes a method to estimate phase derivatives of arbitrary order in digital holographic interferometry. Based on the desired order, the generalized complex-lag distribution is computed from the reconstructed interference field. Subsequently, the phase derivative is estimated by tracing the peak of the distribution. Simulation and experimental results are presented to validate the method's potential.