Time resolved simultaneous detection of 14NO and 15NO via mid-infrared cavity leak-out spectroscopy

We present a ring-down absorption spectrometer based on a continuous-wave CO laser in the mid-infrared spectral region near lambda = 5 microm. Using a linear ring-down cavity (length: 0.5 m) with high reflective mirrors (R = 99.988 %), we observed a noise-equivalent absorption coefficient of 3 x 10(-10) cm(-1)Hz(-1/2). This corresponds to a noise-equivalent concentration of 800 parts per trillion (ppt) for (14)NO and 40 ppt for (15)NO in 1 s averaging time. We achieve a time resolution of 1 s which allows time resolved simultaneous detection of the two N isotopes. The delta(15)N value was obtained with a precision of +/-1.2 per thousand in a sample with a NO fraction of 11 ppm. The simultaneous detection enables the use of (15)NO as a tracer molecule for endogenous biomedical processes.     

Investigation of radiation-induced mixed interstitial configurations in a dilute nickel 1 at.% silicon alloy

Abstract

X-ray energy spectra induced by 1 MeV protons and the energy spectra of the backscattered protons have been examined in the <100> and <110> directions of Ni crystals containing 1 at.% Si. The channeling method was used to investigate interactions between the radiation-induced defects and the silicon atoms. From the measured minimum yields and from the shape of the angular scans the fraction of silicon atoms is determined, which are displaced into the <100> and <110> channels due to proton or helium irradiations and subsequent annealing treatments. In undamaged crystals about 98 % of the silicon atoms are on normal lattice sites. After irradiation a dose dependent fraction of the silicon atoms is displaced 0.05 nm away from the substitutional position indicating the formation of a mixed dumbbell consisting of one selfinterstitial atom and one silicon atom. However, the experimental data can also be interpreted by the assumption of a NiSi₂ complex, in which the silicon atoms are displaced 0.08 nm from the lattice site. Subsequent annealing from 50 K to 160 K does not change the configuration and the concentration of the silicon complexes. At room temperature the silicon atoms in the complex are positioned 0.04 nm from the lattice position. The silicon complexes were totally am ihilated at 400 K.     

Excellent passivation of thin silicon wafers by HF‐free hydrogen plasma etching using an industrial ICPECVD tool

In this work, hydrogen plasma etching of surface oxides was successfully accomplished on thin (～100 µm) planar n‐type Czochralski silicon wafers prior to intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon [a‐Si:H(i)] deposition for heterojunction solar cells, using an industrial inductively coupled plasma‐enhanced chemical vapour deposition (ICPECVD) platform. The plasma etching process is intended as a dry alternative to the conventional wet‐chemical hydrofluoric acid (HF) dip for solar cell processing. After symmetrical deposition of an a‐Si:H(i) passivation layer, high effective carrier lifetimes of up to 3.7 ms are obtained, which are equivalent to effective surface recombination velocities of 1.3 cm s^–1 and an implied open‐circuit voltage (V_oc) of 741 mV. The passivation quality is excellent and comparable to other high quality a‐Si:H(i) passivation. High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy shows evidence of plasma‐silicon interactions and a sub‐nanometre interfacial layer. Using electron energy‐loss spectroscopy, this layer is further investigated and confirmed to be hydrogenated suboxide layers. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Direct experimental probe of the on-site Coulomb repulsion in the doubly charged fullerene anion C70 2-

Vibrationally resolved photoelectron spectra were obtained for cold C(70)- and C(70)2-. Accurate values for the first and second electron affinities (EA's) of C(70) were measured as 2.765 +/- 0.010 and 0.002 (+0.01/-0.03)eV, respectively, establishing that C(70)-2 is an electronically stable dianion in the gas phase. The difference between the first and second EA (2.75 eV) provides a direct experimental measure for the on-site Coulomb and exchange interactions between the two excess electrons in C(70)-2. Strong electron correlation effects were also observed between the two excess electrons in C(70)-2.     

基于多角度多光谱Stokes参数Q和U测量反演气溶胶偏振相函数

偏振相函数是气溶胶重要的光学参数之一,它对气溶胶复折射指数、粒子尺度和形状都十分敏感。多角度多光谱偏振遥感可以有效获取气溶胶偏振相函数信息。新一代CIMEL太阳-天空偏振辐射计CE318-DP作为高精度地基气溶胶偏振遥感仪器已被引入全球气溶胶自动观测网AERONET(AErosol RObotic NETwork),并作为扩展多波长偏振测量的太阳-天空辐射计观测网SONET(Sun/sky-radiometer Observation NETwork)的主要仪器,已在不同类型气溶胶观测站点积累了多年的偏振数据。但目前偏振反演仅能利用线偏振度或偏振辐亮度。与线偏振度和偏振辐亮度相比,Stokes参数Q和U不仅包含天空光线偏振强度信息还包含偏振方向信息。利用CE318-DP多光谱多角度测量的天空光Stokes参数Q和U反演气溶胶偏振相函数的方法。针对CE318-DP标准主平面偏振观测模式PPP(Polarized Principal Plane)下Stokes参数U对气溶胶特性变化不敏感、信息难以利用的不足,测试了新的平纬圈偏振扫描模式ALMP(ALMucantar Polarization)获取Stokes参数Q和U,并成功应用于偏振相函数的反演。系统分析了340～1 640 nm多光谱通道上典型生物质燃烧型气溶胶和水溶性气溶胶的-P₁₂/P₁₁反演结果并测试了反演方法在晴朗和灰霾不同大气条件下的适用性。无论在主平面还是平纬圈观测几何下,反演结果在可见光和近红外通道上均与真实值具有较好的一致性。进一步讨论了模型中基于气溶胶参数初始值和大气气溶胶参数真实值计算的“大气单次散射/大气散射”的比值近似相等的假设条件在短波通道不能很好地满足是造成紫外波段反演结果偏差较大的原因之一。后续有待进一步提高反演模型在短波通道的适用性,为利用不同光谱通道上-P₁₂/P₁₁的变化特征改进气溶胶微物理参数反演奠定了基础。     

Timelike Compton scattering: exclusive photoproduction of lepton pairs

We investigate the exclusive photoproduction of a heavy timelike photon which decays into a lepton pair, . This can be seen as the analog of deeply virtual Compton scattering, and we argue that the two processes are complementary for studying generalized parton distributions in the nucleon. In an unpolarized experiment the angular distribution of the leptons readily provides access to the real part of the Compton amplitude. We estimate the possible size of this effect in kinematics where the Compton process should be dominated by quark exchange. Received: 9 October 2001 / Published online: 5 April 2002     

Integrated optical cross strip polarizer concept

Passing across an abrupt junction from a thick vertically bimodal waveguide to a thinner single mode segment, guided light can undergo complete destructive interference, provided that the geometry and the phases of the modes in the initial segment are properly adjusted. We propose to employ this effect to realize a simple polarizer configuration, using a strip that is etched from a planar waveguide. A beam of light is made to pass the strip perpendicularly. The light enters from the single mode waveguide outside the strip into the strip segment, which is configured to support two modes. At the end of the strip, apart from reflections, the amount of power that is guided in the following lower segment depends on the local phases of the two modes. These phases are different for TE and TM light, hence we may expect a polarization dependent power transfer, resulting in polarizer performance for a properly selected geometry. The paper describes in detail the modeling of the device in terms of rigorous mode expansion. Design guidelines and tolerance requirements for geometric and material parameters are discussed. For typical Si₃N₄/SiO₂ materials, our calculations predict a peak performance of 34 dB polarization discrimination and 0.3 dB insertion loss for a device with a total length of about 12 m that selects TE polarization at a wavelength of 1.3 m.