60-fs pulses from a diode-pumped Nd:glass laser

We demonstrate 60-fs pulses with an average output power of 84 mW from a diode-pumped Nd:glass laser mode locked by a low-finesse antiresonant Fabry-Perot saturable absorber (A-FPSA). The mode-locked spectrum spreads over most of the available Nd:glass fluorescence bandwidth. At increased pulse energy fluence or decreased negative group-velocity dispersion, multiple pulsing was observed. We experimentally characterize this behavior, which can be explained by the saturation behavior of the A-FPSA and the limited available gain bandwidth. These considerations are significant for the design of saturable absorbers to achieve stable passive mode locking.     

High performance deep red AlAs/AlGaAs top-emitting VCSELs grown by MOVPE at high growth rates

Top-emitting Alas/AlGaAs vertical cavity surface emitting lasers emitting at 765 nm with minimum threshold currents of 0.6 mA and threshold voltages of 1.9 V have been grown by MOVPE. In order to keep the growth time low, we investigated the possibility to grow these structures at growth rates of 5 μm/h. Special attention was paid to the homogeneity that can be achieved over a 2″ wafer under these growth conditions. Spatially resolved reflectivity measurements on GaAs/AlAs distributed Bragg reflectors showed, that the growth rate varies less than 0.3% in the center of the wafer and decreases by 1% at the wafer edge.     

Methyl 4-((E)-2-{3-[(3-{ (E)-2-[4-(methoxycarbonyl)phenyl]- 1-diazenyl}-5,5-dimethylhexahydro-1-pyrimidinyl)methyl]-5,5-dimethylhexahydro-1-pyrimidinyl-1-diazenyl) benzoate. X-ray crystal structure

Methyl 4-((E)-2-{3-[(3-{(E)-2-[4-(methoxycarbonyl)phenyl]-1-diazenyl}-5, 5-dimethyl hexahydro-1-pyrimidinyl)methyl]-5, 5- dimethylhexahydro-1- pyrimidinyl}-1- diazenyl) benzoate (1) has been synthesized by reaction of a mixture of formaldehyde and 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine with p-methoxycarbonylbenzenediazonium chloride. The crystal structure of 1 has been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The crystals of 1 displayed problems of disorder; the asymmetric unit is built up by two independent molecules, which display disorder within a methoxycarbonyl group. The two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit are very similar, differing only slightly about the mutual orientation of the aryltriazenyl groups. With respect to the N–C–N bridge between the hexahydropyrimidinyl rings, the two equivalent fragments containing the triazene moieties are in a cis orientation. The N–N single bonds, in the range 1.319(4)–1.348(4) Å, and the N=N double bonds, in the range 1.255(5)–1.275(4) Å, indicate significant conjugations within the triazene moieties. All the hexahydropyrimidine six-membered rings adopt a chair conformation as shown by their puckering parameters. The crystal packing is determined only by simple van der Waals interactions. The crystal structure of 1 is compared with the previously reported structure of the unbranched hexahydropyrimidine analogue 2. Crystal data: 1 C29H40N8O4, triclinic, space group P-1, a = 13.9652(2), b = 14.2908(3), c = 16.6129(4) Å, = 97.279(1), = 90.872(1), = 107.385(1), V = 3133.6(1) ų, for Z = 4.     

Homogeneous line width in a zinc borate glass activated by Eu

In this work we report on the temperature depedence of the homogeneous line width (Γ_h) in 4ZnO · 3B₂O₃:Eu³⁺ glass in the region between 30 K and room temperature. The time resolved resonant fluorescence line narrowing technique was applied to the ⁷F₀ ↔ ⁵D₀ transition of Eu³⁺. We obtain that Γ_h follows the commonly found behaviour T² in the whole range of temperature (30–300 K). The Γ_h is comparable to that measured in borate glasses with a small amount of network modifier. This result, together with a linear increase of Γ_h with the excitation energy within the inhomogeneous profile, is indicative of a specific local environment around the Eu³⁺ ion in the zinc borate glass.     

Breakdown of Chlorophyll: A Fluorescent Chlorophyll Catabolite from Sweet Pepper (Capsicum annuum)

The primary fluorescent chlorophyll catabolite 1 (Ca‐FCC‐2) from sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) has similar optical properties, but is slightly less polar than the primary FCC (pFCC; 2 ) from senescent cotyledons of oilseed rape (Brassica napus). Ca‐FCC‐2 was prepared from pheophorbide a using an enzyme extract from ripe C. annuum chromoplasts. The catabolite Ca‐FCC‐2 ( 1 ) could be determined from fast‐atom‐bombardment (FAB) mass spectra to be an isomer of pFCC ( 2 ). The constitution of Ca‐FCC‐2 was determined by homo‐ and heteronuclear magnetic‐resonance experiments and was found to be identical to that of pFCC. Further 2D‐homonuclear spectra of Ca‐FCC‐2 revealed it to differ from pFCC by the configuration at the methine atom C(1), whose configuration results from the action of red chlorophyll catabolite reductase (RCCR). The occurrence of two primary FCCs that are epimeric at C(1) provides a structural basis for the recent observation of two types of RCCRs among higher plants.     

Tl2CuAsO4 – ein Zwischenprodukt bei der Oxidation von Tl/Cu/As-Legierungen im Sauerstoffstrom

Tl₂CuAsO₄ – an Intermediate Phase in the Oxidation of Tl/Cu/As Alloys with Oxygen Waxy, honey-jellow single crystals of the new compound Tl₂CuAsO₄ (monoclinic, P2₁/c, a = 860.1(1) pm, b = 533.94(7) pm, c = 1200.1(2) pm, β = 98.10(1)°, Z = 4) were prepared as an intermediate product of the oxidation process in the reaction of Tl/Cu/As-alloys with oxygen. Their structure was determined from IPDS data (w2R = 0.071 for 1271 F² values and 74 parameters). The structure contains an isolated [Cu₂As₂O₈]^4– group consisting of two AsO₄-tetrahedra connected by two Cu⁺ ions with an approximately linear O–Cu–O coordination. The [Cu₂As₂O₈]^4– groups are linked to a threedimensional framework by thallium(I) ions which show an hemispheric coordination sphere of oxygen ions indicating the stereochemical activity of the Tl⁺ lone pair.     

The star-chromatic number of planar graphs

The star-chromatic number of a graph, a parameter introduced by Vince, is a natural generalization of the chromatic number of a graph. Here we construct planar graphs with star-chromatic number r, where r is any rational number between 2 and 3, partially answering a question of Vince. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.