Power content M 2-values smaller than one

The M ² beam propagation factor or times-diffraction-factor is widely used to characterize the quality of laser radiation and its propagation. When M ² is defined by the normalized product of the second moments, it is easily to prove that, for each radiation field in the paraxial approach, M ²≥1, with the equality in the case of the fundamental mode. For many applications, it is more convenient to use the power content values, also proposed by ISO. They are defined as the radii of the circles which contain a certain amount of the total power, normally η=86.5%. For the corresponding power content M _pc ² , it is often assumed that its minimum is again obtained for the fundamental mode, but no proof exists. In this paper it is shown that fields can be generated with M _pc ² <1 and that it strongly depends on the power content η. One example is the superposition of two coherent Gauss–Laguerre modes with radial symmetry. The beam radius as a function of the propagation distance is calculated, and for the 86.5% power content, the value M _pc ² =0.95 is obtained. This does not mean that such a beam is of higher quality than the fundamental mode but rather that the M _pc ² is not a reliable parameter for beam characterization.     

High-resolution synchrotron infrared spectroscopy of thiophosgene: The ν2 and ν4 fundamental bands near 500 cm

Thiophosgene (Cl₂CS) is a favorite model system for studies of photophysics, vibrational dynamics, and intersystem interaction effects. But there are no previous rotationally-resolved infrared studies because the spectra are very congested due to hot bands and multiple isotopic species. This paper reports a detailed study of the ν₂ (∼504 cm⁻¹) and ν₄ (∼471 cm⁻¹) fundamental bands for the two most abundant isotopomers, ³⁵Cl₂CS and ³⁵Cl³⁷ClCS, based on spectra with observed line widths of ∼0.0008 cm⁻¹ obtained at the Canadian Light Source far-infrared beamline using synchrotron radiation and a Bruker IFS125 Fourier transform spectrometer.     

Design and construction of a compact end-station at NSRRC for circular-dichroism spectra in the vacuum-ultraviolet region

A synchrotron‐radiation‐based circular‐dichroism end‐station has been implemented at beamline BL04B at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC) in Taiwan for biological research. The design and performance of this compact end‐station for measuring circular‐dichroism spectra in the vacuum‐ultraviolet region are described. The linearly polarized light from the beamline is converted to modulated circularly polarized light with a LiF photoelastic modulator to provide a usable wavelength region of 130–330 nm. The light spot at the sample position is 5 mm × 5 mm at a slit width of 300 µm and provides a flux greater than 1 × 10¹¹ photons s^?1 (0.1% bandwidth)^?1. A vacuum‐compatible cell made of two CaF₂ windows has a variable path length from 1.3 µm to 1 mm and a temperature range of 253–363 K. Measured CD spectra of (1S)‐(+)‐10‐camphorsulfonic acid and proteins demonstrated the ability of this system to extend the wavelength down to 172 nm in aqueous solution and 153 nm in hexafluoro‐2‐propanol.     

Performance of a four‐element Si drift detector for X‐ray absorption fine‐structure spectroscopy: resolution, maximum count rate,and dead‐time correction with incorporation into the ATHENA data analysis software

The performance of a four‐element Si drift detector for energy‐dispersive fluorescence‐yield X‐ray absorption fine‐structure measurements is reported, operating at the National Institute of Standards and Technology beamline X23A2 at the National Synchrotron Light Source. The detector can acquire X‐ray absorption fine‐structure spectra with a throughput exceeding 4 × 10⁵ counts per second per detector element (>1.6 × 10⁶ total counts per second summed over all four channels). At this count rate the resolution at 6 keV is approximately 220 eV, which adequately resolves the Mn Kα and Kβ fluorescence lines. Accurate dead‐time correction is demonstrated, and it has been incorporated into the ATHENA data analysis program. To maintain counting efficiency and high signal to background, it is suggested that the incoming count rate should not exceed ～70% of the maximum throughput.     

Magnetization reversal of a single cobalt cluster using a RF field pulse

Technological improvements require the understanding of dynamical magnetization reversal processes at the nanosecond time scales. In this paper, we present the first magnetization reversal measurements performed on a single cobalt cluster (counting only a thousand of spins), using the micro-superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) technique by applying a constant magnetic field combined with a radio-frequency (RF) field pulse. First of all, we present the different technical steps necessary to detect the magnetic reversals at low temperature (T=35 mK) of a well-defined nanoparticle prepared by low energy clusters beam deposition (LECBD). We previously showed that the three-dimensional (3D)-switching Stoner-Wohlfarth astroid represents the magnetic anisotropy of the nanoparticle. Then, an improved device coupled with a gold stripe line, allow us to reverse such macrospin, using a RF pulse. A qualitative understanding of the magnetization reversal by non-linear resonance has been obtained with the Landau-Lifschitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation.     

Spectroscopic properties of Yb3+-doped Y3Al5O12 nano-ceramics obtained under different sintering pressures

Yb³⁺:YAG nano-ceramics have been obtained by a low temperature/high pressure sintering process. Structural properties have been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Grain sizes and R.M.S micro-strains have been calculated based on the XRD patterns by Rietveld analysis method. Emission spectra and decay curves have been recorded and analyzed. It has been observed that the decay time decreases with the increase of sintering pressure. Presence of Yb³⁺–Yb³⁺ pairs have been detected by cooperative emission spectroscopy.     

Transmitted power allocation/control for multi-band MC-CDMA

Transmit power allocation over multiple subcarriers is an effective way to improve system error probability performance and to save power in traditional multi-carrier systems. In this paper, we derive the optimum power allocation algorithm for multi-band MC-CDMA systems, where optimum is defined as minimal BER under the constraint of fixed transmitted power, assuming knowledge of power attenuation of different sub-bands. With a two-band MC-CDMA system and Rayleigh channel fading, we show that a BER performance improvement based on the optimum allocation can only be attained over a limited range of transmit power and a limited range of sub-band power attenuation difference values. This performance improvement is also modest compared with a uniform power allocation, which suggests that the uniform power allocation is near optimal for transmit power control under our assumptions. Two simple transmitted power control algorithms are provided, and the controlled transmit power for a two-band system is shown to be a linear function of the power attenuation difference between the two bands for a large range of these attenuation differences. The small non-linear range implies that in using a multi-band channel, any savings in total transmitted power can occur only when the power attenuation difference between the two bands is small.     

Direct bandgap optical transitions in Si nanocrystals

JETP Letters - The effect of quantum confinement on the direct bandgap of spherical Si nanocrystals has been modelled theoretically. We conclude that the energy of the direct bandgap at the...     

Dynamics of two trapped Brownian particles: Shear-induced cross-correlations

The dynamics of two Brownian particles trapped by two neighboring harmonic potentials in a linear shear flow is investigated. The positional correlation functions in this system are calculated analytically and analyzed as a function of the shear rate and the trap distance. Shear-induced cross-correlations between particle fluctuations along orthogonal directions in the shear plane are found. They are linear in the shear rate, asymmetric in time, and occur for one particle as well as between both particles. Moreover, the shear rate enters as a quadratic correction to the well-known correlations of random displacements along parallel spatial directions. The correlation functions depend on the orientation of the connection vector between the potential minima with respect to the flow direction. As a consequence, the inter-particle cross-correlations between orthogonal fluctuations can have zero, one or two local extrema as a function of time. Possible experiments for detecting these predicted correlations are described.     

Structures and electronic properties of stoichiometric hydrogenatedaluminum clusters

The lowest-energy geometries and electronic-structure properties have been obtained for Al_nH_n (n=1-10) clusters within the density-functional theory using the generalized gradient approximation for the exchange correlation potential. The resulting geometries show that the hydrogen atoms tend to occupy outside positions and no hollow positions are found. The subunit Al_n of Al_nH_n (n=1-5) have little distortion, in comparison with corresponding pure Al_n cluster, whereas the subunit Al_n have large distortion from n=6. The stability has been investigated by analyzing the binding energy per atom and the second difference in energy, indicating that Al₈H₈ exhibit higher stability than others. The bonding property has been analyzed by calculating the Mulliken charges and Al–H distances. The calculated energy gap between the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO), the vertical ionization potential, and the vertical electron affinity also confirm that Al₈H₈ is a stable cluster. The density of states (DOS) shows that Al_nH_n exhibit changes from molecular-like (Al₁H₁) to band-like structure (Al₁₀H₁₀) as n increases.