Generation of an arbitrary chirped microwave waveform with high time-bandwidth product for increasing range resolution of RADAR by using photonic technique

An approach for photonic generation of an arbitrary chirped microwave waveform with an increased time-bandwidth product (TBWP) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. In the proposed model, light from the mode locked laser is splitted into two parts by using 1 × 2 power splitter: one is sent to linearly chirped fiber Bragg grating (LCFBG) through circulator and the other is time delayed by fiber delay line. The optical pulse in upper arm is time stretched by the LCFBG. Meanwhile, the optical pulse in lower arm experiences a time delay and then stretched by the dispersive single mode fiber. Temporal interference pattern is generated with an increasing or decreasing free spectral range by combination of two time-stretched optical pulses. Finally, the temporal interference pattern which is obtained at the output of optical coupler is transformed into an arbitrary chirped microwave waveform by using a photo-detector. The main advantage of this proposed model is high TBWP in the range of 750–1000 which ultimately results in an increased range resolution of radio detection and ranging.     

Modified phonon confinement model for size dependent Raman shift and linewidth of silicon nanocrystals

A modified phonon confinement model considering the size distribution, an improved phonon dispersion curve and a confinement function is developed for the calculation of size dependent Raman spectra of the silicon (Si) nanocrystals. The model is capable of simultaneous calculations of the Raman shift, intensity and linewidth. The calculated size dependent redshift and linewidth of Raman spectra are in good agreement with the available experimental data in literature and better than previously reported theoretical results. The rapid rise in the redshift and linewidth for relatively smaller Si nanocrystals are well reproduced. The asymmetric behavior of Raman spectra is also obtained from the present model.     

Water-soluble xanthobilirubinic acids?

Abstract  Xanthobilirubinic acid, a model dipyrrinone for one-half of the bilirubin molecule in photochemical and metabolism studies, is more polar than bilirubin and insoluble in water and in chloroform. Replacing the β-alkyl substituents on the lactam ring of xanthobilirubinic acid with methyl-capped ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, and triethylene glycol (PEG) groups steadily increased the water solubility of the pigment so that the last is completely soluble in both water and chloroform. Synthesized by base-catalyzed condensation of the corresponding methyl-capped 3,4-diPEG-pyrrolin-2-one with 3,5-dimethyl-4(2-ethoxycarbonylethyl)-2-formyl-1H-pyrrole, these new PEGylated analogs of xanthobilirubinic acid are yellow-colored dipyrrinones that form intermolecular hydrogen-bonded dimers in chloroform solution but are monomeric in methanol and water, as revealed by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and vapor pressure osmometry. Methyl xanthobilirubinate has served as a synthetic precursor to bilirubinoids; its amphiphilic PEGylated analogs suggest a route to water-soluble bilirubinoids and biliverdinoids. Graphical abstract        

Effect of proton irradiation on electrical properties of a-As2S3

This paper reports the effect of proton irradiation on the electrical properties of a-As₂S₃ in the temperature range of 323–418 K and frequency range 0.1–100 kHz. The variation of transport property is studied with proton irradiation dose (1 × 10¹³ ions/cm² and 1 × 10¹⁵ ions/cm²). It has been observed that proton irradiation changes the dc conductivity (σ_dc), dc activation energy (ΔE_dc) and ac conductivity (σ_ac(ω)). The σ_dc and σ_ac(ω) increases with dose of proton irradiation. The value of frequency exponent (s) decreases with the temperature and irradiation dose. These results are explained in terms of change in density of defect states in these glasses.     

XAS and XMCD studies of amorphous FeCo-based ribbons

This paper reports x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) studies at Fe L_3,2 and Co L_3,2-edges to investigate the electronic structure of (Fe_100 ? xCo_x)₇₈Si₉Nb₃B₉Cu₁ (0 < x < 95) alloys. The influence of controlled Co addition on electronic structural and magnetic properties of (Fe_100 ? xCo_x)₇₈Si₉Nb₃B₉Cu₁ (x = 0, 20, 40, and 60) alloys has been investigated and it has been observed that Co exists as Co²⁺/Co³⁺, while Fe exists as a mixture of Fe⁰ (metallic) and Fe²⁺. The XMCD studies confirm these results and reveal that Co-ions are responsible for the room temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) in the system, while at Fe L_3,2-edge it shows a diamagnetic behavior.     

Effect of electrolytes on the cloud point of chlorpromazine hydrochloride solutions

Cloud point (CP) phenomenon occurring in amphiphilic drug chlorpromazine hydrochloride (CPZ) solutions with and without salts is reported herein. The CP of a 50mM CPZ solution (prepared in 10mM sodium phosphate, SP, buffer) was found to decrease with increasing pH, both in the absence as well as presence (50mM) of added salts (NaCl, NaBr, LiBr, KBr, tetra-n-butylammonium bromide). Whereas, at a fixed concentration of NaCl, the CP increased with increasing CPZ concentration, addition of increasing amounts of salts (NaF, NaCl, NaBr, LiCl, KCl) to 50mM CPZ solution (at pH 6.7) caused continuous increase in CP. On the basis of these studies the binding-effect orders of counterions and co-ions have been deduced, respectively, as: Br(-)>Cl(-)>F(-) and Li(+)>Na(+)>K(+). The similar trend of increasing CP with addition of increasing amounts of quaternary bromides (tetramethylammonium bromide, TMeAB; tetraethylammonium bromide, TEtAB; tetra-n-propylammonium bromide, TPrAB; tetra-n-butylammonium bromide, TBuAB; tetra-n-pentylammonium bromide, TPeAB) to 50mM CPZ solutions (at pH 6.7) was found to be dependent upon the alkyl chain length of the particular salt. The overall behaviour has been discussed in terms of electrostatic interactions, micellar growth, and mixed micelle formation.     

Performance investigation of 110-Gbps optical MSK system using a Quad Mach-Zehnder IQ modulator

In this paper, numerical simulation is conducted to investigate the generation, transmission and detection of a 110 Gbps optical Minimum Shift Keying (MSK) signal. The transmitter has been designed using a Quad Mach-Zehnder IQ Modulator. At the transmitter, a 110 Gbps optical MSK signal with constant envelope and a continuous phase is generated by combining signals of I-arm and \(90^\circ\) phase shifted of Q-arm. Error-free transmission of 110 Gbps optical MSK signal is achieved after traversing a distance of 240 km, also a comparison is made with respect to Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK) to show its effectiveness. At the receiver side, the original signal is recovered through a balanced detection method, with a power penalty of around 3.34 dB. Also, BER curves of different bit rates for MSK are studied ranging from 40 to 120 Gbps and found that maximum 110 Gbps can be achieved error-free. The optical spectrum of both MSK and DPSK signals are observed and found that MSK is having narrower main lobes with smaller side lobes compared with that of DPSK, which in turn results in an increase in spectral efficiency and reduction in intersymbol interference.     

Dispersion characteristics of complex refractive-index planar slab optical waveguide by using finite element method

In this paper, finite element method (FEM) mode analyses of planar slab optical waveguide having complicated refractive index profile are presented. We try to estimate the dispersion graph, mode cut-off condition, group delay and waveguide dispersion for the case of α-power and chirped-type refractive index profile. In order to obtain the more accurate result, we have derived the higher-order polynomial, which establishes the suitable relationship between b and V for different profile of optical waveguide. On the basis of the derived polynomials, the waveguide dispersion is analyzed for different type of refractive index profile waveguide. Our study shows that the waveguide dispersion can be substantially reduced when we deployed the optical waveguide having linearly chirped-type refractive index profile. Earlier too, the arbitrary refractive index profile has been analyzed but to the best of our knowledge chirped-type refractive index profile has not been analyzed till date for the case of planar slab optical waveguide.     

Possibility of room-temperature multiferroism in Mg-doped ZnO

Room-temperature multiferroic properties in Mg-doped ZnO samples are reported wherein Mg replaces Zn in the ZnO matrix and retains hexagonal wurtzite structure. The saturation magnetisation is increased from ～2×10^?4 emu/g to 3×10^?4 emu/g for the dilute doping of 2 % Mg in pure ZnO and the ferroelectricity is also increased. Higher concentration of Mg does not lead to a significant enhancement in the magnetisation but improves the ferroelectric properties. An X-ray absorption spectroscopic study shows an enhancement in O vacancies with dilute doping of Mg. The origin of the multiferroic behaviour is understood based on their crystal and electronic structures.     

Identification and structural elucidation of two process impurities and stress degradants in darifenacin hydrobromide active pharmaceutical ingredient by LC-ESI/MS(n)

The present study describes the identification and characterization of two process impurities and major stress degradants in darifenacin hydrobromide using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Forced degradation studies confirmed that the drug substance was stable under acidic, alkaline, aqueous hydrolysis, thermal and photolytic conditions and susceptible only to oxidative degradation. Impurities were identified using liquid chromatography coupled with ion trap mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS(n)). Proposed structures were unambiguously confirmed by synthesis followed by characterization using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and elemental analysis (EA). Based on the spectroscopic, spectrometric and elemental analysis data, the unknown impurities were characterized as 2-{1-[2-(2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-5-yl)-2-oxo-ethyl]-pyrrolidin-3-yl}-2,2-diphenylacetamide (Imp-A), 2-[1-(2-benzofuran-5-yl-ethyl)-pyrrolidin-3-yl]-2,2-diphenylacetamide (Imp-B), 2-{1-[2-(2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-5-yl)-ethyl]-1-oxy-pyrrolidin-3-yl}-2,2-diphenylacetamide (Imp-C) and 2-{1-[2-(7-bromo-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-5-yl)-ethyl]-pyrrolidin-3-yl}-2,2-diphenylacetamide (Imp-D). Plausible mechanisms for the formation and control of these impurities have also been proposed. The method was validated as per regulatory guidelines to demonstrate specificity, sensitivity, linearity, precision, accuracy and the stability-indicating nature. Regression analysis showed a correlation coefficient value greater than 0.99 for darifenacin hydrobromide and its impurities. The accuracy of the method was established based on the recovery obtained between 86.6 and 106.7% for all impurities.