Spatial domain multiplexing: A new dimension in fiber optic multiplexing

A novel multiplexing technique for fiber optic communications has been developed that supports multiple channels of optical energy inside an optical fiber by confining each individual channel to a unique spatial location. These channels can operate at exactly the same wavelength as well as differing wavelengths. The basic operating principle and experimental results for spatial domain multiplexed fiber optic communication systems is presented here. This technique adds a new dimension to currently available multiplexing schemes and has the potential to increase the bandwidth of existing and futuristic optical fiber systems by multiple folds.     

Dielectric properties of anodic films on sputter-deposited Ti-Si porous columnar films

For electrolytic capacitor application of the single-phase Ti alloys containing supersaturated silicon, which form anodic oxide films with superior dielectric properties, porous Ti-7 at% Si columnar films, as well as Ti columnar films, have been prepared by oblique angle magnetron sputtering on to aluminum substrate with a concave cell structure to enhance the surface area and hence capacitance. The deposited films of both Ti and Ti-7 at% Si have isolated columnar morphology with each column revealing nanogranular texture. The distances between columns are ∼500 nm, corresponding to the cell size of the textured substrate and the gaps between columns are 100-200 nm. When the porous Ti-7 at% Si film is anodized at a constant current density in ammonium pentaborate electrolyte, the growth of a uniform amorphous oxide film continues to ∼35 V, while it is limited to less than 6 V on the porous Ti film. The maximum voltage of the growth of uniform amorphous oxide films on the Ti-7 at% Si films is similar for both the flat and porous columnar films, suggesting little influence of surface roughness on the amorphous-to-crystalline transition of growing anodic oxide under the high electric field. Due to the suppression of crystallization to sufficiently high voltages, the anodic oxide films formed on the porous Ti-7 at% Si film shows markedly improved dielectric properties, in comparison with those on the porous Ti film.     

Formation of nanoscale aggregates of a coumarin derivative in Langmuir–Blodgett film

In the present communication, we report the formation of organized nanoscale aggregates of a coumarin derivative 7 Hydroxy-N-Octadecyl Coumarin-3-Carboxamide (7HNO3C) at the air–water interface and in Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films in the presence and absence of stearic acid (SA). A pressure-area isotherm reveals that the 7HNO3C form stable monolayer at the air–water interface. However, the stability can be improved by mixing it with a fatty acid stearic acid (SA). The miscibility study shows that the nature of interaction is strongly dependent on the mixing ratio and surface pressure. At a mole fraction of 0.4 of 7HNO3C in SA, the attractive and repulsive interaction between these two molecules balance each other forming a stable film with nanoscale aggregates. UV-Vis absorption spectroscopic studies reveal the nature of the aggregates in LB films. Scanning electron microscopy gives compelling visual evidence of formation of nanoscale aggregates in the mixed LB films.     

Role of ion energy flux on the structural and morphological properties of silicon oxy-nitride composite films deposited by plasma focus device

ABSTRACT

Crystalline silicon oxy-nitride (SiON) composite films are deposited on Si substrate for multiple (5, 15, 25 and 50) focus shots (FS) by plasma focus device. The X-rays diffraction patterns reveal the development of various diffraction peaks related to Si, Si₃N₄, and SiO₂ phases which confirms the formation of SiON composite film. The intensity of Si₃N₄ (1 0 2) plane is linearly increased with the increase of FS. The Si₃N₄ (1 0 2) phase does not nucleate for 5 FS. Raman analysis confirms the formation of β–Si–N phase. Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis reveals that the strength of chemical bonds like Si–N, Si–O formed during the deposition process of SiON composite films is associated with the bonds intensity which in turn depends on the number of FS. The field emission scanning electron microscopic analysis reveals that the surface morphology like size, shape and distribution of micro/nano-dimensional particles, film compactness and the formation of micro-rods, micro-teethes and micro-tubes of SiON composite films is entirely associated with the rise in substrate surface transient temperature which in turn depends on the increasing number of FS. The EDX spectrum confirms the presence of Si (22.5?±?4.7 at. %), N (13.4?±?4.5 at. %) and O (54.7?±?11.3 at. %) in the SiON composite film. The thickness of SiON composite film deposited for 50 FS is found to ～15.47?µm.     

MgO(001) barrier based magnetic tunnel junctions and their device applications

Spintronics has received a great attention and significant interest within the past decades,and provided considerable and remarked applications in industry and electronic information etc.In spintronics,the MgO based magnetic tunnel junction(MTJ) is an important research advancement because of its physical properties and excellent performance,such as the high TMR ratio in MgO based MTJs.We present an overview of more than a decade development in MgO based MTJs.The review contains three main sections.(1) Research of several types of MgO based MTJs,including single-crystal MgO barrier based-MTJs,double barrier MTJs,MgO based MTJs with interlayer,novel electrode material MTJs based on MgO,novel barrier based MTJs,novel barrier MTJs based on MgO,and perpendicular MTJs.(2) Some typical physical effects in MgO based MTJs,which include six observed physical effects in MgO based MTJs,namely spin transfer torque(STT) effect,Coulomb blockade magnetoresistance(CBMR) effect,oscillatory magnetoresistance,quantum-well resonance tunneling effect,electric field assisted magnetization switching effect,and spincaloric effect.(3) In the last section,a brief introduction of some important device applications of MgO based MTJs,such as GMR & TMR read heads and magneto-sensitive sensors,both field and current switching MRAM,spin nano oscillators,and spin logic devices,have been provided.     

Ab-initio calculations of structural,electronic,and optical properties of Zn_3(VO_4)_2

The structural, electronic, and optical properties of Zn_3(VO_4)_2 are investigated using full potential linearized augmented plane wave(FP-LAPW) method within the framework of density functional theory(DFT). Various approaches are adopted to treat the exchange and correlation potential energy such as generalized gradient approximation(GGA),GGA+U, and the Tran–Blaha modified Becke–Johnson(TB-mBJ) potential. The calculated band gap of 3.424 eV by TB-mBJ is found to be close to the experimental result(3.3 eV). The optical anisotropy is analyzed through optical constants,such as dielectric function and absorption coefficient along parallel and perpendicular crystal orientations. The absorption coefficient reveals high absorption(1.5 × 10~(6) cm~(-1)) of photons in the ultraviolet region.     

Performance improvement of spectral amplitude coding-optical code division multiple access systems using NAND detection with enhanced double weight code

The bit-error rate (BER) performance of the spectral amplitude coding-optical code division multiple access (SACOCDMA) system has been investigated by using NAND subtraction detection technique with enhanced double weight (EDW) code. The EDW code is the enhanced version of double weight (DW) code family where the code weight is any odd number and greater than one with ideal cross-correlation. In order to evaluate the performance of the system, we used mathematical analysis extensively along with the simulation experiment. The evaluation results obtained using the NAND subtraction detection technique was compared with those obtained using the complementary detection technique for the same number of active users. The comparison results revealed that the BER performance of the system using NAND subtraction detection technique has greatly been improved as compared to the complementary technique.     

Attenuation and modal dispersion models for spatially multiplexed co-propagating helical optical channels in step index fibers

Spatial reuse of optical frequencies has been shown to be possible through a novel spatial domain multiplexing (SDM) technique that uses spatial multiplexer at the input end to launch multiple channels of the same wavelength inside a single strand of carrier fiber and then employs spatial filtering methods to de-multiplex the different optical channels at the output end. The individual SDM channels are confined to dedicated spatial locations inside the fiber while traversing through it owing to helical propagation of light. This presents attenuation and dispersion models of such a system. Experimentally obtained beam profile and resultant crosstalk of two such spatially multiplexed co-propagating SDM channels of the same wavelength over standard step index multimode optical fibers are also presented.     

Effect of transmission fiber and amplifier noise on optical chaos synchronization

Optical chaos propagation has few constraints peculiar to itself which do not become as significant in conventional nonchaotic optical communication. We have investigated the effects of transmission fiber nonlinearities, dispersion and noise of erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) on chaotic signal synchronization in lumped and distributed configuration. It is found that the effects of fiber dispersion can be easily compensated; however, the effects of fiber nonlinearity on chaos cannot be overdone and must be avoided. Three distinct configurations with different combinations of standard telecommunication fiber, dispersion compensation fiber and lumped and distributed EDF for amplification are analysed. The results are compared in terms of sync diagrams and noise figure. The chaos after propagation through distributed amplification performs better as compared to lumped amplification. Also, a new quantitative measure for the calculation of deviation in sync diagram of chaos is introduced.