Frequency modulated heterodyne optical fiber Sagnac interferometer

This paper describes a new approach to the detection of rotation rate using the optical fiber Sagnac interferometer. An inherently reciprocal heterodyne system gives the advantages in terms of signal-to-noise ratios (SNR's) of heterodyne detection, while independent electronic monitoring of each propagation path through the interferometer significantly enhances signal processing flexibility. The system may thus be used as a probe to evaluate fiber properties in a way compatible with other architectures, and these measurements should lead to advances in performance characteristics. A prototype system has exhibited noise levels in the region of 100°/h, and improvement to the signal processing will soon improve on this figure.     

Linewidth narrowing in semiconductor laser pumped all-fibre Brillouin ring laser

Brillouin lasing in an all-fibre ring resonator made of polarisation-maintaining fibre using a semiconductor laser pump at 830 nm is reported. The stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) lasing threshold is 0.91 mW, and the Stokes output is polarised and exhibits linewidth narrowing.<>     

Synthesis of E-3-Hydroxymethyl-1-methoxy-4-(1′-pentenyl)benzene

The title compound with exclusively the E-geometry has been synthesized by two independent routes. When this compound was reacted with cerium (IV) ammonium nitrate, it was found that oxidative cyclisation to the corresponding 4-hydroxybenzo-pyrans did not occur. This further defines the structural parameters required for such oxidative cyclisations.     

A fiber connectorized MEMS variable optical attenuator

A voltage-controlled moving-mirror microelectro-mechanical systems variable optical attenuator is described that has less than 1-dB fiber-to-fiber insertion loss at 1550-nm wavelength and greater than 50-dB dynamic range. The device was configured with a simple feedback circuit to operate as an optical power regulator capable of stabilizing the output power to within 0.26 dB for a 12-dB input power excursion     

The first supraicosahedral p-block metallacarboranes

Reaction of Na2[7,9-C2B10H12] or its C-dimethyl analogue with SnCl2 in THF affords 4,1,6-closo-SnC2B10H12 or 1,6-Me2-4,1,6-closo-SnC2B10H10 respectively, the first 13-vertex metallacarboranes involving p-block metals; spectroscopic, structural and theoretical studies, including an analysis of fluctionality in solution, are reported.     

Theoretical prediction and experimental measurement of the field dependence of the apparent transverse relaxation of hyperpolarized noble gases in lungs

In this work, computer modeling based on a finite element method is used to simulate the T2* relaxation of hyperpolarized noble gases (HNG) in the lungs. A physical model of lung airways consisting of a phantom constructed from micro-capillary fibers of diameters similar to the size of lung airways with semi-permeable walls is also presented. The fibers are surrounded by a liquid medium (water) of magnetic susceptibility similar to lung tissue. Theoretical predictions of the field strength dependence of T2* for 129Xe in the phantom and in vivo rat lung are presented. These predictions are in good agreement with experimental T2* values obtained from the phantoms and in vivo rat lungs (160, 19 and 8 ms) at three different field strengths (0.074, 1.89 and 3T, respectively) using hyperpolarized 129Xe. The strong dependence of T2* on field strength is consistent with the theoretical prediction that low fields may be optimal for HNG MR imaging of the lungs as the decreased T2* at high fields necessitates an increase in bandwidth for conventional MR imaging.