Wavenumber Measurements of CO(2) Transitions in 1.5-µm Atmospheric Window Using an External-Cavity Diode Laser

Using an external-cavity diode laser (ECDL) as the light source, we have observed the spectrum of CO(2) in the 1.5-μm atmospheric window including the (30(0)1)(I) <-- (00(0)0) and (31(1)1)(I) <-- (01(1)0)(I) bands. Good signal-to-noise ratio allowed us to lock the frequency of our ECDL to the absorption line centers. Wavenumber measurements of the transitions with accuracy about 6.6 x 10(-4) cm(-1) are made with the help of a precision wavemeter calibrated to the accurate C(2)H(2) frequency references in the 1.5-μm wavelength region. Molecular constants are obtained by making the least-squares fits of the measured transition wavenumbers. The rotational and centrifugal distortion constants are consistent with the previous results using high-resolution Fourier transform spectroscopy. However, the band centers are different with previous results by several thousandth reciprocal centimeters. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

High-Resolution Measurements of HBr Transitions in the First Overtone Band Using Tunable Diode Lasers

High-resolution absorption lineshapes of the R(7) and P(2) transitions in the first overtone (v = 0-2) band of H(79)Br have been recorded at room temperature using a pair of distributed feedback diode lasers operating near 1.95 and 2.00 μm, respectively. Spectral line intensities and self-broadening coefficients were determined by fitting the measured spectra (for various pressures P = 10-100 Torr) with Voigt profiles and compared with values in the literature. Measured line intensities for the P(2) and R(7) transitions are approximately 11 and 16% higher than those listed in the HITRAN database, respectively. The measured self-broadening coefficient of the P(2) transition is approximately 14% lower than the value listed in HITRAN. Measurements of the P(2) lineshapes at low pressure (100 mTorr) were modeled with eight-line Gaussian profiles based on ground state (v = 0) hyperfine constants to include the effects of nuclear electric quadrupole interactions. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Frequency stabilization of a frequency-doubled 1556-nm source to the 5S(1/2) ? 5D (5/2) two-photon transitions of rubidium

Improvements in the power level of sources near 1550 nm and in the efficiency of waveguide frequency doublers enabled us to lock a frequency-doubled source directly to the 5S(1/2) ? 5D(5/2) two-photon transitions near 778 nm. We obtained a sufficiently powerful second-harmonic signal, exceeding 2 mW, by doubling an external-cavity diode laser that was amplified by an erbium-doped fiber amplifier in a periodically poled LiNbO(3) channel waveguide. Our experimental scheme can be used for realizing compact, high-performance frequency standards near 1550 nm for fiber-optic communication and sensing applications.     

Novel Optical Phase Demodulator Based on a Sampling Phase-Locked Loop

A novel phase-locked coherent demodulator, based on a sampling phase-locked loop, is presented and investigated theoretically. The demodulator is capable of operating at high frequencies, by using optical sampling to downconvert the high-frequency input radio-frequency signal to the frequency range of the baseband loop. We develop a detailed theoretical model of the (sampling) phase-locked coherent demodulator and perform detailed numerical simulations. The simulation results show that the operation of the sampling demodulator resembles the operation of the baseband demodulator for very short optical pulses (<2 ps). Furthermore, we investigate how the signal-to-noise ratio of the demodulator is affected by timing and amplitude jitter of the pulsed optical source     

High Output Saturation and High-Linearity Uni-Traveling-Carrier Waveguide Photodiodes

Waveguide uni-traveling-carrier photodiodes (UTC-PDs) have been fabricated and tested. Output saturation currents greater than 40 mA at 1 GHz are demonstrated for a 10 mumtimes150mum photodiode (PD). The third-order intermodulation distortion is also measured and exhibits a third-order output intercept point of 43 dBm at 20 mA and 34 dBm at 40 mA for this same PD. UTC-PDs with geometries of 5 mumtimes100 mum and 10 mumtimes100 mum are also compared and it is shown that a wider waveguide PD has improved saturation characteristics due to the lower optical power density which reduces the saturation at the front end of the device     

An alternative method to fabricate the planar-type resonant-cavity light-emitting diodes by using silicon oxide for short-reach communications

In this article, the silicon oxide (SiO_x) planarization technique is presented to fabricate the 650-nm resonant-cavity light-emitting diodes (RCLEDs). The performances of RCLEDs are characterized by forward voltage, light output power, external quantum efficiency, emission spectrum, and dynamic response. As a result, the device with the SiO_x-planarized layer exhibits a low operating voltage of 2.3 V at 20 mA, a maximum light output power of 304 μW at 15 mA, and the best external quantum efficiency of 3% at 1.2 mA. In addition, the SiO_x-planarized device exhibits temperature insensitivity as compared to the device without it. The RCLED with a 30-μm diameter shows the maximum 3 dB frequency bandwidth of 275 MHz at a driving current of 40 mA. Finally, the RCLED with a SiO_x-planarized layer shows a clear eye-opening feature as operating at 100 Mbit/s at 20 mA. These results indicate that such LEDs are excellent candidates for use in high-speed short-reach plastic optical fiber communications.     

Advances and Challenges with Data Broadcasting in Wireless Mesh Networks

Wireless mesh networks have become a promising means to provide low-cost broadband access. Many WMN applications require broadcasting data (IPTV etc.) over the WMN. This article studies how efficient data broadcast, measured in terms of broadcast latency, can be realized by exploiting two features of WMNs: the use of multiple transmission rates at the link layer and the use of multiple radio interfaces on each node. We demonstrate that by exploiting these features, broadcast latency can be reduced severalfold compared to the current default practice in wireless LANs of using the lowest transmission rate for broadcast traffic. We also discuss two important insights we have gained from our investigation. First, we find that when multiple radio interfaces are used, a channel assignment algorithm designed for unicast traffic may often perform poorly for broadcast flows. Second, we find that the efficiency of a transmission rate for reducing broadcast latency can be reasonably predicted by the product of the transmission rate and its coverage area.     

The effects of hydrogen plasma pretreatment on the formation of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes

The effects of H₂ plasma pretreatment on the growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by varying the flow rate of the precursor gas mixture during microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) have been investigated in this study. Gas mixture of H₂ and CH₄ with a ratio of 9:1 was used as the precursor for synthesizing CNTs on Ni-coated TiN/Si(1 0 0) substrates. The structure and composition of Ni catalyst nanoparticles were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). Results indicated that, by manipulating the morphology and density of the Ni catalyst nanoparticles via changing the flow rate of the precursor gas mixture, the vertically aligned CNTs could be effectively controlled. The Raman results also indicated that the intensity ratio of the G and D bands (I_D/I_G) is decreased with increasing gas flow rate. TEM results suggest H₂ plasma pretreatment can effectively reduce the amorphous carbon and carbonaceous particles and, thus, is playing a crucial role in modifying the obtained CNTs structures.     

The electrical properties and phase transformation of PLZST 2/85/13/2 antiferroelectric thin films on different bottom electrode

Pb_0.97La_0.02(Zr_0.85Sn_0.13Ti_0.02)O₃ (PLZST 2/85/13/2) antiferroelectric thin films were deposited on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO₂/Si and LaNiO₃(LNO)/SiO₂/Si substrates through a modified sol-gel process. The phase structure and microstructure of PLZST 2/85/13/2 antiferroelectric thin films were analysed by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microcopy (SEM) and field-emission SEM (FE-SEM). The antiferroelectric nature of the PLZST 2/85/13/2 thin films on two electrodes was demonstrated by the C-V (capacitance-voltage) and P-E (polarization-electric field) measurement. The maximum polarizations for PLZST 2/85/13/2 films on Pt and LNO electrodes were 42 and 18 μC/cm², respectively. The temperature dependence of the dielectric property of the PLZST 2/85/13/2 films was measured under different dc electric fields. Also, the phase transformation of the PLZST 2/85/13/2 films was studied in detail as a function of temperature and dc electric field.