Terahertz Radiation Transport in Photonic Glasses

Multiple scattering of electromagnetic (EM) waves arises in disordered media with a refractive index varying on the scale of the wavelength. The diffusion approximation is a powerful tool to treat multiple scattering as a photon random walk, neglecting resonant phenomena. However, as the light intensity varies on a scale much smaller than the transport mean free path, resonances may occur in media formed by finite-size scatterers and break the diffusion approximation. The energy and phase velocity are very useful tools to reveal the onset of the resonant transport regime. In this paper the study of the propagation of terahertz (THz) waves through 3D random media by employing terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is addressed. Specifically, measurements of the electric field transmitted by samples of different thicknesses made of 1 mm diameter silica spheres dispersed in a paraffin matrix at different filling fractions are reported. This investigation has provided an accurate measurement of the EM field phase and, hence, information on the radiation propagation velocity that has enabled the first observation of a photonic glass at the THz range.     

Microwave Photonic Up- and Down-Converter with Tunable Phase Shift Based on an Integrated Dual-Polarization Dual-Parallel Mach–Zehnder Modulator without Optically Filtering

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we propose and numerically simulate a microwave photonic phase-tunable frequency converter (MPPTFC) without optically filtering to realize both frequency up- and down-conversion and a full 360° phase-shift for the microwave signal based on an integrated dual-polarization dual-parallel Mach–Zehnder modulator (DP-DPMZM). In the proposed scheme, both microwave RF signal and frequency-tunable local oscillator (LO) are modulated on the lightwave by single-sideband carrier suppression (SSB-CS) modulation to generate optical orthogonally polarized optical tones carrying RF signal with up- or down-converted frequency. A PolM that can support lightwave modulation with opposite modulation indices in transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) modes is used to introduce a phase difference between the two modes. Then the orthogonally polarized optical tones are aligned into a single polarized state by a polarizer (Pol) and detected by a photodiode (PD), a frequency-converted and phase-shifted microwave signal can be obtained. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed MPPTFC can up-/down-convert the microwave signal with a tunable frequency shift of LO frequency and realize a 360° continuously tunable phase shift via the DC bias voltage of the PolM simultaneously.     

一种微波光子探测器组件的封装设计与实现

为实现微波光子系统的高集成度、高可靠性,进行了一种微波光子探测器组件的封装设计与实现。介绍了定制化封装设计思路,选择可伐合金作为壳体材料,采用的卧式贴装方案中选用斜面透镜光纤,给出了封装工艺流程和关键工艺点,最终封装的组件光电耦合效率在68%～79%之间,满足总体指标需求。该组件通过混合集成封装方法,实现了微波芯片与光子芯片在同一封装内的阵列化集成及气密性封装。该组件的封装设计与实现方法,可用于其他微波光子产品,有助于提升光载射频传输系统的集成度与可靠性。     

光学超晶格:从体块到薄膜

光学超晶格是一种基于准相位匹配技术的非线性光学材料。通过铁电畴工程研制出不同微结构的光学超晶格,可以实现高效灵活的非线性频率转换,并对光场进行多维调控。光学超晶格的基质材料,经历了从体块到薄膜的发展,伴随着两种材料体系超晶格制备技术的突破,催生了激光变频技术、非线性光场调控和多功能集成光量子芯片等重要应用。     

应用于生物医学领域的化学改性壳聚糖

简述了壳聚糖的化学改性方法,改性壳聚糖的特殊功能及其在生物医学领域中的应用研究进展。     

天然活性多糖在生物医药领域中的研究进展

概述了活性多糖的分离纯化、结构表征、结构修饰及在生物医药领域中的应用,并对今后多糖研究前景作了展望。     

Magnetic Field Mapping Around Individual Magnetic Nanoparticle Agglomerates Using Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers in Diamond

A modified diamond–photonics based metrology is proposed to explore the magnetic fields created by agglomerates of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). MNPs are promising for environmental and medical applications; those proposed for cancer magnetic hyperthermia treatments are small superparamagnetic <20 nm iron oxide particles. Inside cells, they assemble in larger MNP agglomerates, reaching cross-sections of several micrometers. Here, these conditions are reproduced and MNP agglomerates immobilized. Optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) signals recorded without a bias field in a confocal microscope and scanning across a homogenous shallow layer of fluorescent nitrogen-vacancy centers in a bulk diamond sample placed in direct contact with the MNP agglomerates are used to determine magnetic fields with a spatial resolution of 500 nm in a lateral direction. This spatial resolution allows determining magnetic field maps around individual MNP agglomerates, for which magnetic fields with strengths ranging from 0.03 mT to maximal 1.2 mT in the direct vicinity of the agglomerates and with detectable fields up to 5 µm away from the agglomerates, are determined. Based on the findings, a pathway to non-invasively study the micro/nano topology of MNP agglomerates is proposed.     

Magnetofection: Magic magnetic nanoparticles for efficient gene delivery

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have become a research hotspot and widely used in the biomedical field in recent decades due to their unique magnetic properties. This minireview summarizes the specific gene transfection of magnetic particles (magnetofection) during eversy dynamic process of gene delivery (gene binding, cellular uptake, endosomal escape, intracellular trafficking and in vivo targeting). Meanwhile, the synergistic biomedical application of magnetofection and the effects of MNPs have also been discussed, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic mediated hyperthermia (MMH), Fenton reaction and autophagy. Finally, the clinical prospect of magnetofection was briefly expected.     

Micromanipulation of Mechanically Compliant Organic Single-Crystal Optical Microwaveguides

Flexible organic single crystals are evolving as new materials for optical waveguides that can be used for transfer of information in organic optoelectronic microcircuits. Integration in microelectronics of such crystalline waveguides requires downsizing and precise spatial control over their shape and size at the microscale, however that currently is not possible due to difficulties with manipulation of these small, brittle objects that are prone to cracking and disintegration. Here we demonstrate that atomic force microscopy (AFM) can be used to reshape, resize and relocate single-crystal microwaveguides in order to attain spatial control over their light output. Using an AFM cantilever tip, mechanically compliant acicular microcrystals of three N-benzylideneanilines were bent to an arbitrary angle, sliced out from a bundle into individual crystals, cut into shorter crystals of arbitrary length, and moved across and above a solid surface. When excited by using laser light, such bent microcrystals act as active optical microwaveguides that transduce their fluorescence, with the total intensity of transduced light being dependent on the optical path length. This micromanipulation of the crystal waveguides using AFM is non-invasive, and after bending their emissive spectral output remains unaltered. The approach reported here effectively overcomes the difficulties that are commonly encountered with reshaping and positioning of small delicate objects (the “thick fingers” problem), and can be applied to mechanically reconfigure organic optical waveguides in order to attain spatial control over their output in two and three dimensions in optical microcircuits.     

Controlled drug release behavior of metformin hydrogen chloride from biodegradable films based on chitosan/poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether blend

In this study, novel smart drug release films were prepared by blending chitosan with polyethylene glycol methyl ether (PEGME), also named as methoxy polyethylene glycol (mPEG), for controlled drug release applications. The polymeric films were characterized by Fourier transform infra-red for functional groups analysis, scanning electron microscopy for morphology and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for chemical and surface analysis followed by mechanical and thermal analysis. The mechanical properties showed that with the addition of PEGME (40%), the tensile strength and elongation break were increased up to 34.14 MPa and 26.40%, respectively as compared to the controlled sample (without PEGME). The developed biodegradable films were tested for Metformin hydrogen chloride release ability at a particular rate in phosphate buffer saline solution at pH 7.4. The results showed that chitosan/PEGME blends could be employed for controlled drug release and other biomedical applications.