Element determination in medieval soil samples by total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis

An aqua regia extraction procedure for heavy metals in soils optimised for total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis is presented. The procedure is applied to 92 soil samples of medieval layers from the city area of Dortmund. Sixteen elements (P, S, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, Ag, Sn, and Pb) were used to characterise 17 sample sites. The results are projected onto the medieval urban structure of Dortmund. Two sites loaded with non-ferrous heavy metal could be detected and correlated with archaeological data. The efficiency and repeatability of the proposed extraction procedure is discussed.     

Analysis of low Z elements on Si wafer surfaces with synchrotron radiation induced total reflection X-ray fluorescence at SSRL, Beamline 3-3: comparison of droplets with spin coated wafers

The unique properties of synchrotron radiation, such as high incident flux combined with low divergence, its linear polarization and energy tunability, make it an ideal excitation source for total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectroscopy in order to non-destructively detect trace impurities of transition metals on Si wafer surfaces. When used with a detector suitable for the determination of low energy radiation this technique can be extended to the detection of low-Z elements, such as Al, Na and Mg. Experiments have been performed at SSRL Beamline 3-3, a bending magnet beamline using monochromatic radiation from a double multilayer monochromator. The wafer was mounted vertically in front of the detector, which was aligned along the linear polarization vector of the incoming synchrotron radiation. This configuration allows the detector to accept a large solid angle as well as to take advantage of the reduced scattered X-ray intensity emitted in the direction of the linear polarization vector. A comparison between droplet samples and spin coated samples was done, in order to compare the capabilities of vapor phase decomposition (VPD-TXRF) with conventional SR-straight-TXRF. Detection limits in the range of 50 fg corresponding to 2E10 atoms/cm² have been obtained for Na. The spin coated samples, prepared from solutions containing an equal amount of Na, Mg and Al showed an unexpected result when performing a scan of the angle of incidence of the incoming X-rays suggesting a different adsorption behavior of the elements in a multielement solution on the wafer surface. The observation of this behavior is important because the spin coating technique is the standard method for the preparation of surface standards in semiconductor quality control. This effect could be characteristic of the Na, Mg, Al solution used, but the angle dependence of the fluorescence signal of a standard should always be investigated before using the standard for calibration of the apparatus and quantification.     

Immunosensor for estrone with an equal limit of detection as common analytical methods

Immunoanalytical methods at a very low limit of detection (LOD) and a low limit of quantification (LOQ) are becoming more and more important for environmental analysis and especially for monitoring drinking water quality. Biosensors have suitable characteristics such as efficiency in allowing very fast, sensitive, and cost-effective detection. Here we describe a fully automated immunoassay for estrone with a LOD below 0.20 ng L^–1 and a LOQ below 1.40 ng L^–1. In contrast to common analytical methods such as GC-MS or HPLC-MS, the biosensor used requires no sample pre-treatment and pre-concentration. The basis of our sensitive assay is the antibody with a high affinity constant towards estrone. The very low amount of antibody per sample results in low validation parameters (LOD, LOQ, and IC50), but this assay for estrone represents the current device-related limitation of the River Analyser (RIANA).     

大气闪烁对自适应光学校正的影响

 激光在大气湍流中长距离近水平传输时，闪烁加强，限制了常规自适应光学的校正能力。数值研究了大气闪烁对自适应光学校正的影响，拟合得到了在Fresnel数一定时，Strehl比与Rytov方差的表达式，以及Rytov方差一定时，Strehl比与Fresnel数的表达式。结果表明，在Rytov方差较小时，纯相位校正Ｓtrehl比只与Rytov方差有关；随着Rytov方差的增加，Strehl比不仅与Rytov方差有关，还与Fresnel数有关，Fresnel数越大，校正Strehl比越大；大发射和接收孔径有利于提高校正Strehl比；在一定的Rytov方差下，Stregl比随Fresnel数增大而增加，逐步趋于饱和，达到纯相位校正的极限。     

Optical constants of silver and copper indium ternary sulfides from infrared reflectivity measurements

Infrared reflection spectra are obtained in the frequency range of 50–2000 cm⁻¹ for AgIn₅S₈ and CuIn₅S₈ single crystals grown by Bridgman method. All four infrared-active modes are detected, which are in full agreement with the prediction of group-theoretical analysis. Spectral dependence of optical parameters; real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function, the function of energy losses, refractive index, absorption index and absorption coefficient were calculated from reflectivity experiments. The frequencies of transverse and longitudinal optical modes and oscillator strengths were also determined. The bands detected in IR spectra of studied crystals were assigned to various vibration types (valence and valence-deformation) on the basis of the symmetrized displacements of atoms obtained employing the Melvin projection operators.     

Influence of cell and LC parameters on the dynamics of STN liquid crystal displays

The dynamics of super-twisted nematic (STN) liquid crystal displays have rarely been studied. In this article, the dynamic response of STN is analysed in detail. The evolution of director configuration with time was obtained by solving Ericksen–Leslie hydrodynamic equations. The time varying midlayer tilt angle is presented as a measure of dynamic response. The influence on STN dynamics of cell parameters including pretilt angle, twist angle, cell thickness, and of material parameters including d/p, K ₂₂, K ₃₃, were studied.     

Distributing points uniformly on the unit sphere under a mirror reflection symmetry constraint

Uniformly distributed point sets on the unit sphere with and without symmetry constraints have been found useful in many scientific and engineering applications. Here, a novel variant of the Thomson problem is proposed and formulated as an unconstrained optimization problem. While the goal of the Thomson problem is to find the minimum energy configuration of N electrons constrained on the surface of the unit sphere, this novel variant imposes a new symmetry constraint – mirror reflection symmetry with the x–y plane as the plane of symmetry. Qualitative features of the two-dimensional projection of the optimal configurations are briefly mentioned and compared to the ground-state configurations of the two dimensional system of charged particles laterally confined by a parabolic potential well.     

MATLAB在光学界面发生反射时的分析与应用

基于MATLAB的计算功能及可视化功能计算并分析了光学中的菲涅耳公式,更加直观的揭示了光波在两介质界面发生反射时的变化规律。使学生更加深入、直观地掌握光波在界面发生变化的条件、实质及布儒斯特角与全反射临界角的物理意义,同时也学会了分析研究方法,且提高了学习的主动性和创造性。     

Synthesis and optical nondestructive evaluation of GaN nanorods on silicon surfaces with gold catalyst

Nanometric gallium-nitride rods were grown on a silicon (1 1 1) substrate through a chemical vapor deposition process with gold particles as the catalyst. Randomly distributed gallium-nitride rods of 20–200 nm in diameter and of various densities and lengths were formed under different deposition conditions. Characterization analyses, such as scanning electron microscopy and optical reflection spectroscopy, have been carried out on samples containing gallium-nitride rods different in size, shape, length and density. While the scanning electron microscopy shows directly the images of the sample surfaces, the optical spectroscopy provides a nondestructive evaluation of the sample surfaces, especially helpful for checking the uniformity of the samples.     

Recent advances of ultrasonic testing of cement based materials at early ages

To summarize some of the most important findings in the field of ultrasonic (US) testing of early age hydration and formation of structure of different cement based materials (CBMs), a review of literature with focus on US P-wave transmission and S-wave reflection methods is presented in this paper. The review shows a great ability of both US techniques to observe setting phenomena and to determine different milestones during the early age formation of CBM’s microstructure. Clear physical basis, high accuracy, and non-destructive nature of the method indicate that US methods could become standardized in the near future.