An intelligent maximum permissible exposure meter for safety assessments of laser radiation

There is frequently a need to make laser power or energy density measurements when determining whether radiation from a laser system exceeds the Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) as defined in BS EN 60825. This can be achieved using standard commercially available laser power or energy measurement equipment, but some of these have shortcomings when used in this application. Calculations must be performed by the user to compare the measured value to the MPE. The measurement and calculation procedure appears complex to the nonexpert who may be performing the assessment. A novel approach is described which uses purpose designed hardware and software to simplify the process. The hardware is optimized for measuring the relatively low powers associated with MPEs. The software runs on a Psion Series 3a palmtop computer. This reduces the cost and size of the system yet allows graphical and numerical presentation of data. Data output to other software running on PCs is also possible, enabling the instrument to be used as part of a quality system. Throughout the measurement process the opportunity for user error has been minimized by the hardware and software design.     

An integrated submersible fluorometer/nephelometer/ transmissometer: design and testing at sea

This paper describes a new submersible instrument which makes simultaneous measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence, beam attenuation and wide-angle scattering using a single xenon flashlamp as the light source. Cross-calibration against single-parameter commercial instruments shows satisfactory linear correlations, comparable resolution and enhanced dynamic range. The instrument package includes microprocessor control of data acquisition and a rechargeable battery pack. It is capable of acquiring high-resolution vertical profiles when deployed from a ship, or bio-optical time series from moorings. Results are presented here from initial deployments in inshore waters and in a deck tank at sea.     

Calorimetric evidences of preferential binding of doxorubicine for DNA regions with the highest GC content

Summary A simple calorimetric method that can provide information about the preferential binding of a drug, with well-established GC preference (doxorubicine), to calf thymus DNA domains, is presented.     

Electron volt neutron spectrometers

The advent of pulsed neutron sources has made available intense fluxes of epithermal neutrons (500 meV ≤E≤100 eV ). The possibility to open new investigations on condensed matter with eV neutron scattering techniques, is related to the development of methods, concepts and devices that drive, or are inspired by, emerging studies at this energy scale. Electron volt spectrometers have undergone continuous improvements since the construction of the first prototype instruments, but in the last decade major breakthroughs have been accomplished in terms of resolution and counting statistics, leading, for example, to the direct measurement of the proton 3-D Born–Oppenheimer potential in any material, or to quantitatively probe nuclear quantum effects in hydrogen bonded systems. This paper reports on the most effective methods and concepts for energy analysis and detection, as well as devices for the optimization of electron volt spectrometers for different applications. This is set in the context of the progress made up to date in instrument development. Starting from early stages of development of the technique, particular emphasis will be given to the Vesuvio eV spectrometer at the ISIS neutron source, the first spectrometer where extensive scientific, as well as research and development programmes have been carried out. The potential offered by this type of instrumentation, from single particle excitations to momentum distribution studies, is then put in perspective into the emerging fields of eV spectroscopy applied to cultural heritages and neutron irradiation effects in electronics.     

VITESS polarized neutron suite: allows for the simulation of performance of any existing polarized neutron scattering instrument

As neutron simulations packages are used for analysis of the expected performance for practically all newly built neutron instruments, possibilities for simulations with polarized neutrons have been relatively underdeveloped.During the last years we developed a new approach for the representation of time-dependent magnetic fields (both in magnitude and direction) for the VITESS simulation package. This allowed us to simulate the neutron spin dynamics in practically all polarized neutron devices (RF neutron flipper, adiabatic gradient RF flipper, the Drabkin resonator, etc.). In this article the above-mentioned VITESS instrument components (modules) will be presented and the simulated performance of a number of polarized neutron scattering instruments (NRSE, MIEZE, SESANS, etc.) will be demonstrated.Thus, we practically complete the polarized neutron suite of the VITESS, which seems sufficient for the simulation of performance of any existing polarized neutron scattering instrument. Future work will be concentrated on developments of dedicated sample modules (kernels) to allow for virtual experiments with VITESS.     

Combined Laser-Induced Breakdown with Raman Spectroscopy: Historical Technology Development and Recent Applications

Abstract: A modern trend in the development of laser-based analytical instruments is to integrate more functions in a single device, which could supply complementary information and improve the capability to identify different components. This review presents historical development of the combined analysis by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and Raman Spectroscopy, which briefly describes basic instrumental principles and technological aspects of the hyphenated technique, as well as the requirements in the design of interactive instruments, including laser systems, optical systems for laser beam delivery, emission collection devices, and spectrum measurement systems. Various configurations of the combined instrumentation have been designed and used depending on the different applications, such as pigment analysis in the cultural heritage field, detection of explosives, analysis of geological samples, and applications in future planetary missions. In addition, the feasibility, applicability, and prospective aspects of the hybrid technology are discussed in detail.     

Investigations of mechanical vibrations for beamlines at the Canadian Light Source

Vibration is often a problem causing poor quality of photon beams at synchrotron radiation facilities, since beamlines are quite sensitive to vibrations. Therefore, vibration analysis and control at synchrotron radiation facilities is crucial. This paper presents investigations on mechanical vibrations at four beamlines and endstations at the Canadian Light Source, i.e. the Canadian Macromolecular Crystallography Facility 08ID‐1 beamline, the Hard X‐ray MicroAnalysis 06ID‐1 beamline, the Resonant Elastic and Inelastic Soft X‐ray Scattering 10ID‐2 beamline, and the Scanning Transmission X‐ray Microscope endstation at the Spectromicroscopy 10ID‐1 beamline. This study identifies vibration sources and investigates the influence of mechanical vibrations on beamline performance. The results show that vibrations caused by movable mechanical equipment significantly affect the data acquired from beamlines.     

Detection of fuel-oxidizer explosives utilizing portable capillary electrophoresis with wipe-based sampling

Portable analytical instrumentation that can provide an alarm indication for the presence of explosives and related components is critical for the identification of explosives-based hazards and threats. Many explosives incident reports involve an inorganic oxidizer-fuel mixture which can include pyrotechnics, fireworks, flash powders, black powders, black powder substitutes, and improvised or homemade explosives. A portable CE instrument with targeted analysis of common inorganic oxidizer ions, for example, chlorate, perchlorate, and nitrate, was used here as a rapid detection platform. Unlike frequently used gas-phase separation and detection instrumentation such as ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), an automated liquid extraction mechanism is required for CE separation using acetate paper sample collection wipes. Target inorganic oxidizers were inkjet-printed onto sample wipes to investigate instrument response relative to the collected analyte spatial distribution. Overall, analyte signal intensities increased with off-center sample deposition due to improved sample extraction from wipes and no change in response was observed for varied array distributions across wipes. The system demonstrated sub 200 ng detection limits for all target analytes, with further improvement when normalizing to an internal standard.     

虹吸动态化学腐蚀法制备近场光学显微镜光纤探针的研究

基于虹吸原理 ,设计了一种动态化学腐蚀法的简易装置 ,用于制备近场光学显微镜光纤探针。在一般化学腐蚀法的基础上 ,通过改变虹吸管中水的流向和流速来有效地控制探针锥角和锥长 ,制备出多种形貌的光纤探针。与传统的静态化学腐蚀法相比 ,该法具有重复性高、探针形貌可控、操作方便、实验费用低廉、制备的探针表面光滑等优点。利用该装置 ,成功地制备出针尖尺寸 5 0～ 30 0nm ,针尖锥角在 16°～ 6 5°之间可调的光纤探针。同时 ,选择适当的液位差 ,通过一步腐蚀法制备出针尖尺寸小于 5 0nm ,针尖锥角 12 5°的双锥角光纤探针。并对可能的腐蚀机理进行了探讨。     

A study of OH radicals in an atmospheric AC discharge plasma using near infrared diode laser cavity ringdown spectroscopy combined with optical emission spectroscopy

Simultaneous measurements of absolute concentrations of H₂O and OH radicals in an atmospheric AC discharge using continuous wave cavity ringdown spectroscopy (cw-CRDS) are reported. Formation of OH radicals and plasma temperatures are characterized by optical emission spectroscopy. The concentration of OH radical at the edge of the discharge plume at 380 K is measured by the cw-CRDS technique to be 1.1 ×10¹⁵ molecule cm^-3. Ringdown measurements of the H₂O (120-000) band and the OH first overtone around 1515 nm enable us to determine an OH generation yield, , to be 4.8 ×10^-3, where N_OH and are the number densities of OH and H₂O, respectively. The minimum detectable absorption coefficient of the cw-CRDS system is 8.9 ×10^-9  cm^-1, which corresponds to a 1σ detection limit of OH number density of 1.2 ×10¹³ molecule cm^-3 in the discharge. This experimental approach is demonstrated for the first time ever in an AC discharge, and can be applied in general to a variety of atmospheric plasmas to help study OH formation mechanisms and OH-related plasma applications.