Characterization of the channel walls roughness in photonic crystal fibers

We present electron microscope (FEI NanoSEM) and atomic force microscopy measurements of surface roughness in nanochannels in photonic crystal fibers (PCF). A method was invented to cleave the PCF along the axis without damaging the surface structure in the nanochannels allowing us to characterize the morphology of the nanochannels in the PCF. A multi-wall carbon nanotube mounted onto commercial AFM probes and super sharp silicon non-contact mode AFM probes were used to characterize the wall roughness in the nanochannels. The roughness is shown to have a Gaussian distribution, and has an amplitude smaller than 0.5 nm. The height–height correlation function is an exponential correlation function with an autocorrelation length of 13 nm, and 27 nm corresponding with scan sizes of 200×100 nm², and 1600×200 nm², respectively.     

Pulsed microwave-driven argon plasma jet with distinctive plume patterns resonantly excited by surface plasmon polaritons

Atmospheric lower-power pulsed microwave argon cold plasma jets are obtained by using coaxial transmission line resonators in ambient air.The plasma jet plumes are generated at the end of a metal wire placed in the middle of the dielectric tubes.The electromagnetic model analyses and simulation results suggest that the discharges are excited resonantly by the enhanced electric field of surface plasmon polaritons.Moreover,for conquering the defect of atmospheric argon filamentation discharges excited by 2.45-GHz of continued microwave,the distinctive patterns of the plasma jet plumes can be maintained by applying different gas flow rates of argon gas,frequencies of pulsed modulator,duty cycles of pulsed microwave,peak values of input microwave power,and even by using different materials of dielectric tubes.In addition,the emission spectrum,the plume temperature,and other plasma parameters are measured,which shows that the proposed pulsed microwave plasma jets can be adjusted for plasma biomedical applications.     

Two States Are Not Enough: Quantitative Evaluation of the Valence‐Bond Intramolecular Charge‐Transfer Model and Its Use in Predicting Bond Length Alternation Effects

The structural weights of the canonical resonance contributors used in the Two‐state valence‐bond charge‐transfer model, neutral (N, R1) and ionic (VB‐CT, R2), to the ground states and excited states of a series of linear dipolar intramolecular charge‐transfer chromophores containing a buta‐1,3‐dien‐1,4‐diyl bridge have been computed by using the block‐localized wavefunction (BLW) method at the B3LYP/6‐311+G(d) level to provide the first quantitative assessment of this simple model. Ground‐ and excited‐state analysis reveals surprisingly low ground‐state structural weights for the VB‐CT resonance form using either this Two‐state model or an expanded Ten‐state model. The VB‐CT state is found to be more prominent in the excited state. Individual resonance forms were structurally optimized to understand the origins of the bond length alternation (BLA) of the bridging unit. Using a Wheland energy‐based weighting scheme, the weighted average of the optimized bond lengths with the Two‐state model was unable to reproduce the BLA features with values 0.04 to 0.02 Å too large compared to the fully delocalized (FD) structure (BLW: ca. ?0.13 to ?0.07 Å, FD: ca. ?0.09 to ?0.05 Å). Instead, an expanded Ten‐state model fit the BLA values of the FD structure to within only 0.001 Å of FD.     

Conformation‐Specific Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy of Cold,Isolated Chiral Molecules

The CD spectroscopy of a chiral compound in solution yields an average CD value derived from all of the conformations of a chiral molecule. By contrast, CD spectroscopy of cold chiral molecules in the gas phase distinguishes specific conformers of a chiral molecule, but the weak CD effect has limited the practical application of this technique. Reported herein is the first resonant two‐photon ionization CD spectra of ephedrines in a supersonic jet using circularly polarized laser pulses, which were generated by synchronizing the oscillation of the photoelastic modulator with the laser firing. The spectra exhibited well‐resolved CD bands which were specific for the conformations and vibrational modes of each enantiomer. The CD signs and magnitudes of the jet‐cooled chiral molecules were very sensitive to their conformations and thus offered crucial information for determining the three‐dimensional structures of chiral species, as conducted in combination with quantum chemical calculations.     

Microstructure characterization of short-chain branching polyethylene with differential scanning calorimetry and successive selfnucleation/annealing thermal fractionation

A series of the copolymers of ethylene with 1-hexene(M1–M9) synthesized by metallocene catalyst Et[Ind]2ZrCl2/MAO was studied by differential scanning calorimetry and successive self-nucleation and annealing(SSA) thermal fractionation. The distribution of methylene sequence length(MSL) in the different copolymers was determined using the SSA method. The comonomer contents of samples M4 and M5 are 2.04 mol% and 2.78 mol%, respectively. Both M4 and M5 have low comonomer content and their MSL distribution profiles exhibit a monotonous increase trend with their MSL. The longest MSL of M5 is 167, and its corresponding molar percent is 43.95%, which is higher than that of M4. Moreover, the melting temperature(Tm) of M5 is also higher than that of M4. The comonomer contents of samples M7, M8, and M9 are 8.73 mol%, 14.18 mol% and 15.05 mol%, respectively. M7, M8, and M9 have high comonomer contents, and their MSL distribution profiles display unimodality. M7 has a lower peak value of 33 and a narrow MSL distribution, resulting in a Tm lower than that of M8 and M9. The MSL and its distribution are also key points that influence the melting behavior of copolymers. Sometimes, MSL and its distribution of copolymers have a greater impact on it than the total comonomer contents, which is different from traditional views.     

Adaptive nematic liquid crystal lens array with resistive layer

ABSTRACT

We propose an adaptive nematic liquid crystal (LC) lens array using a dielectric layer with low dielectric constant as resistive layer. With the resistive layer and periodic-arranged iridium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes, the vertical electric field across the LC layer varies linearly over the lens aperture is obtained in the voltage-on state. As a result, a centrosymmetric gradient refractive index profile within the LC layer is generated, which causes the focusing behaviour. As a result of the optimisation, a thin cell gap which greatly reduces the switching time of the LC lens array can be achieved in our design. The main advantages of the proposed LC lens array are in the comparatively low operating voltage, the flat substrate surface, the simple electrodes, and the uniform LC cell gap. The simulation results show that the focal length of the LC lens array can be tuned continuously from infinity to 3.99 mm by changing the applied voltage.     

Estimation of coefficient of variation in a weighted inverse Gaussian model

The coefficient of variation is an important parameter in many physical, biological and medical sciences. In this paper we study the estimation of the square of the coefficient of variation in a weighted inverse Gaussian model which is a mixture of the inverse Gaussian and the length biased inverse Gaussian distribution. This represents a rich family of distributions for different values of the mixing parameter and can be used for modelling various life testing situations. The maximum likelihood as well as the Bayes estimates of the parameters are obtained. These estimates are used to derive the estimates of the square of the coefficient of variation of the model under study. Several important data sets are analysed to illustrate the results. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the inflation and deflation dynamics of liquid-filled,hyperelastic balloons

We derive a reduced-order model describing the inflation and deflation dynamics of a liquid-filled hyperelastic balloon, focusing on inviscid laminar flow and the extensional motion of the balloon. We initially study the flow and pressure fields for dictated motion of the solid, which throughout deflation are obtained by solving the potential problem. However, during inflation, flow separation creates a jet within the balloon, requiring a different approach. The analyses of both flow regimes lead to a simple piecewise model, describing the fluidic pressure during inflation and deflation, which is verified by finite element computations. We then use a variational approach to derive the equation describing the interaction between the extensional mode of the balloon and the entrapped fluid, yielding a nonlinear hybrid oscillator equation. Analytical and graphical investigations of the suggested model are presented, shedding light on its static and dynamic behaviour under different operating conditions. Our simplified model and its underlying assumptions are verified utilizing a fully coupled finite element scheme, showing excellent agreement.     

微波瑞利散射法测定空气电火花激波等离子体射流的时变电子密度

大气压空气电火花激波等离子体射流的电子密度在亚微秒时间尺度上瞬变,其电子密度的测定很难.基于微波瑞利散射原理,本文测量了空气电火花冲击波流注放电等离子体射流的时变电子密度.实验结果表明:测量系统的标定参数A为1.04 × 105 V·Ω·m–2;空气流注放电等离子体射流的电子密度与等离子体射流的半径和长度有关,结合高速放电影像展示的等离子体射流的等效半径和等效长度,测定的电子密度在1020 m–3的量级,且随时间先快速增长至峰值再成指数衰减.此外,本文还探讨了等离子体射流的不同等效尺度对测定结果的影响;分析结果表明,采用时变等效半径和时变等效长度的计算结果最有效,且第1个快速波峰是由光电离的电离波导致的.     

碳纳米管的可控长度拾取及导电性分析

拾取指定长度的半导体性碳纳米管对大规模制造碳纳米管场效应管具有重要意义.本文提出了一种利用原子力显微镜探针和钨针对碳纳米管进行可控长度拾取的方法并进行了碳纳米管导电性分析.在扫描电子显微镜下搭建微纳操作系统,针对切割操作过程中原子力显微镜探针、钨针和碳纳米管的接触情况进行了力学建模和拾取长度误差分析.建立了单根金属性碳纳米管、单根半导体性碳纳米管及碳纳米管束与钨针接触的电路模型,推导了接入不同性质碳纳米管后电路的电流电压特性方程.使用原子力显微镜探针对碳纳米管的空间位姿进行调整,控制钨针对碳纳米管上目标位置进行通电切割,同时获取切割电路中的电流电压数据.实验结果表明,本文提出的方法能够有效控制所拾取碳纳米管的长度,增加碳纳米管与原子力显微镜探针的水平接触长度能够减小碳纳米管形变导致的拾取长度误差,建立的电流电压特性方程能够用于分析碳纳米管的导电性.