The Design of Single Mode Large Cross-section Glass-based Waveguides for Photonic Integrated Circuits

This paper presents our recent simulation results and novel designs of single mode large cross-section glass-based waveguides for photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Simulations were performed using an in-house Finite Difference (FD) based mode solver and the FD Beam propagation Method (FD-BPM). Our simulation results show that this innovative technology could provide a simplified means to couple optical energy efficiently between optical components in a single chip. This would provide the base for the future large-scale integration of optical components in PICs. The novel idea of using single mode large cross-section glass-based waveguides as an optical integration platform is an evolutionary innovative solution for the monolithic integration of optical components, in which the glass-based structures act both as waveguides and as an optical bench for integration. This allows easy and efficient optical coupling between optical components and optical fibres, removing costly and tedious alignment problems and considerably reducing optical coupling losses in PICs. We expect that the glass-based waveguide PICs technology will enable the emergence of a new generation of compact, reliable, high speed, and multifunctional devices.     

Solvent detection using porous silicon optical waveguides

Since the first report on the use of porous silicon as an optical waveguide medium in 1995, significant development has been made towards the understanding and applicability of such material. Here, the introduction of solvents (acetone, methanol, and propan-2-ol) into the pores is shown to dramatically reduce the loss of the waveguides, in a reversible manner. Both the magnitude and duration of this effect are sensitive to the solvent introduced. In some waveguides, for example, the measured loss (at 0.633 μm) falls by as much as 34 dB cm⁻¹ on the introduction of acetone. Theoretical estimates of the effect of solvents on the interfacial scattering loss confirm this as the origin of the observed reductions. These results, combined with the fact that a substantial portion of the guided-mode field interacts with the solvent, indicate an enhanced sensitivity for sensor applications may be achievable.     

Optical waveguides in porous silicon pre-patterned by localised nitrogen implantation.

FIPOS technology forms islands of silicon isolated from a silicon substrate by (oxidised) porous silicon. The larger refractive index of the silicon islands suggests their use as optical waveguides. Sets of these silicon islands have been fabricated and the anticipated waveguiding has been observed at wavelengths of 1.15 and 1.3 μm in the silicon islands. However, the dominant waveguiding in these FIPOS structures is observed in the porous silicon between the silicon islands, close to the sample surface. A simple dynamic model of the anodisation process has been developed to explain the origin of this unexpected waveguiding.     

Concerted Determination of the Hydrogen Atom and Electron Transfer Capacity of Lipid Soluble Reducing Agents

This paper describes a method based on square wave voltammetry to evaluate either the electron transfer or the hydrogen atom transfer of lipid soluble antioxidants such as dl ‐mix‐tocopherol, BHT, ethoxyquin and retynil acetate. The electron transfer (ET) capacity was evaluated by the peak current, peak potential and the area under the anodic wave, whereas the hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) capacity by the kinetic rate of the reaction between antioxidants and 2,2‐Azobis(2‐methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride (AAPH). The results indicate that ethoxyquin and tocopherol have the highest ET and HAT capacity. However, HAT capacity of tocopherol, BHT and retinyl acetate depend on the concentration. The approach has the advantage to assess HAT and ET capacity of lipid soluble antioxidant in a single concerted protocol.     

4E assessment of power generation systems for a mobile house in emergency condition using solar energy: a case study

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - This contribution experimentally and analytically addresses the dripping and ignition mechanism of vertically discrete polypropylene (PP) and...     

Hybrid E‐Tongue for the Evaluation of Sweetness and Bitterness of Soft Drinks Fortified with Epigallocatechin Gallate

A home‐made hybrid electronic tongue was set up, validated and applied to discriminate soft drinks fortified with plant extracts of green tea. The e‐tongue consists of a flow injection system equipped with two electrochemical and one optical sensors. Different formulations of soft drinks composed of glucose and epigallocatechin gallate were then discriminated by principal component analysis. Furthermore, two partial least squares regression models were developed to estimate the “sweetness” (r² of 0.992) and “bitterness” (r² of 0.993) of the model solutions and commercial soft drinks, before and after their fortification with epigallocatechin gallate.     

On minor-minimally 3-connected binary matroids

A matroid M is called minor-minimally 3-connected if M is 3-connected and, for each e∈E(M), either M?e or M/e is not 3-connected. In this paper, we prove a chain theorem for the class of minor-minimally 3-connected binary matroids. As a consequence, we obtain a chain theorem for the class of minor-minimally 3-connected graphs.