Effect of absorbed pump power on the quality of output beam from monolithic microchip lasers

The dependence of the beam propagation factor (M ² parameter) with the absorbed pump power in the case of monolithic microchip laser under face-cooled configuration is extensively studied. Our investigations show that the M ₂ parameter is related to the absorbed pump power through two parameters (α and β) whose values depend on the laser material properties and laser configuration. We have shown that one parameter arises due to the oscillation of higher order modes in the microchip cavity and the other parameter accounts for the spherical aberration associated with the thermal lens induced by the pump beam. Such dependency of M ² parameter with the absorbed pump power is experimentally verified for a face-cooled monolithic microchip laser based on Nd³⁺ -doped GdVO₄ crystal and the values of α and β parameters were estimated from the experimentally measured data points.     

Synthesis and thermal behaviour of salicylaldimine-based liquid crystalline symmetrical dimers

A series of symmetrical dimers consisting of salicylaldimine moieties connected by flexible alkylene central spacer via ether linkages has been synthesized. In order to validate the empirical rule suggested by Date et al. to account for the smectic behaviour of such dimers, the chain length of the terminal alkoxy chain has been kept constant (C₈) while the number of methylene units in the central spacer was varied from C₃ to C₁₁. Another aim of the present investigation was to understand structure-property relationship in these dimers in which the salicylaldimine mesogenic segment has been used for the first time in dimers. The mesomorphic behaviour of these dimers was evaluated using optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry and the structure of some of the mesophases has been further investigated with the help of X-ray diffraction. Our studies reveal that the dimers consisting of 3 to 8 methylene units in the flexible spacer show only smectic (smectic C and smectic A) phases. For the dimers containing 4, 6 and 8 methylene units in the central spacer, a unique filament growth pattern has been observed in the smectic A phase while cooling from the isotropic phase. The dimers containing of C₉ to C₁₁ methylene groups exhibit the nematic phase in addition to smectic modifications. This observation indicates that when the terminal chains are shorter than the spacer, the tendency to form smectic phases is not fully extinguished but is perhaps reduced.     

Modification of magnetic anisotropy in metallic glasses using high-energy ion beam irradiation

Heavy ion irradiation in the electronic stopping power region induces macroscopic dimensional change in metallic glasses and introduces magnetic anisotropy in some magnetic materials. The present work is on the irradiation study of ferromagnetic metallic glasses, where both dimensional change and modification of magnetic anisotropy are expected. Magnetic anisotropy was measured using Mössbauer spectroscopy of virgin and irradiated Fe₄₀Ni₄₀B₂₀ and Fe₄₀Ni₃₈Mo₄B₁₈ metallic glass ribbons. 90 MeV ¹²⁷I beam was used for the irradiations. Irradiation doses were 5×10¹³ and 7.5×10¹³ ions/cm². The relative intensity ratios D ₂₃ of the second and third lines of the Mössbauer spectra were measured to determine the magnetic anisotropy. The virgin samples of both the materials display in-plane magnetic anisotropy, i.e., the spins are oriented parallel to the ribbon plane. Irradiation is found to cause reduction in magnetic anisotropy. Near-complete randomization of magnetic moments is observed at high irradiation doses. Correlation is found between the residual stresses introduced by ion irradiation and the change in magnetic anisotropy.     

Site-specific cleavage of human telomerase RNA using PNA-neocuproine.Zn(II) derivatives

Here we report the synthesis of a novel PNA based neocuproine.Zn RNA cleaving agent; we demonstrate that such agents sequence specifically cleave a synthetic RNA target and in particular the RNA component of human telomerase.     

Preparation and properties of sclerotium rolfsii invertase immobilized on indion 48-R

Crude extracellular invertase fromSclerotium rolfsii, when coupled to glutaraldehyde activated Indion 48-R, retained 70–80% activity of the soluble enzyme. Immobilization resulted in a decrease in the pH and temperature optima but it increased the temperature stability. K_m and V_max also increased as a result of immobilization. Both soluble and immobilized invertase showed inhibition at high substrate concentrations. The bound enzyme showed excellent stability to repeated use and retained approx 90% of its initial activity after 8 cycles of use.     

Improved highly efficient synthesis of α,β-acetylenic ketones. Nature of the intermediate from the reaction of lithium acetylide with boron trifluoride etherate

A wide variety of α,β-acetylenic ketones were synthesized in very high yields via an exceptionally facile intermolecular reaction of lithium alkynyltrifluoroborates and carboxylic acid anhydrides.     

Synthesis of a polymer-supported oxazolidine aldehyde for asymmetric chemistry

An expedient synthesis of the polymer-supported aldehyde 3, as a Garner aldehyde equivalent, is described. Oxazolidine 3 may be obtained through preformation of aldehyde linker 4 in solution and loaded onto amine-terminating resin under peptide-coupling conditions, or alternatively via oxidation of polymer-bound alcohol 14. The integrity of the serine-derived stereocenter is maintained through all steps of the synthesis.     

Synthesis of polysilanes bearing pendant carbosilyl groups and Si-NMR probe on the tacticity using side chain silicon atoms

New functional polysilanes [R₂R¹Si(CH₂)₂SiH]_n (R=Me, R¹=H (1); R=R¹=Et (2); R=Me, R¹=Ph (3)) bearing carbosilyl side chains have been synthesized by catalytic dehydropolymerization of precursor carbosilanes R₂R¹SiCH₂CH₂SiH₃ using Cp₂TiCl₂–BuLi as a catalyst. These polymers are characterized by ¹H, ¹³C, ²⁹Si, {¹H–²⁹Si} HSQC NMR spectroscopy, GPC and TGA. Attempts to delineate the tacticity from the analysis of deconvoluted ²⁹Si{¹H}-NMR signals associated with the side chain silicon atoms reveal that the triad concentration ratio follows a Bernoullian statistical model for polymers 1 and 2 only.