Fibre raman amplifier properties for applications to long-distance optical communications

This paper reviews recent theoretical and experimental studies on optical amplification by stimulated Raman scattering (Raman amplification) in single-mode optical fibres, and discusses its possible applications to long-distance optical communications. The fibre Raman amplifier can be used as an in-line optical amplifier in both repeaterless and non-regenerative all-optical repeater configurations. In the former application, signal transmission of over 400 km has been predicted theoretically, although high-power pump sources are considered to be required. In the latter configuration, in which optical fibre losses are compensated for by Raman gains, it has been shown that extremely long-distance transmission over more than 1000 km is feasible in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, where the distance achievable is mainly limited by the accumulation of Raman noise. Recent experimental demonstrations including bit-error rate measurements on the Raman amplified signal, and laser-diode pumped amplification, etc., are also reviewed. The results confirm the effectiveness of fibre Raman amplifiers in future long-haul systems.     

Structural developments in synthetic rubbers during uniaxial deformation by in situ synchrotron X‐ray diffraction

The molecular orientation and strain‐induced crystallization of synthetic rubbers—polyisoprene rubber, polybutadiene rubber, and butyl rubber [poly(isobutylene isoprene)]—during uniaxial deformation were studied with in situ synchrotron wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction. The high intensity of the synchrotron X‐rays and the new data analysis method made it possible to estimate the mass fractions of the strain‐induced crystals and amorphous chain segments in both the oriented and unoriented states. Contrary to the conventional concept, the majority of the molecules (50–75%) remained in an unoriented amorphous state at high strains. Each synthetic rubber showed a different behavior of strain‐induced crystallization and molecular orientation during extension and retraction. Our results confirmed the occurence of strain‐induced networks in the synthetic rubbers due to the inhomogeneity of the crosslink distribution. The strain‐induced networks containing microfibrillar crystals and oriented amorphous tie chains were responsible for the ultimate mechanical properties. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 956–964, 2004     

Fabrication and transport properties of multiwall carbon nanotube crossroads

A multiwall carbon nanotube crossroads has been fabricated by a manipulation technique using a glass microcapillary, and the low temperature transport properties investigated. The two-terminal conductance of an individual tube shows Tomonaga–Luttinger liquid behavior G∝T^α at high temperature and dI/dV ∝V ^α at low temperature. However, no evidence of such a power-law behavior is obtained in the four-terminal conductance at the junction, where the conductance shows an almost metallic behavior ‘corrected’ by weak localization. Weak localization would essentially appear in electron states at the junctions of MWNTs.     

Terahertz time-domain spectra of aromatic carboxylic acids incorporated in nano-sized pores of mesoporous silicate.

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is used to study the intra- and intermolecular vibrational modes of aromatic carboxylic acids, for example, o-phthalic acid, benzoic acid, and salicylic acid, which form either intra- or intermolecular hydrogen bond(s) in different ways. Incorporating the target molecules in nano-sized spaces in mesoporous silicate (SBA-16) is found to be effective for the separate detection of intramolecular hydrogen bonding modes and intermolecular modes. The results are supported by an analysis of the differences in the peak shifts, which depend on temperature, caused by the different nature of the THz absorption. Raman spectra revealed that incorporating the molecules in the nano-sized pores of SBA-16 slightly changes the molecular structures. In the future, THz-TDS using nanoporous materials will be used to analyze the intra- and intermolecular vibrational modes of molecules with larger hydrogen bonding networks such as proteins or DNA.     

Local structure analysis of smoky and colorless topaz using single crystal Al NMR

The angular dependence of the ²⁷Al NMR spectrum was measured for single crystals of smoky and colorless topaz, Al₂SiO₄(F,OH)₂. Smoky topaz was obtained by irradiating high energy neutrons to colorless topaz. The quadrupole coupling constant e²Qq/h and the asymmetry parameter η were obtained from the analysis of the angular dependences of quadrupole splitting of the ²⁷Al NMR spectrum. The local structures around the aluminum atoms in smoky and colorless topaz were discussed from the magnitude and the direction of the electric field gradient. The directions of principal axes of the EFG tensor of ²⁷Al were close to the directions of Al-O and Al-F bonds. The difference in the bond lengths between Al(1)-F(1) and Al(1)-F(2) was found to affect the x and y components of the EFG tensor.     

Altered protein synthesis in rat kidney cells exposed to semiconductor materials

It is thought that the extensive industrial use of arsenic, gallium and indium, which have applications as the materials for III–V semiconductors, will increase human exposure to these compounds in the near future. We have undertaken the development of new biological indicators for assessing exposure to these elements. Element-specific alterations in protein synthesis patterns were expected to occur following exposure to arsenic compounds. We examined alterations in protein synthesis in primary cultures of rat kidney proximal tubule epithelial cells by sodium arsenite, gallium chloride and indium chloride, utilizing two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. After incubation with the chemicals for 20 h, newly synthesized proteins were labeled with [³⁵S]methionine. A protein with a molecular weight (M_r) of 30 000 was markedly induced on exposure to 10 μM arsenite or 300 μM gallium chloride, and synthesis of proteins with M_r values of 85 000, 71 000, 65 000, 51 000, 38 000 and 28 000 were also increased by exposure to arsenite and gallium chloride. No significant changes were observed upon exposure to indium. Some of these increased proteins could be heat-shock proteins.     

Purification and characterization of gamma-enolase from various mammals.

The gamma subunit of enolase (gamma-enolase) was purified from the brain tissues of cow, dog, goat, pig, rabbit, and rat. The purification was achieved in only three steps: ammonium sulfate-precipitation, DE 53 cellulose ion-exchange chromatography, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) in a preparative mode. The purification procedure was comparatively more simple than previously reported methods, and the yield of gamma-enolase was sufficient for subsequent structural and immunological analyses. In all mammals, the purified gamma-enolase migrated in sodium dodecyl sulfate-PAGE (SDS-PAGE) with a molecular mass of 46 kilodaltons (kDa), and the immunological cross-reactivity between those gamma-enolases was very strong. The structural homology of these gamma-enolases was examined by peptide mapping using cyanogen bromide cleavage and subsequent two-dimensional electrophoresis. The resulting peptide patterns were highly similar and in cow, dog, and goat, the patterns were almost identical. These results indicate that structural homology, that is, the species non-specificity of gamma-enolase, appears to be very high.     

Approximation of transient temperatures in complex geometries using fractional derivatives

It is shown that time-dependent temperatures in a transient, conductive system can be approximately modeled by a fractional-order differential equation, the order of which depends on the Biot number. This approximation is particularly suitable for complex shapes for which a first-principles approach is too difficult or computationally time-consuming. Analytical solutions of these equations can be written in terms of the Mittag-Leffler function. The approximation is especially useful if a suitable fractional-order controller is to be designed for the system.