Recursion operator for coupled KdV equation

The recursion operator for the infinitesimal transformations about solutions of the coupled KdV is obtained as a 2 × 2 matrix.     

Influence of oxygen on the guiding properties of V2O5-clad glass waveguide

An optical waveguide clad with V2O5 is proposed as a new type of oxygen sensor in ambient air. The presence of gas changes the light transmission (TE0-polarized mode) through the guide, due to the change in refractive index of the cladding which changes the effective index of the guide. O2 gas concentration is varied from a few (≈10) ppm to several percent (4%). Sensors exhibit the same sensitivity at a slightly elevated temperature. The increase in thickness of the cladding causes a reduction in sensitivity and increase in linearity. It is observed that the sensor exhibits the same performance using the static or incremental mode. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Tunneling studies on single crystals of superconducting Bi2Ca1−xYxSr2Cu2O8+δ

Tunneling studies have been carried out on single crystals of Bi₂Ca_1−xSr_xCu₂O_8+δ over a wide range of compositions wherein the hole concentration varies by a factor of 2.5. The 2Δ value varies between 25 meV and 75 meV over the composition range studied, but scales with 2Δ/k_BT_c≈9.5 throughout.     

Preparation, characterization and non-linear optical properties of pristine m-nitroaniline (m-NA) and its recycled polystyrene (Re-PS) coated single crystals

Meta-nitroaniline (m-NA) is one of the organic single crystals extensively studied due to its high non-linear effect. m-NA is also known to exhibit comparable or even better non-linear optical (NLO) properties than known inorganic materials. In this paper, we report development of m-NA single crystals by solution growth technique using different solvent systems. The size of the single crystal varies depending on solvent. The highest average crystal size acquired was 10 mm×5 mm×5 mm using methyl ethyl ketone and acetone as solvent. These single crystals were characterized using various physico-chemical techniques such as XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The developed crystals were subsequently coated with recycled polystyrene (Re-PS) (1, 2, 5 and 10 wt% concentrations) to study the effect of polymer coating on the second harmonic generation (SHG) properties of the single crystals. The purpose of polymer coating on m-NA single crystal is to improve surface morphology of crystal (i.e. it makes surface smooth) and to enhance power handling capacity for pulse laser of a crystal which, in turn, improves the SHG intensity. The optimum percentage of coating was determined for the m-NA single crystals obtained from different solvent systems. Furthermore, the polymer coating also plays key role in preventing the degradation of the m-NA crystal (well-known as highly sublime material) and ultimately increasing the shelf life of the crystal for its device application.     

Low cost Pockels cell driver for pulsed solid state lasers

The paper describes a low cost Pockels cell driver for Q-switching flash lamp pumped pulsed solid state lasers. The driver consists of a high voltage pulsed power supply variable from 0 to 5 kV using a standard step up transformer. The pulse width and pulse repetition rate are varied using standard TTL circuits from 50 μs to 2 ms and 1 ppm to 50 Hz, respectively. The pulsed high voltage along with a high voltage switch consisting of a stack of bipolar transistors is used to drive a Pockels cell. The Q-switched pulsed duration measured in Ruby and Nd-YAG lasers are 35 and 15 ns, respectively. The Pockels cell driver performance is consistent for more than 5×10⁷ shots.     

Synthesis,characterization, and morphology of p‐toluene sulfonic acid‐doped polyaniline: A material for humidity sensing application

Polyaniline (PANI) doped with p‐toluene sulfonic acid was synthesized by chemical polymerization method using (NH₄)₂S₂O₈ as an oxidizing agent. This is a single step polymerization process for the direct synthesis of the conducting emeraldine salt (ES) phase, without the need of doping, dedoping, and redoping of the polymer. Presence of a free carrier tail at higher wavelength, characteristic of extended coil conformation along with a sharp polaronic peak is observed in the UV–vis spectrum of doped PANI in m‐cresol solvent. FT‐IR studies show the characteristic peaks of ES phase along with a sharp peak at 1120 cm^?1 representing vibration band of the dopant ion. Clumps of small fibers resulting in a sponge‐like structure was observed under scanning electron microscope. Thermal studies revealed a three‐step decomposition pattern. Conductivity is found to increase with an increase in the temperature showing “thermal activation behavior.” Decrease in resistance with increasing humidity is observed in a broad range of humidity. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 2161–2169, 2005     

Globally convergent computation of chemical equilibrium composition

We report the Newton-Raphson based globally convergent computational method for determination of chemical equilibrium composition. In the computation of chemical equilibrium composition, an appearance of nonpositive value of number of moles of any component leads to discrepancy. The process of conditional backtracking and adaptive set of refining factors for Newton-Raphson steps are employed to resolve the problem. The mathematical formulation proposed by Heuze et al. (J Chem Phys 1985, 83, 4734) has been solved using proposed computational method, instead of empirical iterative formulation, as proposed by them. Results for the same numerical example, used by Heuze et al. (J Chem Phys 1985, 83, 4734) and White et al. (J Chem Phys 1958, 28, 751) are presented in addition to decomposition of Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine for fixed temperature and pressure. It is observed that the proposed method is efficient and globally convergent. An even noteworthy finding is that the set of refining factors can be chosen from the range 0.1 to eta, where eta may be greater than one depending on how smoothly system of nonlinear equations is dependant on corresponding variable. Related analysis and results are discussed.     

Evaluation of co-polyaniline nanocomposite thin films as humidity sensor

Spin coated films of Co-Polyaniline nanocomposite are evaluated for their transmission properties using He-Ne laser for humidity sensing. The thickness (17-29 microm) of the films is varied by multiple deposition of Co-Polyaniline nanocomposite on a glass substrate. The samples exhibit typically two to three regions in their sensitivity curve when tested in the relative humidity (RH) range of 20-95%. The sensitivity ranges from 0.1 mV/%RH to 12.26 mV/%RH for lower to higher thickness. The sensors show quick response of 8s (20-95%RH), and a recovery time of 1 min (95-20%RH) with good repeatability, reproducibility and low hysteresis effect. The sensitivity of the sensor increases with humidity and thickness. Material characterization is done by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron micrograph (SEM) and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR).     

Synthesis, characterization and optical properties of silver and gold nanowires embedded in mesoporous MCM-41

Uniform nanowires of silver and gold inside the channels of MCM-41 were prepared by controlled reduction of their respective metal salts with sodium borohydride (NaBH₄). Presence of nanowires of silver and gold in MCM-41 were confirmed by high angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) data (peaks between 2ϑ = 30 − 60°) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the diameter of the nanowires. Diameter of nanowires is found to be ∼ 2.8 nm which is coincident with channel diameter of MCM-41. Optical properties of these heterostructured materials Ag-MCM-41 and Au-MCM-41 reveals the presence of surface plasmon absorption peaks of silver and gold respectively, and the shift in the absorption bands are associated to agglomeration of clusters inside the channels. Room temperature photoluminescence spectra exhibits interesting optical properties as observed for direct band gap semiconductors. Non-linear optical properties (NLO) corresponding to second harmonic generation (SHG) values were also recorded for self supported films of these heterostructured materials. Enhanced optical non-linearity was found to be arising from a corresponding increase of local field near the surface plasmon resonance. Further enhancement in SHG was found with poling due to an induction of orientation order.     

Studies on the feasibility of recycled polystyrene doped with NLO active meta‐Nitroaniline for optoelectronics applications

A Guest–Host system based on meta‐Nitroaniline (m‐NA) and recycled polystyrene (RPS) susceptible to generate nonlinear optically (NLO) active property such as second harmonic generation (SHG) has been prepared. Pure, sublimed, optical grade, crystalline m‐NA is used as a guest and RPS from the disposable packaging waste as available utilized as the host polymer. In this paper we report the effect of NLO active m‐NA on the bulk and optical properties of RPS. The purified m‐NA was incorporated from 1–10 wt% in the RPS polymer matrix by conventional solution casting method. Thin, transparent, freestanding films obtained were characterized with optical microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), viscosity measurement, and UV–Visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy for bulk properties evaluation and Nd:YAG laser studies for optoelectronics application such as SHG through frequency doubling. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.