Design and application of three-zone annular filters

We design three-zone annular filters to be applied to optical storage system. The designed filters extend the depth of focus and realize transverse superresolution simultaneously, which will improve the performance of optical storage system greatly. And we propose two feasible schemes to improve imaging resolution of three-dimensional imaging system. One scheme depends on a complex filter formed by cascading of a three-zone phase filter and a three-zone amplitude filter. The complex filter converge the optimized transverse superresolution and the optimized axial superresolution of two different filters onto a single filter. It can improve the three-dimensional imaging performances greatly. Another scheme depends on a single three-zone complex filter. We propose a three-zone complex filter with phase shift 0.8 pi, which presents bigger design margin, better imaging quality and stronger three-dimensional superresolution capability. (c) 2006 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Optimized phase pupil masks for extended depths of field

By properly designing a phase pupil mask to modulate or encode the optical images and then digitally restoring them, one can greatly extend the depth of field and improve image quality. The original works done by Dowski and Cathey introduce the use of a cubic phase pupil mask to extend the depth of field. The theoretical and experimental researches all verified its effectiveness. In this paper, we suggest the use of an exponential phase pupil mask to extend the depth of field. This phase mask has two variable parameters for designing to control the shape of the mask so as to modulate the wave-front more flexible. We employ an optimization procedure based on the Fisher information metric to obtain the optimum values of the parameters for the exponential and the cubic masks, respectively. A series of performance comparisons between these two optimized phase masks in extending the depth of field are then done. The results show that the exponential phase mask provide slight advantage to the cubic one in several aspects. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High focal depth with a pure-phase apodizer

High-density optical data storage requires high-numerical-aperture (NA) lenses and short wavelengths, But, with increasing NA and decreasing wavelength, the depth of focus (DOF) decreases rapidly. We propose to use pure-phase superresolution apodizers to optimize the axial intensity distribution and extend the DOF of an optical pickup. With this kind of apodizer, the expected DOF can be 2-4.88 times greater than that of the original system, and the spot size will be smaller than that of the original system. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America.

A new species of sisorid catfish genus Glyptothorax (Teleostei: Sisoridae) from Salween drainage of Yunnan, China

A new species of the genus Glyptothorax, Glyptothorax obliquimaculatus sp. nov. is described from the Xiaohei River, a tributary of the Nanting River, Salween drainage, in southwestern Yunnan province, China. This new species can be distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characteristics: unculiferous ridges of the thoracic adhesive apparatus extending anteriorly onto the gular region; body with irregular dark blotches scattered along lateral surface (blotches mostly oblique); skin smooth on head and body; dorsal spine smooth without serrations on its posterior margin; lips smooth; posterior margin of pectoral spine with 7-8 serrations; dorsal-fin base 11.0-13.2% SL; pectoral-fin length 15.6-19.6% SL; depth of caudal peduncle 8.6-9.8% SL; head width 19.1-24.0% SL; nasal barbel length 23.3-33.3% HL.

Forecasting Daily Chlorophyll a Concentration during the Spring Phytoplankton Bloom Period in Xiangxi Bay of the Three-Gorges Reservoir by Means of a Recurrent Artificial Neural Network

A recurrent artificial neural network was used for 0-and 7-days-ahead forecasting of daily spring phytoplankton bloom dynamics in Xiangxi Bay of Three-Gorges Reservoir with meteorological, hydrological, and limnological parameters as input variables. Daily data from the depth of 0.5 m was used to train the model, and data from the depth of 2.0 m was used to validate the calibrated model. The trained model achieved reasonable accuracy in predicting the daily dynamics of chlorophyll a both in 0-and 7-days-ahead forecasting. In 0-day-ahead forecasting, the R-2 values of observed and predicted data were 0.85 for training and 0.89 for validating. In 7-days-ahead forecasting, the R-2 values of training and validating were 0.68 and 0.66, respectively. Sensitivity analysis indicated that most ecological relationships between chlorophyll a and input environmental variables in 0-and 7-days-ahead models were reasonable. In the 0-day model, Secchi depth, water temperature, and dissolved silicate were the most important factors influencing the daily dynamics of chlorophyll a. And in 7-days-ahead predicting model, chlorophyll a was sensitive to most environmental variables except water level, DO, and NH3N.

Macrozoobenthic community of Fuxian Lake, the deepest lake of southwest China

Located in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in southwest China, Fuxian Lake covers an area of 211 km(2), with maximum depth of 155 m. It is known to have a unique fauna, including 14 described endemic species. In order to describe the zoobenthic community of the lake more completely, the present study was conducted from August 2002 to August 2003. Altogether 62 benthic taxa, including 22 oligochaetes, 21 molluscs and 18 insects were identified, of which the dominant taxa belonged to Potamothrix, Procladius and Paraprososthenia. The standing stocks of benthos were much higher in the littoral (824 ind/m(2) in density, 3.72 g/m(2) in biomass) than in the profundal region (23 ind/m(2) in density, 0.10 g/m(2) in biomass). Species richness was greatest in summer and standing stocks were larger in spring and summer than in other seasons. Analyses of functional feeding groups indicated that collector-gatherers and scrapers were predominant in entire lake. Stepwise multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the water depth is the most important factor affecting the distribution of macrozoobenthos. (C) 2008 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Description of a new genus and two new species of labeonine fishes from South China (Teleostei : Cyprinidae)

A new genus and two new species are described from the Pearl River drainage in Guangxi Province, South China. Hongshuia, new genus, can be distinguished from all other Asian genera of the Labeonini by having a lower lip with its median lobe modified into a round, fleshy plate peripherally greatly protruded so as to form a ring-like fold that is posteromedially continuous with the mental region, and centrally sunken so as to form a round, flat, fleshy pad. This genus is distinct from all other Asian labeonine genera of the Garrina except for one newly described species of Parasinilabeo ( P. longibarbus), Pseudocrossocheilus, and Sinocrossocheilus, in the presence of well-developed maxillary barbels. Hongshuia differs from the above three genera in the lower lip morphology, and further from both Pseudocrossocheilus and Qianlabeo in the number of pharyngeal tooth rows and from Sinocrossocheilus in the colour pattern. Two new species, H. banmo and H. paoli, differ in the distribution density and degree of development of papillae on the rostral fold, depth of indentations on the distal edge of the rostral fold, presence or absence of papillae on the lower lip, size and shape of tubercles on the tip of the snout and anterior portion of the lachrymal, length, position and colour pattern of the dorsal fin, and snout length.

Distribution of nitrogen and phosphorus in sediment cores and overlying water of Donghu Lake

In this study, the seasonal, vertical distribution of various phosphorus and nitrogen forms in the sediment and overlying water of Donghu Lake were investigated. The concentration of total nitrogen (TN) in overlying water was high in spring and autumn, but that of NO3--N reached its peak in autumn. From summer to autumn and from winter to spring, the concentration of phosphorus in overlying water decreased, while it increased from autumn to winter. Vertical characteristic forms of phosphorus in sediment cores are total phosphorus (TP), labile phosphorus (LP), Fe-P and Al-P, obviously enriched in the surface layer (0-10 cm), but their concentrations are observably reduced along with the depth of sediment. The research is of important theoretical and practical value to understand the status and to control the developmental trend of eutrophication in Donghu Lake.

Acrossocheilus malacopterus, a new non-barred species of cyprinid from South China

Acrossocheilus malacopterus n. sp. is described from the Yuan Jiang (Red River) and Zhu Jiang basins in I South China. It is separated from other congeners by a combination of the following characters: an inconspicuously stripped body, 16 circumpeduncular scales, 47-49 lateral line scales, depth of caudal peduncle 7.8-9.3% SL, snout length 37.9-41.7% SL, dorsal-fin length 18.7-21.0% SL and last simple dorsal-fin ray slender with 8-10 fine serrations along posterior margin.

Impacts of Choerospondias axillaris growth on acidity of Udic Ferrosols in subtropical China

Changes in acidity of Udic Ferrosols, caused by growth of Choerospondias axillaris (Roxb.) Burtt et Hill, in comparison to wild grass, were investigated for pH distribution in the soil profile, exchangeable acidity, and cation status in the soil leachate of a simulated leaching experiment. Soils were sampled in profiles at 5 cm intervals to a depth of 100 cm. In the 1.5-60 cm layer the soils with 10-year old C. axillaris had significantly lower pH (P < 0.05), with the largest difference being 0.41: and in the 25-75 cm soil depths, especially in the 30-55 cm layer, the soils had a significantly higher exchangeable acidity, ranging 1.93 to 3.02 cmol(c) kg(-1). There was also higher aluminum, potassium, and sodium contents in the soil leachate under C. axillaris than with wild grasses. This suggested that the growth of C. axillaris accelerated acidification of Udic Ferrosols and promoted soil clay mineral weathering.

The vertical microdistribution of cyanobacteria and green algae within desert crusts and the development of the algal crusts

Substantial amounts of algal crusts were collected from five different desert experimental sites aged 42, 34, 17, 8 and 4 years, respectively, at Shapotou ( China) and analyzed at a 0.1 mm microscale of depth. It was found that the vertical distribution of cyanobacteria and microalgae in the crusts was distinctly laminated into an inorganic-layer (ca. 0.00 - 0.02 mm, with few algae), an algae-dense-layer ( ca. 0.02 - 1.0 mm) and an algae-sparse-layer ( ca. 1.0 - 5.0 mm). It was interesting to note that in all crusts Scytonema javanicum Born et Flah ( or Nostoc sp., cyanobacterium), Desmococcus olivaceus (Pers ex Ach., green alga) Laundon and Microcoleus vaginatus Gom. ( cyanobacterium) dominated at the depth of 0.02 - 0.05, 0.05 - 0.1 and 0.1 - 1.0 mm, respectively, from the surface. Phormidium tenue Gom. ( or Lyngbya cryptovaginatus Schk., cyanobacterium) and Navicula cryptocephala Kutz.( or Hantzschia amphioxys (Ehr.) Grun. and N. cryptocephala together, diatom) dominated at the depth of 1.0 - 3.0 and 3.5 - 4.0 mm, respectively, of the crusts from the 42 and 34 year old sites. It was apparent that in more developed crusts there were more green algae and the niches of Nostoc sp., Chlorella vulgaris Beij., M. vaginatus, N. cryptocephala and fungi were nearer to the surface. If lichens and mosses accounted for less than 41.5% of the crust surface, algal biovolume was bigger when the crust was older, but the opposite was true when the cryptogams other than algae covered more than 70%. In addition to detailed species composition and biovolume, analyses of soil physicochemical properties, micromorphologies and mineral components were also performed. It was found that the concentration of organic matter and nutrients, electric conductivity, silt, clay, secondary minerals were higher and there were more micro-beddings in the older crusts than the less developed ones. Possible mechanisms for the algal vertical microdistribtion at different stages and the impact of soil topography on crust development are discussed. It is concluded that biomethods ( such as fine species distribution and biovolume) were more precise than mineralogical approaches in judging algal crust development and thus could be a better means to measure the potentiality of algal crusts in desert amelioration.

Optical response of high-level bandgap in one-dimensional photonic crystal applying in-plane integration

A new broadband filter, based on the high level bandgap in 1-D photonic crystals (PCs) of the form Si vertical bar air vertical bar Si vertical bar air vertical bar Si vertical bar air vertical bar Si vertical bar air vertical bar Si vertical bar air vertical bar Si is designed by the plane wave expansion method (PWEM) and the transfer matrix method (TMM) and fabricated by lithography. The optical response of this filter to normal-incident and oblique-incident light proves that utilizing the high-level bandgaps of PCs is an efficient method to lower the difficulties of fabricating PCs, increase the etching depth of semiconductor materials, and reduce the coupling loss at the interface between optical fibers and the PC device. (c) 2007 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Optical response of high-order band gap photonic crystal applying in-plane in one-dimensional integration

A new broadband filter, based on the high-order band gap in one-dimensional photonic crystal (PCs) of the form Si vertical bar air vertical bar Si vertical bar air vertical bar Si vertical bar air vertical bar Si vertical bar air vertical bar Si vertical bar air vertical bar Si, has been designed by the plane wave expansion method (PWEM) and transfer matrix method (TMM) and fabricated by lithography. The optical response of this filter to normal-incident and oblique-incident light proves that utilizing the high-order band gaps of PCs is an efficient method to lower the difficulties of fabricating PCs, increase the etching depth of semiconductor materials, and reduce the coupling loss at the interface between optical fibers and PC device. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Investigation of Mn-implanted n-type Ge

Mn+ irons were implanted to n-type Ge(1 1 1) single crystal at room temperature with an energy of 100 keV and a dose of 3 x 10(16) cm(-2). Subsequently annealing was performed at 400degreesC for 1 h under flowing nitrogen gas. X-ray diffraction measurements show that as-implanted sample is amorphous and the structure of crystal is restored after annealing. Polycrystalline germanium is formed in annealed sample. There are no new phases found except germanium. The samples surface morphologies indicate that annealed sample has island-like feature while there is no such kind of characteristic in as-implanted sample. The elemental composition of annealed sample was analyzed by Auger electron spectroscopy. It shows that manganese ions are deeply implanted into germanium substrate and the highest manganese atomic concentration is 8% at the depth of 120 nm. The magnetic properties of samples were investigated by an alternating gradient magnetometer. The annealed sample shows ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Emitter of hetero-junction solar cells created using pulsed rapid thermal annealing

In this paper, we use a pulsed rapid thermal processing (RTP) approach to create an emitter layer of hetero-junction solar cell. The process parameters and crystallization behaviour are studied. The structural, optical and electric properties of the crystallized films are also investigated. Both the depth of PN junction and the conductivity of the emitter layer increase with the number of RTP pulses increasing. Simulation results show that efficiencies of such solar cells can exceed 15% with a lower interface recombination rate, but the highest efficiency is 11.65% in our experiments.