Polaronic correction to the first excited electronic energy level in an anisotropic semiconductor quantum dot

Within the framework of second-order Rayleigh-Schrodinger perturbation theory, the polaronic correction to the first excited state energy of an electron in an quantum dot with anisotropic parabolic confinements is presented. Compared with isotropic confinements, anisotropic confinements will make the degeneracy of the excited states to be totally or partly lifted. On the basis of a three-dimensional Frohlich's Hamiltonian with anisotropic confinements, the first excited state properties in two-dimensional quantum dots as well as quantum wells and wires can also be easily obtained by taking special limits. Calculations show that the first excited polaronic effect can be considerable in small quantum dots.

Effect of phases on the dynamic evolution of a Lambda system with spontaneously generated coherence

The dynamic evolution of a A system coupled by two strong coherent fields is investigated by taking spontaneously generated coherence (SGC) into account. By numericaly simulation, it is shown that the relative phase of the two coherent fields affects significantly the time scale to the coherent population trapping state. In addition, an analytical expression to the evolution rate which is consistent with the numerical results is given. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ionization suppression of diatomic molecules in strong laser fields

The ionization rate of molecules in intense laser fields may be much lower than that of atoms with similar binding energy. This phenomenon is termed the ionization suppression of molecules and is caused by the molecular inner structure. In this paper, we perform a comprehensive study of the ionization suppression of homonuclear diatomic molecules in intense laser fields of linear and circular polarizations. We find that for linear polarization the total ionization rate and the ionization suppression depend greatly on the molecular alignment, and that for circular polarization the ionization suppression of molecules in the antibonding (bonding) shells disappears (appears) for laser intensities around 10(15) W/cm(2). We also find that the molecular photoelectron energy spectra are greatly changed by the interference effect, even though the total ionization rate of molecules remains almost the same as that of their companion atoms.

Upconversion luminescence and optical power limiting effect based on two- and three-photon absorption processes of ZnO crystal

Near-infrared to UV and visible upconversion luminescence was observed in single-crystalline ZnO under an 800 nm infrared femtosecond laser irradiation. The optical properties of the crystal reveal that the UV and VIS emission band are due to the exciton transition (D0X) bound to neutral donors and the deep luminescent centers in ZnO, respectively. The relationship between the upconversion luminescence intensity and the pump power of the femtosecond laser reveals that the UV emission belongs to three-photon sequential band-to-band excitation and the VIS emission belongs to two-photon simultaneous defect-absorption induced luminescence. A saturation phenomenon and polarization-dependent effect are also observed in the upconversion process of ZnO. A very good optical power limiting performance at 800 nm has been demonstrated. The two- and three-photon absorption coefficients of ZnO crystal were measured to be 0.2018 cm GW(-1) and 7.102 x 10(-3) cm(3) GW(-2), respectively. The two- and three-photon cross sections were calculated to be 1.189 x 10(-51) cm(4) s and 1.040 x 10(-80) cm(6) s(2), respectively. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study of the effect of alcohol on single human red blood cells using near-infrared laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy

The effect of alcohol solution on single human red blood Cells (RBCs) was investigated using near-infrared laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy (LTRS). In our system, a low-power diode laser at 785 nm was applied for the trapping of a living cell and the excitation of its Raman spectrum. Such a design could simultaneously reduce the photo-damage to the cell and suppress the interference from the fluorescence on the Raman signal. The denaturation process of single RBCs in 20% alcohol solution was investigated by detecting the time evolution of the Raman spectra at the single-cell level. The vitality of RBCs was characterized by the Raman band at 752 cm(-1), which corresponds to the porphyrin breathing mode. We found that the intensity of this band decreased by 34.1% over a period of 25 min after the administration of alcohol. In a further study of the dependence of denaturation on alcohol concentration, we discovered that the decrease in the intensity of the 752 cm(-1) band became more rapid and more prominent as the alcohol concentration increased. The present LTRS technique may have several potential applications in cell biology and medicine, including probing dynamic cellular processes at the single cell level and diagnosing cell disorders in real time. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley T Sons, Ltd.

Energy spectrum of ground state and excitation spectrum of quasi-particle for hard-core boson in optical lattices

We investigate the energy spectrum of ground state and quasi-particle excitation spectrum of hard-core bosons, which behave very much like spinless noninteracting fermions, in optical lattices by means of the perturbation expansion and Bogoliubov approach. The results show that the energy spectrum has a single band structure, and the energy is lower near zero momentum; the excitation spectrum gives corresponding energy gap, and the system is in Mott-insulating state at Tonks limit. The analytic result of energy spectrum is in good agreement with that calculated in terms of Green's function at strong correlation limit.

Strong visible up-conversion emission in Tb3+, Tm3+ and Tb3+-Tm3+ co-doped tellurite glasses sensitized by Yb3+

Up-conversion luminescence characteristics under 975 nm excitation have been investigated with Tb3+/Tm3+/Yb3+ triply doped tellurite glasses. Here, green (547 nm: D-5(4) --> F-7(4)) and red (660 nm: D-5(4) --> F-7(2)) up-conversion (UC) luminescence originating from Tb3+ is observed strongly, because of the quadratic dependences of emission intensities on the excitation power. Especially, the UC luminescence was intensified violently with the energy transfer from the Tm3+ ions involves in the Tb3+ excitation. To the Tb3+/Tm3+/Yb3+ triply doped glass system, a novel up-conversion mechanism is proposed as follows: the energy of (3)G(4) level (Tm3+) was transferred to D-5(4) (Tb3+) and the 477-nm UC luminescence of Tm3+ was nearly quenched. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Strong visible up-conversion emissions and thermometric applications of Er3+-Yb3+ codoped Al2O3 prepared by the sol-gel method

The Er3+-Yb3+ codoped Al2O3 has been prepared by the sol-gel method using the aluminium isopropoxide [Al(OC3H7)(3)]-derived Al2O3 sols with addition of the erbium nitrate [Er(NO3)(3) center dot 5H(2)O] and ytterbium nitrate [Yb(NO3)(3) center dot 5H(2)O]. The phase structure, including only two crystalline types of doped Al2O3 phases, theta and gamma, was obtained for the 1 mol% Er3+ and 5 mol% Yb3+ codoped Al2O3 at the sintering temperature of 1,273 K. By a 978 nm semiconductor laser diodes excitation, the visible up-conversion emissions centered at about 523, 545, and 660 nm were obtained. The temperature dependence of the green up-conversion emissions was studied over a wide temperature range of 300-825 K, and the reasonable agreement between the calculated temperature by the fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) theory and the measured temperature proved that Er3+-Yb3+ codoped Al2O3 plays an important role in the application of high temperature sensor.

Enhancement of three-photon absorption cross-sections in a novel class of symmetrical charge transfer fluorene-based molecules

The three-photon absorption effect (3PA) of two novel symmetrical charge transfer fluorene-based molecules (abbreviated as BASF and BMOSF) has been determined by using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser pumped with 38 ps pulses at 1064 nm in DMF. The measured 3PA cross-sections are 84 x 10(-78) and 114 x 10(-78) cm(6) s(2), respectively. The geometries and electronic excitations of these two molecules are systematically studied by PM3 and ZINDO/S methods. The relationships between 3PA cross-sections and intramolecular charge transfer are discussed micromechanically. The experimental and theoretical results have shown that the larger intramolecular charge transfer, which was characterized by the charge density difference between the ground state (SO) and the first excited state (S-I), the greater enhancement of the 3PA cross-sections. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simulation of an apodizer's effect for high-density optical storage

The effect of an apodizer with two parallel taper refractive surfaces is theoretically investigated for high-density optical storage. The apodizer may modulate an incident Gaussian beam into an annular beam. Simulation shows that with the increasing inner radius of the modulated beam, the focal spot shrinks obviously. The depolarization effect gets strong simultaneously, which induces the circular symmetry loss of the focal spot. In this process, pattern density of the orthogonal and longitudinal diffractive fields increases remarkably.

Femtosecond optical Kerr effect study of Ge(10)AS(40)S(30)Se(20) film

The results of the femtosecond optical heterodyne detection of optical Kerr effect at 805 nm with the 80 fs ultrafast pulses in amorphous Ge10As40S30Se20 film is reported in this paper. The film shows an optical non-linear response of: 200 fs under ultrafast 80 fs-pulse excitation and the values of real and imaginary parts of non-linear susceptibility chi((3)) were 9.0 X 10(-12) and -4.0 X 10(-12) esu, respectively. The large third-order non-linearity and ultrafast response are attributed to the ultrafast distortion of the electron orbits surrounding the average positions of the nucleus of Ge, As, S and Se atoms. This Ge10As40S30Se20 chalcogenide glass would be expected as a promising material for optical switching technique. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ultrafast optical Kerr effect in amorphous Ge10As40S30Se20 film induced by ultrashort laser pulses

The results of the femtosecond optical heterodyne detection of optical Kerr effect at 805 am with the 80 fs ultrafast pulses in amorphous Ge10As40S30Se20 film is reported in this Letter. The film shows an optical nonlinear response of 200 fs under ultrafast 80 fs-pulse excitation, and the values of real and imaginary parts of nonlinear susceptibility chi((3)) were 9.0 x 10(-12) esu and -4.0 x 10(-12) esu respectively. The large third-order nonlinearity and ultrafast response are attributed to the ultrafast distortion of the electron orbits surrounding the average positions of the nucleus of Ge, As, S and Se atoms. This Ge10As40S30Se20 chalcogenide glass would be expected as a promising material for optical switching technique.

Effect of alkaline-earth metal composition on spectroscopic properties of Er3+ in fluorophosphate glasses

Optical spectroscopic properties of Er3+-doped alkaline-earth metal modified fluoropho sphate glasses have been investigated experimentally for developing broadband fiber and planar amplifiers. The results show a strong correlation between the alkaline-earth metal content and the spectroscopic parameters such as absorption and emission cross sections, full widths at half-maximum and Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters. It is found that strontium ions could have more influences on the Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters and the absorption and emission cross sections than other alkaline-earth metal ions such as Mg2+, Ca2+, Ba2+. The sample containing 23 mol% strontium fluoride exhibits the maximum emission cross section of 7.58 x 10(-21) cm(2), the broadest full width at half-maximum of 65 nm and the longer lifetime of 8.6 ms among the alkaline-earth metal modified fluorophosphates glasses studied. The Judd-Ofelt intensity parameter Omega(6)s, the emission cross sections and the full widths at half-maximum in the Er3+-doped fluorophosphate glasses studied are larger than in the silicate and phosphate glasses.

Effect of alkali and alkaline earth fluoride introduction on thermal stability and structure of fluorophosphate glasses

The thermal stability and structure of RF-RF2-AIF(3)-Al(PO3)(3) fluorophosphate glasses were investigated. Analyses of infrared absorbance spectra and Raman spectra reveal that with increasing number of alkali and alkaline earth fluoride components, the sum of P-O-P bond and O-P-O bond increases and glass network is strengthened. Consequently, the inhibition to nucleation and crystallization processes is improved, which is proved by the increment of thermal stability factors AT and S determined by differential scanning calorimetry. In addition, it was found that LiF has poor ability to form glass in univalent alkali fluorides and MgF2 has comparative strong ability to form glass in bivalent alkaline earth fluorides. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Effect of air annealing on the spectral properties of Ce : Y3Al5O12 single crystals grown by the temperature gradient technique

Five absorption hands, at 227, 300 340, 370 and 457nm, were observed in the optical absorption spectrum of Ce:Y3Al5O12 (Ce:YAG) crystals grown by the temperature gradient technique (TGT). The absorption bands at 227, 340, and 457 nm were identified Lis belonging to the Ce3+ -ion in the YAG crystal. A near UV optical emission band at 398nm was observed. with an excitation spectrum containing two bands, at 235 and 370nm. No fluorescence was detected under 300 nm excitation. The pair of absorption bands at 235 and 370 nm and the absorption band at 300 nm were attributed to the F- and F+-type color centers, respectively. The color centers model was also applied to explain the spectral changes in the Ce:YAG (TGT) crystal, including the reduction in the Ce 31 -ion absorption intensity, after annealing in an oxidizing atmosphere (air). (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.