Evidence of gene conversion in the evolutionary process of the codon 41/42 (-CTTT) mutation causing beta-thalassemia in southern China

The 4-bp deletion (-CTTT) at codon 41/42 (CD41/42) of the human beta-globin gene represents one of the most common beta-thalassemia mutations in East Asia and Southeast Asia, which is historically afflicted with endemic malaria, thus hypothetically evolvi

Moisture content in Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) tissues: a reference base for conversion factors between dry and wet weight trace element concentrations in cetaceans

Concentration of trace elements measured by dry weight basis has become more commonly used in recent studies on cetaceans than wet weight basis, which was used more in earlier studies. Because few authors present moisture content data in their papers, it is difficult to compare the concentrations of trace elements between various studies. Therefore, we felt that it would be useful if a reference conversion factor (CF) for tissue types could be found to convert between wet weight and dry weight data on trace element concentrations. We determined the moisture contents of 14 tissues of Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli), and then, calculated the CF values for those tissues. Because the moisture content of each tissue differs from other tissues, it is necessary to use a specific CIF for each tissue rather than a general CF for several tissues. We have also found that CIF values for Dall's porpoise tissues are similar to the same tissues in other cetaceans. Therefore CF values from Dall's porpoise can be reliably used to convert between wet and dry weight concentrations for other cetacean tissues as reference data. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modification of two-photon excited fluorescence from quantum dots on SiN photonic crystals

We investigate two-photon excited fluorescence from CdSe quantum dots with a center-emitting wavelength of 655 nm on SiN photonic crystals. We find that two-photon excited fluorescence is enhanced by more than 1 order of magnitude in the vertical direction when a photonic crystal is used compared to the fluorescence spectra in the absence of photonic crystals. The spectrum of two-photon excited fluorescence from quantum dots on SiN photonic crystal is observed to shift to blue compared to that from quantum dots on SiN without photonic crystals. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

Degenerate four-wave mixing based all-optical wavelength conversion in a semiconductor optical amplifier and highly-nonlinear photonic crystal fiber parametric loop mirror

The idler is separated from the co-propagating pump in a degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) with a symmetrical parametric loop mirror (PALM), which is composed of two identical SOAs and a 70 m highly-nonlinear photonic crystal fiber (HN-PCF). The signal and pump are coupled into the symmetrical PALM from different ports, respectively. After the DFWM based wavelength conversion (WC) in the clockwise and anticlockwise, the idler exits from the signal port, while the pump outputs from its input port. Therefore, the pump is effectively suppressed in the idler channel without a high-speed tunable filter. Contrast to a traditional PALM, the DFWM based conversion efficiency is increased greatly, and the functions of the amplification and the WC are integrated in the smart SOA and HN-PCF PALM. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Single-photon-emitting diode at liquid nitrogen temperature

We report on the study of a single-photon-emitting diode at 77 K. The device is composed of InAs/GaAs quantum dots embedded in the i-region of a p-i-n diode structure. The high signal to noise ratio of the electroluminescence, as well as the small second order correlation function at zero-delay g((2))(0), implies that the device has a low multiphoton emission probability. By comparing the device performances under different excitation conditions, we have, in detail, discussed the basic parameters, such as signal to noise ratio and g((2))(0), and provided some useful information for the future application. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Single-photon emission at liquid nitrogen temperature from a single InAs/GaAs quantum dot

We report on the single photon emission from single InAs/GaAs self-assembled Stranski-Krastanow quantum dots up to 80K under pulsed and continuous wave excitations. At temperature 80 K, the second-order correlation function at zero time delay, g((2))(0), is measured to be 0.422 for pulsed excitation. At the same temperature under continuous wave excitation, the photon antibunching effect is observed. Thus, our experimental results demonstrate a promising potential application of self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots in single photon emission at liquid nitrogen temperature.

Effects of coupling lens on optical refrigeration of semiconductors

Optical refrigeration of semiconductors is encountering efficiency difficulties caused by nonradiative recombination and luminescence trapping. A commonly used approach for enhancing luminescence efficiency of a semiconductor device is coupling a lens with the device. We quantitatively study the effects of a coupling lens on optical refrigeration based on rate equations and photon recycling, and calculated cooling efficiencies of different coupling mechanisms and of different lens materials. A GaAs/GaInP heterostructure coupled with a homo-epitaxial GaInP hemispherical lens is recommended.

Single-photon emission from a single InAs quantum dot

Excitation power-dependent micro-photoluminescence spectra and photon-correlation measurement are used to study the optical properties and photon statistics of single InAs quantum dots. Exciton and biexciton emissions, whose photoluminescence intensities have linear and quadratic excitation power dependences, respectively, are identified. Under pulsed laser excitation, the zero time delay peak of second order correlation function corresponding to exciton emission is well suppressed, which is a clear evidence of single photon emission.

Phosphor-conversion white light using InGaN ultraviolet laser diode

We fabricated a phosphor-conversion white light using an InGaN laser diode that emits 405 nm near-ultraviolet (n-UV) light and phosphors that emit in the blue and yellow regions when excited by the n-UV and blue light, respectively.The relationship of the luminous flux and the luminous efficacy of the white light with injection current was discussed. The luminous flux increased linearly with increasing current above the threshold of the laser diode, and at 80 mA injection current, the luminous flux and luminous efficacy were estimated to be 5.7 lm and 13 lm/w, respectively. The shift of the Commission International de I'Eclairage coordinates, color temperature, and color rendering index with current are very slight and negligible, which indicates that the blue and the yellow phosphors have an excellent stability and a highly stable white light can be obtained by this way. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Numerical analysis for four-wave mixing based wavelength conversion of differential phase-shift keying signals

We numerically investigate the main constrains for high efficiency wavelength conversion of differential phase-shift keying (DPSK) signals based on four-wave mixing (FWM) in highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF). Using multi-tone pump phase modulation techniques, high efficiency wavelength conversion of DPSK signals is achieved with the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) effects effectively suppressed. Our analysis shows that there is a compromise between conversion efficiency and converted idler degradation. By optimizing the pump phase modulation configuration, the converted DPSK idler's degradation can be dramatically decreased through balancing SBS suppression and pump phase modulation degradation. Our simulation results also show that these multi-tone pump phase modulation techniques are more appropriate for the future high bit rate systems.

Wavelength conversion based on degenerate-four-wave-mixing with continuous-wave pumping in silicon nanowire waveguide

We present a comprehensive numerical study on the all-optical wavelength conversion based on the degenerate four-wave-mixing with continuous-wave pumping in the silicon nanowire waveguide. It is well known that the conversion efficiency and the 3-dB bandwidth can be greatly affected by the phase-matching condition. Through proper design of the waveguide cross-section, its dispersion property can be adjusted to satisfy the phase-matching condition and therefore effective wavelength conversion can be achieved in a large wavelength range. Generally, the group velocity dispersion plays a dominant role in the wavelength conversion. However, the fourth-order dispersion takes an important effect on the wavelength conversion when the group velocity dispersion is near the zero-point. Furthermore, the conversion efficiency and the 3-dB bandwidth can also be affected by the interactive length and the initial pump power. Through the numerical simulation, the optimal values for the interactive length and the initial pump power, which are functions of the propagation loss, are obtained to realize the maximum conversion efficiency. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Photostability of single-photon emission from a single quantum dot in the 650-nm wavelength band at room temperature

The photoluminescence correlation from a single CdSe nanocrystal under pulsed excitation is studied, and a single photon is realized at wavelength 655 nm at room temperature. The single colloidal CdSe quantum dot is prepared on a SiO2/silicon surface by a drop-and-drag technique. The long-term stability of the single-photon source is investigated; it is found that the antibunching effect weakens with excitation time, and the reason for the weakening is attributed to photobleaching. The lifetimes of photoluminescence from a single quantum dot are analyzed at different excitation times. By analyzing the probability distribution of on and off times of photoluminescence, the Auger assisted tunneling and Auger assisted photobleaching models are applied to explain the antibunching phenomenon.

Single-photon source in strong photon-atom interaction regime in quasiperiodic photonic crystals

The antibunching properties of the fluorescence from a two-level ideal system in a 12-fold quasiperiodic photonic crystal are investigated based on the calculated local density of states. We found that the antibunching phenomenon of the fluorescence from two-level ideal systems could be significantly changed by varying their positions, i.e., perfect antibunching and antibunching with damped Rabi oscillation phenomenon occurred in different positions and at different frequencies in photonic crystals as a result of the large differences in the local density of states. This study revealed that the multi-level coherence of fluorescence from a two-level ideal system could be manipulated by controlling the position of the two-level ideal system in photonic crystals and the emission frequency in the photonic band structure. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2008