Transient flow patterns and bubble slug lengths in parallel microchannels with oxygen gas bubbles produced by catalytic chemical reactions

Transient flow patterns and bubble slug lengths were investigated with oxygen gas (O-2) bubbles produced by catalytic chemical reactions using a high speed camera bonded with a microscope. The microreactor consists of an inlet liquid plenum, nine parallel rectangular microchannels followed by a micronozzle, using the MEMS fabrication technique. The etched surface was deposited by the thin platinum film, which is acted as the catalyst. Experiments were performed with the inlet mass concentration of the hydrogen peroxide from 50% to 90% and the pressure drop across the silicon chip from 2.5 to 20.0 kPa. The silicon chip is directly exposed in the environment thus the heat released via the catalytic chemical reactions is dissipated into the environment and the experiment was performed at the room temperature level. It is found that the two-phase flow with the catalytic chemical reactions display the cyclic behavior. A full cycle consists of a short fresh liquid refilling stage, a liquid decomposition stage followed by the bubble slug flow stage. At the beginning of the bubble slug flow stage, the liquid slug number reaches maximum, while at the end of the bubble slug flow stage the liquid slugs are quickly flushed out of the microchannels. Two or three large bubbles are observed in the inlet liquid plenum, affecting the two-phase distributions in microchannels. The bubble slug lengths, cycle periods as well as the mass flow rates are analyzed with different mass concentrations of hydrogen peroxide and pressure drops. The bubble slug length is helpful for the selection of the future microreactor length ensuring the complete hydrogen peroxide decomposition. Future studies on the temperature effect on the transient two-phase flow with chemical reactions are recommended.

Polarization patterns control based on photoinduced anisotropy of photochromic fulgide

We investigate the photoinduced anisotropy of a photochromic material of pyrrylfulgide/PMMA films. It is proven that when the film is illuminated with a linear polarization light, an optical axis that has the same polarization as the excitation light could be induced in the film. A matrix of light spots with different polarizations is recorded on the pyrrylfulgide/PMMA film. When reading out with non-polarization light, the matrix of light spots shows no information of patterns. However, when reading out with different linear polarization lights, different patterns could be observed. The experiment confirms that the pyrrylfulgide/PMMA film could be used to record two different polarization patterns in a matrix of spots. This property may be applied in camouflage technology.

Structuring by multi-beam interference using symmetric pyramids

A method for producing optical structures using rotationally symmetric pyramids is proposed. Two-dimensional structures can be achieved using acute prisms. They form by multi-beam interference of plane waves that impinge from directions distributed symmetrically around the axis of rotational symmetry. Flat-topped pyramids provide an additional beam along the axis thus generating three-dimensional structures. Experimental results are consistent with the results of numerical simulations. The advantages of the method are simplicity of operation, low cost, ease of integration, good stability, and high transmittance. Possible applications are the fabrication of photonic micro-structures such as photonic crystals or array waveguides as well as multi-beam optical tweezers. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.

Polarization patterns hide and display using photoinduced anisotropy of photochromic fulgide

Photoinduced anisotropy of a photochromic pyrrylfulgide/PMMA film was investigated by using two linearly polarized beams. Excitation by linearly polarized light induces into the film an optical axis that has the same polarization as the excitation beam. This causes a change of the transmittance and of the polarization state of the detection beam. With a microscope a matrix of 4x4 light spots with different polarizations were recorded in the pyrrylfulgide/PMMA film. If readout with non-polarized light, the matrix of light spots show no information pattern. However, when readout with differently polarized lights, different patterns can be displayed. The experiment demonstrates that pyrrylfulgide/PMMA films can be used to hide two differently polarized patterns, which may be applied in camouflage technology. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America.

Analysis of the lateral displacement and optical path difference in wide-field-of-view polarization interference imaging spectrometer

The mechanism of beam splitting and principle of wide-field-of-view compensation of modified Savart polariscope in the wide-field-of-view polarization interference imaging spectrometer (WPIIS) are analyzed and discussed. Formulas for the lateral displacement and optical path difference (OPD) produced by the modified Savart polariscope are derived by ray-tracing method. The theoretical and practical guidance is thereby provided for the study, design, modulation, experiment and engineering of the polarization interference imaging spectrometers and other birefringent Fourier-transform spectrometers based on Savart polariscopes. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of the modulation depth affected by the polarization orientation in polarization interference imaging spectrometers

The influence of the orientations of both polarizer and analyzer on modulation depth of spatially distributed interferograms for static polarization interference imaging spectrometer (SPIIS) is analyzed. A generally, theoretical relationship to determine the modulation depth of a SPIIS is derived. The special cases of maximum modulation depth (V = 1) and the minimum modulation depth (V = 0) are examined. Our results will provide a theoretical and practical guide for studying, developing and engineering polarization interference imaging spectrometers. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

EFFECT OF SURFACE-STRUCTURES UPON ULTRATHIN-FILM INTERFERENCE-FRINGES

Effect of surface structures upon ultrathin film interference fringes generated from extremely thin films or epitaxial layers grown on semiconductor wafers has been studied. Since dark regions of fringes correspond to the places where the thin films are destroyed or absent, the fringes are investigated to detect uneven surfaces with undesired structures. Therefore, surface microstructures can be detected and characterized effectively by the modification of the fringes.

Quantum interference effect in GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum wells

Quantum interference properties of GaAs/AlGaAs symmetric double quantum wells were investigated in a magnetic field parallel to heterointerfaces at 1.9 K. For two types of samples used in our experiments, two GaAs quantum wells with the same width of 60 Angstrom are separated by an AlGaAs barrier layer of 120 Angstrom and 20 degrees thick, respectively. The channels with the length of 2 mu m are defined by alloyed ohmic contacts. The conductance oscillation as a function of the magnetic flux Phi(= B/s) was observed and oscillation period is approximately equal to h/e. The results are in agreement with the theoretical expectation of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Conductance oscillations are apparent slightly in the samples with a thinner AlGaAs barrier.

Fabrication of a SOI Based Channel-shifted Multimode Interference Coupler

A silicon-on-insulator based channel-shifted multimode interference coupler is designed and fabricated. A two dimensional beam propagation method is used to analyze the dependence of coupler′s performances on the width and length of the multimode waveguide. The device fabricated has a power shift ratio of 73 and an excess loss of about 2.2 dB. An enhancement of fabrication accuracies could further improve the coupler performances.

Multimode Interference Couplers with Different Background Refractive Index *

A novel structure of MMI coupler with different background refractive index has been designed. With stronger optical confinement in multimode waveguides, more guided modes are excited to improve imaging quality. Two-dimensional finite difference beam propagation method (2-D FDBPM) was used to simulate this new structure and had proven that its imaging quality, in terms of power uniformity and excess loss, is much better than conventional structure. This structure can be applied in SOI rib waveguides by deep etching method.

Temperature Dependence of Characteristics for Multimode Interference Based 3-dB Coupler in SOI

The temperature dependence of characteristics for multimode interference (MMI) based 3-dB coupler in silicon-on-insulator is analyzed, which originates from the relatively high thermo-optic coefficient of silicon. For restricted interference 3-dB MMI coupler, the output power uniformity is ideally 0 at room temperature and becomes 0. 32 dB when temperature rises up to 550 K. For symmetric interference 3-dB MMI coupler, the power uniformity keeps ideally 0 due to its intrinsic symmetric interference mechanism. With the temperature rising, the excess loss of the both devices increases. The performance deterioration due to temperature variety is more obvious to restricted interference MMI 3-dB coupler, comparing with that of symmetric interference MMI 3-dB coupler.