The tautomerism, solvatochromism and non-linear optical properties of fluorescent 3-hydroxyquinoxaline-2-carboxalidine-4-aminoantipyrine

The Schiff base, 3-hydroxyquinoxaline-2-carboxalidine-4-aminoantipyrine, was synthesized by the condensation of 3-hydroxyquinoxaline-2-carboxaldehyde with 4-aminoantipyrine. HPLC, FT-IR and NMR spectral data revealed that the compound exists predominantly in the amide tautomeric form and exhibits both absorption and fluorescence solvatochromism, large stokes shift, two electron quasireversible redox behaviour and good thermal stability, with a glass transition temperature of 104 oC. The third-order non-linear optical character was studied using open aperture Z-scan methodology employing 7 ns pulses at 532 nm. The third-order non-linear absorption coefficient, b, was 1.48 x 10-6 cm W-1 and the imaginary part of the third-order non-linear optical susceptibility, Im c(3), was 3.36x10-10 esu. The optical limiting threshold for the compound was found to be 340 MW cm-2.

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF COMPACT ASYMMETRIC COPLANAR STRIP FED ANTENNAS

Antennas are indispensable component of any wireless communication device. An antenna is a transducer between the transmitter and the free space waves and vice versa. They efficiently transfer electromagnetic energy from a transmission line into free space. But the present day communication applications require compact and ultra wide band designs which cannot be catered by simple microstrip based designs. PIFAs have solved the problem to some extend, but the field of antennas needs more innovative designs In this thesis the design and development of compact planner antenna are presented. Emphasis is given to the design of the feed as well as the radiator resulting in simple compact uniplanar geometries. The Asymmetric coplanar feed used to excite the antennas is found to be a suitable choice for feeding compact antennas.The main objectives of the study are the design of compact single, dual and multi band antennas with uniplanar structure and extension of the design for practical GSM/WLAN applications and Ultra compact antennas using the above techniques and extension of the design to antennas for practical applications like RFID/DVB-H. All the above objectives are thoroughly studied. Antennas with ultra compact dimensions are obtained as a result of the study. Simple equations are provided to design antennas with the required characteristics. The design equations are verified by designing different antennas for different applications.

Development And Analysis Of A Compact Coplanar Antenna With Flared Monopole For Dual Band Applications

Department of Electronics, Cochin University of Science and Technology

Spectroscopic Investigation of Tooth Caries and Demineralization

Dental caries persists to be the most predominant oral disease in spite of remarkable progress made during the past half- century to reduce its prevalence. Early diagnosis of carious lesions is an important factor in the prevention and management of dental caries. Conventional procedures for caries detection involve visual-tactile and radiographic examination, which is considered as “gold standard”. These techniques are subjective and are unable to detect the lesions until they are well advanced and involve about one-third of the thickness of enamel. Therefore, all these factors necessitate the need for the development of new techniques for early diagnosis of carious lesions. Researchers have been trying to develop various instruments based on optical spectroscopic techniques for detection of dental caries during the last two decades. These optical spectroscopic techniques facilitate noninvasive and real-time tissue characterization with reduced radiation exposure to patient, thereby improving the management of dental caries. Nonetheless, a costeffective optical system with adequate sensitivity and specificity for clinical use is still not realized and development of such a system is a challenging task.Two key techniques based on the optical properties of dental hard tissues are discussed in this current thesis, namely laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and diffuse reflectance (DR) spectroscopy for detection of tooth caries and demineralization. The work described in this thesis is mainly of applied nature, focusing on the analysis of data from in vitro tooth samples and extending these results to diagnose dental caries in a clinical environment. The work mainly aims to improve and contribute to the contemporary research on fluorescence and diffuse reflectance for discriminating different stages of carious lesions. Towards this, a portable and compact laser-induced fluorescence and reflectance spectroscopic system (LIFRS) was developed for point monitoring of fluorescence and diffuse reflectance spectra from tooth samples. The LIFRS system uses either a 337 nm nitrogen laser or a 404 nm diode laser for the excitation of tooth autofluorescence and a white light source (tungsten halogen lamp) for measuring diffuse reflectance.Extensive in vitro studies were carried out on extracted tooth samples to test the applicability of LIFRS system for detecting dental caries, before being tested in a clinical environment. Both LIF and DR studies were performed for diagnosis of dental caries, but special emphasis was given for early detection and also to discriminate between different stages of carious lesions. Further the potential of LIFRS system in detecting demineralization and remineralization were also assessed.In the clinical trial on 105 patients, fluorescence reference standard (FRS) criteria was developed based on LIF spectral ratios (F500/F635 and F500/F680) to discriminate different stages of caries and for early detection of dental caries. The FRS ratio scatter plots developed showed better sensitivity and specificity as compared to clinical and radiographic examination, and the results were validated with the blindtests. Moreover, the LIF spectra were analyzed by curve-fitting using Gaussian spectral functions and the derived curve-fitted parameters such as peak position, Gaussian curve area, amplitude and width were found to be useful for distinguishing different stages of caries. In DR studies, a novel method was established based on DR ratios (R500/R700, R600/R700 and R650/R700) to detect dental caries with improved accuracy. Further the diagnostic accuracy of LIFRS system was evaluated in terms of sensitivity, specificity and area under the ROC curve. On the basis of these results, the LIFRS system was found useful as a valuable adjunct to the clinicians for detecting carious lesions.

INVESTIGATIONS ON SLOT-LOADED SQUARE MICROSTRIP PATCH ANTENNAS FOR COMPACT DUAL FREQUENCY DUAL POLARIZED OPERATIONS

The thesis is the outcome of the experimental and theoretical investigations carried out on a novel slotted microstrip antenna.The antenna excites two resonance frequencies and provides orthogonal polarization. The radiation characteristics of the antenna are studied in detail. The antenna design is optimized using IE3D electromagnetic simulation tool. The frequency-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method is employed for the analysis of the antenna.The antenna can be used for personal and satellite communication applications.

Development and Analysis of a Drum-Shaped Compact Microstrip Antenna

The thesis is the outcome of the experimental and theoretical investigations on a new compact drum-shaped microstrip antenna. A new compact antenna suitable for personal communication system(PCS), Global position System(GPS) and array applications is developed and analysed. The generalised cavity model and spatial fourier transform technique are suitably modified for the analysis of the antenna. The predicted results are compared with experimental results and excellent agreement is observed. The experimental work done by the author in related fields are incorporated as three appendices in this thesis. A single feed dual frequency microstrip antenne is presented in appendix A.Appendix B describes a new broadband dual frequeny microstrip antenna. The bandwidth enhancement effect of microstrip antennas through dielectric resonator loading is demonstarted in Appendix C.

A compact pentagonal monopole antenna for portable UWB systems

Design of a compact microstrip-fed ultra-wideband antenna suitable for USB dongle and other such space constraint applications is presented. The structure consists of a pentagonal monopole element and a modified ground plane that gives an impedance bandwidth from 2.8 to 12 GHz. Radiation patterns are stable and omni-directional throughout the band with an average gain of 2.84 dBi. The antenna occupies only 11 × 30 mm2 on FR4 substrate with permittivity 4.4.

Mocrostrip-Fed Compact Dual Band Planar Antenna

The thesis is the outcome of the theoretical and experimental investigations on mocrostrip-fed printed strip monopole antenna.Finite ground plane has been effectively utilized to excite a new resonance near the fundamental mode by introducing another extended strip from the ground plane,without affecting compactness.Further size reduction was achieved by carrying out folding analysis on dual strip antenna and a compact folded dual strip antenna has been designed.Design methodologies for both the compact dual band antennas are presented.The proposed antennas can be used for mobile and WLAN applications due to wide bandwidth,moderate gain and omnidirectional radiation coverage.

Development and Analysis of a Compact Dual-Band Coplanar Antenna

The coplanar wave guide is an attractive device in microwave integrated circuits due to its uniplanar nature, ease of fabrication and low production cost. Several attempts are already done to explore the radiating modes in coplanar wave guide transmission lines. Usually coplanar wave guides are excited by an SMA connector with its centre conductor connected to the exact middle of the centre strip and the outer ground conductor to the two ground strips. The mode excited on it is purely a bound mode. The E-field distribution in the two slots are out of phase and there for cancels at the far field. This thesis addresses an attempt to excite an in phase E-field distribution in the two slots of the co planar wave guide by employing a feed asymmetry, in order to get radiation from the two large slot discontinuities of the coplanar waveguide. The omni directional distribution of the radiating energy can be achieved by widening the centre strip.The first part of the thesis deals with the investigations on the resonance phenomena of conventional coplanar waveguides at higher frequency bands. Then an offset fed open circuited coplanar waveguide supporting resonance/radiation phenomena is analyzed. Finally, a novel compact co planar antenna geometry with dual band characteristics, suitable for mobile terminal applications is designed and characterized using the inferences from the above study.

Pulsed Photoacoustic Determination of Absolute Fluorescent Quantum Yield of the Laser Dye Rhodamine B

Pulsed photoacoustic technique which is found to be a very convenient and accurate method, is used for the determination of absolute fluorescence quantum yield of laser dye rhodamine B. Concentration and power dependence of quantum yield of rhodamine B in methanol for excitation at 532 nm is reported here. Results show that a rapid decrease in quantum yield as the concentration is increased and finally it reaches the limit corresponding to fluorescence quenching.

Development of Compact Microwave Filters Using Microstrip Loop Resonators

Study of the characteristics of planar loop resonators and their use in the construction of filters at microwave frequencies are presented in this thesis.A detailed investigation of parameters affecting the strength of coupling and the resonant frequency are also carried out .Techniques for size reduction in bandstop and bandpass filters using planar loop resonators are developed.Different configurations of bandstop and bandpass filters using loop resonators are simulated and experimental results on optimal filter configurations are presented.

Compact asymmetric coplanar strip-fed antenna for wideband applications

An asymmetric coplanar strip-fed uniplanar antenna for wideband applications is presented. The resulting antenna offers a 2:1 VSWR bandwidth greater than 100% from 1.58 to 5.48 GHz covering the DCS/PCS/IEEE 802.11a/WiMAX bands. The antenna has an overall dimension of 44 × 35 mm2 when printed on a substrate of dielectric constant 4.4 and height 1.6 mm. The design equation is also presented in this article. The antenna exhibits good radiation characteristics and moderate gain in the entire operating band.

A compact dual-band modified T-shaped CPW-fed monopole antenna

A compact, dual band coplanar waveguide fed modified T-shaped uniplanar antenna is presented. The antenna has resonances at 1.77 and 5.54 GHz with a wide band from 1.47–1.97 GHz and from 5.13–6.48 GHz with an impedance bandwidth of 34% and 26%, respectively. Also the antenna has an average gain of 3 dBi in lower band and 3.5 dBi in higher band with an average efficiency of 90%.

Compact dual band slot loaded circular microstrip antenna with a superstrate

Design of a compact dual frequency microstrip antenna is presented. The structure consists of a slotted circular patch with a dielectric superstrate. The superstrate,not only acts as a radome, but improves the bandwidth and lowers the resonant frequency also. The proposed design provides an overall size reduction of about 60% compared to an unslotted patch along with good efficiency,gain and bandwidth. The polarization planes at the two resonances are orthogonal and can be simultaneously excited using a coaxial feed. Parametric study of this configuration showed that the frequency ratio of the two resonances can be varied from 1.17 to 1.7 enabling its applications in the major wireless communication bands like AWS, DECT,PHS,Wi.Bro, ISM,and DMB. Design equations are also deduced for the proposed antenna and validated.

Compact uniplanar antenna for WLAN applications

A compact dual-band uniplanar antenna for operation in the 2.4/5.2/5.8 GHz WLAN/HIPERLAN2 communication bands is presented. The dual-band antenna is obtained by modifying one of the lateral strips of a slot line, thereby producing two different current paths. The antenna occupies a very small area of 14.5times16.6 mm2 including the ground plane on a substrate having dielectric constant 4.4 and thickness 1.6 mm at 2.2 GHz. The antenna resonates with two bands from 2.2 to 2.52 GHz and from 5 to 10 GHz with good matching, good radiation characteristics and moderate gain