Thermo-optic Degradation of Single-Modedness in Active LMA fibers and Simple Compensation Mechanisms

We demonstrate significant thermo-optic degradation of single-modedness in active large mode area fibers due to heat generation in the fiber. We propose and demonstrate through simulations, simple compensation mechanisms using custom length dependent fiber coiling.

Wideband-tuneable, nanotube mode-locked, fibre laser.

Ultrashort-pulse lasers with spectral tuning capability have widespread applications in fields such as spectroscopy, biomedical research and telecommunications. Mode-locked fibre lasers are convenient and powerful sources of ultrashort pulses, and the inclusion of a broadband saturable absorber as a passive optical switch inside the laser cavity may offer tuneability over a range of wavelengths. Semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors are widely used in fibre lasers, but their operating range is typically limited to a few tens of nanometres, and their fabrication can be challenging in the 1.3-1.5 microm wavelength region used for optical communications. Single-walled carbon nanotubes are excellent saturable absorbers because of their subpicosecond recovery time, low saturation intensity, polarization insensitivity, and mechanical and environmental robustness. Here, we engineer a nanotube-polycarbonate film with a wide bandwidth (>300 nm) around 1.55 microm, and then use it to demonstrate a 2.4 ps Er(3+)-doped fibre laser that is tuneable from 1,518 to 1,558 nm. In principle, different diameters and chiralities of nanotubes could be combined to enable compact, mode-locked fibre lasers that are tuneable over a much broader range of wavelengths than other systems.

Isolating single primary rat hippocampal neurons and astrocytes on ultra-thin patterned parylene-C/silicon dioxide substrates

We report here the patterning of primary rat neurons and astrocytes from the postnatal hippocampus on ultra-thin parylene-C deposited on a silicon dioxide substrate, following observations of neuronal, astrocytic and nuclear coverage on strips of different lengths, widths and thicknesses. Neuronal and glial growth was characterized 'on', 'adjacent to' and 'away from' the parylene strips. In addition, the article reports how the same material combination can be used to isolate single cells along thin tracks of parylene-C. This is demonstrated with a series of high magnification images of the experimental observations for varying parylene strip widths and thicknesses. Thus, the findings demonstrate the possibility to culture cells on ultra-thin layers of parylene-C and localize single cells on thin strips. Such work is of interest and significance to the Neuroengineering and Multi-Electrode Array (MEA) communities, as it provides an alternative insulating material in the fabrication of embedded micro-electrodes, which can be used to facilitate single cell stimulation and recording in capacitive coupling mode. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Low loss HF band SOI wine glass bulk mode capacitive square-plate resonator

This paper reports on the design and electrical characterization of a single crystal silicon micromechanical square-plate resonator. The microresonator has been excited in the anti-symmetrical wine glass mode at a resonant frequency of 5.166 MHz and exhibits an impressive quality factor (Q) of 3.7 × 106 at a pressure of 33 mtorr. The device has been fabricated in a commercial foundry process. An associated motional resistance of approximately 50 kΩ using a dc bias voltage of 60 V is measured for a transduction gap of 2 νm due to the ultra-high Q of the resonator. This result corresponds to a frequency-Q product of 1.9 × 1013, the highest reported for a fundamental mode single-crystal silicon resonator and on par with some of the best quartz crystal resonators. The results are indicative of the superior performance of silicon as a mechanical material, and show that the wine glass resonant mode is beneficial for achieving high quality factors allowed by the material limit. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Square wine glass mode resonator with quality factor of 4 million

We report on the experimental characterization of a single crystal silicon square-plate microresonator. The resonator is excited in the square wine glass (SWG) mode at a mechanical resonance frequency of 2.065 MHz. The resonator displays quality factor of 9660 in air and an ultra-high quality factor of Q = 4.05 × 106 in 12 mtorr vacuum. The SWG mode may be described as a square plate that contracts along one axis in the fabrication plane, while simultaneously extending along an orthogonal axis in the same plane. The resonant structure is addressed in a 2-terminal configuration by utilizing equal and opposite drive polarities on surrounding capacitor electrodes, thereby decreasing the motional resistance of the resonator. The resonant micromechanical device has been fabricated in a commercial silicon-on-insulator process through the MEMSCAP foundry utilising a minimum electrostatic gap of 2 μm. © 2008 IEEE.

Investigation Of Mode Ii Crack Growth Following A Very High Speed Impact

A recoverable plate impact testing technology has been developed for studying fracture mechanisms of mode II crack. With this technology, a single duration stress pulse with submicrosecond duration and high loading rates, up to 10(8) MPam(1/2)s(-1), can be produced. Dynamic failure tests of Hard-C 60# steel were carried out under asymmetrical impacting conditions with short stress-pulse loading. Experimental results show that the nucleation and growth of several microcracks ahead of the crack tip, and the interactions between them, induce unsteady crack growth. Failure mode transitions during crack growth, both from mode I crack to mode II and from brittle to ductile fracture, were observed. Based on experimental observations, a discontinuous crack growth model was established. Analysis of the crack growth mechanisms using our model shows that the shear crack extension is unsteady when the extending speed is between the Rayleigh wave speed c(R) and the shear wave speed c(S). However, when the crack advancing speed is beyond c(S), the crack grows at a steady intersonic speed approaching root 2c(S). It also shows that the transient mechanisms, such as nucleation, growth, interaction and coalescence among microcracks, make the main crack speed jump from subsonic to intersonic and the steady growth of all the subcracks causes the main crack to grow at a stable intersonic speed.

Dynamic mode I perturbation solution for a moving crack unsteadily

Rice et al. (Jounal of Mechanics and Physics of Solids 42, 813-843) analyze the propagation of a planar crack with a nominally straight front in a model elastic solid with a single displacement component. Using the form of Willis er al. (Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids 43, 319-341), of dynamic mode I weight functions for a moving crack, we address that problem solved by Rice ei al. in the 3D context of elastodynamic theory. Oscillatory crack tip motion results from constructive-destructive interference of stress intensity waves. Those waves, including system of the dilatational, shear and Rayleigh waves, interact on each other and with moving edge of crack, can lead to continuing fluctuations of the crack front and propagation velocity. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Effect of surface tension on the mode selection of vertically excited surface waves in a circular cylindrical vessel

Singular perturbation theory of two-time-scale expansions was developed in inviscid fluids to investigate patternforming, structure of the single surface standing wave, and its evolution with time in a circular cylindrical vessel subject to a vertical oscillation. A nonlinear slowly varying complex amplitude equation, which involves a cubic nonlinear term, an external excitation and the influence of surface tension, was derived from the potential flow equation. Surface tension was introduced by the boundary condition of the free surface in an ideal and incompressible fluid. The results show that when forced frequency is low, the effect of surface tension on the mode selection of surface waves is not important. However, when the forced frequency is high, the surface tension cannot be neglected. This manifests that the function of surface tension is to cause the free surface to return to its equilibrium configuration. In addition, the effect of surface tension seems to make the theoretical results much closer to experimental results.

Physical investigations of small particles : (I) aerosol particle charging and flux enhancement and (II) whispering gallery mode sensing

Part I

Particles are a key feature of planetary atmospheres. On Earth they represent the greatest source of uncertainty in the global energy budget. This uncertainty can be addressed by making more measurement, by improving the theoretical analysis of measurements, and by better modeling basic particle nucleation and initial particle growth within an atmosphere. This work will focus on the latter two methods of improvement.

Uncertainty in measurements is largely due to particle charging. Accurate descriptions of particle charging are challenging because one deals with particles in a gas as opposed to a vacuum, so different length scales come into play. Previous studies have considered the effects of transition between the continuum and kinetic regime and the effects of two and three body interactions within the kinetic regime. These studies, however, use questionable assumptions about the charging process which resulted in skewed observations, and bias in the proposed dynamics of aerosol particles. These assumptions affect both the ions and particles in the system. Ions are assumed to be point monopoles that have a single characteristic speed rather than follow a distribution. Particles are assumed to be perfect conductors that have up to five elementary charges on them. The effects of three body interaction, ion-molecule-particle, are also overestimated. By revising this theory so that the basic physical attributes of both ions and particles and their interactions are better represented, we are able to make more accurate predictions of particle charging in both the kinetic and continuum regimes.

The same revised theory that was used above to model ion charging can also be applied to the flux of neutral vapor phase molecules to a particle or initial cluster. Using these results we can model the vapor flux to a neutral or charged particle due to diffusion and electromagnetic interactions. In many classical theories currently applied to these models, the finite size of the molecule and the electromagnetic interaction between the molecule and particle, especially for the neutral particle case, are completely ignored, or, as is often the case for a permanent dipole vapor species, strongly underestimated. Comparing our model to these classical models we determine an “enhancement factor” to characterize how important the addition of these physical parameters and processes is to the understanding of particle nucleation and growth.

Part II

Whispering gallery mode (WGM) optical biosensors are capable of extraordinarily sensitive specific and non-specific detection of species suspended in a gas or fluid. Recent experimental results suggest that these devices may attain single-molecule sensitivity to protein solutions in the form of stepwise shifts in their resonance wavelength, \lambda_{R}, but present sensor models predict much smaller steps than were reported. This study examines the physical interaction between a WGM sensor and a molecule adsorbed to its surface, exploring assumptions made in previous efforts to model WGM sensor behavior, and describing computational schemes that model the experiments for which single protein sensitivity was reported. The resulting model is used to simulate sensor performance, within constraints imposed by the limited material property data. On this basis, we conclude that nonlinear optical effects would be needed to attain the reported sensitivity, and that, in the experiments for which extreme sensitivity was reported, a bound protein experiences optical energy fluxes too high for such effects to be ignored.

1ps passively mode-locked laser operation of Na, Yb : CaF2 crystal

Diode-pumped passively mode-locked laser operation of Yb3+,Na+:CaF2 single crystal has been demonstrated for the first time. By using a SESAM ( semiconductor saturable mirror), simultaneous transform-limited 1-ps passively mode-locked pulses, with the repetition rate of 183MHz, were obtained under the self-Q-switched envelope induced by the laser medium. The average output power of 360mW was attained at 1047nm for 3.34W of absorbed power at 976nm, and the corresponding pulse peak power arrived at 27kW, indicating the promising application of Yb3+,Na+-codoped CaF2 crystals in achieving ultra-short pulses and high pulse peak power. (c) 2005 Optical Society of America.

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.

Specklegram in a multiple-mode fiber and its dependence on longitudinal modes of the laser source

A specklegram in a multimode fiber (MMF) has successfully been used as a sensor for detecting external disturbance. Our experiments showed that the sensitivity in the sensor with a multiple longitudinal-mode laser as its source was much higher than that with a single longitudinal-mode laser. In addition, the near-field pattern observations indicated that the coupling between different transverse modes in the MMF is quite weak. Based on the experimental results, a theoretical model for the speckle formation is proposed, taking a bend-caused phase factor into consideration. It is shown in the theoretical analysis that the interferences between different longitudinal modes make a larger contribution to the specklegram signals. (C) 2007 Optical Society of America.

Raman spectra of undoped and uranium doped CaF2 single crystals

Raman scattering experiments for nominally pure and uranium doped CaF2 single crystals were presented. In all crystals, the Raman active T_(2g) vibration mode of CaF2 was observed, whose frequency shift and full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) broadening correspond well with defects and impurities in CaF2 lattice. Additional Raman peaks develop in nominally pure CaF2 with high etch pits density and U^(6+):CaF2 crystals. Part of additional Raman peaks in the experimental results, which are assumed due to vibration modes from F- interstitials and vacancies, are in well agreement with the theoretical predications by employing the Green-function formulation.

Thermal, spectroscopic and laser properties of Yb3+Na+: CaF2 single crystals

The effects of Na+ doping level on the thermal conductivities, absorption and emission spectra, and fluorescence lifetimes of Yb3+ ,Na+ :CaF2 crystals were systematically studied. Sites structure, covalent force, and crystal field strength of Yb3+ :CaF2 crystals were markedly varied by codoping Na+ as charge compensator. The 2.0at% Yb3+ and 3.0at% Na+-codoped CaF2 crystal was demonstrated to operate in diode-pumped passively mode-locking scheme. Transform-limited 1 ps laser pulses were obtained, showing the crystal capable of producing ultra-short laser pulses. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermoelastic dissipation in MEMS/NEMS flexural mode resonators.

Understanding the energy dissipation mechanisms in single-crystal silicon MEMS/NEMS resonators are particularly important to maximizing an important figure of merit relevant for miniature sensor and signal processing applications: the Quality factor (Q) of resonance. This paper discusses thermoelastic dissipation (TED) as the dominant internal-friction mechanism in flexural mode MEMS/NEMS resonators. Criteria for optimizing the geometrical design of flexural mode MEMS/NEMS resonators are theoretically established with a view towards minimizing the TED for single-crystal silicon MEMS/NEMS flexural mode resonators.