Near-field light focusing by wavelength-sized dielectric spheroids for photovoltaic applications

We explore the near-field concentration properties of dielectric spheroidal scatterers with sizes close to the wavelength, using an analytical separation-of-variables method. Such particles act as mesoscopic lenses whose physical parameters are optimized here for maximum scattered light enhancement in photovoltaic applications.

X-Ray Diffraction, Calorimetric and Dielectric Relaxation Study of the Amorphous and Smectic States of a Main Chain Liquid Crystalline Polymer

Los polímeros cristales líquidos (LCP) son sistemas complejos que forman mesofases que presentan orden orientacional y polímeros amorfos. Con frecuencia, el estado amorfo isotrópico no puede ser estudiado debido a la rápida formación de mesofases. En este trabajo se ha sintetizado y estudiado un nuevo LCP: poli(trietilenglicol metil p, p '-bibenzoato), PTEMeB. Este polímero presenta una formación de mesofase bastante lenta haciendo posible estudiar de forma independiente tanto los estados amorfo y de cristal líquidos. La estructura y las transiciones de fase del PTEMeB han sido investigados por calorimetría (DSC), con MAXS / WAXS con temperatura variable que emplean radiación de sincrotrón y con difracción de rayos X. Estos estudios han mostrado la existencia de dos transiciones vítreas, relacionadas con las fases amorfa y cristal líquido. Se ha realizado un estudio de relajación dieléctrica en amplios intervalos de temperatura y presión. Se ha encontrado que la transición vítrea dinámica de la fase amorfa es más lenta que la del cristal líquido. El estudio de la relajación ? nos ha permitido seguir la formación isoterma de la mesofase a presión atmosférica. Además, con el estudio el comportamiento dinámico a alta presión se ha encontrado que se produce la formación rápida de la mesofase inducida por cambios bruscos de presión. Liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) are complex systems that include features of both orientationally ordered mesophases and amorphous polymers. Frequently, the isotropic amorphous state cannot be studied due to the rapid mesophase formation. Here, a new main chain LCP, poly(triethyleneglycol methyl p,p'-bibenzoate), PTEMeB, has been synthesized. It shows a rather slow mesophase formation making possible to study independently both the amorphous and the liquid crystalline states. The structure and phase transitions of PTEMeB have been investigated by calorimetry, variable-temperature MAXS/WAXS employing synchrotron radiation, and X-ray diffraction in oriented fibers. These experiments have pointed out the presence of two glass transitions, related to the amorphous or to the liquid crystal phases. Additionally, the mesophase seems to be a coexistence of orthogonal and tilted smectic phases. A dielectric relaxation study of PTEMeB over broad ranges of temperature and pressure has been performed. The dynamic glass transition turns out to be slower for the amorphous state than for the liquid crystal. Monitoring of the α relaxation has allowed us to follow the isothermal mesophase formation at atmospheric pressure. Additionally, the dynamical behavior at high pressures has pointed out the fast formation of the mesophase induced by sudden pressure changes.

Effect of the Synthesis Route on the Microstructure and the Dielectric Behavior of CaCu3Ti4O12 Ceramics

CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) was prepared by a conventional synthesis (CS) and through reaction sintering, in which synthesis and sintering of the material take place in one single step. The microstructure and the dielectric properties of CCTO have been studied by XRD, FE-SEM, EDS, AFM, and impedance spectroscopy to correlate structure, microstructure, and electrical properties. Samples prepared by reactive sintering show very similar dielectric behavior to those prepared by CS. Therefore, it is possible to prepare CCTO by means of a single-step processing method.

An Asymptotic Solution for Surface Fields on a Dielectric-Coated Circular Cylinder with an Effective Impedance Boundary Condition.

Reverberation chambers are well known for providing a random-like electric field distribution. Detection of directivity or gain thereof requires an adequate procedure and smart post-processing. In this paper, a new method is proposed for estimating the directivity of radiating devices in a reverberation chamber (RC). The method is based on the Rician K-factor whose estimation in an RC benefits from recent improvements. Directivity estimation relies on the accurate determination of the K-factor with respect to a reference antenna. Good agreement is reported with measurements carried out in near-field anechoic chamber (AC) and using a near-field to far-field transformation.

Field method for dielectric concentrator design

Field method for dielectric concentrator design

Surface Impedance Characterization for UTD Based Solution with IBC for Surface Fields on a Dielectric-Coated PEC Circular Cylinder

A novel formulation for the surface impedance characterization is introduced for the canonical problem of surface fields on a perfect electric conductor (PEC) circular cylinder with a dielectric coating due to a electric current source using the Uniform Theory of Diffraction (UTD) with an Impedance Boundary Condition (IBC). The approach is based on a TE/TM assumption of the surface fields from the original problem. Where this surface impedance fails, an optimization is performed to minimize the error in the SD Green?s function between the original problem and the equivalent one with the IBC. This new approach requires small changes in the available UTD based solution with IBC to include the geodesic ray angle and length dependence in the surface impedance formulas. This asymptotic method, accurate for large separations between source and observer points, in combination with spectral domain (SD) Green?s functions for multidielectric coatings leads to a new hybrid SD-UTD with IBC to calculate mutual coupling among microstrip patches on a multilayer dielectric-coated PEC circular cylinder. Results are compared with the eigenfunction solution in SD, where a very good agreement is met.

Surface Impedance Characterization for Mutual Coupling Calculation of Patches on a Dielectric-Coated PEC Circular Cylinder

A novel formulation for the surface impedance characterization is introduced for the canonical problem of surface fields on a perfect electric conductor (PEC) circular cylinder with a dielectric coating due to a electric current source using the Uniform Theory of Diffraction (UTD) with an Impedance Boundary Condition (IBC). The approach is based on a TE/TM assumption of the surface fields from the original problem. Where this surface impedance fails, an optimization is performed to minimize the error in the SD Green?s function between the original problem and the equivalent one with the IBC. This asymptotic method, accurate for large separations between source and observer points, in combination with spectral domain (SD) Green?s functions for multidielectric coatings leads to a new hybrid SD-UTD with IBC to calculate mutual coupling among microstrip patches on a multilayer dielectric-coated PEC circular cylinder. Results are compared with the eigenfunction solution in SD, where a very good agreement is met.

Dielectric behaviour of Hf-doped CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics obtained by conventional synthesis and reactive sintering

CaCu3(Ti4xHfx)O12 ceramics (JC = 0.04, 0.1 and 0.2) were prepared by conventional synthesis (CS) and through reactive sintering (RS), in which synthesis and sintering of the material take place in one single step. The microstructure and the dielectric properties of Hf-doped CCTO (CCTOHf) have been studied by XRD, FE-SEM, AFM, Raman and impedance spectroscopy (IS) in order to correlate the structure, microstructure and the electrical properties. Samples prepared by reactive sintering show slightly higher dielectric constant than those prepared by conventional synthesis in the same way than the pure CCTO. Dielectric constant and dielectric losses decrease slightly increasing Hf content. For CCTOHf ceramics with x> 0.04 for CS and x> 0.1 for RS, a secondary phase HfTi04 appears. As expected, the reactive sintering processing method allows a higher incorporation of Hf in the CCTO lattice than the conventional synthesis one.

Electrooptic effect in cholesteric blue phases with small positive dielectric anisotropy

An electrooptic effect in the blue phase of the cholesteric mixture S811-and the nematic mixture N5 is reported. To demonstrate this effect ac voltages (ƒ = 1000 Hz) between 0 and 150 νwere applied. Wavelength shifts of 70 nm were obtained.

Surface impedance for scattered field on a dielectric-coated circular cylinder

In the scattering analysis of a circular cylindrical structure, the impedance boundary condition (IBC) can approximate and simplify the perfect electric conductor (PEC) boundary condition. The circular cylinder problem can be solved with modal methods but they require a large number of terms when the cylinder radius is large in terms of the wave length. The uniform theory of diffraction (UTD) [1] is commonly used to overcome this issue. The two-dimensional problem of scattering on a circular cylinder covered by a dielectric layer has been analyzed by [2]–[5], but their solutions either do not consider oblique incidence, fail on the transition region or use a constant surface impedance.