Tapered fiber bundles for combining high-power diode lasers

Tapered fiber bundles are often used to combine the output power of several semiconductor lasers into a multimode optical fiber for the purpose of pumping fiber lasers and amplifiers. It is generally recognized that the brightness of such combiners does not exceed the brightness of the individual input fibers. We report that the brightness of the tapered fibers (and fiber bundles) depends on both the taper ratio and the mode-filling properties of the beams launched into the individual fibers. Brightness, therefore, can be increased by selection of sources that fill a small fraction of the input fiber's modal capacity. As proof of concept, we present the results of measurements on tapered fiber-bundle combiners having a low-output étendue. Under low mode-filling conditions per input multimode fiber (i.e., fraction of filled modes < or =0.29), we report brightness enhancements of 8.0 dB for 19 x 1 bundles, 6.7 dB for 7 x 1 bundles, and 4.0 dB for 3 x 1 combiners. Our measured coupling efficiency variations of approximately 1%-2% among the various fibers in a given bundle confirm the uniformity and quality of the fabricated devices.     

Molecular weight characteristics of humic substances from different environments as determined by size exclusion chromatography and their statistical evaluation

Recorded molecular weights (MWs) for humic substances (HS) range from a few hundred to millions of daltons. For purposes of defining HS as a specific class of chemical compounds, it is of particular importance to ascertain if this broad range of MWs can be attributed to actual variability in molecular properties or is simply an artifact of the analytical techniques used to characterize HS. The main objectives of this study were (1)to establish if a preferential range of MWs exists for HS and (2) to determine any consistent MW properties of HS. To reach the goal, we have undertaken an approach to measure under standardized conditions the MW characteristics of a large set of HS from different natural environments. Seventy-seven humic materials were isolated from freshwater, soil, peat, and coal, such that each possessed a different fractional composition: humic acid (HA), fulvic acid (FA), and a nonfractionated mixture of HA and FA (HF). Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) was used as the analytical technique to determine molecular weight characteristics. The MW distributions were characterized by number (Mn) and weight (Mw) average MW, and by polydispersity. The complete range of Mw values varied within 4.7-30.4 kDa. The maximum Mw values were observed for peat HF and soil HA, whereas the smallest weights were measured for river water HF. Maximum values of polydispersity (3.5-4.4) were seen for peat HF and soil HA, while much lower values (1.6-3.1) were found for all preparations isolated with XAD-resins. Statistical evaluation showed consistent Mw and Mn variations with the HS source, while polydispersity was mostly a function of the isolation procedure used. A conclusion was made that HS have a preferential range of MW values that could characterize them as a specific class of chemical compounds.     

Oxidative properties and chemical stability of fluoronanotubes in matrixes of binary inorganic compounds

The chemical stability of fluoronanotubes in selected solid inorganic matrixes has been studied by initially mixing and mechanically grinding the components and subsequently heating them at temperatures ranging from 35 to 600 degrees C. The inorganic compounds selected for matrixes included halides (KBr, KI, Lil, LiBr, LiCl, NaCl, Znl2), oxides (Li2O, Fe2O3, PbO, MnO), lithium peroxide (Li2O2), potassium superoxide (KO2), sulfides (Li2S and ZnS), zinc selenide (ZnSe), lithium nitride (Li3N), and aluminum phosphide (AIP). Solid products, resulting from the proceeding chemical reactions, were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and SEM/EDX elemental analysis. Gaseous and volatile products were identified with the help of the TGA/MS technique. Experimental data presented in this paper provide clear evidence that fluoronanotubes are not chemically inert toward the solid matrixes studied and exhibit significant oxidative properties in the redox reactions occurring under various temperatures, depending on the nature of the inorganic compound.     

AO-spectrum analyzer implementation into CDMA-telecommunications with enhanced SIR-factors

The devices for real-time narrowband interference measurements within the code division multiple access (CDMA) cellular communication system on the base of the acousto-optic spectrum analyzer (AOSA) with satisfactory performances can be designed. The overlay model giving significant advantages in the interference immunity for simultaneous operation of the wideband (CDMA) and the narrowband time division multiple access (TDMA) cellular systems is proposed.     

Investigating factors associated with the spillover effect of investments in telecoms: Do some transition economies pay too much for too little?

One of the routes by which investments in information and communication technologies (ICT) could impact a macroeconomic bottom line of economies is by contributing to total factor productivity (TFP), an important component of economic growth. While the more traditional “investments to revenues” resource-intensive path has been well researched, the nature of the indirect “investments to TFP” link remains much less clear. Specifically, it is not well understood what conditions must be present for economies to exhibit the relationship between investments and TFP. In the current study, conducted in the context of 18 transition economies in Europe and the former Soviet Union, we aim to identify some of the factors associated with the presence of the relationship between the subset of investments in ICT, investments in telecoms, and two components of TFP – change in efficiency and change in technology. The results of the analysis of the data set spanning from 1993 to 2002 suggest that while the presence of the link between investments and change in technology was associated with the level of investments, the presence of the relationship between investments and change in efficiency was associated with the quality of a full-time telecom workforce. The consequent analysis of the data set spanning from 2003 to 2008 supports this finding and also provides evidence of the importance of the macroeconomic strategies that balance an increase in the levels of investments with the increase in the levels of efficiency of utilization of investments and the generation of revenues.     

Robust decentralized stabilization of Markovian jump large-scale systems: A neighboring mode dependent control approach

This paper is concerned with the decentralized stabilization problem for a class of uncertain large-scale systems with Markovian jump parameters. The controllers use local subsystem states and neighboring mode information to generate local control inputs. A sufficient condition involving rank constrained linear matrix inequalities is proposed for the design of such controllers. A numerical example is given to illustrate the developed theory.     

Absolute stability of positive systems with differential constraints

We consider discrete-time systems x(k + 1) = Ax(k) + f(x(k)) where the matrix A of the linear part is known and positive, the non-linearity f is unknown but belongs to a class for which A + f(x) is positive with spectral radius < 1 for all x Rⁿ. This, with the additional property that x - Ax - f (x) is proper, is sufficient for global stability of the system. The results are applied to the continuous system x. = Ax + B phialt(C^T x) by considering the translation operator along trajectories and studying the resulting discrete system.     

Relaxation Properties of Pressure-sensitive Adhesives upon Withdrawal of Bonding Pressure

Relaxation properties of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSA) have been studied with the squeeze-recoil tester used in the regime of parallel-plate dilatometer under conditions imitating the removal of compressive force in the course of adhesive bond formation. The relaxation properties of PSAs are compared with their adhesive behavior measured using the 180-Deg Peel Test. Two classes of PSAs are considered: 1) conventional rubbery adhesives based on the mixtures of styrene-isoprene-styrene (SIS) block copolymer with a tackifier resin and a plasticizer, and butyl rubber plasticized with low-molecular-weight polyisobutylene, and 2) hydrophilic PSAs composed of the blends of high-molecular-weight poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) with oligomeric polyethylene glycol (PEG). By comparing the adhesive and relaxation behaviors of different PSAs, the relaxation criteria for pressure-sensitive adhesion have been stated. Relaxation behavior of the examined PSAs demonstrates two values of retardation time: the shorter retardation time of 10–70?sec and the longer time of 300–660?sec. These times can be associated, respectively, with small- and large-scale mechanisms of strain recovery. By comparing the relaxation and adhesive properties of PVP-PEG blend (which involves the formation of a hydrogen-bonded network through both terminal hydroxyl groups in PEG short chains) with the properties of covalently crosslinked copolymers of vinyl pyrrolidone (VP) with PEG-diacrylate and comb-like VP copolymers with PEG-monomethacrylate, the contributions of covalent crosslinking and H-bonding network have been characterized.     

Euclidean space controllability of singularly perturbed linear systems with state delay

A singularly perturbed linear time-dependent control system with small point and distributed delays in state variables is considered. Connections between the properties of controllability of the reduced-order and boundary-layer systems, associated with the original one, and such a property of the original system itself are established.