A series of Er~(3+)-activated SrLaGa_3O_7 single crystal fibers for mid-infrared laser application

A multidisciplinary approach for the production and characterization of a series of high concentration Er~(3+)activated SrLaGa_3 O_7(abbreviated as Er:SLGO) crystal fibers is shown to have a great promise for implementation in mid-infrared laser applications.The current approach includes the design and formation of unique layered tetrahedral network structures with several kinds of rare earth(RE) ions including Er ions distributing statistically between layers,such as Er:SLGO,Er,Nd:SLGO,Er,Yb,Ho:SLGO,Er,Eu:SLGO and Er,Ho:SLGO.Five kinds of Er:SLGO crystal fibers were designed to grow via a micropulling down method.Spectroscopic analyses show that Er,Yb,Ho:SLGO and Nd,Er:SLGO crystal fibers were superiorly endowed with inhomogeneous broadening absorption and strong emission.The unique structural components design enables the generation of improved absorption and emission recombination,and the inhibition of self-termination as well.Generally,the use of structural components design may warrant high-efficiency emissions in RE-doped crystal fibers.     

滚动轴承振动加速度信号积分测试技术研究

滚动轴承出厂时需要根据国家标准进行振动检测。对滚动轴承的振动进行测量的方法主要是采用速度型测振和加速度型测振。由于速度型测振仪和加速度型测振仪所采用的传感器不同,两者的测量结果有相关性,但测量结果并不一致。传统的轴承测振仪采用模拟电路,对加速度信号进行准确积分,难度较大;随着计算机测量技术的迅速发展,运用数字量测试和积分技术,可以采用对加速度信号进行积分得到速度的方法进行测试。通过对轴承的加速度信号进行积分,进行振动速度测量,可以在同样的测试条件下对轴承的振动加速度和振动速度进行比较,具有实际应用价值。本文采用数字量测试技术,以深沟球轴承为研究对象,对加速度积分算法进行研究,利用MATLAB和Lab VIEW软件编写了数字滤波器和时域积分算法,减去了时域积分产生的趋势项,降低了趋势项误差。通过实际测量实验,所得结果与轴承行业所用的标准精密模拟积分器所得结果具有较好的一致性,可以满足轴承振动速度测量的需要。     

Y2O3-MgO纳米复相红外透明陶瓷制备及其性能研究

以商用Y2O3、MgO纳米粉体为原料,通过球磨混合方法制备了不同Y2O3/MgO配比的Y2O3-MgO纳米复合粉体,使用X射线衍射、扫描电镜、能量色散谱等表征手段对制备粉体的晶体结构、形貌、成分以及均匀性进行了表征。然后采用热压烧结方法制备Y2O3-MgO复相红外透明陶瓷,使用红外光谱仪、维氏硬度计等测试设备对复相透明陶瓷的光学和力学性能进行了分析。重点研究了粉体配比、热压温度、保温和保压时间等关键制备参数对Y2O3-MgO复相红外透明陶瓷晶粒尺度、致密化程度、光学及力学性能的影响。并通过调控粉体制备工艺和热压烧结工艺,制备出了红外透过率达到~80%的Y2O3-MgO复相红外透明陶瓷。同时在Y2O3:Mg0=1:1时,该复相陶瓷的硬度达到了12.3 GPa。     

Optical constants of CuO and ZnO particles in the terahertz frequency range

The optical constants (complex dielectric function) of CuO and ZnO particles in polyethylene pellets are measured by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. The determination of the dielectric properties of these materials is of interest for energy-storage applications, for instance. Maxwell-Garnett theory is used to extract the contribution to the frequency-dependent optical constants of the oxide powders. The validity of the assumptions of Maxwell-Garnett theory are experimentally verified and self-consistency of the results of the model confirmed. On this basis, experimental complex permittivity values for isotropic CuO and ZnO oxide powders are reported in the 100 GHz-3 THz range.     

Upconversion nanoparticles: Recent strategies and mechanism based applications

Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) doped with lanthanides can convert near-infrared excitation into UV and visible emissions. Because of their relatively high emission efficiency, UCNPs are appealing materials for use in a variety of sectors. UCNPs are known for low auto-fluorescence, excellent chemical and thermal photo-stability, deep tissue penetration, exceptional biocompatibility, low toxicity, color purity, and ease of surface functionalization. In this review, we explain a few recent strategies to boost the efficiency and luminescence of upconversion nanoparticles and minimize quenching by fabricating them as core/shell, nanofibers, or heavily doped lanthanides. Applications of UCNPs in drug delivery, Photodynamic therapy (PDT), biosensors, bioimaging, and optogenetics are also discussed along with their mechanism of action. Our motivation for this review is to understand the working mechanism of UCNPs and their applications in various fields.     

Identification of factors that accelerate hydrogen production by Clostridium butyricum RAK25832 using casamino acids as a nitrogen source

The ability of Clostridium butyricum RAK25832 to use casamino acids as a nitrogen source was investigated. Strain RAK25832 showed the capacity to utilize different types of carbon sources. With glucose as a carbon source (10 g/L), the preferred final concentration of casamino acids was 26.67 g/L, with a cumulative hydrogen production, production rate, and yield of 2505 mL H₂/L, 160 mL/h, and 1.81 mol H₂/mol glucose, respectively. Eighteen metal elements were screened to identify the most important metals for biohydrogen production, and four elements were optimized. The optimal medium composition was MgCl₂·6H₂O (0.1 g/L), K₂HPO₄·3H₂O (6.67 g/L), NaHCO₃ (2.6 g/L), and FeCl₂·4H₂O (0.002 g/L). Vitamin supplementation of the medium showed no significant effect on hydrogen production. Under the optimized conditions, cumulative hydrogen production reached 3074 mL H₂/L. This is the first study to demonstrate the use of casamino acids as a nitrogen source by C. butyricum.     

Structural-microstructural characterization and optical properties of Eu3+,Tb3+-codoped LaPO4·nH2O and LaPO4 nanorods hydrothermally synthesized with microwaves

Rhabdophane-type Eu³⁺,Tb³⁺-codoped LaPO₄·nH₂O single-crystal nanorods with the compositions La_0.99999-xEu_xTb_0.00001PO₄·nH₂O (x?=?0–0.03), La_0.99999-yTb_yEu_0.00001PO₄·n′H₂O (y?=?0–0.010), and La_0.99999-zTb_zEu_0.000007PO₄·n′′H₂O (z?=?0–0.012) were hydrothermally synthesized with microwaves. It is shown that the Eu³⁺,Tb³⁺ codoping does not affect the thermal stability of these nanorods, which is due to the formation of substitutional solid solutions with both Eu³⁺ and Tb³⁺ replacing La³⁺ in the crystal lattice. Moreover, it is also shown that monazite-type Eu³⁺,Tb³⁺-codoped LaPO₄ single-crystal nanorods can be obtained by calcining their rhabdophane-type Eu³⁺,Tb³⁺-codoped LaPO₄·(n,n′ or n′′)H₂O counterparts at moderate temperature in air, and that they are thermally stable. It is also observed that, for the same Eu³⁺,Tb³⁺-codoping content, the monazite-type Eu³⁺,Tb³⁺-codoped LaPO₄ nanorods exhibit higher photoluminescent efficiency than the rhabdophane-type Eu³⁺,Tb³⁺-codoped LaPO₄· (n,n′ or n′′)H₂O nanorods. Moreover, it is found that the highest photoluminescence emission corresponds to the monazite-type La_0.96999Eu_0.02Tb_0.00001PO₄ nanorods for the La_0.99999-xEu_xTb_0.00001PO₄ system. However, for those compositions energy transfer from Tb³⁺ to Eu³⁺ does not occur. In addition, for an efficient energy transfer to occur, a content of at least 1?mol% Tb³⁺ is needed in all the studied materials.     

A novel proposal for all optical 3 to 8 decoder based on nonlinear ring resonators

In this paper, a 3 to 8 optical decoder was proposed using nonlinear photonic crystal ring resonators. For realizing the 3 to 8 decoder, we combined seven 1 to 2 optical decoders. In the proposed structure, X, Y and Z serve as input ports. By combination of these ports, one can control which output port to be ON. The maximum time delay of the proposed structure is about 6?ps.     

VO2-ZnO composite films with enhanced thermochromic properties for smart windows

VO₂ film is a promising thermochromic material in smart windows due to its reversible metal to insulator transition (MIT) accompanied with an abrupt change of transmittance in near-infrared region at around 68 °C (T>68 °C, translucent; T < 68 °C, transparent), but which has not been widely applied because its low luminous transmittance (<60%) and solar modulation efficiency (<10%) are difficult to be improved simultaneously. In order to solve this problem, the ZnO-VO₂ composite film was prepared by a facile method, in which commercial ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and VO₂ micro-particles were mixed by ball milling method to form the composites. By introducing ZnO NPs into the composite film, the luminous transmittance (T_lum) of the composite film was increased by 16.9% (from 54.9% to 63.9%) and the solar modulation efficiency (ΔT_sol) was increased by 14.1% (from 9.9% to 11.3%) compared to the pure VO₂ composite film. This was because ZnO NPs not only played the role of antireflection, but also prevented VO₂ particles from agglomeration by dispersing around VO₂ particles. Furthermore, the two-layered film based on ZnO-VO₂ composites exhibited an astonishing ΔT_sol of 18.8%, while maintaining excellent T_lum of 54.3%. This work could provide a simple and novel idea for us to improve the thermochromic properties of VO₂ films and simultaneously to promote their practical application.     

Online Detection of Ellipsoidal Bubbles by an Innovative Optical Approach

Bubble and droplet size distribution influence chemical processes markedly. In order to enable an in‐line analysis of these distributions, a new single‐sided endoscopic version of the Optical Multimode Online Probe (OMOP) was developed. The acquired images are analyzed to gain bubble size distributions (BSDs) and main diagonals. A specific workflow was developed to detect and analyze overlapping bubbles based on standard image processing techniques. It can handle overlapping bubbles of both circular and elliptical shapes. Results confirmed that the combination of OMOP and the image processing workflow leads to robust detection of bubbles from two‐dimensional images. The new single‐sided OMOP proved to be a suitable tool for the acquisition of a BSD at industrial scale within a reasonable computing time.