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.     

The optical spectra characterization of Cr2+:ZnSe polycrystalline synthesized by direct reaction of Zn–Cr alloy and element Se

Cr²⁺:ZnSe materials have attracted much attention as candidates for mid-infrared laser source either in the form of polycrystalline powders, or bulk ceramics, single crystals and nano-materials. In this work, a novel method for synthesizing Cr²⁺:ZnSe polycrystalline by direct reaction of Zn–Cr alloy and element Se (DRAE) was proposed. The zinc alloy containing 0.1 at% Cr was prepared by dissolving Cr in zinc liquid in a closed quartz ampoule. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that the synthesized Cr²⁺:ZnSe polycrystalline was with a Zinc-blend structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra showed that there was no un-reacted element of Zn, or Se. Cr²⁺ ions successfully and uniformly doped into ZnSe crystal lattice, which is confirmed by the diffuse reflectance spectrum, Raman spectrum and mid-infrared photoluminescence spectra. Furthermore, the sample showed excellent mid-infrared properties without luminescence quenching in the region 1800–3000 nm, and the decay-time was about 5 μs. The as-synthesized Cr²⁺:ZnSe polycrystalline meets the requirement for the preparation of mid-infrared ceramic or single crystals. These results indicate that the novel strategy of DRAE is valid for the synthesis of other transition metal doped ZnSe materials.     

Crystal-field engineering of ultrabroadband mid-infrared emission in Co2+-doped nano-chalcogenide glass composites

Tunable and ultrabroadband mid-infrared (MIR) emissions in the range of 2.5–4.5 μm are firstly reported from Co²⁺-doped nano-chalcogenide (ChG) glass composites. The composites embedded with a variety of binary (ZnS, CdS, ZnSe) and ternary (ZnCdS, ZnSSe) ChG nanocrystals (NCs) can be readily obtained by a simple one-step thermal annealing method. They are highly transparent in the near- and mid-infrared wavelength region. Low-cost and commercially available Er³⁺-doped fiber lasers can be used as the excitation source. By crystal-field engineering of the embedded NCs through cation- or anion-substitution, the emission properties of Co²⁺ including its emission peak wavelength and bandwidth can be tailored in a broad spectral range. The phenomena can be accounted for by crystal-field theory. Such nano-ChG composites, perfectly filling the 3–4 μm spectral gap between the oscillations of Cr²⁺ and Fe²⁺ doped IIVI ChG crystals, may find important MIR photonic applications (e.g., gas sensing), or can be used directly as an efficient pump source for Fe²⁺: IIVI crystals which are suffering from lack of pump sources.     

Design of data feature-driven 1D/2D convolutional neural networks classifier for recycling black plastic wastes through laser spectroscopy

In this study, two types of convolutional neural network (CNN) classifiers are designed to handle the problem of classifying black plastic wastes. In particular, the black plastic wastes have the property of absorbing laser light coming from spectrometer. Therefore, the classification of black plastic wastes remains still a challenging problem compared to classifying other colored plastic wastes using existing spectroscopy (i.e., NIR). When it comes the classification problem of black plastic wastes, effective classification techniques by the laser spectroscopy of Fourier Transform-Infrared Radiation (FT-IR) with Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) and Raman to analyze the classification problem of black plastic wastes are introduced. Due to the strong ability of extracting spatial features and remarkable performance in image classification, 1D and 2D CNN through data features are designed as classifiers. The technique of chemical peak points selection is considered to reduce data redundancy. Furthermore, through the selection of data features based on the extracted 1D data with peak points is introduced. Experimental results demonstrate that 2DCNN classifier designed with the help of 2D data feature selection as well as 1DCNN classifier shows the best performance compared with other reported methods for classifying black plastic wastes.     

Quantum dot cascade laser

We demonstrated an unambiguous quantum dot cascade laser based on InGaAs/GaAs/InAs/InAlAs heterostructure by making use of self-assembled quantum dots in the Stranski-Krastanow growth mode and two-step strain compensation active region design. The prototype generates stimulated emission at λ ~ 6.15 μm and a broad electroluminescence band with full width at half maximum over 3 μm. The characteristic temperature for the threshold current density within the temperature range of 82 to 162 K is up to 400 K. Moreover, our materials show the strong perpendicular mid-infrared response at about 1,900 cm^-1. These results are very promising for extending the present laser concept to terahertz quantum cascade laser, which would lead to room temperature operation.

PACS

42.55.Px; 78.55.Cr; 78.67.Hc     

Effect of microwave treatment on the cooking and macronutrient qualities of pulses

The effect of microwave treatment to reduce the cooking times of five pulses, namely red lentil, chickpea, pigeon pea, mung bean, and pinto bean, were determined in this study. Pulses from 10 to 18% moisture contents were treated using 400 to 600 W microwaves for 14 to 56 s. The cooking times of microwave-treated pulses were significantly lower than that of the control samples. The lowest cooking time was observed for 18% moisture content chickpea and pigeon pea treated with 600 W for 56 s. The Fourier transform mid-infrared spectra in both lipids and fingerprint regions showed the macronutrients differences among the five pulses. Major changes were observed in the amide I region of microwave treated pulses. This effect of microwave treatment was higher in red lentil, chickpea, and mung bean than in pigeon pea and pinto bean at 10% moisture content. At 18% moisture content, the change of β-sheets to aggregates was observed in all pulses due to microwave treatment.     

Synthesis of nanopowders with low agglomeration by elaborating Φ values for producing Gd2O3-MgO nanocomposites with extremely fine grain sizes and high mid-infrared transparency

Refining ceramic microstructures to the nanometric range to minimize light scattering provides an interesting methodology for developing novel optical ceramic materials. In this work, we reported the fabrication and properties of a new nanocomposite optical ceramic of Gd₂O₃-MgO. The citric acid sol-gel combustion method was adopted to fabricate Gd₂O₃-MgO nanocomposites with fine-grain sizes, dense microstructures and homogeneous phase domains. Nanopowders with low agglomeration and improved sinterability can be obtained by elaborating Φ values. Further refining of the microstructure of the nanocomposites was achieved by elaborating the hot-pressing conditions. The sample sintered at 65 MPa and 1300 °C showed a quite high hardness value of 14.3 ± 0.2 GPa, a high transmittance of 80.3 %–84.7 % over the 3?6 μm wavelength range, due mainly to its extremely fine-grain size of Gd₂O₃ and MgO (93 and 78 nm, respectively) and high density.     

Rapid determination of soluble solids content and acidity of Black currant (Ribes nigrum L.) juice by mid-infrared spectroscopy performed in series

Black currant juice quality is a prime importance for growers and industrials. Such quality relies on the empirical and destructive measurements of soluble solids content and acidity. These measurements are time consuming and expensive. The serial analysis of the Black currant juice quality could allow the valuation of the product for the producer and saving of time for the manufacturer. Our objective was to develop predictive models of soluble solids content and acidity based on the mid-infrared spectroscopy performed in series.We showed that infrared spectroscopy allowed determining efficiently the quality of Black currant juices and that such technique could be performed in series. Soluble solids content were determined with a R²-value of 0.97 and an RMSECV of 1.14°Brix for a range of values comprised between 12.9°Brix and 16.42°Brix. Acidity content was determined with a R²-value of 0.96 and an RMSECV of 2.61 g L⁻¹ in a large range of values comprised between 14.87 g L⁻¹ and 36.27 g L⁻¹.These results allow asserting that the soluble solids content and the acidity of Black currant juice can be accurately determined by infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, a large number of measures can be performed in series, what opens perspectives for a practical application.     

中红外双通道夜间数据地表温度反演方法

地表温度反演是红外定量遥感的核心内容之一.与热红外(8~14μm)数据相比,中红外(3~5μm)波谱区大气透过率更高、对发射率的敏感性更低,在温度反演方面具有独特的优势.引入热红外地表温度反演思路,发展了仅利用夜间中红外双通道数据的地表温度反演算法,分析了宽通道组合(3~4μm和4~5μm)和窄通道组合(3.929~3.989μm和4.020~4.080μm)模式下的温度反演精度以及模型对噪声和发射率的敏感性.结果表明,宽、窄两种通道组合模型的温度反演精度分别为~0.5 K和~0.3 K;噪声等效温差和地表发射率误差对窄通道组合模型的影响更大.     

基于中红外量子级联激光器系统的甲醛和甲烷光谱检测

采用相对灵敏度为3.61×10-6cm-1Hz-1/2的QCL气体检测系统对室温下的甲醛气体进行了吸收光谱的测试,采用F-P标准具对系统进行相对频率校准,根据此波段甲烷的吸收谱线对甲醛吸收光谱进行绝对频率校准.当调谐QCL工作温度为-15℃~20℃,以每5℃变化时,采集并处理相应的频率调谐光谱.采用He,Ne,Kr,O2和CO2作为本波段的非吸收性缓冲气体作用于甲醛,通过计算光谱数据得出1 253.143 92 cm-1处甲醛的吸收线强度.给出了N2中的展宽光谱以及相应的光谱数据处理残差结果,并对结果进行了分析.