Simulation of the optical properties of plate aggregates for application to the remote sensing of cirrus clouds

In regions of deep tropical convection, ice particles often undergo aggregation and form complex chains. To investigate the effect of the representation of aggregates on electromagnetic scattering calculations, we developed an algorithm to efficiently specify the geometries of aggregates and to compute some of their geometric parameters, such as the projected area. Based on in situ observations, ice aggregates are defined as clusters of hexagonal plates with a chainlike overall shape, which may have smooth or roughened surfaces. An aggregate representation is developed with 10 ensemble members, each consisting of between 4-12 hexagonal plates. The scattering properties of an individual aggregate ice particle are computed using either the discrete dipole approximation or an improved geometric optics method, depending upon the size parameters. Subsequently, the aggregate properties are averaged over all geometries. The scattering properties of the aggregate representation closely agree with those computed from 1000 different aggregate geometries. As a result, the aggregate representation provides an accurate and computationally efficient way to represent all aggregates occurring within ice clouds. Furthermore, the aggregate representation can be used to study the influence of these complex ice particles on the satellite-based remote sensing of ice clouds. The computed cloud reflectances for aggregates are different from those associated with randomly oriented individual hexagonal plates. When aggregates are neglected, simulated cloud reflectances are generally lower at visible and shortwave-infrared wavelengths, resulting in smaller effective particle sizes but larger optical thicknesses.     

A method to measure the thermal neutron scattering properties of a sample by neutron wave propagation

For the determination of the thermal neutron diffusion coefficient for samples of limited size, it is proposed to use the neutron wave or pulse propagation method. A thin slab of the material under investigation is then placed between two blocks of a medium with known properties. Numerical calculations have been performed on such a system. It is found that, for a certain frequency and some specified conditions, the phase shift in the outer medium will be the same as if the sample had the same properties as the outer medium. This fact may be used for a measurement of the diffusion coefficient of the sample.     

A new high-precision optical technique to measure magnetostrictionof a thin magnetic film deposited on a substrate

The drive in data storage technology towards utilizing magnetic films with lower magnetostriction (to reduce the magnetoelastic energy term) and reduced thickness has resulted in the requirement for more sensitive, reliable, and easy-to-use tools to monitor magnetostriction. A measurement tool based on an in-plane rotating and saturating magnetic field and laser-beam-deflection technique, which is able to meet these requirements, is described. The tool developed offers high accuracy, large dynamic range, long-term stability, simple sample insertion, and a fast, easy measurement procedure. With this tool, the measurement of small magnetostriction coefficients of thin soft-magnetic films can become a simple, fast, and reliable procedure, thus helping the development of magnetic thin-film production processes and routine composition control     

Method to measure the optical properties of small volumes of diffusive media

The method consists of measuring the perturbation provoked by a small volume of the diffusive medium on light propagating through a medium of known optical properties. The absorption and the reduced scattering coefficients of the medium are retrieved from multidistance continuous-wave measurements of transmittance. The inversion procedure is based on the solution of the diffusion equation obtained with a perturbative approach. The method has been validated with Monte Carlo results. Examples of experimental results are reported.     

Nonlinear optical beam propagation for optical limiting

We implement numerical modeling of high-energy laser-pulse propagation through bulk nonlinear optical materials using focused beams. An executable program with a graphical user interface is made available to researchers for modeling the propagation of beams through materials much thicker than the diffraction length (up to 10(3) times longer). Ultrafast nonlinearities of the bound-electronic Kerr effect and two-photon absorption as well as time-dependent excited-state and thermal nonlinearities are taken into account. The hydrodynamic equations describing the rarefaction of the medium that is due to heating are solved to determine thermal index changes for nanosecond laser pulses. We also show how this effect can be simplified in some cases by an approximation that assumes instantaneous expansion (so-called thermal lensing approximation). Comparisons of numerical results with several Z-scan, optical limiting and beam distortion experiments are presented. Possible application to optimization of a passive optical limiter design is discussed.     

A novel technique to measure laser beam spot sizes

In this letter we report a novel technique to measure small laser beam spot sizes. We use the open aperture z-scan technique as a tool to measure the laser beam spot size. This technique measures small spot sizes with accuracy better than 10%.     

A broad-spectrum constitutive modeling technique applied to saline ice

The constitutive behavior of lab-grown saline ice subjected to isothermal, uniaxial tensile loadings is discussed. A rectangular plate specimen of S2 columnar saline ice was subjected to a uniform tensile stress perpendicular to the long axis of the column structure. This loading was selected to represent the stress field which occurs in the plane of natural ice covers under tension. The uniaxial stress state was applied with a recently developed, modified Reversed Direct Stress device. Two successive load histories were applied – creep-recovery cycles and monotonic stress ramps. A broad-spectrum, nonlinear viscoelastic modeling approach is used to develop a constitutive model of the strain response. Each parameter of the model is evaluated from the measured ice response to the creep-recovery loadings. The model provides an accurate representation of the experimental data with a delayed elastic compliance function in time power law form (t _n ,n= ) and a nonlinear stress exponent (σ _q ,q = ). Finally, the model is used to predict the strain response of the ice to the monotonic ramp loadings with good results. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Improved retrievals of the optical properties of cirrus clouds by a combination of lidar methods

We focus on improvement of the retrieval of optical properties of cirrus clouds by combining two lidar methods. We retrieve the cloud's optical depth by using independently the molecular backscattering profile below and above the cloud [molecular integration (MI) method] and the backscattering profile inside the cloud with an a priori effective lidar ratio [particle integration (PI) method]. When the MI method is reliable, the combined MI-PI method allows us to retrieve the optimal effective lidar ratio. We compare these results with Raman lidar retrievals. We then use the derived optimal effective lidar ratio for retrieval with the PI method for situations in which the MI method cannot be applied.     

A nonlinear propagation model-based phase calibration technique for membrane hydrophones

A technique for the phase calibration of membrane hydrophones in the frequency range up to 80 MHz is described. This is achieved by comparing measurements and numerical simulation of a nonlinearly distorted test field. The field prediction is obtained using a finite-difference model that solves the nonlinear Khokhlov-Zabolotskaya-Kuznetsov (KZK) equation in the frequency domain. The measurements are made in the far field of a 3.5 MHz focusing circular transducer in which it is demonstrated that, for the high drive level used, spatial averaging effects due to the hydrophone's finite-receive area are negligible. The method provides a phase calibration of the hydrophone under test without the need for a device serving as a phase response reference, but it requires prior knowledge of the amplitude sensitivity at the fundamental frequency. The technique is demonstrated using a 50-microm thick bilaminar membrane hydrophone, for which the results obtained show functional agreement with predictions of a hydrophone response model. Further validation of the results is obtained by application of the response to the measurement of the high amplitude waveforms generated by a modern biomedical ultrasonic imaging system. It is demonstrated that full deconvolution of the calculated complex frequency response of a nonideal hydrophone results in physically realistic measurements of the transmitted waveforms.     

Using Rasch modeling to measure acculturation in youth

Ethnic differences in health outcomes are assumed to reflect levels of acculturation, among other factors. Health surveys frequently include language and social interaction items taken from existing acculturation instruments. This study evaluated the dimensionality of responses to typical bilinear items in Latino youth using Rasch modeling. Two seven-item scales measuring Anglo-Hispanic orientation were adapted from Marin and Gamba (1996) and Cuellar, Arnold, and Maldonado (1995). Most of the items fit the Rasch model. However, there were gaps in both the Hispanic and Anglo scales. The Anglo items were not well targeted for the sample because most students reported they always spoke English. The lack of variability found in a heterogeneous sample of Latino youth has negative implications for the common practice of relying on language as a measure of acculturation. Acculturation instruments for youth probably need more sensitive items to discriminate linguistic differences, or to measure other factors.     

A novel technique to measure the dynamic response of an opticalphase modulator

This paper describes a novel technique that can be used to measure the frequency response of an optical phase modulator. An interesting feature of this technique is that it does not require the use of an interferometer for phase-to-amplitude conversion, thus alleviating stability and alignment problems. Instead, the electro-optically induced birefringence of the modulator and a simple polarizer are used to transform phase modulation into intensity modulation. The latter is detected with a high-speed photodiode and, for a sinusoidal modulating signal, the resulting output power spectrum is shown to be related to the actual phase modulation index by simple mathematical expressions involving Bessel functions. Using only a spectrum analyzer, the magnitude and the variations of the modulation index are measured over a broad frequency range     

Wavelet operators for nonlinear optical pulse propagation

A method that uses discrete wavelet transforms for the solution of evolution equations that describe optical pulse propagation in nonlinear media is presented. The theory of orthogonal wavelet transforms is outlined and applied to the representation of optical pulses. Wavelet transform representations of propagation operators are presented and applied to the nonlinear Schr?dinger equation, yielding results that are indistinguishable from traditional Fourier-based simulations. The compression properties of wavelet representations of optical pulses permit significant improvement in execution speed compared with that of the split-step Fourier method.     

Integral equations applied to wave propagation in two dimensions: modeling the tip of a near-field scanning optical microscope

We present a Green's-function/Green's-theorem integral equation approach to numerically modeling two-dimensional, s-polarized, wave propagation problems effectively for a variety of geometries. The model accurately calculates both near fields and far fields because of the minimal assumptions made on the behavior of the scattered radiation. The method was applied to modeling light emission from a near-field scanning optical microscope fiber tip. Several convergence and energy tests were used to give confidence in the results. The behavior of intensity and power near the tip was investigated. The effects of changing the dielectric constant of a sample material located below the tip were also examined.     

Adaptive optical transmitter and receiver for space communication through thin clouds

Optical space communication from satellite to ground or air to air consists of clouds as part of communication channels. Propagation of optical pulses through clouds causes widening and deformation in the time domain and attenuation of the pulse radiant power. These effects decrease the received signal and limit the information bandwidth of the communication system. Having dealt with the other effects previously, here we concentrate on pulse broadening in the time domain. We derive a mathematical model of an adaptive optical communication system with a multiscattering channel (atmospheric cloud). We use knowledge about the impulse response function of the cloud to adapt the communication parameters to the transfer function of the cloud. The communication system includes a receiver and a transmitter. We adapted the transmitter to atmospheric conditions by changing the bit error rate. One can adapt the receiver to the atmospheric condition by changing the parameters of the detector and the filter. An example for a practical communication system between a low Earth orbit satellite and a ground station cover by cloud is given. Comparison and analysis of an adaptive and semiadaptive system with cloud channels are presented. Our conclusion is that in some cases only by such adaptive methods is optical communication possible.     

A model/solution-adaptive explicit-implicit time-marching technique for wave propagation analysis

In this work, an explicit-implicit time-marching procedure with model/ solution-adaptive time integration parameters is proposed for the analysis of hyperbolic models. The two time integrators of the methodology are locally evaluated, enabling their different spatial and temporal distributions. The first parameter defines the explicit/implicit subdomains of the model, and it is defined in a way that stability is always ensured, as well as period elongation errors are reduced; the second parameter controls the dissipative properties of the methodology, allowing spurious high-frequency modes to be properly eliminated, rendering reduced amplitude decay errors. In addition, the proposed explicit-implicit approach allows contracted systems of equations to be obtained, reducing the computational effort of the analysis. The main features of the novel methodology can be summarized as follows: (i) it is simple; (ii) it is locally defined; (iii) it has guaranteed stability; (iv) it is an efficient noniterative single-step procedure; (v) it provides enhanced accuracy; (vi) it enables advanced controllable algorithmic dissipation in the higher modes; (vii) it considers a link between the temporal and the spatial discretization; (viii) it stands as a single-solve framework based on reduced systems of equations; (ix) it is truly self-starting; and (x) it is entirely automatic.