The Interpretation of Phase-Slip and Critical-Velocity Data from the Flow of Superfluid 4He through a 2 μm by 2 μm Aperture

An analysis has been made of phase-slip and critical-velocity data for both the ac and dc flow of superfluid ⁴ He through a 2 m by 2 m aperture in a 0.1-m-thick titanium foil between 0.36 and 2.10 K. Single-2 phase slips were resolvable over the entire range of temperature in the ac flow measurements, carried out between 10 and 20 Hz, making it possible to determine the width of the critical-velocity distribution throughout the temperature range from these measurements. These data have been interpreted in terms of the thermal nucleation of vortex half-rings at the walls of the aperture, involving a velocity- and temperature-dependent energy barrier. The barrier can be modeled with moderate success using an approach close to that of Avenel and Varoquaux and coworkers.     

A test of a planar spark counter of 500 μm spark gap

A planar spark counter of 500 μm spark gap was tested with cosmic rays. A time resolution of 134 ps was achieved. The test was carried out for several quenching gas pressures. The best performance was obtained at a gas pressure of 4 atm (2.5 atm of argon and 1.5 atm of the quenching gas). The counter efficiency was about 93%. This low pressure permits easy construction of the counter with a thin pressure vessel. Subsequent measurements using ⁶⁰Co γ-ray sources gave a discharged area of about 5 mm in diameter.     

Study of a Helium Film in 10 μm Porous Glass by Torsional Oscillator in Free Decay Mode

Dissipation and superfluid density of a thin helium film (superfluid transition at temperature T_c=0.88 K), placed in 10 m porous glass are studied as a function of oscillation amplitude or AC amplitude at fixed temperatures near superfluid transition. The measurements are performed using a high-Q torsional oscillator in the free decay mode as well as constant drive mode. Results show decreasing superfluid density with increasing velocity and non-monotonic behavior of the dissipation in the film.     

Fatigue striation in a wide range of crack propagation rates up to 70 μm/cycle in a ductile structural steel

The relationship between striation spacing and fatigue crack propagation rate up to 70 m/cycle was investigated for a ductile structural steel, qualified as JIS SM58Q. A modified compact-type specimen 400 mm wide and a centre-cracked specimen 200 mm wide were tested at a stress ratio, R, of 0 and 0.8. The fracture surface of the specimen was examined in detail under a scanning electron microscope. The crack propagation rate was expressed by a power function of the range of stress intensity factor from 0.1 to 70 m/cycle for R=0 and to 0.5 m/cycle for R=0.8. The striation spacing coincided with the fatigue crack propagation rate over the range 0.1 to 70 m/cycle. The profile of striation was found to be a ridge and valley type, and the ridges on one fracture surface coincided with those on the matching surface. It is suggested that the striation is formed by a plastic blunting mechanism.     

Coupled-cavity concept applied to a highly compact single-frequency laser operating in the 2 μm spectral region

We present a highly compact and cost-efficient Tm:YAP laser setup supporting single-frequency operation at a significantly high efficiency. The coupled-cavity concept was used to design a single-frequency laser operating at 1990 nm. Single-frequency output power of 784 mW was obtained when the absorbed pumping power was 2.4 W. The optical-to-optical efficiency was 33%, and the slope efficiency was 52%.     

Measurements of 10·6 μm Radiation Scattered by a Pseudo-random Surface of Rectangular Grooves

Measurements are presented of scattering of CO₂ laser radiation by a phase screen of rectangular grooves whose widths have a predetermined statistical distribution. The scattering statistics are interpreted using Huygens-Fresnel optics. The measurements provide a valuable model of scattering by naturally occurring phenomena.     

Specific Heat Near the Superfluid Transition of a 0.9869 μm 4He Film

We report measurements of the specific heat of ⁴He near the superfluid transition while confined between silicon wafers at 0.9869 m separation. These data are analyzed to check on the behavior expected from correlation-length scaling. Comparison is also made with other data for planar confinement, as well as data for cylindrical confinement. These represent different lower-dimensional crossovers. We find that the present data scale very well above the bulk transition temperature, and in the region immediately below it. Near the specific heat maximum however, the data for planar confinement do not collapse on a universal curve. We compare these results with specific theoretical scaling functions. In particular we find that on the normal side, and for large enough values of the scaling variable, one can describe the data well using the concept of the surface specific heat. The locus of the data in this region agrees well with the most recent theoretical calculations.     

Multilayer structures with quantum dots in the InAs/GaAs system emitting at a wavelength of 1.3 μm

The optical properties of multilayer structures with quantum dots in the heteroepitaxial InAs/GaAs system have been studied. The structures were obtained by the method of submonolayer migration-stimulated epitaxy. It is shown that the optimized growth conditions provide room-temperature luminescence at a wavelength of 1.3 μm.     

Atmospheric CO2 measurements with a 2 μm airborne laser absorption spectrometer employing coherent detection

We report airborne measurements of CO(2) column abundance conducted during two 2009 campaigns using a 2.05 μm laser absorption spectrometer. The two flight campaigns took place in the California Mojave desert and in Oklahoma. The integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) method is used for the CO(2) column mixing ratio retrievals. This instrument and the data analysis methodology provide insight into the capabilities of the IPDA method for both airborne measurements and future global-scale CO(2) measurements from low Earth orbit pertinent to the NASA Active Sensing of CO(2) Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons mission. The use of a favorable absorption line in the CO(2) 2 μm band allows the on-line frequency to be displaced two (surface pressure) half-widths from line center, providing high sensitivity to the lower tropospheric CO(2). The measurement repeatability and measurement precision are in good agreement with predicted estimates. We also report comparisons with airborne in situ measurements conducted during the Oklahoma campaign.     

AlGaAsSb lasers emitting in the 1.6 μm region

AlGaAsSb lasers with different Al concentrations in the active and confinement regions are fabricated and investigated. The structures lase in the region ∼1.6 μm. The AlGaAsSb solid solution in the active region is a direct-gap material with a small energy separation (∼56 meV) between the direct-gap Γ minimum and the indirect-gap L minimum of the conduction band. The lasers have a single-mode spectrum with a predominant longitudinal mode in the spatial distribution of the emission. The lasers operate at room temperature in a pulsed mode. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 25, 35–41 (May 26, 1999)     

Performance improvement and analysis of a 1.6 μm continuous-wave modulation laser absorption spectrometer system for CO2 sensing

In a previous study, we developed a 1.6 μm continuous-wave (cw) modulation laser absorption spectrometer system for CO(2) sensing and demonstrated the measurement of small fluctuations in CO(2) corresponding to a precision of 4 parts per million (ppm) with a measurement interval of 32 s. In this paper, we present the process to achieve this highly specific measurement by introducing important points, which have not been shown in the previous study. Following the results of preliminary experiments, we added a function for speckle averaging on the optical antenna unit. We additionally came up with some ideas to avoid the influences of etalon effects and polarization dependence in optical components. Because of the new functions, we realized a calibration precision of 0.006 dB (rms), which corresponds to a CO(2) concentration precision of less than 1 ppm for a 2 km path. We also analyzed the CO(2) sensing performance after the improvements described above. The measured short time fluctuation of the differential absorption optical depth was reasonably close to that calculated using the carrier-to-noise ratio of the received signal.     

Comparison between the Efficiencies of sub-2 μm C(18) Particles Packed in Narrow Bore Columns

The chromatographic performance of two types of core-shell particles and two fully porous particles packed in 2.1 ID × 50 mm columns was investigated. Comparisons of the performances of the EiS-150-C(18) to that of the Kinetex-1.7 μm-C(18), Acquity-BEH-1.7 μm-C(18), and Zorbax-XDB-1.8 μm-C(18) are made and discussed. The physical factors that govern the performance of these columns, such as particle size distribution and column external, total, and particle porosity of the C(18) packing materials were among the prime foci of investigation. The differences in the mass transfer behavior measured using naphtho[2,3-a]pyrene between these columns provides an indication of improved performance of the new EiS-150-C(18) column. The minimum reduced height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP) value for the EiS-150-C(18), h(min) = 1.95, was achieved and was comparable to that obtained from the C(18) phases of the Kinetex (h(min) = 2.53), the Acquity (h(min) = 2.26), and the Zorbax (h(min) = 2.57) columns. This study reveals the importance of the dimension of the shell thickness in controlling the performance of columns packed with shell particles in narrow bore columns.     

Photonic crystalline IR fibers for the spectral range of 2-40 μm

Monocrystals of Ag(1-x)Tl(x)Br(1-x)I(x) and Ag(1-x)Tl(x)Cl(y)I(z)Br(1-y-z) for the spectral range from 2.0 to 40.0 μm with improved photostability were developed and grown. The grown crystals were used for fabrication of single-mode IR fibers. Experimental studies of optical properties of these fibers have confirmed their single-mode operation at CO2 laser wavelength and demonstrated wider mode field for microstructured fiber compared to fibers with conventional double-layered structure.     

3He NMR with a 100 μm Planar Nb Coil

A superconducting 100 m planar coil has been tested for low field cw NMR. The nine-turn 5 nH coil is connected via a planar 1:8 step-up transformer to an external parallel capacitor and resonated at 0.8 MHz to give a Q of 350. The tank circuit voltage is measured with a liquid He temperature GaAs MESFET preamplifier. Test experiments have been conducted by immersing the Si chip with the planar pick-up coil in liquid and solid ³ He to measure their cw NMR absorptions in the temperature range 0.05 – 0.5 K.     

Ultra-broadband,coherent mid-IR supercontinuum expanding from 1.5 to 12.2 μm in new design of AsSe2 photonic crystal fibre

We propose a new design of AsSe₂ photonic crystal fibre (PCF) with all-normal dispersion, nearly zero flat-top used to generate an ultra-broadband supercontinuum spanning from 1.5 to 12.2 μm. Simulated results show that, when we use only 1 mm of AsSe₂ PCF, a broadband mid-infrared supercontinuum with the specrum extent from 1.5 to 12.2 μm is obtained with a very low input energy of E = 1.3 nJ at the wavelength of 3.5 μm and pulse duration of 100 fs. We study the temporel and spectral impact of optical wave breaking in the development of the continuum. The influence of the fibre length, the input energy and the full width at half maximum is investigated. Compared to previous research works, we have obtained the broadest, coherent supercontinuum, which could be applicable in biomolecular sensing, cancer diagnostics, infrared spectroscopy and free space communication.     

Feasibility study on 1.6 μm continuous-wave modulation laser absorption spectrometer system for measurement of global CO2 concentration from a satellite

A feasibility study is carried out on a 1.6 μm continuous-wave modulation laser absorption spectrometer system for measurement of global CO(2)concentration from a satellite. The studies are performed for wavelength selection and both systematic and random error analyses. The systematic error in the differential absorption optical depth (DAOD) is mainly caused by the temperature estimation error, surface pressure estimation error, altitude estimation error, and ON wavelength instability. The systematic errors caused by unwanted backscattering from background aerosols and dust aerosols can be reduced to less than 0.26% by using a modulation frequency of around 200 kHz, when backscatter coefficients of these unwanted backscattering have a simple profile on altitude. The influence of backscattering from cirrus clouds is much larger than that of dust aerosols. The transmission power required to reduce the random error in the DAOD to 0.26% is determined by the signal-to-noise ratio and the carrier-to-noise ratio calculations. For a satellite altitude of 400 km and receiving aperture diameter of 1 m, the required transmission power is approximately 18 W and 70 W when albedo is 0.31 and 0.08, respectively; the total measurement time in this case is 4 s, which corresponds to a horizontal resolution of 28 km.     

Gas Pressure Dependence of the Heat Transport in Porous Solids with Pores Smaller than 10 μm

To elucidate the gaseous heat transfer in open porous materials with pore sizes below 10 μm, an experimental setup for hot-wire measurements at high gas pressures was designed and tested. The samples investigated were organic, resorcinol–formaldehyde-based aerogels with average pore sizes of about 600 nm and 7μm. The range in gas pressure covered was 10 Pa to 10 MPa. To avoid effects due to mass transport along the inner surface of the porous backbone of the samples, He and Ar, i.e., gases with very low interaction with the sample surface at ambient temperature, were chosen. The study reveals a significant contribution of coupling effects to the thermal transport in nanoporous media. A model has been developed that qualitatively describes the observed gas pressure dependence of the heat transport.     

Light emission at 2 μm from Ho-Tm-Yb doped silicate glasses

The 2.0 μm emission properties and thermal stability of Yb-Tm-Ho triply-doped silicate glass are investigated. The characteristic temperatures, absorption spectrum and fluorescence spectra of the glasses are measured. Intensive emission near 2.0 μm is observed upon excitation at 980 nm and the corresponding mechanisms are discussed. Based on the measured absorption spectra, the absorption and emission cross sections, the Judd-Ofelt parameters and radiative properties are calculated and discussed. The predicted spontaneous transition probability for Ho³⁺:⁵I₇ → ⁵I₈ transition in silicate glass is 58.05 s⁻¹. The results indicate that the energy transfer in Yb³⁺ → Tm³⁺, Yb³⁺ → Ho³⁺, Tm³⁺ → Ho³⁺ is efficient and the Yb-Tm-Ho triply-doped silicate glass is a promising 2.0 μm laser glass material.     

Simultaneous measurements of CO2 and CO using a single distributed-feedback (DFB) diode laser near 1.57 μm at elevated temperatures

A sensor using a single distributed-feedback (DFB) diode laser at 1.57 μm for the simultaneous measurement of CO(2) and CO concentration at elevated temperatures is developed. A proper line pair near 6361.250 and 6361.344 cm(-1) is chosen based on absorption strength, separation of the two lines, and isolation from interference of neighboring transitions of the major combustion gases. The concentrations of CO(2) and CO are inferred from their wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) 1?-normalized absorption-based WMS-2? signal peak heights. The CO(2) and CO concentration measurements are within 3.3% and 5% of the expected values over the full temperature range.     

Certification of NIST SRM 1962: 3 μm Diameter Polystyrene Spheres

This report describes the certification of SRM 1962, a NIST Standard Reference Material for particle diameter. It consists of an aqueous suspension of monosize 3 (μm polystyrene spheres. Two calibration techniques were used: optical microscopy and electron microscopy. The first one gave a mean diameter of D¯=2.977±0.011 μm and a standard deviation of the size distribution σ_D = 0.020 μm, based on measurement of 4600 spheres. The second technique gave D¯=2.990±0.009 μm, based on measurement of 120 spheres. The reported value covering the two results is D¯=2.983 μm with a maximum uncertainly of 0.016 μm, with σ_D=0.020 μm.