Singular behavior of the spectrum in the neighborhood of focus

In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 013901 (2002)] it was shown that when a convergent spatially coherent polychromatic wave is diffracted at an aperture, remarkable spectral changes take place on axis in the neighborhood of certain points near the geometrical focus. In particular, it was shown that the spectrum is red-shifted at some points, blueshifted at others, and split into two lines elsewhere. In the present paper we extend the analysis and show that similar changes take place in the focal plane, in the neighborhood of the dark rings of the Airy pattern.     

Phenomenon of spectral switches as a new effect in singular optics with polychromatic light

It is shown that the recently discovered phenomenon of so-called spectral switches has a natural interpretation in the framework of singular optics with polychromatic light and that it should be regarded as being primarily a manifestation of diffraction-induced spectral changes rather than correlation-induced spectral changes as was suggested in the original papers [the first one appearing in Opt. Commun. 162, 57 (1999)] reporting this effect.     

Water-resistant,oil-based,intumescing fire-retardant coatings. I. Developmental formulations

Water-resistant, in tumescing fire-retardant paints have been formulated from different types of chemically modified oil-based vehicles, carbonific polyurethanes, spumific melamine phosphates, spumific organohalophosphorus compounds, additives, pigments, driers and solvent. The synthesis of their three major components—the vehicle itself, the spumific melamine phosphates and the carbonific polyurethanes—is described. As a result of evaluation in the standard fire-test cabinet and in the Underwriters' Laboratories' 25-ft tunnel furnace, the formulation whose vehicle has a higher content of tung oil and whose carbonific components are less thermoplastic appear to be most promising. However, these research results have again manifested the importance of the contribution ofeach component in achieving effective fire retardance. Presented in part at the 6th Annual Symposium on New Coatings and New Coatings Raw Materials, Fargo, N.D., 1964; and presented at the AOCS Meeting in Chicago, 1964. So. Util. Res. & Dev. Div., ARS, USDA.     

Comparison of statistical methods in MR imaging

The problem of recovering the true underlying scene from a noisy image is considered. Several methods are compared empirically by applying them to magnetic resonance (MR) images. It turns out that a simple method, the Gaussian window filter, gives good results. This method requires only “instantaneous” processing.     

Processing parameters for selective intermixing of GaAs/AIGaAs quantum wells

Some of the parameters which determine the amount of intermixing of GaAs/AIGaAs quantum wells (QWs) using SiO₂ capping and rapid thermal annealing (RTA) have been studied using photoluminescence (PL) techniques. The degree of intermixing of QWs was found to be larger for thicker SiO₂ capping layers and for shorter distances between the QWs and the oxide-wafer interface. A maximum PL energy difference of 90 meV was observed between the region covered by a 1.3 μm thick oxide layer and the non-oxide region in a wafer that was annealed at 1100° C for 15 s.     

Polarization properties of a nematic liquid-crystal spatial light modulator for phase modulation

The polarization properties of a nematic zero-twist liquid-crystal (NLC) spatial light modulator (SLM) were studied. A large ratio between the liquid-crystal (LC) layer thickness and the pixel pitch combined with spatial variations in the applied electric field causes fringing fields between pixels. Depending on the LC alignment, the electric field components within the LC layer can result in a twist deformation. The produced inhomogeneous optical anisotropy affects the polarization of light propagating through the device. We experimentally examined polarization effects in different diffraction orders for both binary and blazed phase gratings. Simulations of the LC deformation together with finite-difference time-domain simulations for the optical propagation were used to calculate the corresponding far-field intensities. It was demonstrated how rigorous simulations of the NLC SLM properties can be used to understand the polarization features of different diffraction orders.     

Feasibility of half-data image reconstruction in 3-D reflectivity tomography with a spherical aperture

Reflectivity tomography is an imaging technique that seeks to reconstruct certain acoustic properties of a weakly scattering object. Besides being applicable to pure ultrasound imaging techniques, the reconstruction theory of reflectivity tomography is also pertinent to hybrid imaging techniques such as thermoacoustic tomography. In this work, assuming spherical scanning apertures, redundancies in the three-dimensional (3-D) reflectivity tomography data function are identified and formulated mathematically. These data redundancies are used to demonstrate that knowledge of the measured data function over half of its domain uniquely specifies the 3-D object function. This indicates that, in principle, exact image reconstruction can be performed using a "half-scan" data function, which corresponds to temporally untruncated measurements acquired on a hemi-spherical aperture, or using a "half-time" data function, which corresponds to temporally truncated measurements acquired on the entire spherical aperture. Both of these minimal scanning configurations have important biological imaging applications. An iterative reconstruction method is utilized for reconstruction of a simulated 3-D object from noiseless and noisy half-scan and half-time data functions.     

Coherence and polarization of electromagnetic beams modulated by random phase screens and their changes on propagation in free space

The spectral degree of coherence and of polarization of some model electromagnetic beams modulated by a polarization-dependent phase-modulating device, such as a liquid-crystal spatial light modulator, acting as a random phase screen are examined on the basis of the recent theory formulated in terms of the 2 x 2 cross-spectral density matrix of the beam. The phase-modulating device is assumed to have strong polarization dependence that modulates only one of the orthogonal components of the electric vector, and the phase of the phase-modulating device is assumed to be a random function of position imitating a random phase screen and is assumed to obey Gaussian statistics with zero mean. The propagation of the modulated beam is also examined to show how the spectral degrees of coherence and of polarization of the beam change on propagation, even in free space. The results are illustrated by numerical examples.     

Nylons: A review of the literature on products of combustion and toxicity

The literature on polyamides was reviewed to determine the nature and extent of information available on these materials which are commonly used in consumer and industrial applications. This review was limited to aliphatic polyamides normally called nylon and excludes aromatic polyamides such as Nomex and bicomponent polymers consisting of nylon and other polymers. The review was further limited to those publications in English through June 1984. Typical pyrolysis products from a broad range of nylons do not appear to differ greatly. Many of the decomposition products detected in vacuum pyrolysis experiments appear as products of thermal degradation in inert and air atmospheres. In air, a general reduction in the quantities of heavier hydrocarbons is noted along with an increase in the production of CO, CO₂, H₂O, NH₃, HCN and NO_x. The toxicity of the thermal degradation products from various types of nylon has been evaluated by nine different protocols. Reported LC₅₀ values range from 10.8 m l^?1 to 61.9 mg l^?1. Dyes apparently do not affect the materials' combustion products toxicity but an increase in the amount of backcoating on a nylon fabric increases toxicity. Time to death measurements show that volatile products from nylons are less toxic than those from rayons or cotton, while the blending of wool with nylon greatly increases the toxicity of the thermal decomposition products. In general, however, the overall toxicity of the thermal degradation products from nylon do not appear to be greatly different than those from many other polymeric materials. Large-scale test results are ambiguous, and it is difficult to interpret the results in terms of a single component in a multicomponent system.