Quantitative concentration measurements of atomic sodium in an atmospheric hydrocarbon flame with asynchronous optical sampling

We report the development of a pump-probe instrument that uses a high-repetition-rate (82-MHz) picosecond laser. To maximize laser power and to minimize jitter between the pump- and the probe-pulse trains, we choose the asynchronous optical sampling (ASOPS) configuration. Verification of the method is obtained through concentration measurements of atomic sodium in an atmospheric methane-air flame. For the first time to our knowledge, ASOPS measurements are made on a quantitative basis. This is accomplished by calibration of the sodium concentration with atomic absorption spectroscopy. ASOPS measurements are taken at a rate of 155.7 kHz with only 128 averages, resulting in a corresponding detection limit of 5 × 10(9) cm(-3). The quenching-rate coefficient is obtained in a single measurement with a variation of ASOPS, which we call dual-beam ASOPS. The value of this coefficient is in excellent agreement with literature values for the present flame conditions. Based on our quantitative results for detection of atomic sodium, a detection limit of 2 × 10(17) cm(-3) is predicted for the Q(1) (9) line of A (2)Σ(+) (v = 0)-X(2)II (v = 0) hydroxyl at 2000 K. Although this value is too large for practical flame studies, a number of improvements that should lower the ASOPS detection limit are suggested.     

Time dependent voiding mechanisms in polyamide 6 submitted to high stress triaxiality: experimental characterisation and finite element modelling

Double notched round bars made of semi-crystalline polymer polyamide 6 (PA6) were submitted to monotonic tensile and creep tests. The two notches had a root radius of 0.45 mm, which imposes a multiaxial stress state and a state of high triaxiality in the net (minimal) section of the specimens. Tests were carried out until the failure occurred from one of the notches. The other one, unbroken but deformed under steady strain rate or steady load, was inspected using the Synchrotron Radiation Computed Tomography (SRCT) technique. These 3D through thickness inspections allowed the study of microstructural evolution at the peak stress for the monotonic tensile test and at the beginning of the tertiary creep for the creep tests. Cavitation features were assessed with a micrometre resolution within the notched region. Spatial distributions of void volume fraction (\(\mathit{Vf}\)) and void morphology were studied. Voiding mechanisms were similar under steady strain rates and steady loads. The maximum values of \(\mathit{Vf}\) were located between the axis of revolution of the specimens and the notch surface and voids were considered as flat cylinders with a circular basis perpendicular to the loading direction. A model, based on porous plasticity, was used to simulate the mechanical response of this PA6 material under high stress triaxiality. Both macroscopic behaviour (loading curves) and voiding micro-mechanisms (radial distributions of void volume fraction) were accurately predicted using finite element simulations.     

Chromium-doped forsterite: the influence of crystal characteristics on laser performance

A study of the dependence of the gain-switched laser operation of chromium forsterite on crystal parameters is presented. Results are reported for a wide range of chromium (IV) ion concentration: 0.02-0.12 at. % and 12-41 figure of merit, with emphasis on performance of the recently developed material with a dopant level of >0.10 at. %. Threshold and slope efficiency calculations are compared with measured performance for all crystals, with variation of pump polarization and output coupling. With 3% output coupling, the lowest threshold of 1.8 mJ, and highest slope efficiency of 13% were measured for a short, high-dopant-level crystal. With 33% output coupling a slope efficiency of 44% was measured for this crystal. Results demonstrate the considerable potential of short, high-dopant-level crystals for applications such as amplification, diode pumping, and narrow-bandwidth operation.     

Photonic page buffer based on GaAs multiple-quantum-well modulators bonded directly over active silicon complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits

We present a 2-kbit, 50-Mpage/s, photonic first-in, first-out page buffer based on gallium arsenide/aluminium-gallium arsenide multiple-quantum-well diodes that are flip-chip bonded to submicrometer silicon complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor circuits. This photonic chip provides nonvolatile storage (buffering), asynchronous-to-synchronous conversion, bandwidth smoothing, tolerance to jitter or skew, spatial format conversion, wavelength conversion, and independent flow control for the input and the output channels. It serves as an interface chip for parallel-accessed optical bit-plane data. It represents the first smart-pixel array that accomplishes the vertical integration of multiple-quantum-well modulators and detectors directly over active silicon VLSI circuits and provides over 340 transistors per optical input-output. Results from high-speed single-channel testing and real-time array operation of the photonic page buffer are reported.     

Capillary HPLC-NMR Coupling: High-Resolution (1)H NMR Spectroscopy in the Nanoliter Scale

Coupling HPLC and NMR is one of the most powerful techniques for simultaneous separation and structural elucidation of unknown compounds in mixtures. To date, however, minimizing the detection volume, as is required when coupling NMR with miniaturized separation techniques, has been accompanied by a dramatic loss in resolution of the NMR spectra. Here, we report on the coupling of gradient capillary HPLC with on-column, high-resolution NMR detection. On-line stopped-flow and static (1)H NMR spectra were acquired with capillary columns of 75-315 μm i.d. With detection over a length of 1.2 cm, cell volumes cover a range of 50-900 nL. An on-line-detected NMR separation of dansylated amino acids was carried out in a 315 μm i.d. fused silica capillary packed to a length of 12 cm with C(18) stationary phase. The low solvent consumption makes the use of fully deuterated solvents economically feasible. NMR spectra with resolution on the order of 3 Hz were obtained using a 50 nL detection cell to measure 1.1 nmol of dansylated γ-aminobutyric acid under static conditions in a 75 μm i.d. capillary.