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At least 271 records · Page 15

Two-dimensional single crystal diamond refractive x-ray lens

The next generation light sources such as diffraction-limited storage rings and high repetition rate x-ray free-electron lasers will generate x-ray beams with significantly increased brilliance. These future machines will require X-ray optical components that are capable of handling higher instantaneous and average power densities while tailoring the properties of the x-ray beams for a variety of scientific experiments. Single crystal diamond is one of the best bulk materials for this application, because it is radiation hard, has a suitable uniform index of refraction and the best available thermal properties. In this paper we report on fabrication and experimental testing of a two-dimensional (2D) single crystal diamond compound refractive X-ray lenses (CRL). These lenses were manufactured using femto-second laser cutting and tested at the Advanced Photon Source of Argonne National Laboratory.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

On the possibility of detecting local refractive index changes in optically transparent objects by means of a point nanoantenna attached to a fibre microaxicon

It is shown theoretically that the use of the spectral registration of the dipole local plasmon resonance (DLPR) displacement in a single spherical gold nanoantenna, placed near the surface of a homogeneous dielectric medium, allows the mapping of extremely small variations (to 5 × 10{sup -4}) of the refractive index (RI) of this medium. Using the quasi-static approximation, we have developed an analytic model that allows evaluation of the spectral displacement of the nanoantenna DLPR depending on the variation in the medium refractive index. The point probe based on a fibre microaxicon with a gold spherical nanoantenna attached to its top is proposed that allows practical implementation of the developed RI scanning method. Numerical calculations of the probe characteristics using the time-domain finite-difference method are presented, and it is shown that for the case of a gold spherical nanoantenna of small size, comparable with the skin layer thickness in gold, the relative spectral shift value is in good agreement with the results obtained by using the developed analytic model. (laser applications and other topics in quantum electronics)

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

A wave model of refraction of laser beams with a discrete change in intensity in their cross section and their application for diagnostics of extended nonstationary phase objects

A beam model with a discrete change in the cross-sectional intensity is proposed to describe refraction of laser beams formed on the basis of diffractive optical elements. In calculating the wave field of the beams of this class under conditions of strong refraction, in contrast to the traditional asymptotics of geometric optics which assumes a transition to the infinite limits of integration and obtaining an analytical solution, it is proposed to calculate the integral in the vicinity of stationary points. This approach allows the development of a fast algorithm for correct calculation of the wave field of the laser beams that are employed in probing and diagnostics of extended optically inhomogeneous media. Examples of the algorithm application for diagnostics of extended nonstationary objects in liquid are presented. (laser beams)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A method for measuring the nonlinear refractive index from the contrast of an amplitude object image in the optical scheme with phase Zernike filters based on electronic Kerr nonlinearity

We propose a method for determining the nonlinear refractive index from the image contrast of amplitude objects in the phase-contrast scheme with a sample acting as a phase Zernike filter based on the electronic Kerr nonlinearity. This method implies the measurement of the calibration dependence of the contrast of an amplitude object image on the laser pulse energy for a test sample with a known nonlinearity and makes it possible to find the nonlinear refractive index of samples under study using a single laser pulse. (paper)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DIFFRACTION, REFRACTION, AND REFLECTION OF AN EXTREME-ULTRAVIOLET WAVE OBSERVED DURING ITS INTERACTIONS WITH REMOTE ACTIVE REGIONS

We present observations of the diffraction, refraction, and reflection of a global extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) wave propagating in the solar corona. These intriguing phenomena are observed when the wave interacts with two remote active regions, and together they exhibit properties of an EUV wave. When the wave approached AR11465, it became weaker and finally disappeared in the active region, but a few minutes later a new wavefront appeared behind the active region, and it was not concentric with the incoming wave. In addition, a reflected wave was also simultaneously observed on the wave incoming side. When the wave approached AR11459, it transmitted through the active region directly and without reflection. The formation of the new wavefront and the transmission could be explained with diffraction and refraction effects, respectively. We propose that the different behaviors observed during the interactions may be caused by different speed gradients at the boundaries of the two active regions. We find that the EUV wave formed ahead of a group of expanding loops a few minutes after the start of the loops' expansion, which represents the initiation of the associated coronal mass ejection (CME). Based on these results, we conclude that the EUV wave should be a nonlinear magnetosonic wave or shock driven by the associated CME, which propagated faster than the ambient fast mode speed and gradually slowed down to an ordinary linear wave. Our observations support the hybrid model that includes both fast wave and slow non-wave components.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Efficiency and coherence preservation studies of Be refractive lenses for XFELO application

Performance tests of parabolic beryllium refractive lenses, considered as X-ray focusing elements in the future X-ray free-electron laser oscillator (XFELO), are reported. Single and double refractive lenses were subject to X-ray tests, which included: surface profile, transmissivity measurements, imaging capabilities and wavefront distortion with grating interferometry. Optical metrology revealed that surface profiles were close to the design specification in terms of the figure and roughness. The transmissivity of the lenses is >94% at 8 keV and >98% at 14.4 and 18 keV. These values are close to the theoretical values of ideal lenses. Images of the bending-magnet source obtained with the lenses were close to the expected ones and did not show any significant distortion. Grating interferometry revealed that the possible wavefront distortions produced by surface and bulk lens imperfections were on the level of ~λ/60 for 8 keV photons. Thus the Be lenses can be succesfully used as focusing and beam collimating elements in the XFELO.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Direct LiF imaging diagnostics on refractive X-ray focusing at the EuXFEL High Energy Density instrument

The application of fluorescent crystal media in wide-range X-ray detectors provides an opportunity to directly image the spatial distribution of ultra intense X-ray beams including investigation of the focal spot of free-electron lasers. Here the capabilities of the micro- and nano-focusing X-ray refractive optics available at the High Energy Density instrument of the European XFEL are reported, as measured in situ by means of a LiF fluorescent detector placed into and around the beam caustic. The intensity distribution of the beam focused down to several hundred nanometers was imaged at 9 keV photon energy. A deviation from the parabolic surface in a stack of nanofocusing Be compound refractive lenses (CRLs) was found to affect the resulting intensity distribution within the beam. Comparison of experimental patterns in the far field with patterns calculated for different CRL lens imperfections allowed the overall inhomogeneity in the CRL stack to be estimated. The precise determination of the focal spot size and shape on a sub-micrometer level is essential for a number of high energy density studies requiring either a pin-size backlighting spot or extreme intensities for X-ray heating.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Measurement of infrared refractive indices of organic and organophosphorous compounds for optical modeling

The complex optical refractive index contains the optical constants, n($\tilde{u}$)and k($\tilde{u}$), which correspond to the dispersion and absorption of light within a medium, respectively. By obtaining the optical constants one can in principle model most optical phenomena in media and at interfaces including reflection, refraction and dispersion. We have developed improved protocols based on the use of multiple path lengths to determine the optical constants for dozens of liquids, including organic and organophosphorous compounds. Detailed description of the protocols to determine the infrared indices will be presented, along with preliminary results using the constants with their applications to optical modeling.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Deriving the Infrared Complex Refractive Indices of Organic Powders for Optical Modeling: Comparison of Methods

Identification of solids via infrared reflection spectroscopy requires a spectral library of all solids likely to be encountered. A confounding factor in populating such a spectral library is that the reflectance spectra of solids vary with their form, including particle size, film thickness, and substrate. To reduce the efforts of experimentally constructing such a library, an alternate strategy is to use the wavelength-dependent optical constants, n and k, of a solid to calculate a series of reflectance spectra corresponding to each scenario or morphology. Because most n/k measurements are best performed on mm-sized crystals, however, the challenge of determining the optical constants increases when a solid is only readily available as a powder, as is often the case. Some organic solids, such as caffeine, are both unavailable in large crystals and difficult to press into pellets. In this study, the infrared optical constants, or complex refractive indices, of caffeine were determined using three different methods: single-angle reflectance, infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry, and quantitative absorbance measurements of KBr pellets. The n and k values derived through each method were used to model the hyperspectral imaging reflectance spectrum of a caffeine film on a steel planchet. Over 1,110 – 870 cm-1, the single-angle reflectance-derived n and k had the best correlation with the experimental spectrum. These results suggest different organic solids may require different methods to determine the most accurate infrared complex refractive indices for synthetic spectral libraries.

FTIR, hyperspectral imaging, infrared, infrared (I↗

Determination of Refractive Indices of a Layered Medium under Pulsed Irradiation

Problems related to determination of refractive indices of layered strongly scattering biological media by means of an optical tomography are investigated. Methods of reconstruction of refractive indices of layers, which are based on the smoothness properties of the solution to the initial-boundary problem, are proposed within the framework of the nonstationary radiative-transfer model. The influence of the probe-pulse duration on the accuracy of recovery of the sought-for characteristics of the medium is investigated numerically.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Light refraction in sapphire plates with a variable angle of crystal optical axis to the surface

The modification of sapphire by inhomogeneous plastic deformation makes it possible to obtain plates with a variable angle of inclination of the crystal optical axis to the plate surface. The refraction of light in this plate at perpendicular and oblique incidence of a parallel beam of rays is considered. The algorithm of calculating the refractive index of extraordinary ray and the birefringence is proposed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Role of nonlinear refraction in the generation of terahertz field pulses by light fields

The generation of microwave (terahertz) pulses without any envelope in a four-level quasi-resonant medium is considered. Two intense quasi-monochromatic laser fields lead to a partial upper-level population. Microwave field pulses cause the transition between these levels. For appropriately chosen scales, the evolution of the fields is shown to be described by the pseudo-spin evolution equations in a microwave field with the inclusion of nonlinear refraction caused by an adiabatic upper-level population. The evolution of terahertz field pulses is described outside the scope of the slow-envelope approximation. When a number of standard approximations are taken into account, this system of equations is shown to be equivalent to an integrable version of the generalized reduced Maxwell-Bloch equations or to the generalized three-wave mixing equations. The soliton solution found by the inverse scattering transform method is used as an example to show that nonlinear refraction leads to a strong compression of the microwave (terahertz) field soliton.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Effect of the refractive index on the hawking temperature: an application of the Hamilton-Jacobi method

Hawking radiation of a non-asymptotically flat 4-dimensional spherically symmetric and static dilatonic black hole (BH) via the Hamilton-Jacobi (HJ) method is studied. In addition to the naive coordinates, we use four more different coordinate systems that are well-behaved at the horizon. Except for the isotropic coordinates, direct computation by the HJ method leads to the standard Hawking temperature for all coordinate systems. The isotropic coordinates allow extracting the index of refraction from the Fermat metric. It is explicitly shown that the index of refraction determines the value of the tunneling rate and its natural consequence, the Hawking temperature. The isotropic coordinates in the conventional HJ method produce a wrong result for the temperature of the linear dilaton. Here, we explain how this discrepancy can be resolved by regularizing the integral possessing a pole at the horizon.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Angular distributions of reflected and refracted relativistic electron beams crossing a thin planar target at a small angle to its surface

The scattering of electrons by aluminum, copper, and lead foils, as well as by bimetallic aluminum-lead and aluminum-copper foils, has been studied experimentally. A microtron with an energy of particles of 7.4 MeV has been used as a source of electrons. The beam of particles incident on a target at small angles is split into particles reflected from the foil, which constitute a reflected beam, and particles crossing the foil, which constitute a refracted beam. The effect of the material and thickness of the foil, as well as the angle between the initial trajectory of the beam and the plane of the target, on the direction of motion and the angular divergence of the beam crossing the foil and the beam reflected from the foil has been analyzed. Furthermore, the effect of the sequence of metal layers in bimetallic films on the angles of refraction and reflection of the beam has been examined.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Determination of the thickness and spectral dependence of the refractive index of Al{sub x}In{sub 1-x}Sb epitaxial layers from reflectance spectra

A nondestructive method for measuring the thicknesses of epitaxial layers of Al{sub x}In{sub 1-x}Sb alloys based on interference effects in reflectance spectra measured in a wide wavelength range (1-28 {mu}m) is implemented. The studied 0.9-3.3 {mu}m thick Al{sub x}In{sub 1-x}Sb layers are grown on highly lattice-mismatched GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The found thicknesses are in good agreement with the independent data of scanning electron microscopy. The spectral dependence of the refractive index n(E) of Al{sub x}In{sub 1-x}Sb layers is measured both for the regions of transparency and fundamental absorption. The refractive index for the case of E < E{sub 0} was calculated by a double-oscillator model using a refined experimental dependence of the band gap on the composition E{sub 0}(x). The experimental data on the n(E) of Al{sub x}In{sub 1-x}Sb for energies E > E{sub 0} are found based on the interference pattern.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Method to derive the infrared complex refractive indices n(λ) and k(λ) for organic solids from KBr pellet absorption measurements

Obtaining the complex refractive index vectors $n($$\tilde{v})$ and $k($$\tilde{v})$ allows calculation of the (infrared) reflectance spectrum that is obtained from a solid in any of its many morphological forms. Here, we report an adaptation to the KBr pellet technique using two gravimetric dilutions to derive quantitative $n($$\tilde{v})$/$k($$\tilde{v})$ for dozens of powders with greater repeatability. The optical constants of bisphenol A and sucrose are compared to those derived by other methods, particularly for powdered materials. The variability of the $k$ values for bisphenol A was examined by 10 individual measurements, showing an average coefficient of variation for $k$ peak heights of 5.6%. Though no established standards exist, the pellet-derived $k$ peak values of bisphenol A differ by 11% and 31% from their single-angle- and ellipsometry-derived values, respectively. These values provide an initial estimate of the precision and accuracy of complex refractive indices that can be derived using this method. Limitations and advantages of the method are discussed, the salient advantage being a more rapid method to derive $n$/$k$ for those species that do not readily form crystals or specular pellets.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Organic Aerosols in the Presence of CO{sub 2} in the Early Earth and Exoplanets: UV–Vis Refractive Indices of Oxidized Tholins

In this experimental study we investigate the role of atmospheric CO{sub 2} on the optical properties of organic photochemical aerosols. To this end, we add CO{sub 2} to a N{sub 2}:CH{sub 4} gas mixture used in a plasma typically used for Titan studies. We produce organic thin films (tholins) in plasmas where the CO{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} ratio is increased from 0 to 4. We measure these films via spectrometric ellipsometry and apply a Tauc–Lorentz model, used for optically transparent materials, to obtain the thickness of the thin film, its optical band gap, and the refractive indices in the UV–visible (270–600 nm). All samples present a significant absorption band in the UV. According to the Tauc–Lorentz model, as the CO{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} ratio is quadrupled, the position of the UV band is shifted from ∼177 nm to 264 nm while its strength is quadrupled. Consequently, we infer that oxidized organic aerosols absorb more efficiently at longer UV wavelengths than reduced aerosols. Our laboratory wavelength-tabulated UV–vis refractive indices provide new constraints to atmospheric models of the early Earth and Earth-like exoplanets including photochemical hazes formed under increasingly oxidizing conditions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗