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At least 1,009 records · Page 56

Electromagnetic and thermal properties of three-dimensional printed multilayered nano-carbon/poly(lactic) acid structures

A new type of light-weight material produced by 3D printing consisting of nano-carbon doped polymer layer followed by a dielectric polymer layer is proposed. We performed temperature dependent characterization and measured the electromagnetic (EM) response of the samples in the GHz and THz range. The temperature dependent structural characteristics, crystallization, and melting were observed to be strongly affected by the presence and the number of nano-carbon doped layers in the sandwich structure. The electromagnetic measurements show a great potential of such a type of periodic material for electromagnetic compatibility applications in microwave frequency range. Sandwich structures containing only two nano-carbon layers already become not transparent to the microwaves, giving an electromagnetic interference shielding efficiency at the level of 8–15 dB. A sandwich consisting of one nano-carbon doped and one polymer layer is opaque for THz radiation, because of 80% of absorption. These studies serve as a basis for design and realization of specific optimal geometries of meta-surface type with the 3D printing technique, in order to reach a high level of electromagnetic interference shielding performance for real world EM cloaking and EM ecology applications.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Electron beam moiré fringes imaging by image converter tube with a magnetic lens

An image converter tube with a magnetic lens was used to obtain static images of moiré fringes formed by electron beam. These moiré fringes are formed due to the interference between the anode mesh and the photocathode containing slits of various spatial frequencies. Moiré fringes are observed at an accelerating voltage of 3.5 kV requiring the magnetic excitation condition of ∼550 ampere-turns. Not only the features of the fringes are analyzed but also the change of fringe spacing as a function of the rotation angle is investigated. The experimental results are found well in agreement with the theoretical analysis. By changing the rotation angle or adjusting the excitation condition of the magnetic lens, we were able to record parallel moiré and secondary moiré fringes too. The secondary moiré fringes can be observed in the rotation angle range of −39.5° to −50.6°. The theoretical analysis indicates that the secondary moiré is formed by the interference between the photocathode slits and the 2-D periodic structure of the anode mesh. Combining our proposed moiré method with the pulse-dilation technique may potentially open the door for future applications, in various fields including, but not limited to, ultrafast electrical pulse diagnostics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

On the exhaust of electromagnetic drive

Recent reports about propulsion without reaction mass have been met on one hand with enthusiasm and on the other hand with some doubts. Namely, closed metal cavities, when fueled with microwaves, have delivered thrust that could eventually maintain satellites on orbits using solar power. However, the measured thrust appears to be without any apparent exhaust. Thus the Law of Action-Reaction seems to have been violated. We consider the possibility that the exhaust is in a form that has so far escaped both experimental detection and theoretical attention. In the thruster’s cavity microwaves interfere with each other and invariably some photons will also end up co-propagating with opposite phases. At the destructive interference electromagnetic fields cancel. However, the photons themselves do not vanish for nothing but continue in propagation. These photon pairs without net electromagnetic field do not reflect back from the metal walls but escape from the resonator. By this action momentum is lost from the cavity which, according to the conservation of momentum, gives rise to an equal and opposite reaction. We examine theoretical corollaries and practical concerns that follow from the paired-photon conclusion.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Monte Carlo simulation of simultaneous radiation detection in the hybrid tomography system ClearPET-XPAD3/CT

Using the Geant4 based simulation framework SciFW1, a detailed simulation was performed for a detector array in the hybrid tomography prototype for small animals called ClearPET / XPAD, which was built in the Centre de Physique des Particules de Marseille. The detector system consists of an array of phoswich scintillation detectors: LSO (Lutetium Oxy-ortosilicate doped with cerium Lu{sub 2}SiO{sub 5}:Ce) and LuYAP (Lutetium Ortoaluminate of Yttrium doped with cerium Lu{sub 0.7}Y{sub 0.3}AlO{sub 3}:Ce) for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and hybrid pixel detector XPAD for Computed Tomography (CT). Simultaneous acquisition of deposited energy and the corresponding time - position for each recorded event were analyzed, independently, for both detectors. interference between detection modules for PET and CT. Information about amount of radiation reaching each phoswich crystal and XPAD detector using a phantom in order to study the effectiveness by radiation attenuation and influence the positioning of the radioactive source {sup 22}Na was obtained. The simulation proposed will improve distribution of detectors rings and interference values will be taken into account in the new versions of detectors.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

The multi-spectral line-polarization MSE system on Alcator C-Mod

A multi-spectral line-polarization motional Stark effect (MSE-MSLP) diagnostic has been developed for the Alcator C-Mod tokamak wherein the Stokes vector is measured in multiple wavelength bands simultaneously on the same sightline to enable better polarized background subtraction. A ten-sightline, four wavelength MSE-MSLP detector system was designed, constructed, and qualified. This system consists of a high-throughput polychromator for each sightline designed to provide large étendue and precise spectral filtering in a cost-effective manner. Each polychromator utilizes four narrow bandpass interference filters and four custom large diameter avalanche photodiode detectors. Two filters collect light to the red and blue of the MSE emission spectrum while the remaining two filters collect the beam pi and sigma emission generated at the same viewing volume. The filter wavelengths are temperature tuned using custom ovens in an automated manner. All system functions are remote controllable and the system can be easily retrofitted to existing single-wavelength line-polarization MSE systems.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Magnetic field sensor based on cascaded microfiber coupler with magnetic fluid

A kind of magnetic field sensor based on cascaded microfiber coupler with magnetic fluid is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The magnetic fluid is utilized as the cladding of the fused regions of the cascaded microfiber coupler. As the interference valley wavelength of the sensing structure is sensitive to the ambient variation, considering the magnetic-field-dependent refractive index of magnetic fluid, the proposed structure is employed for magnetic field sensing. The effective coupling length for each coupling region of the as-fabricated cascaded microfiber coupler is 6031 μm. The achieved sensitivity is 125 pm/Oe, which is about three times larger than that of the previously similar structure based on the single microfiber coupler. Experimental results indicate that the sensing sensitivity can be easily improved by increasing the effective coupling length or cascading more microfiber couplers. The proposed magnetic field sensor is attractive due to its low cost, immunity to electromagnetic interference, as well as high sensitivity, which also has the potentials in other tunable all-fiber photonic devices, such as filter.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A broadband fiber-optic nonlinear interferometer

In this paper, we describe an all-fiber nonlinear interferometer based on four-wave mixing in highly nonlinear fiber. Our configuration realizes phase-sensitive interference with 97% peak visibility and >90% visibility over a broad 554 GHz optical band. By comparing the output noise power to the shot-noise level, we confirm noise cancellation at dark interference fringes, as required for quantum-enhanced sensitivity. Finally, our device extends nonlinear interferometry to the important platform of highly nonlinear optical fiber and could find applications in a variety of fiber-based sensors.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Magneto-optical measurement of magnetic field and electrical current on a short pulse high energy pulsed power accelerator

We describe a direct magneto-optical approach to measuring the magnetic field driven by a narrow pulse width (<10 ns), 20 kA electrical current flow in the transmission line of a high energy pulsed power accelerator. The magnetic field and electrical current are among the most important operating parameters in a pulsed power accelerator and are critical to understanding the properties of the radiation output. However, accurately measuring these fields and electrical currents using conventional pulsed power diagnostics is difficult due to the strength of ionizing radiation and electromagnetic interference. Our approach uses a fiber coupled laser beam with a rare earth element sensing crystal sensor that is highly resistant to electromagnetic interference and does not require external calibration. Here, we focus on device theory, operating parameters, results from an experiment on a high energy pulsed power accelerator, and comparison to a conventional electrical current shunt sensor.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Femtosecond laser pulse filamentation under anomalous dispersion in fused silica. Part 2. Experiment and physical interpretation

We have studied experimentally and analytically the formation of the supercontinuum (SC) spectrum during femtosecond laser pulse filamentation in fused silica under conditions of zero and anomalous group velocity dispersions. It is found that with increasing centre wavelength from 1300 to 2300 nm, the SC spectrum of the anti-Stokes wing narrows, shifting to the blue. It is shown that the anti-Stokes (blue) shift of the SC spectrum increases with the multiphoton order of the medium ionisation by the light field in the filament. It is found that a broad minimum in the SC spectrum, separating the anti-Stokes wing from the centre wavelength, is a result of the interference of radiation from a moving broadband source, stemming from self-phase modulation of the high-intensity light field. The interference factors of the SC spectra obtained for this source, which moves along the emitting region of the filament in a dispersive medium, are in agreement with experimental and numerical results. (nonlinear optical phenomena)

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

On the possibility of an experiment on 'nonlocality' of electrodynamics

It has been known since the 19th century that a circularly polarised electromagnetic wave carries an angular momentum. A simple experiment (Righi, 1882) apparently indicates that the angular momentum is distributed over the entire cross section of the beam. According to some modern ideas, the angular momentum of the beam with the given polarisation is localised near the beam 'surface' and represents a spin of photons, while the energy in the beam is distributed throughout its cross section, which is inconsistent with the principle of locality. For the experimental determination of the localisation of the angular momentum, we propose a new scheme, in which we study the interference pattern of two coherent circularly polarised beams. Each beam first passes through a half-wave plate, one of the plates being divided into two coaxial parts. With (manual) rotation of one parts of the plate we change the frequency of the light passing through it: the plate absorbs the momentum and, therefore, work is done. This change in frequency should cause a movement of the interference fringes and show the distribution of the angular momentum over the beam cross section. (light polarisation)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Reflection of a TE-polarised Gaussian beam from a layered structure under conditions of resonance excitation of waveguide modes

The problem of reflection of a TE-polarised Gaussian light beam from a layered structure under conditions of resonance excitation of waveguide modes using a total internal reflection prism is considered. Using the spectral approach we have derived the analytic expressions for the mode propagation lengths, widths and depths of m-lines (sharp and narrow dips in the angular dependence of the specular reflection coefficient), depending on the structure parameters. It is shown that in the case of weak coupling, when the propagation lengths l{sub m} of the waveguide modes are mainly determined by the extinction coefficient in the film, the depth of m-lines grows with the mode number m. In the case of strong coupling, when l{sub m} is determined mainly by the radiation of modes into the prism, the depth of m-lines decreases with increasing m. The change in the TE-polarised Gaussian beam shape after its reflection from the layered structure is studied, which is determined by the energy transfer from the incident beam into waveguide modes that propagate along the structure by the distance l{sub m}, are radiated in the direction of specular reflection and interfere with a part of the beam reflected from the working face of the prism. It is shown that this interference can lead to the field intensity oscillations near m-lines. The analysis of different methods for determining the parameters of thin-film structures is presented, including the measurement of mode angles θ{sub m} and the reflected beam shape. The methods are based on simultaneous excitation of a few waveguide modes in the film with a strongly focused monochromatic Gaussian beam, the waist width of which is much smaller than the propagation length of the modes. As an example of using these methods, the refractive index and the thickness of silicon monoxide film on silica substrate at the wavelength 633 nm are determined. (fibre and integrated-optical structures)

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Kinetics of atoms in a bichromatic field formed by elliptically polarised waves

The kinetics of atoms in a bichromatic field formed by waves with an arbitrary elliptical polarisation is considered. Analytical expressions are derived for the force and the friction and diffusion coefficients within the model of an atom with the j {sub g} = 1/2 → j {sub e} = 3/2 optical transition. These expressions are presented in the general form as an expansion in gradients of light field parameters. Some specific features of the kinetics of atoms are found, which are due to the interference contributions to the friction and diffusion coefficients. The kinetics of atoms in the field of an optical lattice formed as a result of the interference of a wave with a uniform elliptical polarisation and a nonuniformly polarised dissipative field is analysed. (paper)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Peculiarities of electromagnetic field distribution in a finite one-dimensional photonic crystal at oblique incidence of radiation

The effect of increasing an electric field E is investigated for oblique incidence of radiation on a finite one-dimensional photonic crystal. The peculiarities in the field distribution in the structure E(x) are found to be due to the interference of counterpropagating Bloch waves; therefore, the conditions for increasing the field to a maximum value |E|{sub max} coincide with those for achieving the maximum band gap E{sub g} of an infinite crystal. It is shown that a significant (several times for structures with 30 periods) growth of |E|{sub max} is observed with increasing angle of incidence θ for wavelengths λ, which correspond to transmission maxima T nearest to the band gap boundaries. The increased interference of the counterpropagating Bloch modes is caused by an enhancement of the x-component contrast (perpendicular to the planes of the layers) of the wave numbers k{sub 1x}/k{sub 2x} in the structure layers. Along with this, there also arise characteristic features in the distribution of E(x) associated with the vanishing of the forbidden band width. In this case, the field distribution in all periods is the same. Two types of such features are observed in the case of oblique incidence. The former takes place for p-polarisation at an angle of incidence θ, which is an analogue of the Brewster angle. The latter corresponds to the situation when the length of each structure layer is equal to an integer of half-waves. This occurs simultaneously for s- and p-polarisations and is observed in a limited range of layer widths only for the second and highest forbidden bands. (paper)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Flat-field VLS spectrometer for a wavelength range of 50 – 275 Å

A flat-field VLS spectrograph for a wavelength range ∼50 – 275 Å with an average linear dispersion of 0.18 mm Å{sup −1}, which makes use of a grazing-incidence varied line-space (VLS) grating, was calculated and implemented (a spectrograph of Harada class). To fabricate the VLS grating by interference lithography technique, an algorithm was developed for calculating the writing configuration with an auxiliary aberrating mirror (the solution of the inverse problem of interference lithography). The spectrograph was put to a test and line spectra were recorded from the laser-produced plasma of lithium fluoride and teflon targets, which were excited by a focused laser beam (0.5 J, 8 ns, 1.06 μm). A resolving power λ/d l = 800 was demonstrated in a wavelength region of 135 Å. (x-ray spectrometry)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Homogeneous broadening in the spectrum of a broadband erbium-doped fibre light source

Interference of wave trains separated out in an inhomogeneous emission spectrum of a superluminescent erbium-doped fibre source has been studied by scanning the wavelength of a spectrum analyser. The results demonstrate that, as the spectral resolution of the spectrum analyser decreases to a level corresponding to a sharp drop in interference fringe visibility relative to its original level, near 100 %, fringe visibility becomes dependent on the wavelength in the inhomogeneous spectrum of the source. The reason for this is that, at some characteristic resolution δλ (δλ > 0.5 nm in our case), the coherence time of wave trains is not limited by the spectral resolution of the spectrum analyser and is related to the inhomogeneous spectrum of the source, whose limiting width can be thought of as the homogeneous linewidth in the spectrum of the source. This feature can be used for evaluating homogeneous line broadening. (paper)

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

A Novel Technique Applying Spectral Estimation to Johnson Noise Thermometry

Johnson noise thermometry is one of many important measurement techniques used to monitor the safety levels and stability in a nuclear reactor. However, this measurement is very dependent on the minimal electromagnetic environment. Properly removing unwanted electromagnetic interference (EMI) is critical for accurate drift-free temperature measurements. The two techniques developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to remove transient and periodic EMI are briefly discussed here. Spectral estimation is a key component in the signal processing algorithm used for EMI removal and temperature calculation. The cross-power spectral density is a key component in the Johnson noise temperature computation. Applying either technique requires the simple addition of electronics and signal processing to existing resistive thermometers. With minimal installation changes, the system discussed here can be installed on existing nuclear power plants. The Johnson noise system developed is tested at three locations: ORNL, Sandia National Laboratory, and the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant. Each of these locations enabled improvement on the EMI removal algorithm. Finally, the conclusions made from the results at each of these locations is discussed, as well as possible future work.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DETECTION OF FAST RADIO TRANSIENTS WITH MULTIPLE STATIONS: A CASE STUDY USING THE VERY LONG BASELINE ARRAY

Recent investigations reveal an important new class of transient radio phenomena that occur on submillisecond timescales. Often, transient surveys' data volumes are too large to archive exhaustively. Instead, an online automatic system must excise impulsive interference and detect candidate events in real time. This work presents a case study using data from multiple geographically distributed stations to perform simultaneous interference excision and transient detection. We present several algorithms that incorporate dedispersed data from multiple sites, and report experiments with a commensal real-time transient detection system on the Very Long Baseline Array. We test the system using observations of pulsar B0329+54. The multiple-station algorithms enhanced sensitivity for detection of individual pulses. These strategies could improve detection performance for a future generation of geographically distributed arrays such as the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder and the Square Kilometre Array.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

ALL TRANSIENTS, ALL THE TIME: REAL-TIME RADIO TRANSIENT DETECTION WITH INTERFEROMETRIC CLOSURE QUANTITIES

We demonstrate a new technique for detecting radio transients based on interferometric closure quantities. The technique uses the bispectrum, the product of visibilities around a closed loop of baselines of an interferometer. The bispectrum is calibration independent, resistant to interference, and computationally efficient, so it can be built into correlators for real-time transient detection. Our technique could find celestial transients anywhere in the field of view and localize them to arcsecond precision. At the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), such a system would have a high survey speed and a 5{sigma} sensitivity of 38 mJy on 10 ms timescales with 1 GHz of bandwidth. The ability to localize dispersed millisecond pulses to arcsecond precision in large volumes of interferometer data has several unique science applications. Localizing individual pulses from Galactic pulsars will help find X-ray counterparts that define their physical properties, while finding host galaxies of extragalactic transients will measure the electron density of the intergalactic medium with a single dispersed pulse. Exoplanets and active stars have distinct millisecond variability that can be used to identify them and probe their magnetospheres. We use millisecond timescale visibilities from the Allen Telescope Array and VLA to show that the bispectrum can detect dispersed pulses and reject local interference. The computational and data efficiency of the bispectrum will help find transients on a range of timescales with next-generation radio interferometers.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗