Time-Resolved Measurements in Optoelectronic Microbioanalysis

A report presents discussion of time-resolved measurements in optoelectronic microbioanalysis. Proposed microbioanalytical laboratory-on-a-chip devices for detection of microbes and toxic chemicals would include optoelectronic sensors and associated electronic circuits that would look for fluorescence or phosphorescence signatures of multiple hazardous biomolecules in order to detect which ones were present in a given situation. The emphasis in the instant report is on gating an active-pixel sensor in the time domain, instead of filtering light in the wavelength domain, to prevent the sensor from responding to a laser pulse used to excite fluorescence or phosphorescence while enabling the sensor to respond to the decaying fluorescence or phosphorescence signal that follows the laser pulse. The active-pixel sensor would be turned on after the laser pulse and would be used to either integrate the fluorescence or phosphorescence signal over several lifetimes and many excitation pulses or else take time-resolved measurements of the fluorescence or phosphorescence. The report also discusses issues of multiplexing and of using time-resolved measurements of fluorophores with known different fluorescence lifetimes to distinguish among them

Method and apparatus for distributed sensing of volatiles using a long period fiber grating sensor with modulated plastic coating for environmental monitoring

Optical time domain reflectometry caused by absorption of a volatile or analyte into the fiber optic cladding is used as an optical nose. The fiber optics (14) are covered with a gas permeable film (44) which is patterned to leave millimeter wide gas permeable notches (48a-48d). The notches contain a sensing polymer that responds to different gases by expanding or contracting

Mass spectrometer calibration of Cosmic Dust Analyzer

The time of flight mass spectrometer of the Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA) instrument aboard the Cassini spacecraft, is expected to be placed in orbit about Saturn to sample the ring material and satellite impact ejecta. Upon impact of an incident dust particle against the target plate at velocities of 5-100 km/s, some 10–8 to 10–5 times the particle mass of positive valence, single-charged ions is induced. These are analyzed via a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Initial experiments employing a pulsed N2 laser (>300 µJ/pulse, 4ns, 337nm) acting on a suite of samples are described. The laser beam is focussed to deliver the light pulses onto a laser power density (1011 W/cm2) to simulate the impact of particles. Laser ionization produced a charge of 4.6 pC per pulse for aluminum alloy. Estimating that each Al+1 ion require energy of 5.98 eV ionization energy/ion implies that 10–5% of the laser energy produced ions and the present system has a 5% efficiency of collecting the laser-irradiation induced ions. Employing a multi-channel plate detector in this mass spectrometer yields for Al-Mg-Cu alloy and kamacite (Fe-Ni mineral) targets well defined peaks at 24 (Mg+1), 27 (Al+1) and 64 (Cu+1), and 56 (Fe+1), 58 (Ni+1) and 60 (Ni+1) dalton, respectively

Method and apparatus for chemical and topographical microanalysis

A scanning probe microscope is combined with a laser induced breakdown spectrometer to provide spatially resolved chemical analysis of the surface correlated with the surface topography. Topographical analysis is achieved by scanning a sharp probe across the sample at constant distance from the surface. Chemical analysis is achieved by the means of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy by delivering pulsed laser radiation to the sample surface through the same sharp probe, and consequent collection and analysis of emission spectra from plasma generated on the sample by the laser radiation. The method comprises performing microtopographical analysis of the sample with a scanning probe, selecting a scanned topological site on the sample, generating a plasma plume at the selected scanned topological site, and measuring a spectrum of optical emission from the plasma at the selected scanned topological site. The apparatus comprises a scanning probe, a pulsed laser optically coupled to the probe, an optical spectrometer, and a controller coupled to the scanner, laser and spectrometer for controlling the operation of the scanner, laser and spectrometer. The probe and scanner are used for topographical profiling the sample. The probe is also used for laser radiation delivery to the sample for generating a plasma plume from the sample. Optical emission from the plasma plume is collected and delivered to the optical spectrometer so that analysis of emission spectrum by the optical spectrometer allows for identification of chemical composition of the sample at user selected sites

Manufacture of Sparse-Spectrum Optical Microresonators

An alternative design for dielectric optical microresonators and a relatively simple process to fabricate them have been proposed. The proposed microresonators would exploit the same basic physical phenomena as those of microtorus optical resonators and of the microsphere optical resonators described elsewhere. The resonances in such devices are associated with the propagation of electromagnetic waves along circumferential paths in "whispering-gallery" modes. The main advantage afforded by the proposal is that the design and the fabrication process are expected to be amenable to production of multiple microresonators having reproducible spectral parameters -- including, most notably, high values of the resonance quality factor (Q) and reproducible resonance frequencies

The Measure of Here

Collection of poetryBachelor of Art

Semigroup of positive maps for qudit states and entanglement in tomographic probability representation

Stochastic and bistochastic matrices providing positive maps for spin states (for qudits) are shown to form semigroups with dense intersection with the Lie groups $IGL(n, \mathbb{R})$ and $GL(n, \mathbb{R})$ respectively. The density matrix of a qudit state is shown to be described by a spin tomogram determined by an orbit of the bistochastic semigroup acting on a simplex. A class of positive maps acting transitively on quantum states is introduced by relating stochastic and quantum stochastic maps in the tomographic setting. Finally, the entangled states of two qubits and Bell inequalities are given in the framework of the tomographic probability representation using the stochastic semigroup properties

Quantum regression theorem for non-Markovian Lindblad equations

We find the conditions under which a quantum regression theorem can be assumed valid for non-Markovian master equations consisting in Lindblad superoperators with memory kernels. Our considerations are based on a generalized Born-Markov approximation, which allows us to obtain our results from an underlying Hamiltonian description. We demonstrate that a non-Markovian quantum regression theorem can only be granted in a stationary regime if the dynamics satisfies a quantum detailed balance condition. As an example we study the correlations of a two level system embedded in a complex structured reservoir and driven by an external coherent field.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures. Extended version. The GBMA is deduced from projector technique. A new appendix is adde