Femtosecond-laser ablation dynamics of dielectrics: basics and applications for thin films.

Laser ablation of dielectrics by ultrashort laser pulses is reviewed. The basic interaction between ultrashort light pulses and the dielectric material is described, and different approaches to the modeling of the femtosecond ablation dynamics are reviewed. Material excitation by ultrashort laser pulses is induced by a combination of strong-field excitation (multi-photon and tunnel excitation), collisional excitation (potentially leading to an avalanche process), and absorption in the plasma consisting of the electrons excited to the conduction band. It is discussed how these excitation processes can be described by various rate-equation models in combination with different descriptions of the excited electrons. The optical properties of the highly excited dielectric undergo a rapid change during the laser pulse, which must be included in a detailed modeling of the excitations. The material ejected from the dielectric following the femtosecond-laser excitation can potentially be used for thin-film deposition. The deposition rate is typically much smaller than that for nanosecond lasers, but film production by femtosecond lasers does possess several attractive features. First, the strong-field excitation makes it possible to produce films of materials that are transparent to the laser light. Second, the highly localized excitation reduces the emission of larger material particulates. Third, lasers with ultrashort pulses are shown to be particularly useful tools for the production of nanocluster films. The important question of the film stoichiometry relative to that of the target will be thoroughly discussed in relation to the films reported in the literature.

Sub-kelvin temperature management in ion traps for optical clocks.

The uncertainty of the ac Stark shift due to thermal radiation represents a major contribution to the systematic uncertainty budget of state-of-the-art optical atomic clocks. In the case of optical clocks based on trapped ions, the thermal behavior of the rf-driven ion trap must be precisely known. This determination is even more difficult when scalable linear ion traps are used. Such traps enable a more advanced control of multiple ions and have become a platform for new applications in quantum metrology, simulation, and computation. Nevertheless, their complex structure makes it more difficult to precisely determine its temperature in operation and thus the related systematic uncertainty. We present here scalable linear ion traps for optical clocks, which exhibit very low temperature rise under operation. We use a finite-element model refined with experimental measurements to determine the thermal distribution in the ion trap and the temperature at the position of the ions. The trap temperature is investigated at different rf-drive frequencies and amplitudes with an infrared camera and integrated temperature sensors. We show that for typical trapping parameters for In+, Al+, Lu+, Ca+, Sr+, or Yb+ ions, the temperature rise at the position of the ions resulting from rf heating of the trap stays below 700 mK and can be controlled with an uncertainty on the order of a few 100 mK maximum. The corresponding uncertainty of the trap-related blackbody radiation shift is in the low 10-19 and even 10-20 regime for 171Yb+(E3) and 115In+, respectively.

Determining the mechanical properties of a radiochromic silicone-based 3D dosimeter.

New treatment modalities in radiotherapy (RT) enable delivery of highly conformal dose distributions in patients. This creates a need for precise dose verification in three dimensions (3D). A radiochromic silicone-based 3D dosimetry system has recently been developed. Such a dosimeter can be used for dose verification in deformed geometries, which requires knowledge of the dosimeter's mechanical properties. In this study we have characterized the dosimeter's elastic behaviour under tensile and compressive stress. In addition, the dose response under strain was determined. It was found that the dosimeter behaved as an incompressible hyperelastic material with a non-linear stress/strain curve and with no observable hysteresis or plastic deformation even at high strains. The volume was found to be constant within a 2% margin at deformations up to 60%. Furthermore, it was observed that the dosimeter returned to its original geometry within a 2% margin when irradiated under stress, and that the change in optical density per centimeter was constant regardless of the strain during irradiation. In conclusion, we have shown that this radiochromic silicone-based dosimeter's mechanical properties make it a viable candidate for dose verification in deformable 3D geometries.

Eliminating the dose-rate effect in a radiochromic silicone-based 3D dosimeter.

Comprehensive dose verification, such as 3D dosimetry, may be required for safe introduction and use of advanced treatment modalities in radiotherapy. A radiochromic silicone-based 3D dosimetry system has recently been suggested, though its clinical use has so far been limited by a considerable dose-rate dependency of the dose response. In this study we have investigated the dose-rate dependency with respect to the chemical composition of the dosimeter. We found that this dependency was reduced with increasing dye concentration, and the dose response was observed to be identical for dosimeters irradiated with 2 and 6 Gy min(-1) at concentrations of 0.26% (w/w) dye and 1% (w/w) dye solvent. Furthermore, for the optimized dosimeter formulation, no dose-rate effect was observed due to the attenuation of the beam fluence with depth. However, the temporal stability of the dose response decreased with dye concentration; the response was reduced by (62 ± 1)% within approximately 20 h upon irradiation, at the optimal chemical composition and storage at room temperature. In conclusion, this study presents a chemical composition for a dose-rate independent silicone dosimeter which has considerably improved the clinical applicability of such dosimeters, but at the cost of a decreased stability.

[Indicators for alcohol abuse in female drunk drivers. (Comparative study with alcohol intoxicated male automobile drivers)]. / Indikatoren für Alkoholabusus bei Trunkenheitsfahrerinnen. (Vergleichsstudie mit alkoholauffälligen männlichen Pkw-Fahrern).

Women account for about 12% of all cases of drink driving in German cities. Little is known about their drinking behaviour and the extent of their alcohol misuse. In order that these questions may be clarified, three major studies were evaluated. In these studies, additional indicators for alcohol misuse such as GGT or methanol and acetone+isopropanol or indeed CDT, GGT, methanol and acetone+isopropanol were measured in blood samples. The results were compared with studies of the same kind on male car drivers. There were no significant differences in the ages of males and females. However, there were no differences at all regarding the frequency of the blood alcohol levels or the CDT. Indicators levels of chronic alcohol abuse, such als GGT levels above 70 U/L, methanol levels above 10.00 mg/kg or acetone+isopropanol concentrations above 9.00 mg/kg were approximately the same with women as they were with men. This demonstrates an increasing similarity amongst male and female DWI drivers regarding the drinking behaviour and alcohol abuse.

[Methanol, isopropanol, n-propanol--endogenous formation affected by alcohol?]. / Methanol, Isopropanol, n-Propanol--endogene Bildung unter Athanoleinfluss?

Methanol, isopropanol and n-propanol are detected usually in blood samples during the determination of congeners. The ethanol-induces formation of methanol and isopropanol has been described formerly. Also little amount of n-propanol were detected in blood, which could not be reduced to the alcoholic beverages.

[Diagnosis of carbon monoxide poisoning following embalming and exhumation]. / Diagnose Kohlenmonoxidvergiftung nach Einbalsamierung und Exhumierung.

Clots of blood, which were found in the cardiac ventricles at an autopsy of an embalmed corpse, were to analyse for carbon monoxide. It was not possible to determine reliably the CO-Hb-content of the blood clots with the known methods. Therefore a new procedure was developed. Carbon monoxide was released by a solution of nitric acid and determined gas chromatographically by a headspace method. In the same vessel the iron-content of the sample was measured after decomposition with atomic absorption spectrometry. This procedure is especially suitable for samples like putrid or heat-clotted blood.

[Measuring carbon monoxide content in muscles]. / Zur Messung des Kohlenmonoxidgehaltes in der Muskulatur.

A method ist described to determine the CO-content in the tissue of muscles. The prepared tissue is pulverized in a swinging mill at the temperature of liquid nitrogen. Parts of the powder are weighed into headspace vessels. Carbon monoxide ist ejected by a formerly described method and measured gaschromatographically. The Fe-content is determined after an acid disintegration by AAS. Acute intoxications lead to higher CO-contents in heart than in periphere muscles. Chronic exposure to carbon monoxide does not produce these differences.

[Optimizing carbon monoxide detection in biological material]. / Optimierung des Kohlenmonoxidnachweises im biologischen Material.

The determination of the CO-content is difficult in heated or putrified samples of blood and tissues. The preparation of these materials and a sensitive gas-chromatographic detection of small amounts of carbon-monoxide with head-space technique are described. The iron-content of a sample is a measure for the complete saturation with carbon-monoxide. This content is measured with AAS in the same vessel used before to determine CO. The presented method is suited too for ecological studies.

High-resolution vacuum-ultraviolet spectroscopy of an electron-cooled D- beam.

The shape parameters for the lowest-lying (1)P(o) resonance, (2)¿0¿-3, of D- have been measured using high-resolution vacuum-ultraviolet spectroscopy. The experiment was performed at the storage ring ASTRID, and the resonance was resolved by applying electron cooling to reduce the velocity spread of the ion beam. The resonance has a width of 37(3) microeV while the asymmetry parameter q of the Fano profile is -16(3). These values present the first critical test of a large number of theoretical calculations.