Cavity-enhanced frequency doubling from 795nm to 397.5nm ultra-violet coherent radiation with PPKTP crystals in the low pump power regime.

We demonstrate a simple, compact and cost-efficient diode laser pumped frequency doubling system at 795 nm in the low power regime. In two configurations, a bow-tie four-mirror ring enhancement cavity with a PPKTP crystal inside and a semi-monolithic PPKTP enhancement cavity, we obtain 397.5nm ultra-violet coherent radiation of 35mW and 47mW respectively with a mode-matched fundamental power of about 110mW, corresponding to a conversion efficiency of 32% and 41%. The low loss semi-monolithic cavity leads to the better results. The constructed ultra-violet coherent radiation has good power stability and beam quality, and the system has huge potential in quantum optics and cold atom physics.

Effects of γ-ray irradiation on optical absorption and laser damage performance of KDP crystals containing arsenic impurities.

The effects of γ-irradiation on potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystals containing arsenic impurities are investigated with different optical diagnostics, including UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy, photo-thermal common-path interferometer and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The optical absorption spectra indicate that a new broad absorption band near 260 nm appears after γ-irradiation. It is found that the intensity of absorption band increases with the increasing irradiation dose and arsenic impurity concentration. The simulation of radiation defects show that this absorption is assigned to the formation of AsO44⁻ centers due to arsenic ions substituting for phosphorus ions. Laser-induced damage threshold test is conducted by using 355 nm nanosecond laser pulses. The correlations between arsenic impurity concentration and laser induced damage threshold are presented. The results indicate that the damage performance of the material decreases with the increasing arsenic impurity concentration. Possible mechanisms of the irradiation-induced defects formation under γ-irradiation of KDP crystals are discussed.

Evaluation of trapping parameters of γ-rays irradiated Dy3+ -doped LaPO4 phosphors.

Thermoluminescence (TL) materials are widely used in radiation measurements. The best-known applications of TL materials are in the dosimetry of ionizing radiation, and in CTV screen phosphors, scintillators, X-ray laser materials, etc. The TL glow curve and its kinetic parameters for annealed LaPO4 at different constant temperatures and for Dy(3+) -doped LaPO4 phosphors irradiated by gamma-rays are reported here. The samples were irradiated using a (60) Co gamma-ray source at a dose of 10 Gy and the heating rate used for TL measurements was 5 ºC/s. The samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared, transmission electron microscopy and TL techniques. The XRD pattern shows that the prepared phosphor has a good crystalline structure with an average crystallite size of ~ 18 nm. The samples show good TL peaks for 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 mole % doping concentrations of Dy(3+) ions and anneal above 400 ºC. The TL glow curve characteristics of annealed LaPO4 and Dy(3+) -doped LaPO4 were analyzed and trapping parameters calculated using various methods. All TL glow curves obey the second-order kinetics with a single glow peak, which reveals that only one set of trapping parameter is set for a particular temperature. The TL sensitivity was found to depend upon the annealing temperature and Dy(3+) doping concentration. The prepared sample may be a new nano phosphor and be useful in TL dosimetry.

Synthesis and characterization of cell-permeable caged phosphates that can be photolyzed by visible light or 800 nm two-photon photolysis.

We report the synthesis and photolytic properties of caged inorganic phosphates (Pi compounds) based on the 2-(4'-{bis[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl]amino}-4-nitro-[1,1'-biphenyl]-3-yl)propan-1-ol (EANBP) and 7-(diethylamino)coumarin-4-yl]methyl (DEACM) protecting groups. The EANBP-Pi showed unprecedented photolysis efficiency at 405 nm, with 95 % release of free phosphate and a quantum yield of 0.28. Thanks to the high two-photon sensitivity of the EANBP chromophore, Pi release through two-photon photolysis is also possible, with an action cross section of 20.5 GM at 800 nm. Two bioactivatable acetoxymethyl protection groups were added to the "caged-Pi" compounds. The resulting triesters of phosphoric acid were able to diffuse through the cellular membranes of plant cells. Once inside a cell, the cleavage of these biocleavable motifs by intracellular esterases allows intracellular accumulation of EANBP-Pi. Bis(AM)-EANBP-Pi therefore represents a very attractive tool for study of the Pi signal transduction cascade in living cells.

Change of self-focusing behavior of phosphate glass resulting from exposure to ultraviolet nanosecond laser pulses.

The self-focusing characteristic of 355 nm, 3.3 ns pulses propagating through phosphate glass samples is found to significantly change during repeated exposure. The results indicate this change is related to the formation of color centers in the material as well as the generation of a transient defect population during exposure to the laser pulses. A model is used to fit the experimental data and obtain an estimated range of values for the modified linear and nonlinear indices of refraction.

Fabrication of spherical mitigation pit on KH2PO4 crystal by micro-milling and modeling of its induced light intensification.

Micro-machining is the most promising method for KH(2)PO(4) crystal to mitigate the surface damage growth in high power laser system. In this work, spherical mitigation pit is fabricated by micro-milling with an efficient machining procedure. The light intensification caused by rear surface features before and after mitigation is numerically modeled based on the finite-difference time-domain method. The results indicate that the occurrence of total internal reflections should be responsible for the largest light intensification inside the crystal. For spherical pits after mitigation, the light intensification can be greatly alleviated by preventing the occurrence of total internal reflections. The light intensification caused by spherical mitigation pit is strongly dependent on the width-depth ratio and it is suggested that the width-depth ratio of spherical mitigation pit must be devised to be larger than 5.0 to achieve the minimal light intensification for the mitigation of surface damage growth. Laser damage tests for KH(2)PO(4) crystal validate that the laser damage resistance of initially damaged surface can be retrieved to near the level of ideal surface by replacing initial damage site with predesigned mitigation pit.

Second-harmonic generation in periodically poled bulk Rb-doped KTiOPO4 below 400 nm at high peak-intensities.

We demonstrate that bulk Rb-doped KTiOPO4 (RKTP) shows improved susceptibility to gray-tracking compared to flux-grown KTiOPO4 . We show high-fidelity periodic poling of 1 mm thick RKTP with a period of 3.18 µm for second harmonic generation at 398 nm with a normalized conversion efficiency of 1.79%/Wcm. The crystal is used to frequency-double 138 fs-long pulses with an efficiency of 20% and a peak intensity of 560 MW/cm² without visible gray-tracking signs. We demonstrate that two-photon absorption is the predominant mechanism limiting the SHG efficiency in this spectral range at high peak powers and high repetition rates.

Treatment of winery wastewater by electrochemical methods and advanced oxidation processes.

The aim of this research was development of new system for the treatment of highly polluted wastewater (COD = 10240 mg/L; SS = 2860 mg/L) originating from vine-making industry. The system consisted of the main treatment that included electrochemical methods (electro oxidation, electrocoagulation using stainless steel, iron and aluminum electrode sets) with simultaneous sonication and recirculation in strong electromagnetic field. Ozonation combined with UV irradiation in the presence of added hydrogen peroxide was applied for the post-treatment of the effluent. Following the combined treatment, the final removal efficiencies of the parameters color, turbidity, suspended solids and phosphates were over 99%, Fe, Cu and ammonia approximately 98%, while the removal of COD and sulfates was 77% and 62%, respectively. A new approach combining electrochemical methods with ultrasound in the strong electromagnetic field resulted in significantly better removal efficiencies for majority of the measured parameters compared to the biological methods, advanced oxidation processes or electrocoagulation. Reduction of the treatment time represents another advantage of this new approach.

Dynamics of transient absorption in bulk DKDP crystals following laser energy deposition.

The transient changes in the optical properties of bulk DKDP material arising from its exposure to high temperatures and pressures associated with localized laser energy deposition are investigated. Two methods for initiation of laser-induced breakdown are used, intrinsic, involving relatively large energy deposition brought about by focusing of the laser beam to high intensities, and extrinsic, arising from more localized deposition due to the presence of pre-existing absorbing damage initiating defects. Each method leads to a very different volume of material being affected, which provides for different material thermal relaxation times to help better understand the processes involved.

Direct femtosecond laser waveguide writing inside zinc phosphate glass.

We report the relationship between the initial glass composition and the resulting microstructural changes after direct femtosecond laser waveguide writing with a 1 kHz repetition rate Ti:sapphire laser system. A zinc polyphosphate glass composition with an oxygen to phosphorus ratio of 3.25 has demonstrated positive refractive index changes induced inside the focal volume of a focusing microscope objective for laser pulse energies that can achieve intensities above the modification threshold. The permanent photo-induced changes can be used for direct fabrication of optical waveguides using single scan writing techniques. Changes to the localized glass network structure that produce positive changes in the refractive index of zinc phosphate glasses upon femtosecond laser irradiation have been studied using scanning confocal micro-Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy.

Influence of irradiation on in vitro red-blood-cell (RBC) storage variables of leucoreduced RBCs in additive solution PAGGS-M.

BACKGROUND: The effect of gamma irradiation on leucoreduced red-blood-cells (RBCs) stored in an additive solution (AS) containing phosphate, adenine, glucose, guanosine, saline and mannitol (PAGGS-M) has not yet been studied, and there are different recommendations about storage time of leucoreduced RBCs after irradiation. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We studied 63 leucoreduced RBC units. All RBCs were stored in AS PAGGS-M and leucoreduced on the collection day. Twenty-one components were irradiated on Day +14 with 30 Gy and 22 served as non-irradiated controls. Samples were drawn and analysed from these 43 units on Day +7, +14, +21, +28, +35, +42 and +49 from the collection day. From 20 units, no samples were taken earlier than on Day +49. Of these, 10 components had been irradiated on Day +14 with 30 Gy and 10 served as non-irradiated controls. RESULTS: Gamma irradiation induced an enhanced in vitro haemolysis rate in the irradiated components. One of the irradiated units showed a haemolysis rate over the recommended limit of 0·8% on Day +42 and four on Day +49. The leakage of potassium ions from irradiated RBCs started to increase faster than that of unirradiated RBCs from the day of irradiation. Lactate dehydrogenase levels increased faster in irradiated units 3 weeks after irradiation. We showed that taking samples weekly does not affect the final result. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that the European recommendations should not be changed in regard to the limitation of the storageability after irradiation of leucoreduced RBCs. The damage after irradiation and storage cannot be prevented by using the high-quality AS PAGGS-M.

Cationic and radical intermediates in the acid photorelease from aryl sulfonates and phosphates.

The irradiation of a series of phenyl sulfonates and phosphates leads to the quantitative release of acidity with a reasonable quantum yield (≈0.2). Products characterization, ion chromatography analysis and potentiometric titration are consistent with the intervening of two different paths in this reaction, viz. cationic with phosphates and (mainly) radical with sulfonates.

Nanosecond laser induced damage in RbTiOPO4: the missing influence of crystal quality.

Nanosecond laser induced damage in RbTiOPO(4) (RTP) an isomorphic material to the more widely known KTiOPO(4) (KTP) is studied in crystals with varying properties. The ionic conductivity along the z-axes of the tested crystals ranged from 1.5 10(-9) S/cm to 1.1 10(-12) S/cm. Further, different growth sectors with different absorption in the range of hundreds of ppm/cm and differing zones in inhomogeneous crystals have been investigated. Despite these important differences in crystal quality, no significant difference could be observed in the laser damage resistance at 1064 nm. Thus growth induced defects only play a minor role in nanosecond laser induced damage in RTP. Transient, laser induced defects are discussed in analogy with KTP as possible laser damage precursors.

[Effect of irradiation intensity on the production of free radicals by near-UV photosensitization of frozen adenine solutions with an inorganic phosphate].

The effect of light intensity on the production of free radicals by near-UV photosensitization at 77 K of frozen aqueous solutions of adenine in the presence of inorganic phosphate has been studied. A quantitative estimation of relative concentrations of the products: hydrogen atoms (H*), adenine, phosphate and OH* radicals was carried out using the computer analysis of EPR spectra of irradiated samples. It was found that the formation of phosphate and OH* radicals in a photosystem results predominantly from the absorption of two photons in the band of illumination. The production of H* occurs in two ways, which involve the absorption of one photon or two photons.

Degradation of rhodamine B in a novel bio-photoelectric reductive system composed of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 and Ag3PO4.

Photocatalytic catalysis is widely used for pollutant degradation. Since some pollutants with oxidative nature are readily reduced rather than oxidized and reductive reaction caused by photogenerated electrons is limited in the presence of oxygen, photocatalytic reduction process is more applicable for the degradation of pollutants with oxidative nature than oxidation. In this work, a novel bio-photoelectric reductive degradation system (BPRDS), composed of an electrochemically active bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 and a visible-light photocatalyst Ag3PO4, was established under anaerobic conditions and its photodegradation performance was evaluated through degrading rhodamine B (RhB), a typical organic pollutant. The as-synthesized Ag3PO4 nanoparticles exhibited absorption in the entire visible spectral range of 400-800 nm. RhB could be degraded in BPRDS with visible light irradiation under anaerobic conditions, but not be decomposed in the absence of Shewanella cells. Block of Mtr respiratory pathway, a transmembrane electron transport chain, resulted in a reduction in degradation rate of RHB in BPRDS. Dose of riboflavin also substantially decreased the RhB degradation. These results suggest that the electrons released by Shewanella were involved in the RhB photodegradation, which was achieved via a stepwise N-deethylation process. In BPRDS, RhB was degraded by photoreduction, rather than photooxidation. This work is useful to develop integrated physico-chemical-microbial systems for pollutant degradation, facilitate better understanding about the biophotoelectric reductive degradation mechanisms and beneficial to their applications for environmental remediation.

Laser damage performance of KD2-chiHchiPO4 crystals following X-ray irradiation.

We investigate the laser-induced damage performance of KD(2-chi)H(chi)PO(4) crystals following exposure to X-ray irradiation. Two important issues addressed by our study are i) the performance of the material when operational conditions lead to its exposure to ionizing irradiation and ii) the way the radiation-induced transient defects interact with the pre-existing precursor defects responsible for laser-induced damage. Our results indicate that the damage performance of the material is affected by exposure to X-rays. This behavior is attributed to a change in the physical properties of the precursors which, in turn, affect their ability to initiate damage following interaction with X-ray generated defects.

Synthesis and luminescent properties of a novel bluish-white afterglow phosphor, b-Zn3(PO4)2:Hf4+.

A new bluish-white long-lasting phosphorescent material, Hf4+-doped b-Zn3(PO4)2, was prepared by the conventional high-temperature solid-state method. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum reveals that it exhibits a strong blue emission band centred at 470 nm, with asymmetry on the long wavelength side; this material emits bluish-white light and shows strong afterglow phosphorescence after it is excited with a 254 nm UV lamp. The phosphorescence lasts nearly 40 min in the light perception of the dark-adapted human eye (0.32 mcd/m(2)). The possible phosphorescence mechanism is also analysed.

Numerical simulation of self-compressed second-harmonic generation in type II potassium dihydrogen phosphate with a time predelay for Yb-doped solid-state lasers.

We report numerical results of second-harmonic generation in a type II potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystal with a time predelay for picosecond and/or femtosecond Yb-doped solid-state lasers, and clarify the dependence of the self compression in the second-harmonic laser pulse on the initial frequency chirp, fundamental duration and intensity, and phase-mismatching angle. We also show numerically the generation possibility of a self-compressed second-harmonic laser pulse near 20 fs.

Picosecond infrared probing of the vibrational spectra of transients formed upon UV excitation of stacked G-tetrad structures.

The photophysical properties of stacked G-tetrads in diverse systems, including concentrated solutions of 5'-guanosine monophosphate (5'-GMP), polyguanylic acid (poly(G)) and the G-rich oligodeoxynucleotide sequence characteristic of human telomeric DNA, are probed by ps-TRIR and compared to those of the monomeric 5'-GMP.

High-temperature 434 Mhz surface acoustic wave devices based on GaPO4.

Research into surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices began in the early 1970s and led to the development of high performance, small size, and high reproducibility devices. Much research has now been done on the application of such devices to consumer electronics, process monitoring, and communication systems. The use of novel materials, such as gallium phosphate (GaPO4), extends the operating temperature of the elements. SAW devices based on this material operating at 434 MHz and up 800 degrees C, can be used for passive wireless sensor applications. Interdigital transducer (IDT) devices with platinum/zirconium metallization and 1.4 microm finger-gap ratio of 1:1 have been fabricated using direct write e-beam lithography and a lift-off process. The performance and long-term stability of these devices has been studied, and the results are reported in this paper.