Dielectric coated conductive rod resonantly coupled with a cut transmission line as a tunable microwave bandstop filter and sensor.

The resonant interaction of a dielectric-coated conductive rod with the X-band microwave field is investigated. The magnetic field distribution of the Goubau standing radial surface waves was experimentally visualized by using a thermo-elastic optical indicator microscope, and the corresponding electric field distribution was determined via numerical simulations. These field distributions are characterized by a certain pattern of antinodes distinctive for standing waves. An analysis of these field distributions allows one to couple a coated rod with a cut Goubau line. A rod placed in the gap region perpendicular to the Goubau line results in a sharp rejection band in the transmission spectrum which is extremely sensitive to the changes in the surrounding media. The shifting rate of the resonance as a function of the dielectric shell thickness is approximately 1.4 GHz/mm. The Q-factor of copper rods depends on their size and dielectric shell thickness. Longer rods with more energy localization areas have higher Q-factors, typically 1.7 times higher (12.7 vs. 7.5). Moreover, incorporating a dielectric shell enhances energy confinement and can elevate the Q-factor by as much as 22 %. When a 25 mm Cu rod is situated inside a cut Goubau line system, the Q-factor values are significantly higher, with a ratio of 275 to 13. With the addition of a dielectric shell, the Q-factor can be elevated by 58 %. The versatility of the proposed controllable system makes it possible to tune the operating spectrum towards higher GHz and THz frequencies.

Characteristics of light transfer in the connected conical waveguides with the same symmetry axis.

The propagation of the light trough dielectric-metal-dielectric conical waveguide is described by the coupling modes between internal and external waveguides. The energy pumping from internal to the external waveguide has a resonant behavior and is very sensitive to the variations of the system parameters. The simplified model of this process realization is the light flash at the end of the conical metal covered tip of the optical fiber that crosses the liquid-air interface. Here, as an external waveguide serves the liquid meniscus formed at the tip of the optical fiber. In this condition, the shift of liquid surface by 50 nm toward the tip end brings significant changes in the transferred radiation power. Ability to register nanometric displacements (nanovibrations) of the liquid surface opens up new ways to create sensitive sensors for different purposes.

Application of a sensitive near-field microwave microprobe to the nondestructive characterization of microbial rhodopsin.

We study the opto-electrical properties of Natronomonas pharaonis sensory rhodopsin II (NpSRII) by using a near-field microwave microprobe (NFMM) under external light illumination. To investigate the possibility of application of NFMM to biological macromolecules, we used time dependent properties of NPSRII before/after light activation which has three distinct states - ground-state, M-state, and O-state. The diagnostic ability of NFMM is demonstrated by measuring the microwave reflection coefficient (S(11)) spectrum of NpSRII under steady-state illumination in the wavelength range of 350-650 nm. Moreover, we present microwave reflection coefficient S(11) spectra in the same wavelength range for two fast-photocycling rhodopsins: green light-absorbing proteorhodopsin (GPR) and Gloeobacter rhodopsin (GR). In addition the frequency sweep shift can be detected completely even for tiny amounts of sample (∼10(-3) OD of rhodopsin). Based on these results NFMM shows both very high sensitivity for detecting conformational changes and produces a good time-resolved spectrum.