Hyper-Rayleigh scattering as a means of monitoring crystal nucleation in solution.

Hyper-Rayleigh scattering is revealed as a very sensitive monitor of cluster formation in solution, and as a means of studying the mechanism of crystal nucleation in molecular species. Two compounds are selected with particularly high second harmonic generation (SHG) powers in the crystalline state and experimental conditions are defined allowing the measurement of the beta value for one of these as 18+/-1x10(-30) esu. It is found to agree with current theoretical prediction of 20x10(-30) esu. In the more powerful of these, two photon induced fluorescence is found to be partly responsible for the SHG. The solubilities of both compounds in methanol are measured and it is observed that these differ by a factor of ten. When the solution concentration is increased beyond 45% of the saturation value, the quadratic coefficient exhibits non-linear behaviour with respect to concentration. Additionally, the widths of the distributions of the HRS signals increase initially with concentration as expected, but, beyond 45% saturation concentrations, these narrow again. These phenomena are interpreted as indicators of cluster formation in these solutions well below saturation concentrations. A future experimental design is proposed in which the coherent component will yield information on the organisation of the molecules in such clusters.

Linear electro-optic effect in the organic crystal 4-aminobenzophenone.

The linear electro-optic effect in single crystals of 4-aminobenzphenone (ABP) is reported together with calibration data on LiNbO(3). For ABP the linear electro-optic coefficients r(22) and r(32) at 488 nm were found to be 2.12 and 5.05 pm/V, respectively, with the corresponding reduced half-wave voltages being 49.4 +/- 0.1 and 9.3 +/- 0.1 kV. For LiNbO(3) the half-wave voltage was found to be 4.0 +/- 0.1 kV at 632.8 nm and 2.4 +/- 0.1 kV at 488 nm.

Surface damage of (-)2-(α-methylbenzylamino)-5-nitropyridine single crystals induced by pulsed laser radiation.

Pulsed laser-induced surface damage experiments were made on the cleaved (001) face of (-)2-(α-methylbenzylamino)-5-nitropyridine crystals at a pulse length of 25 ns FWHM. The highest single-pulse damage threshold value was 24.2 J/cm(2) at 532 nm for light polarized along the crystallographic b axis.

An in-vitro morphological study of Q-switched neodymium/YAG laser trabeculotomy.

Laser trabeculotomies produced by directing a pulsed neodymium/YAG laser beam at specimens of human anterior chamber angle obtained post mortem or after enucleation were studied by light microscopy and by scanning and transmission electron microscopy to assess the dimensions of the openings created in the trabecular meshwork, their penetrance to the canal of Schlemm, and the extent or absence of laser induced cellular damage in immediately adjacent tissue. A pulse duration of 40-50 ns at energy levels of around 30 mJ was used and the laser cavity carefully tuned to give a Gaussian spatial mode pattern. Openings in the trabecular meshwork typically of 100 microns in diameter and penetrating through to the canal of Schlemm could be regularly created with only minimal damage to adjacent tissue as judged by transmission electron microscopy. The information so gained may be useful in determining the parameters required for successful laser trabeculotomy as a treatment for primary open-angle glaucoma.

In vitro studies with a pulsed neodymium/YAG laser.

The relationships between the destructive effects of Q-switched Nd/YAG laser pulses and a number of experimental parameters were studied for various target materials including in particular excised, fixed samples of human trabecular meshwork. The laser parameters altered were the pulse energy, the convergence angle of the focused beam, and the position of the focus of the beam relative to the target's axial position. The main finding was that it was possible to make deep holes, of a diameter less than 100 micron, in virtually transparent samples of trabecular meshwork with a laser delivery system of 6 degrees convergence and pulse energies of 14 mJ or more. The relevance of this and the other experimental results to the development of a reliable system for performing internal trabeculotomies for the treatment of open-angle glaucoma is presented.

Thermal lens measurements in the cornea.

Q-switched pulses from a neodymium/YAG (yttrium-aluminium-garnet) laser were passed through corneal discs taken from the enucleated eyes of three baboons and four rabbits. The time course of heat dissipation following absorption of laser energy by the tissue was studied with the use of a second continuous wave laser beam acting as a probe. It was found that the absorption of each neodymium/YAG pulse created a transient divergent lens within the cornea as theoretical considerations predicted. The relaxation time that characterised the decay of this thermal lens for a 1/e laser beam diameter of 2.0 mm was found to be 2.3 +/- 0.1 s (mean +/- standard error for 12 separate groups of measurements). Our results show that Q-switched laser pulses passing through apparently unaffected transparent tissues can induce thermal lens effects which persist for several seconds. The optical transfer of each pulse in a stream will be identical only if enough time is left between pulses for the tissues to return to their initial state. Therefore, when such laser pulses sharply focused to perform high precision intraocular surgery are used, thermal lensing in the transparent ocular media must limit the rate at which pulses can be usefully delivered.

Determination of low concentrations of hydrogen halides and halogens in the gas phase: removal from a mixture of gases and quantitative estimation.

A method has been developed for the removal of hydrogen chloride, and mixtures of bromine and hydrogen bromide, from gaseous mixtures by absorption on various solids. The efficiency of removal of bromine and hydrogen bromide has been determined and the substances have been estimated potentiometrically. The technique is extended to include the other halogens and hydrogen halides.