An Ultra-Wideband Vivaldi Antenna System for Long-Distance Electromagnetic Detection

Enlarging or reducing the antenna beam width of antennas can improve the positioning capability of detection systems. A miniaturized and easily fabricated ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna system for long-distance electromagnetic detection is proposed in this article. Two ultra-wideband Vivaldi antennae were designed. One was the transmitting antenna with a beam width of 90° or above, the other was a narrow beam antenna array with beam width less than 10°, as a receiving antenna. Both proposed antennae feature broadside gain diagrams with stable radiation patterns and wideband impedance matching in the frequency range between 2.5 GHz and 4 GHz. After detecting their frequency and time-domain behaviors, the detection system can achieve measurements covering a radius of 30 m.

Self-Focusing Property of Partially Coherent Beam With Non-Uniform Correlation Structure in Non-Linear Media

Coherence in a light beam has the potential to serve as a degree of freedom for manipulating the beam. In this work, the self-focusing property of a partially coherent beam with a non-uniform correlation structure propagating in a non-linear medium is investigated. The analysis of the evolution of beam width reveals that the coherence structure plays a vital role in the self-focusing formation. A threshold condition for the coherence radius is proposed for the first time, and the relation of self-focusing length and initial coherence radius is studied numerically and analytically. It is shown that a feasible approach for manipulating the self-focusing length by adjusting the initial coherence radius is achieved.

Coherence Properties and Intensity Distribution of a Partially Coherent Lorentz–Gauss Beam Emerging from the Axicon

The propagation of a partially Lorentz–Gauss beam in a uniform-intensity diffractive axicon is studied according to the Huygens–Fresnel principle, the Hermite–Gaussian expansion of a Lorentz function, and using the stationary phase method. We have derived the intensity equation of a partially coherent Lorentz-Gauss beams propagating through uniform-intensity diffractive axicon, and we proved mathematically that it is the superposition of Bessel beams of various orders after emerging from axicon, using Hermite’s function series and the Bessel function integral formulas. The results show that the intensity distribution of the diffracted beam is the intensity pattern evolved from a Lorentz–Gauss shaped spot into a Gaussian-shaped spot at any position on the focal length of the axicon, and the intensity distribution of a partially Lorentz–Gauss beam generated by an axicon becomes uniform by increasing the beam width and more uniform and constant with the larger coherence width.

The Propagation Properties of a Laguerre–Gaussian Beam in Nonlinear Plasma

The self-focusing properties of the Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beam in nonlinear plasma, characterized by significant collisional or ponderomotive nonlinearity have been explored. The second-order differential equation of the beam width is established from Maxwell’s equations with Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) and paraxial like approximation. The effect of the vortex charge number, intensity parameter and plasma temperature on the self-focusing properties of the Laguerre-Gaussian beam has been investigated.

Electron Bernstein wave aided heating of collisional nanocluster plasma by nonlinear interactions of two super-Gaussian laser beams

In this present theoretical study, we investigate electron Bernstein wave (EBW) aided collisional nanocluster plasma heating by nonlinear interaction of two super-Gaussian laser beams. The interactions of laser beams electric field profiles with electronic clouds of nanoclusters cause the beat wave. The nonlinear ponderomotive force is generated through the beat wave. There may be good potential to excite the EBW aiding cluster plasma to lead electron heating via cyclotron damping of the Bernstein wave. An analytical scheme is proposed for the anomalous heating and evolution of electron temperature by using this mechanism. Graphical discussions were promised to achieve extreme heating rate via the spatial shape of super-Gaussian laser beams and the resonance condition of beat wave to surface plasmon frequency. The heating is controlled by tuning the laser beam width, mode index, collisional frequency, clustered radius, and density.

Investigation of the Pancharatnam-Berry phase element for the generation of the top-hat beam

Within optics, the Pancharatnam-Berry phase enables the design and creation of various flat special optical elements such as top-hat converters. We present a study on engineering efficient vectorial top-hat converters inscribed in glass by high-power femtosecond laser pulses. We phase-encode a top-hat converter and demonstrate how its quality is influenced by various parameters. We investigate theoretically the generation of the top-hat beam under imperfect conditions such as the mismatch of the incident beam width or the misalignment of the center of the converter. Experimental verification of the concept is also presented.

Absorption efficiency analysis and optical resonator simulation of Ho:YLF laser pumped with Tm:fiber laser

In this paper, a Tm:fiber laser pumped Ho:YLF laser is simulated. The absorption efficiency, optimum crystal length, and optical resonator are analytically studied and simulated using LASCAD software, and the atomic-level degeneracies are considered in evaluating the absorption efficiency. In this way, the absorption efficiencies of 65% and 87% are obtained for single-pass 30 mm Ho:YLF crystal with doping concentration 0.5% and 1% respectively. These calculated efficiencies are verified by our experimental measurements and they coincide with acceptable errors. To estimate a proper length for the Ho:YLF crystal with specified doping concentration, the up-conversion, and the reabsorption effects are considered. As a result, we find the 30 mm length crystal is suited for reducing the absorption threshold and prohibiting reabsorption while saturation is controlled. The threshold power and slope efficiency for 65 W pumped powers are calculated by LASCAD software, and the thermal lens focal length of −665 mm is obtained. For a nearly constant beam width inside the cavity and suitable beam overlap efficiency, a concave-concave configuration is chosen for the optical resonator. In the continuous-wave operation, the output power is funded to be 38.4 W and the slope efficiency would be 66%.

Characterisation of analogue front end and time walk in CMOS active pixel sensor

In this work we investigated a method to determine time walk in an active silicon pixel sensor prototype using Edge-TCT with infrared laser charge injection. Samples were investigated before and after neutron irradiation to 5· 10^14n_ eq/cm^2. Threshold, noise and calibration of the analogue front end were determined with external charge injection. A spatially sensitive measurement of collected charge and time walk was carried out with Edge-TCT, showing a uniform charge collection and output delay in pixel centre. On pixel edges charge sharing was observed due to finite beam width resulting in smaller signals and larger output delay. Time walk below 25 ns was observed for charge above 2000 e^- at a threshold above the noise level. Time walk measurement with external charge injection yielded identical results.

Design of Planar Array Transducers Based on Connected 1–3 Piezoelectric Composites

To improve the transmission performance and preparation of a transducer array, two planar array transducers based on connected 1–3 piezoelectric composites as a matrix were designed. Each transducer contained 25 array elements with a gap of 1 mm between them. The length, width and height of each array element were 1 mm, 26 mm and 5 mm, respectively. Two kinds of array transducers were tested through finite element simulation and experiments. The array transducer prototype was fabricated based on two kinds of composite materials, and the fabrication cycle was short. Our results show that the maximum transmission voltage response of the two-phase 1–3 full array driver is up to 179 dB at 200–400 kHz and the acoustic radiation intensity can be increased by up to 22% compared with the traditional splicing transducer array. It is suitable for short-range target positioning and measurement. Moreover, in the single element mode, the beam of the three-phase 1–3 transducer has no sidelobe and a single element −3 dB beam width of up to 91°. Furthermore, the beam width of the two-phase 1–3 type is 54°, and the acoustic radiation breadth is improved by 40.6%. The three-phase 1–3 type array transducer has the characteristics of concentrated acoustic transmission energy of the whole array, and its −3 dB beam width is 3.5°. The beam width decreased by 12.5%, indicating that the three-phase 1–3 type transducer is suitable for short-range target detection and perception. The two array transducers have their own advantages in transmitting the voltage response and beam width, which must be selected on the basis of the requirements of practical applications.