Innovative compact focal plane array for wide field vis and ir orbiting telescopes

Science.gov (United States)

Hugot, Emmanuel; Vives, Sébastien; Ferrari, Marc; Gaeremynck, Yann; Jahn, Wilfried

2017-11-01

The future generation of high angular resolution space telescopes will require breakthrough technologies to combine large diameters and large focal plane arrays with compactness and lightweight mirrors and structures. Considering the allocated volume medium-size launchers, short focal lengths are mandatory, implying complex optical relays to obtain diffraction limited images on large focal planes. In this paper we present preliminary studies to obtain compact focal plane arrays (FPA) for earth observations on low earth orbits at high angular resolution. Based on the principle of image slicers, we present an optical concept to arrange a 1D FPA into a 2D FPA, allowing the use of 2D detector matrices. This solution is particularly attractive for IR imaging requiring a cryostat, which volume could be considerably reduced as well as the relay optics complexity. Enabling the use of 2D matrices for such an application offers new possibilities. Recent developments on curved FPA allows optimization without concerns on the field curvature. This innovative approach also reduces the complexity of the telescope optical combination, specifically for fast telescopes. This paper will describe the concept and optical design of an F/5 - 1.5m telescope equipped with such a FPA, the performances and the impact on the system with a comparison with an equivalent 1.5m wide field Korsch telescope.

HIGH PERFORMANCE PIAA CORONAGRAPHY WITH COMPLEX AMPLITUDE FOCAL PLANE MASKS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guyon, Olivier; Martinache, Frantz; Belikov, Ruslan; Soummer, Remi

2010-01-01

We describe a coronagraph approach where the performance of a Phase-Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) coronagraph is improved by using a partially transmissive phase-shifting focal plane mask and a Lyot stop. This approach combines the low inner working angle offered by phase mask coronagraphy, the full throughput and uncompromized angular resolution of the PIAA approach, and the design flexibility of Apodized Pupil Lyot Coronagraph. A PIAA complex mask coronagraph (PIAACMC) is fully described by the focal plane mask size, or, equivalently, its complex transmission which ranges from 0 (opaque) to -1 (phase shifting). For all values of the transmission, the PIAACMC theoretically offers full on-axis extinction and 100% throughput at large angular separations. With a pure phase focal plane mask (complex transmission = -1), the PIAACMC offers 50% throughput at 0.64 λ/D while providing total extinction of an on-axis point source. This performance is very close to the 'fundamental performance limit' of coronagraphy derived from first principles. For very high contrast level, imaging performance with PIAACMC is in practice limited by the angular size of the on-axis target (usually a star). We show that this fundamental limitation must be taken into account when choosing the optimal value of the focal plane mask size in the PIAACMC design. We show that the PIAACMC enables visible imaging of Jupiter-like planets at ∼1.2 λ/D from the host star, and can therefore offer almost three times more targets than a PIAA coronagraph optimized for this type of observation. We find that for visible imaging of Earth-like planets, the PIAACMC gain over a PIAA is probably much smaller, as coronagraphic performance is then strongly constrained by stellar angular size. For observations at 'low' contrast (below ∼ 10 8 ), the PIAACMC offers significant performance enhancement over PIAA. This is especially relevant for ground-based high contrast imaging systems in the near-IR, where

Focal plane detector for QDD spectrography in Institute of Nuclear Study and detector for SMART 2nd focal plane in RIKEN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuchi, Yoshihide [Tokyo Univ., Tanashi (Japan). Inst. for Nuclear Study

1996-09-01

The focal plane detector for QDD spectrography in Institute of Nuclear Study was composed of drift space and a proportional counter tube, and the latter is composed of position detector and two delta E detector for recognizing the particles. In this detector, a uniform parallel electric field can be obtained by placing a guard plate at the same height as that of a drift plate outer place of the detector. On the other hand, the detector for SMART 2nd focal plate in RIKEN is composed of drift space and a single wire proportional counter, and has two cathode read out single wire drift counters set so as to hold the focal plane. (G.K.)

Low-Noise, UV-to-SWIR Broadband Photodiodes for Large-Format Focal Plane Array Sensors, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Broadband focal plane arrays, operating in UV-to-SWIR wavelength range, are required for atmospheric monitoring of greenhouse gases. Currently, separate image...

Flux dynamics in ultrasensitive superconducting focal planes

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The performance of superconducting focal planes will drive the achievable specifications of ultrasensitive instruments for NASA astrophysics missions, yet they have...

METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF FOCAL PLANE LOCATION OF FOCUSING COMPONENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. I. Ivashko

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Mass-production of different laser systems often requires utilization of the focal spot size method for determination of output laser beam spatial characteristics. The main challenge of this method is high accuracy maintenance of a CCD camera beam profiler in the collecting lens focal plane. The aim of our work is development of new method for placing of photodetector array in the collecting lens focal plane with high accuracy.Proposed technique is based on focusing of several parallel laser beams. Determination of the focal plane position requires only longitudinal translation of the CCD-camera to find a point of laser beams intersection. Continuous-wave (CW diode-pumped laser emitting in the spectral region near 1μm was created to satisfy the requirements of the developed technique. Designed microchip laser generates two stigmatic Gaussian beams with automatically parallel beam axes due to independent pumping of different areas of the one microchip crystal having the same cavity mirrors.It was theoretically demonstrated that developed method provides possibility of the lenses focal plane determination with 1 % accuracy. The microchip laser generates two parallel Gaussian beams with divergence of about 10 mrad. Laser output power can be varied in the range of 0.1–1.5 W by changing the pumping laser diode electrical current. The distance between two beam axes can be changed in the range of 0.5–5.0 mm.We have proposed method for determination of positive lens focal plane location by using of CCDcamera and two laser beams with parallel axes without utilization of additional optical devices. We have developed CW longitudinally diode pumped microchip laser emitting in the 1-μm spectral region that can be used in the measuring instrument that doesn’t require precision mechanical components for determination of focal plane location with 1 % accuracy. The overall dimensions of laser head was 70 × 40 × 40 mm3 and maximum power consumption was

Focal plane subsystem design and performance for atmospheric chemistry from geostationary orbit tropospheric emissions monitoring of pollution

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmore, A. S.; Philbrick, R. H.; Funderburg, J.

2017-09-01

Remote sensing of pollutants are enabled from a satellite in a geostationary orbit containing an imaging spectrometer encompassing the wavelength ranges of 290 - 490 nm and 540 - 740 nm. As the first of NASA's Earth Venture Instrument Program, the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) program will utilize this instrument to measure hourly air quality over a large portion of North America. The focal plane subsystem (FPS) contains two custom designed and critically aligned full frame transfer charge coupled devices (active area: 1028 x 2048, 18 μm) within a focal plane array package designed for radiation tolerance and space charging rejection. In addition, the FPS contains custom distributed focal plane electronics that provide all necessary clocks and biases to the sensors, receives all analog data from the sensors and performs 14 bit analog to digital conversion for upstream processing. Finally, the FPS encompasses custom low noise cables connecting the focal plane array and associated electronics. This paper discusses the design and performance of this novel focal plane subsystem with particular emphasis on the optical performance achieved including alignment, quantum efficiency, and modulation transfer function.

Neuromorphic infrared focal plane performs sensor fusion on-plane local-contrast-enhancement spatial and temporal filtering

Science.gov (United States)

Massie, Mark A.; Woolaway, James T., II; Curzan, Jon P.; McCarley, Paul L.

1993-08-01

An infrared focal plane has been simulated, designed and fabricated which mimics the form and function of the vertebrate retina. The `Neuromorphic' focal plane has the capability of performing pixel-based sensor fusion and real-time local contrast enhancement, much like the response of the human eye. The device makes use of an indium antimonide detector array with a 3 - 5 micrometers spectral response, and a switched capacitor resistive network to compute a real-time 2D spatial average. This device permits the summation of other sensor outputs to be combined on-chip with the infrared detections of the focal plane itself. The resulting real-time analog processed information thus represents the combined information of many sensors with the advantage that analog spatial and temporal signal processing is performed at the focal plane. A Gaussian subtraction method is used to produce the pixel output which when displayed produces an image with enhanced edges, representing spatial and temporal derivatives in the scene. The spatial and temporal responses of the device are tunable during operation, permitting the operator to `peak up' the response of the array to spatial and temporally varying signals. Such an array adapts to ambient illumination conditions without loss of detection performance. This paper reviews the Neuromorphic infrared focal plane from initial operational simulations to detailed design characteristics, and concludes with a presentation of preliminary operational data for the device as well as videotaped imagery.

Focal plane for the next generation of earth observation instruments

Science.gov (United States)

Pranyies, P.; Toubhans, I.; Badoil, B.; Tanguy, F.; Descours, Francis

2017-09-01

Sodern is the French focal plane provider for Earth Observation (EO) satellites. Since the 1980's, Sodern has played an active role first in the SPOT program. Within the two-spacecraft constellation Pleiades 1A/1B over the next years, Sodern introduced advanced technologies as Silicon Carbide (SiC) focal plane structure and multispectral strip filters dedicated to multiple-lines detectors.

The Sentinel 4 focal plane subsystem

Science.gov (United States)

Hohn, Rüdiger; Skegg, Michael P.; Hermsen, Markus; Hinger, Jürgen; Williges, Christian; Reulke, Ralf

2017-09-01

The Sentinel 4 instrument is an imaging spectrometer, developed by Airbus under ESA contract in the frame of the joint European Union (EU)/ESA COPERNICUS program with the objective of monitoring trace gas concentrations. Sentinel 4 will provide accurate measurements of key atmospheric constituents such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, as well as aerosol and cloud properties. Sentinel 4 is unique in being the first geostationary UVN mission. The SENTINEL 4 space segment will be integrated on EUMETSAT's Meteosat Third Generation Sounder satellite (MTG-S). Sentinel 4 will provide coverage of Europe and adjacent regions. The Sentinel 4 instrument comprises as a major element two Focal Plane Subsystems (FPS) covering the wavelength ranges 305 nm to 500 nm (UVVIS) and 750 nm to 775 nm (NIR) respectively. The paper describes the Focal Plane Subsystems, comprising the detectors, the optical bench and the control electronics. Further the design and development approach will be presented as well as first measurement results of FPS Qualification Model.

Focal plane scanner with reciprocating spatial window

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Chengye (Inventor)

2000-01-01

A focal plane scanner having a front objective lens, a spatial window for selectively passing a portion of the image therethrough, and a CCD array for receiving the passed portion of the image. All embodiments have a common feature whereby the spatial window and CCD array are mounted for simultaneous relative reciprocating movement with respect to the front objective lens, and the spatial window is mounted within the focal plane of the front objective. In a first embodiment, the spatial window is a slit and the CCD array is one-dimensional, and successive rows of the image in the focal plane of the front objective lens are passed to the CCD array by an image relay lens interposed between the slit and the CCD array. In a second embodiment, the spatial window is a slit, the CCD array is two-dimensional, and a prism-grating-prism optical spectrometer is interposed between the slit and the CCD array so as to cause the scanned row to be split into a plurality of spectral separations onto the CCD array. In a third embodiment, the CCD array is two-dimensional and the spatial window is a rectangular linear variable filter (LVF) window, so as to cause the scanned rows impinging on the LVF to be bandpass filtered into spectral components onto the CCD array through an image relay lens interposed between the LVF and the CCD array.

Continuous contour phase plates for tailoring the focal plane irradiance profile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixit, S.N.; Rushford, M.C.; Thomas, I.M.; Perry, M.D.

1995-01-01

We present fully continuous phase screens for producing super-Gaussian focal-plane irradiance profiles. Such phase screens are constructed with the assumption of either circular symmetric near-field and far-field profiles or a separable phase screen in Cartesian co-ordinates. In each case, the phase screen is only a few waves deep. Under illumination by coherent light, such phase screens produce high order super-Gaussian profiles in the focal plane with high energy content effects of beam aberrations on the focal profiles and their energy content are also discussed

Ballistic Target PHD Filter Based on Infrared Focal Plane Ambiguous Observation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Zhao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Space-based early warning system, the main detection means of which is passive detection based on focal plane, is an important part of ballistic missile defense system. The focal plane is mainly composed of CCD, and its size can reach the micron level, so the pixel is often regarded as point of no area in image postprocessing. The design of traditional tracking methods is based on this, and the observation based on the focal plane is modeled as the azimuth with random noise. However, this modeling is inaccurate. In the context of space-based detection, CCD cannot be simplified as a point, and its size should be considered. And the corresponding observation cannot be treated as azimuth with random noise. In this paper, the observation based on focal plane is modeled as Unambiguously Generated Ambiguous (UGA measurement. The PHD filter algorithm is redesigned and simplified. The simulation results show that the algorithm based on UGA measurement observation model has better tracking effect compared with that based on traditional observation model. This method provides technical support for more accurate target tracking for space-based early warning system.

Fabrication of Transition Edge Sensor Microcalorimeters for X-Ray Focal Planes

Science.gov (United States)

Chervenak, James A.; Adams, Joseph S.; Audley, Heather; Bandler, Simon R.; Betancourt-Martinez, Gabriele; Eckart, Megan E.; Finkbeiner, Fred M.; Kelley, Richard L.; Kilbourne, Caroline; Lee, Sang Jun;

The Simbol-X Focal Plane

Science.gov (United States)

Laurent, P.

2009-05-01

The Simbol-X focal plane is designed to detect photons focused by the mirror in the 0.5 to 100 keV energy band. Composed of two detectors, it will measure the position, energy, and arrival time of each incoming X-ray. On top of it will be a collimator to shield all photons not coming from the mirror field of view. The whole system is surrounded by an active and passive shielding in order to ensure the required very low background.

Landsat 9 OLI 2 focal plane subsystem: design, performance, and status

Science.gov (United States)

Malone, Kevin J.; Schrein, Ronald J.; Bradley, M. Scott; Irwin, Ronda; Berdanier, Barry; Donley, Eric

2017-09-01

The Landsat 9 mission will continue the legacy of Earth remote sensing that started in 1972. The Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI 2) is one of two instruments on the Landsat 9 satellite. The OLI 2 instrument is essentially a copy of the OLI instrument flying on Landsat 8. A key element of the OLI 2 instrument is the focal plane subsystem, or FPS, which consists of the focal plane array (FPA), the focal plane electronics (FPE) box, and low-thermal conductivity cables. This paper presents design details of the OLI 2 FPS. The FPA contains 14 critically-aligned focal plane modules (FPM). Each module contains 6 visible/near-IR (VNIR) detector arrays and three short-wave infrared (SWIR) arrays. A complex multi-spectral optical filter is contained in each module. Redundant pixels for each array provide exceptional operability. Spare detector modules from OLI were recharacterized after six years of storage. Radiometric test results are presented and compared with data recorded in 2010. Thermal, optical, mechanical and structural features of the FPA will be described. Special attention is paid to the thermal design of the FPA since thermal stability is crucial to ensuring low-noise and low-drift operation of the detectors which operate at -63°C. The OLI 2 FPE provides power, timing, and control to the focal plane modules. It also digitizes the video data and formats it for the solid-state recorder. Design improvements to the FPA-FPE cables will be discussed and characterization data will be presented. The paper will conclude with the status of the flight hardware assembly and testing.

Focal plane AIT sequence: evolution from HRG-Spot 5 to Pleiades HR

Science.gov (United States)

Le Goff, Roland; Pranyies, Pascal; Toubhans, Isabelle

2017-11-01

Optical and geometrical image qualities of Focal Planes, for "push-broom" high resolution remote sensing satellites, require the implementation of specific means and methods for the AIT sequence. Indeed the geometric performances of the focal plane mainly axial focusing and transverse registration, are duly obtained on the basis of adjustment, setting and measurement of optical and CCD components with an accuracy of a few microns. Since the end of the 1970s, EADS-SODERN has developed a series of detection units for earth observation instruments like SPOT and Helios. And EADS-SODERN is now responsible for the development of the Pleiades High Resolution Focal Plane assembly. This paper presents the AIT sequences. We introduce all the efforts, innovative solutions and improvements made on the assembly facilities to match the technical evolutions and breakthrough of the Pleiades HR FP concept in comparison with the previous High Resolution Geometric SPOT 5 Focal Plane. The main evolution drivers are the implementation of strip filters and the realization of 400 mm continuous retinas. For Pleiades HR AIT sequence, three specific integration and measuring benches, corresponding with the different assembly stages, are used: a 3-D non-contact measurement machine for the assembly of detection module, a 3-D measurement machine for mirror integration on the main Focal Plane SiC structure, and a 3-D geometric coordinates control bench to focus detection module lines and to ensure they are well registered together.

Hyperspectral Longwave Infrared Focal Plane Array and Camera Based on Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We propose to develop a hyperspectral focal plane array and camera imaging in a large number of sharp hyperspectral bands in the thermal infrared. The camera is...

Materials, devices, techniques, and applications for Z-plane focal plane array technology; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Mar. 29, 30, 1989

Science.gov (United States)

Carson, John C.

1989-09-01

The papers contained in this volume focus on the implementation and application of Z-plane focal array technology. Topics discussed include civil and military applications of Z-plane technology, electronic design and technology for on-scale plane signal processing, detector development and fabrication technology, and Z-plane module development and producibility. Papers are presented on future capabilities of Z-plane technology, comparison of planar and Z-plane focal plane technologies for dim target detection, Z-plane modules as target extraction engines, and high complexity tape automated bonding application for space hardware.

Technology for advanced focal plane arrays of HgCdTe and AIGaN

CERN Document Server

He, Li; Ni, Guoqiang

2016-01-01

This book introduces the basic framework of advanced focal plane technology based on the third-generation infrared focal plane concept. The essential concept, research advances, and future trends in advanced sensor arrays are comprehensively reviewed. Moreover, the book summarizes recent research advances in HgCdTe/AlGaN detectors for the infrared/ultraviolet waveband, with a particular focus on the numerical method of detector design, material epitaxial growth and processing, as well as Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Transistor readout circuits. The book offers a unique resource for all graduate students and researchers interested in the technologies of focal plane arrays or electro-optical imaging sensors.

Infrared MUSIC from Z technology focal planes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waters, C.R.; Sommese, A.; Johnston, D.; Landau, H.

1989-01-01

Presented is the Multiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm which uses the high frequency differences in sensed time signals to discriminate, count, and accurately locate closely spaced targets. Z technology focal planes allow the implementation of this algorithm and the trade-off between finer spatial resolution systems and systems with coarser resolution but higher sampling rates

Axial and focal-plane diffraction catastrophe integrals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berry, M V; Howls, C J

2010-01-01

Exact expressions in terms of Bessel functions are found for some of the diffraction catastrophe integrals that decorate caustics in optics and mechanics. These are the axial and focal-plane sections of the elliptic and hyperbolic umbilic diffraction catastrophes, and symmetric elliptic and hyperbolic unfoldings of the X 9 diffraction catastrophes. These representations reveal unexpected relations between the integrals.

Uncooled infrared focal plane array imaging in China

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, Shuyu

2015-06-01

This article reviews the development of uncooled infrared focal plane array (UIFPA) imaging in China in the past decade. Sensors based on optical or electrical read-out mechanism were developed but the latter dominates the market. In resistive bolometers, VOx and amorphous silicon are still the two major thermal-sensing materials. The specifications of the IRFPA made by different manufactures were collected and compared. Currently more than five Chinese companies and institutions design and fabricate uncooled infrared focal plane array. Some devices have sensitivity as high as 30 mK; the largest array for commercial products is 640×512 and the smallest pixel size is 17 μm. Emphasis is given on the pixel MEMS design, ROIC design, fabrication, and packaging of the IRFPA manufactured by GWIC, especially on design for high sensitivities, low noise, better uniformity and linearity, better stabilization for whole working temperature range, full-digital design, etc.

Kalman Filter for Calibrating a Telescope Focal Plane

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Bryan; Bayard, David

2006-01-01

The instrument-pointing frame (IPF) Kalman filter, and an algorithm that implements this filter, have been devised for calibrating the focal plane of a telescope. As used here, calibration signifies, more specifically, a combination of measurements and calculations directed toward ensuring accuracy in aiming the telescope and determining the locations of objects imaged in various arrays of photodetectors in instruments located on the focal plane. The IPF Kalman filter was originally intended for application to a spaceborne infrared astronomical telescope, but can also be applied to other spaceborne and ground-based telescopes. In the traditional approach to calibration of a telescope, (1) one team of experts concentrates on estimating parameters (e.g., pointing alignments and gyroscope drifts) that are classified as being of primarily an engineering nature, (2) another team of experts concentrates on estimating calibration parameters (e.g., plate scales and optical distortions) that are classified as being primarily of a scientific nature, and (3) the two teams repeatedly exchange data in an iterative process in which each team refines its estimates with the help of the data provided by the other team. This iterative process is inefficient and uneconomical because it is time-consuming and entails the maintenance of two survey teams and the development of computer programs specific to the requirements of each team. Moreover, theoretical analysis reveals that the engineering/ science iterative approach is not optimal in that it does not yield the best estimates of focal-plane parameters and, depending on the application, may not even enable convergence toward a set of estimates.

High operating temperature interband cascade focal plane arrays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tian, Z.-B.; Godoy, S. E.; Kim, H. S.; Schuler-Sandy, T.; Montoya, J. A.; Krishna, S. [Center for High Technology Materials, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106 (United States)

2014-08-04

In this paper, we report the initial demonstration of mid-infrared interband cascade (IC) photodetector focal plane arrays with multiple-stage/junction design. The merits of IC photodetectors include low noise and efficient photocarrier extraction, even for zero-bias operation. By adopting enhanced electron barrier design and a total absorber thickness of 0.7 μm, the 5-stage IC detectors show very low dark current (1.10 × 10{sup −7} A/cm{sup 2} at −5 mV and 150 K). Even with un-optimized fabrication and standard commercial (mis-matched) read-out circuit technology, infrared images are obtained by the 320 × 256 IC focal plane array up to 180 K with f/2.3 optics. The minimum noise equivalent temperature difference of 28 mK is obtained at 120 K. These initial results indicate great potential of IC photodetectors, particularly for high operating temperature applications.

High operating temperature interband cascade focal plane arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian, Z.-B.; Godoy, S. E.; Kim, H. S.; Schuler-Sandy, T.; Montoya, J. A.; Krishna, S.

2014-01-01

In this paper, we report the initial demonstration of mid-infrared interband cascade (IC) photodetector focal plane arrays with multiple-stage/junction design. The merits of IC photodetectors include low noise and efficient photocarrier extraction, even for zero-bias operation. By adopting enhanced electron barrier design and a total absorber thickness of 0.7 μm, the 5-stage IC detectors show very low dark current (1.10 × 10 −7 A/cm 2 at −5 mV and 150 K). Even with un-optimized fabrication and standard commercial (mis-matched) read-out circuit technology, infrared images are obtained by the 320 × 256 IC focal plane array up to 180 K with f/2.3 optics. The minimum noise equivalent temperature difference of 28 mK is obtained at 120 K. These initial results indicate great potential of IC photodetectors, particularly for high operating temperature applications

Automatic test comes to focal plane array production

Science.gov (United States)

Skaggs, Frank L.; Barton, T. D.

1992-08-01

To meet the needs of military and commercial markets, the infrared focal plane array industry must develop new, effective and low cost methods of fabricating and testing imaging detectors. This paper describes Texas Instruments new concepts in automated testing and cold probe technology as they apply to volume production.

Infrared detectors and focal plane arrays; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Apr. 18, 19, 1990

Science.gov (United States)

Dereniak, Eustace L.; Sampson, Robert E.

1990-09-01

The papers contained in this volume provide an overview of recent advances and the current state of developments in the field of infrared detectors and focal plane arrays. Topics discussed include nickel silicide Schottky-barrier detectors for short-wavelength infrared applications; high performance PtSi linear and focal plane arrays; and multispectral band Schottky-barrier IRSSD for remote-sensing applications. Papers are also presented on the performance of an Insi hybrid focal array; characterization of IR focal plane test stations; GaAs CCD readout for engineered bandgap detectors; and fire detection system for aircraft cargo bays.

Third-generation intelligent IR focal plane arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Caulfield, H. John; Jack, Michael D.; Pettijohn, Kevin L.; Schlesselmann, John D.; Norworth, Joe

1998-03-01

SBRC is at the forefront of industry in developing IR focal plane arrays including multi-spectral technology and '3rd generation' functions that mimic the human eye. 3rd generation devices conduct advanced processing on or near the FPA that serve to reduce bandwidth while performing needed functions such as automatic target recognition, uniformity correction and dynamic range enhancement. These devices represent a solution for processing the exorbitantly high bandwidth coming off large area FPAs without sacrificing systems sensitivity. SBRC's two-color approach leverages the company's HgCdTe technology to provide simultaneous multiband coverage, from short through long wave IR, with near theoretical performance. IR systems that are sensitive to different spectral bands achieve enhanced capabilities for target identification and advanced discrimination. This paper will provide a summary of the issues, the technology and the benefits of SBRC's third generation smart and two-color FPAs.

Characterization of DECam focal plane detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diehl, H.Thomas; Angstadt, Robert; Campa, Julia; Cease, Herman; Derylo, Greg; Emes, John H.; Estrada, Juan; Kibik, Donna; Flaugher, Brenna L.; Holland, Steve E.; Jonas, Michelle; /Fermilab /Madrid, CIEMAT /LBL, Berkeley /Argonne /Pennsylvania U.

2008-06-01

DECam is a 520 Mpix, 3 square-deg FOV imager being built for the Blanco 4m Telescope at CTIO. This facility instrument will be used for the 'Dark Energy Survey' of the southern galactic cap. DECam has chosen 250 ?m thick CCDs, developed at LBNL, with good QE in the near IR for the focal plane. In this work we present the characterization of these detectors done by the DES team, and compare it to the DECam technical requirements. The results demonstrate that the detectors satisfy the needs for instrument.

An ionization-chamber type of focal-plane detector for heavy ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erskine, J.R.; Braid, T.H.; Stolfzfus, J.C.

1976-01-01

A focal-plane detector for heavy ions is described in which energy loss and total energy are measured with a gridded ionization chamber, and position along the focal plane and angle of incidence are measured with two resistive-wire proportional counters. The clean geometry of the detector makes it especially attractive for use with heavy ions of high specific ionization. Typical position resolutions of 1.0-1.5mm (fwhm) were observed over a 50 cm length of the detector in the focal plane of a split-pole magnetic spectrograph. Special tests were made which suggest that the limiting position resolution is 0.76 mm or better. The resolution of the energy-loss signal was typically 4.5% (fwhm). The resolution of the total energy signal was 1.0-1.5% (fwhm) for small entrance apertures of the spectrograph, although 0.7% resolution was observed under special circumstances. The angle of incidence was measured with an uncertainty of about 1.2% (fwhm). The availability of the many parameters needed for particle identification makes this detector especially useful for the study of weak reaction channels in heavy-ion-induced reactions. (Auth.)

The Sentinel-4 UVN focal plane assemblies

Science.gov (United States)

Hinger, Jürgen; Hohn, Rüdiger; Gebhardt, Eyk; Reichardt, Jörg

2017-09-01

The Sentinel-4 UVN Instrument is a dispersive imaging spectrometer covering the UV-VIS and the NIR wavelength. It is developed and built under an ESA contract by an industrial consortium led by Airbus Defence and Space. It will be accommodated on board of the MTG-S (Meteosat Third Generation - Sounder) satellite that will be placed in a geostationary orbit over Europe sampling data for generating two-dimensional maps of a number of atmospheric trace gases. The incoming light is dispersed by reflective gratings and detected by the two (UVVIS and NIR) CCDs mounted inside the focal plane assemblies. Both CCD detectors acquire spectral channels and spatial sampling in two orthogonal directions and will be operated at about 215 K mainly to minimize random telegraph signal effects and to reduce dark current. Stringent detector temperature as well as alignment stability requirements of less than +/-0.1 K per day respectively of less than 2 micrometers/2 arcseconds from ground to orbit are driving the FPA thermo-mechanical design. A specific FPA design feature is the redundant LED-calibration system for bad pixel detection as well as pixel gain and linearity monitoring. This paper reports on the design and qualification of the Focal Plane Assemblies with emphasis on thermo-mechanical as well as alignment stability verification.

A NEXT GENERATION MULTI-BEAM FOCAL PLANE ARRAY RECEIVER OF TRAO FOR 86-115 GHZ BAND

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moon-Hee Chung

2006-03-01

Full Text Available The noise temperature of existing millimeter-wave receivers is already within two or three times quantum noise limit. One of practical ways to increase the observation speed of single dish radio telescope without longer integration time is use of multi-beam focal plane array receiver as demonstrated in several large single dish radio telescopes. In this context the TRAO (Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory, which operates a 143n Cassegrain radio telescope, is planning to develop a 4 x 4 beams focal plane array SIS receiver system for 86-115 GHz band. Even though millimeter-wave HEMT LNA-based receivers approach the noise temperature comparable to the SIS receiver at W-band, it is believed that the receiver based on SIS mixer seems to offer a bit more advantages. The critical part of the multi-beam array receiver will be sideband separating SIS mixers. Employing such a type of SIS mixer makes it possible to simplify the quasi-optics of receiver. Otherwise, an SSB filter should be used in front of the mixer or some sophisticated post-processing of observation data is needed. In this paper we will present a preliminary design concept and components needed for the development of a new 3 mm band multi-beam focal plane array receiver.

Low-Noise CMOS Circuits for On-Chip Signal Processing in Focal-Plane Arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Pain, Bedabrata

-data systems having 1/f noise reduction capability. Closed form expressions have been derived and low-noise design criteria have been established, taking into account both the 1/f and white noise, and the effects of under-sampling. The analysis technique will be an important tool for analysis and design of a large variety of focal-plane sampled-data signal processing circuits.

Focal plane instrumentation: a very high resolution MWPC system for inclined tracks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertozzi, W.; Hynes, M.V.; Sargent, C.P.; Creswell, C.; Dunn, P.C.; Hirsch, A.; Leitch, M.; Norum, B.; Rad, F.N.; Sasanuma, T.

1977-01-01

A focal plane system has been developed for the MIT energy-loss spectrometer. The arrival time information from adjacent wires of one MWPC (s=2mm), is used to trace particle trajectories with a position resolution of 120μm (2sigma) and an angular resolution of less than 17 mrad (2sigma). The tracks are inclined to the MWPC at about 45 0 . The readout uses 3 delay lines connected to successive sense wires in a cyclical pattern. Coarse wire positions are determined by differences and drift times by sums of signal arrival times at the ends of the delays lines. A Cherenkov counter provides a fiducial signal. Interpolation is independent of drift velocity since the drift is normal to the sense plane. A similar readout with a second chamber provides position information perpendicular to momentum plane. This information is used to correct on-line for focal plane curvatures and other spectrometer aberrations. Final momentum resolution is about 10 -4 . (Auth.)

Reproducibility of temporomandibular joint tomography. Influence of shifted X-ray beam and tomographic focal plane on reproducibility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, Masashi

1999-01-01

Proper tomographic focal plane and x-ray beam direction are the most important factors to obtain accurate images of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). In this study, to clarify the magnitude of effect of these two factors on the image quality. We evaluated the reproducibility of tomograms by measuring the distortion when the x-ray beam was shifted from the correct center of the object. The effects of the deviation of the tomographic focal plane on image quality were evaluated by the MTF (Modulation Transfer Function). Two types of tomograms, one the plane type, the other the rotational type were used in this study. A TMJ model was made from Teflon for the purpose of evaluation by shifting the x-ray beam. The x-ray images were obtained by tilting the model from 0 to 10 degrees 2-degree increments. These x-ray images were processed for computer image analysis, and then the distance between condyle and the joint space was measured. To evaluate the influence of the shifted tomographic focal plane on image sharpness, the x-ray images from each setting were analyzed by MTF. To obtain the MTF, ''knife-edge'' made from Pb was used. The images were scanned with a microdensitometer at the central focal plane, and 0, 0.5, 1 mm away respectively. The density curves were analyzed by Fourier analysis and the MTF was calculated. The reproducibility of images became worse by shifting the x-ray beam. This tendency was similar for both tomograms. Object characteristics such as anterior and posterior portion of the joint space affected the deterioration of reproducibility of the tomography. The deviation of the tomographic focal plane also decreased the reproducibility of the x-ray images. The rotational type showed a better MTF, but it became seriously unfavorable with slight changes of the tomographic focal plane. Contrarily, the plane type showed a lower MTF, but the image was stable with shifting of the tomographic focal plane. (author)

InGaAs focal plane arrays for low-light-level SWIR imaging

Science.gov (United States)

MacDougal, Michael; Hood, Andrew; Geske, Jon; Wang, Jim; Patel, Falgun; Follman, David; Manzo, Juan; Getty, Jonathan

2011-06-01

Aerius Photonics will present their latest developments in large InGaAs focal plane arrays, which are used for low light level imaging in the short wavelength infrared (SWIR) regime. Aerius will present imaging in both 1280x1024 and 640x512 formats. Aerius will present characterization of the FPA including dark current measurements. Aerius will also show the results of development of SWIR FPAs for high temperaures, including imagery and dark current data. Finally, Aerius will show results of using the SWIR camera with Aerius' SWIR illuminators using VCSEL technology.

MIXS on BepiColombo and its DEPFET based focal plane instrumentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Treis, J., E-mail: jft@hll.mpg.d [MPI Semiconductor Laboratory, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, 81739 Munich (Germany); MPI for Solar System Research, Max-Planck-Strasse 2, 37191 Katlenburg-Lindau (Germany); Andricek, L. [MPI Semiconductor Laboratory, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, 81739 Munich (Germany); MPI for Physics, Foehringer Ring 6, 80805 Munich (Germany); Aschauer, F. [MPI Semiconductor Laboratory, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, 81739 Munich (Germany); MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstrasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); Heinzinger, K. [MPI Semiconductor Laboratory, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, 81739 Munich (Germany); PNSensor GmbH, Roemerstrasse 28, 80803 Munich (Germany); Herrmann, S. [MPI Semiconductor Laboratory, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, 81739 Munich (Germany); MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstrasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); Hilchenbach, M. [MPI for Solar System Research, Max-Planck-Strasse 2, 37191 Katlenburg-Lindau (Germany); Lauf, T. [MPI Semiconductor Laboratory, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, 81739 Munich (Germany); MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstrasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); Lechner, P.; Lutz, G.; Majewski, P. [MPI Semiconductor Laboratory, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, 81739 Munich (Germany); PNSensor GmbH, Roemerstrasse 28, 80803 Munich (Germany); Porro, M. [MPI Semiconductor Laboratory, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, 81739 Munich (Germany); MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstrasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); Richter, R.H. [MPI Semiconductor Laboratory, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, 81739 Munich (Germany); MPI for Physics, Foehringer Ring 6, 80805 Munich (Germany); Schaller, G. [MPI Semiconductor Laboratory, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, 81739 Munich (Germany); MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstrasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); Schnecke, M. [MPI Semiconductor Laboratory, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, 81739 Munich (Germany); MPI for Physics, Foehringer Ring 6, 80805 Munich (Germany)

2010-12-11

Focal plane instrumentation based on DEPFET Macropixel devices, being a combination of the Detector-Amplifier structure DEPFET with a silicon drift chamber (SDD), has been proposed for the MIXS (Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer) instrument on ESA's Mercury exploration mission BepiColombo. MIXS images X-ray fluorescent radiation from the Mercury surface with a lightweight X-ray mirror system on the focal plane detector to measure the spatially resolved element abundance in Mercury's crust. The sensor needs to have an energy resolution better than 200 eV FWHM at 1 keV and is required to cover an energy range from 0.5 to 10 keV, for a pixel size of 300x300{mu}m{sup 2}. Main challenges for the instrument are radiation damage and the difficult thermal environment in the mercury orbit. The production of the first batch of flight devices has been finished at the MPI semiconductor laboratory. Prototype modules have been assembled to verify the electrical properties of the devices; selected results are presented here. The prototype devices, Macropixel prototypes for the SIMBOL-X focal plane, are electrically fully compatible, but have a pixel size of 0.5x0.5 mm{sup 2}. Excellent homogeneity and near Fano-limited energy resolution at high readout speeds have been observed on these devices.

MIXS on BepiColombo and its DEPFET based focal plane instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Treis, J.; Andricek, L.; Aschauer, F.; Heinzinger, K.; Herrmann, S.; Hilchenbach, M.; Lauf, T.; Lechner, P.; Lutz, G.; Majewski, P.; Porro, M.; Richter, R.H.; Schaller, G.; Schnecke, M.

2010-01-01

Focal plane instrumentation based on DEPFET Macropixel devices, being a combination of the Detector-Amplifier structure DEPFET with a silicon drift chamber (SDD), has been proposed for the MIXS (Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer) instrument on ESA's Mercury exploration mission BepiColombo. MIXS images X-ray fluorescent radiation from the Mercury surface with a lightweight X-ray mirror system on the focal plane detector to measure the spatially resolved element abundance in Mercury's crust. The sensor needs to have an energy resolution better than 200 eV FWHM at 1 keV and is required to cover an energy range from 0.5 to 10 keV, for a pixel size of 300x300μm 2 . Main challenges for the instrument are radiation damage and the difficult thermal environment in the mercury orbit. The production of the first batch of flight devices has been finished at the MPI semiconductor laboratory. Prototype modules have been assembled to verify the electrical properties of the devices; selected results are presented here. The prototype devices, Macropixel prototypes for the SIMBOL-X focal plane, are electrically fully compatible, but have a pixel size of 0.5x0.5 mm 2 . Excellent homogeneity and near Fano-limited energy resolution at high readout speeds have been observed on these devices.

MIXS on BepiColombo and its DEPFET based focal plane instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Treis, J.; Andricek, L.; Aschauer, F.; Heinzinger, K.; Herrmann, S.; Hilchenbach, M.; Lauf, T.; Lechner, P.; Lutz, G.; Majewski, P.; Porro, M.; Richter, R. H.; Schaller, G.; Schnecke, M.; Schopper, F.; Soltau, H.; Stefanescu, A.; Strüder, L.; de Vita, G.

2010-12-01

Focal plane instrumentation based on DEPFET Macropixel devices, being a combination of the Detector-Amplifier structure DEPFET with a silicon drift chamber (SDD), has been proposed for the MIXS (Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer) instrument on ESA's Mercury exploration mission BepiColombo. MIXS images X-ray fluorescent radiation from the Mercury surface with a lightweight X-ray mirror system on the focal plane detector to measure the spatially resolved element abundance in Mercury's crust. The sensor needs to have an energy resolution better than 200 eV FWHM at 1 keV and is required to cover an energy range from 0.5 to 10 keV, for a pixel size of 300×300μm2. Main challenges for the instrument are radiation damage and the difficult thermal environment in the mercury orbit. The production of the first batch of flight devices has been finished at the MPI semiconductor laboratory. Prototype modules have been assembled to verify the electrical properties of the devices; selected results are presented here. The prototype devices, Macropixel prototypes for the SIMBOL-X focal plane, are electrically fully compatible, but have a pixel size of 0.5×0.5 mm2. Excellent homogeneity and near Fano-limited energy resolution at high readout speeds have been observed on these devices.

Fabrication of X-ray Microcalorimeter Focal Planes Composed of Two Distinct Pixel Types

Science.gov (United States)

Wassell, Edward J.; Adams, Joseph S.; Bandler, Simon R.; Betancour-Martinez, Gabriele L; Chiao, Meng P.; Chang, Meng Ping; Chervenak, James A.; Datesman, Aaron M.; Eckart, Megan E.; Ewin, Audrey J.;

VERIFICATION OF THE SENTINEL-4 FOCAL PLANE SUBSYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Williges

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The Sentinel-4 payload is a multi-spectral camera system which is designed to monitor atmospheric conditions over Europe. The German Aerospace Center (DLR in Berlin, Germany conducted the verification campaign of the Focal Plane Subsystem (FPS on behalf of Airbus Defense and Space GmbH, Ottobrunn, Germany. The FPS consists, inter alia, of two Focal Plane Assemblies (FPAs, one for the UV-VIS spectral range (305 nm … 500 nm, the second for NIR (750 nm … 775 nm. In this publication, we will present in detail the opto-mechanical laboratory set-up of the verification campaign of the Sentinel-4 Qualification Model (QM which will also be used for the upcoming Flight Model (FM verification. The test campaign consists mainly of radiometric tests performed with an integrating sphere as homogenous light source. The FPAs have mainly to be operated at 215 K ± 5 K, making it necessary to exploit a thermal vacuum chamber (TVC for the test accomplishment. This publication focuses on the challenge to remotely illuminate both Sentinel-4 detectors as well as a reference detector homogeneously over a distance of approximately 1 m from outside the TVC. Furthermore selected test analyses and results will be presented, showing that the Sentinel-4 FPS meets specifications.

Verification of the Sentinel-4 focal plane subsystem

Science.gov (United States)

Williges, Christian; Uhlig, Mathias; Hilbert, Stefan; Rossmann, Hannes; Buchwinkler, Kevin; Babben, Steffen; Sebastian, Ilse; Hohn, Rüdiger; Reulke, Ralf

2017-09-01

The Sentinel-4 payload is a multi-spectral camera system, designed to monitor atmospheric conditions over Europe from a geostationary orbit. The German Aerospace Center, DLR Berlin, conducted the verification campaign of the Focal Plane Subsystem (FPS) during the second half of 2016. The FPS consists, of two Focal Plane Assemblies (FPAs), two Front End Electronics (FEEs), one Front End Support Electronic (FSE) and one Instrument Control Unit (ICU). The FPAs are designed for two spectral ranges: UV-VIS (305 nm - 500 nm) and NIR (750 nm - 775 nm). In this publication, we will present in detail the set-up of the verification campaign of the Sentinel-4 Qualification Model (QM). This set up will also be used for the upcoming Flight Model (FM) verification, planned for early 2018. The FPAs have to be operated at 215 K +/- 5 K, making it necessary to exploit a thermal vacuum chamber (TVC) for the test accomplishment. The test campaign consists mainly of radiometric tests. This publication focuses on the challenge to remotely illuminate both Sentinel-4 detectors as well as a reference detector homogeneously over a distance of approximately 1 m from outside the TVC. Selected test analyses and results will be presented.

Infrared detectors and focal plane arrays II; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Apr. 23, 24, 1992

Science.gov (United States)

Dereniak, Eustace L.; Sampson, Robert E.

The present conference discusses Schottky-barrier IR image sensors, SWIR and MWIR Schottky-barrier imagers, a 640 x 640 PtSi, models of nonlinearities in focal plane arrays, retinal function relative to IRT focal plane arrays, a solid-state pyroelectric imager, and electrolyte electroreflectance spectroscopies for the ion-implanted HgCdTe with thermal annealing. Also discussed are HgCdTe hybrid focal plane arrays for thermoelectrically cooled applications, a novel IR detector plasma-edge detector, and IR detector circuits using monolithic CMOS amps with InSb detectors. (No individual items are abstracted in this volume)

Planck 2015 results: XII. Full focal plane simulations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ade, P. A R; Aghanim, N.; Arnaud, M.

2016-01-01

We present the 8th full focal plane simulation set (FFP8), deployed in support of the Planck 2015 results. FFP8 consists of 10 fiducial mission realizations reduced to 18 144 maps, together with the most massive suite of Monte Carlo realizations of instrument noise and CMB ever generated, compris...

Radiation-Induced Transient Effects in Near Infrared Focal Plane Arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, Robert A.; Pickel, J.; Marshall, P.; Waczynski, A.; McMurray, R.; Gee, G.; Polidan, E.; Johnson, S.; McKeivey, M.; Ennico, K.;

High Dynamic Range adaptive ΔΣ-based Focal Plane Array architecture

KAUST Repository

Yao, Shun; Kavusi, Sam; Salama, Khaled N.

2012-01-01

In this paper, an Adaptive Delta-Sigma based architecture for High Dynamic Range (HDR) Focal Plane Arrays is presented. The noise shaping effect of the Delta-Sigma modulation in the low end, and the distortion noise induced in the high end of Photo

BER Analysis of Coherent Free-Space Optical Communication Systems with a Focal-Plane-Based Wavefront Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Jingtai; Zhao, Xiaohui; Liu, Wei; Gu, Haijun

2018-03-01

A wavefront sensor is one of most important units for an adaptive optics system. Based on our previous works, in this paper, we discuss the bit-error-rate (BER) performance of coherent free space optical communication systems with a focal-plane-based wavefront sensor. Firstly, the theory of a focal-plane-based wavefront sensor is given. Then the relationship between the BER and the mixing efficiency with a homodyne receiver is discussed on the basis of binary-phase-shift-keying (BPSK) modulation. Finally, the numerical simulation results are shown that the BER will be decreased obviously after aberrations correction with the focal-plane-based wavefront sensor. In addition, the BER will decrease along with increasing number of photons received within a single bit. These analysis results will provide a reference for the design of the coherent Free space optical communication (FSOC) system.

Focal-plane change triggered video compression for low-power vision sensor systems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu M Chi

Full Text Available Video sensors with embedded compression offer significant energy savings in transmission but incur energy losses in the complexity of the encoder. Energy efficient video compression architectures for CMOS image sensors with focal-plane change detection are presented and analyzed. The compression architectures use pixel-level computational circuits to minimize energy usage by selectively processing only pixels which generate significant temporal intensity changes. Using the temporal intensity change detection to gate the operation of a differential DCT based encoder achieves nearly identical image quality to traditional systems (4dB decrease in PSNR while reducing the amount of data that is processed by 67% and reducing overall power consumption reduction of 51%. These typical energy savings, resulting from the sparsity of motion activity in the visual scene, demonstrate the utility of focal-plane change triggered compression to surveillance vision systems.

The investigation of properties of short-lived SF isotopes (Z > 100 at the focal plane of VASSILISSA separator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svirikhin Alexandr

2013-12-01

Full Text Available For experiments aimed at the study of spontaneous fission of transfermium nuclei improvements in the focal plane detector system of recoil separator VASSILISSA have been made. A neutron detector consisting of 54 3He-filled counters has been mounted around the focal-plane detector chamber. The reaction 48Ca + 206Pb = 2n + 252No is used for tuning the separator settings and calibrating the detector system with the spontaneous fission of the 252No. The average neutron number per 252No spontaneous fission event is as large as ν̅ = 4.06 ± 0.12. The short-lived heavy isotopes 244,246Fm, produced in the complete fusion reactions 40Ar + 206,208Pb, are investigated. The average number of neutrons per spontaneous fission of 244,246Fm from the experimental data were (ν̅ = 3.3 ± 0.3 and (ν̅ = 3.55 ± 0.50, respectively. Both values are determined for the first time.

Detector system of the first focal plane of the spectrometer SMART at RIKEN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okamura, H.; Izshida, S.; Sakamoto, N.; Otsu, H.; Uesaka, T.; Wakasa, T.; Satou, Y.; Sakai, H.; Ichihara, T.

1998-01-01

A detector system of the first focal plane of SMART, the 135 MeV/u high-resolution spectrometer at RIKEN accelerator research facility, is described. It consists of a pair of multi-wire drift chambers and a trigger scintillator hodoscope contained in a He-filled detector box. A major subject using this system is the measurement of the (d, 2 He) reaction making the most of its large angular and momentum acceptances. Without seriously sacrificing the detection efficiency, reasonably good energy and angular resolutions for 2 He, 460 keV and 9 mrad (FWHM), respectively, have been achieved after optimizing the optics property of the spectrometer. (orig.)

Near infrared focal plane for the ISOCAM camera

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Epstein, G.; Stefanovitch, D.; Tiphene, D.; Carpentier, Y.; Lorans, D.

1988-01-01

ISOCAM is one of the science instruments in the Infrared Space Observatory. It is a 2-channel IR Astronomical Imager intended to observe at very low flux levels, thanks to the use of a liquid helium cooled telescope. This paper describes the Focal Plane Assembly design of the short wavelength channel. The operation of a 32 x 32 InSb CID-SAT array detector has been demonstrated. The problems encountered in the design of the cooled electronics and the component selection process are discussed in the light of specific ISO constraints, such as thermal control and radiation shielding. 6 references

Multiscale multichroic focal planes for measurements of the cosmic microwave background

Science.gov (United States)

Cukierman, Ari; Lee, Adrian T.; Raum, Christopher; Suzuki, Aritoki; Westbrook, Benjamin

2018-01-01

We report on the development of multiscale multichroic focal planes for measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). A multichroic focal plane, i.e., one that consists of pixels that are simultaneously sensitive in multiple frequency bands, is an efficient architecture for increasing the sensitivity of an experiment as well as for disentangling the contamination due to galactic foregrounds, which is increasingly becoming the limiting factor in extracting cosmological information from CMB measurements. To achieve these goals, it is necessary to observe across a broad frequency range spanning roughly 30-350 GHz. For this purpose, the Berkeley CMB group has been developing multichroic pixels consisting of planar superconducting sinuous antennas coupled to extended hemispherical lenslets, which operate at sub-Kelvin temperatures. The sinuous antennas, microwave circuitry and the transition-edge-sensor (TES) bolometers to which they are coupled are integrated in a single lithographed wafer.We describe the design, fabrication, testing and performance of multichroic pixels with bandwidths of 3:1 and 4:1 across the entire frequency range of interest. Additionally, we report on a demonstration of multiscale pixels, i.e., pixels whose effective size changes as a function of frequency. This property keeps the beam width approximately constant across all frequencies, which in turn allows the sensitivity of the experiment to be optimal in every frequency band. We achieve this by creating phased arrays from neighboring lenslet-coupled sinuous antennas, where the size of each phased array is chosen independently for each frequency band. We describe the microwave circuitry in detail as well as the benefits of a multiscale architecture, e.g., mitigation of beam non-idealities, reduced readout requirements, etc. Finally, we discuss the design and fabrication of the detector modules and focal-plane structures including cryogenic readout components, which enable the

Improvement of the focal-plane detector system for medium heavy ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan Yude; Li Zhongzhen

1992-01-01

An improved medium heavy ion focal-plane detector system (500 mm long) was tested with beam and has been used in nuclear physics experiment. The measured results at tandem accelerator with 66 MeV 12 C beam are: the energy resolution of the residual energy E detector is about 7%. The experiment of particle discrimination has been performed

A focal plane detector design for a wide-band Laue-lens telescope

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Caroli, E.; Auricchio, N.; Amati, L.

2005-01-01

, and the detection of nuclear and annihilation lines. Recently the development of high energy Laue lenses with broad energy bandpasses from 60 to 600 keV have been proposed for a Hard X ray focusing Telescope (HAXTEL) in order to study the X-ray continuum of celestial sources. The required focal plane detector...... should have high detection efficiency over the entire operative range, a spatial resolution of about 1 mm, an energy resolution of a few keV at 500 keV and a sensitivity to linear polarization. We describe a possible configuration of the focal plane detector based on several CdTe/CZT pixelated layers......The energy range above 60 keV is important for the study of many open problems in high energy astrophysics such as the role of Inverse Compton with respect to synchrotron or thermal processes in GRBs, non thermal mechanisms in SNR, the study of the high energy cut-offs in AGN spectra...

A focal plane detector for both light and heavy ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ophel, T.R.; Johnston, A.

1978-05-01

The characteristics of a multi-element, ionization-type focal plane detector with an effective length of 53 cm have been evaluated for various ions ranging between protons and 32 S. The position resolution obtained is typically 1 mm. Excellent energy (0.49% for 16 O) and angular resolution (0.2 degrees with respect to beam direction for 7 Li) have been obtained enabling clean separation of ion species at essentially full angular acceptance of a split-pole spectrograph

NbN A/D Conversion of IR Focal Plane Sensor Signal at 10 K

Science.gov (United States)

Eaton, L.; Durand, D.; Sandell, R.; Spargo, J.; Krabach, T.

1994-01-01

We are implementing a 12 bit SFQ counting ADC with parallel-to-serial readout using our established 10 K NbN capability. This circuit provides a key element of the analog signal processor (ASP) used in large infrared focal plane arrays. The circuit processes the signal data stream from a Si:As BIB detector array. A 10 mega samples per second (MSPS) pixel data stream flows from the chip at a 120 megabit bit rate in a format that is compatible with other superconductive time dependent processor (TDP) circuits being developed. We will discuss our planned ASP demonstration, the circuit design, and test results.

Optimization of exit-plane waves restored from HRTEM through-focal series

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erni, Rolf; Rossell, Marta D.; Nakashima, Philip N.H.

2010-01-01

Atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy has largely benefited from the implementation of aberration correctors in the imaging part of the microscope. Though the dominant geometrical axial aberrations can in principle be corrected or suitably adjusted, the impact of higher-order aberrations, which are mainly due to the implementation of non-round electron optical elements, on the imaging process remains unclear. Based on a semi-empirical criterion, we analyze the impact of residual aperture aberrations on the quality of exit-plane waves that are retrieved from through-focal series recorded using an aberration-corrected and monochromated instrument which was operated at 300 kV and enabled for an information transfer of ∼0.05 nm. We show that the impact of some of the higher-order aberrations in retrieved exit-plane waves can be balanced by a suitable adjustment of symmetry equivalent lower-order aberrations. We find that proper compensation and correction of 1st and 2nd order aberrations is critical, and that the required accuracy is difficult to achieve. This results in an apparent insensitivity towards residual higher-order aberrations. We also investigate the influence of the detector characteristics on the image contrast. We find that correction for the modulation transfer function results in a contrast gain of up to 40%.

Very large scale heterogeneous integration (VLSHI) and wafer-level vacuum packaging for infrared bolometer focal plane arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Forsberg, Fredrik; Roxhed, Niclas; Fischer, Andreas C.; Samel, Björn; Ericsson, Per; Hoivik, Nils; Lapadatu, Adriana; Bring, Martin; Kittilsland, Gjermund; Stemme, Göran; Niklaus, Frank

2013-09-01

Imaging in the long wavelength infrared (LWIR) range from 8 to 14 μm is an extremely useful tool for non-contact measurement and imaging of temperature in many industrial, automotive and security applications. However, the cost of the infrared (IR) imaging components has to be significantly reduced to make IR imaging a viable technology for many cost-sensitive applications. This paper demonstrates new and improved fabrication and packaging technologies for next-generation IR imaging detectors based on uncooled IR bolometer focal plane arrays. The proposed technologies include very large scale heterogeneous integration for combining high-performance, SiGe quantum-well bolometers with electronic integrated read-out circuits and CMOS compatible wafer-level vacuum packing. The fabrication and characterization of bolometers with a pitch of 25 μm × 25 μm that are arranged on read-out-wafers in arrays with 320 × 240 pixels are presented. The bolometers contain a multi-layer quantum well SiGe thermistor with a temperature coefficient of resistance of -3.0%/K. The proposed CMOS compatible wafer-level vacuum packaging technology uses Cu-Sn solid-liquid interdiffusion (SLID) bonding. The presented technologies are suitable for implementation in cost-efficient fabless business models with the potential to bring about the cost reduction needed to enable low-cost IR imaging products for industrial, security and automotive applications.

Self-Calibration Method Based on Surface Micromaching of Light Transceiver Focal Plane for Optical Camera

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Li

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In remote sensing photogrammetric applications, inner orientation parameter (IOP calibration of remote sensing camera is a prerequisite for determining image position. However, achieving such a calibration without temporal and spatial limitations remains a crucial but unresolved issue to date. The accuracy of IOP calibration methods of a remote sensing camera determines the performance of image positioning. In this paper, we propose a high-accuracy self-calibration method without temporal and spatial limitations for remote sensing cameras. Our method is based on an auto-collimating dichroic filter combined with a surface micromachining (SM point-source focal plane. The proposed method can autonomously complete IOP calibration without the need of outside reference targets. The SM procedure is used to manufacture a light transceiver focal plane, which integrates with point sources, a splitter, and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor sensor. A dichroic filter is used to fabricate an auto-collimation light reflection element. The dichroic filter, splitter, and SM point-source focal plane are integrated into a camera to perform an integrated self-calibration. Experimental measurements confirm the effectiveness and convenience of the proposed method. Moreover, the method can achieve micrometer-level precision and can satisfactorily complete real-time calibration without temporal or spatial limitations.

An efficient shutter-less non-uniformity correction method for infrared focal plane arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xiyan; Sui, Xiubao; Zhao, Yao

2017-02-01

The non-uniformity response in infrared focal plane array (IRFPA) detectors has a bad effect on images with fixed pattern noise. At present, it is common to use shutter to prevent from radiation of target and to update the parameters of non-uniformity correction in the infrared imaging system. The use of shutter causes "freezing" image. And inevitably, there exists the problems of the instability and reliability of system, power consumption, and concealment of infrared detection. In this paper, we present an efficient shutter-less non-uniformity correction (NUC) method for infrared focal plane arrays. The infrared imaging system can use the data gaining in thermostat to calculate the incident infrared radiation by shell real-timely. And the primary output of detector except the shell radiation can be corrected by the gain coefficient. This method has been tested in real infrared imaging system, reaching high correction level, reducing fixed pattern noise, adapting wide temperature range.

An unified approach for the design of focal-plane arrays in satellite communication

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zamanifekri, A.; Smolders, A.B.

2012-01-01

The aim of this paper is to present a hybrid approach for designing focal plane arrays using commercially available software, considering the fact that the main trade-off in the EM simulation is the accuracy versus computational power. The presented approach is hybrid method based on FDTD/PO. The

New focal plane detector system for the broad range spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sjoreen, T.P.

1984-01-01

A focal plane detector system consisting of a vertical drift chamber, parallel plate avalanche counters, and an ionization chamber with segmented anodes has been installed in the Broad Range Spectrometer at the Holifield Facility at Oak Ridge. The system, which has been designed for use with light-heavy ions with energies ranging from 10 to 25 MeV/amu, has a position resolution of approx. 0.1 mm, a scattering angle resolution of approx. 3 mrad, and a mass resolution of approx. 1/60

High Resolution, Radiation Tolerant Focal Plane Array for Lunar And Deep Space Applications, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Aerius Photonics and its partners propose the development of a high resolution, radiation hardened 3-D FLASH Focal Plane Array (FPA), with performance expected to be...

Spatial noise in staring IR focal plane arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scribner, D.A.; Kruer, M.R.; Sarkady, K.; Gridley, J.C.

1988-01-01

Problems with nonuniformity correction algorithms due to nonlinear pixel response and 1/f noise have been shown previously to cause spatial noise which can be significantly greater than temporal noise. The residual spatial noise after correction cannot be reduced with time averaging. Because of spatial noise the sensitivity of staring FPA sensors is often less than predicted on the basis of the temporal noise of the individual elements. A review is given of methods for measuring and analyzing spatial noise (after nonuniformity correction) in staring infrared focal plane arrays. Automated measurement techniques are described briefly, including necessary equipment and data reduction procedures. An example of spatial noise measurements is given using a staring InSb Charge Injection Device (CID) array

Smart trigger logic for focal plane arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, James E; Campbell, David V; Holmes, Michael L; Lovejoy, Robert; Wojciechowski, Kenneth; Kay, Randolph R; Cavanaugh, William S; Gurrieri, Thomas M

2014-03-25

An electronic device includes a memory configured to receive data representing light intensity values from pixels in a focal plane array and a processor that analyzes the received data to determine which light values correspond to triggered pixels, where the triggered pixels are those pixels that meet a predefined set of criteria, and determines, for each triggered pixel, a set of neighbor pixels for which light intensity values are to be stored. The electronic device also includes a buffer that temporarily stores light intensity values for at least one previously processed row of pixels, so that when a triggered pixel is identified in a current row, light intensity values for the neighbor pixels in the previously processed row and for the triggered pixel are persistently stored, as well as a data transmitter that transmits the persistently stored light intensity values for the triggered and neighbor pixels to a data receiver.

Tests of the Monte Carlo simulation of the photon-tagger focal-plane electronics at the MAX IV Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preston, M.F.; Myers, L.S.; Annand, J.R.M.; Fissum, K.G.; Hansen, K.; Isaksson, L.; Jebali, R.; Lundin, M.

2014-01-01

Rate-dependent effects in the electronics used to instrument the tagger focal plane at the MAX IV Laboratory were recently investigated using the novel approach of Monte Carlo simulation to allow for normalization of high-rate experimental data acquired with single-hit time-to-digital converters (TDCs). The instrumentation of the tagger focal plane has now been expanded to include multi-hit TDCs. The agreement between results obtained from data taken using single-hit and multi-hit TDCs demonstrate a thorough understanding of the behavior of the detector system

Tests of the Monte Carlo simulation of the photon-tagger focal-plane electronics at the MAX IV Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Preston, M.F. [Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund (Sweden); Myers, L.S. [Duke University, Durham, NC 27708 (United States); Annand, J.R.M. [University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland (United Kingdom); Fissum, K.G., E-mail: kevin.fissum@nuclear.lu.se [Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund (Sweden); Hansen, K.; Isaksson, L. [MAX IV Laboratory, Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund (Sweden); Jebali, R. [Arktis Radiation Detectors Limited, 8045 Zürich (Switzerland); Lundin, M. [MAX IV Laboratory, Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund (Sweden)

2014-04-21

Rate-dependent effects in the electronics used to instrument the tagger focal plane at the MAX IV Laboratory were recently investigated using the novel approach of Monte Carlo simulation to allow for normalization of high-rate experimental data acquired with single-hit time-to-digital converters (TDCs). The instrumentation of the tagger focal plane has now been expanded to include multi-hit TDCs. The agreement between results obtained from data taken using single-hit and multi-hit TDCs demonstrate a thorough understanding of the behavior of the detector system.

Infrared focal plane array producibility and related materials; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Apr. 20, 21, 1992

Science.gov (United States)

Balcerak, Ray; Pellegrini, Paul W.; Scribner, Dean A.

The present conference discusses the commercial diversification of the U.S. IR detector industry's commercial diversification, HgCdTe focal-plane array (FPAs) manufacture, LPE of (Hg,Cd)Te FPAs, uncooled IR FPA detector producibility, a high performance staring IR camera, and novel technologies for FPA dewars. Also discussed are hybridizing FPAs, cryoprober test development, HgCdTe on Si for monolithic focal plane arrays, popcorn noise in linear InGaAs detector arrays, and the use of narrowband laser speckle for MTF characterization of CCDs. (No individual items are abstracted in this volume)

A silicon strip detector used as a high rate focal plane sensor for electrons in a magnetic spectrometer

CERN Document Server

Miyoshi, T; Fujii, Y; Hashimoto, O; Hungerford, E V; Sato, Y; Sarsour, M; Takahashi, T; Tang, L; Ukai, M; Yamaguchi, H

2003-01-01

A silicon strip detector was developed as a focal plane sensor for a 300 MeV electron spectrometer and operated in a high rate environment. The detector with 500 mu m pitch provided good position resolution for electrons crossing the focal plane of the magnetic spectrometer system which was mounted in Hall C of the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The design of the silicon strip detector and the performance under high counting rate (<=2.0x10 sup 8 s sup - sup 1 for approx 1000 SSD channels) and high dose are discussed.

Dualband MW/LW Strained Layer Superlattice Focal Plane Arrays For Satellite-Based Wildfire Detection, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Dualband focal plane arrays (FPAs) based on gallium-free Type-II strained layer superlattice (SLS) photodiodes have recently experienced significant advances. We...

Statistical framework for the utilization of simultaneous pupil plane and focal plane telemetry for exoplanet imaging. I. Accounting for aberrations in multiple planes.

Science.gov (United States)

Frazin, Richard A

2016-04-01

A new generation of telescopes with mirror diameters of 20 m or more, called extremely large telescopes (ELTs), has the potential to provide unprecedented imaging and spectroscopy of exoplanetary systems, if the difficulties in achieving the extremely high dynamic range required to differentiate the planetary signal from the star can be overcome to a sufficient degree. Fully utilizing the potential of ELTs for exoplanet imaging will likely require simultaneous and self-consistent determination of both the planetary image and the unknown aberrations in multiple planes of the optical system, using statistical inference based on the wavefront sensor and science camera data streams. This approach promises to overcome the most important systematic errors inherent in the various schemes based on differential imaging, such as angular differential imaging and spectral differential imaging. This paper is the first in a series on this subject, in which a formalism is established for the exoplanet imaging problem, setting the stage for the statistical inference methods to follow in the future. Every effort has been made to be rigorous and complete, so that validity of approximations to be made later can be assessed. Here, the polarimetric image is expressed in terms of aberrations in the various planes of a polarizing telescope with an adaptive optics system. Further, it is shown that current methods that utilize focal plane sensing to correct the speckle field, e.g., electric field conjugation, rely on the tacit assumption that aberrations on multiple optical surfaces can be represented as aberration on a single optical surface, ultimately limiting their potential effectiveness for ground-based astronomy.

Dualband MW/LW Strained Layer Superlattice Focal Plane Arrays for Satellite-Based Wildfire Detection, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Infrared focal plane arrays (FPAs) based on Type-II strained layer superlattice (SLS) photodiodes have recently experienced significant advances. In Phase I we...

Focal pancreatic enlargement: differentiation between pancreatic adenocarcinoma and focal pancreatitis on CT and ERCP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Eun Kyung; Kim, Ki Whang; Lee, Jong Tae; Kim, Hee Soo; Yoo, Hyung Sik; Yu, Jeong Sik; Yoon, Sang Wook

1995-01-01

To differentiate the pancreatic adenocarcinoma from focal pancreatitis on CT and ERCP in cases of focal pancreatic enlargement. We analysed CT findings of 66 patients of pancreatic adenocarcinoma (n = 45) or focal pancreatitis (n = 21) with respect to size, density, calcification, pancreatic or biliary duct dilatation, fat plane obliteration around the vessels, direction of retroperitoneal extension, lymphadenopathy, pseudocyst formation and atrophy of pancreas. ERCP available in 48 patients were analysed in respect to morphologic appearance of CBD and pancreatic duct, and distance between the two ducts. The patients in focal pancreatitis were younger with more common history of alcohol drinking. There was no statistical difference in calcifications of the mass (18% in the adenocarcinoma, 33% in the focal pancreatitis), but a tendency of denser, larger number of calcifications was noted in focal pancreatitis. The finding of fat plane obliteration around the vessels were more common in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and fascial thickenings were more prominent in focal pancreatitis, although not statistically significant. On ERCP, there were no differential points of CBD, pancreatic duct morphology, but distance between the two ducts at the lesion center was more wider in focal pancreatitis. Differentiating focal pancreatitis from pancreatic adenocarcinoma is difficult. However, we should consider the possibility of focal pancreatitis in cases of patients with young age, having alcoholic history in association with CT findings of large numbers of and dense calcifications, and ERCP findings of prominent separation of two duct at the lesion center

A DSP-based readout and online processing system for a new focal-plane polarimeter at AGOR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hagemann, M.; Bassini, R.; Berg, A.M. van den; Ellinghaus, F.; Frekers, D.; Hannen, V.M.; Haeupke, T.; Heyse, J.; Jacobs, E.; Kirsch, M.; Kruesemann, B.; Rakers, S.; Sohlbach, H.; Woertche, H.J. E-mail: wortche@ikp.uni-muenster.de

1999-11-21

A Focal-Plane Polarimeter (FPP) for the large acceptance Big-Bite Spectrometer (BBS) at AGOR using a novel readout architecture has been commissioned at the KVI Groningen. The instrument is optimized for medium-energy polarized proton scattering near or at 0 deg. . For the handling of the high counting rates at extreme forward angles and for the suppression of small-angle scattering in the graphite analyzer, a high-performance data processing DSP system connecting to the LeCroy FERA and PCOS ECL bus architecture has been made operational and tested successfully. Details of the system and the functions of the various electronic components are described.

Removing defocused objects from single focal plane scans of cytological slides

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Friedrich

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Virtual microscopy and automated processing of cytological slides are more challenging compared to histological slides. Since cytological slides exhibit a three-dimensional surface and the required microscope objectives with high resolution have a low depth of field, these cannot capture all objects of a single field of view in focus. One solution would be to scan multiple focal planes; however, the increase in processing time and storage requirements are often prohibitive for clinical routine. Materials and Methods: In this paper, we show that it is a reasonable trade-off to scan a single focal plane and automatically reject defocused objects from the analysis. To this end, we have developed machine learning solutions for the automated identification of defocused objects. Our approach includes creating novel features, systematically optimizing their parameters, selecting adequate classifier algorithms, and identifying the correct decision boundary between focused and defocused objects. We validated our approach for computer-assisted DNA image cytometry. Results and Conclusions: We reach an overall sensitivity of 96.08% and a specificity of 99.63% for identifying defocused objects. Applied on ninety cytological slides, the developed classifiers automatically removed 2.50% of the objects acquired during scanning, which otherwise would have interfered the examination. Even if not all objects are acquired in focus, computer-assisted DNA image cytometry still identified more diagnostically or prognostically relevant objects compared to manual DNA image cytometry. At the same time, the workload for the expert is reduced dramatically.

Closed-loop focal plane wavefront control with the SCExAO instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Martinache, Frantz; Jovanovic, Nemanja; Guyon, Olivier

2016-09-01

Aims: This article describes the implementation of a focal plane based wavefront control loop on the high-contrast imaging instrument SCExAO (Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics). The sensor relies on the Fourier analysis of conventional focal-plane images acquired after an asymmetric mask is introduced in the pupil of the instrument. Methods: This absolute sensor is used here in a closed-loop to compensate for the non-common path errors that normally affects any imaging system relying on an upstream adaptive optics system.This specific implementation was used to control low-order modes corresponding to eight zernike modes (from focus to spherical). Results: This loop was successfully run on-sky at the Subaru Telescope and is used to offset the SCExAO deformable mirror shape used as a zero-point by the high-order wavefront sensor. The paper details the range of errors this wavefront-sensing approach can operate within and explores the impact of saturation of the data and how it can be bypassed, at a cost in performance. Conclusions: Beyond this application, because of its low hardware impact, the asymmetric pupil Fourier wavefront sensor (APF-WFS) can easily be ported in a wide variety of wavefront sensing contexts, for ground- as well space-borne telescopes, and for telescope pupils that can be continuous, segmented or even sparse. The technique is powerful because it measures the wavefront where it really matters, at the level of the science detector.

Focal plane based wavefront sensing with random DM probes

Science.gov (United States)

Pluzhnik, Eugene; Sirbu, Dan; Belikov, Ruslan; Bendek, Eduardo; Dudinov, Vladimir N.

2017-09-01

An internal coronagraph with an adaptive optical system for wavefront control is being considered for direct imaging of exoplanets with upcoming space missions and concepts, including WFIRST, HabEx, LUVOIR, EXCEDE and ACESat. The main technical challenge associated with direct imaging of exoplanets is to control of both diffracted and scattered light from the star so that even a dim planetary companion can be imaged. For a deformable mirror (DM) to create a dark hole with 10-10 contrast in the image plane, wavefront errors must be accurately measured on the science focal plane detector to ensure a common optical path. We present here a method that uses a set of random phase probes applied to the DM to obtain a high accuracy wavefront estimate even for a dynamically changing optical system. The presented numerical simulations and experimental results show low noise sensitivity, high reliability, and robustness of the proposed approach. The method does not use any additional optics or complex calibration procedures and can be used during the calibration stage of any direct imaging mission. It can also be used in any optical experiment that uses a DM as an active optical element in the layout.

Hydrogenation of Very Long Wavelength Infrared Focal Plane Arrays Based on Type II Superlattices, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We propose to advance the Ga-free InAs/InAsSb type II superlattice (T2SL) materials technology for very long wavelength infrared (VLWIR) focal plane arrays (FPAs) by...

Polarimeter on a Chip: Antenna-Coupled Microbolometers and Polarimeters for Submillimeterwave and Millimeterwave Focal Planes, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Future missions to study astrophysical sources at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths require focal planes of 1000's of detectors that must operate at the...

Focal plane array with modular pixel array components for scalability

Science.gov (United States)

Kay, Randolph R; Campbell, David V; Shinde, Subhash L; Rienstra, Jeffrey L; Serkland, Darwin K; Holmes, Michael L

2014-12-09

A modular, scalable focal plane array is provided as an array of integrated circuit dice, wherein each die includes a given amount of modular pixel array circuitry. The array of dice effectively multiplies the amount of modular pixel array circuitry to produce a larger pixel array without increasing die size. Desired pixel pitch across the enlarged pixel array is preserved by forming die stacks with each pixel array circuitry die stacked on a separate die that contains the corresponding signal processing circuitry. Techniques for die stack interconnections and die stack placement are implemented to ensure that the desired pixel pitch is preserved across the enlarged pixel array.

Chemical imaging of cotton fibers using an infrared microscope and a focal-plane array detector

Science.gov (United States)

In this presentation, the chemical imaging of cotton fibers with an infrared microscope and a Focal-Plane Array (FPA) detector will be discussed. Infrared spectroscopy can provide us with information on the structure and quality of cotton fibers. In addition, FPA detectors allow for simultaneous spe...

Radionuclide imaging with coded apertures and three-dimensional image reconstruction from focal-plane tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, L.T.

1976-05-01

Two techniques for radionuclide imaging and reconstruction have been studied;; both are used for improvement of depth resolution. The first technique is called coded aperture imaging, which is a technique of tomographic imaging. The second technique is a special 3-D image reconstruction method which is introduced as an improvement to the so called focal-plane tomography

Development and construction of a focal-plane detector for the Munich Q3D spectrograph

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindner, H.

1989-01-01

For the Munich Q3D magnet spectrograph a focal-plane detector was developed, constructed, and taken in operation. It is primary layed out for light ions like p, d, t 3 He, and 4 He, but can be also applied for heavy ions. The position resolution amounts to about 0.1 mm at counting rates of about 10 kHz. In the detector filled with counting gas on anode wires along the focal plane charge avalanches are formed, which influence in several neighbouring cathode stripes of the dimension (3x25) mm 2 signals. These signals are singularily read out and digitized, i.e. to each of the at the whole 114 cathode strips is assigned an own preamplifier, puls shaper, peak detector, and analog-to-digital converter (ADC). After the digitization in a hardware-like constructed calculator unit the center of mass of the charge distribution influenced by the charge avalanche is calculated, the position of the incident particle is obtained. The detector yields beyond the position signal yet also a signal ΔE form the anode wires, which gives the energy loss of the particle in the gas space, as well as a residual-energy signal E rest from a scintillator, in which the particles are stopped. By this the radiation background (γ's and n) can be separated very well from the required particles. With the focal-plane detector the 103 Rh(d, p) 104 Rh transfer reaction was measured at three different spectrograph angles. The measured level energies and angular momentum transfers are compared with (n, γ) data and discussed. (orig.) [de

Focal plane instrument for the Solar UV-Vis-IR Telescope aboard SOLAR-C

Science.gov (United States)

Katsukawa, Yukio; Suematsu, Yoshinori; Shimizu, Toshifumi; Ichimoto, Kiyoshi; Takeyama, Norihide

2011-10-01

It is presented the conceptual design of a focal plane instrument for the Solar UV-Vis-IR Telescope (SUVIT) aboard the next Japanese solar mission SOLAR-C. A primary purpose of the telescope is to achieve precise as well as high resolution spectroscopic and polarimetric measurements of the solar chromosphere with a big aperture of 1.5 m, which is expected to make a significant progress in understanding basic MHD processes in the solar atmosphere. The focal plane instrument consists of two packages: A filtergraph package is to get not only monochromatic images but also Dopplergrams and magnetograms using a tunable narrow-band filter and interference filters. A spectrograph package is to perform accurate spectro-polarimetric observations for measuring chromospheric magnetic fields, and is employing a Littrow-type spectrograph. The most challenging aspect in the instrument design is wide wavelength coverage from 280 nm to 1.1 μm to observe multiple chromospheric lines, which is to be realized with a lens unit including fluoride glasses. A high-speed camera for correlation tracking of granular motion is also implemented in one of the packages for an image stabilization system, which is essential to achieve high spatial resolution and high polarimetric accuracy.

Performance overview of the Euclid infrared focal plane detector subsystems

Science.gov (United States)

Waczynski, A.; Barbier, R.; Cagiano, S.; Chen, J.; Cheung, S.; Cho, H.; Cillis, A.; Clémens, J.-C.; Dawson, O.; Delo, G.; Farris, M.; Feizi, A.; Foltz, R.; Hickey, M.; Holmes, W.; Hwang, T.; Israelsson, U.; Jhabvala, M.; Kahle, D.; Kan, Em.; Kan, Er.; Loose, M.; Lotkin, G.; Miko, L.; Nguyen, L.; Piquette, E.; Powers, T.; Pravdo, S.; Runkle, A.; Seiffert, M.; Strada, P.; Tucker, C.; Turck, K.; Wang, F.; Weber, C.; Williams, J.

2016-07-01

In support of the European space agency (ESA) Euclid mission, NASA is responsible for the evaluation of the H2RG mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) detectors and electronics assemblies fabricated by Teledyne imaging systems. The detector evaluation is performed in the detector characterization laboratory (DCL) at the NASA Goddard space flight center (GSFC) in close collaboration with engineers and scientists from the jet propulsion laboratory (JPL) and the Euclid project. The Euclid near infrared spectrometer and imaging photometer (NISP) will perform large area optical and spectroscopic sky surveys in the 0.9-2.02 μm infrared (IR) region. The NISP instrument will contain sixteen detector arrays each coupled to a Teledyne SIDECAR application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The focal plane will operate at 100K and the SIDECAR ASIC will be in close proximity operating at a slightly higher temperature of 137K. This paper will describe the test configuration, performance tests and results of the latest engineering run, also known as pilot run 3 (PR3), consisting of four H2RG detectors operating simultaneously. Performance data will be presented on; noise, spectral quantum efficiency, dark current, persistence, pixel yield, pixel to pixel uniformity, linearity, inter pixel crosstalk, full well and dynamic range, power dissipation, thermal response and unit cell input sensitivity.

Upgrade of the TAMU MDM-focal plane detector with MicroMegas technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spiridon, A., E-mail: aspiridon@comp.tamu.edu [Cyclotron Institute, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Pollacco, E. [IRFU, CEA Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Roeder, B.T.; Saastamoinen, A.; Chyzh, R.; Dag, M.; Tribble, R.E. [Cyclotron Institute, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Trache, L.; Pascovici, G. [National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Bucharest-Magurele RO-077125 (Romania); De Oliveira, R. [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland)

2016-06-01

A gridded ionization chamber used as a focal plane detector at the back of the TAMU-MDM spectrometer was modified to use MicroMegas technology for the purpose of improving energy resolution and particle identification. The upgraded system was tested in experimental conditions with several heavy-ion beams at 12 MeV/u and found to achieve resolutions between 3.2% and 4.8%. This is a significant improvement over the previous performance of 10–15% obtained using the existing, conventional ionization chambers.

Upgrade of the TAMU MDM-focal plane detector with MicroMegas technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spiridon, A.; Pollacco, E.; Roeder, B.T.; Saastamoinen, A.; Chyzh, R.; Dag, M.; Tribble, R.E.; Trache, L.; Pascovici, G.; De Oliveira, R.

2016-01-01

A gridded ionization chamber used as a focal plane detector at the back of the TAMU-MDM spectrometer was modified to use MicroMegas technology for the purpose of improving energy resolution and particle identification. The upgraded system was tested in experimental conditions with several heavy-ion beams at 12 MeV/u and found to achieve resolutions between 3.2% and 4.8%. This is a significant improvement over the previous performance of 10–15% obtained using the existing, conventional ionization chambers.

Infrared detectors, focal plane arrays, and imaging sensors; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Mar. 30, 31, 1989

Science.gov (United States)

Dereniak, Eustace L.; Sampson, Robert T.

1989-10-01

The present conference on advancements in IR detectors, Schottky-barrier focal plane arrays, CCD image analysis, and HgCdTe materials gives attention to a 256 x 256 PtSi array for IR astronomy, proposals for a second-generation meteosat's advanced optical payload, cryogenic bipolar technology for on-focal-plane signal processing, a parallel cellular processing system for fast generation of perspective plots, and ultrahigh-speed CCD image sensors for scanning applications. Also discussed are MBE GaAs rib waveguide experiments at 10.6 microns, an interferometric thermal detector, the development status of superconducting IR detector research, the absorption coefficients of n-type Hg(1-x)Cd(x)Te samples, and the influence of the surface channel on crosstalk in HgCdTe photovoltaic arrays.

A Readout Integrated Circuit (ROIC) employing self-adaptive background current compensation technique for Infrared Focal Plane Array (IRFPA)

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Tong; Zhao, Jian; He, Yong; Jiang, Bo; Su, Yan

2018-05-01

A novel self-adaptive background current compensation circuit applied to infrared focal plane array is proposed in this paper, which can compensate the background current generated in different conditions. Designed double-threshold detection strategy is to estimate and eliminate the background currents, which could significantly reduce the hardware overhead and improve the uniformity among different pixels. In addition, the circuit is well compatible to various categories of infrared thermo-sensitive materials. The testing results of a 4 × 4 experimental chip showed that the proposed circuit achieves high precision, wide application and high intelligence. Tape-out of the 320 × 240 readout circuit, as well as the bonding, encapsulation and imaging verification of uncooled infrared focal plane array, have also been completed.

Status and Integrated Focal Plane Characterization of Simons Array - Cosmic Microwave Background Polarimetry Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Hayley; POLARBEAR

2018-06-01

Simons Array is a cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization experiment located at 5,200 meter altitude site in the Atacama desert in Chile. The science goals of the Simons Array are to characterize the CMB B-mode signal from gravitational lensing, and search for B-mode polarization generated from inflationary gravitational waves.In 2012, POLARBEAR-1 (PB-1) began observations and the POLARBEAR team has published the first measurements of non-zero polarization B-mode polarization angular power spectrum where gravitational lensing of CMB is the dominant signal.POLARBEAR-2A (PB-2A), the first of three receivers of Simons Array, will have 7,588 polarization sensitive Transition Edge Sensor (TES) bolometers with frequencies 90 GHz and 150 GHz. This represents a factor of 6 increase in detector count compared to PB-1. Once Simons Array is fully deployed, the focal plane array will consist 22,764 TES bolometers across 90 GHz, 150 GHz, 220 GHz, and 270 GHz with a projected instantaneous sensitivity of 2.5 µK√s. Here we present the status of PB-2A and characterization of the integrated focal plane to be deployed summer of 2018.

Calibration of optical tweezers with positional detection in the back focal plane

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tolic-Nørrelykke, S.F.; Schäffer, E.; Howard, J.

2006-01-01

We explain and demonstrate a new method of force and position calibrations for optical tweezers with back-focal-plane photodetection. The method combines power spectral measurements of thermal motion and the response to a sinusoidal motion of a translation stage. It consequently does not use...... and precise: true values are returned, with small error bars. We tested this experimentally, near and far from surfaces in the lateral directions. Both position and force calibrations were accurate to within 3%. To calibrate, we moved the sample with a piezoelectric translation stage, but the laser beam could...

Image interpolation and denoising for division of focal plane sensors using Gaussian processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilboa, Elad; Cunningham, John P; Nehorai, Arye; Gruev, Viktor

2014-06-16

Image interpolation and denoising are important techniques in image processing. These methods are inherent to digital image acquisition as most digital cameras are composed of a 2D grid of heterogeneous imaging sensors. Current polarization imaging employ four different pixelated polarization filters, commonly referred to as division of focal plane polarization sensors. The sensors capture only partial information of the true scene, leading to a loss of spatial resolution as well as inaccuracy of the captured polarization information. Interpolation is a standard technique to recover the missing information and increase the accuracy of the captured polarization information. Here we focus specifically on Gaussian process regression as a way to perform a statistical image interpolation, where estimates of sensor noise are used to improve the accuracy of the estimated pixel information. We further exploit the inherent grid structure of this data to create a fast exact algorithm that operates in ����(N(3/2)) (vs. the naive ���� (N³)), thus making the Gaussian process method computationally tractable for image data. This modeling advance and the enabling computational advance combine to produce significant improvements over previously published interpolation methods for polarimeters, which is most pronounced in cases of low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). We provide the comprehensive mathematical model as well as experimental results of the GP interpolation performance for division of focal plane polarimeter.

Paraxial design of an optical element with variable focal length and fixed position of principal planes.

Science.gov (United States)

Mikš, Antonín; Novák, Pavel

2018-05-10

In this article, we analyze the problem of the paraxial design of an active optical element with variable focal length, which maintains the positions of its principal planes fixed during the change of its optical power. Such optical elements are important in the process of design of complex optical systems (e.g., zoom systems), where the fixed position of principal planes during the change of optical power is essential for the design process. The proposed solution is based on the generalized membrane tunable-focus fluidic lens with several membrane surfaces.

Modulation Transfer Function of Infrared Focal Plane Arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Gunapala, S. D.; Rafol, S. B.; Ting, D. Z.; Soibel, A.; Hill, C. J.; Khoshakhlagh, A.; Liu, J. K.; Mumolo, J. M.; Hoglund, L.; Luong, E. M.

2015-01-01

Modulation transfer function (MTF) is the ability of an imaging system to faithfully image a given object. The MTF of an imaging system quantifies the ability of the system to resolve or transfer spatial frequencies. In this presentation we will discuss the detail MTF measurements of 1024x1024 pixels mid -wavelength and long- wavelength quantum well infrared photodetector, and 320x256 pixels long- wavelength InAs/GaSb superlattice infrared focal plane arrays (FPAs). Long wavelength Complementary Barrier Infrared Detector (CBIRD) based on InAs/GaSb superlattice material is hybridized to recently designed and fabricated 320x256 pixel format ROIC. The n-type CBIRD was characterized in terms of performance and thermal stability. The experimentally measured NE delta T of the 8.8 micron cutoff n-CBIRD FPA was 18.6 mK with 300 K background and f/2 cold stop at 78K FPA operating temperature. The horizontal and vertical MTFs of this pixel fully delineated CBIRD FPA at Nyquist frequency are 49% and 52%, respectively.

Measurement, characterization, and modeling of noise in staring infrared focal plane arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scribner, D.A.; Kruer, M.R.; Gridley, C.J.; Sarkady, K.

1987-01-01

An account is given of selected methods for the measurement and characterization of spatial and temporal noise in staring focal plane arrays (FPAs), in order to demonstrate how these results can be used in simulations and analytic models to predict the performance of selected staring sensors. Attention is given to MIR FPAs applicable to the detection and tracking of point sources, and to the ways in which these spatial and temporal noise measurements can be incorporated into simulations and sensors having staring FPAs. Methods for predicting the performance of selected staring sensor systems are derivable from spatial and temporal noise values. 13 references

Life test of the InGaAs focal plane arrays detector for space applications

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Xian-Liang; Zhang, Hai-Yan; Li, Xue; Huang, Zhang-Cheng; Gong, Hai-Mei

2017-08-01

The short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) InGaAs focal plane array (FPA) detector consists of infrared detector chip, readout integrated circuit (ROIC), and flip-chip bonding interconnection by Indium bump. In order to satisfy space application requirements for failure rates or Mean Time to Failure (MTTF), which can only be demonstrated with the large number of detectors manufactured, the single pixel in InGaAs FPAs was chosen as the research object in this paper. The constant-stress accelerated life tests were carried out at 70°C 80°C 90°C and100°C. The failed pixels increased gradually during more than 14000 hours at each elevated temperatures. From the random failure data the activation energy was estimated to be 0.46eV, and the average lifetime of a single pixel in InGaAs FPAs was estimated to be longer than 1E+7h at the practical operating temperature (5°C).

Examination of cotton fibers and common contaminants using an infrared microscope and a focal-plane array detector

Science.gov (United States)

The chemical imaging of cotton fibers and common contaminants in fibers is presented. Chemical imaging was performed with an infrared microscope equipped with a Focal-Plane Array (FPA) detector. Infrared spectroscopy can provide us with information on the structure and quality of cotton fibers. In a...

Evolution of miniature detectors and focal plane arrays for infrared sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Watts, Louis A.

1993-06-01

Sensors that are sensitive in the infrared spectral region have been under continuous development since the WW2 era. A quest for the military advantage of 'seeing in the dark' has pushed thermal imaging technology toward high spatial and temporal resolution for night vision equipment, fire control, search track, and seeker 'homing' guidance sensing devices. Similarly, scientific applications have pushed spectral resolution for chemical analysis, remote sensing of earth resources, and astronomical exploration applications. As a result of these developments, focal plane arrays (FPA) are now available with sufficient sensitivity for both high spatial and narrow bandwidth spectral resolution imaging over large fields of view. Such devices combined with emerging opto-electronic developments in integrated FPA data processing techniques can yield miniature sensors capable of imaging reflected sunlight in the near IR and emitted thermal energy in the Mid-wave (MWIR) and longwave (LWIR) IR spectral regions. Robotic space sensors equipped with advanced versions of these FPA's will provide high resolution 'pictures' of their surroundings, perform remote analysis of solid, liquid, and gas matter, or selectively look for 'signatures' of specific objects. Evolutionary trends and projections of future low power micro detector FPA developments for day/night operation or use in adverse viewing conditions are presented in the following test.

A new focal plane detector for the gas-filled separator TASCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorshkov, Alexander

2010-01-01

Superheavy elements (SHE) exist solely because of enhanced nuclear stability due to shell effects. The production cross sections for the synthesis of SHE decrease continuously, thus, exploration of SHE nuclei is close to the border of present technical limitation. To increase the efficiency and sensitivity in SHE experiments, highly efficient recoil separators with state-of-the-art detection systems are required. In the framework of this thesis, the new focal plane detection system with the dedicated electronics have been developed for the gas-filled recoil separator TASCA at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum for Schwerionenforschung GmbH. The new detection system has been successfully used in recent experiments on synthesis of the E114.

Multispectral Thermal Imager Optical Assembly Performance and Integration of the Flight Focal Plane Assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blake, Dick; Byrd, Don; Christensen, Wynn; Henson, Tammy; Krumel, Les; Rappoport, William; Shen, Gon-Yen

1999-01-01

The Multispectral Thermal Imager Optical Assembly (OA) has been fabricated, assembled, successfully performance tested, and integrated into the flight payload structure with the flight Focal Plane Assembly (FPA) integrated and aligned to it. This represents a major milestone achieved towards completion of this earth observing E-O imaging sensor that is to be operated in low earth orbit. The OA consists of an off-axis three mirror anastigmatic (TMA) telescope with a 36 cm unobscured clear aperture, a wide-field-of-view (WFOV) of 1.82 along the direction of spacecraft motion and 1.38 across the direction of spacecraft motion. It also contains a comprehensive on-board radiometric calibration system. The OA is part of a multispectral pushbroom imaging sensor which employs a single mechanically cooled focal plane with 15 spectral bands covering a wavelength range from 0.45 to 10.7 m. The OA achieves near diffraction-limited performance from visible to the long-wave infrared (LWIR) wavelengths. The two major design drivers for the OA are 80% enpixeled energy in the visible bands and radiometric stability. Enpixeled energy in the visible bands also drove the alignment of the FPA detectors to the OA image plane to a requirement of less than 20 m over the entire visible detector field of view (FOV). Radiometric stability requirements mandated a cold Lyot stop for stray light rejection and thermal background reduction. The Lyot stop is part of the FPA assembly and acts as the aperture stop for the imaging system. The alignment of the Lyot stop to the OA drove the centering and to some extent the tilt alignment requirements of the FPA to the OA

Photonic antenna enhanced middle wave and longwave infrared focal plane array with low noise and high operating temperature, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Photodetectors and focal plane arrays (FPAs) covering the middle-wave and longwave infrared (MWIR/LWIR) are of great importance in numerous NASA applications,...

Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride Focal Plane Array Performance Under Non-Standard Operating Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Brandon S.; Eastwood, Michael L.; Bruce, Carl F.; Green, Robert O.; Coles, J. B.

2011-01-01

This paper highlights a new technique that allows the Teledyne Scientific & Imaging LLC TCM6604A Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride (MCT) Focal Plane Array (FPA) to operate at room temperature. The Teledyne MCT FPA has been a standard in Imaging Spectroscopy since its creation in the 1980's. This FPA has been used in applications ranging from space instruments such as CRISM, M3 and ARTEMIS to airborne instruments such as MaRS and the Next Generation AVIRIS Instruments1. Precise focal plane alignment is always a challenge for such instruments. The current FPA alignment process results in multiple cold cycles requiring week-long durations, thereby increasing the risk and cost of a project. These alignment cycles are necessary because optimal alignment is approached incrementally and can only be measured with the FPA and Optics at standard operating conditions, requiring a cold instrument. Instruments using this FPA are normally cooled to temperatures below 150K for the MCT FPA to properly function. When the FPA is run at higher temperatures the dark current increases saturating the output. This paper covers the prospect of warm MCT FPA operation from a theoretical and experimental perspective. We discuss the empirical models and physical laws that govern MCT material properties and predict the optimal settings that will result in the best MCT PA performance at 300K. Theoretical results are then calculated for the proposed settings. We finally present the images and data obtained using the actual system with the warm MCT FPA settings. The paper concludes by emphasizing the strong positive correlation between the measured values and the theoretical results.

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS): Focal Plane Detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Mukherjee, Reshmi; Byrum, K.; Drake, G.; Falcone, A.; Funk, S.; Horan, D.; Tajima, H.; Wagner, B.; Williams, D.

2008-04-01

Report of the Focal Plane Instrumentation Working Group, AGIS collaboration: The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS) is a concept for the next generation instrument in ground-based very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. It has the goal of achieving significant improvement in sensitivity over current experiments. One of the main requirements for AGIS will be to achieve higher angular resolution than current imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs). Simulations show that a substantial improvement in angular resolution may be achieved if the pixel size is reduced to 0.05 deg, below that of current IACTs. Reducing the cost per channel and improving reliability and modularity are other important considerations. Here we present several alternatives being considered for AGIS, including both silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) and multi-anode photomultipliers (MAPMTs) and summarize results from feasibility testing by various AGIS photodetector group members.

Angular acceptance analysis of an infrared focal plane array with a built-in stationary Fourier transform spectrometer.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillard, Frédéric; Ferrec, Yann; Guérineau, Nicolas; Rommeluère, Sylvain; Taboury, Jean; Chavel, Pierre

2012-06-01

Stationary Fourier transform spectrometry is an interesting concept for building reliable field or embedded spectroradiometers, especially for the mid- and far- IR. Here, a very compact configuration of a cryogenic stationary Fourier transform IR (FTIR) spectrometer is investigated, where the interferometer is directly integrated in the focal plane array (FPA). We present a theoretical analysis to explain and describe the fringe formation inside the FTIR-FPA structure when illuminated by an extended source positioned at a finite distance from the detection plane. The results are then exploited to propose a simple front lens design compatible with a handheld package.

The Focal Plane Assembly for the Athena X-Ray Integral Field Unit Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, B. D.; Van Weers, H.; van der Kuur, J.; den Hartog, R.; Akamatsu, H.; Argan, A.; Bandler, S. R.; Barbera, M.; Barret, D.; Bruijn, M. P.;

Development of a hard x-ray focal plane compton polarimeter: a compact polarimetric configuration with scintillators and Si photomultipliers

Science.gov (United States)

Chattopadhyay, T.; Vadawale, S. V.; Goyal, S. K.; Mithun, N. P. S.; Patel, A. R.; Shukla, R.; Ladiya, T.; Shanmugam, M.; Patel, V. R.; Ubale, G. P.

2016-02-01

X-ray polarization measurement of cosmic sources provides two unique parameters namely degree and angle of polarization which can probe the emission mechanism and geometry at close vicinity of the compact objects. Specifically, the hard X-ray polarimetry is more rewarding because the sources are expected to be intrinsically highly polarized at higher energies. With the successful implementation of Hard X-ray optics in NuSTAR, it is now feasible to conceive Compton polarimeters as focal plane detectors. Such a configuration is likely to provide sensitive polarization measurements in hard X-rays with a broad energy band. We are developing a focal plane hard X-ray Compton polarimeter consisting of a plastic scintillator as active scatterer surrounded by a cylindrical array of CsI(Tl) scintillators. The scatterer is 5 mm diameter and 100 mm long plastic scintillator (BC404) viewed by normal PMT. The photons scattered by the plastic scatterer are collected by a cylindrical array of 16 CsI(Tl) scintillators (5 mm × 5 mm × 150 mm) which are read by Si Photomultiplier (SiPM). Use of the new generation SiPMs ensures the compactness of the instrument which is essential for the design of focal plane detectors. The expected sensitivity of such polarimetric configuration and complete characterization of the plastic scatterer, specially at lower energies have been discussed in [11, 13]. In this paper, we characterize the CsI(Tl) absorbers coupled to SiPM. We also present the experimental results from the fully assembled configuration of the Compton polarimeter.

Enabling Large Focal Plane Arrays Through Mosaic Hybridization

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Timothy M.; Jhabvala, Christine A.; Leong, Edward; Costen, Nicholas P.; Sharp, Elmer; Adachi, Tomoko; Benford, Dominic J.

2012-01-01

We have demonstrated advances in mosaic hybridization that will enable very large format far-infrared detectors. Specifically we have produced electrical detector models via mosaic hybridization yielding superconducting circuit paths by hybridizing separately fabricated sub-units onto a single detector unit. The detector model was made on a 100mm diameter wafer while four model readout quadrant chips were made from a separate 100mm wafer. The individually fabricated parts were hybridized using a flip-chip bonder to assemble the detector-readout stack. Once all of the hybridized readouts were in place, a single, large and thick silicon substrate was placed on the stack and attached with permanent epoxy to provide strength and a Coefficient of Thermal Expansion match to the silicon components underneath. Wirebond pads on the readout chips connect circuits to warm readout electronics; and were used to validate the successful superconducting electrical interconnection of the model mosaic-hybrid detector. This demonstration is directly scalable to 150 mm diameter wafers, enabling pixel areas over ten times the area currently available.

Focal plane mechanical design of the NISP/Euclid instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Bonnefoi, Anne; Bon, William; Niclas, Mathieu; Solheim, Bjarte G. B.; Torvanger, Oyvind; Schistad, Robert; Foulon, Benjamin; Garcia, José; Vives, Sébastien

2016-07-01

Currently in phase C, the Euclid mission selected by ESA in the Cosmic Vision program is dedicated to understand dark energy and dark matter. NISP (standing for Near Infrared Spectro-Photometer) is one of the two instruments of the mission. NISP will combine a photometer and a spectrometer working in the near-IR (0.9-2 microns). Its detection subsystem (called NI-DS) is based on a mosaic of 16 IR detectors cooled down to 90K which are supported by a molybdenum plate. The front-end readout electronics (working at 130K) are supported by another structure in Aluminum. The NI-DS is mounted on the rest of the instrument thanks to a panel in Silicon Carbide (SiC). Finally an optical baffle in Titanium will prevent the rogue light to reach the detectors. On top of the complexity due to the wide range of temperatures and the various materials imposed at the interfaces; the NI-DS has also to incorporate an internal adjustment capability of the position of the focal plane in tip/tilt and focus. This article will present current status of the development of the detection system of NISP.

An All Silicon Feedhorn-Coupled Focal Plane for Cosmic Microwave Background Polarimetry

Science.gov (United States)

Hubmayr, J.; Appel, J. W.; Austermann, J. E.; Beall, J. A.; Becker, D.; Benson, B. A.; Bleem, L. E.; Carlstrom, J. E.; Chang, C. L.; Cho, H. M.;

Physical Limitations To Nonuniformity Correction In IR Focal Plane Arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Scribner, D. A.; Kruer, M. R.; Gridley, J. C.; Sarkady, K.

1988-05-01

Simple nonuniformity correction algorithms currently in use can be severely limited by nonlinear response characteristics of the individual pixels in an IR focal plane array. Although more complicated multi-point algorithms improve the correction process they too can be limited by nonlinearities. Furthermore, analysis of single pixel noise power spectrums usually show some level of 1 /f noise. This in turn causes pixel outputs to drift independent of each other thus causing the spatial noise (often called fixed pattern noise) of the array to increase as a function of time since the last calibration. Measurements are presented for two arrays (a HgCdTe hybrid and a Pt:Si CCD) describing pixel nonlinearities, 1/f noise, and residual spatial noise (after nonuniforming correction). Of particular emphasis is spatial noise as a function of the lapsed time since the last calibration and the calibration process selected. The resulting spatial noise is examined in terms of its effect on the NEAT performance of each array tested and comparisons are made. Finally, a discussion of implications for array developers is given.

High Dynamic Range adaptive ΔΣ-based Focal Plane Array architecture

KAUST Repository

Yao, Shun

2012-10-16

In this paper, an Adaptive Delta-Sigma based architecture for High Dynamic Range (HDR) Focal Plane Arrays is presented. The noise shaping effect of the Delta-Sigma modulation in the low end, and the distortion noise induced in the high end of Photo-diode current were analyzed in detail. The proposed architecture can extend the DR for about 20N log2 dB at the high end of Photo-diode current with an N bit Up-Down counter. At the low end, it can compensate for the larger readout noise by employing Extended Counting. The Adaptive Delta-Sigma architecture employing a 4-bit Up-Down counter achieved about 160dB in the DR, with a Peak SNR (PSNR) of 80dB at the high end. Compared to the other HDR architectures, the Adaptive Delta-Sigma based architecture provides the widest DR with the best SNR performance in the extended range.

Characterization of EASIROC as front-end for the readout of the SiPM at the focal plane of the Cherenkov telescope ASTRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Impiombato, D.; Giarrusso, S.; Mineo, T.; Belluso, M.; Billotta, S.; Bonanno, G.; Catalano, O.; Grillo, A.; La Rosa, G.; Marano, D.; Sottile, G.

2013-01-01

The Extended Analogue Silicon Photo-multiplier Integrated Read Out Chip, EASIROC, is a chip proposed as front-end of the camera at the focal plane of the imaging Cherenkov ASTRI SST-2M telescope prototype. This paper presents the results of the measurements performed to characterize EASIROC in order to evaluate its compliance with the ASTRI SST-2M focal plane requirements. In particular, we investigated the trigger time walk and the jitter effects as a function of the pulse amplitude. The EASIROC output signal is found to vary linearly as a function of the input pulse amplitude with very low level of electronic noise and cross-talk (<1%). Our results show that it is suitable as front-end chip for the camera prototype, although, specific modifications are necessary to adopt the device in the final version of the telescope

A math model for high velocity sensoring with a focal plane shuttered camera.

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, P.

1971-01-01

A new mathematical model is presented which describes the image produced by a focal plane shutter-equipped camera. The model is based upon the well-known collinearity condition equations and incorporates both the translational and rotational motion of the camera during the exposure interval. The first differentials of the model with respect to exposure interval, delta t, yield the general matrix expressions for image velocities which may be simplified to known cases. The exposure interval, delta t, may be replaced under certain circumstances with a function incorporating blind velocity and image position if desired. The model is tested using simulated Lunar Orbiter data and found to be computationally stable as well as providing excellent results, provided that some external information is available on the velocity parameters.

Detectors and focal plane modules for weather satellites

Science.gov (United States)

D'Souza, A. I.; Robinson, E.; Masterjohn, S.; Ely, P.; Khalap, V.; Babu, S.; Smith, D. S.

2016-05-01

Weather satellite instruments require detectors with a variety of wavelengths ranging from the visible to VLWIR. One of the remote sensing applications is the geostationary GOES-ABI imager covering wavelengths from the 450 to 490 nm band through the 13.0 to 13.6 μm band. There are a total of 16 spectral bands covered. The Cross-track infrared Sounder (CrIS) is a Polar Orbiting interferometric sensor that measures earth radiances at high spectral resolution, using the data to provide pressure, temperature and moisture profiles of the atmosphere. The pressure, temperature and moisture sounding data are used in weather prediction models that track storms, predict levels of precipitation etc. The CrIS instrument contains SWIR (λc ~ 5 μm at 98K), MWIR (λc ~ 9 μm at 98K) and LWIRs (λc ~ 15.5 μm at 81K) bands in three Focal Plane Array Assemblies (FPAAs). GOES-ABI contains three focal plane modules (FPMs), (i) a visible-near infrared module consisting of three visible and three near infrared channels, (ii) a MWIR module comprised of five channels from 3.9 μm to 8.6 μm and (iii) a 9.6 μm to 13.3 μm, five-channel LWIR module. The VNIR FPM operates at 205 K, and the MWIR and LWIR FPMs operate at 60 K. Each spectral channel has a redundant array built into a single detector chip. Switching is thus permitted from the primary selected array in each channel to the redundant array, given any degradation in performance of the primary array during the course of the mission. Silicon p-i-n detectors are used for the 0.47 μm to 0.86 μm channels. The thirteen channels above 1 μm are fabricated in various compositions of Hg1-xCdxTe, and in this particular case using two different detector architectures. The 1.38 μm to 9.61 μm channels are all fabricated in Hg1-xCdxTe grown by Liquid Phase Epitaxy (LPE) using the HDVIP detector architecture. Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown Hg1-xCdxTe material are used for the LWIR 10.35 μm to 13.3 μm channels fabricated in Double

Low-power low-noise analog circuits for on-focal-plane signal processing of infrared sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Pain, Bedabrata; Mendis, Sunetra K.; Schober, Robert C.; Nixon, Robert H.; Fossum, Eric R.

1993-10-01

On-focal-plane signal processing circuits for enhancement of IR imager performance are presented. To enable the detection of high background IR images, an in-pixel current-mode background suppression scheme is presented. The background suppression circuit consists of a current memory placed in the feedback loop of a CTIA and is designed for a thousand-fold suppression of the background flux, thereby easing circuit design constraints, and assuring BLIP operation even with detectors having large response non-uniformities. For improving the performance of low-background IR imagers, an on-chip column-parallel analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is presented. The design of a 10-bit ADC with 50 micrometers pitch and based on sigma-delta ((Sigma) -(Delta) ) modulation is presented. A novel IR imager readout technique featuring photoelectron counting in the unit cell is presented for ultra-low background applications. The output of the unit cell is a digital word corresponding to the incident flux density and the readout is noise free. The design of low-power (noise, high-gain (> 100,000), small real estate (60 micrometers pitch) self-biased CMOS amplifiers required for photon counting are presented.

Focal-Plane Sensing-Processing: A Power-Efficient Approach for the Implementation of Privacy-Aware Networked Visual Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Fernández-Berni

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The capture, processing and distribution of visual information is one of the major challenges for the paradigm of the Internet of Things. Privacy emerges as a fundamental barrier to overcome. The idea of networked image sensors pervasively collecting data generates social rejection in the face of sensitive information being tampered by hackers or misused by legitimate users. Power consumption also constitutes a crucial aspect. Images contain a massive amount of data to be processed under strict timing requirements, demanding high-performance vision systems. In this paper, we describe a hardware-based strategy to concurrently address these two key issues. By conveying processing capabilities to the focal plane in addition to sensing, we can implement privacy protection measures just at the point where sensitive data are generated. Furthermore, such measures can be tailored for efficiently reducing the computational load of subsequent processing stages. As a proof of concept, a full-custom QVGA vision sensor chip is presented. It incorporates a mixed-signal focal-plane sensing-processing array providing programmable pixelation of multiple image regions in parallel. In addition to this functionality, the sensor exploits reconfigurability to implement other processing primitives, namely block-wise dynamic range adaptation, integral image computation and multi-resolution filtering. The proposed circuitry is also suitable to build a granular space, becoming the raw material for subsequent feature extraction and recognition of categorized objects.

Focal-plane sensing-processing: a power-efficient approach for the implementation of privacy-aware networked visual sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández-Berni, Jorge; Carmona-Galán, Ricardo; del Río, Rocío; Kleihorst, Richard; Philips, Wilfried; Rodríguez-Vázquez, Ángel

2014-08-19

The capture, processing and distribution of visual information is one of the major challenges for the paradigm of the Internet of Things. Privacy emerges as a fundamental barrier to overcome. The idea of networked image sensors pervasively collecting data generates social rejection in the face of sensitive information being tampered by hackers or misused by legitimate users. Power consumption also constitutes a crucial aspect. Images contain a massive amount of data to be processed under strict timing requirements, demanding high-performance vision systems. In this paper, we describe a hardware-based strategy to concurrently address these two key issues. By conveying processing capabilities to the focal plane in addition to sensing, we can implement privacy protection measures just at the point where sensitive data are generated. Furthermore, such measures can be tailored for efficiently reducing the computational load of subsequent processing stages. As a proof of concept, a full-custom QVGA vision sensor chip is presented. It incorporates a mixed-signal focal-plane sensing-processing array providing programmable pixelation of multiple image regions in parallel. In addition to this functionality, the sensor exploits reconfigurability to implement other processing primitives, namely block-wise dynamic range adaptation, integral image computation and multi-resolution filtering. The proposed circuitry is also suitable to build a granular space, becoming the raw material for subsequent feature extraction and recognition of categorized objects.

Research of Infrared Imaging at Atmospheric Pressure Using a Substrate-Free Focal Plane Array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Jian-Xiong; Cheng Teng; Zhang Qing-Chuan; Zhang Yong; Mao Liang; Gao Jie; Wu Xiao-Ping; Chen Da-Peng

2013-01-01

An equivalent circuit model to the substrate-free focal plane array (FPA) is established. Using this fast and effective model, the performance of infrared (IR) imaging at atmospheric pressure is investigated and it is found that the substrate-free FPA has the ability of IR imaging at atmospheric pressure, whereas it has a slightly degraded noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) as compared with IR imaging under a high vacuum. This feature is also identified experimentally by a substrate-free FPA with pixel size of 50 × 50 μm 2 . The NETDs are measured to be 160 mK at 10 −2 Pa pressure and 1.08 K at atmospheric pressure

Corrugated Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector Focal Plane Array Test Results

Science.gov (United States)

Goldberg, A.; Choi, K. K.; Das, N. C.; La, A.; Jhabvala, M.

1999-01-01

The corrugated quantum-well infrared photodetector (C-QWIP) uses total internal reflection to couple normal incident light into the optically active quantum wells. The coupling efficiency has been shown to be relatively independent of the pixel size and wavelength thus making the C-QWIP a candidate for detectors over the entire infrared spectrum. The broadband coupling efficiency of the C-QWIP makes it an ideal candidate for multiwavelength detectors. We fabricated and tested C-QWIP focal plane arrays (FPAs) with cutoff wavelengths of 11.2 and 16.2 micrometers. Each FPA has 256 x 256 pixels that are bump-bonded to a direct injection readout circuit. Both FPAs provided infrared imagery with good aesthetic attributes. For the 11.2-micrometers FPA, background-limited performance (BLIP) was observed at 60 K with f/3 optics. For the 16.2-micrometers FPA, BLIP was observed at 38 K. Besides the reduction of dark current in C-QWIP structures, the measured internal quantum efficiency (eta) remains to be high. The values for responsivity and quantum efficiency obtained from the FPA results agree well with those measured for single devices.

A Micromachined Infrared Senor for an Infrared Focal Plane Array

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seong M. Cho

2008-04-01

Full Text Available A micromachined infrared sensor for an infrared focal plane array has been designed and fabricated. Amorphous silicon was used as a sensing material, and silicon nitride was used as a membrane material. To get a good absorption in infrared range, the sensor structure was designed as a l/4 cavity structure. A Ni-Cr film was selected as an electrode material and mixed etching scheme was applied in the patterning process of the Ni-Cr electrode. All the processes were made in 0.5 μm iMEMS fabricated in the Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI. The processed MEMS sensor had a small membrane deflection less than 0.15 μm. This small deflection can be attributed to the rigorous balancing of the stresses of individual layers. The efficiency of infrared absorption was more than 75% in the wavelength range of 8 ~ 14 μm. The processed infrared sensor showed high responsivity of ~230 kV/W at 1.0V bias and 2 Hz operation condition. The time constant of the sensor was 8.6 msec, which means that the sensor is suitable to be operated in 30 Hz frame rate.

Data acquisition system for the focal-plane detector of the mass separator MASHA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novoselov, A.S.; Rodin, A.M.; Podshibyakin, A.V.; Belozerov, A.V.; Vedeneyev, V.Yu.; Gulyaev, A.V.; Gulyaeva, A.V.; Salamatin, V.S.; Stepantsov, S.V.; Chernysheva, E.V.; Yukhimchuk, S.A.; Komarov, A.B.; Motycak, S.; Krupa, L.; Kliman, J.; Kamas, D.

2016-01-01

The results of the development and the general information about the data acquisition system which was recently created at the MASHA setup (Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research) are presented. The main difference from the previous system is that we use a new modern platform, National Instruments PXI with XIA multichannel high-speed digitizers (250 MHz 12 bit 16 channels). At this moment the system has 448 spectrometric channels. The software and its features for the data acquisition and analysis are also described. The new DAQ system expands precision measuring capabilities of alpha decays and spontaneous fission at the focal-plane position-sensitive silicon strip detector which, in turn, increases the capabilities of the setup in such a field as low-yield registration of elements.

Vacuum Predisperser For A Large Plane-Grating Spectrograph

Science.gov (United States)

Engleman, R.; Palmer, B. A.; Steinhaus, D. W.

1980-11-01

A plane grating predisperser has been constructed which acts as an "order-sorter" for a large plane-grating spectrograph. This combination can photograph relatively wide regions of spectra in a single exposure with no loss of resolution.

A pipelined architecture for real time correction of non-uniformity in infrared focal plane arrays imaging system using multiprocessors

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Liang; Fu, Zhuang; Zhao, YanZheng; Yang, JunYan

2010-07-01

This paper proposes a kind of pipelined electric circuit architecture implemented in FPGA, a very large scale integrated circuit (VLSI), which efficiently deals with the real time non-uniformity correction (NUC) algorithm for infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPA). Dual Nios II soft-core processors and a DSP with a 64+ core together constitute this image system. Each processor undertakes own systematic task, coordinating its work with each other's. The system on programmable chip (SOPC) in FPGA works steadily under the global clock frequency of 96Mhz. Adequate time allowance makes FPGA perform NUC image pre-processing algorithm with ease, which has offered favorable guarantee for the work of post image processing in DSP. And at the meantime, this paper presents a hardware (HW) and software (SW) co-design in FPGA. Thus, this systematic architecture yields an image processing system with multiprocessor, and a smart solution to the satisfaction with the performance of the system.

Miniaturized Fourier-plane fiber scanner for OCT endoscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vilches, Sergio; Kretschmer, Simon; Ataman, Çağlar; Zappe, Hans

2017-01-01

A forward-looking endoscopic optical coherence tomography (OCT) probe featuring a Fourier-plane fiber scanner is designed, manufactured and characterized. In contrast to common image-plane fiber scanners, the Fourier-plane scanner is a telecentric arrangement that eliminates vignetting and spatial resolution variations across the image plane. To scan the OCT beam in a spiral pattern, a tubular piezoelectric actuator is used to resonate an optical fiber bearing a collimating GRIN lens at its tip. The free-end of the GRIN lens sits at the back focal plane of an objective lens, such that its rotation replicates the beam angles in the collimated region of a classical telecentric 4f optical system. Such an optical arrangement inherently has a low numerical aperture combined with a relatively large field-of-view, rendering it particularly useful for endoscopic OCT imaging. Furthermore, the optical train of the Fourier-plane scanner is shorter than that of a comparable image-plane scanner by one focal length of the objective lens, significantly shortening the final arrangement. As a result, enclosed within a 3D printed housing of 2.5 mm outer diameter and 15 mm total length, the developed probe is the most compact forward-looking endoscopic OCT imager to date. Due to its compact form factor and compatibility with real-time OCT imaging, the developed probe is also ideal for use in the working channel of flexible endoscopes as a potential optical biopsy tool. (paper)

Miniaturized Fourier-plane fiber scanner for OCT endoscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Vilches, Sergio; Kretschmer, Simon; Ataman, Çağlar; Zappe, Hans

2017-10-01

A forward-looking endoscopic optical coherence tomography (OCT) probe featuring a Fourier-plane fiber scanner is designed, manufactured and characterized. In contrast to common image-plane fiber scanners, the Fourier-plane scanner is a telecentric arrangement that eliminates vignetting and spatial resolution variations across the image plane. To scan the OCT beam in a spiral pattern, a tubular piezoelectric actuator is used to resonate an optical fiber bearing a collimating GRIN lens at its tip. The free-end of the GRIN lens sits at the back focal plane of an objective lens, such that its rotation replicates the beam angles in the collimated region of a classical telecentric 4f optical system. Such an optical arrangement inherently has a low numerical aperture combined with a relatively large field-of-view, rendering it particularly useful for endoscopic OCT imaging. Furthermore, the optical train of the Fourier-plane scanner is shorter than that of a comparable image-plane scanner by one focal length of the objective lens, significantly shortening the final arrangement. As a result, enclosed within a 3D printed housing of 2.5 mm outer diameter and 15 mm total length, the developed probe is the most compact forward-looking endoscopic OCT imager to date. Due to its compact form factor and compatibility with real-time OCT imaging, the developed probe is also ideal for use in the working channel of flexible endoscopes as a potential optical biopsy tool.

Decay spectroscopy at SHIP with a new focal plane detector system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mistry, Andrew K. [Helmholtz Institute Mainz (Germany); Collaboration: SHIP Decay Spectroscopy-Collaboration

2016-07-01

Decay spectroscopy of the heaviest elements remains a crucial tool in nuclear structure physics in testing a variety of theoretical models predicting the next proton and neutron shell stabilization region beyond {sup 208}Pb. Experimental measurements of alpha-decay energies and half-lives, ordering and configurations of ground state and excited levels, and the determination of high-K isomers provide necessary information in constraining these models. To this end, a new focal plane detection system for decay spectroscopy has been designed and developed at GSI for the SHIP separator. It consists of a double sided silicon strip implantation detector surrounded by 4 single sided silicon strip detectors on each side in a box formation with a compact design, allowing for good germanium solid angle coverage for gamma ray detection. The data acquisition is based on FEBEX flash ADC modules, developed at GSI, for digital signal processing enables an almost deadtime free system. Recently, a commissioning run was successfully performed using the device. In my talk I present recent highlights of decay spectroscopy at SHIP, and demonstrate results from measurements assessing the performance of the new setup.

Comparison of different approaches to the numerical calculation of the LMJ focal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bourgeade A.

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The beam smoothing in the focal plane of high power lasers is of particular importance to laser-plasma interaction studies in order to minimize plasma parametric and hydrodynamic instabilities on the target. Here we investigate the focal spot structure in different geometrical configurations where standard paraxial hypotheses are no longer verified. We present numerical studies in the cases of single flat top square beam, LMJ quadruplet and complete ring of quads with large azimuth angle. Different calculations are made with Fresnel diffraction propagation model in the paraxial approximation and full vector Maxwell's equations. The first model is based on Fourier transform from near to far field method. The second model uses first spherical wave decomposition in plane waves with Fourier transform and propagates them to the focal spot. These two different approaches are compared with Miró [1] modeling results using paraxial or Feit and Fleck options. The methods presented here are generic for focal spot calculations. They can be used for other complex geometric configurations and various smoothing techniques. The results will be used as boundary conditions in plasma interaction computations.

In-plane fluidelastic instability analysis for large steam generators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mureithi, Njuki; Olala, Stephen; Hadji, Abdallah

2015-01-01

Fluidelastic instability remains the most important vibration excitation mechanism in nuclear steam generators (SGs). Design guidelines, aimed at eliminating the possibility of fluidelastic instability, have been developed over the past 40 years. The design guidelines, based on the Connors equation, depend on a large database on cross-flow fluidelastic instability i.e. instability in the direction transverse to the flow. Past experience had shown that for an axi-symmetrically flexible tube, instability generally occurred in the transverse direction, at least at first. Although often not explicitly stated, there has been an implicit assumption that the in-plane direction was either stable, or would only suffer instability at velocities significantly higher than the transverse direction. This explains why SGs are fitted with anti-vibrations bars (AVBs) to mitigate transverse (out-of-plane) vibrations with no equivalent consideration for potential in-plane instability. This 'oversight' recently came to a head when SG at the San-Onofre NPP suffered in-plane fluidelastic instability. The present paper addresses the question of in-plane fluidelastic instability in large SGs. A historical review is presented to explain why this potential problem was left unresolved (or ignored) over the past 40+ years, and why engineers got away with it - at least until recently. Following the review, some recent work on in-plane fluidelastic instability modeling, using the quasi-steady model is presented. It is shown that in-plane fluidelastic instability can be fully modelled using this approach. The model results are used to propose some changes to existing design guidelines to cover the case of in-plane fluidelastic instability. (author)

Theoretical investigation of the energy resolution of an ideal hemispherical deflector analyzer and its dependence on the distance from the focal plane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zouros, T.J.M.

2006-01-01

In most modern hemispherical deflector analyzers (HDAs) using a position sensitive detector (PSD), due to practical geometrical constraints (fringing field correctors, grids etc.), the PSD cannot always be placed at the optimal position, i.e. the first-order focal plane following 180 o deflection at h=0. Here, the dependence of the exit radial base width Δr πh *, base energy resolution R Bh and line shape L h on the distance h between the focal plane and the detection plane for an ideal HDA (no fringing fields) is investigated theoretically as a function of the maximum injection angle α max- bar * and the diameter of the entry aperture Δr 0 . Both exact numerical results and practical analytic formulas based on Taylor series expansions developed for any HDA show R Bh and L h become increasingly degraded with increasing h from their optimal values at h=0. A detailed comparison of the resolution properties of conventional and biased paracentric HDAs is also presented. Apart from a few marginal improvements of limited utility, overall, the ideal paracentric HDA does not seem to have any distinct practical advantages over the conventional HDA. Resolution improvements recently reported for non-ideal paracentric HDAs must therefore be due to their strong fringing fields and needs to be further investigated. Our ideal HDA results provide a unique standard to evaluate the resolution performance of any HDA under realistic non-zero h-value conditions

Imaging with a 90 frames/s microbolometer focal plane array and high-power terahertz free electron laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dem'yanenko, M. A.; Esaev, D. G.; Knyazev, B. A.; Vinokurov, N. A.; Kulipanov, G. N.

2008-01-01

An uncooled microbolometer focal plane array (FPA) has been developed and used for imaging of objects illuminated by monochromatic coherent radiation of a free electron laser tunable in the range of 1.25-2.5 THz. A sensitivity threshold of 1.3x10 -3 W/cm 2 was obtained for the FPA with a homemade absolute interferometric power meter. Videos up to 90 frames/s were recorded in both transmission and reflection/scattering modes. When objects were illuminated by laser radiation scattered by a rough metal surface, speckled images were observed. Good quality terahertz images were achieved through the fast rotation of the scatterer

Argus: A W-band 16-pixel focal plane array for the Green Bank Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Devaraj, Kiruthika; Church, Sarah; Cleary, Kieran; Frayer, David; Gawande, Rohit; Goldsmith, Paul; Gundersen, Joshua; Harris, Andrew; Kangaslahti, Pekka; Readhead, Tony; Reeves, Rodrigo; Samoska, Lorene; Sieth, Matt; Voll, Patricia

2015-05-01

We are building Argus, a 16-pixel square-packed focal plane array that will cover the 75-115.3 GHz frequency range on the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT). The primary research area for Argus is the study of star formation within our Galaxy and nearby galaxies. Argus will map key molecules that trace star formation, including carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN). An additional key science area is astrochemistry, which will be addressed by observing complex molecules in the interstellar medium, and the study of formation of solar systems, which will be addressed by identifying dense pre-stellar cores and by observing comets in our solar system. Argus has a highly scalable architecture and will be a technology path finder for larger arrays. The array is modular in construction, which will allow easy replacement of malfunctioning and poorly performing components.

Shared Focal Plane Investigation for Serial Frame Cameras.

Science.gov (United States)

1980-03-01

capability will be restored. 41. -.. TrABLE 1-1 SYSTEM LEADING P) ARTICULARS Lens Focal Length (inches) Range (ft) Contrast 12 18 24 Coverage 22.1...can be expected that signature bands will be apparent in the imagery. Such bands are at best distracting and at worst hindrances to image interpretation

Managing focal fields of vector beams with multiple polarization singularities.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Lei; Liu, Sheng; Li, Peng; Zhang, Yi; Cheng, Huachao; Gan, Xuetao; Zhao, Jianlin

2016-11-10

We explore the tight focusing behavior of vector beams with multiple polarization singularities, and analyze the influences of the number, position, and topological charge of the singularities on the focal fields. It is found that the ellipticity of the local polarization states at the focal plane could be determined by the spatial distribution of the polarization singularities of the vector beam. When the spatial location and topological charge of singularities have even-fold rotation symmetry, the transverse fields at the focal plane are locally linearly polarized. Otherwise, the polarization state becomes a locally hybrid one. By appropriately arranging the distribution of the polarization singularities in the vector beam, the polarization distributions of the focal fields could be altered while the intensity maintains unchanged.

Large-scale cortico-subcortical functional networks in focal epilepsies: The role of the basal ganglia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva Výtvarová

2017-01-01

Significance: Focal epilepsies affect large-scale brain networks beyond the epileptogenic zones. Cortico-subcortical functional connectivity disturbance was displayed in LTLE, FLE, and POLE. Significant changes in the resting-state functional connectivity between cortical and subcortical structures suggest an important role of the BG and thalamus in focal epilepsies.

R and D in photosensors and data acquisition systems for a new generation of Cosmic Ray Cherenkov and Fluorescence Imaging focal planes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Assis, Pedro; Brogueira, Pedro; Catalano, Osvaldo; Ferreira, Miguel; Lorenz, Eckart; Mendes, Luís; Pimenta, Mário; Rodrigues, Pedro; Schweizer, Thomas

2012-01-01

In this work we present the design, first prototypes and experimental R and D activities on the development of novel imaging cameras for Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov and Fluorescence Telescopes. The baseline solution for the focal plane is based on a photosensor architecture instrumented with Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs). To decrease the trigger threshold and improve the signal-to-noise ratio for low-energy events, the Photon Counting technique is used. For very bright events the conventional Charge Integration approach is retained. The large number of channels requires a compact and modular design with minimal cabling and distance between the photosensors and the frontend. Other design requirements are an efficient light concentration system treated with an anti-reflective coating, a liquid cooling system able to keep the SiPMs at a temperature of −20°C to −10°C, a low-power frontend electronics down to 1 kW/m 2 and an easy field maintenance, high reliability data acquisition and trigger system. In the baseline design, the data acquisition system is partitioned in on-board frontend and off-detector high-level trigger electronics. Extensive use of mixed-signal ASICs and low-power FPGAs for early data reduction (Level 1 trigger), compatible with a liquid cooling sub-system for temperature control is adopted. The off-detector data acquisition and higher trigger (Level 2 and Level 3) architecture is based on the VME64X standard. The boards are connected by multi-Gbps optical links to the focal plane camera. Trigger primitives are sent asynchronously to the trigger boards via data links running at their own clocks. Data and slow-control data streams are also sent over the same links with the parallel VME64X backplane kept for trigger board configuration, slow-control and final data readout. Each 8-slot 6U crate can process up to about 3.6×10 4 SiPM channels.

R and D in photosensors and data acquisition systems for a new generation of Cosmic Ray Cherenkov and Fluorescence Imaging focal planes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Assis, Pedro [LIP, Avenida Elias Garcia 14-1, 1000-149 Lisboa (Portugal); Brogueira, Pedro [LIP, Avenida Elias Garcia 14-1, 1000-149 Lisboa (Portugal); IST, Avenida Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Catalano, Osvaldo [IASF-Palermo, 1, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo (Italy); Ferreira, Miguel [LIP, Avenida Elias Garcia 14-1, 1000-149 Lisboa (Portugal); Lorenz, Eckart [MPI, Max-Planck-Institute for Physics, D-80805 Muenchen (Germany); Mendes, Luis [LIP, Avenida Elias Garcia 14-1, 1000-149 Lisboa (Portugal); Pimenta, Mario [LIP, Avenida Elias Garcia 14-1, 1000-149 Lisboa (Portugal); IST, Avenida Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Rodrigues, Pedro, E-mail: psilva@lip.pt [LIP, Avenida Elias Garcia 14-1, 1000-149 Lisboa (Portugal); Schweizer, Thomas [LIP, Avenida Elias Garcia 14-1, 1000-149 Lisboa (Portugal); MPI, Max-Planck-Institute for Physics, D-80805 Muenchen (Germany)

2012-12-11

In this work we present the design, first prototypes and experimental R and D activities on the development of novel imaging cameras for Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov and Fluorescence Telescopes. The baseline solution for the focal plane is based on a photosensor architecture instrumented with Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs). To decrease the trigger threshold and improve the signal-to-noise ratio for low-energy events, the Photon Counting technique is used. For very bright events the conventional Charge Integration approach is retained. The large number of channels requires a compact and modular design with minimal cabling and distance between the photosensors and the frontend. Other design requirements are an efficient light concentration system treated with an anti-reflective coating, a liquid cooling system able to keep the SiPMs at a temperature of -20 Degree-Sign C to -10 Degree-Sign C, a low-power frontend electronics down to 1 kW/m{sup 2} and an easy field maintenance, high reliability data acquisition and trigger system. In the baseline design, the data acquisition system is partitioned in on-board frontend and off-detector high-level trigger electronics. Extensive use of mixed-signal ASICs and low-power FPGAs for early data reduction (Level 1 trigger), compatible with a liquid cooling sub-system for temperature control is adopted. The off-detector data acquisition and higher trigger (Level 2 and Level 3) architecture is based on the VME64X standard. The boards are connected by multi-Gbps optical links to the focal plane camera. Trigger primitives are sent asynchronously to the trigger boards via data links running at their own clocks. Data and slow-control data streams are also sent over the same links with the parallel VME64X backplane kept for trigger board configuration, slow-control and final data readout. Each 8-slot 6U crate can process up to about 3.6 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 4} SiPM channels.

Earthquake focal mechanism forecasting in Italy for PSHA purposes

Science.gov (United States)

Roselli, Pamela; Marzocchi, Warner; Mariucci, Maria Teresa; Montone, Paola

2018-01-01

In this paper, we put forward a procedure that aims to forecast focal mechanism of future earthquakes. One of the primary uses of such forecasts is in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA); in fact, aiming at reducing the epistemic uncertainty, most of the newer ground motion prediction equations consider, besides the seismicity rates, the forecast of the focal mechanism of the next large earthquakes as input data. The data set used to this purpose is relative to focal mechanisms taken from the latest stress map release for Italy containing 392 well-constrained solutions of events, from 1908 to 2015, with Mw ≥ 4 and depths from 0 down to 40 km. The data set considers polarity focal mechanism solutions until to 1975 (23 events), whereas for 1976-2015, it takes into account only the Centroid Moment Tensor (CMT)-like earthquake focal solutions for data homogeneity. The forecasting model is rooted in the Total Weighted Moment Tensor concept that weighs information of past focal mechanisms evenly distributed in space, according to their distance from the spatial cells and magnitude. Specifically, for each cell of a regular 0.1° × 0.1° spatial grid, the model estimates the probability to observe a normal, reverse, or strike-slip fault plane solution for the next large earthquakes, the expected moment tensor and the related maximum horizontal stress orientation. These results will be available for the new PSHA model for Italy under development. Finally, to evaluate the reliability of the forecasts, we test them with an independent data set that consists of some of the strongest earthquakes with Mw ≥ 3.9 occurred during 2016 in different Italian tectonic provinces.

Noise characteristics analysis of short wave infrared InGaAs focal plane arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Chunlei; Li, Xue; Yang, Bo; Huang, Songlei; Shao, Xiumei; Zhang, Yaguang; Gong, Haimei

2017-09-01

The increasing application of InGaAs short wave infrared (SWIR) focal plane arrays (FPAs) in low light level imaging requires ultra-low noise FPAs. This paper presents the theoretical analysis of FPA noise, and point out that both dark current and detector capacitance strongly affect the FPA noise. The impact of dark current and detector capacitance on FPA noise is compared in different situations. In order to obtain low noise performance FPAs, the demand for reducing detector capacitance is higher especially when pixel pitch is smaller, integration time is shorter, and integration capacitance is larger. Several InGaAs FPAs were measured and analyzed, the experiments' results could be well fitted to the calculated results. The study found that the major contributor of FPA noise is coupled noise with shorter integration time. The influence of detector capacitance on FPA noise is more significant than that of dark current. To investigate the effect of detector performance on FPA noise, two kinds of photodiodes with different concentration of the absorption layer were fabricated. The detectors' performance and noise characteristics were measured and analyzed, the results are consistent with that of theoretical analysis.

Performance of Hg1-xCdxTe infrared focal plane array at elevated temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Anand; Pal, Ravinder

2017-04-01

The simulated optical and electrical performance of the infrared HgCdTe focal plane array (FPA) for elevated operation temperature is reported. The depleted absorber layer is explored for equilibrium mode of operation up to 160 K. A resonant cavity is created to improve photon-matter interaction and hence, reduces the required absorption volume. The volume of the active region of HgCdTe detector is reduced by 70% in this manner. Dark current density is decreased without compromising the quantum efficiency. The effect of the reduced band filling effect leading to higher absorption coefficient and more efficient utilization of incident flux is employed. High quantum efficiency is achieved in a thin compositionally graded n+/ν/π/p HgCdTe photo-diode. This architecture helps to minimize the requirement of charge handling capacity in the CMOS read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) as the operation temperature is increased. Quantum efficiency ˜30% or above is shown to be sufficient for Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD) less than 20 mK with the reported design.

Automated optical testing of LWIR objective lenses using focal plane array sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Winters, Daniel; Erichsen, Patrik; Domagalski, Christian; Peter, Frank; Heinisch, Josef; Dumitrescu, Eugen

2012-10-01

The image quality of today's state-of-the-art IR objective lenses is constantly improving while at the same time the market for thermography and vision grows strongly. Because of increasing demands on the quality of IR optics and increasing production volumes, the standards for image quality testing increase and tests need to be performed in shorter time. Most high-precision MTF testing equipment for the IR spectral bands in use today relies on the scanning slit method that scans a 1D detector over a pattern in the image generated by the lens under test, followed by image analysis to extract performance parameters. The disadvantages of this approach are that it is relatively slow, it requires highly trained operators for aligning the sample and the number of parameters that can be extracted is limited. In this paper we present lessons learned from the R and D process on using focal plane array (FPA) sensors for testing of long-wave IR (LWIR, 8-12 m) optics. Factors that need to be taken into account when switching from scanning slit to FPAs are e.g.: the thermal background from the environment, the low scene contrast in the LWIR, the need for advanced image processing algorithms to pre-process camera images for analysis and camera artifacts. Finally, we discuss 2 measurement systems for LWIR lens characterization that we recently developed with different target applications: 1) A fully automated system suitable for production testing and metrology that uses uncooled microbolometer cameras to automatically measure MTF (on-axis and at several o-axis positions) and parameters like EFL, FFL, autofocus curves, image plane tilt, etc. for LWIR objectives with an EFL between 1 and 12mm. The measurement cycle time for one sample is typically between 6 and 8s. 2) A high-precision research-grade system using again an uncooled LWIR camera as detector, that is very simple to align and operate. A wide range of lens parameters (MTF, EFL, astigmatism, distortion, etc.) can be

A coherent polarimeter array for the Large Scale Polarization Explorer balloon experiment

OpenAIRE

Bersanelli, M.; Mennella, A.; Morgante, G.; Zannoni, M.; Addamo, G.; Baschirotto, A.; Battaglia, P.; Baù, A.; Cappellini, B.; Cavaliere, F.; Cuttaia, F.; Del Torto, F.; Donzelli, S.; Farooqui, Z.; Frailis, M.

2012-01-01

We discuss the design and expected performance of STRIP (STRatospheric Italian Polarimeter), an array of coherent receivers designed to fly on board the LSPE (Large Scale Polarization Explorer) balloon experiment. The STRIP focal plane array comprises 49 elements in Q band and 7 elements in W-band using cryogenic HEMT low noise amplifiers and high performance waveguide components. In operation, the array will be cooled to 20 K and placed in the focal plane of a $\\sim 0.6$ meter telescope prov...

SWIR HgCdTe avalanche photiode focal plane array performances evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

de Borniol, E.; Rothman, J.; Salveti, F.; Feautrier, P.

2017-11-01

One of the main challenges of modern astronomical instruments like adaptive optics (AO) systems or fringe trackers is to deal with the very low photons flux detection scenarios. The typical timescale of atmospheric turbulences being in the range of some tens of milliseconds, infrared wavefront sensors for AO systems needs frame rates higher than 1 KHz leading to integration times lower than 1 ms. This integration time associated with a low irradiance results in a few number of integrated photons per frame per pixel. To preserve the information coming from this weak signal, the focal plane array (FPA) has to present a low read out noise, a high quantum efficiency and a low dark current. Up to now, the output noise of high speed near infrared sensors is limited by the silicon read out circuit noise. The use of HgCdTe avalanche photodiodes with high gain at moderate reverse bias and low excess noise seems then a logical way to reduce the impact of the read noise on images signal to noise ratio. These low irradiance passive imaging applications with integration times in the millisecond range needs low photodiode dark current and low background current. These requirements lead to the choice of the photodiode cut off wavelength. The short wave infrared (SWIR) around 3 μm is a good compromise between the gain that can be obtain for a given APD bias and the background and dark current. The CEA LETI HgCdTe APD technology, and a fine analysis of the gain curve characteristic are presented in [1] and won't be detailed here. The response time of the APD is also a key factor for a high frame rate FPA. This parameter has been evaluated in [2] and the results shows cut off frequencies in the GHz range. In this communication we report the performances of a SWIR APD FPA designed and fabricated by CEA LETI and SOFRADIR for astrophysical applications. This development was made in the frame of RAPID, a 4 years R&D project funded by the French FUI (Fond Unique Interministériel). This

The Mechanical Design of a Kinematic Mount for the Mid Infrared Instrument Focal Plane Module on the James Webb Space Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Thelen, Michael P.; Moore, Donald M.

2009-01-01

The detector assembly for the Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is mechanically supported in the Focal Plane Module (FPM) Assembly with an efficient hexapod design. The kinematic mount design allows for precision adjustment of the detector boresight to assembly alignment fiducials and maintains optical alignment requirements during flight conditions of launch and cryogenic operations below 7 Kelvin. This kinematic mounting technique is able to be implemented in a variety of optical-mechanical designs and is capable of micron level adjustment control and stability over wide dynamic and temperature ranges.

Performance of an optical filter for the XMM focal plane CCD camera EPIC

Science.gov (United States)

Stephan, Karl-Heinz; Reppin, C.; Hirschinger, M.; Maier, H. J.; Frischke, D.; Fuchs, Detlef; Mueller, Peter; Guertler, Peter

1996-10-01

We have been developing optical filters for ESA's x-ray astronomy project XMM (x-ray multi mirror mission). Specific CCDs will be used as detectors in the focal plane on board the observatory. Since these detectors are sensitive from the x-ray to the NIR (near infrared) spectral range, x-ray observations require optical filters, which combine a high transparency for photon energies in the soft x-ray region and a high opacity for UV (ultraviolet) and VIS (visible) radiation as well. With respect to the mission goal in orbit three types of flight model filters are designed having different spectral transmittance functions. We report on one of these types, a so-called 'thick' filter, which has been realized within the EQM (electrical qualification model)- phase of the project. The filter features a cut-off in the EUV (extreme ultraviolet) spectral range and suppresses radiation below 10 eV photon energy by more than 8 orders of magnitude. It has an effective aperture of 73 mm without any support structure. A 0.35 micrometer thick polypropylene carrier foil is coated with metallic films of Al and Sn. The manufacturing process, the qualification measurements and the environmental tests are described, and the resulting performance data is presented.

Conversion electron spectroscopy at the FMA focal plane: Decay studies of proton-rich N {approximately} 82 nuclei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nisius, D.; Janssens, R.V.F.; Ahmad, I. [and others

1995-08-01

The FMA has proven to be an ideal instrument for the detailed study of the decay of microsecond isomers behind the focal plane following mass selection. In reactions leading to the population of nuclei with isomeric lifetimes longer than their flight time through the device, decay gamma rays and conversion electrons can be detected in an environment free from the backgrounds of prompt radiation and delta electrons. This was a very successful technique to study proton (h{sub 11/2}){sup n} seniority isomers in nuclei with Z > 64 and N {approximately} 82. Since isomeric decay gamma rays are emitted isotropically, conversion electrons are essential for the assignment of multipolarities in these nuclei. Furthermore, the low-energy transitions that depopulate isomeric states are typically highly converted and can escape gamma-ray detection, but they can be identified by their conversion electrons.

New data acquisition system for the focal plane polarimeter of the Grand Raiden spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamii, A.; Sakaguchi, H.; Takeda, H.; Yosoi, M.; Akimune, H.; Fujiwara, M.; Ogata, H.; Tanaka, M.; Togawa, H.

1996-01-01

This paper describes a new data acquisition system for the focal plane polarimeter of the Grand Raiden spectrometer at the Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP) in Osaka, Japan. Data are acquired by a Creative Electronic Systems (CES) Starburst, which is a CAMAC auxiliary crate controller equipped with a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) J11 microprocessor., The data on the Starburst are transferred to a VME single-board computer. A VME reflective memory module broadcasts the data to other systems through a fiber-optic link. A data transfer rate of 2.0 Mbytes/s between VME modules has been achieved by reflective memories. This rate includes the overhead of buffer management. The overall transfer rate, however, is limited by the performance of the Starburst to about 160 Kbytes/s at maximum. In order to further improve the system performance, the authors developed a new readout module called the Rapid Data Transfer Module (RDTM). RDTM's transfer data from LeCroy PCOS III's or 4298's, and FERA/FERET's directly to CES 8170 High Speed Memories (HSM) in VME crates. The data transfer rate of the RDTM from PCOS III's to the HSM is about 4 Mbytes/s

Challenges, constraints, and results of lens design for 17 micron-bolometer focal plane arrays in 8-12 micron waveband

Science.gov (United States)

Schuster, Norbert; Franks, John

2011-06-01

In the 8-12 micron waveband Focal Plane Arrays (FPA) are available with a 17 micron pixel pitch in different arrays sizes (e.g. 512 x 480 pixels and 320 x 240 pixels) and with excellent electrical properties. Many applications become possible using this new type of IR-detector which will become the future standard in uncooled technology. Lenses with an f-number faster than f/1.5 minimize the diffraction impact on the spatial resolution and guarantee a high thermal resolution for uncooled cameras. Both effects will be quantified. The distinction between Traditional f-number (TF) and Radiometric f-number (RF) is discussed. Lenses with different focal lengths are required for applications in a variety of markets. They are classified by their Horizontal field of view (HFOV). Respecting the requirements for high volume markets, several two lens solutions will be discussed. A commonly accepted parameter of spatial resolution is the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF)-value at the Nyquist frequency of the detector (here 30cy/mm). This parameter of resolution will be presented versus field of view. Wide Angle and Super Wide Angle lenses are susceptible to low relative illumination in the corner of the detector. Measures to reduce this drop to an acceptable value are presented.

A digital gigapixel large-format tile-scan camera.

Science.gov (United States)

Ben-Ezra, M

2011-01-01

Although the resolution of single-lens reflex (SLR) and medium-format digital cameras has increased in recent years, applications for cultural-heritage preservation and computational photography require even higher resolutions. Addressing this issue, a large-format cameras' large image planes can achieve very high resolution without compromising pixel size and thus can provide high-quality, high-resolution images.This digital large-format tile scan camera can acquire high-quality, high-resolution images of static scenes. It employs unique calibration techniques and a simple algorithm for focal-stack processing of very large images with significant magnification variations. The camera automatically collects overlapping focal stacks and processes them into a high-resolution, extended-depth-of-field image.

Inverse-designed stretchable metalens with tunable focal distance

Science.gov (United States)

Callewaert, Francois; Velev, Vesselin; Jiang, Shizhou; Sahakian, Alan Varteres; Kumar, Prem; Aydin, Koray

2018-02-01

In this paper, we present an inverse-designed 3D-printed all-dielectric stretchable millimeter wave metalens with a tunable focal distance. A computational inverse-design method is used to design a flat metalens made of disconnected polymer building blocks with complex shapes, as opposed to conventional monolithic lenses. The proposed metalens provides better performance than a conventional Fresnel lens, using lesser amount of material and enabling larger focal distance tunability. The metalens is fabricated using a commercial 3D-printer and attached to a stretchable platform. Measurements and simulations show that the focal distance can be tuned by a factor of 4 with a stretching factor of only 75%, a nearly diffraction-limited focal spot, and with a 70% relative focusing efficiency, defined as the ratio between power focused in the focal spot and power going through the focal plane. The proposed platform can be extended for design and fabrication of multiple electromagnetic devices working from visible to microwave radiation depending on scaling of the devices.

Focal plane array based infrared thermography in fine physical experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vainer, Boris G

2008-01-01

By two examples of dissimilar physical phenomena causing thermophysical effects, the unique capabilities of one of the up-to-date methods of experimental physics-focal plane array (FPA) based infrared (IR) thermography (IRT), are demonstrated distinctly. Experimenters inexperienced in IRT can grasp how this method provides a means for combining real-time visualization with quantitative analysis. A narrow-band short-wavelength IR camera was used in the experiments. It is discussed and stated that IRT is best matched and suited to the next two test conditions-when a heated specimen is thin and when heat is generated in the immediate region of a surface of a solid. The first prerequisite is realized in the search for directional patterns of combined low-power radiation sources with the use of the IRT-aided method. The second one is realized in studies of water vapour adsorption on uneven (irregular) surfaces of solid materials. With multiple swatches taken from a set of different fabrics and used as experimental samples, a sharp distinction between adsorptivities of their surfaces is strikingly illustrated by IRT time-domain measurements exhibiting the associated thermal effect ranging within an order of magnitude. It is justified that the described IRT-aided test can find practical implementation at least in the light industry. Emissivities of different fabrics are evaluated experimentally with the described reflection method based on the narrow spectral range of IRT. On the basis of direct IR observations, attention is paid to the need for close control over the surface temperature increase while the adsorption isotherms are being measured. Sensitivity of the FPA-based IRT method, as applied to examine the kinetics of initial stages of adsorption of gaseous molecules on the solid surface, is evaluated analytically and quantitatively. The relationship between the amount of adsorbate and the measurable excess of adsorbent temperature is found. It is discovered that

Transparent meta-analysis: does aging spare prospective memory with focal vs. non-focal cues?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bob Uttl

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Prospective memory (ProM is the ability to become aware of a previously-formed plan at the right time and place. For over twenty years, researchers have been debating whether prospective memory declines with aging or whether it is spared by aging and, most recently, whether aging spares prospective memory with focal vs. non-focal cues. Two recent meta-analyses examining these claims did not include all relevant studies and ignored prevalent ceiling effects, age confounds, and did not distinguish between prospective memory subdomains (e.g., ProM proper, vigilance, habitual ProM (see Uttl, 2008, PLoS ONE. The present meta-analysis focuses on the following questions: Does prospective memory decline with aging? Does prospective memory with focal vs. non-focal cues decline with aging? Does the size of age-related declines with focal vs. non-focal cues vary across ProM subdomains? And are age-related declines in ProM smaller than age-related declines in retrospective memory? METHODS AND FINDINGS: A meta-analysis of event-cued ProM using data visualization and modeling, robust count methods, and conventional meta-analysis techniques revealed that first, the size of age-related declines in ProM with both focal and non-focal cues are large. Second, age-related declines in ProM with focal cues are larger in ProM proper and smaller in vigilance. Third, age-related declines in ProM proper with focal cues are as large as age-related declines in recall measures of retrospective memory. CONCLUSIONS: The results are consistent with Craik's (1983 proposal that age-related declines on ProM tasks are generally large, support the distinction between ProM proper vs. vigilance, and directly contradict widespread claims that ProM, with or without focal cues, is spared by aging.

Large In-Plane and Vertical Piezoelectricity in Janus Transition Metal Dichalchogenides.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Liang; Lou, Jun; Shenoy, Vivek B

2017-08-22

Piezoelectricity in 2D van der Waals materials has received considerable interest because of potential applications in nanoscale energy harvesting, sensors, and actuators. However, in all the systems studied to date, strain and electric polarization are confined to the basal plane, limiting the operation of piezoelectric devices. In this paper, based on ab initio calculations, we report a 2D materials system, namely, the recently synthesized Janus MXY (M = Mo or W, X/Y = S, Se, or Te) monolayer and multilayer structures, with large out-of-plane piezoelectric polarization. For MXY monolayers, both strong in-plane and much weaker out-of-plane piezoelectric polarizations can be induced by a uniaxial strain in the basal plane. For multilayer MXY, we obtain a very strong out-of-plane piezoelectric polarization when strained transverse to the basal plane, regardless of the stacking sequence. The out-of-plane piezoelectric coefficient d 33 is found to be strongest in multilayer MoSTe (5.7-13.5 pm/V depending on the stacking sequence), which is larger than that of the commonly used 3D piezoelectric material AlN (d 33 = 5.6 pm/V); d 33 in other multilayer MXY structures are a bit smaller, but still comparable. Our study reveals the potential for utilizing piezoelectric 2D materials and their van der Waals multilayers in device applications.

Improved image quality for asymmetric double-focal cone-beam SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao, Z.J.; Tsui, B.M.W.

1993-01-01

To optimize both spatial resolution and detection efficiency in brain SPECT imaging using a rectangular camera, an asymmetric double-focal cone-beam collimator is proposed with the focal points located near the base plane of the patient's head. To fit the entire head into the field-of-view of the collimator with dimensions of 50cmx40cm and at a radius-of-rotation of 15 cm, the focal lengths of the collimator are 55 and 70 cm, respectively, in the transverse and axial directions. With this geometry, the artifacts in the reconstructed image produced by the Feldkamp algorithm are more severe compared to those in a symmetric cone-beam geometry, due to the larger vertex angle between the top of the head and the base plane. To improve the reconstructed image quality, a fully three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction algorithm developed previously for single-focal cone-beam SPECT was extended to the asymmetric double-focal cone-beam geometry. The algorithm involves nonstationary 2D filtering and a reprojection technique for estimation of the missing data caused by a single-orbit cone-beam geometry. The results from simulation studies with the 3D Defrise slab phantom demonstrated that the fully 3D algorithm provided a much improved image quality in terms of reduced slice-to-slice cross talks and shape elongation compared to that produced by the conventional Feldkamp algorithm

Method for measuring the focal spot size of an x-ray tube using a coded aperture mask and a digital detector.

Science.gov (United States)

Russo, Paolo; Mettivier, Giovanni

2011-04-01

The goal of this study is to evaluate a new method based on a coded aperture mask combined with a digital x-ray imaging detector for measurements of the focal spot sizes of diagnostic x-ray tubes. Common techniques for focal spot size measurements employ a pinhole camera, a slit camera, or a star resolution pattern. The coded aperture mask is a radiation collimator consisting of a large number of apertures disposed on a predetermined grid in an array, through which the radiation source is imaged onto a digital x-ray detector. The method of the coded mask camera allows one to obtain a one-shot accurate and direct measurement of the two dimensions of the focal spot (like that for a pinhole camera) but at a low tube loading (like that for a slit camera). A large number of small apertures in the coded mask operate as a "multipinhole" with greater efficiency than a single pinhole, but keeping the resolution of a single pinhole. X-ray images result from the multiplexed output on the detector image plane of such a multiple aperture array, and the image of the source is digitally reconstructed with a deconvolution algorithm. Images of the focal spot of a laboratory x-ray tube (W anode: 35-80 kVp; focal spot size of 0.04 mm) were acquired at different geometrical magnifications with two different types of digital detector (a photon counting hybrid silicon pixel detector with 0.055 mm pitch and a flat panel CMOS digital detector with 0.05 mm pitch) using a high resolution coded mask (type no-two-holes-touching modified uniformly redundant array) with 480 0.07 mm apertures, designed for imaging at energies below 35 keV. Measurements with a slit camera were performed for comparison. A test with a pinhole camera and with the coded mask on a computed radiography mammography unit with 0.3 mm focal spot was also carried out. The full width at half maximum focal spot sizes were obtained from the line profiles of the decoded images, showing a focal spot of 0.120 mm x 0.105 mm at 35

High-resolution focal plane array IR detection modules and digital signal processing technologies at AIM

Science.gov (United States)

Cabanski, Wolfgang A.; Breiter, Rainer; Koch, R.; Mauk, Karl-Heinz; Rode, Werner; Ziegler, Johann; Eberhardt, Kurt; Oelmaier, Reinhard; Schneider, Harald; Walther, Martin

2000-07-01

Full video format focal plane array (FPA) modules with up to 640 X 512 pixels have been developed for high resolution imaging applications in either mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) mid wave (MWIR) infrared (IR) or platinum silicide (PtSi) and quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) technology as low cost alternatives to MCT for high performance IR imaging in the MWIR or long wave spectral band (LWIR). For the QWIP's, a new photovoltaic technology was introduced for improved NETD performance and higher dynamic range. MCT units provide fast frame rates > 100 Hz together with state of the art thermal resolution NETD hardware platforms and software for image visualization and nonuniformity correction including scene based self learning algorithms had to be developed to accomplish for the high data rates of up to 18 M pixels/s with 14-bit deep data, allowing to take into account nonlinear effects to access the full NETD by accurate reduction of residual fixed pattern noise. The main features of these modules are summarized together with measured performance data for long range detection systems with moderately fast to slow F-numbers like F/2.0 - F/3.5. An outlook shows most recent activities at AIM, heading for multicolor and faster frame rate detector modules based on MCT devices.

Controlling dental enamel-cavity ablation depth with optimized stepping parameters along the focal plane normal using a three axis, numerically controlled picosecond laser.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Fusong; Lv, Peijun; Wang, Dangxiao; Wang, Lei; Sun, Yuchun; Wang, Yong

2015-02-01

The purpose of this study was to establish a depth-control method in enamel-cavity ablation by optimizing the timing of the focal-plane-normal stepping and the single-step size of a three axis, numerically controlled picosecond laser. Although it has been proposed that picosecond lasers may be used to ablate dental hard tissue, the viability of such a depth-control method in enamel-cavity ablation remains uncertain. Forty-two enamel slices with approximately level surfaces were prepared and subjected to two-dimensional ablation by a picosecond laser. The additive-pulse layer, n, was set to 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70. A three-dimensional microscope was then used to measure the ablation depth, d, to obtain a quantitative function relating n and d. Six enamel slices were then subjected to three dimensional ablation to produce 10 cavities, respectively, with additive-pulse layer and single-step size set to corresponding values. The difference between the theoretical and measured values was calculated for both the cavity depth and the ablation depth of a single step. These were used to determine minimum-difference values for both the additive-pulse layer (n) and single-step size (d). When the additive-pulse layer and the single-step size were set 5 and 45, respectively, the depth error had a minimum of 2.25 μm, and 450 μm deep enamel cavities were produced. When performing three-dimensional ablating of enamel with a picosecond laser, adjusting the timing of the focal-plane-normal stepping and the single-step size allows for the control of ablation-depth error to the order of micrometers.

Development of High-Performance eSWIR HgCdTe-Based Focal-Plane Arrays on Silicon Substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Park, J. H.; Pepping, J.; Mukhortova, A.; Ketharanathan, S.; Kodama, R.; Zhao, J.; Hansel, D.; Velicu, S.; Aqariden, F.

2016-09-01

We report the development of high-performance and low-cost extended short-wavelength infrared (eSWIR) focal-plane arrays (FPAs) fabricated from molecular beam epitaxial (MBE)-grown HgCdTe on Si-based substrates. High-quality n-type eSWIR HgCdTe (cutoff wavelength ˜2.68 μm at 77 K, electron carrier concentration 5.82 × 1015 cm-3) layers were grown on CdTe/Si substrates by MBE. High degrees of uniformity in composition and thickness were demonstrated over three-inch areas, and low surface defect densities (voids 9.56 × 101 cm-2, micro-defects 1.67 × 103 cm-2) were measured. This material was used to fabricate 320 × 256 format, 30 μm pitch FPAs with a planar device architecture using arsenic implantation to achieve p-type doping. The dark current density of test devices showed good uniformity between 190 K and room temperature, and high-quality eSWIR imaging from hybridized FPAs was obtained with a median dark current density of 2.63 × 10-7 A/cm2 at 193 K with a standard deviation of 1.67 × 10-7 A/cm2.

THERMAL EFFECTS ON CAMERA FOCAL LENGTH IN MESSENGER STAR CALIBRATION AND ORBITAL IMAGING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Burmeister

2018-04-01

Full Text Available We analyse images taken by the MErcury Surface, Space ENviorment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER spacecraft for the camera’s thermal response in the harsh thermal environment near Mercury. Specifically, we study thermally induced variations in focal length of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS. Within the several hundreds of images of star fields, the Wide Angle Camera (WAC typically captures up to 250 stars in one frame of the panchromatic channel. We measure star positions and relate these to the known star coordinates taken from the Tycho-2 catalogue. We solve for camera pointing, the focal length parameter and two non-symmetrical distortion parameters for each image. Using data from the temperature sensors on the camera focal plane we model a linear focal length function in the form of f(T = A0 + A1 T. Next, we use images from MESSENGER’s orbital mapping mission. We deal with large image blocks, typically used for the production of a high-resolution digital terrain models (DTM. We analyzed images from the combined quadrangles H03 and H07, a selected region, covered by approx. 10,600 images, in which we identified about 83,900 tiepoints. Using bundle block adjustments, we solved for the unknown coordinates of the control points, the pointing of the camera – as well as the camera’s focal length. We then fit the above linear function with respect to the focal plane temperature. As a result, we find a complex response of the camera to thermal conditions of the spacecraft. To first order, we see a linear increase by approx. 0.0107 mm per degree temperature for the Narrow-Angle Camera (NAC. This is in agreement with the observed thermal response seen in images of the panchromatic channel of the WAC. Unfortunately, further comparisons of results from the two methods, both of which use different portions of the available image data, are limited. If leaving uncorrected, these effects may pose significant difficulties in

Optically sectioned imaging by oblique plane microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Sunil; Lin, Ziduo; Lyon, Alex R.; MacLeod, Ken T.; Dunsby, Chris

2011-03-01

Oblique Plane Microscopy (OPM) is a light sheet microscopy technique that combines oblique illumination with correction optics that tilt the focal plane of the collection system. OPM can be used to image conventionally mounted specimens on coverslips or tissue culture dishes and has low out-of-plane photobleaching and phototoxicity. No moving parts are required to achieve an optically sectioned image and so high speed optically sectioned imaging is possible. The first OPM results obtained using a high NA water immersion lens on a commercially available inverted microscope frame are presented, together with a measurement of the achievable optical resolution.

Simulation research on the process of large scale ship plane segmentation intelligent workshop

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Peng; Liao, Liangchuang; Zhou, Chao; Xue, Rui; Fu, Wei

2017-04-01

Large scale ship plane segmentation intelligent workshop is a new thing, and there is no research work in related fields at home and abroad. The mode of production should be transformed by the existing industry 2.0 or part of industry 3.0, also transformed from "human brain analysis and judgment + machine manufacturing" to "machine analysis and judgment + machine manufacturing". In this transforming process, there are a great deal of tasks need to be determined on the aspects of management and technology, such as workshop structure evolution, development of intelligent equipment and changes in business model. Along with them is the reformation of the whole workshop. Process simulation in this project would verify general layout and process flow of large scale ship plane section intelligent workshop, also would analyze intelligent workshop working efficiency, which is significant to the next step of the transformation of plane segmentation intelligent workshop.

3D synthetic aperture imaging using a virtual source element in the elevation plane

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nikolov, Svetoslav; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2000-01-01

. However, the resolution in the elevation plane is determined by the fixed mechanical elevation focus. This paper suggests to post-focus the RF lines from several adjacent planes in the elevation direction using the elevation focal point of the transducer as a virtual source element, in order to obtain...... dynamic focusing in the elevation plane. A 0.1 mm point scatterer was mounted in an agar block and scanned in a water bath. The transducer is a 64 elements linear array with a pitch of 209 μm. The transducer height is 4 mm in the elevation plane and it is focused at 20 mm giving a F-number of 5. The point...... are passed through a second beamformer, in which the fixed focal points in the elevation plane are treated as virtual sources of spherical waves. Synthetic aperture focusing is applied on them. The -6 dB resolution in the elevation plane is increased from 7 mm to 2 mm. This gives a uniform point spread...

Small-pixel long wavelength infrared focal plane arrays based on InAs/GaSb Type-II superlattice

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Xi; Jiang, Dongwei; Wang, Guowei; Hao, Hongyue; Sun, Yaoyao; Jiang, Zhi; Lv, Yuexi; Guo, Chunyan; Xu, Yingqiang; Niu, Zhichuan

2018-03-01

The paper reports a 640 × 512 long wavelength infrared focal plane arrays (FPAs) with 15 × 15 μm2 pixels pitch based on the type II InAs/GaSb superlattice. Material grown on a 3 in. GaSb substrate exhibits a 50% cutoff wavelength of 10.2 μm across the entire wafer. The peak quantum efficiency of the detector reaches 28% at 9.1 μm without anti-reflecting coating. Maximal resistance-area products of 8.95 Ω·cm2 at 77 K and 24.4 Ω·cm2 at 45 K are achieved in a single element device indicating that the generation-recombination and tunneling mechanisms dominate the device dark current, respectively. The peak Johnson Detectivity reaches 9.66 × 1011 cm Hz1/2/W at 9.1 μm with the bias voltage of 80 mV. In the whole zone, the operability and non-uniformity for the responsivity are 97.74% and 6.41% respectively. The average noise equivalent temperature difference of 31.9 mK at 77 K is achieved with an integration time of 0.5 ms, a 300 K background and f/2 optics.

Test stand for non-uniformity correction of microbolometer focal plane arrays used in thermal cameras

Science.gov (United States)

Krupiński, Michał; Bareła, Jaroslaw; Firmanty, Krzysztof; Kastek, Mariusz

2013-10-01

Uneven response of particular detectors (pixels) to the same incident power of infrared radiation is an inherent feature of microbolometer focal plane arrays. As a result an image degradation occurs, known as Fixed Pattern Noise (FPN), which distorts the thermal representation of an observed scene and impairs the parameters of a thermal camera. In order to compensate such non-uniformity, several NUC correction methods are applied in digital data processing modules implemented in thermal cameras. Coefficients required to perform the non-uniformity correction procedure (NUC coefficients) are determined by calibrating the camera against uniform radiation sources (blackbodies). Non-uniformity correction is performed in a digital processing unit in order to remove FPN pattern in the registered thermal images. Relevant correction coefficients are calculated on the basis of recorded detector responses to several values of radiant flux emitted from reference IR radiation sources (blackbodies). The measurement of correction coefficients requires specialized setup, in which uniform, extended radiation sources with high temperature stability are one of key elements. Measurement stand for NUC correction developed in Institute of Optoelectronics, MUT, comprises two integrated extended blackbodies with the following specifications: area 200×200 mm, stabilized absolute temperature range +15 °C÷100 °C, and uniformity of temperature distribution across entire surface +/-0.014 °C. Test stand, method used for the measurement of NUC coefficients and the results obtained during the measurements conducted on a prototype thermal camera will be presented in the paper.

Coronagraph Focal-Plane Phase Masks Based on Photonic Crystal Technology: Recent Progress and Observational Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Murakami, Naoshi; Nishikawa, Jun; Sakamoto, Moritsugu; Ise, Akitoshi; Oka, Kazuhiko; Baba, Naoshi; Murakami, Hiroshi; Tamura, Motohide; Traub, Wesley A.; Mawet, Dimitri;

Implementation of focal zooming on the Nike KrF laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kehne, D. M.; Karasik, M.; Weaver, J. L.; Chan, Y.; Obenschain, S. P. [Plasma Physics Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375 (United States); Aglitsky, Y. [Science Applications International, McLean, Virginia 22150 (United States); Smyth, Z.; Lehmberg, R. H. [Research Support Instruments, Inc., Lanham, Maryland 20706 (United States); Terrell, S. [Commonwealth Technologies, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia 22315 (United States)

2013-01-15

In direct drive inertial confinement laser fusion, a pellet containing D-T fuel is imploded by ablation arising from absorption of laser energy at its outer surface. For optimal coupling, the focal spot of the laser would continuously decrease to match the reduction in the pellet's diameter, thereby minimizing wasted energy. A krypton-fluoride laser ({lambda}= 248 nm) that incorporates beam smoothing by induced spatial incoherence has the ability to produce a high quality focal profile whose diameter varies with time, a property known as focal zooming. A two-stage focal zoom has been demonstrated on the Nike laser at the Naval Research Laboratory. In the experiment, a 4.4 ns laser pulse was created in which the on-target focal spot diameter was 1.3 mm (full width at half maximum) for the first 2.4 ns and 0.28 mm for the final 2 ns. These two diameters appear in time-integrated focal plane equivalent images taken at several locations in the amplification chain. Eight of the zoomed output beams were overlapped on a 60 {mu}m thick planar polystyrene target. Time resolved images of self-emission from the rear of the target show the separate shocks launched by the two corresponding laser focal diameters.

Implementation of focal zooming on the Nike KrF laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kehne, D. M.; Karasik, M.; Weaver, J. L.; Chan, Y.; Obenschain, S. P.; Aglitsky, Y.; Smyth, Z.; Lehmberg, R. H.; Terrell, S.

2013-01-01

In direct drive inertial confinement laser fusion, a pellet containing D-T fuel is imploded by ablation arising from absorption of laser energy at its outer surface. For optimal coupling, the focal spot of the laser would continuously decrease to match the reduction in the pellet's diameter, thereby minimizing wasted energy. A krypton-fluoride laser (λ= 248 nm) that incorporates beam smoothing by induced spatial incoherence has the ability to produce a high quality focal profile whose diameter varies with time, a property known as focal zooming. A two-stage focal zoom has been demonstrated on the Nike laser at the Naval Research Laboratory. In the experiment, a 4.4 ns laser pulse was created in which the on-target focal spot diameter was 1.3 mm (full width at half maximum) for the first 2.4 ns and 0.28 mm for the final 2 ns. These two diameters appear in time-integrated focal plane equivalent images taken at several locations in the amplification chain. Eight of the zoomed output beams were overlapped on a 60 μm thick planar polystyrene target. Time resolved images of self-emission from the rear of the target show the separate shocks launched by the two corresponding laser focal diameters.

Implementation of focal zooming on the Nike KrF laser

Science.gov (United States)

Kehne, D. M.; Karasik, M.; Aglitsky, Y.; Smyth, Z.; Terrell, S.; Weaver, J. L.; Chan, Y.; Lehmberg, R. H.; Obenschain, S. P.

2013-01-01

In direct drive inertial confinement laser fusion, a pellet containing D-T fuel is imploded by ablation arising from absorption of laser energy at its outer surface. For optimal coupling, the focal spot of the laser would continuously decrease to match the reduction in the pellet's diameter, thereby minimizing wasted energy. A krypton-fluoride laser (λ = 248 nm) that incorporates beam smoothing by induced spatial incoherence has the ability to produce a high quality focal profile whose diameter varies with time, a property known as focal zooming. A two-stage focal zoom has been demonstrated on the Nike laser at the Naval Research Laboratory. In the experiment, a 4.4 ns laser pulse was created in which the on-target focal spot diameter was 1.3 mm (full width at half maximum) for the first 2.4 ns and 0.28 mm for the final 2 ns. These two diameters appear in time-integrated focal plane equivalent images taken at several locations in the amplification chain. Eight of the zoomed output beams were overlapped on a 60 μm thick planar polystyrene target. Time resolved images of self-emission from the rear of the target show the separate shocks launched by the two corresponding laser focal diameters.

The scintillating fiber focal plane detector for the use of Kaos as a double arm spectrometer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ayerbe Gayoso, Carlos Antonio

2012-05-25

calculating the transfer matrix of track parameters from the fiber detector focal plane to the primary vertex. This transfer matrix has been calculated to first order using beam transport optics and has been checked by quasielastic scattering off a carbon target, where the full kinematics is determined by measuring the recoil proton momentum. The reconstruction accuracy for the emission parameters at the quasielastic vertex was found to be on the order of 0.3 % in first test realized. The design, construction process, commissioning, testing and characterization of the fiber hodoscope are presented in this work which has been developed at the Institut fuer Kernphysik of the Johannes Gutenberg - Universitaet Mainz.

The scintillating fiber focal plane detector for the use of Kaos as a double arm spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayerbe Gayoso, Carlos Antonio

2012-01-01

detector focal plane to the primary vertex. This transfer matrix has been calculated to first order using beam transport optics and has been checked by quasielastic scattering off a carbon target, where the full kinematics is determined by measuring the recoil proton momentum. The reconstruction accuracy for the emission parameters at the quasielastic vertex was found to be on the order of 0.3 % in first test realized. The design, construction process, commissioning, testing and characterization of the fiber hodoscope are presented in this work which has been developed at the Institut fuer Kernphysik of the Johannes Gutenberg - Universitaet Mainz.

Vacuum packaging of InGaAs focal plane array with four-stage thermoelectric cooler

Science.gov (United States)

Mo, De-feng; Liu, Da-fu; Yang, Li-yi; Xu, Qin-fei; Li, Xue

2013-09-01

The InGaAs focal plane array (FPA) detectors, covering the near-infrared 1~2.4 μm wavelength range, have been developed for application in space-based spectroscopy of the Earth atmosphere. This paper shows an all-metal vacuum package design for area array InGaAs detector of 1024×64 pixels, and its architecture will be given. Four-stage thermoelectric cooler (TEC) is used to cool down the FPA chip. To acquire high heat dissipation for TEC's Joule-heat, tungsten copper (CuW80) and kovar (4J29) is used as motherboard and cavity material respectively which joined by brazing. The heat loss including conduction, convection and radiation is analyzed. Finite element model is established to analyze the temperature uniformity of the chip substrate which is made of aluminum nitride (AlN). The performance of The TEC with and without heat load in vacuum condition is tested. The results show that the heat load has little influence to current-voltage relationship of TEC. The temperature difference (ΔT) increases as the input current increases. A linear relationship exists between heat load and ΔT of the TEC. Theoretical analysis and calculation show that the heat loss of radiation and conduction is about 187 mW and 82 mW respectively. Considering the Joule-heat of readout circuit and the heat loss of radiation and conduction, the FPA for a 220 K operation at room temperature can be achieved. As the thickness of AlN chip substrate is thicker than 1 millimeter, the temperature difference can be less than 0.3 K.

Fabrication of a Cryogenic Bias Filter for Ultrasensitive Focal Plane

Science.gov (United States)

Chervenak, James; Wollack, Edward

2012-01-01

A fabrication process has been developed for cryogenic in-line filtering for the bias and readout of ultrasensitive cryogenic bolometers for millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The design is a microstripline filter that cuts out, or strongly attenuates, frequencies (10 50 GHz) that can be carried by wiring staged at cryogenic temperatures. The filter must have 100-percent transmission at DC and low frequencies where the bias and readout lines will carry signal. The fabrication requires the encapsulation of superconducting wiring in a dielectric-metal envelope with precise electrical characteristics. Sufficiently thick insulation layers with high-conductivity metal layers fully surrounding a patterned superconducting wire in arrayable formats have been demonstrated. A degenerately doped silicon wafer has been chosen to provide a metallic ground plane. A metallic seed layer is patterned to enable attachment to the ground plane. Thick silicon dioxide films are deposited at low temperatures to provide tunable dielectric isolation without degrading the metallic seed layer. Superconducting wiring is deposited and patterned using microstripline filtering techniques to cut out the relevant frequencies. A low Tc superconductor is used so that it will attenuate power strongly above the gap frequency. Thick dielectric is deposited on top of the circuit, and then vias are patterned through both dielectric layers. A thick conductive film is deposited conformally over the entire circuit, except for the contact pads for the signal and bias attachments to complete the encapsulating ground plane. Filters are high-aspect- ratio rectangles, allowing close packing in one direction, while enabling the chip to feed through the wall of a copper enclosure. The chip is secured in the copper wall using a soft metal seal to make good thermal and electrical contact to the outer shield.

Numerical simulation of the modulation transfer function (MTF) in infrared focal plane arrays: simulation methodology and MTF optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Schuster, J.

2018-02-01

Military requirements demand both single and dual-color infrared (IR) imaging systems with both high resolution and sharp contrast. To quantify the performance of these imaging systems, a key measure of performance, the modulation transfer function (MTF), describes how well an optical system reproduces an objects contrast in the image plane at different spatial frequencies. At the center of an IR imaging system is the focal plane array (FPA). IR FPAs are hybrid structures consisting of a semiconductor detector pixel array, typically fabricated from HgCdTe, InGaAs or III-V superlattice materials, hybridized with heat/pressure to a silicon read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) with indium bumps on each pixel providing the mechanical and electrical connection. Due to the growing sophistication of the pixel arrays in these FPAs, sophisticated modeling techniques are required to predict, understand, and benchmark the pixel array MTF that contributes to the total imaging system MTF. To model the pixel array MTF, computationally exhaustive 2D and 3D numerical simulation approaches are required to correctly account for complex architectures and effects such as lateral diffusion from the pixel corners. It is paramount to accurately model the lateral di_usion (pixel crosstalk) as it can become the dominant mechanism limiting the detector MTF if not properly mitigated. Once the detector MTF has been simulated, it is directly decomposed into its constituent contributions to reveal exactly what is limiting the total detector MTF, providing a path for optimization. An overview of the MTF will be given and the simulation approach will be discussed in detail, along with how different simulation parameters effect the MTF calculation. Finally, MTF optimization strategies (crosstalk mitigation) will be discussed.

16-dimensional smooth projective planes with large collineation groups

OpenAIRE

Bödi, Richard

1998-01-01

Erworben im Rahmen der Schweizer Nationallizenzen (http://www.nationallizenzen.ch) Smooth projective planes are projective planes defined on smooth manifolds (i.e. the set of points and the set of lines are smooth manifolds) such that the geometric operations of join and intersection are smooth. A systematic study of such planes and of their collineation groups can be found in previous works of the author. We prove in this paper that a 16-dimensional smooth projective plane which admits a ...

Determinations of directions of the mean stress field in Sichuan-Yunnan region from a number of focal mechanism solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Ji-Mao; Cheng, Wan-Zheng

2006-07-01

Based on the spatial orientation and slip direction of the fault plane solutions, we present the expression of corresponding mechanical axis tensor in geographic coordinate system, and then put forward a method for calculating average mechanical axis tensor and its eigenvalues, which involves solving the corresponding eigenequation. The method for deducing mean stress field from T, B, and P axes parameters of a number of focal mechanism solutions has been verified by inverting data of mean stress fields in Fuyun region and in Tangshan region with fitting method of slip direction, and both results are consistent. To study regional average stress field, we need to choose a population of focal mechanism solutions of earthquakes in the massifs where there are significant tectonic structures. According to the focal mechanism solutions of 256 moderate-strong earthquakes occurred in 13 seismic zones of Sichuan-Yunnan region, the quantitative analysis results of stress tensor in each seismic zone have been given. The algorithm of such method is simple and convenient, which makes the method for analyzing tectonic stress field with large amount of focal mechanism solution data become quantified.

Application of oblique plane microscopy to high speed live cell imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Sunil; Wilding, Dean; Sikkel, Markus B.; Lyon, Alexander R.; MacLeod, Ken T.; Dunsby, Chris

2011-07-01

Oblique Plane Microscopy (OPM) is a light sheet microscopy technique that combines oblique illumination with correction optics that tilt the focal plane of the collection system. OPM can be used to image conventionally mounted specimens on coverslips or tissue culture dishes and has low out-of-plane photobleaching and phototoxicity. No moving parts are required to achieve an optically sectioned image and so high speed optically sectioned imaging is possible. We present high speed 2D and 3D optically sectioned OPM imaging of live cells using a high NA water immersion lens.

Establishment and application of a large calibration device of artificial radionuclide plane source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Mingkao; Zhang Jiyun; Wang Xinxing; Zhang Sheng

2010-01-01

With the expansion of the application fields of nuclear techniques and the development of economy, more and more airborne/vehicle and other large γ spectrometers are applied in the environment radiation monitoring of artificial radioactive nuclides. In order to ensure the reliability of the monitoring results, a large calibration device of artificial radionuclide plane source is established. The paper introduces the device's built history and the results of application. (authors)

Design and performance of single photon APD focal plane arrays for 3-D LADAR imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Itzler, Mark A.; Entwistle, Mark; Owens, Mark; Patel, Ketan; Jiang, Xudong; Slomkowski, Krystyna; Rangwala, Sabbir; Zalud, Peter F.; Senko, Tom; Tower, John; Ferraro, Joseph

2010-08-01

×We describe the design, fabrication, and performance of focal plane arrays (FPAs) for use in 3-D LADAR imaging applications requiring single photon sensitivity. These 32 × 32 FPAs provide high-efficiency single photon sensitivity for three-dimensional LADAR imaging applications at 1064 nm. Our GmAPD arrays are designed using a planarpassivated avalanche photodiode device platform with buried p-n junctions that has demonstrated excellent performance uniformity, operational stability, and long-term reliability. The core of the FPA is a chip stack formed by hybridizing the GmAPD photodiode array to a custom CMOS read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) and attaching a precision-aligned GaP microlens array (MLA) to the back-illuminated detector array. Each ROIC pixel includes an active quenching circuit governing Geiger-mode operation of the corresponding avalanche photodiode pixel as well as a pseudo-random counter to capture per-pixel time-of-flight timestamps in each frame. The FPA has been designed to operate at frame rates as high as 186 kHz for 2 μs range gates. Effective single photon detection efficiencies as high as 40% (including all optical transmission and MLA losses) are achieved for dark count rates below 20 kHz. For these planar-geometry diffused-junction GmAPDs, isolation trenches are used to reduce crosstalk due to hot carrier luminescence effects during avalanche events, and we present details of the crosstalk performance for different operating conditions. Direct measurement of temporal probability distribution functions due to cumulative timing uncertainties of the GmAPDs and ROIC circuitry has demonstrated a FWHM timing jitter as low as 265 ps (standard deviation is ~100 ps).

Antennas for Terahertz Applications: Focal Plane Arrays and On-chip Non-contact Measurement Probes

Science.gov (United States)

Trichopoulos, Georgios C.

The terahertz (THz) band provides unique sensing opportunities that enable several important applications such as biomedical imaging, remote non-destructive inspection of packaged goods, and security screening. THz waves can penetrate most materials and can provide unique spectral information in the 0.1--10 THz band with high resolution. In contrast, other imaging modalities, like infrared (IR), suffer from low penetration depths and are thus not attractive for non-destructive evaluation. However, state-of-the-art THz imaging systems typically employ mechanical raster scans using a single detector to acquire two-dimensional images. Such devices tend to be bulky and complicated due to the mechanical parts, and are thus rather expensive to develop and operate. Thus, large-format (e.g. 100x100 pixels) and all-electronics based THz imaging systems are badly needed to alleviate the space, weight and power (SWAP) factors and enable cost effective utilization of THz waves for sensing and high-data-rate communications. In contrast, photonic sensors are very compact because light can couple directly to the photodiode without residing to radiation coupling topologies. However, in the THz band, due to the longer wavelengths and much lower photon energies, highly efficient antennas with optimized input impedance have to be integrated with THz sensors. Here, we implement novel antenna engineering techniques that are optimized to take advantage of recent technological advances in solid-state THz sensing devices. For example, large-format focal plane arrays (FPAs) have been the Achilles' heel of THz imaging systems. Typically, optical components (lenses, mirrors) are employed in order to improve the optical performance of FPAs, however, antenna sensors suffer from degraded performance when they are far from the optical axis, thus minimizing the number of useful FPA elements. By modifying the radiation pattern of FPA antennas we manage to alleviate the off-axis aberration

New family of exact solutions for colliding plane gravitational waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yurtsever, U.

1988-01-01

We construct an infinite-parameter family of exact solutions to the vacuum Einstein field equations describing colliding gravitational plane waves with parallel polarizations. The interaction regions of the solutions in this family are locally isometric to the interiors of those static axisymmetric (Weyl) black-hole solutions which admit both a nonsingular horizon, and an analytic extension of the exterior metric to the interior of the horizon. As a member of this family of solutions we also obtain, for the first time, a colliding plane-wave solution where both of the two incoming plane waves are purely anastigmatic, i.e., where both incoming waves have equal focal lengths

Anomalously large ferromagnetic resonance linewidth in the Gd/Cr/Fe film plane

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Li; Zhang, Wen; Wong, Ping Kwan Johnny; Yin, Yuli; Jiang, Sheng; Huang, Zhaocong; Zhai, Ya; Yao, Zhongyu; Du, Jun; Sui, Yunxia; Zhai, Hongru

2018-04-01

As an important parameter for characterizing the magnetization dynamics, Gilbert damping constant α in a thin film or a multilayer is generally extracted from the linear fitting of the frequency-dependence of the ferromagnetic resonance linewidth, sometimes accompanied with a tiny deviation of the linewidth to a smaller value at the low-frequency or high-frequency region due to the two-magnon scattering with an in-plane-field configuration, in which an in-plane magnetic field H perpendicular to a microwave field h was applied in film plane during measurement. In contrast, here we report, in ultrathin Gd/Cr/Fe multilayers, an anomalously large linewidth in the film plane at the low-frequency region. For the first time, we have successfully extracted the Gilbert damping constant from perfect theoretical fitting to the experimental data, by considering the effective direction of the magnetization around in precession staying out of the film plane when the in-pane H at which the precession starts is below the saturation field. This magnetization deviation from the film plane is found to have an obvious contribution to the enhanced linewidth caused by two magnon scattering, while slightly reduce the intrinsic linewidth. Under the same resonance frequency, the deviation angle reaches the maximum values at tCr = 1.0 nm while decreases when tCr increases to 1.5 nm, which coincides with the trend of the surface perpendicular anisotropy constant K⊥. A reduced intrinsic damping constant α is obtained as the introduction of Gd layer and Cr layer as a result of the competition between the spin pumping effect and the interfacial effects at the Fe/Gd and Fe/Cr interfaces. While the decreasing α for film with Cr layer thickness increasing to 1.5 nm might means the contribution of the electron density of states at the Fermi energy n(EF). This study offers an effective way to accurately obtain the intrinsic damping constant of spintronic materials/devices, which is essential

Identification and Quantification of Microplastics in Wastewater Using Focal Plane Array-Based Reflectance Micro-FT-IR Imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Tagg, Alexander S; Sapp, Melanie; Harrison, Jesse P; Ojeda, Jesús J

2015-06-16

Microplastics (microplastics in these matrices has not been investigated. Although efficient methods for the analysis of microplastics in sediment samples and marine organisms have been published, no methods have been developed for detecting these pollutants within organic-rich wastewater samples. In addition, there is no standardized method for analyzing microplastics isolated from environmental samples. In many cases, part of the identification protocol relies on visual selection before analysis, which is open to bias. In order to address this, a new method for the analysis of microplastics in wastewater was developed. A pretreatment step using 30% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was employed to remove biogenic material, and focal plane array (FPA)-based reflectance micro-Fourier-transform (FT-IR) imaging was shown to successfully image and identify different microplastic types (polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon-6, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene). Microplastic-spiked wastewater samples were used to validate the methodology, resulting in a robust protocol which was nonselective and reproducible (the overall success identification rate was 98.33%). The use of FPA-based micro-FT-IR spectroscopy also provides a considerable reduction in analysis time compared with previous methods, since samples that could take several days to be mapped using a single-element detector can now be imaged in less than 9 h (circular filter with a diameter of 47 mm). This method for identifying and quantifying microplastics in wastewater is likely to provide an essential tool for further research into the pathways by which microplastics enter the environment.

An inverter-based capacitive trans-impedance amplifier readout with offset cancellation and temporal noise reduction for IR focal plane array

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hsin-Han; Hsieh, Chih-Cheng

2013-09-01

This paper presents a readout integrated circuit (ROIC) with inverter-based capacitive trans-impedance amplifier (CTIA) and pseudo-multiple sampling technique for infrared focal plane array (IRFPA). The proposed inverter-based CTIA with a coupling capacitor [1], executing auto-zeroing technique to cancel out the varied offset voltage from process variation, is used to substitute differential amplifier in conventional CTIA. The tunable detector bias is applied from a global external bias before exposure. This scheme not only retains stable detector bias voltage and signal injection efficiency, but also reduces the pixel area as well. Pseudo-multiple sampling technique [2] is adopted to reduce the temporal noise of readout circuit. The noise reduction performance is comparable to the conventional multiple sampling operation without need of longer readout time proportional to the number of samples. A CMOS image sensor chip with 55×65 pixel array has been fabricated in 0.18um CMOS technology. It achieves a 12um×12um pixel size, a frame rate of 72 fps, a power-per-pixel of 0.66uW/pixel, and a readout temporal noise of 1.06mVrms (16 times of pseudo-multiple sampling), respectively.

CALCULATION OF A GLARE STOP FOR TWO-MIRROR EXTRA-FOCAL OBJECTIVE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. F. Zambrano

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Recently, efforts to improve optical characteristics in canonical mirror systems, including aspherical surfaces and corrective aberration capabilities. At the same time, much attention is paid to the development of new optical schemes of two-mirror objectives. Development measures to protect the image plane from stray light and harmful flows with minimal vignetting and screening is one of the most perspective ways for improving the image quality objectives. The only method to eliminate or even reduce these non-constructive rays is to set glare stops. The aim of the work was an improving method for constructing a glare stop to protect the image plane and the creation of a calculation algorithm of glare stop for protecting the image plane based on two-mirror extra-focal objectives.The study was conducted in two stages. In the course of the first stage, the positions of screening and intermediate image plane were obtained, as well as the central screening coefficient. At the second stage, an arrangement for the position of glare stop is proposed using the algorithm calculation. Thus, mathematical expressions were achieved by geometric constructions. The relation of the screening coefficient with the distance between the surfaces of the mirrors and the height of the paraxial rays is established. А representation of vignetting diagram for two-mirror extra-focal objective with D/f´ = 1 : 1,3 and 2ω = 4° was realized. The Q estimation of vignetting of inclined light beams is k= 0,56.

Experimental research on energy circled fraction of continuous phase plates in focal spot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yuanhang; Yang Chunlin; Wen Shenglin; Shi Qikai; Wang Jian

2013-01-01

In inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research process, the form of focal spot is extremely crucial. Especially in the indirect driven implosion, energy circled fraction is higher than 95% in focal spot. Based on the offline test platform, the focusing spot of continuous phase plates with different application error is clearly imaged on CCD. By experimental analysis, it is found that the beam rotation error, caliber error, translational error and inclination error have a high tolerance in affecting focal plane of CPP. Energy circled fraction is higher than 95%, the range is less than 0.5%. Nevertheless, the waterfront aberration seriously affects the shaping ability of the CPP. Clearly, the main factor of reducing energy circled fraction to less than 90% is waterfront aberration. (authors)

On the relationships between electron spot size, focal spot size, and virtual source position in Monte Carlo simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sterpin, E.; Chen, Y.; Lu, W.; Mackie, T. R.; Olivera, G. H.; Vynckier, S.

2011-01-01

Purpose: Every year, new radiotherapy techniques including stereotactic radiosurgery using linear accelerators give rise to new applications of Monte Carlo (MC) modeling. Accurate modeling requires knowing the size of the electron spot, one of the few parameters to tune in MC models. The resolution of integrated megavoltage imaging systems, such as the tomotherapy system, strongly depends on the photon spot size which is closely related to the electron spot. The aim of this article is to clarify the relationship between the electron spot size and the photon spot size (i.e., the focal spot size) for typical incident electron beam energies and target thicknesses. Methods: Three electron energies (3, 5.5, and 18 MeV), four electron spot sizes (FWHM=0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5 mm), and two tungsten target thicknesses (0.15 and 1 cm) were considered. The formation of the photon beam within the target was analyzed through electron energy deposition with depth, as well as photon production at several phase-space planes placed perpendicular to the beam axis, where only photons recorded for the first time were accounted for. Photon production was considered for ''newborn'' photons intersecting a 45x45 cm 2 plane at the isocenter (85 cm from source). Finally, virtual source position and ''effective'' focal spot size were computed by backprojecting all the photons from the bottom of the target intersecting a 45x45 cm 2 plane. The virtual source position and focal spot size were estimated at the plane position where the latter is minimal. Results: In the relevant case of considering only photons intersecting the 45x45 cm 2 plane, the results unambiguously showed that the effective photon spot is created within the first 0.25 mm of the target and that electron and focal spots may be assumed to be equal within 3-4%. Conclusions: In a good approximation photon spot size equals electron spot size for high energy X-ray treatments delivered by linear accelerators.

Development of the focal plane PNCCD camera system for the X-ray space telescope eROSITA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meidinger, Norbert; Andritschke, Robert; Ebermayer, Stefanie; Elbs, Johannes; Haelker, Olaf; Hartmann, Robert; Herrmann, Sven; Kimmel, Nils; Schaechner, Gabriele; Schopper, Florian; Soltau, Heike; Strueder, Lothar; Weidenspointner, Georg

2010-01-01

A so-called PNCCD, a special type of CCD, was developed twenty years ago as focal plane detector for the XMM-Newton X-ray astronomy mission of the European Space Agency ESA. Based on this detector concept and taking into account the experience of almost ten years of operation in space, a new X-ray CCD type was designed by the 'MPI semiconductor laboratory' for an upcoming X-ray space telescope, called eROSITA (extended Roentgen survey with an imaging telescope array). This space telescope will be equipped with seven X-ray mirror systems of Wolter-I type and seven CCD cameras, placed in their foci. The instrumentation permits the exploration of the X-ray universe in the energy band from 0.3 up to 10 keV by spectroscopic measurements with a time resolution of 50 ms for a full image comprising 384x384 pixels. Main scientific goals are an all-sky survey and investigation of the mysterious 'Dark Energy'. The eROSITA space telescope, which is developed under the responsibility of the 'Max-Planck-Institute for extraterrestrial physics', is a scientific payload on the new Russian satellite 'Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma' (SRG). The mission is already approved by the responsible Russian and German space agencies. After launch in 2012 the destination of the satellite is Lagrange point L2. The planned observational program takes about seven years. We describe the design of the eROSITA camera system and present important test results achieved recently with the eROSITA prototype PNCCD detector. This includes a comparison of the eROSITA detector with the XMM-Newton detector.

Reliable Transport over SpaceWire for James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Focal Plane Electronics (FPE) Network

Science.gov (United States)

Rakow, Glenn; Schnurr, Richard; Dailey, Christopher; Shakoorzadeh, Kamdin

2003-01-01

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) faces difficult technical and budgetary challenges to overcome before it is scheduled launch in 2010. The Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM), shares these challenges. The major challenge addressed in this paper is the data network used to collect, process, compresses and store Infrared data. A total of 114 Mbps of raw information must be collected from 19 sources and delivered to the two redundant data processing units across a twenty meter deployed thermally restricted interface. Further data must be transferred to the solid-state recorder and the spacecraft. The JWST detectors are kept at cryogenic temperatures to obtain the sensitivity necessary to measure faint energy sources. The Focal Plane Electronics (FPE) that sample the detector, generate packets from the samples, and transmit these packets to the processing electronics must dissipate little power in order to help keep the detectors at these cold temperatures. Separating the low powered front-end electronics from the higher-powered processing electronics, and using a simple high-speed protocol to transmit the detector data minimize the power dissipation near the detectors. Low Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS) drivers were considered an obvious choice for physical layer because of their high speed and low power. The mechanical restriction on the number cables across the thermal interface force the Image packets to be concentrated upon two high-speed links. These links connect the many image packet sources, Focal Plane Electronics (FPE), located near the cryogenic detectors to the processing electronics on the spacecraft structure. From 12 to 10,000 seconds of raw data are processed to make up an image, various algorithms integrate the pixel data Loss of commands to configure the detectors as well as the loss of science data itself may cause inefficiency in the use of the telescope that are unacceptable given the high cost of the observatory. This

The Off-plane Grating Rocket Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Donovan, Benjamin

2018-01-01

The next generation of X-ray spectrometers necessitate significant increases in both resolution and effective area to achieve the science goals set forth in the 2010 Decadal Survey and the 2013 Astrophysics Roadmap. The Off-plane Grating Rocket Experiment (OGRE), an X-ray spectroscopy suborbital rocket payload currently scheduled for launch in Q3 2020, will serve as a testbed for several key technologies which can help achieve the desired performance increases of future spectrometers. OGRE will be the first instrument to fly mono-crystalline silicon X-ray mirrors developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The payload will also utilize an array of off-plane gratings manufactured at The Pennsylvania State University. Additionally, the focal plane will be populated with an array of four electron-multiplying CCDs developed by the Open University and XCAM Ltd. With these key technologies, OGRE hopes to achieve the highest resolution on-sky soft X-ray spectrum to date. We discuss the optical design, expected performance, and the current status of the payload.

Colliding almost-plane gravitational waves: Colliding plane waves and general properties of almost-plane-wave spacetimes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yurtsever, U.

1988-01-01

It is well known that when two precisely plane-symmetric gravitational waves propagating in an otherwise flat background collide, they focus each other so strongly as to produce a curvature singularity. This paper is the first of several devoted to almost-plane gravitational waves and their collisions. Such waves are more realistic than plane waves in having a finite but very large transverse size. In this paper we review some crucial features of the well-known exact solutions for colliding plane waves and we argue that one of these features, the breakdown of ''local inextendibility'' can be regarded as nongeneric. We then introduce a new framework for analyzing general colliding plane-wave spacetimes; we give an alternative proof of a theorem due to Tipler implying the existence of singularities in all generic colliding plane-wave solutions; and we discuss the fact that the recently constructed Chandrasekhar-Xanthopoulos colliding plane-wave solutions are not strictly plane symmetric and thus do not satisfy the conditions and the conclusion of Tipler's theorem

PLEIADES HR IN FLIGHT GEOMETRICAL CALIBRATION : LOCATION AND MAPPING OF THE FOCAL PLANE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. de Lussy

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The Pleiades system, ORFEO system optical component (Optical and Radar Federated Earth Observation consists of a constellation of two satellites for very High Resolution panchromatic and multispectral optical observation of the Earth. Its mission is to cover all European civilian needs (mapping, tracking floods and fires and defence in the category of metric resolution: 0.7m Nadir. The first Pleiades satellite was launched at the end of last year. One of the key objectives of the Pleiades HR (PHR project is to achieve a location accuracy that will allow the use of images in GIS (Geographical Information System without geometrical model improvement by refining on ground control points. The image location without refined model was specified with the precision of the most commonly used tool ie the civil GPS. So the location accuracy has been specified at less than 12m for 90% of the images on a nominal satellite configuration. Very special care has been taken all along the PHR project realization to achieve this very good location accuracy. The final touch is given during the in-orbit commissioning phase which lasts until June 2012. The geometric quality implies to tune the parameters involved in the geolocation model (geometric calibration: besides attitude and orbit restitution tuning (not considered here, it consists in estimating the biases between the instrument orientation and the AOCS reference frame, and also the sight line of each detector in the focal plane. This is called static geometrical model. The analysis of dynamic perturbations outside of the model are the second most important image quality objective of in-flight commissioning, not described in this paper. Finally “image quality assessment” consists in evaluating the image quality obtained in the final products. For geolocation model, it is quantified by the absolute geolocation and the pointing accuracies, and it is a main contributor in length alteration and planimetric and

Fault plane orientations of deep earthquakes in the Izu-Bonin-Marianas subduction zone system

Science.gov (United States)

Myhill, R.; Warren, L. M.

2011-12-01

We present the results of directivity analysis on 45 deep earthquakes within the Izu-Bonin-Marianas subduction zone between 1993 and 2011. The age of the subducting Pacific plate increases from north to south along the trench, from 120 Ma offshore Tokyo to over 150 Ma east of the Mariana Islands. The dip of the deep slab generally increases from north to south, and is steep to overturned beneath the southern Bonin Islands and Marianas. Between 34 and 26 degrees north, a peak in seismicity at 350-450 km depth marks a decrease in dip as the slab approaches the base of the upper mantle. We observe directivity for around 60 percent of the analysed earthquakes, and use the propagation characteristics to find the best fitting rupture vector. In 60-70 percent of cases with well constrained rupture directivity, the best fitting rupture vector allows discrimination of the fault plane and the auxiliary plane of the focal mechanism. The identified fault planes between 100 km and 500 km are predominantly near-horizontal or south-southwest dipping. Rotated into the plane of the slab, the fault plane poles form a single cluster, since the more steeply dipping fault planes are found within more steeply dipping sections of slab. The dominance of near-horizontal fault planes at intermediate depth agrees with results from previous studies of the Tonga and Middle-America subduction zones. However, the presence of a single preferred fault plane orientation for large deep-focus earthquakes has not been previously reported, and contrasts with the situation for deep-focus earthquakes in the Tonga-Kermadec subduction system. Ruptures tend to propagate away from the top surface of the slab. We discuss potential causes of preferred fault plane orientations within subducting slabs in the light of existing available data, and the implications for mechanisms of faulting at great depths within the Earth.

A particle identification technique for large acceptance spectrometers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cappuzzello, F.; Cavallaro, M.; Cunsolo, A.; Foti, A.; Carbone, D.; Orrigo, S.E.A.; Rodrigues, M.R.D.

2010-01-01

A technique to identify the heavy ions produced in nuclear reactions is presented. It is based on the use of a hybrid detector, which measures the energy loss, the residual energy, the position and angle of the ions at the focal plane of a magnetic spectrometer. The key point is the use of a powerful algorithm for the reconstruction of the ion trajectory, which makes the technique reliable even with large acceptance optical devices. Experimental results with the MAGNEX spectrometer show a remarkable resolution of about 1/160 in the mass parameter.

WE-E-BRE-04: Dual Focal Spot Dose Painting for Precision Preclinical Radiobiological Investigations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stewart, J; Lindsay, P [Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto (Canada); University of Toronto, Toronto (Canada); Jaffray, D [Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto (Canada); The Techna Institute for the Advancement of Technology for Health, Toronto (Canada)

2014-06-15

Purpose: Recent progress in small animal radiotherapy systems has provided the foundation for delivering the heterogeneous, millimeter scale dose distributions demanded by preclinical radiobiology investigations. Despite advances in preclinical dose planning, delivery of highly heterogeneous dose distributions is constrained by the fixed collimation systems and large x-ray focal spot common in small animal radiotherapy systems. This work proposes a dual focal spot dose optimization and delivery method with a large x-ray focal spot used to deliver homogeneous dose regions and a small focal spot to paint spatially heterogeneous dose regions. Methods: Two-dimensional dose kernels were measured for a 1 mm circular collimator with radiochromic film at 10 mm depth in a solid water phantom for the small and large x-ray focal spots on a recently developed small animal microirradiator. These kernels were used in an optimization framework which segmented a desired dose distribution into low- and high-spatial frequency regions for delivery by the large and small focal spot, respectively. For each region, the method determined an optimal set of stage positions and beam-on times. The method was demonstrated by optimizing a bullseye pattern consisting of 0.75 mm radius circular target and 0.5 and 1.0 mm wide rings alternating between 0 and 2 Gy. Results: Compared to a large focal spot technique, the dual focal spot technique improved the optimized dose distribution: 69.2% of the optimized dose was within 0.5 Gy of the intended dose for the large focal spot, compared to 80.6% for the dual focal spot method. The dual focal spot design required 14.0 minutes of optimization, and will require 178.3 minutes for automated delivery. Conclusion: The dual focal spot optimization and delivery framework is a novel option for delivering conformal and heterogeneous dose distributions at the preclinical level and provides a new experimental option for unique radiobiological investigations

WE-E-BRE-04: Dual Focal Spot Dose Painting for Precision Preclinical Radiobiological Investigations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stewart, J; Lindsay, P; Jaffray, D

2014-01-01

Purpose: Recent progress in small animal radiotherapy systems has provided the foundation for delivering the heterogeneous, millimeter scale dose distributions demanded by preclinical radiobiology investigations. Despite advances in preclinical dose planning, delivery of highly heterogeneous dose distributions is constrained by the fixed collimation systems and large x-ray focal spot common in small animal radiotherapy systems. This work proposes a dual focal spot dose optimization and delivery method with a large x-ray focal spot used to deliver homogeneous dose regions and a small focal spot to paint spatially heterogeneous dose regions. Methods: Two-dimensional dose kernels were measured for a 1 mm circular collimator with radiochromic film at 10 mm depth in a solid water phantom for the small and large x-ray focal spots on a recently developed small animal microirradiator. These kernels were used in an optimization framework which segmented a desired dose distribution into low- and high-spatial frequency regions for delivery by the large and small focal spot, respectively. For each region, the method determined an optimal set of stage positions and beam-on times. The method was demonstrated by optimizing a bullseye pattern consisting of 0.75 mm radius circular target and 0.5 and 1.0 mm wide rings alternating between 0 and 2 Gy. Results: Compared to a large focal spot technique, the dual focal spot technique improved the optimized dose distribution: 69.2% of the optimized dose was within 0.5 Gy of the intended dose for the large focal spot, compared to 80.6% for the dual focal spot method. The dual focal spot design required 14.0 minutes of optimization, and will require 178.3 minutes for automated delivery. Conclusion: The dual focal spot optimization and delivery framework is a novel option for delivering conformal and heterogeneous dose distributions at the preclinical level and provides a new experimental option for unique radiobiological investigations

Algebraic Structures on MOD Planes

OpenAIRE

Kandasamy, Vasantha; Ilanthenral, K.; Smarandache, Florentin

2015-01-01

Study of MOD planes happens to a very recent one. In this book, systematically algebraic structures on MOD planes like, MOD semigroups, MOD groups and MOD rings of different types are defined and studied. Such study is innovative for a large four quadrant planes are made into a small MOD planes. Several distinct features enjoyed by these MOD planes are defined, developed and described.

Magnetic electroanatomical mapping for ablation of focal atrial tachycardias.

Science.gov (United States)

Marchlinski, F; Callans, D; Gottlieb, C; Rodriguez, E; Coyne, R; Kleinman, D

1998-08-01

Uniform success for ablation of focal atrial tachycardias has been difficult to achieve using standard catheter mapping and ablation techniques. In addition, our understanding of the complex relationship between atrial anatomy, electrophysiology, and surface ECG P wave morphology remains primitive. The magnetic electroanatomical mapping and display system (CARTO) offers an on-line display of electrical activation and/or signal amplitude related to the anatomical location of the recorded sites in the mapped chamber. A window of electrical interest is established based on signals timed from an electrical reference that usually represents a fixed electrogram recording from the coronary sinus or the atrial appendage. This window of electrical interest is established to include atrial activation prior to the onset of the P wave activity associated with the site of origin of a focal atrial tachycardia. Anatomical and electrical landmarks are defined with limited fluoroscopic imaging support and more detailed global chamber and more focal atrial mapping can be performed with minimal fluoroscopic guidance. A three-dimensional color map representing atrial activation or voltage amplitude at the magnetically defined anatomical sites is displayed with on-line data acquisition. This display can be manipulated to facilitate viewing from any angle. Altering the zoom control, triangle fill threshold, clipping plane, or color range can all enhance the display of a more focal area of interest. We documented the feasibility of using this single mapping catheter technique for localizing and ablating focal atrial tachycardias. In a consecutive series of 8 patients with 9 focal atrial tachycardias, the use of the single catheter CARTO mapping system was associated with ablation success in all but one patient who had a left atrial tachycardia localized to the medial aspect of the orifice of the left atrial appendage. Only low power energy delivery was used in this patient because of the

FMC: a one-liner Python program to manage, classify and plot focal mechanisms

Science.gov (United States)

Álvarez-Gómez, José A.

2014-05-01

The analysis of earthquake focal mechanisms (or Seismic Moment Tensor, SMT) is a key tool on seismotectonics research. Each focal mechanism is characterized by several location parameters of the earthquake hypocenter, the earthquake size (magnitude and scalar moment tensor) and some geometrical characteristics of the rupture (nodal planes orientations, SMT components and/or SMT main axes orientations). The aim of FMC is to provide a simple but powerful tool to manage focal mechanism data. The data should be input to the program formatted as one of two of the focal mechanisms formatting options of the GMT (Generic Mapping Tools) package (Wessel and Smith, 1998): the Harvard CMT convention and the single nodal plane Aki and Richards (1980) convention. The former is a SMT format that can be downloaded directly from the Global CMT site (http://www.globalcmt.org/), while the later is the simplest way to describe earthquake rupture data. FMC is programmed in Python language, which is distributed as Open Source GPL-compatible, and therefore can be used to develop Free Software. Python runs on almost any machine, and has a wide support and presence in any operative system. The program has been conceived with the modularity and versatility of the classical UNIX-like tools. Is called from the command line and can be easily integrated into shell scripts (*NIX systems) or batch files (DOS/Windows systems). The program input and outputs can be done by means of ASCII files or using standard input (or redirection "") and pipes ("|"). By default FMC will read the input and write the output as a Harvard CMT (psmeca formatted) ASCII file, although other formats can be used. Optionally FMC will produce a classification diagram representing the rupture type of the focal mechanisms processed. In order to count with a detailed classification of the focal mechanisms I decided to classify the focal mechanism in a series of fields that include the oblique slip regimes. This approximation

TRIM15 is a focal adhesion protein that regulates focal adhesion disassembly

Science.gov (United States)

Uchil, Pradeep D.; Pawliczek, Tobias; Reynolds, Tracy D.; Ding, Siyuan; Hinz, Angelika; Munro, James B.; Huang, Fang; Floyd, Robert W.; Yang, Haitao; Hamilton, William L.; Bewersdorf, Joerg; Xiong, Yong; Calderwood, David A.; Mothes, Walther

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT Focal adhesions are macromolecular complexes that connect the actin cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix. Dynamic turnover of focal adhesions is crucial for cell migration. Paxillin is a multi-adaptor protein that plays an important role in regulating focal adhesion dynamics. Here, we identify TRIM15, a member of the tripartite motif protein family, as a paxillin-interacting factor and a component of focal adhesions. TRIM15 localizes to focal contacts in a myosin-II-independent manner by an interaction between its coiled-coil domain and the LD2 motif of paxillin. Unlike other focal adhesion proteins, TRIM15 is a stable focal adhesion component with restricted mobility due to its ability to form oligomers. TRIM15-depleted cells display impaired cell migration and reduced focal adhesion disassembly rates, in addition to enlarged focal adhesions. Thus, our studies demonstrate a cellular function for TRIM15 as a regulatory component of focal adhesion turnover and cell migration. PMID:25015296

THE IMAGING PROPERTIES OF THE GAS PIXEL DETECTOR AS A FOCAL PLANE POLARIMETER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fabiani, S.; Costa, E.; Del Monte, E.; Muleri, F.; Soffitta, P.; Rubini, A. [INAF-IAPS, via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma (Italy); Bellazzini, R.; Brez, A.; De Ruvo, L.; Minuti, M.; Pinchera, M.; Sgró, C.; Spandre, G. [INFN Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo, 3, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Spiga, D.; Tagliaferri, G.; Pareschi, G.; Basso, S.; Citterio, O. [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, via Brera 28, I-20121 Milano (Italy); Burwitz, V.; Burkert, W., E-mail: sergio.fabiani@iaps.inaf.it [Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Gautinger Str. 45, D-82061 Neuired (Germany); and others

2014-06-01

X-rays are particularly suited to probing the physics of extreme objects. However, despite the enormous improvements of X-ray astronomy in imaging, spectroscopy, and timing, polarimetry remains largely unexplored. We propose the photoelectric polarimeter Gas Pixel Detector (GPD) as a candidate instrument to fill the gap created by more than 30 yr without measurements. The GPD, in the focus of a telescope, will increase the sensitivity of orders of magnitude. Moreover, since it can measure the energy, the position, the arrival time, and the polarization angle of every single photon, it allows us to perform polarimetry of subsets of data singled out from the spectrum, the light curve, or an image of the source. The GPD has an intrinsic, very fine imaging capability, and in this work we report on the calibration campaign carried out in 2012 at the PANTER X-ray testing facility of the Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik of Garching (Germany) in which, for the first time, we coupled it with a JET-X optics module with a focal length of 3.5 m and an angular resolution of 18 arcsec at 4.5 keV. This configuration was proposed in 2012 aboard the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer (XIPE) in response to the ESA call for a small mission. We derived the imaging and polarimetric performance for extended sources like pulsar wind nebulae and supernova remnants as case studies for the XIPE configuration and also discuss possible improvements by coupling the detector with advanced optics that have a finer angular resolution and larger effective areas to study extended objects with more detail.

Focal Mechanism of Semi-Volcanic Deep Low-Frequency Earthquakes in Eastern Shimane

Science.gov (United States)

Aso, N.; Ohta, K.; Ide, S.

2012-12-01

Many deep low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) occur near the island arc Mohorovicic discontinuities and far from both active volcanoes and plate boundaries. They are quite similar to volcanic LFEs beneath active volcanoes, which infers some fluid movement in the source region, and we regard them as "semi-volcanic" LFEs [Aso et al., 2011; 2012 (submitted)]. Several previous studies determined the focal mechanisms of volcanic and semi-volcanic LFEs using a small portion of information of the waveforms. Although the estimated focal mechanisms are various, they may not necessary support the variety of the actual physical process, owing to the large determination error [e.g., Nishidomi and Takeo, 1996; Ohmi and Obara, 2002; Nakamichi et al., 2003]. Here we determine the focal mechanisms by waveform inversion for LFEs in eastern Shimane in western Japan, where many LFEs occurred in a quiet region. The locations are also close to the fault plane of the 2000 western Tottori earthquake of Mw6.6, and right beneath Yokota volcano, which is a Quaternary volcanic cluster. We estimated the focal mechanisms of semi-volcanic LFEs in eastern Shimane by moment tensor inversion. The data are velocity seismograms at five stations of Hi-net near the epicenters. For each seismogram, we extracted a 1.5-second time window beginning from 0.2 seconds before the arrivals of either P-wave in a vertical component or S-wave in a horizontal component. The arrival time of each phase is picked manually first, and then corrected to minimize the variance between observed and synthetic waveforms. The local site amplification is estimated using far-field body waves from deep intraslab earthquakes, and collected for each seismogram. The synthetic waveforms were calculated using the discrete wavenumber integration method developed by Takeo [1985] for a horizontally layered structure. For 38 LFEs, which are equal to or larger than M1.2 (JMA magnitude) and recorded at all five stations, the focal mechanisms

An empirical assessment of the focal species hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindenmayer, D B; Lane, P W; Westgate, M J; Crane, M; Michael, D; Okada, S; Barton, P S

2014-12-01

Biodiversity surrogates and indicators are commonly used in conservation management. The focal species approach (FSA) is one method for identifying biodiversity surrogates, and it is underpinned by the hypothesis that management aimed at a particular focal species will confer protection on co-occurring species. This concept has been the subject of much debate, in part because the validity of the FSA has not been subject to detailed empirical assessment of the extent to which a given focal species actually co-occurs with other species in an assemblage. To address this knowledge gap, we used large-scale, long-term data sets of temperate woodland birds to select focal species associated with threatening processes such as habitat isolation and loss of key vegetation attributes. We quantified co-occurrence patterns among focal species, species in the wider bird assemblage, and species of conservation concern. Some, but not all, focal species were associated with high levels of species richness. One of our selected focal species was negatively associated with the occurrence of other species (i.e., it was an antisurrogate)-a previously undescribed property of nominated focal species. Furthermore, combinations of focal species were not associated with substantially elevated levels of bird species richness, relative to levels associated with individual species. Our results suggest that although there is some merit to the underpinning concept of the FSA, there is also a need to ensure that actions are sufficiently flexible because management tightly focused on a given focal species may not benefit some other species, including species of conservation concern, such of which might not occur in species-rich assemblages. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Breakthrough In Current In Plane Metrology For Monitoring Large Scale MRAM Production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cagliani, Alberto; Østerberg, Frederik Westergaard; Hansen, Ole

2017-01-01

The current-in-plane tunneling technique (CIPT) has been a crucial tool in the development of magnetic tunnel junction stacks suitable for Magnetic Random Access Memories (MRAM) for more than a decade. The MRAM development has now reached the maturity to make the transition from R&D to large...... of the Resistance Area product (RA) and the Tunnel Magnetoresistance (TMR) measurements, compared to state of the art CIPT metrology tools dedicated to R&D. On two test wafers, the repeatability of RA and MR was improved up to 350% and the measurement reproducibility up to 1700%. We believe that CIPT metrology now...

Protein kinase C, focal adhesions and the regulation of cell migration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fogh, Betina S; Multhaupt, Hinke A B; Couchman, John Robert

2014-01-01

in their intracellular compartment. Among these are tyrosine kinases, which have received a great deal of attention, whereas the serine/threonine kinase protein kinase C has received much less. Here the status of protein kinase C in focal adhesions and cell migration is reviewed, together with discussion of its roles...... and adhesion turnover. Focal adhesions, or focal contacts, are widespread organelles at the cell-matrix interface. They arise as a result of receptor interactions with matrix ligands, together with clustering. Recent analysis shows that focal adhesions contain a very large number of protein components...

On the stability of large-area Al-p-Si junction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsyganov, Yu.S.

2006-01-01

Design of silicon radiation detector made of 12 kΩ · cm p-silicon with both amine- and amine-free hardeners epoxy resin junction edge passivation is presented. Before producing large-area detectors for measurements of efficiency of evaporation residues collection at the focal plane of the Dubna Gas-Filled Recoil Separator (DGFRS), a set of small-area test detectors was produced. Stability of the Al-(p)Si junction has been studied for a long time. Estimate of a realistic lifetime for the mentioned type of Al-Si rectifying junction is done

Earthquake focal mechanisms and stress orientations in the eastern Swiss Alps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marschall, I.; Deichmann, N.; Marone, F.

2013-01-01

This study presents an updated set of earthquake focal mechanisms in the Helvetic and Penninic/Austroalpine domains of the eastern Swiss Alps. In eight cases, based on high-precision relative hypocentre locations of events within individual earthquake sequences, it was possible to identify the active fault plane. Whereas the focal mechanisms in the Helvetic domain are mostly strike-slip, the Penninic/Austroalpine domain is dominated by normal-faulting mechanisms. Given this systematic difference in faulting style, an inversion for the stress field was performed separately for the two regions. The stress field in the Penninic/Austroalpine domain is characterized by extension oriented obliquely to the E-W strike of the orogen. Hence, the Penninic nappes, which were emplaced as large-scale compressional structures during the Alpine orogenesis, are now deforming in an extensional mode. This contrasts with the more compressional strike-slip regime in the Helvetic domain towards the northern Alpine front. Relative to the regional stress field seen in the northern Alpine foreland with a NNW-SSE compression and an ENE-WSW extension, the orientation of the least compressive stress in the Penninic/Austroalpine domain is rotated counter-clockwise by about 40 °C. Following earlier studies, the observed rotation of the orientation of the least compressive stress in the Penninic/Austroalpine region can be explained as the superposition of the regional stress field of the northern foreland and a uniaxial extensional stress perpendicular to the local trend of the Alpine mountain belt. (authors)

Focal Plane Alignment Utilizing Optical CMM

Science.gov (United States)

Liebe, Carl Christian; Meras, Patrick L.; Clark, Gerald J.; Sedaka, Jack J.; Kaluzny, Joel V.; Hirsch, Brian; Decker, Todd A.; Scholtz, Christopher R.

2012-01-01

In many applications, an optical detector has to be located relative to mechanical reference points. One solution is to specify stringent requirements on (1) mounting the optical detector relative to the chip carrier, (2) soldering the chip carrier onto the printed circuit board (PCB), and (3) installing the PCB to the mechanical structure of the subsystem. Figure 1 shows a sketch of an optical detector mounted relative to mechanical reference with high positional accuracy. The optical detector is typically a fragile wafer that cannot be physically touched by any measurement tool. An optical coordinate measuring machine (CMM) can be used to position optical detectors relative to mechanical reference points. This approach will eliminate all requirements on positional tolerances. The only requirement is that the PCB is manufactured with oversized holes. An exaggerated sketch of this situation is shown in Figure 2. The sketch shows very loose tolerances on mounting the optical detector in the chip carrier, loose tolerance on soldering the chip carrier to the PCB, and finally large tolerance on where the mounting screws are located. The PCB is held with large screws and oversized holes. The PCB is mounted loosely so it can move freely around. The optical CMM measures the mechanical reference points. Based on these measurements, the required positions of the optical detector corners can be calculated. The optical CMM is commanded to go to the position where one detector corner is supposed to be. This is indicated with the cross-hairs in Figure 2(a). This figure is representative of the image of the optical CMM monitor. Using a suitable tapping tool, the PCB is manually tapped around until the corner of the optical detector is at the crosshairs of the optical CMM. The CMM is commanded to another corner, and the process is repeated a number of times until all corners of the optical detector are within a distance of 10 to 30 microns of the required position. The situation

Irregular focal mechanisms observed at Salton Sea Geothermal Field: Possible influences of anthropogenic stress perturbations

Science.gov (United States)

Crandall-Bear, Aren; Barbour, Andrew J.; Schoenball, Martin; Schoenball, Martin

2018-01-01

At the Salton Sea Geothermal Field (SSGF), strain accumulation is released through seismic slip and aseismic deformation. Earthquake activity at the SSGF often occurs in swarm-like clusters, some with clear migration patterns. We have identified an earthquake sequence composed entirely of focal mechanisms representing an ambiguous style of faulting, where strikes are similar but deformation occurs due to steeply-dipping normal faults with varied stress states. In order to more accurately determine the style of faulting for these events, we revisit the original waveforms and refine estimates of P and S wave arrival times and displacement amplitudes. We calculate the acceptable focal plane solutions using P-wave polarities and S/P amplitude ratios, and determine the preferred fault plane. Without constraints on local variations in stress, found by inverting the full earthquake catalog, it is difficult to explain the occurrence of such events using standard fault-mechanics and friction. Comparing these variations with the expected poroelastic effects from local production and injection of geothermal fluids suggests that anthropogenic activity could affect the style of faulting.

Focal myositis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kransdorf, M.J.; Temple, H.T.; Sweet, D.E.

1998-01-01

Focal myositis is a pseudotumor of soft tissue that typically occurs in the deep soft tissue of the extremities, and is a relatively rare lesion. There is a wide clinical spectrum, with approximately one-third of patients with focal myositis subsequently developing polymyositis, and clinical symptoms of generalized weakness, fever, myalgia, and weight loss, with elevation of creatine phosphokinase. We report the case of a patient with focal myositis who subsequently developed myositis ossificans-like features. (orig.)

Radiometric characterization of type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice (t2sl) midwave infrared photodetectors and focal plane arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Nghiem, Jean; Giard, E.; Delmas, M.; Rodriguez, J. B.; Christol, P.; Caes, M.; Martijn, H.; Costard, E.; Ribet-Mohamed, I.

2017-09-01

In recent years, Type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice (T2SL) has emerged as a new material technology suitable for high performance infrared (IR) detectors operating from Near InfraRed (NIR, 2-3μm) to Very Long Wavelength InfraRed (LWIR, λ > 15μm) wavelength domains. To compare their performances with well-established IR technologies such as MCT, InSb or QWIP cooled detectors, specific electrical and radiometric characterizations are needed: dark current, spectral response, quantum efficiency, temporal and spatial noises, stability… In this paper, we first present quantum efficiency measurements performed on T2SL MWIR (3-5μm) photodiodes and on one focal plane array (320x256 pixels with 30μm pitch, realized in the scope of a french collaboration ). Different T2SL structures (InAs-rich versus GaSb-rich) with the same cutoff wavelength (λc= 5μm at 80K) were studied. Results are analysed in term of carrier diffusion length in order to define the optimum thickness and type of doping of the absorbing zone. We then focus on the stability over time of a commercial T2SL FPA (320x256 pixels with 30μm pitch), measuring the commonly used residual fixed pattern noise (RFPN) figure of merit. Results are excellent, with a very stable behaviour over more than 3 weeks, and less than 10 flickering pixels, possibly giving access to long-term stability of IR absolute calibration.

The Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS): 38 GHz Detector Array of Bolometric Polarimeters

Science.gov (United States)

Appel, John W.; Ali, Aamir; Amiri, Mandana; Araujo, Derek; Bennett, Charles L.; Boone, Fletcher; Chan, Manwei; Cho, Hsiao-Mei; Chuss, David T.; Colazo, Felipe;

The cosmology large angular scale surveyor (CLASS): 38-GHz detector array of bolometric polarimeters

Science.gov (United States)

Appel, John W.; Ali, Aamir; Amiri, Mandana; Araujo, Derek; Bennet, Charles L.; Boone, Fletcher; Chan, Manwei; Cho, Hsiao-Mei; Chuss, David T.; Colazo, Felipe; Crowe, Erik; Denis, Kevin; Dünner, Rolando; Eimer, Joseph; Essinger-Hileman, Thomas; Gothe, Dominik; Halpern, Mark; Harrington, Kathleen; Hilton, Gene; Hinshaw, Gary F.; Huang, Caroline; Irwin, Kent; Jones, Glenn; Karakula, John; Kogut, Alan J.; Larson, David; Limon, Michele; Lowry, Lindsay; Marriage, Tobias; Mehrle, Nicholas; Miller, Amber D.; Miller, Nathan; Moseley, Samuel H.; Novak, Giles; Reintsema, Carl; Rostem, Karwan; Stevenson, Thomas; Towner, Deborah; U-Yen, Kongpop; Wagner, Emily; Watts, Duncan; Wollack, Edward; Xu, Zhilei; Zeng, Lingzhen

2014-07-01

The Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) experiment aims to map the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at angular scales larger than a few degrees. Operating from Cerro Toco in the Atacama Desert of Chile, it will observe over 65% of the sky at 38, 93, 148, and 217 GHz. In this paper we discuss the design, construction, and characterization of the CLASS 38 GHz detector focal plane, the first ever Q-band bolometric polarimeter array.

Strong reducing of the laser focal volume

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Godin, T

2011-08-01

Full Text Available equal to -1 or +1 modeled on the p light rings of the incident TEMp0 beam. The transformation quality of a 30TEM beam into a single-lobed pattern in the focal plane is shown in Fig. 3. It is clear that the intensity pattern of the rectified beam... DOE (blue solid line), rectified 30TEM (red solid line) -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 4 z=0 z=f DOE Fig. 2 -60 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0,0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1,0 TEM30 without DOE "rectified" TEM30 TEM00 In te ns...

Focal myositis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kransdorf, M.J. [Saint Mary`s Hospital, Richmond, VA (United States). Dept. of Radiol.]|[Department of Radiologic Pathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, DC (United States); Temple, H.T. [Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville, Virginia (United States)]|[Department of Orthopedic Pathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, DC (United States); Sweet, D.E. [Department of Orthopedic Pathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, DC (United States)

1998-05-01

Focal myositis is a pseudotumor of soft tissue that typically occurs in the deep soft tissue of the extremities, and is a relatively rare lesion. There is a wide clinical spectrum, with approximately one-third of patients with focal myositis subsequently developing polymyositis, and clinical symptoms of generalized weakness, fever, myalgia, and weight loss, with elevation of creatine phosphokinase. We report the case of a patient with focal myositis who subsequently developed myositis ossificans-like features. (orig.) With 3 figs., 25 refs.

Fault plane solutions as related to known geological faults in and near India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. SRIVASTAVA

1975-05-01

Full Text Available Based on the focal mechanism solutions of newly determined solutions, and other recent workers the correlation between one of the nodal planes and the geological faults has been discussed for three regions namely Kashmir, Central Himalayas and northeast India including Assam. The variability between multiple solutions reported for some earthquakes and the limitations in the choice of the nodal plane from /'-wave solutions have been brought out. It is seen that no standard criteria either on the basis of isoseismals or of aftershocks can be used to distinguish the fault plane from the auxiliary plane. It has been found that in general there is good agreement between one of the nodal planes and the geological faults in Kashmir and the Central Himalayas. In northeast India, the strike directions obtained from the mechanism solutions generally agree with the trends of the main thrusts but the dip direction for shocks originating in the India-Burma border

The impact of static stress change, dynamic stress change, and the background stress on aftershock focal mechanisms

Science.gov (United States)

Hardebeck, Jeanne L.

2014-01-01

The focal mechanisms of earthquakes in Southern California before and after four M ≥ 6.7 main shocks provide insight into how fault systems respond to stress and changes in stress. The main shock static stress changes have two observed impacts on the seismicity: changing the focal mechanisms in a given location to favor those aligned with the static stress change and changing the spatial distribution of seismicity to favor locations where the static stress change aligns with the background stress. The aftershock focal mechanisms are significantly aligned with the static stress changes for absolute stress changes of ≥ 0.02 MPa, for up to ~20 years following the main shock. The dynamic stress changes have similar, although smaller, effects on the local focal mechanisms and the spatial seismicity distribution. Dynamic stress effects are best observed at long periods (30–60 s) and for metrics based on repeated stress cycling in the same direction. This implies that dynamic triggering operates, at least in part, through cyclic shear stress loading in the direction of fault slip. The background stress also strongly controls both the preshock and aftershock mechanisms. While most aftershock mechanisms are well oriented in the background stress field, 10% of aftershocks are identified as poorly oriented outliers, which may indicate limited heterogeneity in the postmain shock stress field. The fault plane orientations of the outliers are well oriented in the background stress, while their slip directions are not, implying that the background stress restricts the distribution of available fault planes.

A simulation study on the focal plane detector of the LAUE project

Science.gov (United States)

Khalil, M.; Frontera, F.; Caroli, E.; Virgilli, E.; Valsan, V.

2015-06-01

The LAUE project, supported by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), is devoted to the development of a long focal length (even 20 m or longer) Laue lens for gamma ray astronomy between 80 and 600 keV. These lenses take advantage of Bragg diffraction to focus radiation onto a small spot drastically improving the signal to noise ratio as well as reducing the required size of the detector significantly. In this paper we present a Monte-Carlo simulation study with MEGALIB to optimize, for space applications, the detector size to achieve high detection efficiency, and to optimize the position resolution of the detector to reconstruct the Point Spread Function of the lens considered for the LAUE project. Then we will show simulations, using the SILVACO semiconductor simulation toolkit, on the optimized detector to estimate its capacitance per channel and depletion voltage. In all of the simulations, two materials were compared; a low density material (Silicon) and a high density material (Germanium).

Mechanical Design of the LSST Camera

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nordby, Martin; Bowden, Gordon; Foss, Mike; Guiffre, Gary; /SLAC; Ku, John; /Unlisted; Schindler, Rafe; /SLAC

2008-06-13

The LSST camera is a tightly packaged, hermetically-sealed system that is cantilevered into the main beam of the LSST telescope. It is comprised of three refractive lenses, on-board storage for five large filters, a high-precision shutter, and a cryostat that houses the 3.2 giga-pixel CCD focal plane along with its support electronics. The physically large optics and focal plane demand large structural elements to support them, but the overall size of the camera and its components must be minimized to reduce impact on the image stability. Also, focal plane and optics motions must be minimized to reduce systematic errors in image reconstruction. Design and analysis for the camera body and cryostat will be detailed.

Three-dimensional fluorescent microscopy via simultaneous illumination and detection at multiple planes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Qian; Khademhosseinieh, Bahar; Huang, Eric; Qian, Haoliang; Bakowski, Malina A; Troemel, Emily R; Liu, Zhaowei

2016-08-16

The conventional optical microscope is an inherently two-dimensional (2D) imaging tool. The objective lens, eyepiece and image sensor are all designed to capture light emitted from a 2D 'object plane'. Existing technologies, such as confocal or light sheet fluorescence microscopy have to utilize mechanical scanning, a time-multiplexing process, to capture a 3D image. In this paper, we present a 3D optical microscopy method based upon simultaneously illuminating and detecting multiple focal planes. This is implemented by adding two diffractive optical elements to modify the illumination and detection optics. We demonstrate that the image quality of this technique is comparable to conventional light sheet fluorescent microscopy with the advantage of the simultaneous imaging of multiple axial planes and reduced number of scans required to image the whole sample volume.

Determination Hypocentre and Focal Mechanism Earthquake of Oct 31, 2016 in Bone, South Sulawesi

Science.gov (United States)

Altin Massinai, Muhammad; Fawzy Ismullah M, Muhammad

2018-03-01

Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded an earthquake with M4.6 on at October 31, 2016 at Bone District, around 80 Km northeast form Makassar, South Sulawesi. The earthquake occurred 18:18:14 local time in 4.7°S, 120°E with depth 10 Km. Seismicity around location predicted caused by activity Walennae fault. We reprocessed earthquake data to determine precise hypocentre location and focal mechanism. The P- and S-wave arrival time got from BMKG used as input HYPOELLIPSE code to determine hypocentre. The results showed that the earthquake occurred 10:18:14.46 UTC in 4.638°S, 119.966°E with depth 24.76 Km. The hypocentre resolved 10 Km fix depth and had lower travel time residual than BMKG result. Focal mechanism determination used Azmtak code based on the first arrival polarity at earthquake waveform manually picked. The result showed a reverse mechanism with strike direction 38°, dip 44°, rake angle 134° on fault plane I and strike direction 164°, dip 60°, rake angle 56° on fault plane II. So, the earthquake which may be related to a reverse East Walennae Fault.

Inter-plane artifact suppression in tomosynthesis using 3D CT image data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim Jae G

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite its superb lateral resolution, flat-panel-detector (FPD based tomosynthesis suffers from low contrast and inter-plane artifacts caused by incomplete cancellation of the projection components stemming from outside the focal plane. The incomplete cancellation of the projection components, mostly due to the limited scan angle in the conventional tomosynthesis scan geometry, often makes the image contrast too low to differentiate the malignant tissues from the background tissues with confidence. Methods In this paper, we propose a new method to suppress the inter-plane artifacts in FPD-based tomosynthesis. If 3D whole volume CT images are available before the tomosynthesis scan, the CT image data can be incorporated into the tomosynthesis image reconstruction to suppress the inter-plane artifacts, hence, improving the image contrast. In the proposed technique, the projection components stemming from outside the region-of-interest (ROI are subtracted from the measured tomosynthesis projection data to suppress the inter-plane artifacts. The projection components stemming from outside the ROI are calculated from the 3D whole volume CT images which usually have lower lateral resolution than the tomosynthesis images. The tomosynthesis images are reconstructed from the subtracted projection data which account for the x-ray attenuation through the ROI. After verifying the proposed method by simulation, we have performed both CT scan and tomosynthesis scan on a phantom and a sacrificed rat using a FPD-based micro-CT. Results We have measured contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR from the tomosynthesis images which is an indicator of the residual inter-plane artifacts on the focal-plane image. In both cases of the simulation and experimental imaging studies of the contrast evaluating phantom, CNRs have been significantly improved by the proposed method. In the rat imaging also, we have observed better visual contrast from the tomosynthesis

Inter-plane artifact suppression in tomosynthesis using 3D CT image data

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background Despite its superb lateral resolution, flat-panel-detector (FPD) based tomosynthesis suffers from low contrast and inter-plane artifacts caused by incomplete cancellation of the projection components stemming from outside the focal plane. The incomplete cancellation of the projection components, mostly due to the limited scan angle in the conventional tomosynthesis scan geometry, often makes the image contrast too low to differentiate the malignant tissues from the background tissues with confidence. Methods In this paper, we propose a new method to suppress the inter-plane artifacts in FPD-based tomosynthesis. If 3D whole volume CT images are available before the tomosynthesis scan, the CT image data can be incorporated into the tomosynthesis image reconstruction to suppress the inter-plane artifacts, hence, improving the image contrast. In the proposed technique, the projection components stemming from outside the region-of-interest (ROI) are subtracted from the measured tomosynthesis projection data to suppress the inter-plane artifacts. The projection components stemming from outside the ROI are calculated from the 3D whole volume CT images which usually have lower lateral resolution than the tomosynthesis images. The tomosynthesis images are reconstructed from the subtracted projection data which account for the x-ray attenuation through the ROI. After verifying the proposed method by simulation, we have performed both CT scan and tomosynthesis scan on a phantom and a sacrificed rat using a FPD-based micro-CT. Results We have measured contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) from the tomosynthesis images which is an indicator of the residual inter-plane artifacts on the focal-plane image. In both cases of the simulation and experimental imaging studies of the contrast evaluating phantom, CNRs have been significantly improved by the proposed method. In the rat imaging also, we have observed better visual contrast from the tomosynthesis images reconstructed by

Effect of small in-plane anisotropy in the large-D phase systems based on Ni{sup 2+} (S=1) ions in Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rudowicz, Czesław, E-mail: crudowicz@zut.edu.pl

2014-03-01

Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chains based on Ni{sup 2+} ions with integer spin S=1 exhibit intriguing behavior, e.g. the Haldane gap phase and the large-D phase. The predicted transitions between the two phases and the Neel phase has generated search for real candidate systems. Crucial to this search is the interplay between the ‘in-plane anisotropy’, i.e. the rhombic zero-field splitting (ZFS) E-term, and the ‘planar anisotropy’, i.e. the axial ZFS D-term. This paper clarifies intricate properties of orthorhombic ZFS Hamiltonians (H{sub ZFS}) and inconsistencies revealed by critical survey of pertinent studies. Reporting the non-standard (D, E) sets with λ=E/D out of the standard range (0, 1/3) alongside the standard sets with λ∝(0, 1/3) indicates that these properties are not recognized. We show that direct comparisons of the non-standard and standard sets are meaningless and lead to incorrect conclusions on the strength of the ‘in-plane anisotropy’ (E) as compared with the ‘planar anisotropy’ (D). To remedy such problems, the ZFSP sets reported for the large-D phase candidate systems are reanalyzed using orthorhombic standardization. The six physically equivalent ZFSP sets are determined in the conventional (D, E) and Stevens (b{sub 2}{sup 0}, b{sub 2}{sup 2}) notation. These considerations help understanding intricacies inherent in orthorhombic H{sub ZFS} and provide consistent data for future modeling of ZFS parameters in the large-D phase and Haldane gap systems.

Trajectories of electrons with large longitudinal momenta in the phase plane during surfatron acceleration by an electromagnetic wave

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mkrtichyan, G. S., E-mail: hay-13@mail.ru [Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (Russian Federation)

2015-07-15

The trajectories of electrons with large longitudinal momenta in the phase plane in the course of their surfatron acceleration by an electromagnetic wave propagating in space plasma across the external magnetic field are analyzed. Electrons with large longitudinal momenta are trapped immediately if the initial wave phase Ψ(0) on the particle trajectory is positive. For negative values of Ψ(0), no electrons trapping by the wave is observed over the available computational times. According to numerical calculations, the trajectories of trapped particles in the phase plane have a singular point of the stable focus type and the behavior of the trajectory corresponds to the motion in a complex nonstationary effective potential well. For some initial phases, electrons are confined in the region of the accelerating electric field for relatively short time, the energy gain being about 50–130% and more.

Status of backthinned AlGaN based focal plane arrays for deep-UV imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Reverchon, J.-L.; Lehoucq, G.; Truffer, J.-P.; Costard, E.; Frayssinet, E.; Semond, F.; Duboz, J.-Y.; Giuliani, A.; Réfrégiers, M.; Idir, M.

2017-11-01

The achievement of deep ultraviolet (UV) focal plane arrays (FPA) is required for both solar physics [1] and micro electronics industry. The success of solar mission (SOHO, STEREO [2], SDO [3]…), has shown the accuracy of imaging at wavelengths from 10 nm to 140 nm to reveal effects occurring in the sun corona. Deep UV steppers at 13 nm are another demanding imaging technology for the microelectronic industry in terms of uniformity and stability. A third application concerns beam shaping of Synchrotron lines [4]. Consequently, such wavelengths are of prime importance whereas the vacuum UV wavelengths are very difficult to detect due to the dramatic interaction of light with materials. The fast development of nitrides has given the opportunity to investigate AlGaN as a material for UV detection. Camera based on AlGaN present an intrinsic spectral selectivity and an extremely low dark current at room temperature. We have previously presented several FPA dedicated to deep UV based on 320 x 256 pixels of Schottky photodiodes with a pitch of 30 μm [4, 5]. AlGaN is grown on a silicon substrate instead of sapphire substrate only transparent down to 200 nm. After a flip-chip hybridization, silicon substrate and AlGaN basal layer was removed by dry etching. Then, the spectral responsivity of the FPA presented a quantum efficiency (QE) from 5% to 20% from 50 nm to 290 nm when removing the highly doped contact layer via a selective wet etching. This FPA suffered from a low uniformity incompatible with imaging, and a long time response due to variations of conductivity in the honeycomb. We also observed a low rejection of visible. It is probably due to the same honeycomb conductivity enhancement for wavelength shorter than 360 nm, i.e., the band gap of GaN. We will show hereafter an improved uniformity due to the use of a precisely ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) controlled process. The final membrane thickness is limited to the desertion layer. Neither access resistance

Large displacement bi-directional out-of-plane Lorentz actuator array for surface manipulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Byoungyoul; Afsharipour, Elnaz; Chrusch, Dwayne; Shafai, Cyrus; Andersen, David; Burley, Greg

2017-01-01

This paper presents a large displacement out-of-plane Lorentz actuator array for surface manipulation. Actuators are formed from single crystal silicon flexible serpentine springs on either side of a rigid crossbar containing a narrow contact pillar. A rigid mounting rail system was employed to enable a 5  ×  5 array, which offers scalability of the array size. Analytical and finite element models were used to optimize actuator design. Individual actuators were tested to show linear deflection response of  ±150 µ m motion, using a  ±14.7 mA current in the presence of a 0.48 T magnetic field. This actuator array is suitable for various 2D surface modification applications due to its large deformation with low current and temperature of operation, and narrow contact area to a target surface. (paper)

Optical and x-ray alignment approaches for off-plane reflection gratings

Science.gov (United States)

Allured, Ryan; Donovan, Benjamin D.; DeRoo, Casey T.; Marlowe, Hannah R.; McEntaffer, Randall L.; Tutt, James H.; Cheimets, Peter N.; Hertz, Edward; Smith, Randall K.; Burwitz, Vadim; Hartner, Gisela; Menz, Benedikt

2015-09-01

Off-plane reflection gratings offer the potential for high-resolution, high-throughput X-ray spectroscopy on future missions. Typically, the gratings are placed in the path of a converging beam from an X-ray telescope. In the off-plane reflection grating case, these gratings must be co-aligned such that their diffracted spectra overlap at the focal plane. Misalignments degrade spectral resolution and effective area. In-situ X-ray alignment of a pair of off-plane reflection gratings in the path of a silicon pore optics module has been performed at the MPE PANTER beamline in Germany. However, in-situ X-ray alignment may not be feasible when assembling all of the gratings required for a satellite mission. In that event, optical methods must be developed to achieve spectral alignment. We have developed an alignment approach utilizing a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor and diffraction of an ultraviolet laser. We are fabricating the necessary hardware, and will be taking a prototype grating module to an X-ray beamline for performance testing following assembly and alignment.

Focal retinal phlebitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoang, Quan V; Freund, K Bailey; Klancnik, James M; Sorenson, John A; Cunningham, Emmett T; Yannuzzi, Lawrence A

2012-01-01

To report three cases of solitary, focal retinal phlebitis. An observational case series. Three eyes in three patients were noted to have unilateral decreased vision, macular edema, and a focal retinal phlebitis, which was not at an arteriovenous crossing. All three patients developed a branch retinal vein occlusion at the site of inflammation. These patients had no other evidence of intraocular inflammation, including vitritis, retinitis, retinal vasculitis, or choroiditis, nor was there any systemic disorder associated with inflammation, infection, or coagulation identified. Focal retinal phlebitis appears to be an uncommon and unique entity that produces macular edema and ultimately branch retinal vein occlusion. In our patients, the focal phlebitis and venous occlusion did not occur at an arteriovenous crossing, which is the typical site for branch retinal venous occlusive disease. This suggests that our cases represent a distinct clinical entity, which starts with a focal abnormality in the wall of a retinal venule, resulting in surrounding exudation and, ultimately, ends with branch retinal vein occlusion.

Focal myositis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galloway, H.R.; Dahlstrom, J.E.; Bennett, G.M.

2001-01-01

Focal myositis is a rare, benign focal inflammation of muscle. The lesion often presents as a mass that may be mistaken for a soft tissue sarcoma. This report describes the MRI and histopathological features of a case and illustrates how the diagnosis may be suspected on the basis of the MR findings. Copyright (2001) Blackwell Science Pty Ltd

Investigation of fitting capability of active mirror for controlling ICF's focal profile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeng Zhige; Ling Ning; Jiang Wenhan

1998-01-01

Laser beam's profile at focal plane can be controlled using active mirror in ICF system because the beam's profile has strong relationship with the surface of active mirror, the surface of active mirror can be changed at any time and maintained for a long time. The capabilities of fitting given wave-front (computed by Geometric Transformation Method) at conditions of different actuator numbers and different arrangement have been investigated by computer simulation. The computing results present that the needed laser profile can obtained by adaptive optical technology

Butterfly Wings Are Three-Dimensional: Pupal Cuticle Focal Spots and Their Associated Structures in Junonia Butterflies.

Science.gov (United States)

Taira, Wataru; Otaki, Joji M

2016-01-01

Butterfly wing color patterns often contain eyespots, which are developmentally determined at the late larval and early pupal stages by organizing activities of focal cells that can later form eyespot foci. In the pupal stage, the focal position of a future eyespot is often marked by a focal spot, one of the pupal cuticle spots, on the pupal surface. Here, we examined the possible relationships of the pupal focal spots with the underneath pupal wing tissues and with the adult wing eyespots using Junonia butterflies. Large pupal focal spots were found in two species with large adult eyespots, J. orithya and J. almana, whereas only small pupal focal spots were found in a species with small adult eyespots, J. hedonia. The size of five pupal focal spots on a single wing was correlated with the size of the corresponding adult eyespots in J. orithya. A pupal focal spot was a three-dimensional bulge of cuticle surface, and the underside of the major pupal focal spot exhibited a hollowed cuticle in a pupal case. Cross sections of a pupal wing revealed that the cuticle layer shows a curvature at a focal spot, and a positional correlation was observed between the cuticle layer thickness and its corresponding cell layer thickness. Adult major eyespots of J. orithya and J. almana exhibited surface elevations and depressions that approximately correspond to the coloration within an eyespot. Our results suggest that a pupal focal spot is produced by the organizing activity of focal cells underneath the focal spot. Probably because the focal cell layer immediately underneath a focal spot is thicker than that of its surrounding areas, eyespots of adult butterfly wings are three-dimensionally constructed. The color-height relationship in adult eyespots might have an implication in the developmental signaling for determining the eyespot color patterns.

Butterfly Wings Are Three-Dimensional: Pupal Cuticle Focal Spots and Their Associated Structures in Junonia Butterflies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wataru Taira

Full Text Available Butterfly wing color patterns often contain eyespots, which are developmentally determined at the late larval and early pupal stages by organizing activities of focal cells that can later form eyespot foci. In the pupal stage, the focal position of a future eyespot is often marked by a focal spot, one of the pupal cuticle spots, on the pupal surface. Here, we examined the possible relationships of the pupal focal spots with the underneath pupal wing tissues and with the adult wing eyespots using Junonia butterflies. Large pupal focal spots were found in two species with large adult eyespots, J. orithya and J. almana, whereas only small pupal focal spots were found in a species with small adult eyespots, J. hedonia. The size of five pupal focal spots on a single wing was correlated with the size of the corresponding adult eyespots in J. orithya. A pupal focal spot was a three-dimensional bulge of cuticle surface, and the underside of the major pupal focal spot exhibited a hollowed cuticle in a pupal case. Cross sections of a pupal wing revealed that the cuticle layer shows a curvature at a focal spot, and a positional correlation was observed between the cuticle layer thickness and its corresponding cell layer thickness. Adult major eyespots of J. orithya and J. almana exhibited surface elevations and depressions that approximately correspond to the coloration within an eyespot. Our results suggest that a pupal focal spot is produced by the organizing activity of focal cells underneath the focal spot. Probably because the focal cell layer immediately underneath a focal spot is thicker than that of its surrounding areas, eyespots of adult butterfly wings are three-dimensionally constructed. The color-height relationship in adult eyespots might have an implication in the developmental signaling for determining the eyespot color patterns.

X-ray verification of an optically-aligned off-plane grating module

Science.gov (United States)

Donovan, Benjamin; McEntaffer, Randall; Tutt, James; DeRoo, Casey; Allured, Ryan; Gaskin, Jessica; Kolodziejczak, Jeffery

2017-08-01

The next generation of X-ray spectrometer missions are baselined to have order-of-magnitude improvements in both spectral resolving power and effective area when compared to existing X-ray spectrometer missions. Off-plane X-ray reflection gratings are capable of achieving high resolution and high diffraction efficiencies over the entire X-ray bandpass, making them an ideal technology to implement on these future missions. To achieve the high effective area desired while maintaining high spectral resolution, many off-plane gratings must be precisely aligned such that their diffraction arcs overlap at the focal plane. Methods are under development to align a number of these gratings into a grating module using optical metrology techniques in support of the Off-plane Grating Rocket Experiment (OGRE), a suborbital rocket payload scheduled to launch in late 2018. X-ray testing was performed on an aligned grating module at the Straylight Test Facility (SLTF) at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to assess the current alignment methodology and its ability to meet the desired performance of OGRE. We report on the results from the test campaign at MSFC, as well as plans for future development.

Noninvasive treatment of focal adenomyosis with MR-guided focused ultrasound in two patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polina, Laveena; Nyapathy, Vinay; Mishra, Anindita; Yellamanthili, Himabindu; Vallabhaneni, Mythri P

2012-01-01

Adenomyosis is a common benign gynecological disorder presenting with dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, and pressure symptoms. Magnetic resonance imaging–guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) utilizes precisely focused USG waves to generate and maintain high temperatures within the targeted tissue to achieve protein denaturation and coagulative necrosis. The heat generated is monitored using MRI images acquired in real-time in three planes. We present two cases of focal adenomyosis treated with MRgFUS showing good symptomatic relief at 3 and 6 months follow-up

Conical refraction and formation of multiring focal image with Laguerre-Gauss light beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Peet, Viktor

2011-08-01

For a light beam focused through a biaxial crystal along one of its optical axes, the effect of internal conical refraction in the crystal leads to the formation in the focal image plane of two bright rings separated by a dark ring. It is shown that, with circularly polarized Laguerre-Gauss LG(0)(ℓ) beams entering the crystal, this classical double-ring pattern is transformed into a multiring one consisting of ℓ+2 bright rings. © 2011 Optical Society of America

“Focal thyroid inferno” on color Doppler ultrasonography: A specific feature of focal Hashimoto's thyroiditis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu, Xianshui; Guo, Limei; Zhang, Huabin; Ran, Weiqiang; Fu, Peng; Li, Zhiqiang; Chen, Wen; Jiang, Ling; Wang, Jinrui; Jia, Jianwen

2012-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate color-Doppler features predictive of focal Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Materials and methods: A total of 521 patients with 561 thyroid nodules that underwent surgeries or gun biopsies were included in this study. These nodules were divided into three groups: focal Hashimoto's thyroiditis (104 nodules in 101 patients), benignity other than focal Hashimoto's thyroiditis (73 nodules in 70 patients), and malignancy (358 nodules in 350 patients). On color Doppler sonography, four vascularity types were determined as: hypovascularity, marked internal flow, marked peripheral flow and focal thyroid inferno. The χ 2 test was performed to seek the potential vascularity type with the predictive ability of certain thyroid pathology. Furthermore, the gray-scale features of each nodule were also studied. Results: The vascularity type I (hypovascularity) was more often seen in focal Hashimoto's thyroiditis than other benignity and malignancy (46% vs. 20.5% and 19%). While the type II (marked internal flow) showed the opposite tendency (26.9% [focal Hashimoto's thyroiditis] vs. 45.2% [other benignity] and 52.8% [malignancy]). However, type III (marked peripheral flow) was unable to predict any thyroid pathology. Importantly, type IV (focal thyroid inferno) was exclusive to focal Hashimoto's thyroiditis. All 8 type IV nodules appeared to be solid, hypoechoic, and well-defined. Using “focal thyroid inferno” as an indicator of FHT, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 7.7% and 100% respectively. Conclusions: The vascularity type of “focal thyroid inferno” is specific for focal Hashimoto thyroiditis. Recognition of this particular feature may avoid unnecessary interventional procedures for some solid hypoechoic thyroid nodules suspicious of malignancy.

Large-area imaging micro-well detectors for high-energy astrophysics

CERN Document Server

Deines-Jones, P; Hunter, S D; Jahoda, K; Owens, S M

2002-01-01

Micro-well detectors are pixelized imaging sensors that can be inexpensively fabricated in very large arrays. Owing to their intrinsic gain and operation at room temperature, they can be instrumented at very low power, per unit area, making them valuable for a variety of space-flight applications where wide-angle X-ray imaging or large-area particle tracking is required. For example, micro-well detectors have been chosen as the focal plane imager for Lobster-ISS, a proposed soft X-ray all-sky monitor. We have fabricated detectors which image X-rays with 200 mu m FWHM resolution at 3 keV. In agreement with other groups using similar geometries, we find nominal proportional counter energy resolution (20% at 6 keV in P-10), and stable operation at gas gains up to 30,000.

Initial condition effects on large scale structure in numerical simulations of plane mixing layers

Science.gov (United States)

McMullan, W. A.; Garrett, S. J.

2016-01-01

In this paper, Large Eddy Simulations are performed on the spatially developing plane turbulent mixing layer. The simulated mixing layers originate from initially laminar conditions. The focus of this research is on the effect of the nature of the imposed fluctuations on the large-scale spanwise and streamwise structures in the flow. Two simulations are performed; one with low-level three-dimensional inflow fluctuations obtained from pseudo-random numbers, the other with physically correlated fluctuations of the same magnitude obtained from an inflow generation technique. Where white-noise fluctuations provide the inflow disturbances, no spatially stationary streamwise vortex structure is observed, and the large-scale spanwise turbulent vortical structures grow continuously and linearly. These structures are observed to have a three-dimensional internal geometry with branches and dislocations. Where physically correlated provide the inflow disturbances a "streaky" streamwise structure that is spatially stationary is observed, with the large-scale turbulent vortical structures growing with the square-root of time. These large-scale structures are quasi-two-dimensional, on top of which the secondary structure rides. The simulation results are discussed in the context of the varying interpretations of mixing layer growth that have been postulated. Recommendations are made concerning the data required from experiments in order to produce accurate numerical simulation recreations of real flows.

Large third-order nonlinearity of nonpolar A-plane GaN film at 800 nm determined by Z-scan technology

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Feng; Han, Xiangyun

2014-09-01

We report an investigation on the optical third-order nonlinear property of the nonpolar A-plane GaN film. The film sample with a thickness of ~2 μm was grown on an r-plane sapphire substrate by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition system. By performing the Z-scan method combined with a mode-locked femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser (800 nm, 50 fs), the optical nonlinearity of the nonpolar A-plane GaN film was measured with the electric vector E of the laser beam being polarized parallel (//) and perpendicular (⊥) to the c axis of the film. The results show that both the third-order nonlinear absorption coefficient β and the nonlinear refractive index n2 of the sample film possess negative and large values, i.e. β// = -135 ± 29 cm/GW, n2// = -(4.0 ± 0.3) × 10-3 cm2/GW and β⊥ = -234 ± 29 cm/GW, n2⊥ = -(4.9 ± 0.4) × 10-3 cm2/GW, which are much larger than those of conventional C-plane GaN film, GaN bulk, and even the other oxide semiconductors.

RMT focal plane sensitivity to seismic network geometry and faulting style

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Kendra L.; Hayes, Gavin; Herrmann, Robert B.; Benz, Harley M.; McNamara, Daniel E.; Bergman, Eric A.

2016-01-01

Modern tectonic studies often use regional moment tensors (RMTs) to interpret the seismotectonic framework of an earthquake or earthquake sequence; however, despite extensive use, little existing work addresses RMT parameter uncertainty. Here, we quantify how network geometry and faulting style affect RMT sensitivity. We examine how data-model fits change with fault plane geometry (strike and dip) for varying station configurations. We calculate the relative data fit for incrementally varying geometries about a best-fitting solution, applying our workflow to real and synthetic seismograms for both real and hypothetical station distributions and earthquakes. Initially, we conduct purely observational tests, computing RMTs from synthetic seismograms for hypothetical earthquakes and a series of well-behaved network geometries. We then incorporate real data and station distributions from the International Maule Aftershock Deployment (IMAD), which recorded aftershocks of the 2010 MW 8.8 Maule earthquake, and a set of regional stations capturing the ongoing earthquake sequence in Oklahoma and southern Kansas. We consider RMTs computed under three scenarios: (1) real seismic records selected for high data quality; (2) synthetic seismic records with noise computed for the observed source-station pairings and (3) synthetic seismic records with noise computed for all possible station-source pairings. To assess RMT sensitivity for each test, we observe the ‘fit falloff’, which portrays how relative fit changes when strike or dip varies incrementally; we then derive the ranges of acceptable strikes and dips by identifying the span of solutions with relative fits larger than 90 per cent of the best fit. For the azimuthally incomplete IMAD network, Scenario 3 best constrains fault geometry, with average ranges of 45° and 31° for strike and dip, respectively. In Oklahoma, Scenario 3 best constrains fault dip with an average range of 46°; however, strike is best constrained

Incorporating the Uncertainties of Nodal-Plane Orientation in the Seismo-Lineament Analysis Method (SLAM)

Science.gov (United States)

Cronin, V.; Sverdrup, K. A.

2013-05-01

The process of delineating a seismo-lineament has evolved since the first description of the Seismo-Lineament Analysis Method (SLAM) by Cronin et al. (2008, Env & Eng Geol 14(3) 199-219). SLAM is a reconnaissance tool to find the trace of the fault that produced an shallow-focus earthquake by projecting the corresponding nodal planes (NP) upward to their intersections with the ground surface, as represented by a DEM or topographic map. A seismo-lineament is formed by the intersection of the uncertainty volume associated with a given NP and the ground surface. The ground-surface trace of the fault that produced the earthquake is likely to be within one of the two seismo-lineaments associated with the two NPs derived from the earthquake's focal mechanism solution. When no uncertainty estimate has been reported for the NP orientation, the uncertainty volume associated with a given NP is bounded by parallel planes that are [1] tangent to the ellipsoidal uncertainty volume around the focus and [2] parallel to the NP. If the ground surface is planar, the resulting seismo-lineament is bounded by parallel lines. When an uncertainty is reported for the NP orientation, the seismo-lineament resembles a bow tie, with the epicenter located adjacent to or within the "knot." Some published lists of focal mechanisms include only one NP with associated uncertainties. The NP orientation uncertainties in strike azimuth (+/- gamma), dip angle (+/- epsilon) and rake that are output from an FPFIT analysis (Reasenberg and Oppenheimer, 1985, USGS OFR 85-739) are taken to be the same for both NPs (Oppenheimer, 2013, pers com). The boundaries of the NP uncertainty volume are each comprised by planes that are tangent to the focal uncertainty ellipsoid. One boundary, whose nearest horizontal distance from the epicenter is greater than or equal to that of the other boundary, is formed by the set of all planes with strike azimuths equal to the reported NP strike azimuth +/- gamma, and dip angle

A targeted resequencing gene panel for focal epilepsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hildebrand, Michael S; Myers, Candace T; Carvill, Gemma L; Regan, Brigid M; Damiano, John A; Mullen, Saul A; Newton, Mark R; Nair, Umesh; Gazina, Elena V; Milligan, Carol J; Reid, Christopher A; Petrou, Steven; Scheffer, Ingrid E; Berkovic, Samuel F; Mefford, Heather C

2016-04-26

We report development of a targeted resequencing gene panel for focal epilepsy, the most prevalent phenotypic group of the epilepsies. The targeted resequencing gene panel was designed using molecular inversion probe (MIP) capture technology and sequenced using massively parallel Illumina sequencing. We demonstrated proof of principle that mutations can be detected in 4 previously genotyped focal epilepsy cases. We searched for both germline and somatic mutations in 251 patients with unsolved sporadic or familial focal epilepsy and identified 11 novel or very rare missense variants in 5 different genes: CHRNA4, GRIN2B, KCNT1, PCDH19, and SCN1A. Of these, 2 were predicted to be pathogenic or likely pathogenic, explaining ∼0.8% of the cohort, and 8 were of uncertain significance based on available data. We have developed and validated a targeted resequencing panel for focal epilepsies, the most important clinical class of epilepsies, accounting for about 60% of all cases. Our application of MIP technology is an innovative approach that will be advantageous in the clinical setting because it is highly sensitive, efficient, and cost-effective for screening large patient cohorts. Our findings indicate that mutations in known genes likely explain only a small proportion of focal epilepsy cases. This is not surprising given the established clinical and genetic heterogeneity of these disorders and underscores the importance of further gene discovery studies in this complex syndrome. © 2016 American Academy of Neurology.

A simulation study on the focal plane detector of the LAUE project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalil, M.; Frontera, F.; Caroli, E.; Virgilli, E.; Valsan, V.

2015-01-01

The LAUE project, supported by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), is devoted to the development of a long focal length (even 20 m or longer) Laue lens for gamma ray astronomy between 80 and 600 keV. These lenses take advantage of Bragg diffraction to focus radiation onto a small spot drastically improving the signal to noise ratio as well as reducing the required size of the detector significantly. In this paper we present a Monte-Carlo simulation study with MEGALIB to optimize, for space applications, the detector size to achieve high detection efficiency, and to optimize the position resolution of the detector to reconstruct the Point Spread Function of the lens considered for the LAUE project. Then we will show simulations, using the SILVACO semiconductor simulation toolkit, on the optimized detector to estimate its capacitance per channel and depletion voltage. In all of the simulations, two materials were compared; a low density material (Silicon) and a high density material (Germanium). - Highlights: • The quantized Hall plateaus and Shubnikov de Haas oscillations in transition metal doped topological insulators are observed. • The evidence of a two-dimensional/layered transport of the bulk electrons is reported. • An obvious ferromagnetism in doped topological insulators is observed. • Care should be taken to pindown the transport of the topological SS in topological insulators

A simulation study on the focal plane detector of the LAUE project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khalil, M., E-mail: mkhalil@in2p3.fr [APC Laboratory, 10 rue Alice Domon et Léonie Duquet, 75205 Paris Cedex 13 (France); Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat, 1, 44100 Ferrara (Italy); Frontera, F. [Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat, 1, 44100 Ferrara (Italy); INAF/IASF-Bologna, Via P. Gobetti 101, Bologna (Italy); Caroli, E. [INAF/IASF-Bologna, Via P. Gobetti 101, Bologna (Italy); Virgilli, E.; Valsan, V. [Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat, 1, 44100 Ferrara (Italy)

2015-06-21

The LAUE project, supported by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), is devoted to the development of a long focal length (even 20 m or longer) Laue lens for gamma ray astronomy between 80 and 600 keV. These lenses take advantage of Bragg diffraction to focus radiation onto a small spot drastically improving the signal to noise ratio as well as reducing the required size of the detector significantly. In this paper we present a Monte-Carlo simulation study with MEGALIB to optimize, for space applications, the detector size to achieve high detection efficiency, and to optimize the position resolution of the detector to reconstruct the Point Spread Function of the lens considered for the LAUE project. Then we will show simulations, using the SILVACO semiconductor simulation toolkit, on the optimized detector to estimate its capacitance per channel and depletion voltage. In all of the simulations, two materials were compared; a low density material (Silicon) and a high density material (Germanium). - Highlights: • The quantized Hall plateaus and Shubnikov de Haas oscillations in transition metal doped topological insulators are observed. • The evidence of a two-dimensional/layered transport of the bulk electrons is reported. • An obvious ferromagnetism in doped topological insulators is observed. • Care should be taken to pindown the transport of the topological SS in topological insulators.

Creating large out-of-plane displacement electrothermal motion stage by incorporating beams with step features

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yong-Sik; Dagalakis, Nicholas G; Gupta, Satyandra K

2013-01-01

Realizing out-of-plane actuation in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) is still a challenging task. In this paper, the design, fabrication methods and experimental results for a MEMS-based out-of-plane motion stage are presented based on bulk micromachining technologies. This stage is electrothermally actuated for out-of-plane motion by incorporating beams with step features. The fabricated motion stage has demonstrated displacements of 85 µm with 0.4 µm (mA) −1 rates and generated up to 11.8 mN forces with stiffness of 138.8 N m −1 . These properties obtained from the presented stage are comparable to those for in-plane motion stages, therefore making this out-of-plane stage useful when used in combination with in-plane motion stages. (paper)

Characterization of a large-format, fine-pitch CdZnTe pixel detector for the HEFT balloon-Borne experiment

OpenAIRE

Chen, C. M. Hubert; Cook, Walter R.; Harrison, Fiona A.; Lin, Jiao Y. Y.

2004-01-01

We have developed a large-format CdZnTe pixel detector with custom, low-noise ASIC readout, for astrophysical applications. In particular, this detector is targeted for use in the High-Energy Focusing Telescope (HEFT), a balloon-borne experiment with focusing optics for 20-70 keV. The detector is a 24 X 44 pixel array of 498-µm pitch. As a focal plane detector, uniformity from pixel to pixel is very desirable. In this paper, we present the characterization of some detector properties for the ...

Methods and Devices for Space Optical Communications Using Laser Beams

Science.gov (United States)

Goorjian, Peter M. (Inventor)

2018-01-01

Light is used to communicate between objects separated by a large distance. Light beams are received in a telescopic lens assembly positioned in front of a cat's-eye lens. The light can thereby be received at various angles to be output by the cat's-eye lens to a focal plane of the cat's-eye lens, the position of the light beams upon the focal plane corresponding to the angle of the beam received. Lasers and photodetectors are distributed along this focal plane. A processor receives signals from the photodetectors, and selectively signal lasers positioned proximate the photodetectors detecting light, in order to transmit light encoding data through the cat's-eye lens and also through a telescopic lens back in the direction of the received light beams, which direction corresponds to a location upon the focal plane of the transmitting lasers.

Seismicity and seismogenic structures of Central Apennines (Italy): constraints on the present-day stress field from focal mechanisms - The SLAM (Seismicity of Lazio-Abruzzo and Molise) project

Science.gov (United States)

Frepoli, Alberto; Battista Cimini, Giovanni; De Gori, Pasquale; De Luca, Gaetano; Marchetti, Alessandro; Montuori, Caterina; Pagliuca, Nicola

2016-04-01

We present new results for the microseismic activity in the Central Apennines recorded from a total of 81seismic stations. The large number of recording sites derives from the combination of temporary and permanent seismic networks operating in the study region. Between January 2009 and October 2013 we recorded 6923 earthquakes with local magnitudes ML ranging from 0.1 to 4.8. We located hypocentres by using a refined 1D crustal velocity model. The majority of the hypocenters are located beneath the axes of the Apenninic chain, while the seismic activity observed along the peri-Tyrrhenian margin is lower. The seismicity extends to a depth of 32 km; the hypocentral depth distribution exhibits a pronounced peak of seismic energy release in the depth range between 8 and 20 km. During the observation period we recorded two major seismic swarms and one seismic sequence in the Marsica-Sorano area in which we have had the largest detected magnitude (ML = 4.8). Fault plane solutions for a total of 600 earthquakes were derived from P-polarities. This new data set consists of a number of focal plane solutions that is about four times the data so far available for regional stress field study. The majority of the focal mechanisms show predominantly normal fault solutions. T-axis trends are oriented NE-SW confirming that the area is in extension. We also derived the azimuths of the principal stress axes by inverting the fault plane solutions and calculated the direction of the maximum horizontal stress, which is mainly sub-vertical oriented. The study region has been historically affected by many strong earthquakes, some of them very destructive. This work can give an important contribution to the seismic hazard assessment in an area densely populated as the city of Rome which is distant around 60 km from the main seismogenic structures of Central Apennine.

Inferences about the local stress field from focal mechanisms: Applications to earthquakes in the southern Great Basin of Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harmsen, S.C.; Rogers, A.M.

1986-01-01

Focal mechanisms determined from regional-network earthquake data or aftershock field investigation often contain members ranging from strike slip to normal slip in extensional tectonic environments or from strike slip to thrust slip in compressional environments. Although the coexistence of normal and strike-slip faulting has suggested to some investigators that the maximum and intermediate principal stresses are of approximately equal magnitude, several have asserted that the directions of principle stresses can or must interchange to accommodate both types of mechanisms (Zoback and Zoback 1980b; Vetter and Ryall, 1983). A Coulomb-Navier criterion of slip is invoked to demonstrate that both types of mechanisms, as well as oblique members having preferred nodal-plane dips intermediate between those of the strike-slip and normal mechanisms, may be observed in a region where the stress field, resolved into principal components, is axially symmetric. The proximate coexistence of earthquakes having diverse focal mechanisms could be interpreted as evidence for an approximately axially symmetric stress field in a region where optimally oriented planes of weakness are known to exist in the host rock. 10 refs., 6 figs

ICC Type II large-format FPA detector assemblies

Science.gov (United States)

Clynne, Thomas H.; Powers, Thomas P.

1997-08-01

ICC presents a new addition to their integrated detector assembly product line with the announcement of their type II large format staring class FPA units. A result of internally funded research and development, the ICC type II detector assembly can accommodate all existing large format staring class PtSi, InSb and MCT focal planes, up to 640 by 480. Proprietary methodologies completely eliminate all FPA stresses to allow for maximum FPA survivability. Standard optical and cryocooler interfaces allow for the use of BEI, AEG, TI SADA Hughes/Magnavox and Joule Thompson coolers. This unit has been qualified to the current SADA II thermal environmental specifications and was tailored around ICC's worldwide industry standard type IV product. Assembled in a real world flexible manufacturing environment, this unit features a wide degree of adaptability and can be easily modified to a user's specifications via standard options and add-ons that include optical interfaces, electrical interfaces and window/filter material selections.

Retrospective evaluation of focal hypermetabolic thyroid nodules incidentally identified by 18F-FDG PET/CT in a large population

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guan Zhiwei; Xu Baixuan; Chen Yingmao; Zhang Jinming; Tian Jiahe

2012-01-01

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of focal hypermetabolic thyroid nodules incidentally detected by 18 F-FDG PET/CT in a relatively large population and explore its value in differentiating malignancy from benign thyroid nodules. Methods: During August 2007 to March 2010, 8463 patients with no history of thyroid cancer or thyroidectomy underwent 18 F-FDG PET/CT. Among them, 145 patients were found to have abnormal hypermetabolic thyroid nodules. Sixty-eight patients were conformed with histopathological or clinical follow-up, including 37 with malignancy and 31 with benign nodules (male 21, female 47, average age (53.66 ± 10.85)y). The SUV max , nodule size, single or multiple nodules, with or without calcification and patient's age were chosen as the parameters for predicting malignancy in hypermetabolic thyroid nodules. Univariate analysis was performed using t test, χ 2 test and Fisher exact test. Binary logistic regression was performed for multi-variate analysis. The AUCs of SUV max and logistic regression analysis were compared. Results: The incidence of focal hypermetabolic thyroid nodules was 1.71% (145/8463), with malignancy rate 54.41% (37/68). The SUV max of benign and malignant nodules were 5.13 ±4.02 and 7.61 ± 4.78, respectively (t=2.235, P=0.029). Logistic regression indicated that SUV max , with or without calcification, single or multiple nodules, nodule size and patient's age were all the predictors for malignancy in hypermetabolic thyroid nodules. The AUC of logistic regressive model (AUC L ) and SUV max (AUC S )were 0.878 ±0.043 (95% CI: 0.793-0.962, P<0.05) and 0.694 ±0.067 (95% CI: 0.562-0.825, P<0.05), respectively (P<0.05). Conclusions: Focal hypermetabolic thyroid nodules incidentally identified by 18 F-FDG PET/CT come with high rate of thyroid malignancy. Differential diagnosis could be improved significantly using SUV max and logistic regressive model aided by other parameters from 18 F-FDG PET/CT as well as patient

Mass Equivalent Pantographs for Synthesis of Balanced Focal Mechanisms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Wijk, V.; Lenarcic, Jadran; Merlet, Jean-Pierre

2016-01-01

Force balance is an important property in the design of high-speed high precision machinery to reduce base vibrations and also for the design of inherently safe large movable structures. This paper presents the synthesis of inherently balanced overconstrained focal mechanisms with mass equivalent

Classification of Focal and Non Focal Epileptic Seizures Using Multi-Features and SVM Classifier.

Science.gov (United States)

Sriraam, N; Raghu, S

2017-09-02

Identifying epileptogenic zones prior to surgery is an essential and crucial step in treating patients having pharmacoresistant focal epilepsy. Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a significant measurement benchmark to assess patients suffering from epilepsy. This paper investigates the application of multi-features derived from different domains to recognize the focal and non focal epileptic seizures obtained from pharmacoresistant focal epilepsy patients from Bern Barcelona database. From the dataset, five different classification tasks were formed. Total 26 features were extracted from focal and non focal EEG. Significant features were selected using Wilcoxon rank sum test by setting p-value (p z > 1.96) at 95% significance interval. Hypothesis was made that the effect of removing outliers improves the classification accuracy. Turkey's range test was adopted for pruning outliers from feature set. Finally, 21 features were classified using optimized support vector machine (SVM) classifier with 10-fold cross validation. Bayesian optimization technique was adopted to minimize the cross-validation loss. From the simulation results, it was inferred that the highest sensitivity, specificity, and classification accuracy of 94.56%, 89.74%, and 92.15% achieved respectively and found to be better than the state-of-the-art approaches. Further, it was observed that the classification accuracy improved from 80.2% with outliers to 92.15% without outliers. The classifier performance metrics ensures the suitability of the proposed multi-features with optimized SVM classifier. It can be concluded that the proposed approach can be applied for recognition of focal EEG signals to localize epileptogenic zones.

Bistable out-of-plane stress-mismatched thermally actuated bilayer devices with large deflection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goessling, B A; Lucas, T M; Moiseeva, E V; Aebersold, J W; Harnett, C K

2011-01-01

In this paper, we explore microfabricated bistable actuators released as thin films from a silicon wafer. The actuators are based on a serpentine design where two cantilevers are coupled at the tips by a thin-film bar. These devices are parameterized by two lengths: cantilever length and the length of the coupling bar. These two dimensions are systematically varied to study the effect of design parameters on bistability. The three-dimensional devices have extremely large deflection (hundreds of microns rather than tens of microns for most planar microactuators of similar size) and are thermally actuated out of the plane of the wafer by applying a bias across either the left or right side of the serpentine. The bistability of these devices is evaluated using electron and optical microscopy. Potential applications include non-volatile mechanical memory, optical shutters, and reconfigurable antenna elements

The use of waveform shapes to automatically determine earthquake focal depth

Science.gov (United States)

Sipkin, S.A.

2000-01-01

Earthquake focal depth is an important parameter for rapidly determining probable damage caused by a large earthquake. In addition, it is significant both for discriminating between natural events and explosions and for discriminating between tsunamigenic and nontsunamigenic earthquakes. For the purpose of notifying emergency management and disaster relief organizations as well as issuing tsunami warnings, potential time delays in determining source parameters are particularly detrimental. We present a method for determining earthquake focal depth that is well suited for implementation in an automated system that utilizes the wealth of broadband teleseismic data that is now available in real time from the global seismograph networks. This method uses waveform shapes to determine focal depth and is demonstrated to be valid for events with magnitudes as low as approximately 5.5.

Random skew plane partitions with a piecewise periodic back wall

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boutillier, Cedric; Mkrtchyan, Sevak; Reshetikhin, Nicolai

Random skew plane partitions of large size distributed according to an appropriately scaled Schur process develop limit shapes. In the present work we consider the limit of large random skew plane partitions where the inner boundary approaches a piecewise linear curve with non-lattice slopes. Muc...

Gravitational Couplings for Gop-Planes and y-Op-Planes

OpenAIRE

Giraldo, Juan Fernando Ospina

2000-01-01

The Wess-Zumino actions for generalized orientifold planes (GOp-planes) and y-deformed orientifold planes (yOp-planes) are presented and two series power expantions are realized from whiches processes that involves GOp-planes,yOp-planes, RR-forms, gravitons and gaugeons, are obtained. Finally non-standard GOp-planes and y-Op-planes are showed.

Identification of microplastic in effluents of waste water treatment plants using focal plane array-based micro-Fourier-transform infrared imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Mintenig, S M; Int-Veen, I; Löder, M G J; Primpke, S; Gerdts, G

2017-01-01

The global presence of microplastic (MP) in aquatic ecosystems has been shown by various studies. However, neither MP concentrations nor their sources or sinks are completely known. Waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) are considered as significant point sources discharging MP to the environment. This study investigated MP in the effluents of 12 WWTPs in Lower Saxony, Germany. Samples were purified by a plastic-preserving enzymatic-oxidative procedure and subsequent density separation using a zinc chloride solution. For analysis, attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FT-IR) and focal plane array (FPA)-based transmission micro-FT-IR imaging were applied. This allowed the identification of polymers of all MP down to a size of 20 μm. In all effluents MP was found with quantities ranging from 0 to 5 × 10 1  m -3  MP > 500 μm and 1 × 10 1 to 9 × 10 3  m -3  MP < 500 μm. By far, polyethylene was the most frequent polymer type in both size classes. Quantities of synthetic fibres ranged from 9 × 10 1 to 1 × 10 3  m -3 and were predominantly made of polyester. Considering the annual effluxes of tested WWTPs, total discharges of 9 × 10 7 to 4 × 10 9  MP particles and fibres per WWTP could be expected. Interestingly, one tertiary WWTP had an additionally installed post-filtration that reduced the total MP discharge by 97%. Furthermore, the sewage sludge of six WWTPs was examined and the existence of MP, predominantly polyethylene, revealed. Our findings suggest that WWTPs could be a sink but also a source of MP and thus can be considered to play an important role for environmental MP pollution. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

'Focal thyroid inferno' on color Doppler ultrasonography: A specific feature of focal Hashimoto's thyroiditis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fu, Xianshui, E-mail: fuxs1968@163.com [Department of Ultrasound, Peking University Third Hospital, 49 Huayuanbeilu Road, Beijing 100191 (China); Guo, Limei, E-mail: guolimei@bjmu.edu.cn [Department of Pathology, Peking University Third Hospital, 49 Huayuanbeilu Road, Beijing 100191 (China); Zhang, Huabin, E-mail: huabinzhang@bjmu.edu.cn [Department of Ultrasound, Peking University Third Hospital, 49 Huayuanbeilu Road, Beijing 100191 (China); Ran, Weiqiang, E-mail: ranwq-sina@vip.sina.com [Department of Ultrasound, Peking University Third Hospital, 49 Huayuanbeilu Road, Beijing 100191 (China); Fu, Peng, E-mail: fupeng01@gmail.com [Department of Ultrasound, Peking University Third Hospital, 49 Huayuanbeilu Road, Beijing 100191 (China); Li, Zhiqiang, E-mail: lizhq126@126.com [Department of Ultrasound, Peking University Third Hospital, 49 Huayuanbeilu Road, Beijing 100191 (China); Chen, Wen, E-mail: wendy7989@sina.com [Department of Ultrasound, Peking University Third Hospital, 49 Huayuanbeilu Road, Beijing 100191 (China); Jiang, Ling, E-mail: papayaling@yahoo.com.cn [Department of Ultrasound, Peking University Third Hospital, 49 Huayuanbeilu Road, Beijing 100191 (China); Wang, Jinrui, E-mail: jinrui_wang@sina.com [Department of Ultrasound, Peking University Third Hospital, 49 Huayuanbeilu Road, Beijing 100191 (China); Jia, Jianwen, E-mail: drjia88@sohu.com [Department of Ultrasound, Peking University Third Hospital, 49 Huayuanbeilu Road, Beijing 100191 (China)

2012-11-15

Purpose: To evaluate color-Doppler features predictive of focal Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Materials and methods: A total of 521 patients with 561 thyroid nodules that underwent surgeries or gun biopsies were included in this study. These nodules were divided into three groups: focal Hashimoto's thyroiditis (104 nodules in 101 patients), benignity other than focal Hashimoto's thyroiditis (73 nodules in 70 patients), and malignancy (358 nodules in 350 patients). On color Doppler sonography, four vascularity types were determined as: hypovascularity, marked internal flow, marked peripheral flow and focal thyroid inferno. The {chi}{sup 2} test was performed to seek the potential vascularity type with the predictive ability of certain thyroid pathology. Furthermore, the gray-scale features of each nodule were also studied. Results: The vascularity type I (hypovascularity) was more often seen in focal Hashimoto's thyroiditis than other benignity and malignancy (46% vs. 20.5% and 19%). While the type II (marked internal flow) showed the opposite tendency (26.9% [focal Hashimoto's thyroiditis] vs. 45.2% [other benignity] and 52.8% [malignancy]). However, type III (marked peripheral flow) was unable to predict any thyroid pathology. Importantly, type IV (focal thyroid inferno) was exclusive to focal Hashimoto's thyroiditis. All 8 type IV nodules appeared to be solid, hypoechoic, and well-defined. Using 'focal thyroid inferno' as an indicator of FHT, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 7.7% and 100% respectively. Conclusions: The vascularity type of 'focal thyroid inferno' is specific for focal Hashimoto thyroiditis. Recognition of this particular feature may avoid unnecessary interventional procedures for some solid hypoechoic thyroid nodules suspicious of malignancy.

Nanostructured carbon films with oriented graphitic planes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teo, E. H. T.; Kalish, R.; Kulik, J.; Kauffmann, Y.; Lifshitz, Y.

2011-01-01

Nanostructured carbon films with oriented graphitic planes can be deposited by applying energetic carbon bombardment. The present work shows the possibility of structuring graphitic planes perpendicular to the substrate in following two distinct ways: (i) applying sufficiently large carbon energies for deposition at room temperature (E>10 keV), (ii) utilizing much lower energies for deposition at elevated substrate temperatures (T>200 deg. C). High resolution transmission electron microscopy is used to probe the graphitic planes. The alignment achieved at elevated temperatures does not depend on the deposition angle. The data provides insight into the mechanisms leading to the growth of oriented graphitic planes under different conditions.

Focal dermal hypoplasia without focal dermal hypoplasia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Contreras-Capetillo, Silvina N.; Lombardi, Maria Paola; Pinto-Escalante, Doris; Hennekam, Raoul C.

2014-01-01

Focal dermal hypoplasia (FDH; Goltz-Gorlin syndrome) is an X-linked dominant disorder affecting mainly tissues of ectodermal and mesodermal origin. The phenotype is characterized by hypoplastic linear skin lesions, eye malformations, hair and teeth anomalies, and multiple limbs malformations. The

In-plane and out-of-plane bending tests on carbon steel pipe bends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brouard, D.; Tremblais, A.; Vrillon, B.

1979-01-01

The objectives of these tests were to obtain experimental results on bends behaviour in elastic and plastic regime by in plane and out of plane bending. Results were used to improve the computer model, for large distorsion of bends, to be used in a simplified beam type computer code for piping calculations. Tests were made on type ANSI B 169 DN 5 bends in ASTM A 106 Grade B carbon steel. These tests made it possible to measure, for identical bends, in elastic regime, the flexibility factors and, in plastic regime, the total evolution in opening, in closing and out of plane. Flexibility factors of 180 0 bend without flanges are approximately the same in opening and in closing. The end effect due to flanges is not very significant, but it is important for 90 0 bends. In plastic regime, collapse loads or collapse moments of bends depends also of both the end effects and the angle bend. The end effects and the angle bend are more sensitive in opening than in closing. The interest of these tests is to procure some precise evolution curves of identical bends well characterized in geometry and metal strength, deflected in large distorsions. (orig./HP)

A focal plane metrology system and PSF centroiding experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Haitao; Li, Baoquan; Cao, Yang; Li, Ligang

2016-10-01

In this paper, we present an overview of a detector array equipment metrology testbed and a micro-pixel centroiding experiment currently under development at the National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences. We discuss on-going development efforts aimed at calibrating the intra-/inter-pixel quantum efficiency and pixel positions for scientific grade CMOS detector, and review significant progress in achieving higher precision differential centroiding for pseudo star images in large area back-illuminated CMOS detector. Without calibration of pixel positions and intrapixel response, we have demonstrated that the standard deviation of differential centroiding is below 2.0e-3 pixels.

Sighting optics including an optical element having a first focal length and a second focal length

Science.gov (United States)

Crandall, David Lynn [Idaho Falls, ID

2011-08-01

One embodiment of sighting optics according to the teachings provided herein may include a front sight and a rear sight positioned in spaced-apart relation. The rear sight includes an optical element having a first focal length and a second focal length. The first focal length is selected so that it is about equal to a distance separating the optical element and the front sight and the second focal length is selected so that it is about equal to a target distance. The optical element thus brings into simultaneous focus, for a user, images of the front sight and the target.

X-ray tube focal spot sizes: comprehensive studies of their measurement and effect of measured size in angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doi, K.; Loo, L.N.; Chan, H.P.

1982-01-01

Thirty-two focal spot sizes of four x-ray tubes were measured by the pinhole, star pattern, slit, and root-mean-square (RMS) methods under various exposure conditions. The modulation transfer functions (MTFs) and line spread functions (LSFs) were also determined. The star pattern focal spot sizes agreed with the effective sizes calculated from the frequencies at the first minimum of the MTF within 0.04 mm for large focal spots and within 0.01 mm for small focal spots. The focal spot size determined by the slit method was approximately equal to the width of the LSF at the cutoff level of 0.15 +/- 0.06 of the peak value. The RMS method provided the best correlation between the measured focal spot sizes and the corresponding image distributions of blood vessels. The pinhole and slit methods tended to overestimate the focal spot size, but the star pattern method tended to underestimate it. For approximately 90% of the focal spots, the average of the star and slit (or pinhole) focal spot sizes agreed with the RMS focal spot size within +/- 0.1 mm

High dynamic range low-noise focal plane readout for VLWIR applications implemented with current mode background subtraction

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Guang; Sun, Chao; Shaw, Timothy; Wrigley, Chris; Peddada, Pavani; Blazejewski, Edward R.; Pain, Bedabrata

1998-09-01

Design and operation of a low noise CMOS focal pa;ne readout circuit with ultra-high charge handling capacity is presented. Designed for high-background, VLWIR detector readout, each readout unit cell use an accurate dynamic current memory for automatic subtraction of the dark pedestal in current domain enabling measurement of small signals 85 dB below the dark level. The redout circuit operates with low-power dissipation, high linearity, and is capable of handling pedestal currents up to 300 nA. Measurements indicate an effective charge handling capacity of over 5 X 10(superscript 9) charges/pixel with less than 10(superscript 5) electrons of input referred noise.

A flat array large telescope concept for use on the moon, earth, and in space

Science.gov (United States)

Woodgate, Bruce E.

1991-01-01

An astronomical optical telescope concept is described which can provide very large collecting areas, of order 1000 sq m. This is an order of magnitude larger than the new generation of telescopes now being designed and built. Multiple gimballed flat mirrors direct the beams from a celestial source into a single telescope of the same aperture as each flat mirror. Multiple images of the same source are formed at the telescope focal plane. A beam combiner collects these images and superimposes them into a single image, onto a detector or spectrograph aperture. This telescope could be used on the earth, the moon, or in space.

Influence of the narrow {111} planes on axial and planar ion channeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Motapothula, M; Dang, Z Y; Venkatesan, T; Breese, M B H; Rana, M A; Osman, A

2012-05-11

We report channeling patterns where clearly resolved effects of the narrow {111} planes are observed in axial and planar alignments for 2 MeV protons passing through a 55 nm [001] silicon membrane. At certain axes, such as and , the offset in atomic rows forming the narrow {111} planes results in shielding from the large potential at the wide {111} planes, producing a region of shallow, asymmetric potential from which axial channeling patterns have no plane of symmetry. At small tilts from such axes, different behavior is observed from the wide and narrow {111} planes. At planar alignment, distinctive channeling effects due to the narrow planes are observed. As a consequence of the shallow potential well at the narrow planes, incident protons suffer dechanneled trajectories which are excluded from channeling within the wide planes, resulting in an anomalously large scattered beam at {111} alignment.

Large scale rock slope release planes imaged by differential ground based InSAR at Randa, Switzerland

Science.gov (United States)

Gischig, V.; Loew, S.; Kos, A.; Raetzo, H.

2009-04-01

instability most probably correlate with faults which were mapped on the surface or can be seen on the DTM. Inside the moving rock mass several discrete structures can be identified along which active movements take place. In this contribution we discuss the ability of GB-DInSAR to detect release planes and active fractures of large scale landslides in fractured rock masses, which is not possible with any other method in inaccessible terrain. The identification of such structures provides essential information for kinematic analysis and the understanding of failure mechanisms in fractured rock masses.

Evaluation of Hemodynamics in Focal Steatosis and Focal Spared Lesion of the Liver Using Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonography with Sonazoid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiozawa, K.; Watanabe, M.; Ikehara, T.; Kogame, M.; Shinohara, M.; Shinohara, M.; Ishii, K.; Igarashi, Y.; Sumino, Y.; Shiozawa, K.; Makino, H.

2014-01-01

We aim to investigate the hemodynamics in focal steatosis and focal spared lesion of the liver using contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) with Sonazoid. The subjects were 47 patients with focal steatosis and focal spared lesion. We evaluated enhancement patterns (hyper enhancement, iso enhancement, and hypo enhancement) in the vascular phase and the presence or absence of a hypoechoic area in the post vascular phase for these lesions using CEUS. Of the 24 patients with focal steatosis, the enhancement pattern was iso enhancement in 19 and hypo enhancement in 5. Hypoechoic areas were noted in the post vascular phase in 3 patients. Of the 23 patients with focal spared lesions, the enhancement pattern was iso enhancement in 18 and hyper enhancement in 5. No hypoechoic areas were noted in the post vascular phase in any patient. The hemodynamics in focal steatosis and focal spared lesions in non diffuse fatty liver can be observed using low-invasive procedures in real-time by CEUS. It was suggested that differences in the dynamics of enhancement in the vascular phase of CEUS were influenced by the fat deposits in the target lesion, the surrounding liver parenchyma, and the third inflow.

Effects on patient exposure dose and image quality by increasing focal film distance in abdominal radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, You Hyun; Kwon, Soo Il

1998-01-01

We can and must improve the diagnostic images using available knowledge and technology. At the same time we must strive to reduce thr patient's integral and entrance radiation dose. Reducing the integral dose to the patient during the radiologic procedure is a primary concern of the patient, especially the pediatric patient, the radiologist and the technologist. A 100cm focal film distance generally is used for most over-table radiography. The early x-ray tubes and screen film combinations required long exposures, which often resulted in motion artifacts. But nowadays, we have the generators and x-ray tubes that can deliver the energy necessary in a very short time and the receptors that can record the information just as rapidly. And, we performed this studies to evaluate the patient exposure dose and the image quality by increasing focal film distance in diagnostic radiography. There are many factors which affected to exposure factor, but we studied to verify of FFD increase, only. Effect of increasing the focal film distance to a 140 cm distance was tested as follows ; 1. The focal film distances were set at 100, 120, and 140cm. 2. A 18cm acryl(tissue equivalent) phantom was placed on the table top. 3. An Capintec 192 electrometer with PM 05 ion chamber was placed at the entrance surface of the phantom, and exposure were made at each focal film distances. 4. The procedure was repeated in the same manner as above except the ion chamber was placed beneath the phantom at the film plane. 5. Exit exposure were normalize to 8mR for each portions of the experiment. Based on the success of the empirical measurements, a detailed mathematical analysis of the dose reduction was performed using the percent depth dose data

Focal midbrain tumors in children

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vandertop, W. P.; Hoffman, H. J.; Drake, J. M.; Humphreys, R. P.; Rutka, J. T.; Amstrong, D. C.; Becker, L. E.

1992-01-01

The clinical and neuroradiological features of focal midbrain tumors in 12 children are described, and the results of their surgical management are presented. Patients with a focal midbrain tumor usually exhibit either symptoms and signs of raised intracranial pressure caused by an obstructive

Diagnostic imaging in focal epilepsy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zlatareva, D.

2013-01-01

Focal epilepsies account for 60% of all seizure disorders worldwide. In this review the classic and new classification system of epileptic seizures and syndromes as well as genetic forms are discussed. Magnetic resonance (MR) is the technique of choice for diagnostic imaging in focal epilepsy because of its sensitivity and high tissue contrast. The review is focused on the lack of consensus of imaging protocols and reported findings in refractory epilepsy. The most frequently encountered MRI findings in epilepsy are reported and their imaging characteristics are depicted. Diagnosis of hippocampal sclerosis and malformations of cortical development as two major causes of refractory focal epilepsy is described in details. Some promising new techniques as positron emission tomography computed tomography (PET/CT) and MR and PET/CT fusion are briefly discussed. Also the relevance of adequate imaging in focal epilepsy, some practical points in imaging interpretation and differential diagnosis are highlighted. (author)

Test and evaluation of IR detectors and arrays II; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Apr. 22, 23, 1992

Science.gov (United States)

Hoke, Forney M.

The present conference discusses a radiometric calibration system for IR cameras, a methodology for testing IR focal-plane arrays in simulated nuclear radiation environments, process optimization for Si:As In-bumped focal-plane arrays, precise MTF measurements for focal-plane arrays, and IR focal-plane array crosstalk measurement. Also discussed are an imaging metric for IR focal-plane arrays, optical stimuli for high-volume automated testing of 2D HgCdTe focal-plane arrays, the evaluation of a solid-state photomultiplier focal-plane array for SDI, spectral effects on bulk photoconductors operated at cryogenic temperatures, and a novel technique for measuring the ionizing radiation effects in MOS transistors.

RTG diagnostics of dental focal infection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrasova, A.; Ondrasovicova, J.; Cecctkova, A.

2008-01-01

The theory of focal infection has always been and still is a controversial issue for many dentists and scientists. Even though the focal infection does not occupy the first place in modern medicine, its understanding is imperative. The authors summarized the knowledge about dental focal infection and its relationship to systemic the diseases of the whole body in their publication and they also focused on the radiodiagnostics of this disease. (authors)

COSIGN – developing an optical software controlled data plane for future large-scale datacenter networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Galili, Michael; Kamchevska, Valerija; Fagertun, Anna Manolova

2015-01-01

This talk will present the work of the EU project COSIGN targeting the development of optical data plane solutions for future high-capacity datacenter networks (DCNs). Optical data planes with high capacity and high flexibility through software control are developed in order to enable a coherent...

The translated conceptual survey of physics / stablization of the focal plane in two photon excitation fluorescence microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Wada, Asma

excitation wavelengths in the near infrared (NIR). The (NIR) wavelength regime, 750- 1100nm, penetrates deep (>100 μm) into tissue, and has been used to image to depths of up to 1 mm. Further, the longer excitation wavelengths are less absorbing than the traditional ultraviolet wavelengths used in confocal microscopy, and are consequently less damaging. As a result, (TPEF) is presently the preferred tool for visualizing dynamics by biologists. One important aspect of imaging living systems, however, is that they move! This adds to the challenge of trying to study some particular biological function(s). This thesis begins to address this issue by combining a simple micro controller circuit that can be linked to a remote focusing scheme that will make it possible to lock a focal plane to a specific depth inside a living, moving specimen.

Fast Focal Point Correction in Prism-Coupled Total Internal Reflection Scanning Imager Using an Electronically Tunable Lens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chenggang Zhu

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Total internal reflection (TIR is useful for interrogating physical and chemical processes that occur at the interface between two transparent media. Yet prism-coupled TIR imaging microscopes suffer from limited sensing areas due to the fact that the interface (the object plane is not perpendicular to the optical axis of the microscope. In this paper, we show that an electrically tunable lens can be used to rapidly and reproducibly correct the focal length of an oblique-incidence scanning microscope (OI-RD in a prism-coupled TIR geometry. We demonstrate the performance of such a correction by acquiring an image of a protein microarray over a scan area of 4 cm2 with an effective resolution of less than 20 microns. The electronic focal length tuning eliminates the mechanical movement of the illumination lens in the scanning microscope and in turn the noise and background drift associated with the motion.

How to 'visualize' lattice defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doi, Kenji

1974-01-01

Methods to recognize objects are discussed. In case of optics, lenses are used, and light from objects passing through the lenses focuses on focal planes. The amplitude of light on the focal planes in given as a function of the structure factor of scattering light from objects, images of objects are made on image planes. In case of X-ray or neutron diffraction, lenses which make images by X-ray or neutrons can not be made, accordingly images cannot be obtained. Images can be seen with electron microscopes. By X-ray or thermal neutron diffraction, intensity on focal planes in observed, and the defects to be studied are recognized as diffuse scattering. Since it is necessary to minimize aberration in case of image observation with electron microscopes, slits are used to utilize electron beam near optical axis exclusively. Therefore large resolving power cannot be expected. The information concerning structure obtained from focal planes is of statistical nature, and that from image planes is local information. The principle of neutron topography, by which the informations concerning local points are obtained, is explained. A photograph of LiF irradiated by 0.5 MeV proton beam was taken by the topographic method, and shown in this paper. (Kato, T.)

Spin waves in two-dimensional ferromagnet with large easy-plane anisotropy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fridman, Yu.A.; Spirin, D.V.

2002-01-01

Spin waves in easy-plane two-dimensional ferromagnet when anisotropy is much stronger than exchange are investigated. The spectra of magnons, the spin-spin and quadrupolar correlation functions have been derived. It is shown that in such a system there exist spin waves at low temperatures. Some properties of the quadrupolar ordering in ferromagnets are discussed

The dispersion-focalization theory of sound systems

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Jean-Luc; Abry, Christian; Boë, Louis-Jean; Vallée, Nathalie; Ménard, Lucie

2005-04-01

The Dispersion-Focalization Theory states that sound systems in human languages are shaped by two major perceptual constraints: dispersion driving auditory contrast towards maximal or sufficient values [B. Lindblom, J. Phonetics 18, 135-152 (1990)] and focalization driving auditory spectra towards patterns with close neighboring formants. Dispersion is computed from the sum of the inverse squared inter-spectra distances in the (F1, F2, F3, F4) space, using a non-linear process based on the 3.5 Bark critical distance to estimate F2'. Focalization is based on the idea that close neighboring formants produce vowel spectra with marked peaks, easier to process and memorize in the auditory system. Evidence for increased stability of focal vowels in short-term memory was provided in a discrimination experiment on adult French subjects [J. L. Schwartz and P. Escudier, Speech Comm. 8, 235-259 (1989)]. A reanalysis of infant discrimination data shows that focalization could well be the responsible for recurrent discrimination asymmetries [J. L. Schwartz et al., Speech Comm. (in press)]. Recent data about children vowel production indicate that focalization seems to be part of the perceptual templates driving speech development. The Dispersion-Focalization Theory produces valid predictions for both vowel and consonant systems, in relation with available databases of human languages inventories.

Seven tesla MRI improves detection of focal cortical dysplasia in patients with refractory focal epilepsy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veersema, Tim J; Ferrier, Cyrille H; van Eijsden, Pieter; Gosselaar, Peter H; Aronica, Eleonora; Visser, Fredy; Zwanenburg, Jaco M; de Kort, Gerard A P; Hendrikse, Jeroen; Luijten, Peter R; Braun, Kees P J

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine whether the use of 7 tesla (T) MRI in clinical practice leads to higher detection rates of focal cortical dysplasias in possible candidates for epilepsy surgery. Methods: In our center patients are referred for 7 T MRI if lesional focal epilepsy is

Periodontitis in patients with focal tuberculosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandrova Е.А.

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The research goal is to investigate the mechanisms of formation and peculiarities of periodontitis in patients with focal tuberculosis. Patients with periodontitis and focal tuberculosis are proved to develop local inflammatory reaction with increased infection and activation of proinflammatory cytokines in parodontal pockets fluid. The main risk factor of frequent and durable recurrence of parodontal pathology in case of focal tuberculosis was the development of pathologic process as a cause of disbalance of lipid peroxidation and antioxidant system, endotoxicosis syndrome

Expansive focal cemento-osseous dysplasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bulut, Emel Uzun; Acikgoz, Aydan; Ozan, Bora; Zengin, Ayse Zeynep; Gunhan, Omer

2012-01-01

To present a case of expansive focal cemento-osseous dysplasia and emphasize the importance of differential diagnosis. Cemento-osseous dysplasia is categorized into three subtypes on the basis of the clinical and radiographic features: Periapical, focal and florid. The focal type exhibits a single site of involvement in any tooth-bearing or edentulous area of the jaws. These lesions are usually asymptomatic; therefore, they are frequently diagnosed incidentally during routine radiographic examinations. Lesions are usually benign, show limited growth, and do not require further surgical intervention, but periodic follow-up is recommended because occasionally, this type of dysplasia progresses into florid osseous dysplasia and simple bone cysts are formed. A 24-year-old female patient was referred to our clinic for swelling in the left edentulous mandibular premolarmolar region and felt discomfort when she wore her prosthetics. She had no pain, tenderness or paresthesia. Clinical examination showed that the swelling in the posterior mandible that was firm, nonfluctuant and covered by normal mucosa. On panoramic radiography and computed tomography, a well defined lesion of approximately 1.5 cm in diameter of mixed density was observed. The swelling increased slightly in size over 2 years making it difficult to use prosthetics and, therefore, the lesion was totally excised under local anesthesia, and surgical specimens were submitted for histopathological examination. The histopathological diagnosis was focal cemento-osseous dysplasia. In the present case, because of the increasing size of the swelling making it difficult to use prosthetics, young age of the patient and localization of the lesion, in the initial examination, cemento-ossifying fibroma was suspected, and the lesion was excised surgically; the histopathological diagnosis confirmed it as focal cemento-osseous dysplasia. We present a case of expansive focal cemento-osseous dysplasia. Differential diagnosis

Focal adhesion interactions with topographical structures: a novel method for immuno-SEM labelling of focal adhesions in S-phase cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Biggs, M J P; Richards, R G; Wilkinson, C D W; Dalby, M J

2008-07-01

Current understanding of the mechanisms involved in osseointegration following implantation of a biomaterial has led to adhesion quantification being implemented as an assay of cytocompatibility. Such measurement can be hindered by intra-sample variation owing to morphological changes associated with the cell cycle. Here we report on a new scanning electron microscopical method for the simultaneous immunogold labelling of cellular focal adhesions and S-phase nuclei identified by BrdU incorporation. Prior to labelling, cellular membranes are removed by tritonization and antigens of non-interest blocked by serum incubation. Adhesion plaque-associated vinculin and S-phase nuclei were both separately labelled with a 1.4 nm gold colloid and visualized by subsequent colloid enhancement via silver deposition. This study is specifically concerned with the effects microgroove topographies have on adhesion formation in S-phase osteoblasts. By combining backscattered electron (BSE) imaging with secondary electron (SE) imaging it was possible to visualize S-phase nuclei and the immunogold-labelled adhesion sites in one energy 'plane' and the underlying nanotopography in another. Osteoblast adhesion to these nanotopographies was ascertained by quantification of adhesion complex formation.

Hiperplasia epitelial focal (doença de Heck em descendente de índios brasileiros: relato de caso Focal epithelial hyperplasia (Heck's disease in Brazilian indian descent: report of a case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Paulo de Andrade Santos

2007-12-01

Full Text Available A hiperplasia epitelial focal, ou doença de Heck, é uma enfermidade rara, benigna, que afeta a mucosa oral de crianças e adultos jovens de diversas regiões do mundo e em diferentes grupos étnicos, como indígenas e esquimós. Apresenta correlação com o papilomavírus humano (HPV no qual os tipos 13 e 32 têm sido consistentemente detectados nessas lesões. Este artigo relata um caso de uma paciente de 18 anos de idade, descendente de índios potiguares, que compareceu ao serviço de estomatologia da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN, exibindo lesões bem definidas, arredondadas, planas, localizadas em cavidade oral, com tempo de evolução de aproximadamente dois anos. As lesões foram submetidas a biópsias incisionais, constatado-se no exame histopatológico alterações epiteliais, como acantose, cristas epiteliais em forma de "taco de golfe" além de células mitosóides. Esses achados histopatológicos foram compatíveis com a hipótese clínica de hiperplasia epitelial focal (doença de Heck.The focal epithelial hyperplasia or Heck's disease is a benign rare pathology, that affects children and young adults oral mucosal in many world regions, and different ethnic groups, for example Indians and Eskimos. Presents correlation with the subtypes 13 and 32 of human papillomavirus (HPV. This article report a case of an 18-year-old patient, descent of potiguar indian, attended in stomatology service of Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN, presenting well defined lesions, round, plane, localized in oral cavity with an evolution of two years. The lesions were submitted to incisional biopsies, verifying in histopathologic exam, epithelial alterations, like acanthosis, epithelial projections in "parquet block of golf" beyond mitosoid cells. These histopathological findings were compatible with clinical hypothesis of focal epithelial hyperplasia (Heck's disease.

ASSESSMENT OF SYSTEMATIC CHROMATIC ERRORS THAT IMPACT SUB-1% PHOTOMETRIC PRECISION IN LARGE-AREA SKY SURVEYS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, T. S.; DePoy, D. L.; Marshall, J. L.; Boada, S.; Mondrik, N.; Nagasawa, D. [George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Tucker, D.; Annis, J.; Finley, D. A.; Kent, S.; Lin, H.; Marriner, J.; Wester, W. [Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, P.O. Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510 (United States); Kessler, R.; Scolnic, D. [Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Bernstein, G. M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (United States); Burke, D. L.; Rykoff, E. S. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); James, D. J.; Walker, A. R. [Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Casilla 603, La Serena (Chile); Collaboration: DES Collaboration; and others

2016-06-01

Meeting the science goals for many current and future ground-based optical large-area sky surveys requires that the calibrated broadband photometry is both stable in time and uniform over the sky to 1% precision or better. Past and current surveys have achieved photometric precision of 1%–2% by calibrating the survey’s stellar photometry with repeated measurements of a large number of stars observed in multiple epochs. The calibration techniques employed by these surveys only consider the relative frame-by-frame photometric zeropoint offset and the focal plane position-dependent illumination corrections, which are independent of the source color. However, variations in the wavelength dependence of the atmospheric transmission and the instrumental throughput induce source color-dependent systematic errors. These systematic errors must also be considered to achieve the most precise photometric measurements. In this paper, we examine such systematic chromatic errors (SCEs) using photometry from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) as an example. We first define a natural magnitude system for DES and calculate the systematic errors on stellar magnitudes when the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput deviate from the natural system. We conclude that the SCEs caused by the change of airmass in each exposure, the change of the precipitable water vapor and aerosol in the atmosphere over time, and the non-uniformity of instrumental throughput over the focal plane can be up to 2% in some bandpasses. We then compare the calculated SCEs with the observed DES data. For the test sample data, we correct these errors using measurements of the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput from auxiliary calibration systems. The residual after correction is less than 0.3%. Moreover, we calculate such SCEs for Type Ia supernovae and elliptical galaxies and find that the chromatic errors for non-stellar objects are redshift-dependent and can be larger than those for

Assessment of Systematic Chromatic Errors that Impact Sub-1% Photometric Precision in Large-Area Sky Surveys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, T. S. [et al.

2016-05-27

Meeting the science goals for many current and future ground-based optical large-area sky surveys requires that the calibrated broadband photometry is stable in time and uniform over the sky to 1% precision or better. Past surveys have achieved photometric precision of 1-2% by calibrating the survey's stellar photometry with repeated measurements of a large number of stars observed in multiple epochs. The calibration techniques employed by these surveys only consider the relative frame-by-frame photometric zeropoint offset and the focal plane position-dependent illumination corrections, which are independent of the source color. However, variations in the wavelength dependence of the atmospheric transmission and the instrumental throughput induce source color-dependent systematic errors. These systematic errors must also be considered to achieve the most precise photometric measurements. In this paper, we examine such systematic chromatic errors using photometry from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) as an example. We define a natural magnitude system for DES and calculate the systematic errors on stellar magnitudes, when the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput deviate from the natural system. We conclude that the systematic chromatic errors caused by the change of airmass in each exposure, the change of the precipitable water vapor and aerosol in the atmosphere over time, and the non-uniformity of instrumental throughput over the focal plane, can be up to 2% in some bandpasses. We compare the calculated systematic chromatic errors with the observed DES data. For the test sample data, we correct these errors using measurements of the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput. The residual after correction is less than 0.3%. We also find that the errors for non-stellar objects are redshift-dependent and can be larger than those for stars at certain redshifts.

Surface anatomy and anatomical planes in the adult turkish population.

Science.gov (United States)

Uzun, C; Atman, E D; Ustuner, E; Mirjalili, S A; Oztuna, D; Esmer, T S

2016-03-01

Surface anatomy and anatomical planes are widely used in education and clinical practice. The planes are largely derived from cadaveric studies and their projections on the skin show discrepancies between and within anatomical reference textbooks. In this study, we reassessed the accuracy of common thoracic and abdominopelvic anatomical planes using computed tomography (CT) imaging in the live adult Turkish population. After patients with distorting pathologies had been excluded, CT images of 150 supine patients at the end tidal inspiration were analyzed. Sternal angle, transpyloric, subcostal, supracristal and pubic crest planes and their relationships to anatomical structures were established by dual consensus. The tracheal bifurcation, azygos vein/superior vena cava (SVC) junction and pulmonary bifurcation were usually below the sternal angle while the concavity of the aortic arch was generally within the plane. The tip of the tenth rib, the superior mesenteric artery and the portal vein were usually within the transpyloric plane while the renal hila and the fundus of the gallbladder were below it. The inferior mesenteric artery was below the subcostal plane and the aortic bifurcation was below the supracristal plane in most adults. Projectional surface anatomy is fundamental to medical education and clinical practice. Modern cross-sectional imaging techniques allow large groups of live patients to be examined. Classic textbook information regarding anatomy needs to be reviewed and updated using the data gathered from these recent studies, taking ethnic differences into consideration. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Study the Z-Plane Strip Capacitance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parikh, H.; Swain, S.

2005-01-01

The BaBaR detector at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center is currently undergoing an upgrade to improve its muon and neutral hadron detection system. The Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) that had been used till now have deteriorated in performance over the past few years and are being replaced by Limited Streamer Tube (LSTs). Each layer of the system consists of a set of up to 10 streamer tube modules which provide one coordinate (φ coordinate) and a single ''Z-plane'' which provides the Z coordinate of the hit. The large area Z-planes (up to 12m 2 ) are 1mm thick and contain 96 copper strips that detect the induced charge from avalanches created in the streamer tube wires. All the Z-planes needed for the upgrade have already been constructed, but only a third of the planes were installed last summer. After installing the 24 Z-planes last year, it was learned that 0.7% of the strips were dead when put inside the detector. This was mainly due to the delicate solder joint between the read-out cable and the strip, and since it is difficult to access or replace the Z-planes inside the detector, it is very important to perform various tests to make sure that the Z-planes will be efficient and effective in the long term. We measure the capacitance between the copper strips and the ground plane, and compare it to the theoretical value that we expect. Instead of measuring the capacitance channel by channel, which would be a very tedious job, we developed a more effective method of measuring the capacitance. Since all the Z-planes were built at SLAC, we also built a smaller 46 cm by 30 cm Z-plane with 12 strips just to see how they were constructed and to gain a better understanding about the solder joints

In-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivities of molybdenum disulfide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, Zhiwei; Pei, Qing-Xiang; Zhang, Yong-Wei; Jiang, Jin-Wu

2015-01-01

We investigate the in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivities of molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the in-plane thermal conductivity of monolayer MoS 2 is about 19.76 W mK −1 . Interestingly, the in-plane thermal conductivity of multilayer MoS 2 is insensitive to the number of layers, which is in strong contrast to the in-plane thermal conductivity of graphene where the interlayer interaction strongly affects the in-plane thermal conductivity. This layer number insensitivity is attributable to the finite energy gap in the phonon spectrum of MoS 2 , which makes the phonon–phonon scattering channel almost unchanged with increasing layer number. For the cross-plane thermal transport, we find that the cross-plane thermal conductivity of multilayer MoS 2 can be effectively tuned by applying cross-plane strain. More specifically, a 10% cross-plane compressive strain can enhance the thermal conductivity by a factor of 10, while a 5% cross-plane tensile strain can reduce the thermal conductivity by 90%. Our findings are important for thermal management in MoS 2 based nanodevices and for thermoelectric applications of MoS 2 . (paper)

On DESTINY Science Instrument Electrical and Electronics Subsystem Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Kizhner, Semion; Benford, Dominic J.; Lauer, Tod R.

2009-01-01

Future space missions are going to require large focal planes with many sensing arrays and hundreds of millions of pixels all read out at high data rates'' . This will place unique demands on the electrical and electronics (EE) subsystem design and it will be critically important to have high technology readiness level (TRL) EE concepts ready to support such missions. One such omission is the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM) charged with making precise measurements of the expansion rate of the universe to reveal vital clues about the nature of dark energy - a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all of space and tends to increase the rate of the expansion. One of three JDEM concept studies - the Dark Energy Space Telescope (DESTINY) was conducted in 2008 at the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland. This paper presents the EE subsystem framework, which evolved from the DESTINY science instrument study. It describes the main challenges and implementation concepts related to the design of an EE subsystem featuring multiple focal planes populated with dozens of large arrays and millions of pixels. The focal planes are passively cooled to cryogenic temperatures (below 140 K). The sensor mosaic is controlled by a large number of Readout Integrated Circuits and Application Specific Integrated Circuits - the ROICs/ASICs in near proximity to their sensor focal planes. The ASICs, in turn, are serviced by a set of "warm" EE subsystem boxes performing Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based digital signal processing (DSP) computations of complex algorithms, such as sampling-up-the-ramp algorithm (SUTR), over large volumes of fast data streams. The SUTR boxes are supported by the Instrument Control/Command and Data Handling box (ICDH Primary and Backup boxes) for lossless data compression, command and low volume telemetry handling, power conversion and for communications with the spacecraft. The paper outlines how the JDEM DESTINY concept

Novel calibration system with sparse wires for CMB polarization receivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tajima, O.; Nguyen, H.; Bischoff, C.; Brizius, A.; Buder, I.; Kusaka, A.

2011-01-01

B-modes in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization is a smoking gun signature of the inflationary universe. To achieve better sensitivity to this faint signal, CMB polarization experiments aim to maximize the number of detector elements, resulting in a large focal plane receiver. Detector calibration of the polarization response becomes essential. It is extremely useful to be able to calibrate 'simultaneously' all detectors on the large focal plane. We developed a novel calibration system that rotates a large 'sparse' grid of metal wires, in front of and fully covering the field of view of the focal plane receiver. Polarized radiation is created via the reflection of ambient temperature from the wire surface. Since the detector has a finite beam size, the observed signal is smeared according to the beam property. The resulting smeared polarized radiation has a reasonable intensity (a few Kelvin or less) compared to the sky temperature (∼10 K observing condition). The system played a successful role for receiver calibration of QUIET, a CMB polarization experiment located in the Atacama desert in Chile. The successful performance revealed that this system is applicable to other experiments based on different technologies, e.g. TES bolometers.

Experimental Focal Cerebral Ischemia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Thomas

2007-01-01

Focal cerebral ischemia due to occlusion of a major cerebral artery is the cause of ischemic stroke which is a major reason of mortality, morbidity and disability in the populations of the developed countries. In the seven studies summarized in the thesis focal ischemia in rats induced by occlusion...... in the penumbra is recruited in the infarction process leading to a progressive growth of the infarct. The penumbra hence constitutes an important target for pharmacological treatment because of the existence of a therapeutic time window during which treatment with neuroprotective compounds may prevent...

Sighting optics including an optical element having a first focal length and a second focal length and methods for sighting

Science.gov (United States)

Crandall, David Lynn

2011-08-16

Sighting optics include a front sight and a rear sight positioned in a spaced-apart relation. The rear sight includes an optical element having a first focal length and a second focal length. The first focal length is selected so that it is about equal to a distance separating the optical element and the front sight and the second focal length is selected so that it is about equal to a target distance. The optical element thus brings into simultaneous focus for a user images of the front sight and the target.

Nearaffine planes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wilbrink, H.A.

1982-01-01

In this paper we develop a theory for nearaffine planes analogous to the theory of ordinary affine translation planes. In a subsequent paper we shall use this theory to give a characterization of a certain class of Minkowski planes.

Do focal colors look particularly "colorful"?

Science.gov (United States)

Witzel, Christoph; Franklin, Anna

2014-04-01

If the most typical red, yellow, green, and blue were particularly colorful (i.e., saturated), they would "jump out to the eye." This would explain why even fundamentally different languages have distinct color terms for these focal colors, and why unique hues play a prominent role in subjective color appearance. In this study, the subjective saturation of 10 colors around each of these focal colors was measured through a pairwise matching task. Results show that subjective saturation changes systematically across hues in a way that is strongly correlated to the visual gamut, and exponentially related to sensitivity but not to focal colors.

Simulation requirements for the Large Deployable Reflector (LDR)

Science.gov (United States)

Soosaar, K.

1984-01-01

Simulation tools for the large deployable reflector (LDR) are discussed. These tools are often the transfer function variety equations. However, transfer functions are inadequate to represent time-varying systems for multiple control systems with overlapping bandwidths characterized by multi-input, multi-output features. Frequency domain approaches are the useful design tools, but a full-up simulation is needed. Because of the need for a dedicated computer for high frequency multi degree of freedom components encountered, non-real time smulation is preferred. Large numerical analysis software programs are useful only to receive inputs and provide output to the next block, and should be kept out of the direct loop of simulation. The following blocks make up the simulation. The thermal model block is a classical heat transfer program. It is a non-steady state program. The quasistatic block deals with problems associated with rigid body control of reflector segments. The steady state block assembles data into equations of motion and dynamics. A differential raytrace is obtained to establish a change in wave aberrations. The observation scene is described. The focal plane module converts the photon intensity impinging on it into electron streams or into permanent film records.

SU-G-206-02: Impact of Focal Spot Sizes On CT Image Quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bache, S; Rong, J

2016-01-01

Purpose: To quantify a radiology team’s assessment of image quality differences between two CT scanner models currently in clinical use, with emphasis on spatial resolution that could be impacted by focal spot size. Methods: Modulation Transfer Functions (MTF) measurements were performed by scanning the impulse source insert module of the Catphan 600 at 120/140 kVp with both large (LFS) and small (SFS) focal spots and reconstructed to 2.5mm and 5.0mm thicknesses on a GE Discovery CT750 HD and a LightSpeed VCT CT scanner. MTFs were calculated by summing the 2D PSF along one-dimension to obtain line-spread-function (LSF), and calculating the Fourier Transform of the zero-padded and background corrected LSF. Spatial resolution performance was evaluated by comparing MTF curves, 50% and 10% MTF cutoff, and total area under the MTF curve (AUC). In addition, images of the Catphan high-contrast module and a Kagaku anthropomorphic body phantom were acquired from the HD scanner for visual comparisons. Results: For each scanner model, SFS was superior to LFS spatial resolution with respect to 50%/10% MTF cutoff and AUC. For the HD, 50%/10% cutoff was 4.29/7.22cm-1 for the LFS and 4.43/7.45cm-1 for the SFS. VCT outperformed HD, with 50%/10% cutoff of 4.40/7.29 cm-1 for LFS and 4.62/7.47cm-1 for SFS. Scanner model performance in order of decreasing AUC performance was VCT SFS (7.43), HD SFS (7.20), VCT LFS (7.09) and HD LFS (6.93). Visual evaluations of Kagaku phantom images confirmed that VCT outperformed HD. Conclusion: VCT outperformed HD and small focal spot is desired for either model over large focal spot in term of spatial resolution – in agreement with radiologist feedback of overall image quality. In-depth evaluations of clinical impact and focal spot selection mechanisms is currently being assessed.

Differentiation of focal liver lesions by contrast-enhanced MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heintz, P.; Ehrenheim, C.

1989-01-01

47 patients with liver tumours (haemangioma, focal nodular hyperplasia, hepatocellular carcinoma) underwent MRI of the liver before and after i.v. injection of 0.2 ml./kg. gadolinium-DTPA in addition to other imaging methods. The demarcation of focal nodular hyperplasia is not influenced by use of the contrast agent as it almost behaves like surrounding normal liver tissue, thus only indirectly facilitating its identification. With regard to liver haemangiomas that show the most intensive uptake of gadolinium-DTPA, the contrast enhanced image does not reach to contrast and sensitivity of a native T 2 -weighted SE image, especially in cases of small haemangiomas. The contrast agent is helpful, however, in the recognition of large cavernous haemangiomas that are partially fibrotic or thrombotic. Emphasis is given to the contrast agent in hepatomas: gadolinium-DTPA presents a pattern of uptake and distribution frequently found in hepatocellular carcinoma providing additional information on the delineation of internal tumour details. (orig.) [de

Modelling the Impact of Ground Planes on Antenna Radiation Using the Method of Auxiliary Sources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Niels Vesterdal; Breinbjerg, Olav

2007-01-01

The Method of Auxiliary Sources is employed to model the impact of finite ground planes on the radiation from antennas. In many cases the computational cost of available commercial tools restricts the simulations to include only a small ground plane or, by use of the image principle, the infinitely...... large ground plane. The method proposed here makes use of results from such simulations to model large and moderate-sized finite ground planes. The method is applied to 3 different antenna test cases and a total of 5 different ground planes. Firstly it is validated through comparison with reference...... and measured reference solutions and the method is thus found to be a useful tool in determining the impact of finite ground planes....

Three-Dimensional Interaction of a Large Number of Dense DEP Particles on a Plane Perpendicular to an AC Electrical Field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuanchuan Xie

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The interaction of dielectrophoresis (DEP particles in an electric field has been observed in many experiments, known as the “particle chains phenomenon”. However, the study in 3D models (spherical particles is rarely reported due to its complexity and significant computational cost. In this paper, we employed the iterative dipole moment (IDM method to study the 3D interaction of a large number of dense DEP particles randomly distributed on a plane perpendicular to a uniform alternating current (AC electric field in a bounded or unbounded space. The numerical results indicated that the particles cannot move out of the initial plane. The similar particles (either all positive or all negative DEP particles always repelled each other, and did not form a chain. The dissimilar particles (a mixture of positive and negative DEP particles always attracted each other, and formed particle chains consisting of alternately arranged positive and negative DEP particles. The particle chain patterns can be randomly multitudinous depending on the initial particle distribution, the electric properties of particles/fluid, the particle sizes and the number of particles. It is also found that the particle chain patterns can be effectively manipulated via tuning the frequency of the AC field and an almost uniform distribution of particles in a bounded plane chip can be achieved when all of the particles are similar, which may have potential applications in the particle manipulation of microfluidics.

Imaging a Large Sample with Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy Based on Multiple Fluorescent Microsphere Tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Ryu, Inkeon; Kim, Daekeun

2018-04-01

A typical selective plane illumination microscopy (SPIM) image size is basically limited by the field of view, which is a characteristic of the objective lens. If an image larger than the imaging area of the sample is to be obtained, image stitching, which combines step-scanned images into a single panoramic image, is required. However, accurately registering the step-scanned images is very difficult because the SPIM system uses a customized sample mount where uncertainties for the translational and the rotational motions exist. In this paper, an image registration technique based on multiple fluorescent microsphere tracking is proposed in the view of quantifying the constellations and measuring the distances between at least two fluorescent microspheres embedded in the sample. Image stitching results are demonstrated for optically cleared large tissue with various staining methods. Compensation for the effect of the sample rotation that occurs during the translational motion in the sample mount is also discussed.

Design and operation of large straw-tube drift chamber planes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bromberg, C; Brown, D; Huston, J; Maul, A; Miller, R; Nyugen, A; Sorrell, L; Yosef, C [Physics and Astronomy Dept., Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States); Mani, S [Physics Dept., Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Choudhary, B C; Kapoor, V; Shivpuri, R [Dept. of Physics and Astrophysics, Delhi Univ. (India); Baker, W; DeSoi, W; Johnstone, C; Kourbanis, I; Lukens, P; Skow, D; Wu, G H [Fermilab, Batavia, IL (United States); Alverson, G; Chang, P; Dlugosz, W; Faissler, W; Garelick, D; Glaubman, M; Lirakis, C; Pothier, E; Yasuda, T [Dept. of Physics, Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA (United States); Gutierrez, P [Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States); Hartman, K; Oh, B Y; Toothacker, W; Whitmore, J [Dept. of Physics, Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States); Blusk, S R; Chung, W H; Engels, E Jr; Shepard, P F; Weerasundara, D D.S. [Dept. of Physics and

1991-10-01

We describe the design, construction and operation of a straw-tube drift chamber consisting of four X and four Y planes of 16 mm diameter straw-tubes, each 280 cm long. Straws were glued together for rigidity and were mounted into a frame which served as a gas manifold and maintained wire-to-wire precision. A novel conductive gasket was used to seal the tubes and provide electrical contact to the aluminized surface of the straws. The chamber has been successfully used in a high rate experiment (E706 at Fermilab) and has achieved its design resolution of better than 250 {mu}m per tube averaged over the whole chamber. (orig.).

Pharmacological response of systemically derived focal epileptic lesions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Remler, M.P.; Sigvardt, K.; Marcussen, W.H.

1986-11-01

Focal epileptic lesions were made in rats by systemic focal epileptogenesis. In this method, a focal lesion of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is produced by focal alpha irradiation followed by repeated systemic injection of a convulsant drug that cannot cross the normal BBB, resulting in a chronic epileptic focus. Changes in the spike frequency of these foci in response to various drugs was recorded. The controls, saline and chlorpromazine, produced no change. Phenytoin, phenobarbital, chlordiazepoxide, and valproic acid produced the expected decrease in spike frequency. Pentobarbital and diazepam produced a paradoxical increase in spike frequency.

The NIKA2 large-field-of-view millimetre continuum camera for the 30 m IRAM telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Adam, R.; Adane, A.; Ade, P. A. R.; André, P.; Andrianasolo, A.; Aussel, H.; Beelen, A.; Benoît, A.; Bideaud, A.; Billot, N.; Bourrion, O.; Bracco, A.; Calvo, M.; Catalano, A.; Coiffard, G.; Comis, B.; De Petris, M.; Désert, F.-X.; Doyle, S.; Driessen, E. F. C.; Evans, R.; Goupy, J.; Kramer, C.; Lagache, G.; Leclercq, S.; Leggeri, J.-P.; Lestrade, J.-F.; Macías-Pérez, J. F.; Mauskopf, P.; Mayet, F.; Maury, A.; Monfardini, A.; Navarro, S.; Pascale, E.; Perotto, L.; Pisano, G.; Ponthieu, N.; Revéret, V.; Rigby, A.; Ritacco, A.; Romero, C.; Roussel, H.; Ruppin, F.; Schuster, K.; Sievers, A.; Triqueneaux, S.; Tucker, C.; Zylka, R.

2018-01-01

Context. Millimetre-wave continuum astronomy is today an indispensable tool for both general astrophysics studies (e.g. star formation, nearby galaxies) and cosmology (e.g. cosmic microwave background and high-redshift galaxies). General purpose, large-field-of-view instruments are needed to map the sky at intermediate angular scales not accessible by the high-resolution interferometers (e.g. ALMA in Chile, NOEMA in the French Alps) and by the coarse angular resolution space-borne or ground-based surveys (e.g. Planck, ACT, SPT). These instruments have to be installed at the focal plane of the largest single-dish telescopes, which are placed at high altitude on selected dry observing sites. In this context, we have constructed and deployed a three-thousand-pixel dual-band (150 GHz and 260 GHz, respectively 2 mm and 1.15 mm wavelengths) camera to image an instantaneous circular field-of-view of 6.5 arcmin in diameter, and configurable to map the linear polarisation at 260 GHz. Aims: First, we are providing a detailed description of this instrument, named NIKA2 (New IRAM KID Arrays 2), in particular focussing on the cryogenics, optics, focal plane arrays based on Kinetic Inductance Detectors, and the readout electronics. The focal planes and part of the optics are cooled down to the nominal 150 mK operating temperature by means of an adhoc dilution refrigerator. Secondly, we are presenting the performance measured on the sky during the commissioning runs that took place between October 2015 and April 2017 at the 30-m IRAM telescope at Pico Veleta, near Granada (Spain). Methods: We have targeted a number of astronomical sources. Starting from beam-maps on primary and secondary calibrators we have then gone to extended sources and faint objects. Both internal (electronic) and on-the-sky calibrations are applied. The general methods are described in the present paper. Results: NIKA2 has been successfully deployed and commissioned, performing in-line with expectations. In

Anatomical planes: are we teaching accurate surface anatomy?

Science.gov (United States)

Mirjalili, S Ali; McFadden, Sarah L; Buckenham, Tim; Wilson, Ben; Stringer, Mark D

2012-10-01

Anatomical planes used in clinical practice and teaching anatomy are largely derived from cadaver studies. Numerous inconsistencies in clinically important surface markings exist between and within anatomical reference texts. The aim of this study was to reassess the accuracy of common anatomical planes in vivo using computed tomographic (CT) imaging. CT scans of the trunk in supine adults at end tidal inspiration were analyzed by dual consensus reporting to determine the anatomy of five anatomical planes: sternal angle, transpyloric, subcostal, supracristal, and the plane of the pubic crest. Patients with kyphosis, scoliosis, or abnormal lordosis, distorting space-occupying lesions, or visceromegaly were excluded. Among 153 thoracic CT scans (mean age 63 years, 53% female), the sternal angle was most common at T4 (females) or T4/5 (males) vertebral level, and the tracheal bifurcation, aortic arch, and pulmonary trunk were most often below this plane. In 108 abdominal CT scans (mean age 60 years, 59% female), the subcostal and supracristal planes were most often at L2 (58%) and L4 (69%), respectively. In 52 thoracoabdominal CT scans (mean age 61 years, 56% female), the transpyloric plane was between lower L1 and upper L2 (75%); in this plane were the superior mesenteric artery (56%), formation of the portal vein (53%), tip of the ninth rib (60%), and the left renal hilum (54%), but the right renal hilum and gallbladder fundus were more often below. The surface anatomy of anatomical planes needs revising in the light of results from living subjects using modern imaging techniques. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Recurrent Bilateral Focal Myositis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagafuchi, Hiroko; Nakano, Hiromasa; Ooka, Seido; Takakuwa, Yukiko; Yamada, Hidehiro; Tadokoro, Mamoru; Shimojo, Sadatomo; Ozaki, Shoichi

This report describes a rare case of recurrent bilateral focal myositis and its successful treatment via methotrexate. A 38-year-old man presented myalgia of the right gastrocnemius in May 2005. Magnetic resonance imaging showed very high signal intensity in the right gastrocnemius on short-tau inversion recovery images. A muscle biopsy revealed inflammatory CD4+ cell-dominant myogenic change. Focal myositis was diagnosed. The first steroid treatment was effective. Tapering of prednisolone, however, repeatedly induced myositis relapse, which progressed to multiple muscle lesions of both lower limbs. Initiation of methotrexate finally allowed successful tapering of prednisolone, with no relapse in the past 4 years.

Spherical aberration compensation method for long focal-length measurement based on Talbot interferometry

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yupeng; Huang, Xiao; Bai, Jian; Du, Juan; Liu, Qun; Luo, Yujie; Luo, Jia

2017-08-01

Large-aperture and long focal-length lens is widely used in high energy laser system. The method based on Talbot interferometry is a reliable method to measure the focal length of such elements. By employing divergent beam and two gratings of different periods, this method could realize full-aperture measurement, higher accuracy and better repeatability. However, it does not take into account the spherical aberration of the measured lens resulting in the moiré fringes bending, which will introduce measurement error. Furthermore, in long-focal measurement with divergent beam, this error is an important factor affecting the measurement accuracy. In this paper, we propose a new spherical aberration compensation method, which could significantly reduce the measurement error. Characterized by central-symmetric scanning window, the proposed method is based on the relationship between spherical aberration and the lens aperture. Angle data of moiré fringes in each scanning window is retrieved by Fourier analysis and statistically fitted to estimate a globally optimum value for spherical-aberration-free focal length calculation. Simulation and experiment have been carried out. Compared to the previous work, the proposed method is able to reduce the relative measurement error by 50%. The effect of scanning window size and shift step length on the results is also discussed.

Image-preprocessing method for near-wall particle image velocimetry (PIV) image interrogation with very large in-plane displacement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Yiding; Yuan, Huijing; Zhang, Chuanhong; Lee, Cunbiao

2013-01-01

Accurate particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements very near the wall are still a great challenge. The problem is compounded by the very large in-plane displacement on PIV images commonly encountered in measurements in hypersonic boundary layers. An improved image-preprocessing method is presented in this paper which expands the traditional window deformation iterative multigrid scheme to PIV images with very large displacement. Before the interrogation, stationary artificial particles of uniform size are added homogeneously in the wall region. The mean squares of the intensities of signals in the flow and in the wall region are postulated to be equal when half the initial interrogation window overlaps the wall region. The initial estimation near the wall is then smoothed by data from both sides of the shear layer to reduce the large random uncertainties. Interrogations in the following iterative steps then converge to the correct results to provide accurate predictions for particle tracking velocimetries. Significant improvement is seen in Monte Carlo simulations and experimental tests. The algorithm successfully extracted the small flow structures of the second-mode wave in the hypersonic boundary layer from PIV images with low signal-noise-ratios when the traditional method was not successful. (paper)

Some Considerations Regarding Plane to Plane Parallelism Error Effects in Robotic Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stelian Alaci

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The paper shows that by imposing the parallelism constraint between the measured plane and the reference plane, the position of the current plane is not univocal specified and is impossible to specify the way to attain the parallelism errors imposed by accuracy constrains. The parameters involved in the calculus of plane to plane parallelism error can be used to set univocal the relative position between the two planes.

Integrated performance of a frequency domain multiplexing readout in the SPT-3G receiver

Science.gov (United States)

Bender, A. N.; Ade, P. A. R.; Anderson, A. J.; Avva, J.; Ahmed, Z.; Arnold, K.; Austermann, J. E.; Basu Thakur, R.; Benson, B. A.; Bleem, L. E.; Byrum, K.; Carlstrom, J. E.; Carter, F. W.; Chang, C. L.; Cho, H. M.; Cliche, J. F.; Crawford, T. M.; Cukierman, A.; Czaplewski, D. A.; Ding, J.; Divan, R.; de Haan, T.; Dobbs, M. A.; Dutcher, D.; Everett, W.; Gilbert, A.; Groh, J. C.; Guyser, R.; Halverson, N. W.; Harke-Hosemann, A.; Harrington, N. L.; Hattori, K.; Henning, J. W.; Hilton, G. C.; Holzapfel, W. L.; Huang, N.; Irwin, K. D.; Jeong, O.; Khaire, T.; Korman, M.; Kubik, D.; Kuo, C. L.; Lee, A. T.; Leitch, E. M.; Lendinez, S.; Meyer, S. S.; Miller, C. S.; Montgomery, J.; Nadolski, A.; Natoli, T.; Nguyen, H.; Novosad, V.; Padin, S.; Pan, Z.; Pearson, J.; Posada, C. M.; Rahlin, A.; Reichardt, C. L.; Ruhl, J. E.; Saliwanchik, B. R.; Sayre, J. T.; Shariff, J. A.; Shirley, Ian; Shirokoff, E.; Smecher, G.; Sobrin, J.; Stan, L.; Stark, A. A.; Story, K.; Suzuki, A.; Tang, Q. Y.; Thompson, K. L.; Tucker, C.; Vanderlinde, K.; Vieira, J. D.; Wang, G.; Whitehorn, N.; Yefremenko, V.; Yoon, K. W.

2016-07-01

The third generation receiver for the South Pole Telescope, SPT-3G, will make extremely deep, arcminuteresolution maps of the temperature and polarization of the cosmic microwave background. The SPT-3G maps will enable studies of the B-mode polarization signature, constraining primordial gravitational waves as well as the effect of massive neutrinos on structure formation in the late universe. The SPT-3G receiver will achieve exceptional sensitivity through a focal plane of 16,000 transition-edge sensor bolometers, an order of magnitude more than the current SPTpol receiver. SPT-3G uses a frequency domain multiplexing (fMux) scheme to read out the focal plane, combining the signals from 64 bolometers onto a single pair of wires. The fMux readout facilitates the large number of detectors in the SPT-3G focal plane by limiting the thermal load due to readout wiring on the 250 millikelvin cryogenic stage. A second advantage of the fMux system is that the operation of each bolometer can be optimized. In addition to these benefits, the fMux readout introduces new challenges into the design and operation of the receiver. The bolometers are operated at a range of frequencies up to 5 MHz, requiring control of stray reactances over a large bandwidth. Additionally, crosstalk between multiplexed detectors will inject large false signals into the data if not adequately mitigated. SPT-3G is scheduled to deploy to the South Pole Telescope in late 2016. Here, we present the pre-deployment performance of the fMux readout system with the SPT-3G focal plane.

Primary Focal Dystonia: Evidence for Distinct Neuropsychiatric and Personality Profiles

OpenAIRE

2009-01-01

Abstract Background: Primary focal dystonia (PFD) is characterized by motor symptoms. Frequent co-occurrence of abnormal mental conditions has been mentioned for decades but is less well defined. We evaluated prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders, personality disorders and traits in a large cohort of PFD patients. Methods: Prevalence rates of clinical psychiatric diagnoses in 86 PFD patients were compared to a population-based sample (N=3943) using a multiple regress...

Multi-focal Vision and Gaze Control Improve Navigation Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kolja Kuehnlenz

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Multi-focal vision systems comprise cameras with various fields of view and measurement accuracies. This article presents a multi-focal approach to localization and mapping of mobile robots with active vision. An implementation of the novel concept is done considering a humanoid robot navigation scenario where the robot is visually guided through a structured environment with several landmarks. Various embodiments of multi-focal vision systems are investigated and the impact on navigation performance is evaluated in comparison to a conventional mono-focal stereo set-up. The comparative studies clearly show the benefits of multi-focal vision for mobile robot navigation: flexibility to assign the different available sensors optimally in each situation, enhancement of the visible field, higher localization accuracy, and, thus, better task performance, i.e. path following behavior of the mobile robot. It is shown that multi-focal vision may strongly improve navigation performance.

Flotillins Regulate Focal Adhesions by Interacting with α-Actinin and by Influencing the Activation of Focal Adhesion Kinase

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antje Banning

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Cell–matrix adhesion and cell migration are physiologically important processes that also play a major role in cancer spreading. In cultured cells, matrix adhesion depends on integrin-containing contacts such as focal adhesions. Flotillin-1 and flotillin-2 are frequently overexpressed in cancers and are associated with poor survival. Our previous studies have revealed a role for flotillin-2 in cell–matrix adhesion and in the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton. We here show that flotillins are important for cell migration in a wound healing assay and influence the morphology and dynamics of focal adhesions. Furthermore, anchorage-independent growth in soft agar is enhanced by flotillins. In the absence of flotillins, especially flotillin-2, phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase and extracellularly regulated kinase is diminished. Flotillins interact with α-actinin, a major regulator of focal adhesion dynamics. These findings are important for understanding the molecular mechanisms of how flotillin overexpression in cancers may affect cell migration and, especially, enhance metastasis formation.

Continuously variable focal length lens

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Bernhard W; Chollet, Matthieu C

2013-12-17

A material preferably in crystal form having a low atomic number such as beryllium (Z=4) provides for the focusing of x-rays in a continuously variable manner. The material is provided with plural spaced curvilinear, optically matched slots and/or recesses through which an x-ray beam is directed. The focal length of the material may be decreased or increased by increasing or decreasing, respectively, the number of slots (or recesses) through which the x-ray beam is directed, while fine tuning of the focal length is accomplished by rotation of the material so as to change the path length of the x-ray beam through the aligned cylindrical slows. X-ray analysis of a fixed point in a solid material may be performed by scanning the energy of the x-ray beam while rotating the material to maintain the beam's focal point at a fixed point in the specimen undergoing analysis.

Peptidoglycan architecture can specify division planes in Staphylococcus aureus.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Robert D; Ratcliffe, Emma C; Wheeler, Richard; Golestanian, Ramin; Hobbs, Jamie K; Foster, Simon J

2010-06-15

Division in Staphylococci occurs equatorially and on specific sequentially orthogonal planes in three dimensions, resulting, after incomplete cell separation, in the 'bunch of grapes' cluster organization that defines the genus. The shape of Staphylococci is principally maintained by peptidoglycan. In this study, we use Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and fluorescence microscopy with vancomycin labelling to examine purified peptidoglycan architecture and its dynamics in Staphylococcus aureus and correlate these with the cell cycle. At the presumptive septum, cells were found to form a large belt of peptidoglycan in the division plane before the centripetal formation of the septal disc; this often had a 'piecrust' texture. After division, the structures remain as orthogonal ribs, encoding the location of past division planes in the cell wall. We propose that this epigenetic information is used to enable S. aureus to divide in sequentially orthogonal planes, explaining how a spherical organism can maintain division plane localization with fidelity over many generations.

Novel calibration system with sparse wires for CMB polarization receivers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tajima, O.; /KEK, Tsukuba /Chicago U., KICP; Nguyen, H.; /Fermilab; Bischoff, C.; /Chicago U., KICP /Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. Astrophys.; Brizius, A.; Buder, I.; Kusaka, A. /Chicago U., KICP

2011-07-01

B-modes in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization is a smoking gun signature of the inflationary universe. To achieve better sensitivity to this faint signal, CMB polarization experiments aim to maximize the number of detector elements, resulting in a large focal plane receiver. Detector calibration of the polarization response becomes essential. It is extremely useful to be able to calibrate 'simultaneously' all detectors on the large focal plane. We developed a novel calibration system that rotates a large 'sparse' grid of metal wires, in front of and fully covering the field of view of the focal plane receiver. Polarized radiation is created via the reflection of ambient temperature from the wire surface. Since the detector has a finite beam size, the observed signal is smeared according to the beam property. The resulting smeared polarized radiation has a reasonable intensity (a few Kelvin or less) compared to the sky temperature ({approx}10 K observing condition). The system played a successful role for receiver calibration of QUIET, a CMB polarization experiment located in the Atacama desert in Chile. The successful performance revealed that this system is applicable to other experiments based on different technologies, e.g. TES bolometers.

Intracoronary infusion of catecholamines causes focal arrhythmias in pigs.

Science.gov (United States)

Doppalapudi, Harish; Jin, Qi; Dosdall, Derek J; Qin, Hao; Walcott, Gregory P; Killingsworth, Cheryl R; Smith, William M; Ideker, Raymond E; Huang, Jian

2008-09-01

Acute ischemia causes myriad changes including increased catecholamines. We tested the hypothesis that elevated catecholamines alone are arrhythmogenic. A 504 electrode sock was placed over both ventricles in six open-chest pigs. During control infusion of saline through a catheter in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), no sustained arrhythmias occurred, and the refractory period estimated by the activation recovery interval (ARI) was 175 +/- 14 ms in the LAD bed below the catheter. After infusion of isoproterenol at 0.1 microg/kg/min through the catheter, the ARI in this bed was significantly reduced to 109 +/- 10 ms. A sharp gradient of refractoriness of 43 +/- 10 ms was at the border of the perfused bed. Sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia occurred after drug infusion in the perfused bed or near its boundary in all animals with a cycle length of 329 +/- 26 ms and a focal origin. The maximum slope of the ARI restitution curve at the focal origins of the tachyarrhythmias was always <1 (0.62 +/- 0.15). Similar results with a focal arrhythmia origin occurred in two additional pigs in which intramural mapping was performed with 36 plunge needle electrodes in the left ventricular perfused bed. Regional elevation of a catecholamine, which is one of the alterations produced by acute ischemia, can by itself cause tachyarrhythmias. These arrhythmias are closely associated with a shortened refractory period and a large gradient of the spatial distribution of refractoriness but not with a steep restitution curve.

A parallel orbital-updating based plane-wave basis method for electronic structure calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pan, Yan; Dai, Xiaoying; Gironcoli, Stefano de; Gong, Xin-Gao; Rignanese, Gian-Marco; Zhou, Aihui

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Propose three parallel orbital-updating based plane-wave basis methods for electronic structure calculations. • These new methods can avoid the generating of large scale eigenvalue problems and then reduce the computational cost. • These new methods allow for two-level parallelization which is particularly interesting for large scale parallelization. • Numerical experiments show that these new methods are reliable and efficient for large scale calculations on modern supercomputers. - Abstract: Motivated by the recently proposed parallel orbital-updating approach in real space method , we propose a parallel orbital-updating based plane-wave basis method for electronic structure calculations, for solving the corresponding eigenvalue problems. In addition, we propose two new modified parallel orbital-updating methods. Compared to the traditional plane-wave methods, our methods allow for two-level parallelization, which is particularly interesting for large scale parallelization. Numerical experiments show that these new methods are more reliable and efficient for large scale calculations on modern supercomputers.

CT appearance of focal fatty infiltration of the liver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halvorsen, R.A.; Korobkin, M.; Ram, P.C.; Thompson, W.M.

1982-01-01

Focal fatty infiltration of the liver is an entity that may be confused with liver metastasis on computed tomography (CT). The imaging results and medical records of 16 patients with CT appearance suggestive of focal fatty liver were reviewed, three of whom had the simultaneous presence of metastitic liver disease. Focal fatty liver often has a distinctive appearance with CT, usually with a nonspherical shape, absence of mass effect, and density close to water. Liver metastases are usually round or oval, and unless cystic or necrotic, they have CT attenuation values closer to normal liver parenchyma than water. A radionuclide liver scan almost always resolves any confusion about the differential diagnosis of focal fatty liver: a well defined focus of photon deficiency is due to neoplasm rather than focal fatty infiltration. Sonography sometimes helps to confirm the CT impression, but may be misleading if the diagnosis of focal or diffuse fatty infiltration is not suspected before the examination

The study of the focal trough in panoramic radiograph

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, C. S.; Kim, H. P.

1982-01-01

In the study of the focal trough of panoramic radiograph, using the Moritta company Panex EC a series of 48 exposures were taken with the 6-18 brass pins placed in the holes of the plastic model plate, then evaluated by 4 observers. The author analyzed the focal trough defined by the sharpness criteria and calculated the vertical and horizontal magnification range in the corrected focal trough. The results were as follows; 1. Continuous focal trough was not defined in the anterior region using a very high degree of sharpness. 2. As degree of sharpness used in the analysis became less, focal trough was continuous in the anterior and posterior regions, symmetrized bilaterally, and the widths of the focal trough increased more in the posterior region. 3. As sharpness criteria were reduced, the percentage range of image magnification increased in both vertical and horizontal magnification, and especially the percentage range of horizontal magnification was greater than that of vertical magnification.

Synchrotron- and focal plane array-based Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy differentiates the basalis and functionalis epithelial endometrial regions and identifies putative stem cell regions of human endometrial glands.

Science.gov (United States)

Theophilou, Georgios; Morais, Camilo L M; Halliwell, Diane E; Lima, Kássio M G; Drury, Josephine; Martin-Hirsch, Pierre L; Stringfellow, Helen F; Hapangama, Dharani K; Martin, Francis L

2018-05-09

The cyclical process of regeneration of the endometrium suggests that it may contain a cell population that can provide daughter cells with high proliferative potential. These cell lineages are clinically significant as they may represent clonogenic cells that may also be involved in tumourigenesis as well as endometriotic lesion development. To determine whether the putative stem cell location within human uterine tissue can be derived using vibrational spectroscopy techniques, normal endometrial tissue was interrogated by two spectroscopic techniques. Paraffin-embedded uterine tissues containing endometrial glands were sectioned to 10-μm-thick parallel tissue sections and were floated onto BaF 2 slides for synchrotron radiation-based Fourier-transform infrared (SR-FTIR) microspectroscopy and globar focal plane array-based FTIR spectroscopy. Different spectral characteristics were identified depending on the location of the glands examined. The resulting infrared spectra were subjected to multivariate analysis to determine associated biophysical differences along the length of longitudinal and crosscut gland sections. Comparison of the epithelial cellular layer of transverse gland sections revealed alterations indicating the presence of putative transient-amplifying-like cells in the basalis and mitotic cells in the functionalis. SR-FTIR microspectroscopy of the base of the endometrial glands identified the location where putative stem cells may reside at the same time pointing towards ν s PO 2 - in DNA and RNA, nucleic acids and amide I and II vibrations as major discriminating factors. This study supports the view that vibration spectroscopy technologies are a powerful adjunct to our understanding of the stem cell biology of endometrial tissue. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Influence of Si-doping on heteroepitaxially grown a-plane GaN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wieneke, Matthias; Bastek, Barbara; Noltemeyer, Martin; Hempel, Thomas; Rohrbeck, Antje; Witte, Hartmut; Veit, Peter; Blaesing, Juergen; Dadgar, Armin; Christen, Juergen; Krost, Alois [Otto-von-Guericke-Universitaet Magdeburg, FNW/IEP, Universitaetsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg (Germany)

2011-07-01

Si-doped a-plane GaN samples with nominal doping levels up to 10{sup 20} cm{sup -3} were grown on r-plane sapphire by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. Silane flow rates higher than 59 nmol/min lead to three dimensional grown crystallites as revealed by scanning electron microscopy. High resolution X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence suggest considerably reduced defect densities in the large micrometer-sized GaN crystallites. Especially, transmission electron microscopy images verify a very low density of basal plane stacking faults less than 10{sup 4} cm{sup -1} in these crystallites consisting of heteroepitaxially grown a-plane GaN. In our presentation the influence of the Si doping on the basal plane stacking faults will be discussed.

Focal myositis: A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Devic, P; Gallay, L; Streichenberger, N; Petiot, P

2016-11-01

Amongst the heterogeneous group of inflammatory myopathies, focal myositis stands as a rare and benign dysimmune disease. Although it can be associated with root and/or nerve lesions, traumatic muscle lesions and autoimmune diseases, its triggering factors remain poorly understood. Defined as an isolated inflammatory pseudotumour usually restricted to one skeletal muscle, clinical presentation of focal myositis is that of a rapidly growing solitary mass within a single muscle, usually in the lower limbs. Electromyography shows spontaneous activity associated with a myopathic pattern. MRI reveals a contrast enhanced enlarged muscle appearing hyper-intense on FAT-SAT T2 weighted images. Adjacent structures are spared and there are no calcifications. Serum creatine kinase (CK) levels are usually moderately augmented and biological markers of systemic inflammation are absent in most cases. Pathological histological features include marked variation in fibre size, inflammatory infiltrates mostly composed of T CD4+ lymphocytes and macrophages, degenerating/regenerating fibres and interstitial fibrosis. Differential diagnoses are numerous and include myositis of other origin with focal onset. Steroid treatment should be reserved for patients who present with major pain, nerve lesions, associated autoimmune disease, or elevated C reactive protein or CK. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prenatal sonographic diagnosis of focal musculoskeletal anomalies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryu, Jung-Kyu; Cho, Jeong-Yeon; Choi, Jong-Sun

2003-01-01

Focal musculoskeletal anomalies vary, and can manifest as part of a syndrome or be accompanied by numerous other conditions such as genetic disorders, karyotype abnormalities, central nervous system anomalies and other skeletal anomalies, lsolated focal musculoskeletal anomaly does, however, also occur; its early prenatal diagnosis is important in deciding prenatal care, and also helps in counseling parents about the postnatal effects of numerous possible associated anomalies. We have encountered 50 cases involving focal musculoskeletal anomalies, including total limb dysplasia [radial ray abnormality (n=3), mesomelic dysplasia (n=1)]; anomalies of the hand [polydactyly (n=8), syndactyly (n=3), ectrodactyly (n=1), clinodactyly (n=6), clenched hand (n=5)]; anomalies of the foot [clubfoot (n=10), rockerbottom foot (n=5), sandal gap deformity (n=1), curly toe (n=2)]; amniotic band syndrome (n=3); and anomalies of the focal spine [block vertebra (n=1), hemivertebra (n=1)]. Among these 50 cases, five [polydactyly (n=1), syndactyly (n=2) and curly toe (n=2) were confirmed by postnatal physical evaluation, two (focal spine anomalies) were diagnosed after postnatal radiologic examination, and the remaining 43 were proven at autopsy. For each condition, we describe the prenatal sonographic findings, and include a brief review

Prenatal sonographic diagnosis of focal musculoskeletal anomalies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ryu, Jung-Kyu; Cho, Jeong-Yeon; Choi, Jong-Sun [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2003-12-15

Focal musculoskeletal anomalies vary, and can manifest as part of a syndrome or be accompanied by numerous other conditions such as genetic disorders, karyotype abnormalities, central nervous system anomalies and other skeletal anomalies, lsolated focal musculoskeletal anomaly does, however, also occur; its early prenatal diagnosis is important in deciding prenatal care, and also helps in counseling parents about the postnatal effects of numerous possible associated anomalies. We have encountered 50 cases involving focal musculoskeletal anomalies, including total limb dysplasia [radial ray abnormality (n=3), mesomelic dysplasia (n=1)]; anomalies of the hand [polydactyly (n=8), syndactyly (n=3), ectrodactyly (n=1), clinodactyly (n=6), clenched hand (n=5)]; anomalies of the foot [clubfoot (n=10), rockerbottom foot (n=5), sandal gap deformity (n=1), curly toe (n=2)]; amniotic band syndrome (n=3); and anomalies of the focal spine [block vertebra (n=1), hemivertebra (n=1)]. Among these 50 cases, five [polydactyly (n=1), syndactyly (n=2) and curly toe (n=2) were confirmed by postnatal physical evaluation, two (focal spine anomalies) were diagnosed after postnatal radiologic examination, and the remaining 43 were proven at autopsy. For each condition, we describe the prenatal sonographic findings, and include a brief review.

Focal plane arrays for THz imaging

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Iacono, A.; Bencivenni, C.; Freni, A.; Neto, A.; Gerini, G.

2012-01-01

The growing attention for Terahertz technology finds support in the high number of applications which will benefit by its use. In the space science sector, the investigation of the THz frequency range will improve the knowledge of the universe, giving a clearer view on its origin and its evolution.

Instability of in-plane vortices in two-dimensional easy-plane ferromagnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wysin, G.M.

1994-01-01

An analysis of the core region of an in-plane vortex in the two-dimensional Heisenberg model with easy-plane anisotropy λ=J z /J xy leads to a clear understanding of the instability towards transformation into an out-of-plane vortex as a function of anisotropy. The anisotropy parameter λ c at which the in-plane vortex becomes unstable and develops into an out-of-plane vortex is determined with an accuracy comparable to computer simulations for square, hexagonal, and triangular lattices. For λ c , the in-plane vortex is stable but exhibits a normal mode whose frequency goes to zero as ω∝(λ c -λ) 1/2 as λ approaches λ c . For λ>λ c , the static nonzero out-of-plane spin components grow as (λ-λ c ) 1/2 . The lattice dependence of λ c is determined strongly by the number of spins in the core plaquette, is fundamentally a discreteness effect, and cannot be obtained in a continuum theory

The significance of incidental focal colonic 18FDG uptake on PET scanning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartholomeusz, Dylan; Schultz, Christopher

2009-01-01

Full text: The incidental discovery of colonic polyps, colonic malignancy, diverticulitis and inflammation during PET scanning is well described. This study is a retrospective review of the incidence and follow up of incidental focal FOG uptake in the colon detected during routine PET scanning. PET scan reports over 12 months were reviewed for the reporting of incidental colonic uptake and then clinical follow up performed in available patient records for the incidence of further colonic investigation and results. In 2008, 1985 PET scans were reported at the Royal Adelaide Hospital for the staging and detection of malignancy. Review of the results show that incidental focal colonic uptake was seen in 27 cases, (II female aged 56-83 years). Follow up colonoscopy was performed in 8 cases and in 4 cases showed tubulovillous adenomas, 7-9 mm in size, in the region of abnormal FOG uptake, I had divetticulae and another focal inflammation. Two colonoscopies revealed no abnormality (25% false negative rate). One patient with Head and Neck cancer did not have colonoscopy but the colonic lesion resolved on a post therapy PET scan. Of the 18 cases that did not have colonoscopic follow up 5 were reported on the PET scan to have diffuse probably physiological caecal activity but 13 had focal lesions in the large bowel. Although incidental colonic lesions were detected in only 1.3% of studies, of those having colonoscopy 75 % had significant findings.

Microplate Heat Exchanger, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We propose a microplate heat exchanger for cryogenic cooling systems used for continuous flow distributed cooling systems, large focal plane arrays, multiple cooling...

Heteroepitaxial growth of basal plane stacking fault free a-plane GaN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wieneke, Matthias; Hempel, Thomas; Noltemeyer, Martin; Witte, Hartmut; Dadgar, Armin; Blaesing, Juergen; Christen, Juergen; Krost, Alois [Otto-von-Guericke Universitaet Magdeburg, FNW/IEP, Magdeburg (Germany)

2010-07-01

Growth of light emitting quantum-wells based on a-plane GaN is a possibility to reduce or even to avoid polarization correlated luminescence red shift and reduction of radiative recombination efficiency. But until now heteroepitaxially grown a-plane GaN films are characterized by a poor crystalline quality expressed by a high density of basal plane stacking faults (BSF) and partial dislocations. We present Si doped a-plane GaN films grown on r-plane sapphire substrates by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy using high temperature AlGaN nucleation layers. FE-SEM images revealed three dimensionally grown GaN crystallites sized up to tenth micrometer in the basal plane and a few tenth micrometers along the c-axes. Though, the full width at half maxima of the X-ray diffraction {omega}-scans of the in-plane GaN(1 anti 100) and GaN(0002) Bragg reflections exhibited a very high crystal quality. Furthermore, luminescence spectra were dominated by near band gap emission, while there was no separated peak of the basal plane stacking fault. In summary we present heteroepitaxially grown a-plane GaN without an evidence of basal plane stacking faults in X-ray diffraction measurements and luminescence spectra.

Second-hit mosaic mutation in mTORC1 repressor DEPDC5 causes focal cortical dysplasia-associated epilepsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Ribierre, Théo; Deleuze, Charlotte; Bacq, Alexandre; Baldassari, Sara; Marsan, Elise; Chipaux, Mathilde; Muraca, Giuseppe; Roussel, Delphine; Navarro, Vincent; Leguern, Eric; Miles, Richard; Baulac, Stéphanie

2018-04-30

DEP domain-containing 5 protein (DEPDC5) is a repressor of the recently recognized amino acid-sensing branch of the mTORC1 pathway. So far, its function in the brain remains largely unknown. Germline loss-of-function mutations in DEPDC5 have emerged as a major cause of familial refractory focal epilepsies, with case reports of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). Remarkably, a fraction of patients also develop focal cortical dysplasia (FCD), a neurodevelopmental cortical malformation. We therefore hypothesized that a somatic second-hit mutation arising during brain development may support the focal nature of the dysplasia. Here, using postoperative human tissue, we provide the proof of concept that a biallelic 2-hit - brain somatic and germline - mutational mechanism in DEPDC5 causes focal epilepsy with FCD. We discovered a mutation gradient with a higher rate of mosaicism in the seizure-onset zone than in the surrounding epileptogenic zone. Furthermore, we demonstrate the causality of a Depdc5 brain mosaic inactivation using CRISPR-Cas9 editing and in utero electroporation in a mouse model recapitulating focal epilepsy with FCD and SUDEP-like events. We further unveil a key role of Depdc5 in shaping dendrite and spine morphology of excitatory neurons. This study reveals promising therapeutic avenues for treating drug-resistant focal epilepsies with mTORC1-targeting molecules.

A case of alcoholic hepatitis demonstrating focal fatty infiltration of the liver on computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uesaka, Toshihiro; Kato, Masayoshi; Nagai, Tadayuki; Kametani, Tomio; Horigami, Tateyuki; Takimoto, Hiroaki; Tanino, Mikio

1985-01-01

Focal fatty infiltration of the liver is a newly recognized entity that may be confused with primary neoplasm or tumor metastasis on computed tomography. We report a 31-year-old woman with a history of chronic alcoholism. Physical examination revealed jaundice, marked hepatomegaly and ascites. Laboratory studies revealed mild elevation of bilirubin, AlP, GOT, γ-GTP and marked leukocytosis. Abdominal CT showed a large area of decreased density in the right lobe. The radionuclide scan demonstrated the area of diminished activity located in the central portion of the right lobe. Ultrasonography demonstrated high echoic mass shadows in the right lobe. The rapid disappearance of the low density area on CT was recognized. The liver biopsy specimen revealed fatty metamorphosis, alcoholic hyaline bodies, pericellular fibrosis and mild lobular disorganization. Focal fatty infiltration can mimic focal hepatic lesions and repeat CT scans are useful in diagnosis. (author)

CT scan findings in focal epilepsy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, Eiki; Mihara, Tadahiro; Yamamoto, Kunimitsu; Yamashita, Kenji; Asakura, Tetsuhiko

1980-01-01

In 80 cases of focal epilepsy, excluding such cases as late onset after the age of 30 and traumatic or expansive lesions, the epileptogenic foci have been studied by comparing the CT findings with the seizure types and the EEG findings. The results were as follows: (1) Abnormal CT findings were observed in 36% of the patients. (2) These findings were classified into 4 large groups: localized cerebral atrophy, localized low density, localized high density with contrast enhancement and diffuse cerebral atrophy. (3) The incidence of CT abnormality was higher in the cases with continuous and localized EEG abnormality than in the cases with other types of EEG abnormality. In 48% of the cases, the location of the abnormal CT findings coincided with their EEG foci. (4) In the cases of temporal lobe epilepsy without abnormal CT images, the print-out data compared with the bilateral promised temporal regions, before and after contrast enhancement. The EMI-No. of the medial temporal focus increased more than that of the contralateral side in 3 cases out of 4 after contrast-media injection. (5) Moreover, for the purpose of comparing the CT findings on general seizures with those in focal seizures, we have studied 80 cases of general seizures. In the cases of the general seizures, abnormal CT findings were observed in only 16%. These abnormal findings were diffuse in 5 cases, localized in 6 cases, and combined in 3 cases. (author)

Focal mechanisms and moment magnitudes of micro-earthquakes in central Brazil by waveform inversion with quality assessment and inference of the local stress field

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, Juraci; Barros, Lucas Vieira; Zahradník, Jiří

2016-11-01

This paper documents an investigation on the use of full waveform inversion to retrieve focal mechanisms of 11 micro-earthquakes (Mw 0.8 to 1.4). The events represent aftershocks of a 5.0 mb earthquake that occurred on October 8, 2010 close to the city of Mara Rosa in the state of Goiás, Brazil. The main contribution of the work lies in demonstrating the feasibility of waveform inversion of such weak events. The inversion was made possible thanks to recordings available at 8 temporary seismic stations in epicentral distances of less than 8 km, at which waveforms can be successfully modeled at relatively high frequencies (1.5-2.0 Hz). On average, the fault-plane solutions obtained are in agreement with a composite focal mechanism previously calculated from first-motion polarities. They also agree with the fault geometry inferred from precise relocation of the Mara Rosa aftershock sequence. The focal mechanisms provide an estimate of the local stress field. This paper serves as a pilot study for similar investigations in intraplate regions where the stress-field investigations are difficult due to rare earthquake occurrences, and where weak events must be studied with a detailed quality assessment.

Search for Extended Sources in the Galactic Plane Using Six Years of Fermi -Large Area Telescope Pass 8 Data above 10 GeV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ackermann, M.; Buehler, R.; Ajello, M.; Baldini, L.; Ballet, J.; Barbiellini, G.; Bastieri, D.; Bellazzini, R.; Bissaldi, E.; Caragiulo, M.; Bloom, E. D.; Bottacini, E.; Cameron, R. A.; Bonino, R.; Brandt, T. J.; Castro, D.; Bregeon, J.; Bruel, P.; Caraveo, P. A.; Cavazzuti, E.

2017-01-01

The spatial extension of a γ -ray source is an essential ingredient to determine its spectral properties, as well as its potential multiwavelength counterpart. The capability to spatially resolve γ -ray sources is greatly improved by the newly delivered Fermi -Large Area Telescope (LAT) Pass 8 event-level analysis, which provides a greater acceptance and an improved point-spread function, two crucial factors for the detection of extended sources. Here, we present a complete search for extended sources located within 7° from the Galactic plane, using 6 yr of Fermi -LAT data above 10 GeV. We find 46 extended sources and provide their morphological and spectral characteristics. This constitutes the first catalog of hard Fermi -LAT extended sources, named the Fermi Galactic Extended Source Catalog, which allows a thorough study of the properties of the Galactic plane in the sub-TeV domain.

Search for Extended Sources in the Galactic Plane Using Six Years of Fermi -Large Area Telescope Pass 8 Data above 10 GeV

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ackermann, M.; Buehler, R. [Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron DESY, D-15738 Zeuthen (Germany); Ajello, M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Kinard Lab of Physics, Clemson, SC 29634-0978 (United States); Baldini, L. [Università di Pisa and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Ballet, J. [Laboratoire AIM, CEA-IRFU/CNRS/Université Paris Diderot, Service d’Astrophysique, CEA Saclay, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette (France); Barbiellini, G. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste, I-34127 Trieste (Italy); Bastieri, D. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova, I-35131 Padova (Italy); Bellazzini, R. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Bissaldi, E.; Caragiulo, M. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari, I-70126 Bari (Italy); Bloom, E. D.; Bottacini, E.; Cameron, R. A. [W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Bonino, R. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, I-10125 Torino (Italy); Brandt, T. J.; Castro, D. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Bregeon, J. [Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier, Université Montpellier, CNRS/IN2P3, F-34095 Montpellier (France); Bruel, P. [Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet, École polytechnique, CNRS/IN2P3, F-91128 Palaiseau (France); Caraveo, P. A. [INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica Milano, via E. Bassini 15, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Cavazzuti, E., E-mail: jcohen@astro.umd.edu, E-mail: elizabeth.a.hays@nasa.gov [Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) Science Data Center, I-00133 Roma (Italy); and others

2017-07-10

The spatial extension of a γ -ray source is an essential ingredient to determine its spectral properties, as well as its potential multiwavelength counterpart. The capability to spatially resolve γ -ray sources is greatly improved by the newly delivered Fermi -Large Area Telescope (LAT) Pass 8 event-level analysis, which provides a greater acceptance and an improved point-spread function, two crucial factors for the detection of extended sources. Here, we present a complete search for extended sources located within 7° from the Galactic plane, using 6 yr of Fermi -LAT data above 10 GeV. We find 46 extended sources and provide their morphological and spectral characteristics. This constitutes the first catalog of hard Fermi -LAT extended sources, named the Fermi Galactic Extended Source Catalog, which allows a thorough study of the properties of the Galactic plane in the sub-TeV domain.

Focal Atrichia: A Diagnostic Clue in Female Pattern Hair Loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Elise A; Whiting, David A

2017-10-07

Focal atrichia is a common clinical finding in female pattern hair loss whose specificity and histologic findings need further clarification. To determine the frequency of focal atrichia in various types of hair loss and its histologic characteristics in female pattern hair loss. Part 1: Review of 250 consecutive female patients seen with hair loss for the presence of focal atrichia and Part 2: paired biopsies of haired areas vs focal atrichia in 18 subjects with female pattern hair loss RESULTS: Focal atrichia was seen in 46/104 (44%) of women with female pattern hair loss, including 67% of late onset vs 15% of early onset, compared to 3/146 (2%) of those with other hair disorders Biopsy findings of focal atrichia in female pattern hair loss showed primarily a more progressive miniaturization process than that of haired areas of the scalp. Some women with female pattern hair loss may have had concomitant chronic telogen effluvium CONCLUSIONS: When present, focal atrichia is a clinical clue to the diagnosis of female pattern hair loss, particularly late onset subtype. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Next generation HgCdTe FPAs for high frame rate characterization of thermal protective systems, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Typical existing infrared (IR) focal plane arrays (FPAs) have high spatial resolution over large areas due to their high pixel counts, however they can only...

A three-degree-of-freedom thin-film PZT-actuated microactuator with large out-of-plane displacement.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Jongsoo; Qiu, Zhen; Rhee, Choong-Ho; Wang, Thomas; Oldham, Kenn

2014-07-01

A novel three degree-of-freedom microactuator based on thin-film lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) is described with its detailed structural model. Its central rectangular-shaped mirror platform, also referred to as the stage, is actuated by four symmetric PZT bending legs such that each leg provides vertical translation for one corner of the stage. It has been developed to support real-time in vivo vertical cross-sectional imaging with a dual axes confocal endomicroscope for early cancer detection, having large displacements in three axes (z, θ x , θ y ) and a relatively high bandwidth in the z-axis direction. Prototype microactuators closely meet the performance requirements for this application; in the out-of-plane (z-axis) direction, it has shown more than 177 μ m of displacement and about 84 Hz of structural natural frequency, when two diagonal legs are actuated at 14V. With all four legs, another prototype of the same design with lighter stage mass has achieved more than 430 μ m of out-of-plane displacement at 15V and about 200 Hz of bandwidth. The former design has shown approximately 6.4° and 2.9° of stage tilting about the x-axis and y-axis, respectively, at 14V. This paper also presents a modeling technique that uses experimental data to account for the effects of fabrication uncertainties in residual stress and structural dimensions. The presented model predicts the static motion of the stage within an average absolute error of 14.6 μ m, which approaches the desired imaging resolution, 5 μ m, and also reasonably anticipates the structural dynamic behavior of the stage. The refined model will support development of a future trajectory tracking controller for the system.

Focal Length Affects Depicted Shape and Perception of Facial Images.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vít Třebický

Full Text Available Static photographs are currently the most often employed stimuli in research on social perception. The method of photograph acquisition might affect the depicted subject's facial appearance and thus also the impression of such stimuli. An important factor influencing the resulting photograph is focal length, as different focal lengths produce various levels of image distortion. Here we tested whether different focal lengths (50, 85, 105 mm affect depicted shape and perception of female and male faces. We collected three portrait photographs of 45 (22 females, 23 males participants under standardized conditions and camera setting varying only in the focal length. Subsequently, the three photographs from each individual were shown on screen in a randomized order using a 3-alternative forced-choice paradigm. The images were judged for attractiveness, dominance, and femininity/masculinity by 369 raters (193 females, 176 males. Facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR was measured from each photograph and overall facial shape was analysed employing geometric morphometric methods (GMM. Our results showed that photographs taken with 50 mm focal length were rated as significantly less feminine/masculine, attractive, and dominant compared to the images taken with longer focal lengths. Further, shorter focal lengths produced faces with smaller fWHR. Subsequent GMM revealed focal length significantly affected overall facial shape of the photographed subjects. Thus methodology of photograph acquisition, focal length in this case, can significantly affect results of studies using photographic stimuli perhaps due to different levels of perspective distortion that influence shapes and proportions of morphological traits.

Prenatal sonographic diagnosis of focal musculoskeletal anomalies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ryu, Jung Kyu; Cho, Jeong Yeon; Lee, Young Ho; Kim, Ei Jeong; Chun, Yi Kyeong [Samsung Cheil Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2002-09-15

Focal musculoskeletal anomalies are various and may be an isolated finding or may be found in conjunction with numerous associations, including genetic syndromes, Karyotype abnormals, central nervous system anomalies and other general musculoskeletal disorders. Early prenatal diagnosis of these focal musculoskeletal anomalies nor only affects prenatal care and postnatal outcome but also helps in approaching other numerous associated anomalies.

Prenatal sonographic diagnosis of focal musculoskeletal anomalies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryu, Jung Kyu; Cho, Jeong Yeon; Lee, Young Ho; Kim, Ei Jeong; Chun, Yi Kyeong

2002-01-01

Focal musculoskeletal anomalies are various and may be an isolated finding or may be found in conjunction with numerous associations, including genetic syndromes, Karyotype abnormals, central nervous system anomalies and other general musculoskeletal disorders. Early prenatal diagnosis of these focal musculoskeletal anomalies nor only affects prenatal care and postnatal outcome but also helps in approaching other numerous associated anomalies.

FOCAL CORTICAL DYSPLASIAS: CLINICAL AND ELECTRO-NEUROIMAGING CHARACTERISTICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Yu. Mukhin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In spite of a notable advance made in epileptology, resistant epilepsies account for approximately 30 % of all forms of epilepsy particularly in patients with focal seizures. One of the main causes of therapy-resistant focal epilepsies is focal cortical dysplasias (FCD. This term was first introduced by D. Taylor et al. in 1971. FCD belongs to abnormal cortical development. Among all abnormalities of cortical development, FCD in surgically treated children amounts to 75 %. FCD is the most common cause of resistant epilepsy in children and the most frequent reason for diagnosing cryptogenic focal epilepsy with intractable seizures. The author gives a detailed literature review dedicated to FCD as a cause of resistant epilepsy, including the classification and histologic characteristics of FCD, its clinical manifestations and prognosis, and approaches to medical and surgical treatments. 

The semiology of febrile seizures: Focal features are frequent.

Science.gov (United States)

Takasu, Michihiko; Kubota, Tetsuo; Tsuji, Takeshi; Kurahashi, Hirokazu; Numoto, Shingo; Watanabe, Kazuyoshi; Okumura, Akihisa

2017-08-01

To clarify the semiology of febrile seizures (FS) and to determine the frequency of FS with symptoms suggestive of focal onset. FS symptoms in children were reported within 24h of seizure onset by the parents using a structured questionnaire consisting principally of closed-ended questions. We focused on events at seizure commencement, including changes in behavior and facial expression, and ocular and oral symptoms. We also investigated the autonomic and motor symptoms developing during seizures. The presence or absence of focal and limbic features was determined for each patient. The associations of certain focal and limbic features with patient characteristics were assessed. Information was obtained on FS in 106 children. Various events were recorded at seizure commencement. Behavioral changes were observed in 35 children, changes in facial expression in 53, ocular symptoms in 78, and oral symptoms in 90. In terms of events during seizures, autonomic symptoms were recognized in 78, and convulsive motor symptoms were recognized in 68 children. Focal features were evident in 81 children; 38 children had two or more such features. Limbic features were observed in 44 children, 9 of whom had two or more such features. There was no significant relationship between any patient characteristic and the numbers of focal or limbic features. The semiology of FS varied widely among children, and symptoms suggestive of focal onset were frequent. FS of focal onset may be more common than is generally thought. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multi-planed unified switching topologies

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Dong; Heidelberger, Philip; Sugawara, Yutaka

2017-07-04

An apparatus and method for extending the scalability and improving the partitionability of networks that contain all-to-all links for transporting packet traffic from a source endpoint to a destination endpoint with low per-endpoint (per-server) cost and a small number of hops. An all-to-all wiring in the baseline topology is decomposed into smaller all-to-all components in which each smaller all-to-all connection is replaced with star topology by using global switches. Stacking multiple copies of the star topology baseline network creates a multi-planed switching topology for transporting packet traffic. Point-to-point unified stacking method using global switch wiring methods connects multiple planes of a baseline topology by using the global switches to create a large network size with a low number of hops, i.e., low network latency. Grouped unified stacking method increases the scalability (network size) of a stacked topology.

Plane waves with weak singularities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

David, Justin R.

2003-03-01

We study a class of time dependent solutions of the vacuum Einstein equations which are plane waves with weak null singularities. This singularity is weak in the sense that though the tidal forces diverge at the singularity, the rate of divergence is such that the distortion suffered by a freely falling observer remains finite. Among such weak singular plane waves there is a sub-class which does not exhibit large back reaction in the presence of test scalar probes. String propagation in these backgrounds is smooth and there is a natural way to continue the metric beyond the singularity. This continued metric admits string propagation without the string becoming infinitely excited. We construct a one parameter family of smooth metrics which are at a finite distance in the space of metrics from the extended metric and a well defined operator in the string sigma model which resolves the singularity. (author)

The flexible engagement of monitoring processes in non-focal and focal prospective memory tasks with salient cues.

Science.gov (United States)

Hefer, Carmen; Cohen, Anna-Lisa; Jaudas, Alexander; Dreisbach, Gesine

2017-09-01

Prospective memory (PM) refers to the ability to remember to perform a delayed intention. Here, we aimed to investigate the ability to suspend such an intention and thus to confirm previous findings (Cohen, Gordon, Jaudas, Hefer, & Dreisbach, 2016) demonstrating the ability to flexibly engage in monitoring processes. In the current study, we presented a perceptually salient PM cue (bold and red) to rule out that previous findings were limited to non-salient and, thus, easy to ignore PM cues. Moreover, we used both a non-focal (Experiment 1) and a focal PM (Experiment 2) cue. In both Experiments, three groups of participants performed an Eriksen flanker task as an ongoing task with an embedded PM task (they had to remember to press the F1 key if a pre-specified cue appeared). Participants were assigned to either a control condition (performed solely the flanker task), a standard PM condition (performed the flanker task along with the PM task), or a PM delayed condition (performed the flanker task but were instructed to postpone their PM task intention). The results of Experiment 1 with the non-focal PM cue closely replicated those of Cohen et al. (2016) and confirmed that participants were able to successfully postpone the PM cue intention without additional costs even when the PM cue was a perceptually salient one. However, when the PM cue was focal (Experiment 2), it was much more difficult for participants to ignore it as evidenced by commission errors and slower latencies on PM cue trials. In sum, results showed that the focality of the PM cue plays a more crucial role in the flexibility of the monitoring process whereas the saliency of the PM cue does not. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fabrication, test and performance of very large X-ray CCDs designed for astrophysical applications

CERN Document Server

Soltau, H; Meidinger, N; Stoetter, D; Strüder, L; Trümper, J E; Zanthier, C V; Braeuniger, H; Briel, U; Carathanassis, D; Dennerl, K; Engelhard, S; Haberl, F; Hartmann, R; Hartner, G; Hauff, D; Hippmann, H; Holl, P; Kendziorra, E; Krause, N; Lechner, P; Pfeffermann, E; Popp, M; Reppin, C; Seitz, H; Solc, P; Stadlbauer, T; Weber, U; Weichert, U

2000-01-01

A 6x6 cm sup 2 large X-ray CCD has been developed and fabricated at the Semiconductor Laboratory of the Max-Planck-Institut fuer Extraterrestrische Physik. The CCD has been designed for the focal plane cameras of two satellite missions. The concept is a fully depleted pn-CCD which is sensitive over the whole wafer thickness of about 300 mu m. It has been especially developed for X-ray detection delivering a high quantum efficiency over the energy range between 0.2 and 15 keV. A production yield of 27% was achieved. Seven good (almost) defect-free wafers were produced within the performance requirements, i.e. for temperatures below 180 K they show a homogeneous noise level smaller than 5 e sup - , a uniform spectral response with an energy resolution of 130 eV for Mn-K subalpha and a reduction of the sensitive area due to defects by less than 0.3%. Three CCDs have now been integrated in the flight cameras. The presentation comprises special aspects related with the fabrication of very large CCDs, a summary of ...

Influence of light sheet separation on SPIV measurement in a large field spanwise plane

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foucaut, J M; Coudert, S.; Braud, C.

2014-01-01

Stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (SPIV) is nowadays a well-established measurement technique for turbulent flows. However, the accuracy and the spatial resolution are still highly questionable in the presence of complex flow with both strong gradients and out-of-plane motions. To give guid...

Flux-redistribution in the focal region of a planar Fresnel ring mirror

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sastroamidjojo, M.S.A. (Gadjah Mada Univ., Indonesia); Lubis, W.

1979-01-01

The results of an investigation of flux redistribution at the focal region of a planar Fresnel ring mirror are reported. A parabolic mirror of large aperture was used to provide a parallel beam of light which was directed at the Fresnel test object. A cotton thread grid was used as a mapping aid to provide a 25 x 25 matrix of spatial data points. (SPH)

Affine planes, ternary rings, and examples of non-Desarguesian planes

OpenAIRE

Ivanov, Nikolai V.

2016-01-01

The paper is devoted to a detailed self-contained exposition of a part of the theory of affine planes leading to a construction of affine (or, equivalently, projective) planes not satisfying the Desarques axiom. It is intended to complement the introductory expositions of the theory of affine and projective planes. A novelty of our exposition is a new notation for the ternary operation in a ternary ring, much more suggestive than the standard one.

Focal necrotizing pneumonia is a distinct entity from lung abscess.

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Hyewon; Cha, Seung-Ick; Shin, Kyung-Min; Lim, Jaekwang; Yoo, Seung-Soo; Lee, Jaehee; Lee, Shin-Yup; Kim, Chang-Ho; Park, Jae-Yong

2013-10-01

'Focal necrotizing pneumonia' was defined as a localized type of necrotizing pneumonia characterized by a single or few cavities of low density without rim enhancement on computed tomography (CT) scan. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical features and course of patients with focal necrotizing pneumonia, thereby elucidating its clinical relevance. The present study was conducted retrospectively in patients who had been interpreted as having lung abscess or necrotizing pneumonia on CT scan. Clinical and radiological characteristics were compared between the focal necrotizing pneumonia and lung abscess groups. Overall, 68 patients with focal necrotizing pneumonia (n = 35) or lung abscess (n = 33) were included in the present study. The frequency of risk factors for aspiration was significantly lower in the focal necrotizing group, compared with the lung abscess group (14.3% vs 45.5%, P = 0.005). Compared with lung abscess, focal necrotizing pneumonia was observed more commonly in non-gravity-dependent segments (66% vs 36%, P lung abscess group (31% vs 12%, P = 0.08). However, in terms of treatment outcomes, a similar high rate of success was observed in both groups: 97%, respectively. Compared to lung abscess, focal necrotizing pneumonia occurs more commonly in non-gravity-dependent segments with lower incidence of risk factors for aspiration. Similar to lung abscess, the rate of success for treatment of focal necrotizing pneumonia was high. © 2013 The Authors. Respirology © 2013 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.

Proximal Focal Femoral Deficiency in Ibadan a Developing ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The cultural aversion to amputation in our environment makes it difficult to employ that option of treatment. Proximal focal femoral deficiency in Ibadan a developing country's perspective and a review of the literature. Keywords: Proximal focal femoral deficiency , congenital malformations , limb malformations , lower limb ...

Idiopathic focal epilepsies: the "lost tribe".

Science.gov (United States)

Pal, Deb K; Ferrie, Colin; Addis, Laura; Akiyama, Tomoyuki; Capovilla, Giuseppe; Caraballo, Roberto; de Saint-Martin, Anne; Fejerman, Natalio; Guerrini, Renzo; Hamandi, Khalid; Helbig, Ingo; Ioannides, Andreas A; Kobayashi, Katsuhiro; Lal, Dennis; Lesca, Gaetan; Muhle, Hiltrud; Neubauer, Bernd A; Pisano, Tiziana; Rudolf, Gabrielle; Seegmuller, Caroline; Shibata, Takashi; Smith, Anna; Striano, Pasquale; Strug, Lisa J; Szepetowski, Pierre; Valeta, Thalia; Yoshinaga, Harumi; Koutroumanidis, Michalis

2016-09-01

term "benign" is often used in connection with the IFEs and is increasingly being challenged. Certainly most of these disorders are not associated with the devastating cognitive and behavioural problems seen with early childhood epileptic encephalopathies, such as West or Dravet syndromes. However, it is clear that specific, and sometimes persistent, neuropsychological deficits in attention, language and literacy accompany many of the IFEs that, when multiplied by the large numbers affected, make up a significant public health problem. Understanding the nature, distribution, evolution, risk and management of these is an important area of current research. A corollary to such questions regarding comorbidities is the role of focal interictal spikes and their enduring impact on cognitive functioning. What explains the paradox that epilepsies characterised by abundant interictal epileptiform abnormalities are often associated with very few clinical seizures? This is an exciting area in both clinical and experimental arenas and will eventually have important implications for clinical management of the whole child, taking into account not just seizures, but also adaptive functioning and quality of life. For several decades, we have accepted an evidence-free approach to using or not using antiepileptic drugs in IFEs. There is huge international variation and only a handful of studies examining neurocognitive outcomes. Clearly, this is a situation ready for an overhaul in practice. Fundamental to understanding treatment is knowledge of aetiology. In recent years, there have been several significant discoveries in IFEs from studies of copy number variation, exome sequencing, and linkage that prompt reconsideration of the "unknown cause" classification and strongly suggest a genetic aetiology. The IFE are strongly age-related, both with regards to age of seizure onset and remission. Does this time window solely relate to a similar age-related gene expression, or are there

Focal mechanisms and tidal modulation for tectonic tremors in Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Ide, S.; Yabe, S.; Tai, H. J.; Chen, K. H.

2015-12-01

Tectonic tremors in Taiwan have been discovered beneath the southern Central Range, but their hosting structure has been unknown. Here we constrain the focal mechanism of underground deformation related to tremors, using moment tensor inversion in the very low frequency band and tidal stress analysis. Three types of seismic data are used for two analysis steps: detection of tremors and the moment tensor inversion. Short-period seismograms from CWBSN are used for tremor detection. Broadband seismograms from BATS and the TAIGER project are used for both steps. About 1000 tremors were detected using an envelope correlation method in the high frequency band (2-8 Hz). Broadband seismograms are stacked relative to the tremor timing, and inverted for a moment tensor in the low frequency band (0.02-0.05 Hz). The best solution was obtained at 32 km depth, as a double-couple consistent with a low-angle thrust fault dipping to the east-southeast, or a high-angle thrust with a south-southwest strike. Almost all tremors occur when tidal shear stress is positive and normal stress is negative (clamping). Since the clamping stress is high for a high-angle thrust fault, the low-angle thrust fault is more likely to be the fault plane. Tremor rate increases non-linearly with increasing shear stress, suggesting a velocity strengthening friction law. The high tidal sensitivity is inconsistent with horizontal slip motion suggested by previous studies, and normal faults that dominates regional shallow earthquakes. Our results favor thrust slip on a low-angle fault dipping to the east-southeast, consistent with the subduction of the Eurasian plate. The tremor region is characterized by a deep thermal anomaly with decrease normal stress. This region has also experienced enough subduction to produce metamorphic fluids. A large amount of fluid and low vertical stress may explain the high tidal sensitivity.

Uniquely identifying cell orientation and sarcomere length in the intact rodent heart with oblique plane remote focussing microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Corbett, A. D.; Burton, R. A. B.; Bub, G.; Wilson, T.

2015-07-01

In cardiac imaging, the spacing between sub-cellular sarcomere structures is of great importance to physiologists in understanding muscle design and performance. Making accurate measurements of the sarcomere length (SL) presents a significant imaging challenge owing to the size of the SL (~2μm) and its naturally low variability (pathological models of chronic hypertension. As well as improving measurement precision, the distribution of α across the field of view provides additional structural information which can be related to disease morphology. To validate this new imaging protocol, the value of α calculated from the oblique planes provided the input to a rigid model cell which was used to predict the appearance of the cell in the conventional focal plane. The comparison of the model to the image data provided a confidence metric for our measurements. Finally, by considering the optical transfer function, the range of cell orientations for which the method is valid could be calculated.

DESI focal plate mechanical integration and cooling

Science.gov (United States)

Lambert, A. R.; Besuner, R. W.; Claybaugh, T. M.; Silber, J. H.

2016-08-01

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is under construction to measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique[1]. The spectra of 40 million galaxies over 14000 sq. deg will be measured during the life of the experiment. A new prime focus corrector for the KPNO Mayall telescope will deliver light to 5000 fiber optic positioners. The fibers in turn feed ten broad-band spectrographs. This paper describes the mechanical integration of the DESI focal plate and the thermal system design. The DESI focal plate is comprised of ten identical petal assemblies. Each petal contains 500 robotic fiber positioners. Each petal is a complete, self-contained unit, independent from the others, with integrated power supply, controllers, fiber routing, and cooling services. The major advantages of this scheme are: (1) supports installation and removal of complete petal assemblies in-situ, without disturbing the others, (2) component production, assembly stations, and test procedures are repeated and parallelizable, (3) a complete, full-scale prototype can be built and tested at an early date, (4) each production petal can be surveyed and tested as a complete unit, prior to integration, from the fiber tip at the focal surface to the fiber slit at the spectrograph. The ten petal assemblies will be installed in a single integration ring, which is mounted to the DESI corrector. The aluminum integration ring attaches to the steel corrector barrel via a flexured steel adapter, isolating the focal plate from differential thermal expansions. The plate scale will be kept stable by conductive cooling of the petal assembly. The guider and wavefront sensors (one per petal) will be convectively cooled by forced flow of air. Heat will be removed from the system at ten liquid-cooled cold plates, one per petal, operating at ambient temperature. The entire focal plate structure is enclosed in an insulating shroud, which serves as a thermal barrier

Focal fatty infiltra- tion and focal fatty sparing of the liver

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Enrique

Department of Radiology. Nelson Mandela School of Health Sciences. Durban. Fig. 1a. Unenhanced CT of the liver in case 1 demonstrates multiple focal low density regions in both lobes of the liver. Region of interest 1 over the fatty left lobe measured 10 HU while region of interest 2 over the right lobe measure 40 HU in.

An Algorithm for constructing Hjelmslev planes

OpenAIRE

Hall, Joanne L.; Rao, Asha

2013-01-01

Projective Hjelmslev planes and Affine Hjelmselv planes are generalisations of projective planes and affine planes. We present an algorithm for constructing a projective Hjelmslev planes and affine Hjelsmelv planes using projective planes, affine planes and orthogonal arrays. We show that all 2-uniform projective Hjelmslev planes, and all 2-uniform affine Hjelsmelv planes can be constructed in this way. As a corollary it is shown that all 2-uniform Affine Hjelmselv planes are sub-geometries o...

Ultrasound-Guided Out-of-Plane vs. In-Plane Interscalene Catheters: A Randomized, Prospective Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwenk, Eric S; Gandhi, Kishor; Baratta, Jaime L; Torjman, Marc; Epstein, Richard H; Chung, Jaeyoon; Vaghari, Benjamin A; Beausang, David; Bojaxhi, Elird; Grady, Bernadette

2015-12-01

Continuous interscalene blocks provide excellent analgesia after shoulder surgery. Although the safety of the ultrasound-guided in-plane approach has been touted, technical and patient factors can limit this approach. We developed a caudad-to-cephalad out-of-plane approach and hypothesized that it would decrease pain ratings due to better catheter alignment with the brachial plexus compared to the in-plane technique in a randomized, controlled study. To compare an out-of-plane interscalene catheter technique to the in-plane technique in a randomized clinical trial. Eighty-four patients undergoing open shoulder surgery were randomized to either the in-plane or out-of-plane ultrasound-guided continuous interscalene technique. The primary outcome was VAS pain rating at 24 hours. Secondary outcomes included pain ratings in the recovery room and at 48 hours, morphine consumption, the incidence of catheter dislodgments, procedure time, and block difficulty. Procedural data and all pain ratings were collected by blinded observers. There were no differences in the primary outcome of median VAS pain rating at 24 hours between the out-of-plane and in-plane groups (1.50; IQR, [0 - 4.38] vs. 1.25; IQR, [0 - 3.75]; P = 0.57). There were also no differences, respectively, between out-of-plane and in-plane median PACU pain ratings (1.0; IQR, [0 - 3.5] vs. 0.25; IQR, [0 - 2.5]; P = 0.08) and median 48-hour pain ratings (1.25; IQR, [1.25 - 2.63] vs. 0.50; IQR, [0 - 1.88]; P = 0.30). There were no differences in any other secondary endpoint. Our out-of-plane technique did not provide superior analgesia to the in-plane technique. It did not increase the number of complications. Our technique is an acceptable alternative in situations where the in-plane technique is difficult to perform.

Laplace plane modifications arising from solar radiation pressure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosengren, Aaron J.; Scheeres, Daniel J., E-mail: aaron.rosengren@colorado.edu [ADepartment of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States)

2014-05-01

The dynamical effects of solar radiation pressure (SRP) in the solar system have been rigorously studied since the early 1900s. This non-gravitational perturbation plays a significant role in the evolution of dust particles in circumplanetary orbits, as well as in the orbital motion about asteroids and comets. For gravitationally dominated orbits, SRP is negligible and the resulting motion is largely governed by the oblateness of the primary and the attraction of the Sun. The interplay between these gravitational perturbations gives rise to three mutually perpendicular planes of equilibrium for circular satellite orbits. The classical Laplace plane lies between the equatorial and orbital planes of the primary, and is the mean reference plane about whose axis the pole of a satellite's orbit precesses. From a previously derived solution for the secular motion of an orbiter about a small body in a SRP dominated environment, we find that SRP acting alone will cause an initially circular orbit to precess around the pole of the primary's heliocentric orbital plane. When the gravitational and non-gravitational perturbations act in concert, the resulting equilibrium planes turn out to be qualitatively different, in some cases, from those obtained without considering the radiation pressure. The warping of the surfaces swept out by the modified equilibria as the semi-major axis varies depends critically on the cross-sectional area of the body exposed. These results, together with an adiabatic invariance argument on Poynting-Robertson drag, provide a natural qualitative explanation for the initial albedo dichotomy of Saturn's moon, Iapetus.

Focal cemento-osseous dysplasia: review and a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Salem, Y M Y; Osman, Y I; Norval, E J G

2010-10-01

Focal cemento-osseous dysplasia is a benign fibro-osseous condition that can be seen in dentate and edentulous patients. It is an asymptomatic lesion and needs no treatment; however follow-up is essential due to the possibility that focal cemento-osseous dysplasia can progress to a condition called florid osseous dysplasia that involves multiple sites. A case report is presented here, along with a review of the differential diagnoses considered in order to reach a final diagnosis of focal cemento-osseous dysplasia.

Rac function is crucial for cell migration but is not required for spreading and focal adhesion formation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steffen, Anika; Ladwein, Markus; Dimchev, Georgi A

2013-01-01

can be potently stimulated by Rho GTPases of the Rac subfamily, but also by RhoG or Cdc42. Here we describe viable fibroblast cell lines genetically deficient for Rac1 that lack detectable levels of Rac2 and Rac3. Rac-deficient cells were devoid of apparent lamellipodia, but these structures were...... filopodia and established focal adhesions. Spreading in these cells was achieved by the extension of filopodia followed by the advancement of cytoplasmic veils between them. The number and size of focal adhesions as well as their intensity were largely unaffected by genetic removal of Rac1. However, Rac...

Investigation of the in-plane and out-of-plane electrical properties of metallic nanoparticles in dielectric matrix thin films elaborated by atomic layer deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, D.; Puyoo, E.; Le Berre, M.; Militaru, L.; Koneti, S.; Malchère, A.; Epicier, T.; Roiban, L.; Albertini, D.; Sabac, A.; Calmon, F.

2017-11-01

Pt nanoparticles in a Al2O3 dielectric matrix thin films are elaborated by means of atomic layer deposition. These nanostructured thin films are integrated in vertical and planar test structures in order to assess both their in-plane and out-of-plane electrical properties. A shadow edge evaporation process is used to develop planar devices with electrode separation distances in the range of 30 nm. Both vertical and planar test structures show a Poole-Frenkel conduction mechanism. Low trap energy levels (<0.1 eV) are identified for the two test structures which indicates that the Pt islands themselves are not acting as traps in the PF mechanism. Furthermore, a more than three order of magnitude current density difference is observed between the two geometries. This electrical anisotropy is attributed to a large electron mobility difference in the in-plane and out-of-plane directions which can be related to different trap distributions in both directions.

Structural and effective connectivity in focal epilepsy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher S. Parker

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Patients with medically-refractory focal epilepsy may be candidates for neurosurgery and some may require placement of intracranial EEG electrodes to localise seizure onset. Assessing cerebral responses to single pulse electrical stimulation (SPES may give diagnostically useful data. SPES produces cortico-cortical evoked potentials (CCEPs, which infer effective brain connectivity. Diffusion-weighted images and tractography may be used to estimate structural brain connectivity. This combination provides the opportunity to observe seizure onset and its propagation throughout the brain, spreading contiguously along the cortex explored with electrodes, or non-contiguously. We analysed CCEPs and diffusion tractography in seven focal epilepsy patients and reconstructed the effective and structural brain networks. We aimed to assess the inter-modal similarity of the networks at a large scale across the cortex, the effective and structural connectivity of the ictal-onset zone, and investigate potential mechanisms of non-contiguous seizure spread. We found a significant overlap between structural and effective networks. Effective network CCEP amplitude, baseline variation, and outward connectivity was higher at ictal-onset zones, while structural connection strength within the ictal-onset zone tended to be higher. These findings support the concept of hyperexcitable cortex being associated with seizure generation. The high prevalence of structural and effective connections from the ictal-onset zone to sites of non-contiguous spread suggests that macroscopic structural and effective connections are plausible routes for non-contiguous seizure spread.

Characterization of Functional and Structural Integrity in Experimental Focal Epilepsy: Reduced Network Efficiency Coincides with White Matter Changes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Otte, W.M.; Dijkhuizen, R.M.; van Meer, M.P.A.; Van der Hel, W.S.; Verlinde, S.A.M.W.; van Nieuwenhuizen, O.; Viergever, M.A.; Stam, C.J.; Braun, K.P.J.

2012-01-01

Background: Although focal epilepsies are increasingly recognized to affect multiple and remote neural systems, the underlying spatiotemporal pattern and the relationships between recurrent spontaneous seizures, global functional connectivity, and structural integrity remain largely unknown.

Data acquisition system for the socal plane detector of the mass separator MASHA

Science.gov (United States)

Novoselov, A. S.; Rodin, A. M.; Motycak, S.; Podshibyakin, A. V.; Krupa, L.; Belozerov, A. V.; Vedeneyev, V. Yu.; Gulyaev, A. V.; Gulyaeva, A. V.; Kliman, J.; Salamatin, V. S.; Stepantsov, S. V.; Chernysheva, E. V.; Yukhimchuk, S. A.; Komarov, A. B.; Kamas, D.

2016-09-01

The results of the development and the general information about the data acquisition system which was recently created at the MASHA setup (Flerov laboratory of nuclear reactions at Joint institute for nuclear research) are presented. The main difference from the previous system is that we use a new modern platform, National Instruments PXI with XIA multichannel high-speed digitizers (250 MHz 12 bit 16 channels). At this moment system has 448 spectrometric channels. The software and its features for the data acquisition and analysis are also described. The new DAQ system expands precision measuring capabilities of alpha decays and spontaneous fission at the focal plane position-sensitive silicon strip detector which, in turn, increases the capabilities of the setup in such a field as low-yield registration of elements.

Epidemic Propagation of Control Plane Failures in GMPLS Controlled Optical Transport Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ruepp, Sarah Renée; Fagertun, Anna Manolova

2013-01-01

In this paper, we investigate the behaviour of a dataplane-decoupled GMPLS control plane, when it is affected by failures that spread in the network in an epidemic manner. In particular, we consider network nodes to be either fully functional, or having a failed control plane, or having both...... a failed control and data plane. Through large-scale network simulation, we evaluate the effect of epidemically spreading control plane failures in terms of blocked connections requests and the amount of stranded capacity due to a dysfunctional control plane. Furthermore, we investigate the effect...... of the epidemic and the epidemic spreading intensity. In particular, networks with long epidemic durations do not necessarily result in worst performance in terms of blocked requests and capacity. Also epidemic scenarios, resulting in worst impact on the network availability does not necessarily result in worst...

Cross plane scattering correction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shao, L.; Karp, J.S.

1990-01-01

Most previous scattering correction techniques for PET are based on assumptions made for a single transaxial plane and are independent of axial variations. These techniques will incorrectly estimate the scattering fraction for volumetric PET imaging systems since they do not take the cross-plane scattering into account. In this paper, the authors propose a new point source scattering deconvolution method (2-D). The cross-plane scattering is incorporated into the algorithm by modeling a scattering point source function. In the model, the scattering dependence both on axial and transaxial directions is reflected in the exponential fitting parameters and these parameters are directly estimated from a limited number of measured point response functions. The authors' results comparing the standard in-plane point source deconvolution to the authors' cross-plane source deconvolution show that for a small source, the former technique overestimates the scatter fraction in the plane of the source and underestimate the scatter fraction in adjacent planes. In addition, the authors also propose a simple approximation technique for deconvolution

Optical system design of CCD star sensor with large aperture and wide field of view

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chao; Jiang, Lun; Li, Ying-chao; Liu, Zhuang

2017-10-01

The star sensor is one of the sensors which are used to determine the spatial attitude of the space vehicle. An optical system of star sensor with large aperture and wide field of view was designed in this paper. The effective focal length of the optics was 16mm, and the F-number is 1.2, the field of view of the optical system is 20°.The working spectrum is 500 to 800 nanometer. The lens system selects a similar complicated Petzval structure and special glass-couple, and get a high imaging quality in the whole spectrum range. For each field-of-view point, the values of the modulation transfer function at 50 cycles/mm is higher than 0.3. On the detecting plane, the encircled energy in a circle of 14μm diameter could be up to 80% of the total energy. In the whole range of the field of view, the dispersion spot diameter in the imaging plane is no larger than 13μm. The full field distortion was less than 0.1%, which was helpful to obtain the accurate location of the reference star through the picture gotten by the star sensor. The lateral chromatic aberration is less than 2μm in the whole spectrum range.

Fast multifrequency focal beam analysis for 3D seismic acquisition geometry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wei, W.; Fu, L.; Blacquiere, G.

2012-01-01

A method for the efficient computation of multifrequency focal beams for 3D seismic acquisition geometry analysis has been developed. By computing them for all the frequency components of seismic data, single-frequency focal beams can be extended to multifrequency focal beams. However, this

Plane-wave electronic structure calculations on a parallel supercomputer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, J.S.; Plimpton, S.J.; Sears, M.P.

1993-01-01

The development of iterative solutions of Schrodinger's equation in a plane-wave (pw) basis over the last several years has coincided with great advances in the computational power available for performing the calculations. These dual developments have enabled many new and interesting condensed matter phenomena to be studied from a first-principles approach. The authors present a detailed description of the implementation on a parallel supercomputer (hypercube) of the first-order equation-of-motion solution to Schrodinger's equation, using plane-wave basis functions and ab initio separable pseudopotentials. By distributing the plane-waves across the processors of the hypercube many of the computations can be performed in parallel, resulting in decreases in the overall computation time relative to conventional vector supercomputers. This partitioning also provides ample memory for large Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) meshes and the storage of plane-wave coefficients for many hundreds of energy bands. The usefulness of the parallel techniques is demonstrated by benchmark timings for both the FFT's and iterations of the self-consistent solution of Schrodinger's equation for different sized Si unit cells of up to 512 atoms

Angle dependent focal spot size of a conical X-ray target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saeed Raza, Hamid; Jin Kim, Hyun; Nam Kim, Hyun; Oh Cho, Sung

2015-01-01

Misaligned phantoms may severely affect the focal spot calculations. A method is proposed to determine the geometry of the X-ray target and the position of the image radiograph around the X-ray target to get a relatively smaller focal spot size. Results reveal that the focal spot size is not always isotropic around the target but it decreases as the point of observation shifts radially away from the center line of the conical X-ray target. This research will help in producing high quality X-ray images in multi-directions by properly aligning the phantoms and the radiograph tallies. - Highlights: • Misaligned phantoms may severely affect the focal spot calculations. • The aim of this research is to analyze systematically the angle dependent behavior of the focal spot size around a conical shaped X-ray target. • A general purpose Monte Carlo (MCNP5) computer code is used to achieve a relatively small focal spot size. • Angular distribution of the X-ray focal spot size mainly depends on the angular orientation of the phantom and its aligned FIR tally. • This research will help in producing high quality X-ray images in multi-directions

Benign focal liver lesions: discrimination from malignant mimickers.

Science.gov (United States)

Alobaidi, Mohammad; Shirkhoda, Ali

2004-01-01

Focal lesions of the liver often have various imaging characteristics which may be interpreted as either benign or malignant. Understanding the underlying pathophysiology of these liver lesions may lead to characteristic imaging manifestations, which direct the radiologist to the diagnosis. Benign lesions include congenital hepatic cyst, autosomal dominant polycystic disease, hemangioma, focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH), hepatic adenoma, inflammatory pseudotumor, peliosis hepatis, focal fatty infiltration, hamartoma, and infectious processes such as hepatic abscess, echinococcal cyst, and candidiasis. Characteristic imaging features, clinical symptoms, and treatment/prognosis will be discussed. Emphasis will be placed on key reliable features of each disease to develop a method of discriminating these lesions from other benign and malignant disorders.

In-plane nuclear field formation investigated in single self-assembled quantum dots

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, S.; Matsusaki, R.; Kaji, R.; Adachi, S.

2018-02-01

We studied the formation mechanism of the in-plane nuclear field in single self-assembled In0.75Al0.25As /Al0.3Ga0.7As quantum dots. The Hanle curves with an anomalously large width and hysteretic behavior at the critical transverse magnetic field were observed in many single quantum dots grown in the same sample. In order to explain the anomalies in the Hanle curve indicating the formation of a large nuclear field perpendicular to the photo-injected electron spin polarization, we propose a new model based on the current phenomenological model for dynamic nuclear spin polarization. The model includes the effects of the nuclear quadrupole interaction and the sign inversion between in-plane and out-of-plane components of nuclear g factors, and the model calculations reproduce successfully the characteristics of the observed anomalies in the Hanle curves.

Actinic Granuloma with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruedee Phasukthaworn

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Actinic granuloma is an uncommon granulomatous disease, characterized by annular erythematous plaque with central clearing predominately located on sun-damaged skin. The pathogenesis is not well understood, ultraviolet radiation is recognized as precipitating factor. We report a case of a 52-year-old woman who presented with asymptomatic annular erythematous plaques on the forehead and both cheeks persisting for 2 years. The clinical presentation and histopathologic findings support the diagnosis of actinic granuloma. During that period of time, she also developed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. The association between actinic granuloma and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis needs to be clarified by further studies.

Designing broad phononic band gaps for in-plane modes

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yang Fan; Meng, Fei; Li, Shuo; Jia, Baohua; Zhou, Shiwei; Huang, Xiaodong

2018-03-01

Phononic crystals are known as artificial materials that can manipulate the propagation of elastic waves, and one essential feature of phononic crystals is the existence of forbidden frequency range of traveling waves called band gaps. In this paper, we have proposed an easy way to design phononic crystals with large in-plane band gaps. We demonstrated that the gap between two arbitrarily appointed bands of in-plane mode can be formed by employing a certain number of solid or hollow circular rods embedded in a matrix material. Topology optimization has been applied to find the best material distributions within the primitive unit cell with maximal band gap width. Our results reveal that the centroids of optimized rods coincide with the point positions generated by Lloyd's algorithm, which deepens our understandings on the formation mechanism of phononic in-plane band gaps.

Technique for measurements of plane waves of uniaxial strain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graham, R.A.

1977-01-01

The measurement of plane waves in uniaxial strain, in which large surface areas are loaded and the measurements are restricted to a central region that is not influenced by lateral boundaries, is discussed. Measuring techniques are covered and instruments are discussed

Effects of Slip Planes on Stresses in MICE Coupling Solenoid Coil Assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Li; Pan, Heng; Wu, Hong; Guo, XingLong; Cheng, Y.; Green, Michael A.

2010-01-01

The MICE superconducting coupling solenoid magnet is made from copper matrix Nb-Ti conductors with inner radius of 750 mm, length of 285 mm and thickness of 110.4 mm at room temperature. The coil is to be wound on a mandrel made of aluminum. The peak magnetic field on the conductor is about 7.3 T when fully charged at 210 A. High magnetic field and large size make the stress inside the coupling coil assembly relatively high during cool down and full energizing. The shear stress between coil winding and aluminum casing may cause premature quench. To avoid quench potential induced by stress, slip planes were designed for the coil assembly. In this paper, FE models with and without slip planes for it have been developed to simulate the stresses during the process including winding, cooling down and charging. The stress distribution in the coil assembly with and without slip planes was investigated. The results show that slip planes with low friction coefficients can improve the stress condition in the coil, especially reduce the shear stress largely so that improve the stability.

Natural-focal diseases: mapping experience in Russia.

Science.gov (United States)

Malkhazova, Svetlana M; Mironova, Varvara A; Kotova, Tatiana V; Shartova, Natalia V; Orlov, Dmitry S

2014-06-14

Natural-focal diseases constitute a serious hazard for human health. Agents and vectors of such diseases belong to natural landscapes. The aim of this study is to identify the diversity and geography of natural-focal diseases in Russia and to develop cartographic approaches for their mapping, including mathematical-cartographical modeling. Russian medico-geographical mapping of natural-focal diseases is highly developed regionally and locally but extremely limited at the national level. To solve this problem, a scientific team of the Faculty of Geography at Lomonosov Moscow State University has developed and implemented a project of a medico-geographical Atlas of Russia "Natural-Focal Diseases". The mapping is based on medical statistics data. The Atlas contains a series of maps on disease incidence, long-term dynamics of disease morbidity, etc. In addition, other materials available to the authors were used: mapping of the natural environment, field data, archival materials, analyzed satellite images, etc. The maps are processed using ArcGIS (ESRI) software application. Different methods of rendering of mapped phenomena are used (geographical ranges, diagrams, choropleth maps etc.). A series of analytical, integrated, and synthetic maps shows disease incidence in the population at both the national and regional levels for the last 15 years. Maps of the mean annual morbidity of certain infections and maps of morbidity dynamics and nosological profiles allow for a detailed analysis of the situation for each of 83 administrative units of the Russian Federation. The degree of epidemic hazard in Russia by natural-focal diseases is reflected in a synthetic medico-geographical map that shows the degree of epidemic risks due to such diseases in Russia and allows one to estimate the risk of disease manifestation in a given region. This is the first attempt at aggregation and public presentation of diverse and multifaceted information about natural-focal diseases in Russia

Visible-Frequency Metasurface for Structuring and Spatially Multiplexing Optical Vortices.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehmood, M Q; Mei, Shengtao; Hussain, Sajid; Huang, Kun; Siew, S Y; Zhang, Lei; Zhang, Tianhang; Ling, Xiaohui; Liu, Hong; Teng, Jinghua; Danner, Aaron; Zhang, Shuang; Qiu, Cheng-Wei

2016-04-06

A multifocus optical vortex metalens, with enhanced signal-to-noise ratio, is presented, which focuses three longitudinal vortices with distinct topological charges at different focal planes. The design largely extends the flexibility of tuning the number of vortices and their focal positions for circularly polarized light in a compact device, which provides the convenience for the nanomanipulation of optical vortices. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Focal lesions in the central nervous system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fabrikant, J.I.; Budinger, T.F.; Tobias, C.A.; Born, J.L.

1980-01-01

This report reviews the animal and human studies currently in progress at LBL with heavy-ion beams to induce focal lesions in the central nervous system, and discusses the potential future prospects of fundamental and applied brain research with heavy-ion beams. Methods are being developed for producing discrete focal lesions in the central nervous system using the Bragg ionization peak to investigate nerve pathways and neuroendocrine responses, and for treating pathological disorders of the brain

Seismicity, fault plane solutions, depth of faulting, and active tectonics of the Andes of Peru, Ecuador, and southern Colombia

Science.gov (United States)

Suarez, G.; Molnar, P.; Burchfiel, B. C.

1983-01-01

The long-period P waveforms observed for 17 earthquakes in the Peruvian Andes during 1963-1976 are compared with synthetic waveforms to obtain fault-plane solutions and focal depths. The morphological units of the Peruvian Andes are characterized: coastal plains, Cordillera Occidental, altiplano and central high plateau, Cordillera Oriental, and sub-Andes. The data base and analysis methodology are discussed, and the results are presented in tables, diagrams, graphs, maps, and photographs illustrating typical formations. Most of the earthquakes are shown to occur in the transition zone from the sub-Andes to the Cordillera Oriental under formations of about 1 km elevation at focal depths of 10-38 km. It is suggested that the sub-Andean earthquakes reflect hinterland deformation of a detached fold and thrust belt, perhaps like that which occurred in parts of the Canadian Rockies. From the total crustal shortening evident in Andean morphology and the shortening rate of the recent earthquakes it is estimated that the topography and crustal root of the Andes have been formed during the last 90-135 Myr.

Earthquake source parameter and focal mechanism estimates for the Western Quebec Seismic Zone in eastern Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez Padilla, A. M.; Onwuemeka, J.; Liu, Y.; Harrington, R. M.

2017-12-01

The Western Quebec Seismic Zone (WQSZ) is a 160-km-wide band of intraplate seismicity extending 500 km from the Adirondack Highlands (United States) to the Laurentian uplands (Canada). Historically, the WQSZ has experienced over fifteen earthquakes above magnitude 5, with the noteworthy MN5.2 Ladysmith event on May 17, 2013. Previous studies have associated seismicity in the area to the reactivation of Early Paleozoic normal faults within a failed Iapetan rift arm, or strength contrasts between mafic intrusions and felsic rocks due to the Mesozoic track of the Great Meteor hotspot. A good understanding of seismicity and its relation to pre-existing structures requires information about event source properties, such as static stress drop and fault plane orientation, which can be constrained via spectral analysis and focal mechanism solutions. Using data recorded by the CNSN and USArray Transportable Array, we first characterize b-value for 709 events between 2012 and 2016 in WQSZ, obtaining a value of 0.75. We then determine corner frequency and seismic moment values by fitting S-wave spectra on transverse components at all stations for 35 events MN 2.7+. We select event pairs with highly similar waveforms, proximal hypocenters, and magnitudes differing by 1-2 units. Our preliminary results using single-station spectra show corner frequencies of 15 to 40 Hz and stress drop values between 7 and 130 MPa, typical of intraplate seismicity. Last, we solve focal mechanism solutions of 35 events with impulsive P-wave arrivals at a minimum of 8 stations using the hybridMT moment tensor inversion algorithm. Our preliminary results suggest predominantly thrust faulting mechanisms, and at times oblique thrust faulting. The P-axis trend of the focal mechanism solutions suggests a principal stress orientation of NE-SW, which is consistent with that derived from focal mechanisms of earthquakes prior to 2013. We plan to fit the event pair spectral ratios to correct for attenuation

3D-Structured Stretchable Strain Sensors for Out-of-Plane Force Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhiyuan; Qi, Dianpeng; Leow, Wan Ru; Yu, Jiancan; Xiloyannnis, Michele; Cappello, Leonardo; Liu, Yaqing; Zhu, Bowen; Jiang, Ying; Chen, Geng; Masia, Lorenzo; Liedberg, Bo; Chen, Xiaodong

2018-05-17

Stretchable strain sensors, as the soft mechanical interface, provide the key mechanical information of the systems for healthcare monitoring, rehabilitation assistance, soft exoskeletal devices, and soft robotics. Stretchable strain sensors based on 2D flat film have been widely developed to monitor the in-plane force applied within the plane where the sensor is placed. However, to comprehensively obtain the mechanical feedback, the capability to detect the out-of-plane force, caused by the interaction outside of the plane where the senor is located, is needed. Herein, a 3D-structured stretchable strain sensor is reported to monitor the out-of-plane force by employing 3D printing in conjunction with out-of-plane capillary force-assisted self-pinning of carbon nanotubes. The 3D-structured sensor possesses large stretchability, multistrain detection, and strain-direction recognition by one single sensor. It is demonstrated that out-of-plane forces induced by the air/fluid flow are reliably monitored and intricate flow details are clearly recorded. The development opens up for the exploration of next-generation 3D stretchable sensors for electronic skin and soft robotics. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

WE-E-18A-09: Application of a Channelized Hotelling Observer Model to Evaluate Angiographic Imaging Equipment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Favazza, C; Fetterly, K; Hangiandreou, N; Leng, S; Schueler, B [Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN (United States)

2014-06-15

Purpose: To develop and apply an observer model to objectively evaluate and compare the performance of different angiographic imaging equipment and acquisition variables. Methods: Image Acquisition— Iodine-based phantoms were created with target diameters: 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mm. The phantoms were imaged using both planes of a bi-plane angiography system with detector pixel dimensions 0.1542 mm{sup 2} and 0.1842 mm{sup 2}, respectively. All four phantoms were imaged with magnification factors 1.5, 1.25 and 1 and with the large and small focal spots. Phantom position and the dose per frame (0.12– 0.24 μ Gy/frame) were varied for a single phantom size, magnification and focal spot. Observer Model— For each experimental condition, 1200 signal-present and signal-absent images were acquired and a detectability index (d') was calculated with a Gabor-channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) model. Detectability indices were evaluated as a function of dose, phantom size, and magnification. The model was then applied to compare d' of the two imaging planes and focal spots. Uncertainty in d' was estimated by bootstrapping the data and by examining the shift-variance of systems. Results: Detectability indices varied linearly with magnification and the square root of dose. For the 2 and 4 mm phantoms, d' varied linearly with diameter. For the 0.5 and 1 mm phantoms, d' expectedly deviated from this linear relationship due to substantial detector and focal spot blurring of the phantoms. The small focal spot yielded up to 50% greater d' values than the large focal spot. For the two detectors, differences in d' did not exceed the estimated ∼7% error. Conclusions: The detectability indices predictably scaled with dose, diameter, magnification, and focal spot size and serve to validate the model. Results demonstrate statistically similar target detectability for both investigated detectors, despite differences in pixel dimensions. This CHO model

WE-E-18A-09: Application of a Channelized Hotelling Observer Model to Evaluate Angiographic Imaging Equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Favazza, C; Fetterly, K; Hangiandreou, N; Leng, S; Schueler, B

2014-01-01

Purpose: To develop and apply an observer model to objectively evaluate and compare the performance of different angiographic imaging equipment and acquisition variables. Methods: Image Acquisition— Iodine-based phantoms were created with target diameters: 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mm. The phantoms were imaged using both planes of a bi-plane angiography system with detector pixel dimensions 0.1542 mm 2 and 0.1842 mm 2 , respectively. All four phantoms were imaged with magnification factors 1.5, 1.25 and 1 and with the large and small focal spots. Phantom position and the dose per frame (0.12– 0.24 μ Gy/frame) were varied for a single phantom size, magnification and focal spot. Observer Model— For each experimental condition, 1200 signal-present and signal-absent images were acquired and a detectability index (d') was calculated with a Gabor-channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) model. Detectability indices were evaluated as a function of dose, phantom size, and magnification. The model was then applied to compare d' of the two imaging planes and focal spots. Uncertainty in d' was estimated by bootstrapping the data and by examining the shift-variance of systems. Results: Detectability indices varied linearly with magnification and the square root of dose. For the 2 and 4 mm phantoms, d' varied linearly with diameter. For the 0.5 and 1 mm phantoms, d' expectedly deviated from this linear relationship due to substantial detector and focal spot blurring of the phantoms. The small focal spot yielded up to 50% greater d' values than the large focal spot. For the two detectors, differences in d' did not exceed the estimated ∼7% error. Conclusions: The detectability indices predictably scaled with dose, diameter, magnification, and focal spot size and serve to validate the model. Results demonstrate statistically similar target detectability for both investigated detectors, despite differences in pixel dimensions. This CHO model provides

Management of Localized Prostate Cancer by Focal Transurethral Resection of Prostate Cancer: An Application of Radical TUR-PCa to Focal Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Morita, Masaru; Matsuura, Takeshi

2012-01-01

Background. We analyzed radical TUR-PCa against localized prostate cancer. Patients and Methods. Seventy-nine out of 209 patients with prostate cancer in one lobe were studied. Patients' age ranged from 58 to 91 years and preoperative PSA, 0.70 to 17.30 ng/mL. In other 16 additional patients we performed focal TUR-PCa. Patients' age ranged from 51 to 87 years and preoperative PSA, 1.51 to 25.74 ng/mL. Results. PSA failure in radical TUR-PCa was 5.1% during the mean follow-up period of 58.9 months. The actuarial biochemical non-recurrence rate was 98.2% for pT2a and 90.5% for pT2b. Bladder neck contracture occurred in 28 patients (35.4%). In 209 patients, pathological study revealed prostate cancer of the peripheral zone near the neurovascular bundle bilaterally in 25%, unilaterally in 39% and no cancer bilaterally in 35%, suggesting the possibility of focal TUR-PCa. Postoperative PSA of 16 patients treated by focal TUR-PCa was stable between 0.007 and 0.406 ng/mL at 24.2 months' follow-up. No patients suffered from urinary incontinence. Bladder neck contracture developed in only 1 patient and all 5 patients underwent nerve-preserving TUR-PCa did not show erectile dysfunction. Conclusion. Focal TUR-PCa was considered to be a promising option among focal therapies against localized prostate cancer.

Management of Localized Prostate Cancer by Focal Transurethral Resection of Prostate Cancer: An Application of Radical TUR-PCa to Focal Therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masaru Morita

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background. We analyzed radical TUR-PCa against localized prostate cancer. Patients and Methods. Seventy-nine out of 209 patients with prostate cancer in one lobe were studied. Patients’ age ranged from 58 to 91 years and preoperative PSA, 0.70 to 17.30 ng/mL. In other 16 additional patients we performed focal TUR-PCa. Patients’ age ranged from 51 to 87 years and preoperative PSA, 1.51 to 25.74 ng/mL. Results. PSA failure in radical TUR-PCa was 5.1% during the mean follow-up period of 58.9 months. The actuarial biochemical non-recurrence rate was 98.2% for pT2a and 90.5% for pT2b. Bladder neck contracture occurred in 28 patients (35.4%. In 209 patients, pathological study revealed prostate cancer of the peripheral zone near the neurovascular bundle bilaterally in 25%, unilaterally in 39% and no cancer bilaterally in 35%, suggesting the possibility of focal TUR-PCa. Postoperative PSA of 16 patients treated by focal TUR-PCa was stable between 0.007 and 0.406 ng/mL at 24.2 months’ follow-up. No patients suffered from urinary incontinence. Bladder neck contracture developed in only 1 patient and all 5 patients underwent nerve-preserving TUR-PCa did not show erectile dysfunction. Conclusion. Focal TUR-PCa was considered to be a promising option among focal therapies against localized prostate cancer.

Focal cortical dysplasia – review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kabat, Joanna; Król, Przemysław

2012-01-01

Focal cortical dysplasia is a malformation of cortical development, which is the most common cause of medically refractory epilepsy in the pediatric population and the second/third most common etiology of medically intractable seizures in adults. Both genetic and acquired factors are involved in the pathogenesis of cortical dysplasia. Numerous classifications of the complex structural abnormalities of focal cortical dysplasia have been proposed – from Taylor et al. in 1971 to the last modification of Palmini classification made by Blumcke in 2011. In general, three types of cortical dysplasia are recognized. Type I focal cortical dysplasia with mild symptomatic expression and late onset, is more often seen in adults, with changes present in the temporal lobe. Clinical symptoms are more severe in type II of cortical dysplasia usually seen in children. In this type, more extensive changes occur outside the temporal lobe with predilection for the frontal lobes. New type III is one of the above dysplasias with associated another principal lesion as hippocampal sclerosis, tumor, vascular malformation or acquired pathology during early life. Brain MRI imaging shows abnormalities in the majority of type II dysplasias and in only some of type I cortical dysplasias. The most common findings on MRI imaging include: focal cortical thickening or thinning, areas of focal brain atrophy, blurring of the gray-white junction, increased signal on T2- and FLAIR-weighted images in the gray and subcortical white matter often tapering toward the ventricle. On the basis of the MRI findings, it is possible to differentiate between type I and type II cortical dysplasia. A complete resection of the epileptogenic zone is required for seizure-free life. MRI imaging is very helpful to identify those patients who are likely to benefit from surgical treatment in a group of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. However, in type I cortical dysplasia, MR imaging is often normal, and also in both

Pull-out test of stud bolts embedded in concrete under an in-plane force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inada, Y.; Saito, H.; Torita, H.; Takiguchi, K.; Ibe, Y.; Taira, T.

1995-01-01

There are many steel plates with stud bolts embedded in the R C walls of a nuclear reactor building to support equipment and piping. Under a earthquake, the steel plates are submitted to an out-of-plane force due to the inertia force acting upon equipment and piping. Furthermore, the walls are submitted to an in-plane force, and cracks may occur. A large number of experimental studies have been carried out on the pull-out strength of stud bolts embedded in concrete. Few studies have been performed to understand the strength of stud bolts embedded in concrete under an in-plane force and, further, not any one on the strength for concrete under in-plane force simultaneously to stud bolts under out-of-plane force. This paper describes a test performed to understand the pull-out strength determined by this interaction of in-plane and out-of-plane forces. (author). 5 refs., 9 figs., 5 tabs

Paraxial light distribution in the focal region of a lens: a comparison of several analytical solutions and a numerical result

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yang; Kelly, Damien P.

2014-12-01

The distribution of the complex field in the focal region of a lens is a classical optical diffraction problem. Today, it remains of significant theoretical importance for understanding the properties of imaging systems. In the paraxial regime, it is possible to find analytical solutions in the neighborhood of the focus, when a plane wave is incident on a focusing lens whose finite extent is limited by a circular aperture. For example, in Born and Wolf's treatment of this problem, two different, but mathematically equivalent analytical solutions, are presented that describe the 3D field distribution using infinite sums of ? and ? type Lommel functions. An alternative solution expresses the distribution in terms of Zernike polynomials, and was presented by Nijboer in 1947. More recently, Cao derived an alternative analytical solution by expanding the Fresnel kernel using a Taylor series expansion. In practical calculations, however, only a finite number of terms from these infinite series expansions is actually used to calculate the distribution in the focal region. In this manuscript, we compare and contrast each of these different solutions to a numerically calculated result, paying particular attention to how quickly each solution converges for a range of different spatial locations behind the focusing lens. We also examine the time taken to calculate each of the analytical solutions. The numerical solution is calculated in a polar coordinate system and is semi-analytic. The integration over the angle is solved analytically, while the radial coordinate is sampled with a sampling interval of ? and then numerically integrated. This produces an infinite set of replicas in the diffraction plane, that are located in circular rings centered at the optical axis and each with radii given by ?, where ? is the replica order. These circular replicas are shown to be fundamentally different from the replicas that arise in a Cartesian coordinate system.

Focal vitiligo: long-term follow-up of 52 cases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lommerts, J. E.; Schilder, Y.; de Rie, M. A.; Wolkerstorfer, A.; Bekkenk, M. W.

2016-01-01

Focal vitiligo is characterized by depigmented patches located in a small area without a typical segmental distribution. Focal vitiligo is classified as an undetermined type of vitiligo, and a more definitive diagnosis can be made when the lesions have not evolved into non-segmental or segmental

Context cue focality influences strategic prospective memory monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter Ball, B; Bugg, Julie M

2018-02-12

Monitoring the environment for the occurrence of prospective memory (PM) targets is a resource-demanding process that produces cost (e.g., slower responding) to ongoing activities. However, research suggests that individuals are able to monitor strategically by using contextual cues to reduce monitoring in contexts in which PM targets are not expected to occur. In the current study, we investigated the processes supporting context identification (i.e., determining whether or not the context is appropriate for monitoring) by testing the context cue focality hypothesis. This hypothesis predicts that the ability to monitor strategically depends on whether the ongoing task orients attention to the contextual cues that are available to guide monitoring. In Experiment 1, participants performed an ongoing lexical decision task and were told that PM targets (TOR syllable) would only occur in word trials (focal context cue condition) or in items starting with consonants (nonfocal context cue condition). In Experiment 2, participants performed an ongoing first letter judgment (consonant/vowel) task and were told that PM targets would only occur in items starting with consonants (focal context cue condition) or in word trials (nonfocal context cue condition). Consistent with the context cue focality hypothesis, strategic monitoring was only observed during focal context cue conditions in which the type of ongoing task processing automatically oriented attention to the relevant features of the contextual cue. These findings suggest that strategic monitoring is dependent on limited-capacity processing resources and may be relatively limited when the attentional demands of context identification are sufficiently high.

Electronics for a focal plane crystal spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goeke, R.F.

1978-01-01

The HEAO-B program forced the usual constraints upon the spacecraft experimental electronics: high reliability, low power consumption, and tight packaging at reasonable cost. The programmable high voltage power supplies were unique in both application and simplicity of manufacture. The hybridized measurement chain is a modification of that used on the SAS-C program; the charge amplifier design in particular shows definite improvement in performance over previous work

Status of the KATRIN focal-plane detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seher, Agnes [Karlsruher Institute of Technology (KIT) (Germany). Institut fuer Kernphysik (IKP); Collaboration: KATRIN-Collaboration

2016-07-01

The KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment aims to determine the mass of the electron anti-neutrino with a sensitivity of 200 meV/c{sup 2} by measuring the kinematics of tritium β-electrons close to the enpoint of the energy spectrum. The energy analysis of the experiment is performed with a high-resolution electrostatic spectrometer of MAC-E filter type which acts as an integranting high pass filter. Transmitted electrons are counted with a segmented silicon detector system located at the downstream end of the experiment. The detector system consists of two super-conducting solenoids (B{sub max}=6 T), a post-acceleration electrode, a detector wafer with silicon pixel-diodes, readout electronics as well as a calibration and monitoring devices. This talk gives an overview of the detector system and its current status as well as key performance parameters.

Radiologic manifestations of focal cerebral hyperemia in acute stroke

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Tom Skyhøj; Skriver, E B; Herning, M

1991-01-01

In 16 acute stroke patients with focal cerebral hyperemia angiography and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) were studied 1 to 4 days post stroke. CT was performed twice with and without contrast enhancement 3 +/- 1 days and 16 +/- 4 days post stroke. Angiographic evidence of focal cerebral hype...

Silicon Pore Optics development for ATHENA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Collon, Maximilien J.; Vacanti, Giuseppe; Guenther, Ramses

2015-01-01

The ATHENA mission, a European large (L) class X-ray observatory to be launched in 2028, will essentially consist of an X-ray lens and two focal plane instruments. The lens, based on a Wolter-I type double reflection grazing incidence angle design, will be very large (similar to 3 m in diameter) ...

Spinal focal lesion detection in multiple myeloma using multimodal image features

Science.gov (United States)

Fränzle, Andrea; Hillengass, Jens; Bendl, Rolf

2015-03-01

Multiple myeloma is a tumor disease in the bone marrow that affects the skeleton systemically, i.e. multiple lesions can occur in different sites in the skeleton. To quantify overall tumor mass for determining degree of disease and for analysis of therapy response, volumetry of all lesions is needed. Since the large amount of lesions in one patient impedes manual segmentation of all lesions, quantification of overall tumor volume is not possible until now. Therefore development of automatic lesion detection and segmentation methods is necessary. Since focal tumors in multiple myeloma show different characteristics in different modalities (changes in bone structure in CT images, hypointensity in T1 weighted MR images and hyperintensity in T2 weighted MR images), multimodal image analysis is necessary for the detection of focal tumors. In this paper a pattern recognition approach is presented that identifies focal lesions in lumbar vertebrae based on features from T1 and T2 weighted MR images. Image voxels within bone are classified using random forests based on plain intensities and intensity value derived features (maximum, minimum, mean, median) in a 5 x 5 neighborhood around a voxel from both T1 and T2 weighted MR images. A test data sample of lesions in 8 lumbar vertebrae from 4 multiple myeloma patients can be classified at an accuracy of 95% (using a leave-one-patient-out test). The approach provides a reasonable delineation of the example lesions. This is an important step towards automatic tumor volume quantification in multiple myeloma.

Focal airtrapping at expiratory high-resolution CT: comparison with pulmonary function tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kauczor, H.U.; Hast, J.; Heussel, C.P.; Mildenberger, P.; Thelen, M.; Schlegel, J.

2000-01-01

This study was undertaken to determine prevalence, extent, and severity of focal airtrapping at expiratory high-resolution CT, and to compare focal airtrapping with age, gender, pulmonary function tests, and blood gas analysis. Two-hundred seventeen patients with and without pulmonary disease underwent paired inspiratory/expiratory high-resolution CT. Six scan pairs with corresponding scan levels were visually assessed for focal - not diffuse - airtrapping using a four-point scale. Pulmonary function tests and blood gas analysis were available for correlation in all patients (mean interval 5 days). Focal airtrapping with lower lung predominance was observed in 80 % of patients. Twenty-six of 26 patients with restrictive lung function impairment exhibited focal airtrapping (mean score 2.4), whereas only 72 of 98 (74 %) patients with obstruction did (mean score 1.5; p < 0.05). Fifty-eight of 70 (83 %) patients with normal lung function (mean score 1.8) and 19 of 23 (83 %) patients with mixed impairment (mean score 1.8) had focal airtrapping. Focal airtrapping showed negative correlations with static lung volumes (-0.27 to -0.37; p < 0.001) in all patients and moderate positive correlations with dynamic parameters (0.3-0.4; p < 0.001) in patients with obstruction. No significant correlations were found with age, gender, and blood gas analysis. Visual assessment of focal - not diffuse - airtrapping at expiratory high-resolution CT does not correlate with physiological evidence of obstruction as derived from pulmonary function tests since the perception of focal airtrapping requires an adequate expiratory increase in lung density. (orig.)

DEPDC5 takes a second hit in familial focal epilepsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Matthew P

2018-04-30

Loss-of-function mutations in a single allele of the gene encoding DEP domain-containing 5 protein (DEPDC5) are commonly linked to familial focal epilepsy with variable foci; however, a subset of patients presents with focal cortical dysplasia that is proposed to result from a second-hit somatic mutation. In this issue of the JCI, Ribierre and colleagues provide several lines of evidence to support second-hit DEPDC5 mutations in this disorder. Moreover, the authors use in vivo, in utero electroporation combined with CRISPR-Cas9 technology to generate a murine model of the disease that recapitulates human manifestations, including cortical dysplasia-like changes, focal seizures, and sudden unexpected death. This study provides important insights into familial focal epilepsy and provides a preclinical model for evaluating potential therapies.

HgCdTe photovoltaic detectors on Si substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zanio, K.R.; Bean, R.C.

1988-01-01

HgCdTe photovoltaic detectors have been fabricated on Si substrates through intermediate CdTe/GaAs layers. Encapsulation of the GaAs between the CdTe and Si prevents unintentional doping of the HgCdTe by Ga and As. Uniform epitaxial GaAs is grown on three inch diameter Si substrates. Detectors on such large area Si substrates will offer hybrid focal plane arrays whose dimensions are not limited by the difference between the coefficients of thermal expansion of the Si signal processor and the substrate for the HgCdTe detector array. The growth of HgCdTe detectors on the Si signal processors for monolithic focal plane arrays is also considered. 40 references

Radiation dose reduction without compromise to image quality by alterations of filtration and focal spot size in cerebral angiography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Dong Joon; Park, Min Keun; Jung, Da Eun; Kang, Jung Han; Kim, Byung Moon [Dept. of Radiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-08-01

Different angiographic protocols may influence the radiation dose and image quality. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of filtration and focal spot size on radiation dose and image quality for diagnostic cerebral angiography using an in-vitro model and in-vivo patient groups. Radiation dose and image quality were analyzed by varying the filtration and focal spot size on digital subtraction angiography exposure protocols (1, inherent filtration + large focus; 2, inherent + small; 3, copper + large; 4, copper + small). For the in-vitro analysis, a phantom was used for comparison of radiation dose. For the in-vivo analysis, bilateral paired injections, and patient cohort groups were compared for radiation dose and image quality. Image quality analysis was performed in terms of contrast, sharpness, noise, and overall quality. In the in-vitro analysis, the mean air kerma (AK) and dose area product (DAP)/frame were significantly lower with added copper filtration (protocols 3 and 4). In the in-vivo bilateral paired injections, AK and DAP/frame were significantly lower with filtration, without significant difference in image quality. The patient cohort groups with added filtration (protocols 3 and 4) showed significant reduction of total AK and DAP/patient without compromise to the image quality. Variations in focal spot size showed no significant differences in radiation dose and image quality. Addition of filtration for angiographic exposure studies can result in significant total radiation dose reduction without loss of image quality. Focal spot size does not influence radiation dose and image quality. The routine angiographic protocol should be judiciously investigated and implemented.

Progress in antenna coupled kinetic inductance detectors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baryshev, A.; Baselmans, J.J.A.; Freni, A.; Gerini, G.; Hoevers, H.F.C.; Iacono, A.; Neto, A.

2011-01-01

This paper describes the combined Dutch efforts toward the development of large wideband focal plane array receivers based on kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs). Taking into account strict electromagnetic and detector sensitivity requirements for future ground and space based observatories, this

Analytical magmatic source modelling from a joint inversion of ground deformation and focal mechanisms data

Science.gov (United States)

Cannavo', Flavio; Scandura, Danila; Palano, Mimmo; Musumeci, Carla

2014-05-01

Seismicity and ground deformation represent the principal geophysical methods for volcano monitoring and provide important constraints on subsurface magma movements. The occurrence of migrating seismic swarms, as observed at several volcanoes worldwide, are commonly associated with dike intrusions. In addition, on active volcanoes, (de)pressurization and/or intrusion of magmatic bodies stress and deform the surrounding crustal rocks, often causing earthquakes randomly distributed in time within a volume extending about 5-10 km from the wall of the magmatic bodies. Despite advances in space-based, geodetic and seismic networks have significantly improved volcano monitoring in the last decades on an increasing worldwide number of volcanoes, quantitative models relating deformation and seismicity are not common. The observation of several episodes of volcanic unrest throughout the world, where the movement of magma through the shallow crust was able to produce local rotation of the ambient stress field, introduces an opportunity to improve the estimate of the parameters of a deformation source. In particular, during these episodes of volcanic unrest a radial pattern of P-axes of the focal mechanism solutions, similar to that of ground deformation, has been observed. Therefore, taking into account additional information from focal mechanisms data, we propose a novel approach to volcanic source modeling based on the joint inversion of deformation and focal plane solutions assuming that both observations are due to the same source. The methodology is first verified against a synthetic dataset of surface deformation and strain within the medium, and then applied to real data from an unrest episode occurred before the May 13th 2008 eruption at Mt. Etna (Italy). The main results clearly indicate as the joint inversion improves the accuracy of the estimated source parameters of about 70%. The statistical tests indicate that the source depth is the parameter with the highest

Rasmussen's encephalitis presenting as focal cortical dysplasia

Science.gov (United States)

O'Rourke, D.J.; Bergin, A.; Rotenberg, A.; Peters, J.; Gorman, M.; Poduri, A.; Cryan, J.; Lidov, H.; Madsen, J.; Harini, C.

2014-01-01

Rasmussen's encephalitis is a rare syndrome characterized by intractable seizures, often associated with epilepsia partialis continua and symptoms of progressive hemispheric dysfunction. Seizures are usually the hallmark of presentation, but antiepileptic drug treatment fails in most patients and is ineffective against epilepsia partialis continua, which often requires surgical intervention. Co-occurrence of focal cortical dysplasia has only rarely been described and may have implications regarding pathophysiology and management. We describe a rare case of dual pathology of Rasmussen's encephalitis presenting as a focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) and discuss the literature on this topic. PMID:25667877

MBE growth and characterization of ZnTe epilayers on m-plane sapphire substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakasu, Taizo; Sun, Wei-Che; Yamashita, Sotaro; Aiba, Takayuki; Taguri, Kosuke [Department of Electrical Engineering and Bioscience, Waseda University, Tokyo 169-8555 (Japan); Kobayashi, Masakazu [Department of Electrical Engineering and Bioscience, Waseda University, Tokyo 169-8555 (Japan); Kagami Memorial Research Institute for Materials Science and Technology, Waseda University, 2-8-26, Tokyo 169-0051 (Japan); Asahi, Toshiaki [Technology Development Center, JX Nippon Mining and Metals Corporation, Hitachi 317-0056 (Japan); Togo, Hiroyoshi [NTT Microsystem Integration Laboratories, Atsugi 243-0198 (Japan)

2014-07-15

ZnTe epilayers were grown on transparent (10-10) oriented (m -plane) sapphire substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Pole figure imaging was used to study the domain distribution within the layer. (211)-oriented ZnTe domains were formed on m -plane sapphire. The presence of only one kind of (211) ZnTe domain formed on the 2 -tilted m -plane sapphire substrates was confirmed. Thus, single domain (211) ZnTe epilayers can be grown on the m -plane sapphire using MBE. Although differences in the crystal structure and lattice mismatch are large, precise control of the substrate surface lattice arrangement result in the formation of high-quality epitaxial layers. (copyright 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Large arrays of dual-polarized multichroic TES detectors for CMB measurements with the SPT-3G receiver

Science.gov (United States)

Posada, Chrystian M.; Ade, Peter A. R.; Anderson, Adam J.; Avva, Jessica; Ahmed, Zeeshan; Arnold, Kam S.; Austermann, Jason; Bender, Amy N.; Benson, Bradford A.; Bleem, Lindsey; Byrum, Karen; Carlstrom, John E.; Carter, Faustin W.; Chang, Clarence; Cho, Hsiao-Mei; Cukierman, Ari; Czaplewski, David A.; Ding, Junjia; Divan, Ralu N. S.; de Haan, Tijmen; Dobbs, Matt; Dutcher, Daniel; Everett, Wenderline; Gannon, Renae N.; Guyser, Robert J.; Halverson, Nils W.; Harrington, Nicholas L.; Hattori, Kaori; Henning, Jason W.; Hilton, Gene C.; Holzapfel, William L.; Huang, Nicholas; Irwin, Kent D.; Jeong, Oliver; Khaire, Trupti; Korman, Milo; Kubik, Donna L.; Kuo, Chao-Lin; Lee, Adrian T.; Leitch, Erik M.; Lendinez Escudero, Sergi; Meyer, Stephan S.; Miller, Christina S.; Montgomery, Joshua; Nadolski, Andrew; Natoli, Tyler J.; Nguyen, Hogan; Novosad, Valentyn; Padin, Stephen; Pan, Zhaodi; Pearson, John E.; Rahlin, Alexandra; Reichardt, Christian L.; Ruhl, John E.; Saliwanchik, Benjamin; Shirley, Ian; Sayre, James T.; Shariff, Jamil A.; Shirokoff, Erik D.; Stan, Liliana; Stark, Antony A.; Sobrin, Joshua; Story, Kyle; Suzuki, Aritoki; Tang, Qing Yang; Thakur, Ritoban B.; Thompson, Keith L.; Tucker, Carole E.; Vanderlinde, Keith; Vieira, Joaquin D.; Wang, Gensheng; Whitehorn, Nathan; Yefremenko, Volodymyr; Yoon, Ki Won

2016-07-01

Detectors for cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments are now essentially background limited, so a straightforward alternative to improve sensitivity is to increase the number of detectors. Large arrays of multichroic pixels constitute an economical approach to increasing the number of detectors within a given focal plane area. Here, we present the fabrication of large arrays of dual-polarized multichroic transition-edge-sensor (TES) bolometers for the South Pole Telescope third-generation CMB receiver (SPT-3G). The complete SPT-3G receiver will have 2690 pixels, each with six detectors, allowing for individual measurement of three spectral bands (centered at 95 GHz, 150 GHz and 220 GHz) in two orthogonal polarizations. In total, the SPT-3G focal plane will have 16140 detectors. Each pixel is comprised of a broad-band sinuous antenna coupled to a niobium microstrip transmission line. In-line filters are used to define the different band-passes before the millimeter-wavelength signal is fed to the respective Ti/Au TES sensors. Detectors are read out using a 64x frequency domain multiplexing (fMux) scheme. The microfabrication of the SPT-3G detector arrays involves a total of 18 processes, including 13 lithography steps. Together with the fabrication process, the effect of processing on the Ti/Au TES's Tc is discussed. In addition, detectors fabricated with Ti/Au TES films with Tc between 400 mK 560 mK are presented and their thermal characteristics are evaluated. Optical characterization of the arrays is presented as well, indicating that the response of the detectors is in good agreement with the design values for all three spectral bands (95 GHz, 150 GHz, and 220 GHz). The measured optical efficiency of the detectors is between 0.3 and 0.8. Results discussed here are extracted from a batch of research of development wafers used to develop the baseline process for the fabrication of the arrays of detectors to be deployed with the SPT-3G receiver. Results from

Focal therapy in prostate cancer

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Bos, W.

2016-01-01

Interesting developments took place in the treatment of prostate cancer including focal therapy for less aggressive organ-confined prostate cancer. Fortunately, curative treatment is often still an option for patients suffering from the lower staged tumors. In carefully selected patients, the

Gallbladder adenoma with focal adenocarcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciurea, S; Matei, E; Petrisor, P; Luca, L; Boros, Mirela; Herlea, V; Popescu, I

2008-01-01

The majority of polypoid lesions of the gallbladder are cholesterolosis pseudopolyps. True neoplastic GB polyps are represented mainly by adenomas. The case of a 52-year old male patient with an adenomatous polyp of the GB with focal adenocarcinoma is presented.

Nonpolar ZnO film growth and mechanism for anisotropic in-plane strain relaxation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pant, P.; Budai, J.D.; Narayan, J.

2010-01-01

Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction, we investigated the strain relaxation mechanisms for nonpolar (1 1 -2 0) a-plane ZnO epitaxy on (1 -1 0 2) r-plane sapphire, where the in-plane misfit ranges from -1.5% for the [0 0 0 1]ZnO-parallel [1 -1 0 -1]sapphire to -18.3% for the [-1 1 0 0]ZnO-parallel [-1 -1 2 0]sapphire direction. For the large misfit [-1 1 0 0]ZnO direction the misfit strains are fully relaxed at the growth temperature, and only thermal misfit and defect strains, which cannot be relaxed fully by slip dislocations, remain on cooling. For the small misfit direction, lattice misfit is not fully relaxed at the growth temperature. As a result, additive unrelaxed lattice and thermal misfit and defect strains contribute to the measured strain. Our X-ray diffraction measurements of lattice parameters show that the anisotropic in-plane biaxial strain leads to a distortion of the hexagonal symmetry of the ZnO basal plane. Based on the anisotropic strain relaxation observed along the orthogonal in-plane [-1 1 0 0] and [0 0 0 1]ZnO stress directions and our HRTEM investigations of the interface, we show that the plastic relaxation occurring in the small misfit direction [0 0 0 1]ZnO by dislocation nucleation is incomplete. These results are consistent with the domain-matching paradigm of a complete strain relaxation for large misfits and a difficulty in relaxing the film strain for small misfits.

Disrupting the Scaffold to Improve Focal Adhesion Kinase–Targeted Cancer Therapeutics

Science.gov (United States)

Cance, William G.; Kurenova, Elena; Marlowe, Timothy; Golubovskaya, Vita

2013-01-01

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is emerging as a promising cancer target because it is highly expressed at both the transcriptional and translational level in cancer and is involved in many aspects of tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. Existing FAK-based therapeutics focus on inhibiting the kinase's catalytic function and not the large scaffold it creates that includes many oncogenic receptor tyrosine kinases and tumor suppressor proteins. Targeting the FAK scaffold is a feasible and promising approach for developing highly specific therapeutics that disrupt FAK signaling pathways in cancer. PMID:23532331

Disrupting the scaffold to improve focal adhesion kinase-targeted cancer therapeutics.

Science.gov (United States)

Cance, William G; Kurenova, Elena; Marlowe, Timothy; Golubovskaya, Vita

2013-03-26

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is emerging as a promising cancer target because it is highly expressed at both the transcriptional and translational level in cancer and is involved in many aspects of tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. Existing FAK-based therapeutics focus on inhibiting the kinase's catalytic function and not the large scaffold it creates that includes many oncogenic receptor tyrosine kinases and tumor suppressor proteins. Targeting the FAK scaffold is a feasible and promising approach for developing highly specific therapeutics that disrupt FAK signaling pathways in cancer.

Parallel Multi-Focusing Using Plane Wave Decomposition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Misaridis, Thanassis; Munk, Peter; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2003-01-01

of desired 2-D sensitivity functions is specified, for multi-focusing in a number of directions. The field along these directions is decomposed to a sufficiently large (for accurate specification) number of plane waves, which are then back-propagated to all transducer elements. The contributions of all plane...... waves result in one time function per element. The numerical solution is presented and discussed. It contains pulses with a variation in central frequency and time-varying apodization across the aperture (dynamic apodization). The RMS difference between the transmitted field using the calculated pulse...... of the transmitted pulses is based on the directivity spectrum method, a generalization of the angular spectrum method, a generalization of the angular spectrum method, containing no evanescent waves. The underlying theory is based on the Fourier slice theorem, and field reconstruction from projections. First a set...

Actin dynamics at focal adhesions: a common endpoint and putative therapeutic target for proteinuric kidney diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Sever, Sanja; Schiffer, Mario

2018-06-01

Proteinuria encompasses diverse causes including both genetic diseases and acquired forms such as diabetic and hypertensive nephropathy. The basis of proteinuria is a disturbance in size selectivity of the glomerular filtration barrier, which largely depends on the podocyte: a terminally differentiated epithelial cell type covering the outer surface of the glomerulus. Compromised podocyte structure is one of the earliest signs of glomerular injury. The phenotype of diverse animal models and podocyte cell culture firmly established the essential role of the actin cytoskeleton in maintaining functional podocyte structure. Podocyte foot processes, actin-based membrane extensions, contain 2 molecularly distinct "hubs" that control actin dynamics: a slit diaphragm and focal adhesions. Although loss of foot processes encompasses disassembly of slit diaphragm multiprotein complexes, as long as cells are attached to the glomerular basement membrane, focal adhesions will be the sites in which stress due to filtration flow is counteracted by forces generated by the actin network in foot processes. Numerous studies within last 20 years have identified actin binding and regulatory proteins as well as integrins as essential components of signaling and actin dynamics at focal adhesions in podocytes, suggesting that some of them may become novel, druggable targets for proteinuric kidney diseases. Here we review evidence supporting the idea that current treatments for chronic kidney diseases beneficially and directly target the podocyte actin cytoskeleton associated with focal adhesions and suggest that therapeutic reagents that target the focal adhesion-regulated actin cytoskeleton in foot processes have potential to modernize treatments for chronic kidney diseases. Copyright © 2018 International Society of Nephrology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Target plane imaging system for the Nova laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swift, C.D.; Bliss, E.S.; Jones, W.A.; Reeves, R.J.; Seppala, L.G.; Shelton, R.T.; VanArsdall, P.J.

1985-01-01

The Nova laser, in operation since December 1984, is capable of irradiating targets with light at 1.05 μm, 0.53 μm, and 0.35 μm. Correct alignment of these harmonic beams uses a system called a target plane imager (TPI). It is a large microscope (four meters long, weighing one thousand kilograms) that relays images from the target chamber center to a video optics module located on the outside of the chamber. Several modes of operation are possible including: near-field viewing and far-field viewing at three magnifications and three wavelengths. In addition, the entire instrument can be scanned in X,Y,Z to examine various planes near chamber center. Performance of this system and its computer controls will be described

Heterogeneity of Focal Adhesions and Focal Contacts in Motile Fibroblasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Gladkikh, Aleena; Kovaleva, Anastasia; Tvorogova, Anna; Vorobjev, Ivan A

2018-01-01

Cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion is an important property of virtually all cells in multicellular organisms. Cell-ECM adhesion studies, therefore, are very significant both for biology and medicine. Over the last three decades, biomedical studies resulted in a tremendous advance in our understanding of the molecular basis and functions of cell-ECM adhesion. Based on morphological and molecular criteria, several different types of model cell-ECM adhesion structures including focal adhesions, focal complexes, fibrillar adhesions, podosomes, and three-dimensional matrix adhesions have been described. All the subcellular structures that mediate cell-ECM adhesion are quite heterogeneous, often varying in size, shape, distribution, dynamics, and, to a certain extent, molecular constituents. The morphological "plasticity" of cell-ECM adhesion perhaps reflects the needs of cells to sense, adapt, and respond to a variety of extracellular environments. In addition, cell type (e.g., differentiation status, oncogenic transformation, etc.) often exerts marked influence on the structure of cell-ECM adhesions. Although molecular, genetic, biochemical, and structural studies provide important maps or "snapshots" of cell-ECM adhesions, the area of research that is equally valuable is to study the heterogeneity of FA subpopulations within cells. Recently time-lapse observations on the FA dynamics become feasible, and behavior of individual FA gives additional information on cell-ECM interactions. Here we describe a robust method of labeling of FA using plasmids with fluorescent markers for paxillin and vinculin and quantifying the morphological and dynamical parameters of FA.

Large quantum dots with small oscillator strength

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stobbe, Søren; Schlereth, T.W.; Höfling, S.

2010-01-01

We have measured the oscillator strength and quantum efficiency of excitons confined in large InGaAs quantum dots by recording the spontaneous emission decay rate while systematically varying the distance between the quantum dots and a semiconductor-air interface. The size of the quantum dots...... is measured by in-plane transmission electron microscopy and we find average in-plane diameters of 40 nm. We have calculated the oscillator strength of excitons of that size assuming a quantum-dot confinement given by a parabolic in-plane potential and a hard-wall vertical potential and predict a very large...... intermixing inside the quantum dots....

Systematic study of the focal shift effect in planar plasmonic slit lenses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Bin; Wang Qijie; Zhang Ying

2012-01-01

In this paper, we systematically studied the focal shift effect in planar plasmonic slit lenses. Through theoretical derivations and numerical simulations, we found that there is a focal length shift between the traditional design model and the finite-difference time-domain simulations. The shift is not only dependent on the Fresnel number (FN) of the lens, like traditional dielectric lenses, determined by the lens width and the designed focal length, but also on the surface plasmon polariton (SPPs) interaction on the lens surfaces, dependent on the slit numbers. We also found that the FN-induced focal shift is predominant when FN 1. An approximated theoretical model is presented to estimate the focal shift of plasmonic slit lens with FN < 1. (paper)

Microstructure of the regions on a plane copper electrode surface affected by a spark discharge in air in the point-plane gap

Science.gov (United States)

Tren'kin, A. A.; Karelin, V. I.; Shibitov, Yu. M.; Blinova, O. M.; Yasnikov, I. S.

2017-09-01

The microstructure of the regions affected by spark discharge on the surface of a plane copper electrode in atmospheric air in the point-plane gap has been studied using a scanning electron microscope for both the positive and negative polarity of the point electrode. It has been found that the affected regions have the shape of round spots or groups of spots with diameters of individual spots varying in the range of 20-200 μm. It has been revealed that the spots have an internal spatial structure in the form of an aggregate of concentric rings. These rings are aggregates of a large number of microscopic craters with diameters of 0.1-1.0 μm.

Protein kinase C involvement in focal adhesion formation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Woods, A; Couchman, J R

1992-01-01

Matrix molecules such as fibronectin can promote cell attachment, spreading and focal adhesion formation. Although some interactions of fibronectin with cell surface receptors have now been identified, the consequent activation of intracellular messenger systems by cell/matrix interactions have...... still to be elucidated. We show here that the kinase inhibitors H7 and HA1004 reduce focal adhesion and stress fiber formation in response to fibronectin in a dose-dependent manner, and that activators of protein kinase C can promote their formation under conditions where they do not normally form....... Fibroblasts spread within 1h on substrata composed of fibronectin and formed focal adhesions by 3h, as monitored by interference reflection microscopy (IRM) and by labeling for talin, vinculin and integrin beta 1 subunits. In addition, stress fibers were visible. When cells were allowed to spread for 1h...

In-plane and out-of-plane emission of nuclear matter in Au+Au collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bastid, N.; Dupieux, P.; Ramillien, V.; Alard, J.P.; Amouroux, V.; Berger, L.; Boussange, S.; Fraysse, L.; Ibnouzahir, M.; Montarou, G.

1995-01-01

Collective flow effects in Au (E/A = 150 to 800 MeV) on Au collisions measured with the phase I setup of the FOPI detector at GSI - Darmstadt are presented. Directed side ward flow is studied, by the mean transverse momentum in the reaction plane x (y)>, without reaction plane reconstruction. A more quantitative measurement of the global amount of directed side ward flow is also made and some comparisons with the predictions of different QMD versions are given. Experimental results concerning the preferential emission of particles in a direction perpendicular to the reaction plane are also presented. Azimuthal distributions of fragments around the beam axis, with respect to the reaction plane are studied in the mid-rapidity region and the associated R N (out-of-plane/in-plane ratios) are extracted. The dependence of R N upon transverse momentum, centrality, fragment charge and bombarding energy is studied. (authors). 24 refs., 10 figs., 1 tab

Fabrication and analysis of awl-shaped serpentine microsprings for large out-of-plane displacement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chou, Hui-Min; Chen, Rongshun; Lin, Meng-Ju

2015-01-01

This work investigates a novel awl-shaped serpentine microspring for a suspension structure, with a lower spring constant under the same unit layout area in out-of-plane motion. Using Castigliano’s theorem, the spring constant of the microspring was theoretically derived and simulations were performed using COMSOL Multiphysics to verify the theoretical results. The proposed awl-shaped serpentine microspring was successfully fabricated using silicon-based micromachining. Experiments were conducted to compare the theoretical and numerical results, which were in close agreement. In addition, a parameter of spring constant to layout area ratio (K/A) is defined to be used as the index for comparing spring constants under the same unit area. Accordingly, the awl-shaped serpentine microspring has a lower K/A value than the traditional serpentine microspring with the same total effective length and folds. With a greater taper angle, more folds, a smaller beam width, and lower beam thickness, the awl-shaped serpentine microspring has a smaller K/A value. Using the proposed mathematical model, the spring constants of microsprings of various sizes and geometric structures can be calculated in out-of-plane motion before the microstructure is fabricated. Thus, it saves time when designing a microspring with a proper spring constant. (paper)

Estimating Source Duration for Moderate and Large Earthquakes in Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Wen-Yen; Hwang, Ruey-Der; Ho, Chien-Yin; Lin, Tzu-Wei

2017-04-01

Estimating Source Duration for Moderate and Large Earthquakes in Taiwan Wen-Yen Chang1, Ruey-Der Hwang2, Chien-Yin Ho3 and Tzu-Wei Lin4 1 Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, Taiwan, ROC 2Department of Geology, Chinese Culture University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC 3Department of Earth Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC 4Seismology Center, Central Weather Bureau, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC ABSTRACT To construct a relationship between seismic moment (M0) and source duration (t) was important for seismic hazard in Taiwan, where earthquakes were quite active. In this study, we used a proposed inversion process using teleseismic P-waves to derive the M0-t relationship in the Taiwan region for the first time. Fifteen earthquakes with MW 5.5-7.1 and focal depths of less than 40 km were adopted. The inversion process could simultaneously determine source duration, focal depth, and pseudo radiation patterns of direct P-wave and two depth phases, by which M0 and fault plane solutions were estimated. Results showed that the estimated t ranging from 2.7 to 24.9 sec varied with one-third power of M0. That is, M0 is proportional to t**3, and then the relationship between both of them was M0=0.76*10**23(t)**3 , where M0 in dyne-cm and t in second. The M0-t relationship derived from this study was very close to those determined from global moderate to large earthquakes. For further understanding the validity in the derived relationship, through the constructed relationship of M0-, we inferred the source duration of the 1999 Chi-Chi (Taiwan) earthquake with M0=2-5*10**27 dyne-cm (corresponding to Mw = 7.5-7.7) to be approximately 29-40 sec, in agreement with many previous studies for source duration (28-42 sec).

Focal adhesions, stress fibers and mechanical tension

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burridge, Keith, E-mail: Keith_Burridge@med.unc.edu [Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, 12-016 Lineberger, CB#7295, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States); Guilluy, Christophe, E-mail: christophe.guilluy@univ-nantes.fr [Inserm UMR-S1087, CNRS UMR-C6291, L' institut du Thorax, and Université de Nantes, Nantes (France)

2016-04-10

Stress fibers and focal adhesions are complex protein arrays that produce, transmit and sense mechanical tension. Evidence accumulated over many years led to the conclusion that mechanical tension generated within stress fibers contributes to the assembly of both stress fibers themselves and their associated focal adhesions. However, several lines of evidence have recently been presented against this model. Here we discuss the evidence for and against the role of mechanical tension in driving the assembly of these structures. We also consider how their assembly is influenced by the rigidity of the substratum to which cells are adhering. Finally, we discuss the recently identified connections between stress fibers and the nucleus, and the roles that these may play, both in cell migration and regulating nuclear function. - Highlights: • The different types of stress fiber and focal adhesion are described. • We discuss the controversy about tension and assembly of these structures. • We describe the different models used to investigate assembly of these structures. • The influence of substratum rigidity is discussed. • Stress fiber connections to the nucleus are reviewed.

MRI of a family with focal abnormalities of gyration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muntaner, L.; Perez-Ferron, J.J.; Herrera, M.; Rosell, J.; Taboada, D.; Climent, S.

1997-01-01

Focal abnormalities of gyration (FAG) are developmental disorders that may occur in isolated patients or, as in the case being reported, as part of a familial disorder. Analysis of individuals in a family spanning three generations was carried out using MRI. Abnormalities, present in all members of generations II and III, included focal cortical dysplasia (three patients), focal cortical infolding (two patients) and schizencephaly (one patient); associated minor anomalies, such as white matter abnormalities, were seen in the remaining three members of generations II and III. MRI recognition of FAG in the family being reported proved useful in defining their phenotypical expression and providing proper counselling for individual family members. (orig.). With 6 figs

Concordance of MRI and EEG Focal Slowing in Nonsyndromic Epilepsy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Gordon Millichap

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Investigators at the Kangwon National University, Korea, and The Epilepsy Center, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, USA studied the correlation and significance of EEG focal slowing and focal MRI abnormalities in 253 children with nonsyndromic epilepsy.

Focal low-dose rate brachytherapy for the treatment of prostate cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tong WY

2013-09-01

Full Text Available William Y Tong, Gilad Cohen, Yoshiya Yamada Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, New York, NY, USA Abstract: Whole-gland low-dose rate (LDR brachytherapy has been a well-established modality of treating low-risk prostate cancer. Treatment in a focal manner has the advantages of reduced toxicity to surrounding organs. Focal treatment using LDR brachytherapy has been relatively unexplored, but it may offer advantages over other modalities that have established experiences with a focal approach. This is particularly true as prostate cancer is being detected at an earlier and more localized stage with the advent of better detection methods and newer imaging modalities. Keywords: prostate cancer, focal, low dose rate, brachytherapy

Influence of mandibular fixation method on stability of the maxillary occlusal plane after occlusal plane alteration.

Science.gov (United States)

Yosano, Akira; Katakura, Akira; Takaki, Takashi; Shibahara, Takahiko

2009-05-01

In this study, we investigated how method of mandibular fixation influenced longterm postoperative stability of the maxilla in Class III cases. In particular, we investigated change in the maxillary occlusal plane after Occlusal Plane Alteration. Therefore, we focused on change in the palatal plane to evaluate stability of the maxillary occlusal plane, as the position of the palatal plane affects the maxillary occlusal plane. This study included 16 patients diagnosed with mandibular protrusion. Alteration of the occlusal plane was achieved by clockwise rotation of the maxilla by Le Fort I osteotomy and mandibular setback was performed by bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy. We analyzed and examined lateral cephalometric radiographs taken at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after surgery. Stability achieved by two methods of mandibular fixation was compared. In one group of patients (group S) titanium screws were used, and in the other group (group P) titanium-locking mini-plates were used. No significant displacement was recognized in group S, whereas an approximately 0.7mm upward vertical displacement was recognized in the anterior nasal spine in group P. As a result, not only the angle of the palatal plane and S-N plane, but also occlusal plane angle in group P showed a greater decrease than that in group S. The results suggest that fixing the mandible with screws yielded greater stability of the maxilla and maxillary occlusal plane than fixing the mandible with titanium plates.

Dosimetry Modeling for Focal Low-Dose-Rate Prostate Brachytherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Qaisieh, Bashar [Leeds Cancer Centre, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds (United Kingdom); Mason, Josh, E-mail: joshua.mason@nhs.net [Leeds Cancer Centre, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds (United Kingdom); Bownes, Peter; Henry, Ann [Leeds Cancer Centre, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds (United Kingdom); Dickinson, Louise [Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London (United Kingdom); Department of Radiology, Northwick Park Hospital, London North West NHS Trust, London (United Kingdom); Ahmed, Hashim U. [Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London (United Kingdom); University College London Hospital, London (United Kingdom); Emberton, Mark [University College London Hospital, London (United Kingdom); Langley, Stephen [St Luke' s Cancer Centre, Guildford (United Kingdom)

2015-07-15

Purpose: Focal brachytherapy targeted to an individual lesion(s) within the prostate may reduce side effects experienced with whole-gland brachytherapy. The outcomes of a consensus meeting on focal prostate brachytherapy were used to investigate optimal dosimetry of focal low-dose-rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy targeted using multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) and transperineal template prostate mapping (TPM) biopsy, including the effects of random and systematic seed displacements and interseed attenuation (ISA). Methods and Materials: Nine patients were selected according to clinical characteristics and concordance of TPM and mp-MRI. Retrospectively, 3 treatment plans were analyzed for each case: whole-gland (WG), hemi-gland (hemi), and ultra-focal (UF) plans, with 145-Gy prescription dose and identical dose constraints for each plan. Plan robustness to seed displacement and ISA were assessed using Monte Carlo simulations. Results: WG plans used a mean 28 needles and 81 seeds, hemi plans used 17 needles and 56 seeds, and UF plans used 12 needles and 25 seeds. Mean D90 (minimum dose received by 90% of the target) and V100 (percentage of the target that receives 100% dose) values were 181.3 Gy and 99.8% for the prostate in WG plans, 195.7 Gy and 97.8% for the hemi-prostate in hemi plans, and 218.3 Gy and 99.8% for the focal target in UF plans. Mean urethra D10 was 205.9 Gy, 191.4 Gy, and 92.4 Gy in WG, hemi, and UF plans, respectively. Mean rectum D2 cm{sup 3} was 107.5 Gy, 77.0 Gy, and 42.7 Gy in WG, hemi, and UF plans, respectively. Focal plans were more sensitive to seed displacement errors: random shifts with a standard deviation of 4 mm reduced mean target D90 by 14.0%, 20.5%, and 32.0% for WG, hemi, and UF plans, respectively. ISA has a similar impact on dose-volume histogram parameters for all plan types. Conclusions: Treatment planning for focal LDR brachytherapy is feasible. Dose constraints are easily met with a notable

Topologically protected edge states for out-of-plane and in-plane bulk elastic waves

Science.gov (United States)

Huo, Shao-Yong; Chen, Jiu-Jiu; Huang, Hong-Bo

2018-04-01

Topological phononic insulators (TPnIs) show promise for application in the manipulation of acoustic waves for the design of low-loss transmission and perfectly integrated communication devices. Since solid phononic crystals exist as a transverse polarization mode and a mixed longitudinal-transverse polarization mode, the realization of topological edge states for both out-of-plane and in-plane bulk elastic waves is desirable to enhance the controllability of the edge waves in solid systems. In this paper, a two-dimensional (2D) solid/solid hexagonal-latticed phononic system that simultaneously supports the topologically protected edge states for out-of-plane and in-plane bulk elastic waves is investigated. Firstly, two pairs of two-fold Dirac cones, respectively corresponding to the out-of-plane and in-plane waves, are obtained at the same frequency by tuning the crystal parameters. Then, a strategy of zone folding is invoked to form double Dirac cones. By shrinking and expanding the steel scatterer, the lattice symmetry is broken, and band inversions induced, giving rise to an intriguing topological phase transition. Finally, the topologically protected edge states for both out-of-plane and in-plane bulk elastic waves, which can be simultaneously located at the frequency range from 1.223 to 1.251 MHz, are numerically observed. Robust pseudospin-dependent elastic edge wave propagation along arbitrary paths is further demonstrated. Our results will significantly broaden its practical application in the engineering field.

High-performance visible/UV CCD focal plane technology for spacebased applications

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, B. E.; Mountain, R. W.; Gregory, J. A.; Huang, J. C. M.; Cooper, M. J.; Savoye, E. D.; Kosicki, B. B.

1993-01-01

We describe recent technology developments aimed at large CCD imagers for space based applications in the visible and UV. Some of the principal areas of effort include work on reducing device degradation in the natural space-radiation environment, improvements in quantum efficiency in the visible and UV, and larger-device formats. One of the most serious hazards for space based CCD's operating at low signal levels is the displacement damage resulting from bombardment by energetic protons. Such damage degrades charge-transfer efficiency and increases dark current. We have achieved improved hardness to proton-induced displacement damage by selective ion implants into the CCD channel and by reduced temperature of operation. To attain high quantum efficiency across the visible and UV we have developed a technology for back-illuminated CCD's. With suitable antireflection (AR) coatings such devices have quantum efficiencies near 90 percent in the 500-700-nm band. In the UV band from 200 to 400 nm, where it is difficult to find coatings that are sufficiently transparent and can provide good matching to the high refractive index of silicon, we have been able to substantially increase the quantum efficiency using a thin film of HfO2 as an AR coating. These technology efforts were applied to a 420 x 420-pixel frame-transfer imager, and future work will be extended to a 1024 x 1024-pixel device now under development.

Existence of Projective Planes

OpenAIRE

Perrott, Xander

2016-01-01

This report gives an overview of the history of finite projective planes and their properties before going on to outline the proof that no projective plane of order 10 exists. The report also investigates the search carried out by MacWilliams, Sloane and Thompson in 1970 [12] and confirms their result by providing independent verification that there is no vector of weight 15 in the code generated by the projective plane of order 10.

Detection is unaffected by the deployment of focal attention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeff eMoher

2013-05-01

Full Text Available There has been much debate regarding how much information humans can extract from their environment without the use of limited attentional resources. In a recent study, Theeuwes, Van der Burg, and Belopolsky (2008 argued that even detection of simple feature targets is not possible without selection by focal attention. Supporting this claim, they found response time benefits in a simple feature (color detection task when a target letter’s identity was repeated on consecutive trials, suggesting that the letter was selected by focal attention and identified prior to detection. This intertrial repetition benefit remained even when observers were required to simultaneously identify a central digit. However, we found that intertrial repetition benefits disappeared when a simple color target was presented among a heterogeneously (rather than homogeneously colored set of distractors, thus reducing its bottom-up salience. Still, detection performance remained high. Thus, detection performance was unaffected by whether a letter was focally attended and identified prior to detection or not. Intertrial identity repetition benefits also disappeared when observers were required to perform a simultaneous, attention-demanding central task (Experiment 2, or when unfamiliar Chinese characters were used (Experiment 3. Together, these results suggest that while shifts of focal attention can be affected by target salience, by the availability of excess cognitive resources, and by target familiarity, detection performance itself is unaffected by these manipulations and is thus unaffected by the deployment of focal attention.

Rasmussen's encephalitis presenting as focal cortical dysplasia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D.J. O'Rourke

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Rasmussen's encephalitis is a rare syndrome characterized by intractable seizures, often associated with epilepsia partialis continua and symptoms of progressive hemispheric dysfunction. Seizures are usually the hallmark of presentation, but antiepileptic drug treatment fails in most patients and is ineffective against epilepsia partialis continua, which often requires surgical intervention. Co-occurrence of focal cortical dysplasia has only rarely been described and may have implications regarding pathophysiology and management. We describe a rare case of dual pathology of Rasmussen's encephalitis presenting as a focal cortical dysplasia (FCD and discuss the literature on this topic.

Chest pain in focal musculoskeletal disorders

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stochkendahl, Mette Jensen; Christensen, Henrik Wulff

2010-01-01

overlapping conditions and syndromes of focal disorders, including Tietze syndrome, costochondritis, chest wall syndrome, muscle tenderness, slipping rib, cervical angina, and segmental dysfunction of the cervical and thoracic spine, have been reported to cause pain. For most of these syndromes, evidence......The musculoskeletal system is a recognized source of chest pain. However, despite the apparently benign origin, patients with musculoskeletal chest pain remain under-diagnosed, untreated, and potentially continuously disabled in terms of anxiety, depression, and activities of daily living. Several...... arises mainly from case stories and empiric knowledge. For segmental dysfunction, clinical features of musculoskeletal chest pain have been characterized in a few clinical trials. This article summarizes the most commonly encountered syndromes of focal musculoskeletal disorders in clinical practice....

Mechanical design and analysis of focal plate for gravity deformation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jianping; Chu, Jiaru; Hu, Hongzhuan; Li, Kexuan; Zhou, Zengxiang

2014-07-01

The surface accuracy of astronomical telescope focal plate is a key indicator to precision stellar observation. To conduct accurate deformation measurement for focal plate in different status, a 6-DOF hexapod platform was used for attitude adjustment. For the small adjustment range of a classic 6-DOF hexapod platform, an improved structural arrangement method was proposed in the paper to achieve ultimate adjustment of the focal plate in horizontal and vertical direction. To validate the feasibility of this method, an angle change model which used ball hinge was set up for the movement and base plate. Simulation results in MATLAB suggested that the ball hinge angle change of movement and base plate is within the range of the limiting angle in the process of the platform plate adjusting to ultimate attitude. The proposed method has some guiding significance for accurate surface measurement of focal plate.

Intervertebral anticollision constraints improve out-of-plane translation accuracy of a single-plane fluoroscopy-to-CT registration method for measuring spinal motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Cheng-Chung; Tsai, Tsung-Yuan; Hsu, Shih-Jung; Lu, Tung-Wu; Shih, Ting-Fang; Wang, Ting-Ming

2013-01-01

Purpose: The study aimed to propose a new single-plane fluoroscopy-to-CT registration method integrated with intervertebral anticollision constraints for measuring three-dimensional (3D) intervertebral kinematics of the spine; and to evaluate the performance of the method without anticollision and with three variations of the anticollision constraints via an in vitro experiment. Methods: The proposed fluoroscopy-to-CT registration approach, called the weighted edge-matching with anticollision (WEMAC) method, was based on the integration of geometrical anticollision constraints for adjacent vertebrae and the weighted edge-matching score (WEMS) method that matched the digitally reconstructed radiographs of the CT models of the vertebrae and the measured single-plane fluoroscopy images. Three variations of the anticollision constraints, namely, T-DOF, R-DOF, and A-DOF methods, were proposed. An in vitro experiment using four porcine cervical spines in different postures was performed to evaluate the performance of the WEMS and the WEMAC methods. Results: The WEMS method gave high precision and small bias in all components for both vertebral pose and intervertebral pose measurements, except for relatively large errors for the out-of-plane translation component. The WEMAC method successfully reduced the out-of-plane translation errors for intervertebral kinematic measurements while keeping the measurement accuracies for the other five degrees of freedom (DOF) more or less unaltered. The means (standard deviations) of the out-of-plane translational errors were less than −0.5 (0.6) and −0.3 (0.8) mm for the T-DOF method and the R-DOF method, respectively. Conclusions: The proposed single-plane fluoroscopy-to-CT registration method reduced the out-of-plane translation errors for intervertebral kinematic measurements while keeping the measurement accuracies for the other five DOF more or less unaltered. With the submillimeter and subdegree accuracy, the WEMAC method was

Gravitational Couplings for Generalized Orientifold Planes

OpenAIRE

Giraldo, Juan Fernando Ospina

2000-01-01

The Wess-Zumino action for generalized orientifold planes (GOp-planes) is presented and a series power expantion is realized from which processes that involves GOp-planes, RR-forms, gravitons and gaugeons, are obtained. Finally non-standard GOp-planes are showed.

Charging as a Focal Practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bødker, Mads

This position paper reflects on Borgmann’s notion of ‘focal things’ and its applicability in the discourse about interaction with technologies in nature. Using the example of a combined cooking burner and thermoelectric 5W smartphone charger (a BioLite cook stove), this position paper gives...