Spectral Dependence of the Photoplastic Effect in CdZnTe and CdZnTeSe

We studied the spectral dependence of the Vickers microhardness HV0.025 of CdZnTe and CdZnTeSe samples upon illumination and found out that it increases over the entire applied spectral range of 1540–750 nm. We also found out that the photoconductivity and microhardness are correlated. We observed changes in the correlation diagram (change of slope and an abrupt change of HV0.025 at several wavelengths of the illuminating light). Based on measurements of the relative changes of the space charge upon illumination using the Pockels effect, we suggest that the observed spectral dependence of positive photoplastic effect in CdZnTe and CdZnTeSe can be explained by the trapping of photoinduced electrons and holes, which affects the motion of the partial dislocations. The underlying physical explanation relies on the assumption that reconstructed bonds break before dislocation glide.

3D imaging using scanning diffractometry

Imaging of cells is a challenging problem as they do not appreciably change the intensity of the illuminating light. Interferometry-based methods to do this task suffer from high sensitivity to environmental vibrations. We introduce scanning diffractometry as a simple non-contact and vibration-immune methodology for quantitative phase imaging. Fresnel diffractometry by a phase step has led to several applications such as high-precision measurements of displacement. Additional scanning may lead to 3D imaging straightforwardly. We apply the technique to acquire 3D images of holographic grating, red blood cell, neuron, and sperm cell. Either visibility of the diffraction fringes or the positions of extrema may be used for phase change detection. The theoretical analysis through the Fresnel diffraction from one-dimensional phase step is presented and the experimental results are validated with digital holographic microscopy. The presented technique can be suggested to serve as a robust device for 3D phase imaging and biomedical measurements.

Reflections on Narrative and Cultural Humility

This chapter reviews the literature on East/West cultural differences in light of the author’s experience in China. It considers the nuances of the individualist/collectivistic binary description of cultures and contests this as a meaningful distinction, arguing that these are on a continuum, with elements of both at every point. It makes a strong case for the importance of cultural humility, which involves being open to surprise and nurturing curiosity about how others think and construe their experience in their own terms, through their own narratives. It means learning to recognize our own taken-for-granted assumptions. Narrative sheds a more illuminating light on culture than abstractions and has the possibility of representing culture with vividness and respect for profound differences.

On-Line Measurement of Wood Surface Smoothness

The latest progress in the field of optics and microelectronics resulted in the development of new generation vision systems capable of scanning surface topography with very high sampling frequencies. The blue color of illuminating light as well as novel systems for controlling ultra-thin laser line thickness allows the measurement of the porous surface of wood with a triangulation method. Three alternative sensors were tested here in order to verify their suitability for the determination of surface topography in the industrial environment. The scanning head was installed at the exit zone of the four-side profiling moulder and was set to scrutinize the wood surface shape line-by-line, immediately after profiling. The sensor was also tested for automatic detection of surface defects appearing on the elements after sanding, wetting and painting with various finishing products. The set of pilot test results is presented, together with an original algorithm for real-time surface defects detection.

Magneto-optical painting of heat current

Active control of heat flow is crucial for the thermal management of increasingly complex electronic and spintronic devices. In addition to conventional heat transport engineering, spin caloritronics has received extensive attention as a heat control principle owing to its high controllability and unique thermal energy conversion symmetry. Here we demonstrate that the direction of heat currents generated by spin-caloritronic phenomena can be changed simply by illuminating magnetic materials with visible light. The optical control of heat currents is realized through a combination of the spin-driven thermoelectric conversion called an anomalous Ettingshausen effect and all-optical helicity-dependent switching of magnetization. This approach enables not only pinpoint manipulation and flexible design of the heat current distribution by patterning the illuminating light but also on/off control of the resulting temperature modulation by tuning the light polarization. These versatile heat control functionalities will open up a pathway for nanoscale thermal energy engineering.

Smart metasurface with self-adaptively reprogrammable functions

Intelligence at either the material or metamaterial level is a goal that researchers have been pursuing. From passive to active, metasurfaces have been developed to be programmable to dynamically and arbitrarily manipulate electromagnetic (EM) wavefields. However, the programmable metasurfaces require manual control to switch among different functionalities. Here, we put forth a smart metasurface that has self-adaptively reprogrammable functionalities without human participation. The smart metasurface is capable of sensing ambient environments by integrating an additional sensor(s) and can adaptively adjust its EM operational functionality through an unmanned sensing feedback system. As an illustrative example, we experimentally develop a motion-sensitive smart metasurface integrated with a three-axis gyroscope, which can adjust self-adaptively the EM radiation beams via different rotations of the metasurface. We develop an online feedback algorithm as the control software to make the smart metasurface achieve single-beam and multibeam steering and other dynamic reactions adaptively. The proposed metasurface is extendable to other physical sensors to detect the humidity, temperature, illuminating light, and so on. Our strategy will open up a new avenue for future unmanned devices that are consistent with the ambient environment.

Recent Advances in Tunable and Reconfigurable Metamaterials

Metamaterials are composed of nanostructures, called artificial atoms, which can give metamaterials extraordinary properties that cannot be found in natural materials. The nanostructures themselves and their arrangements determine the metamaterials’ properties. However, a conventional metamaterial has fixed properties in general, which limit their use. Thus, real-world applications of metamaterials require the development of tunability. This paper reviews studies that realized tunable and reconfigurable metamaterials that are categorized by the mechanisms that cause the change: inducing temperature changes, illuminating light, inducing mechanical deformation, and applying electromagnetic fields. We then provide the advantages and disadvantages of each mechanism and explain the results or effects of tuning. We also introduce studies that overcome the disadvantages or strengthen the advantages of each classified tunable metamaterial.

Toward a “Military, Cameral, and Debt System,” 1733–48

This chapter examines the Estates against the background of the war-induced crisis of government that began in 1733. It shows that the Habsburg fiscal-military state was more effective in this period in one of its central territories than has been assumed. The ordinary and extraordinary sums approved by the Estates for the government in the last couple of years of the War of the Austrian Succession roughly equaled the sum that would be negotiated as the reformed Contribution in 1748. The leading opponent of the reformed Contribution at the level of the central government, the grand aulic chancellor, Count Friedrich Harrach, belonged to a family that had dominated the Lower Austrian Estates in the previous generation. Harrach’s personal and financial circumstances cast illuminating light on the forces of resistance to reform at the territorial level.