Reflectometry Study of the Pyroelectric Effect on Proton-Exchange Channel Waveguides in Lithium Niobate

This work is devoted to the study of the pyroelectric effect on the qualities of optical waveguides formed in a lithium niobate crystal by proton exchange. In the present work, we investigated the cessation effect of the radiation channeling during thermocycling of Y-splitters samples. We examined the spectral dependence of optical losses on a wavelength using an optical spectrum analyzer. The results demonstrate that in the range of 1530–1570 nm, all wavelengths are suppressed equally. The optical reflectometry method in the frequency domain shows that the increase of optical losses is observed along the entire waveguide, but not only at the Y-distribution point, as supposed earlier.

Continuous In-Line Chromium Coating Thickness Measurement Methodologies: An Investigation of Current and Potential Technology

Coatings or films are applied to a substrate for several applications, such as waterproofing, corrosion resistance, adhesion performance, cosmetic effects, and optical coatings. When applying a coating to a substrate, it is vital to monitor the coating thickness during the coating process to achieve a product to the desired specification via real time production control. There are several different coating thickness measurement methods that can be used, either in-line or off-line, which can determine the coating thickness relative to the material of the coating and the substrate. In-line coating thickness measurement methods are often very difficult to design and implement due to the nature of the harsh environmental conditions of typical production processes and the speed at which the process is run. This paper addresses the current and novel coating thickness methodologies for application to chromium coatings on a ferro-magnetic steel substrate with their advantages and limitations regarding in-line measurement. The most common in-line coating thickness measurement method utilized within the steel packaging industry is the X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) method, but these systems can become costly when implemented for a wide packaging product and pose health and safety concerns due to its ionizing radiation. As technology advances, nanometer-scale coatings are becoming more common, and here three methods are highlighted, which have been used extensively in other industries (with several variants in their design) which can potentially measure coatings of nanometer thickness in a production line, precisely, safely, and do so in a non-contact and non-destructive manner. These methods are optical reflectometry, ellipsometry and interferometry.

Research of multisensor characteristics based on optical fiber

The research results of multisensors based on optical fiber, the principle of which is to change the conditions of propagation of optical radiation in the optical fiber in the places where macro-bends are formed at the points of impact, are presented in the paper. The formation of macro-bends leads to an additional attenuation of the power of optical radiation propagating through the optical fiber. A single-mode optical fiber was used with the parameters, which are supported by numerous manufacturers and comply with the recommendations of ITU-T G.655. The measurements were carried out for four wavelengths of optical radiation (1310, 1490, 1550, 1625 nm), corresponding to the transparency windows of the optical loss spectrum of the optical fiber. Using optical reflectometry methods, it was determined that the amount of attenuation of optical radiation of each macro-bend formed at the point of action of the multisensor does not depend on the number of simultaneously formed macro-bends and also does not depend on the location of the point of action along the length of the multisensor. The dependences of the attenuation of the optical radiation power introduced by the macro-bends of the optical fiber on the radius, length, or angle of the macro-bends formed at the multisensory impact points are determined experimentally. The obtained dependences also allow one to determine the optimal parameters of the formed macro-bends of the multisensor to obtain the maximum range of attenuation change for each value of the wavelength. The values of the minimum distance between the impact points, the maximum number of impact points and the optimal values of the radius and angle of the optical fiber macro-bend at the impact points are determined. The results obtained provide opportunities to continue the development of multisensors that allow us to receive information about parameters from several impact points, that are located on a single optical fiber, simultaneously.

Inhibiting the Segregation of Germanium in Silver Nanolayers

It is generally acknowledged that using germanium as a wetting film for silver nanolayers decreases the surface roughness of the metal. However, germanium atoms also tend to segregate towards the surface of silver films, increasing ohmic losses in the structure. Here we propose an Au/Ge/Ag based structure where the segregation of germanium in silver is inhibited. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results show that for the Au/Ge/Ag system, the surface concentration of germanium drops by an order of magnitude relative to multilayers containing only one type of metal (Ag or Au). We have also observed that the time-dependent decrease in the reflectivity due to localized surface plasmon excitation is less prominent in the case of the Au/Ge/Ag structure than in the case of Ag/Ge/Ag. We provide XPS as well as optical reflectometry results to support that claim.