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This paper presents a nanowell device that detects the nano-scale electric field fluctuations due to ion cascade in bacteria. Solid-state nano devices allow for the measurement and analysis of fluctuation on the single cell or molecule scale, which can offer orders of magnitude higher sensitivity than microscopic measurements through conventional sensors. We fabricated a nanowell that is a 150nm wide gap in the middle of a titanium line on LiNbO3 substrate. The noise in the electrical current through this gap is measured. When bacteria are infected by bacteriophage, a large amount of ions are released, which yields spatiotemporal fluctuations of electric potential captured by this nanowell. It was demonstrated that this technology can be used to identify bacteria within minutes using the high specificity of phage/bacteria interaction. The perspective of building a biochip with hundreds of nano devices, immobilized phages and microfluidic channels so as to identify a large variety of bacteria is also discussed in this paper.

This paper summarizes nanostructured optical fiber sensors fabricated by molecular self-assemblychemistry. Strain, pressure, vibration and chemical sensors are described which are based on self-assembled fiber cores, cladding s, distal endface coatings and free-standing membranes.Keywords: Self-assembled materials, optical fiber sensor, coatings, chemical sensor 1.0 INTRODUC TION Molecular- level self-assembly offers an interesting new processing route for the fabrication of materials with combined constitutive properties typically not achieved using conventional manufacturing techniques.Recent research has demonstrated that such materials may be incorporated into optical fiber sensor systems in a variety of ways, namely as coatings on the distal ends of fibers to enable the specific detection of selected chemicals, as both coatings and claddings of low modulus light-transmi tting fibers that may be used to qualitatively measure strain and vibrational effects, and as free-standing reflective, transmissive or absorptive membrane materials that may be interrogated in extrinsic fiber sensor geometries to determine two-dimensional displacement and deformation. This paper briefly summarizes some of this work, and suggests possible directions in this area in the future. 1.1 Self- Assembly of MaterialsThe concept of materials that assemble themselves is conceptually attractive as a potential means of reducing the complexity and time associated with material manufacturing. Such is especially the case in the production of materials from the ‘bottom-up,’ molecular by molecule, due to the large number of molecules involved and the difficulty associated with placing each one into a three-dimensional material array. Self-assembly methods are not new, but have been studied for nearly the past century [1]. So-calledelectrostatic self- assembly (ESA) is particularly attractive because it has recently been demonstrated as an effective means of making thick macroscopic bulk materials rather than just ultrathin films or coatings. Itrelies on the formation of alternating simple polyelectrolyte monolayers as shown in Figure 1.As shown, the substrate surface has been thoroughly cleaned and functionalized, so the outermost surface layer effectively has a negative charge. In general, this charged substrate is then dipped into or sprayed with a solution containing polycationic complexes (polymers, nanoclusters, nanotubes, biomolecules) that are attracted to the anionic surface and self-assemble into a positive monolayer. The now positive substrate

This paper focuses on the mechanical and electrical characteristics of electro-active paper (EAPap) as a bio-inspired actuator and the potential use of these actuators in some specific applications. EAPap can undergo a large bending displacement at a relatively low voltage under low power consumption in dry conditions. EAPap samples as tested are made from chemically treated cellulose paper. When an electrical field is applied to the electrodes, a “bending displacement” is produced as the material tends to deform into a constant curvature coil. However, the EAPap is a complex anisotropic material, which has not been extensively characterized and additional basic and design testing is required before developing application devices from EAPap. Mechanical properties of selected EAPap materials along three material axes are addressed. EAPap material exhibits two distinct elastic constants connected by a bifurcation point along the stress strain diagram. The initial Young’s modulus of EAPap is in the range of 5-8GPa, -- quite high compared to other polymer materials. The thermo-mechanical analysis of EAPap is investigated to determine such factors as the degree of dimensional change due to dehydration and the maximum use temperature. Fatigue test identifies critical properties of this under-analyzed class of materials to provide a measure of its fatigue capabilities. The Electrical impedance analysis and dielectric property measurement with frequency are also important information that allows us to characterize the electrical behavior of EAPap. The performance of Eapap is measured in terms of tip displacement, blocking force and electrical power consumption. Through this series of tests, better understanding of the EAPap materials is obtained to researchers and designers interested in smart materials and EAP areas.

Recent advances in ionic polymer conductor composites (IPCC) and ionic polymer metal composites (IPMC) as biomimetic distributed nanosensors, nanoactuators, nanotransducers and artificial muscles are briefly discussed in this paper. These advances include brief reproduction of some of these advances that appeared in a new book and a recent set of 4 review articles published in the International Journal of Smart Materials and Structures, advances in manufacturing, force optimization, modeling and simulation and new products developed by Environmental Robots Incorporated, as well as numerous potential applications using Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMC's) as distributed nanosensors, nanotransducers, nanoactuators and artificial muscles. It is certainly clear that the extent of applications of IPCC's and IPMC's go beyond the scope of this paper or the space allocated to this paper. However, this paper will present the breadth and the depth of all such applications of IPCC's and IPMC's as biomimetic robotic distributed nanosensors, nanoactuators, nanotransducers and artificial/synthetic muscles.

In the present investigations, we have fabricated the electromechanical actuators using conducting Polyaniline and Cellophane paper. The actuation behaviour of two types of paper actuators namely bi-layer and tri-layer in air medium are presented in this paper. The electro generation of polyaniline was carried out in propylene carbonate medium in the presence of dichloro acetic acid (DCA). The displacement in tri-layer devices, are more than that of bi-layer counter parts. The explanation towards this type of actuation behavior is given. Actuation behavioral studies were mainly focused on the effect of various dopant ions namely Cl - , ClO 4 - , BF 4 - and PF 6 - . The effect of varying film thickness and change in relative humidity are also addressed in this communication. The possible working mechanism has been discussed.

The pulsed laser cleaning of wood-pulp paper samples systematically investigate for renovation of historical documents indicates on negative effects of the irradiation at 266 and 355 nm on the mechanical and chemical paper properties whenever application of the 532 nm laser and fluence below 0,6 J/cm2 reveal satsifactory performance.© (2005) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

In this paper, we show that the communication channel known as writing in memory with defective cells is a relevant information-theoretical model for a specific case of passive warden steganography when the sender embeds a secret message into a subset C of the cover object X without sharing C with the recipient. The set C, which is also called the selection channel, could be arbitrary, determined by the sender from the cover object using a deterministic, pseudo-random, or a truly random process. We call this steganography "writing on wet paper" and realize it using a simple variable-rate random linear code that gives the sender a convenient flexibility and control over the embedding process and is thus suitable for practical implementation. The importance of the wet paper scenario for covert communication is discussed within the context of adaptive steganography and perturbed quantization steganography. Heuristic arguments supported by tests using blind steganalysis indicate that the wet paper steganography provides improved steganographic security and is less vulnerable to steganalytic attacks compared with existing methods with shared selection channels.

An automatic recognition system for Paper Currency Numbers was developed in this paper. The paper currency number can be recognized and recorded by this system at the same time of binding. At First, an image of 8 bits grey-scale was acquired by CCD camera, and then some output number clusters can be through process of segmentation by Grey Ridge-Valley algorithm, orientation by projection, and character recognition by structure-analyzing algorithm. Results of experiments demonstrated that the proposed algorithm of gray ridges and valleys can extract feature effectively, the algorithm of distance of traversing number body orientation acute, and this system achieves a high recognition rate and a fast recognition speed. It still reached the practical degree. The system has applied national patent.

Conventional thermal paper utilizes an electron-donating colorless dye and an electron- accepting developer which react to give a colored image. To improve the image stability, various methods have been proposed. However, there has been no study on the prediction of the image stability. We found that under a defined condition of the thermal acceleration test, the Arrhenius Plot of the fading gives a straight line, and the predicted value gives good coincidence with the value obtained by actual aging. This report presents the outline of the method for prediction and the coincidence of the result of the test method with that obtained by actual aging.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

We developed a 25GB ROM disc whose substrate is made of paper. Structure of the disc is based on the Blu-ray Disc format. We improved mechanical characteristics of a paper core by introducing a symmetrical multi-layer structure. The signals in the paper disc were reproduced successfully and the jitter values were less than 6%.

Electro-Active Paper (EAPap) is attractive for EAP actuator due to its merits in terms of lightweight, dry condition, large displacement output, low actuation voltage and low power consumption. A promising EAPap actuator has been developed using cellulose paper. It is necessary to investigate the environmental factors for many applications. The performance variation along with the temperature and humidity is investigated. Tip displacement is measured by laser sensor and the power consumption of EAPap is investigated. When 0.3kV/mm of excitation voltage is applied, more than 4mm of tip displacement is obtained out of 40mm long EAPap sample. Since the power requirement of EAPap is so small(8.8mW/cm 2 ), it can be activated by remote microwave power, which is promising for many applications

The construction of electromechanical actuator has been achieved by using the conducting polypyrrole films deposition onto a gold-coated cellophane paper. This is probably the first report of this type of paper actuator. The conducting polypyrrole was electro-generated using either galvanostatic or potentiostatic conditions at 0.5 mA/cm2 current density or 0.7 volts applied potential. The two types of actuators were constructed namely: 1.Ppy/Cellophane bilayer 2. Ppy/ Cellophane paper /Ppy trilayer using electrochemical technique. These actuators showed a reversible and reproducible displacement in acetonitrile solution containing LiClO4 (1M). The maximum displacement of 9.1 mm was recorded for tri-layer device and 3.5 mm for bi-layer device in 1M LiClO4 acetonitrile solutions. The prepared actuator devices were investigated for their mechanical actuation in air medium. The actuation in air is comparatively less than in solution actuation, but still it showed significant movement in air also. The results obtained in acetonitrile solution containing 1M LiClO4 shows that the actuator requires very low excitation voltages of 0.2 MV m-1 at 0.5 Hz frequencies. The effect of humidity on the actuation properties was addressed. The humidity measurement was carried out between 60% to 95% humidity with the help of humidity-temperature controlled chamber. The resonating frequency of 3 Hz at 6 volts had shown 1.8 mm displacement at 95% humidity for gold-coated cellophane sample without polypyrrole.

In this study, we propose to apply the method optical coherence tomography (OCT) for paper characterization. A PC-controlled experimental measurement system for OCT-imaging of paper is described in detail. A superluminescent diode is used as a light source in a Michelson interferometer. A rapid scanning optical delay line is using a piezo-transducer to modulate the measurement signal for optical heterodyne detection. Amplification, filtering and demodulation are performed by the unit specially designed for this purpose. Experimental measurements include the OCT slice imaging of a paper sample and comparison with a SEM-image. Also some results in surface profilometry are presented briefly. Discussion part gives some ideas of further research that will be carried out in the future.© (2004) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Recently direct thermal recording systems have become very popular and are increasingly used in various fields. Consequently, strong demand has arisen for a thermal paper that has good response to heat, the background and images thereon having high stability and a strong resistance to various chemicals and various solvents. Many attempts have been made to overcome the difficulties described above. However such attempts have had a tendency to lower response to heat and further to be insufficent with respect to the stability of solvents. Therefore, we have developed a new method for production of a heat sensitive layer having in itself high resistance to various solvents and also using specific new materials. The most important aspect of our new method consists in the use of specific developers with very low solubility in organic solvents and very strong developing activity. Originally, we intended to use the high developing power of zinc salicylate derivatives, these generally having a high solubility in solvents. But now our efforts have been concentrated on lowering the solubility of salicylate. Finally, we found some very specific salicylate that has a very poor solubility in almost all solvents. We have now succeeded in providing a much more reliable thermal paper which has stronger resistance to various kinds of chemicals.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

The coating color for the direct thermal paper basically consists of the leuco dye, the cobr developer and the sensitizer. Blacking dyes to be used for thermal papers call for other practicable properties than the tone, such as storage stability, thermal sensitivity and white background. Since no universally accepted theory in choosing proper developer and sensitizer is available, however, selection will have to be conducted on the designer's experience. Such practical considerations as the stability of the recorded image and matching with the particular machine to be used for are important beside the chemical considerations.

Standards for creating and integrating information about patients, equipment, and procedures are vitally needed when planning for an efficient Operating Room (OR). The DICOM Working Group 24 (WG24) has been established to develop DICOM objects and services related to Image Guided Surgery (IGS). To determine these standards, it is important to define day-to-day, step-by-step surgical workflow practices and create surgery workflow models per procedures or per variable cases. A well-defined workflow and a high fidelity patient model will be the base of activities for both, radiation therapy and surgery. Considering the present and future requirements for surgical planning and intervention, such a patient model must be n-dimensional, were n may include the spatial and temporal dimensions as well as a number of functional variables. As the boundaries between radiation therapy, surgery and interventional radiology are becoming less well-defined, precise patient models will become the greatest common denominator for all therapeutic disciplines. In addition to imaging, the focus of WG24 should, therefore, also be to serve the therapeutic disciplines by enabling modelling technology to be based on standards.

In this paper, the problem of combined vision/force servo control for robot manipulator is addressed. Three different robot vision control strategies: position-based, image-based, and hybrid control are combined with an impedance-based force controller and a comparison of these three combined vision/force control methods is investigated for the first time, in the context of generic robot kinematic-based sensory-task-space control structure. Furthermore, the issue of contact surface parameters estimation is also investigated. Simulation results have demonstrated that all the above vision/force control strategies are comparable in terms of both the dynamic response and accuracy of positioning and force control.

This paper introduces tracking control system with visual feedback to a moving object by using the measurement device which we developed. In order to recognize the moving object, we use two method, using cross-shape mark and Orientation Code Matching (OCM). And the measurement device is constructed PID control system with Extended Kalman Filter in order to track to object. Through the several experiments, we verify the percormance of recognition and tracking.

This paper gives a comprehensive and up-to-date review of our research activity on MEMS (micro electro mechanical systems) for all- optical fiber optic communications. Micromechanical approach for handling optical signal has advantages over solid-state devices in terms of high contrast intensity modulation by relatively large change of refractive index, large spatial scan angle by optomechanical reflection or refraction, and optical transparency in wide range of wavelength. MEMS also has industrial impact in a sense that it could potentially eliminate or cut down the cost of optical assembly thanks to the optical pre-aligning or self-aligning capability. In particular, we take an example of MEMS variable optical attenuator (VOA) that we have commercially released in cooperation with an industrial partner. Besides fiber optic MEMS, we also mention other applications such as projection displays using a high-speed MEMS optical scanner for scanning modulated laser beam to create images. Furthermore, we also introduce a MEMS color pixel based upon the mechanically tunable Fabry-Perot interferometer made of two plastic films; the color pixel can be assembled in an array format to create a transparent-type over-sized electronic poster which is mechanically flexible and electrically rewritable.

The ongoing Chinese ever-ambitious project of Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) has brought about a tremendous challenge for the control engineers. To the bottom line the giant 4-meter class ground telescope is a comprehensive optomechatronic platform to achieve high performance and functionality, such as its capability of observing 4000 stars simultaneously, which will set a world record in contemporary ground survey telescopes. This paper outlines the R&D stages of the control system for the project along with its integrated strategy of optomechatronic components in general and network control framework in particular. The approach is to make a careful investigation with respect to the time crucialness for execution of different tasks so as to utilize different networks. However, the overall network framework is based on a distributed platform, hierarchical structure and open architecture to boost the flexibility. Vigorous study has been invested and a number of cutting edge techniques have been applied to meet the tough network control requirements, such as real-time database, powerful interfaces, sophisticated controllers, remote control, etc.

In this letter, we proposed a simple and cost-effective variable optical attenuator (VOA) through controlling a mechanical misalignment between 2 single mode fibers. A piezoelectric ceramic tube having 4 electrodes on the surface is the key component in our proposed structure. We can change the deflection of the tube by controlling the applied voltage on the electrodes of the tube, which causes the optical loss to be dependent on the applied voltage. The fact that the piezoelectric ceramic tube can be easily fabricated by using the electro-phoretic deposition processing makes our structure more attractive for mass production. The tube-fabrication processing is out of the range in this paper. So, the detail technical approach of the tube fabrication is excluded intentionally. The numerical analysis about the optical loss related to the various mechanical offsets is also investigated. From our experimental results, the dynamic range of the proposed structure is about from 0 to 25 dB when the applied voltage range is from 0 to 600 V DC. Our proposed structure can be a good candidate for a simple and cost-effective variable optical attenuator in optical communication system field.

In phase-shifting digital holographic interferometry for measuring a displacement distribution of an object, holograms and reconstructed images have speckle noise and they provide large error in the calculation of displacement analysis. In order to decrease the effect of speckle noise, we previously proposed a new method using windowed holograms. In this paper, we propose a new averaging method of the obtained phase-difference values. Many phase-difference values at a point obtained by different windows for a hologram are averaged by considering the weight for each phase value. The weight is changed as the m-th power of the absolute amplitude of the complex amplitude of the reconstructed object. As the result, when the number n of the windowed holograms becomes larger, the standard deviation of the error becomes smaller. When the power m is 2, the error becomes the minimum. The standard deviation of the errors in the case of a flat plate with 316 nano-meter out-of-plane displacement is 88 pico-meter when n=1024 and m=2.

Techniques of laser emission spectroscopy such as LIPS and LIF are applied to identify pastels and pigments composition for the use in conservation of historical documents. The question of data reliable for pigment identification by these techniques is considered. For model samples made of the cotton paper of chemical composition corresponding to the historical ones, and coated with pastels of different colors the LIPS and LIF spectra are recorded. Samples are excited by the pulsed Nd:YAG laser operating at 355 or 266 nm. The reference Raman spectra are collected, too. Bands characteristic for the blue pigments: PB15, PB29; violet one PV16, and yellow PY 184 are identified exclusively by LIPS in agreement with literature. Also additives such as the barium white found in the Scarlet pastel, and ultramarine (Na 8-10 [Al 6 Si 6 O 24 ]S 2-4 ) with titanium white (TiO 2 ) in the Phthalo Blue are identified, and confirmed by the Raman technique as well. The pigments anthraquinone (PR 168), isoindolinone (PY 110) and monoazo (PY 74) are not revealed. In the LIF spectra only a broad band centered at 612 nm and corresponding to anthraquinone (red pastel) can be clearly assigned.

The reliable generation of true single-photon wavepackets with well-defined modal structure is a crucial ingredient for the realization of linear optical quantum computing. In this paper we present experimental results indicating the efficient generation of conditionally prepared single photons from parametric downconversion in a KTP nonlinear waveguide. In addition we present, theoretically and experimentally, a novel criterion for the assessment of conditional single photon sources which takes into account the contributions of heralded vacuum due to optical losses, of higher photon numbers and of the binary response of typical single photon detectors. Utilizing this criterion, we show that our KTP nonlinear waveguide represents a high fidelity source of conditionally prepared single photons.

In this paper we review the fabrication and characterisation techniques of m icrostructured optical fibre (M OF) tapers, their fundam ental waveguiding properties and potential applications. W e fabricate photonic crystal fibre tapers without collapsing the air-holes, and confirm this along the taper with a non-invasive probing technique. We then describe the fundam ental property of such tapers associated with the leakage of the core m ode that leads to long wavelength loss. We also revisit the waveguiding properties in another form of tapered MOF photonic wires, which transition through waveguiding regimes associated with how strongly the mode is isolated from the external environment. We explore these regimes as a potential basis for evanescent field sensing applications, in which we can take advantage of controlled airhole collapse as an extra dimension to these photonic wires.

The emergence of vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) and photo diode (PD) arrays has given scope for the development of many applications such as high speed data communication. Further increase in performance can be obtained by the inclusion of micro-mirrors and microlens in the optical path between these components. However, the lack of efficient assembly and alignment techniques has become bottlenecks for new products. In this paper, we present development of optical sub-assembly and metallic MEMS structures that enable in the massively parallel assembly and alignment of these components to form a single miniature package. VCSEL wafer was processed to have polymer pedestal and polymeric lens on top of it. Such optical sub assembly greatly increases coupling efficiency between the VCSEL and optical fibers. Multiple numbers of suspended MEMS serpentine springs made out of electroplated nickel have been fabricated on ceramic substrates. These springs serve for clamping and alignment of multiple numbers of optoelectronic components. They are designed to be self-aligning with alignment accuracies of less than 3 micron after final assembly. Electrical connection between the bond pads of VCSEL's and PD's to the electrical leads on the substrate has been demonstrated by molten solder inkjet printing into precisely designed MEMS mold structures. This novel massively parallel assembly process is substrate independent and relatively simple process. This technique will provide reliable assembly of optoelectronic components and miniature optical systems in low cost mass production manner.

In this paper we present our work analysing electroencephalographic (EEG) signals for the detection of seizure precursors in epilepsy. Volterra-systems and Cellular Nonlinear Networks are considered for a multidimensional signal analysis which is called the feature extraction problem throughout this contribution. Recent results obtained by applying a pattern detection algorithm and a nonlinear prediction of brain electrical activity will be discussed in detail. The aim of this interdisciplinary project is the realization of an implantable seizure warning and preventing system.

Today's design-manufacturing interface lacks essential mechanisms to link disparate disciplines and tool sets. In this paper, we describe three specific mechanisms for improving OPC quality via interactions within the design-to-manufacturing flow. Our studies of these improvements have yielded promising results.

Semiconductor devices are making important role in our life. Many semiconductor chips will be used to every thing, and we will receive the various services anywhere anytime through a digital network. There are so many applications using semiconductor products that support such a ubiquitous era, and it is expected that mobile, automobile and PC/AV applications will have the great growth from now on. In this paper, we describe the lithography technology trend and requirements for mask technology from the view point of SOC and FLASH memory trend. From the device development trend, it is expected that FLASH memory become driving force of lithography technology. To realize hp45nm node and beyond, the installation of hyper-NA ArF-immersion tools with low-k1 technique is the key issue. With this, DFM (Design For Manufacturability) is the key technology and a continuous approach of systematic DFM technique is important in order to reduce chip cost. Also, Mask DFM is needed to realize cost-effective low-k1 process and it drives reasonable mask cost and TAT. In order to reduce mask cost in device development and small volume production, we expect greatly that maskless lithography (ML2) become a leading tool in lithography.

Our paper is an overview of different methods, which were recently developed or adopted for the simulation of organic electronic devices. In the first part of this work we will briefly review state of the art approaches for simulating current flow through single molecules, while in the second and longer part we will focus on the design of architectures for molecular-scale computing. We will put special emphasis on field-coupling, which is a promising unconventional way for integrating a large number of molecules into a computing device.

Optical methods continue to play significant roles in medical and biological research. In recent times cell and tissue engineering have emerged rapidly and are now well recognised as important multi-disciplinary endeavours within the medical and biological spheres. This paper describes applications of optical science and technology in cell and tissue engineering, ranging from the basic visualization of organeeles, cells and tissues through to probing the structure and function of cells and tissues being cultured in bioreactors. The development of tissue engineering for the fabrication of cell-based systems, for example for the repair or replacement of damaged or diseased tissues and organs, is first described. Then, interactions of light propagating through cells and tissues are considered, both theoretically and practically, as a prelude to the description of means for optical interrogation. Scattering and absorption of light by cells and tissues is shown to provide useful opportunities for measurement, for example via spectrophotometric analysis or small angle light scattering. Optical sensors for chemical analysis based on immobilised fluorophores and chromophores are also presented, these being particularly useful in bioreactors. In this application the continuous monitoring of a variety of chemical and physical variables may lead to optimised cell and tissue culture.

Polarized light imaging offers potential for characterizing superficial tissue such as the skin. Its simplicity means that if the technique can be demonstrated to provide effective results, it should find widespread use in clinical practice. This paper briefly describes the Monte Carlo simulations and the instrument developed by our group. Details are also provided of a look-up table approach to extract the optical coefficients of a layered medium.

In this paper an attempt ofNIR analysis to measure the milk constituents is introduced. In milk, light is absorbed and scattered simultaneously. The concentrations of each component no longer have linear relationship to the absorbency, but proportional to the absorption coefficient and scattering coefficient. It is necessary to separate the effect of absorption and scattering. Compare with the widely used NIR method, we do not calibrate the prediction model by diffuse reflectance. The calibration is composed by two steps. Firstly, the optical parameters are measured by double integrating sphere; secondly, calibration is made by optical parameters. Concentration of protein and fat are within reasonable range. Fifty samples are acquired for calibration. The experimental result shows a higher prediction accuracy of protein than the intensity calibration method, and a comparable accuracy of fat.© (2005) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are based on the generation and/or detection of deformations, motion and vibrations of thin mechanical structures having lateral dimensions in the micrometer to millimeter range. A number of technological issues commonly appear during the development of MEMS fabrication processes such as non uniform etching or deposition, surface roughening, stiction and stress-induced deformations. Likewise, as mechanical properties of thin films are difficult to predict, and are very variable with process parameters. Consequently, experimental data on the (thermo)mechanical and dynamical behaviour of MEMS and on their reliability are often required. In this paper, after a short description of the basic principles and performances of interference microscopy techniques, we review the capabilities of full field interference microscopy techniques for these applications. They are illustrated by various examples taken during the development of MEMS fabrication and packaging processes, and by results of measurements as function of temperature or under vacuum.

The measurement accuracy of an interferometric optical test is generally limited by the environment. This paper discusses two single-shot interferometric techniques for reducing the sensitivity of an optical test to vibration; simultaneous phase-shifting interferometry and a special form of spatial carrier interferometry utilizing a micropolarizer phase-shifting array. In both techniques averaging can be used to reduce the effects of turbulence and the normal double frequency errors generally associated with phase-shifting interferometry.

This paper reports measurement results and some design details of railway measurement systems based on optical principles. The quality of railway lines is crucial for reliability and safety and therefore to be controlled regularly. Special measuring vehicles operate permanently on all railway lines, even during regular traffic situations. Therefore the measurement systems used to record the data have to be fast enough even at high speeds and robust enough to provide reliable data under almost any environmental conditions. The application of optical methods is advantageous concerning accuracy and speed but of course limited by external influences. We report here measures enabling even a sensitive optical measurement principle, the phase measurement technique, to be applied under these harsh environmental conditions. Exemplarily the optical and mechanical design of a clearance profile scanner is described. It is shown how to make the sensor insensitive against environmental conditions like contamination by dust or water or temperature changes. Measurement results of this scanner and of another system to measure the position of the contact wire are presented.

This paper discusses the optics content of the UK A level Advancing Physics course. Some of the novel teaching approaches are presented as well as a teaching sequence. Computer animations and lab work will be demonstrated in the main talk.

The 3rd generation of infrared (IR) detection modules is expected to provide advanced features like higher resolution 1024x1024 or 1280x720 pixels and/or new functions like multicolor or multi band capability, higher frame rates and better thermal resolution. This paper is intended to present the current status at AIM on quantum well (QWIP) and antimonide superlattices (SL) detection modules for ground and airborne applications in the high performance range. For spectral selective detection, a QWIP detector combining 3-5μm (MWIR) and 8-10μm (LWIR) detection in each pixel with coincident integration has been developed in a 384x288x2 format with 40 μm pitch. Excellent thermal resolution with NETD < 30mK @ F/2, 6.8 ms for both peak wavelengths (4.8 μm and 8.0 μm) has been achieved. Thanks to the well established QWIP technology, the pixel outage rates even in these complex structures are below 0.5% in both bands. QWIP dual band or dual color detectors provide good resolution as long as integration times in the order of 5-10ms can be tolerated. This is acceptable for all applications where no fast motions of the platform or the targets are to be expected. For rapidly changing scenes-like e.g. in case of missile warning applications for airborne platforms-a material system with higher quantum efficiency is required to limit integration times to typically 1ms. AIM and IAF selected antimonide based type II superlattices (SL) for such kind of applications. The SL technology provides-similar to QWIP's-an accurate engineering of sensitive layers by MBE with very good homogeneity and yield. While promising results on single SL pixels have been reported since many years, so far no SL based detection module could be realized. IAF and AIM last year managed to realize first most promising SL based detectors. Fully integrated IDCA's with a MWIR SL device with 256x256 pixels in 40´m pitch have been integrated and tested. The modules exhibit excellent thermal resolution of NETD

Missile Defense Agency/Advanced Systems, in partnership with both EUTECUS/University of Notre Dame (UND) and ITN Energy Systems/University of Central Florida (UCF) has embarked on developing a multispectral imaging IR sensor. This technology, when matured, could revolutionize IR sensor technology by reducing the need for cooling, eliminating lattice matching and avoiding epitaxial fabrication processes. This paper describes the approaches employed by both EUTECUS/UND and ITN/UCF teams to integrate nano-antenna technology with the existing cellular neural network (CNN) processor to produce multispectral IR sensors. This effort is a leap into the performance realm where biological systems operate.

Great incentive exists for the development of infrared detectors that can operate without cooling near the limit of photon or thermal fluctuations. Great progress has been made in past 30 years developing uncooled thermal detectors that now provide enough sensitivity for many routine infrared imaging needs, albeit with relatively slow response times. Even now, however, the sensitivity of uncooled thermal detectors is 3-15× less sensitive than the ideal characteristics predict. In this paper we first examine the current status of uncooled thermal detectors to understand the limiting mechanisms which appear to be 1/f noise and system noise. Approaches for developing uncooled or minimally-cooled photon detectors are then reviewed. A modification of one current approach, bias extraction of minority carriers, is suggested involving photo-JFETs rather than photodiodes. It appears that the most promising prospect for uncooled or minimally-cooled photon detectors is in the MWIR spectral region.

The demand continues to grow for small, compact imaging sensors, which include new capabilities, such as response in multiple spectral bands, increased sensitivity, wide high dynamic range, and operating at room temperature. These goals are dependant upon novel concepts in sensor technology, especially advanced electronic processing integrated with the sensor. On-focal plane processing is especially important to realize the full potential of the sensor. Since the area available for focal plane processing is extremely limited, a new paradigm in sensor electronic read-out technology is necessary to bridge the gap between multi-functional, high performance detector arrays and the off-focal plane processing. The Vertically Integrated Sensor Array (VISA) Program addresses this need through development of pixel-to-pixel interconnected silicon processors at the detector, thus expanding the area available for signal and image processing. The VISA Program addresses not only the array interconnection technology, but also investigates circuit development adapted to this new three-dimensional focal plane architecture. This paper reviews progress in the first phase of the program and outlines direction for demonstrations of vertically integrated sensor arrays.

Current military operational effectiveness can degrade rapidly with increasing communications stresses such as heavy throughput and QoS demands from disadvantaged users exposed to severe channel impairments and communications threats. This paper proposes a distributed and agile radio resource management (RRM) system to maintain mission effectiveness even under significant communications stress. Agile RRM includes a well-coordinated cross-layer design with the introduction of new OSI layer features and interactions as well as methods to incorporate communications constraints and requirements in systems controlling mission planning and execution.

This paper reports the current status of the DARPA Quantum Network, which became fully operational in BBN's laboratory in October 2003, and has been continuously running in 6 nodes operating through telecommunications fiber between Harvard University, Boston University, and BBN since June 2004. The DARPA Quantum Network is the world's first quantum cryptography network, and perhaps also the first QKD systems providing continuous operation across a metropolitan area. Four more nodes are now being added to bring the total to 10 QKD nodes. This network supports a variety of QKD technologies, including phase-modulated lasers through fiber, entanglement through fiber, and freespace QKD. We provide a basic introduction and rational for this network, discuss the February 2005 status of the various QKD hardware suites and software systems in the network, and describe our operational experience with the DARPA Quantum Network to date. We conclude with a discussion of our ongoing work.

The Air Force Research Laboratory leads the discovery, development, and integration of affordable war fighting technologies for our air and space forces. In particular, the Information Directorate’s mission is to advance and apply Information Systems Science and Technology to provide Information Dominance. This paper discusses why the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate is concerned with researching prospective computing architectures for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance applications. Projects addressing quantum information science and quantum computing will be discussed, highlighting where these technologies offer potential disruptive technology solutions for the Air Force.

This paper will describe single and double path laser link measurements over land and sea. The laser system consisted of a CO2 laser, a pointing and tracking head, a quadrant laser receiver, a 3-5 μm IR-camera, a TV camera and a laser range finder. For the naval scenario the laser system was placed in a building 18 m above water and corner cube targets and a single path receiver were placed on islands at 2.5, 5.5 and 16.5 km. For the land scenario the laser system was placed in a building about 13 meters above ground looking at targets and a single path receiver at 2 km range. Together with the laser registrations, separate instruments such as a scintillometer and a weather station were recording the meteorological parameters. The analysis contains evaluation of temporal and amplitude signal distributions, probability and mean time of fade and tracking performance. Results from single ended and double ended paths will be compared. Different ways of using this database for turbulence simulation and laser system performance predictions also in other wavelength regions will be discussed as well as the impact on applications including laser imaging, free-space laser communications and directed infrared countermeasures.© (2005) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

In this paper we present a Coherent Optical Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (COMIMO) communication system and its ability to exploit the inherent information capacity of Multi-Mode Fiber (MMF). COMIMO technique is a promising approach to unlock the information capacity of MMF as it ensures the necessary diversity for practically any fiber length. When exceeding the bandwidth-length product of the link, MIMO adaptive equalization can be used to mitigate inter-symbol interference (ISI). Furthermore, COMIMO link provides additional security in the physical layer that complements encryption.

This paper discusses use of optical frequency combs generated by modelocked semiconductor lasers for coherent photonic signal processing applications. Key in our approach is a high Q cavity, supermode suppression and low spontaneous emission. Targeted applications of the stabilized optical frequency combs lie in areas of metrology, optical sampling, arbitrary waveform generation and communications using coherent detection.

In this paper, we discuss the theory of entanglement amplifiers. We first describe non-degenerate optical parametric oscillator as an entanglement amplifier and present an input-output calculation for the entanglement of the output fields. We show that two bright output entanglement beams can be produced from this system. We then show that a correlated spontaneous emission laser can be used to implement an entanglement amplifier.

Functional requirements for modern narrow-band and wide-band wireless and lightwave communication systems place stringent demands on speed and noise behavior of circuits and devices used to design them. MOS technology in the nanometer regime continues to be the low-cost high-performance workhorse driving innovations for these applications. In this paper, we trace the developments in the modeling of noise in MOS transistors as the device channel lengths shrink by a factor or a thousand from tens of micrometers to tens of nanometers. The impact of scaling on classical noise mechanisms is explained. Also, generation of new noise sources as a result of scaling are also described. This leads to a better physical understanding of the noise behavior of these devices. Methods of eliminating some of these noise sources by suitable choice of materials and modifications in device structure are explained. Application of this understanding to the practical design and layout of low-noise high-performance circuits is illustrated. As a result, the noise performance of MOS devices has improved by almost an order of magnitude making them an ideal choice for low-noise communication electronics design. Research continues as the channel lengths shrink further.

About a decade ago Brownian motors were introduced as a possible mechanism for motor protein mobility. Since then many theoretical and experimental papers have been published on the topic. While some experiments support Brownian motor mechanisms, others are more consistent with traditional power stroke models. Taking into account recent experimental data and molecular level simulations, we have developed a stochastic model which incorporates both power stroke and Brownian motor mechanisms. Depending on parameter values, this motor works as a power stroker, a Brownian motor or a hybrid of the two. Using this model we investigate the motility of single-head myosins, two-head myosins and a group of myosins (muscle). The results are compared with some experimental data.