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01 april 2015, Item does not contain fulltext, STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective analysis. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to describe and quantify the discrepancy in the classification of the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) by clinicians versus a validated computational algorithm. SETTINGS: European Multicenter Study on Human Spinal Cord Injury (EMSCI). METHODS: Fully documented ISNCSCI data sets from EMSCI's first years (2003-2005) classified by clinicians (mostly spinal cord medicine residents, who received in-house ISNCSCI training by senior SCI physicians) were computationally reclassified. Any differences in the scoring of sensory and motor levels, American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) or the zone of partial preservation (ZPP) were quantified. RESULTS: Four hundred and twenty ISNCSCI data sets were evaluated. The lowest agreement was found in motor levels (right: 62.1%, P=0.002; left: 61.8%, P=0.003), followed by motor ZPP (right: 81.6%, P=0.74; left 80.0%, P=0.27) and then AIS (83.4%, P=0.001). Sensory levels and sensory ZPP showed the best concordance (right sensory level: 90.8%, P=0.66; left sensory level: 90.0%, P=0.30; right sensory ZPP: 91.0%, P=0.18; left sensory ZPP: 92.2%, P=0.03). AIS B was most often misinterpreted as AIS C and vice versa (AIS B as C: 29.4% and AIS C as B: 38.6%). CONCLUSION: Most difficult classification tasks were the correct determination of motor levels and the differentiation between AIS B and AIS C/D. These issues should be addressed in upcoming ISNCSCI revisions. Training is strongly recommended to improve classification skills for clinical practice, as well as for clinical investigators conducting spinal cord studies. SPONSORSHIP: This study is partially funded by the International Foundation for Research in Paraplegia, Zurich, Switzerland.

Two-dimensional photonic crystals (PhCs) were etched into InP/(Ga,In)(As,P) planar waveguides using chlorine-based chemical assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE). The processed PhCs were optically characterized by measuring transmission through simple slabs and one-dimensional cavities. The optical performances inside the photonic band gap are much better compared to both previously reported CAIBE results and results obtained with other etching methods. In particular, we measured a record quality factor of 310 for one-dimensional cavities fabricated in this material system., QC 20100525 QC 20111031

Practical realizations of 2D (planar) photonics crystal (PhC) are either on a membrane or etched through a conventional heterostructure. While fascinating objects can emerge from the first approach, only the latter approach lends itself to a progressive integration of more compact PhC's towards monolithic PICs based on InP. We describe in this talk the various aspects from technology to functions and devices, as emerged from the European collaboration "PCIC". The main technology tour de force is deep-etching with aspect ratio of about 10 and vertical sidewall, achieved by three techniques (CAIBE, ICP-RIE, ECR-RIE). The basic functions explored are bends, splitters/combiners, mirrors, tapers, and the devices are filters and lasers. At the end of the talk, I will emphasize some positive aspects of "broad" multimode PhC waveguides, in view of compact add-drop filtering action, notably., QC 20141209

Waveguide modes in two-dimensional (2-D) photonic crystals (PhCs) deeply etched through monomode slab waveguides, e.g., AlGaAs/GaAs, GaAs/AlOx, or InP/GaInAsP, suffer from radiation losses that are strongly affected by the air hole depth and shape. The issue of three-dimensional (3-D) out-of-plane losses is addressed analytically by means of an incoherent approximation. Assuming separability both for the dielectric map and for the electric field, this approach is valid for defects such as in-plane microcavities, PhC-based waveguides, bends and couplers. Out-of-plane scattering is translated into an effective imaginary index in the air holes, so that 3-D losses can be cast in a simple 2-D calculation. The case of cylindroconical holes is treated, and the validity of this approach is experimentally confirmed by transmission measurements through simple PhC slabs., QC 20100525

We present the first optical study of 2-D photonic crystals (PCs) deeply etched in an InP/GaInAsP step-index waveguide. Following the same internal light source approach proposed by Labilloy and coworkers for the investigation of GaAs-based 2-D PCs, transmission measurements through simple PC slabs and 1-D Fabry-Perot (FP) cavities between PC mirrors were performed. Details are given on the experimental setup which has been implemented with respect to the original scheme and adapted to InP-based systems working at 1.5-mum. 2-D plane-wave expansion and finite difference time-domain (FDTD) methods are used to fit the experimental data. Out-of-plane losses were evaluated according to a recently introduced phenomenological model. In spite of the complex hole morphology in the measured samples, preliminary results are presented which indicate the possibility of separating different loss contributions from finite etch depth and hole shape. As for 1-D cavities, both FDTD and classical theory for planar resonators are applied in order to deduce the optical properties of the PC mirrors. The origin of an anomalously high transmission observed inside the stopgap is discussed and arguments are given to demonstrate the need for further modeling efforts when working in the bandgap regime., QC 20100525

In this paper we report on the fabrication and characterization of two-dimensional photonic crystals. They are realized as a hexagonal array of air holes etched in GaAs or InP based slab waveguide heterostructures. The fabrication steps are discussed, with a focus on the development of suitable dry etching processes. Holes with a depth of I mum on GaAs and 4 Mm on InP were fabricated, which results in a good overlap of the guided mode with the photonic crystal patterns and low losses. The optical quality of the structures is assessed by transmission spectroscopy of photonic crystal blocks and photonic crystal-based waveguides., QC 20100525

One of the essential building-blocks of miniature photonic crystal (PC)-based photonic integrated circuits (PICs) is the sharp bend. Our group has focused on the 2-D photonic crystal based on a triangular lattice of holes perforating a standard heterostructure. The latter, GaAlAs-based or InP-based, is vertically a monomode waveguide. We consider essentially one or two 60 bends defined by one to five missing rows, spanning both cases of monomode and multimode channel waveguides. From intensive modeling and various experimental measurements (both on GaAs and InP), we point out the origin of the present level of bend insertion losses and discuss the merits of the many roads open for improved design., QC 20100525