Direct Optical Technique Research Articles

Thin film based plasmon nanorulers

In this work, isolated metal nanoparticles are supported on a dielectric thin film that is placed on a conducting plane. The optical scattering characteristics of these metal nanoparticles are directly correlated with the localized surface plasmon states of the nanoparticle—image particle dimer, formed in the conducting plane below. Quantification of plasmon resonance shifts can be directly correlated with the application of the plasmon nanoruler equation. This simple geometry shows that direct optical techniques can be used to resolve thickness variations in dielectrics of only a few nanometers.

Direct optical techniques for the measurement of water content in oil–paper insulation in power transformers

Paper–oil insulation in power transformers is degraded and gradually damaged due to electrical, chemical, mechanical and moisture factors. It is well established from several studies that moisture is a major source of insulation failure in high voltage power transformers. Measurement and monitoring of moisture is essential to predict life and operation condition for power transformers. This paper presents direct optical measurement of water content at paper insulation immersed in transformer oil inside a test cell, which contains a water source, and a capillary paper bridge to transfer water to the paper inside an oil reservoir. Optical measurement of water content was carried out in the near infrared from 900 to 1500 nm band. Experimental studies of light transmission in transformer oil and water are discussed. The criteria to establish the best optical bands for maximum sensitivities are given. The measurement limitations, calibration procedures and an error analysis are presented. The resulting technique can be used for on-line measurements in electrical apparatus that use oil–paper insulation under large electrical field gradients. The presented method has advantages, since it is a direct and fast technique to measure the water transfer to paper immersed in oil, and it could be applied in compact portable equipment at a low cost.

In situ investigation of the contact area in elastic–plastic spherical contact during loading–unloading

The real contact area between a sphere and a flat during loading, unloading, and cyclic loading–unloading in the elastic–plastic regime of deformations was investigated experimentally. A direct optical technique was used to observe in situ the evolution of the contact area. The experimental results obtained with copper and stainless steel spheres of different diameters that were pressed against a sapphire flat were compared with existing theoretical models, and whenever possible, with previous experimental works. These models are based on the assumption of either perfect slip (i.e., frictionless) or full stick contact condition. Good agreement was found between the experimental and theoretical results for the contact area and mean contact pressure. The existing models for the unloading process fail to accurately predict the residual radius of curvature of fully unloaded spheres, and the irreversibility of multiple loading unloading cycles at least for the several initial cycles. Some recommendations to improve the models are provided.

The electronic absorption spectrum of NH 3 in the valence shell discrete and continuum regions. Absolute oscillator strengths for photoabsorption (5–200 eV)

The electronic spectrum and the absolute photoabsorption oscillator strengths (cross sections) for the valence shell of NH 3 have been measured using high- (0.048 eV fwhm) and low-resolution (≈ 1 eV fwhm) dipole (e, e) spectroscopy in the photon energy ranges 5.0–31 and 5.5–200 eV, respectively. The high-resolution data have been obtained at vibrational resolution and have been used to determine the integrated oscillator strengths of several vibronic transitions in the discrete absorption region below the first ionization potential. The oscillator strength data are compared with previously published absolute measurements obtained using direct optical techniques and electron impact spectroscopy. Criteria are discussed for estimating the corrections for Pauli-excluded transitions required for the normalization of relative photoabsorption spectra when using the partial Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn sum rule.

Experimenting with Bloch points in bubble garnets

The properties of vertical Néel lines containing one Bloch point (BP) are investigated experimentally. Lines contained in a single straight domain wall are observed by means of a direct optical technique, and the effect of a BP on its dynamic behaviour measured. The displacement of the BP proves to be relatively easy when compared to expectations.

Absolute optical oscillator strengths for the electronic excitation of atoms at high resolution: Experimental methods and measurements for helium.

An alternative method is described for the measurement of absolute optical oscillator strengths (cross sections) for electronic excitation of free atoms and molecules throughout the discrete region of the valence-shell spectrum at high energy resolution (full width at half maximum of 0.048 eV). The technique, utilizing the virtual-photon field of a fast electron inelastically scattered at negligible momentum transfer, avoids many of the difficulties associated with the various direct optical techniques that have traditionally been used for absolute optical oscillator strength measurements. The method is also free of the bandwidth (line saturation) effects that can seriously limit the accuracy of photoabsorption cross-section measurements for discrete transitions of narrow linewidth obtained using the Beer-Lambert law [${\mathit{I}}_{0}$/I=exp(nl${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\sigma}}}_{\mathit{p}}$)]. Since the line-saturation effects are not widely appreciated and are only usually considered in the context of peak heights, a detailed analysis of this problem is presented, with consideration of the integrated cross section (oscillator strength) over the profile of each discrete peak.The suitability of the high-resolution dipole (e,e) method for general application to atomic and molecular electronic spectra is evaluated by test measurements of the absolute dipole (optical) oscillator strengths for the photoexcitation and photoionization of helium, since for this atom detailed quantum-mechanical calculations using highly correlated wave functions have been reported. The absolute scale is obtained from the Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn sum-rule normalization of the Bethe-Born transformed electron-energy-loss spectrum and does not involve the difficult determinations of photon flux or target density. The measured dipole oscillator strengths for helium excitation (1 $^{1}$S\ensuremath{\rightarrow}n $^{1}$P, n=2--7) are in excellent quantitative agreement with the calculations reported by Schiff and Pekeris [Phys. Rev. 134, A368 (1964)] and by Fernley, Taylor, and Seaton [J. Phys. B 20, 6457 (1987)]. The absolute measurements are also compared with other experimental and theoretical oscillator strength determinations for photoexcitation and photoionization processes in helium up to 180 eV, including the 2snp and 3snp autoionizing resonances in the 59--72-eV energy region.