Near-field Model Research Articles

Extraordinary optical transmission: Role of the slit width in 1D metallic grating on higher refractive index substrate

We present a detailed analysis of the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and associated extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) when a plane wave is incident at normal on a 1D metallic grating fabricated on higher refractive index GaP substrate. A simple method is introduced to estimate the EOT by measuring the 0th order transmission spectra obtained through the plasmonic grating structures with varying grating slit width for a fixed period and the thickness of the gold (Au) film in which the grating is formed. For an optimum Au film thickness, a slit width of slightly less than half and greater than one-third of the periodicity of 770 nm in the grating device yields a maximum EOT value. Such grating devices support only a fundamental plasmonic mode because the profile/shape of the slit in the grating device is more like a sinusoidal nature. Far-field and near-field modelling results also support the far-field results obtained through the experiment. The optimal grating devices have many applications in real world.

The Beni-Ilmane (Algeria) seismic sequence of May 2010: Seismic sources and stress tensor calculations

A moderate earthquake with a moment magnitude of Mw 5.5 struck the Sub-Bibanique region of eastern Algeria on 14 May 2010, killing three people, injuring hundreds of others, and causing moderate damages in the epicentral area, mainly in the villages of Beni-Ilmane and Samma. The focal mechanism of the seismic source for the first shock, obtained by near-field waveform modelling, exhibits left-lateral strike-slip faulting with the first nodal plane oriented at N345°, and right-lateral strike-slip faulting with the second nodal plane oriented at N254°. A second earthquake that struck the region on 16 May 2010, with a moment magnitude of Mw 5.1, was located 9km SW of the first earthquake. The focal mechanism obtained by waveform modelling showed reverse faulting with nodal planes oriented NE–SW (N25° and N250°). A third earthquake that struck the region on 23 May 2010, with a moment magnitude of Mw 5.2, was located 7km S of the first shock. The obtained focal mechanism showed a left-lateral strike-slip plane oriented at N12° and a right-lateral strike-slip plane oriented at N257°. Field investigations combined with geological and seismotectonic analyses indicate that the three earthquake shocks were generated by activity on three distinct faults. The second and third shocks were generated on faults oriented WSW–ENE and NNE–SSW, respectively. The regional stress tensor calculated in the region gives an orientation of N340° for the maximum compressive stress direction (σ1) which is close to the horizontal, with a stress shape factor indicating either a compressional or a strike-slip regime.

A Coupled Empirical-Numerical Model for a Buoyant River Plume in Lake Michigan

A coupling technique is developed to predict the behavior of a buoyant river plume in a lake. The model incorporates a 3D hydrodynamic model (POMGL) and a 3D particle tracking model (Partic3D) for the far-field transport computations. The source conditions for the particle tracking model are obtained from a near-field model derived from the characteristics of the plume analyzed from extensive field studies on the Grand River plume, Lake Michigan. The empirical near-field model was developed to predict the geometry of the plume, dilution, and centerline trajectory near the river mouth, and to provide the concentration and location of the particles to be released in the far field. The coupled empirical-numerical model shows improved predictions in the near field versus the single numerical model. The present results strongly advocate the use of model combinations in order to improve coastal diffusion and transport processes. The primary application of the technique is in recreational water early-warning and forecasting systems that will estimate the immediate and short-term risk of exceeding pathogen indicator concentration criteria in lakes and coastal areas.

An approach to modelling the impact of 14C release from reactor graphite in a geological disposal facility

AbstractCarbon-14 (C-14) is a key radionuclide in the assessment of a geological disposal facility (GDF) for radioactive waste. In the UK a significant proportion of the national C-14 inventory is associated with reactor-core graphite generated by the decommissioning of the UK's Magnox and AGR reactors.There are a number of uncertainties associated with the fate and transport of C-14 in a post-closure disposal environment that need to be considered when calculating the radiological impacts of C-14-containing wastes. Some of these uncertainties are associated with the distribution of C-14-containing gaseous species such as 14CH4 and 14CO2 between the groundwater and gaseous release pathways. As part of the C14-BIG programme, a modelling framework has been developed to investigate these uncertainties. This framework consists of a biogeochemical near-field evolution model, incorporating a graphite carbon-14 release model, which interfaces with a geosphere/biosphere model. The model highlights the potential impact of the microbial reduction of 14CO2 to 14CH4, through the oxidation of H2, on C-14 transport. The modelling results could be used to inform the possible segregation of reactor graphite from other gasgenerating wastes.

Uncertainty analysis of groundwater inflow into underground excavations by stochastic discontinuum method: Case study of Siah Bisheh pumped storage project, Iran

This paper presents a framework for the near-field stochastic discontinuum modeling and uncertainty analysis of groundwater inflow into underground excavations by direct utilization of discrete fracture network (DFN) concept. The sources of uncertainty in the groundwater inflow into underground excavations in fractured rocks were classified into two different groups including the geometrical and hydraulic properties of fractures. The main input data for stochastic discontinuum modeling of groundwater inflow were captured from site investigations in Siah Bisheh pumped storage project in Iran. Detailed measurements of groundwater inflow into powerhouse and transformer caverns provided the possibility to determine the hydraulic aperture through back calibration. The validity of calibrated hydraulic aperture was explored by simulation results of the groundwater inflow into transformer cavern, and shows high accuracy when compared with data obtained from field measurements. The statistical results of these groundwater flow simulations with constant calibrated hydraulic aperture reflected the uncertainty associated with geometrical properties of fractures. Finally, the role of hydraulic properties of fractures on the uncertainty of groundwater inflow was investigated by the variation of standard deviation of hydraulic aperture through the sensitivity analysis. The results of this study demonstrated that the geometrical properties of fractures did much greater uncertainty in the groundwater inflow into underground excavations than hydraulic properties. Moreover, it was found that both the mean and standard deviation of simulated groundwater inflow into underground excavations decrease non-linearly by increasing the standard deviation of hydraulic aperture even though it is generally anticipated that the uncertainty of hydrogeological systems increases by increasing the variance of hydraulic parameters.

Mixing in the Intermediate Field of Dense Jets in Cross Currents

AbstractThis study presents an experimental and numerical study for an inclined (60° to horizontal) dense jet discharged into a coflowing current. The mixing and transport of the density current arising from the jet impingement on a horizontal bottom boundary is investigated. A light attenuation technique is employed to measure the layer-averaged concentration field over a region that extends 20FrD downstream and 9FrD laterally (where F = jet densimetric Froude number, and D = jet diameter). A comprehensive characterization of the resulting buoyant spread in both steady and unsteady cases is obtained. The concentration field is also computed using a three-dimensional (3D) shallow water equation model via the distributed entrainment sink approach that incorporates a near-field Lagrangian integral jet model (JETLAG) into the 3D model for dynamic simulation of the near-far field transition. The results show the occurrence of bifurcation in the gravitational spreading layer when the impinging dense jet is ben...

Gas leakage consequence modeling for buried gas pipelines

One of conservation transfer methods for such widely-used gases as natural gas and hydrogen is buried pipelines. Safety of these pipelines is of great importance due to potential risks posed by inefficiencies of the pipelines. Therefore, an accurate understanding of release and movement characteristics of the leaked gas, i.e. distribution and speed within soil, the release to the ground surface, the movement of hydrogen gas through the ground, gas underground diffusion, gas dispersion in atmosphere, and following consequences, are very important in order to determine underground dispersion risks. In the present study, consequences of gas leakage within soil were evaluated in two sub-models, i.e. near-field and far-field, and a comprehensive model was proposed in order to ensure safety of buried gas supply pipelines. Near-field model which is related to soil and ground and its output is the gas released at different points and times from ground surface and it was adopted as input of far-field sub-model which is dispersion model in atmosphere or an open space under the surface. Validation of near-field sub-model was performed by the experimental data obtained by Okamoto et al. (2014) on full-scale hydrogen leakage and then, possible scenarios for far-field sub-model were determined.

Physics-Based Via and Waveguide Models for Efficient SIW Simulations in Multilayer Substrates

In this paper, the conventional physics-based via (PBV) model is extended to multilayer substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) structures with via feeds. Furthermore, a novel PBV model for a more efficient modeling of multilayer SIW is proposed. This novel method allows to describe SIWs as transmission lines and to model the coupling between the layers with an equivalent circuit near-field model. Both PBV models are compatible and can be combined within a framework for modeling complex multilayer SIWs in an efficient manner. Results obtained by both methods are compared with full-wave solver results and show very good agreement from below cutoff frequency to about three times the cutoff frequency as well as a speed up of several orders of magnitude.

Forming Sub-32-nm High-Aspect Plasmonic Spot via Bowtie Aperture Combined with Metal-Insulator-Metal Scheme

We theoretically utilize bowtie aperture combined with metal-insulator-metal (MIM) scheme to obtain sub-32-nm (lambda/12) high-aspect plasmonic spots. The improvement of the depth profile is attributed to the asymmetry electromagnetic mode excitation in MIM structure and the decaying compensation of the reflective Ag layer. A theoretical near-field exposure model has been used to evaluate the exposure depth in the photoresist. It is demonstrated that the exposure depth of the sub-32-nm plasmonic spot is more than 20 nm, which is about four times of the bowtie aperture without MIM scheme. The influences of the air gap tolerance and the ridge gap size of bowtie aperture are also discussed.

Chemical exposure levels in printing workers with cholangiocarcinoma (second report).

In several Japanese printing plants, printing workers have suffered from cholangiocarcinoma. 1,2-dichloropropane (1,2-DCP) is considered to be a causative agent, and whether or not other chemicals also contribute to the development of this disease has not been conclusively determined. This study aimed to identify the chemicals used by seven printing workers who developed cholangiocarcinoma, as well as to estimate the levels of chemical exposure among them. Information was obtained from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan, to identify chemicals used by printing workers who developed cholangiocarcinoma and to estimate chemical exposure concentrations. Working environment concentrations of the chemicals in the printing rooms were estimated using a well-mixed model, and exposure concentrations during the ink removal operation were estimated using a near-field and far-field model. Shift time-weighted averages of exposure concentrations were also calculated. Four of the seven printing workers were exposed to both 1,2-DCP and dichloromethane (DCM). The estimated maximum exposure concentrations for each of the four workers were 230 to 420 ppm for 1,2-DCP and 58 to 720 ppm for DCM, and the estimated shift average exposure concentrations were 0 to 210 ppm for 1,2-DCP and 15 to 270 ppm for DCM. The remaining three workers were exposed to DCM but not 1,2-DCP. The estimated maximum exposure concentrations of DCM for each of the three workers were 600 to 1,300 ppm, and the estimated shift average exposure concentrations were 84 to 440 ppm. Our findings suggest that DCM may contribute to the development of cholangiocarcinoma in humans.

Rayfiles including spectral and colorimetric information.

To obtain realistic results in lighting simulation software, realistic models of light sources are needed. A near-field model of a light source is accurate, and can be obtained by a near-field goniophotometer. This type of goniophotometer is conventionally equipped with a V(λ)-filter. However, the advent of new light sources with spatial- or angular color variations necessitates the inclusion of spectral information about the source. We demonstrate a method to include spectral information of a light source in ray tracing. We measured the relative angular variation of the spectrum of an OLED using a spectroradiometer mounted on a near-field goniophotometer. Principal component analysis (PCA) is exploited to reduce the amount of data that needs to be stored. Also a photometric ray file of the OLED was obtained. To construct a set of monochromatic ray files, the luminous flux in the original ray file is redistributed over a set of wavelengths and stored in separate ray files. The redistribution depends on the angle of emission and the spectral irradiance measured in that direction. These ray files are then inserted in ray tracing software TracePro. Using the OLED as a test source, the absolute spectral irradiance is calculated at an arbitrary position. The result is validated using a spectroradiometer to obtain the absolute spectral irradiance at that particular point. A good agreement between the simulated and measured absolute spectral irradiance is found. Furthermore, a set of tristimulus ray files is constructed and used in ray tracing software to generate a u'v'-color coordinate distribution on a surface. These values are in agreement with the color coordinate distribution found using the spectral ray files. Whenever spectral or color information is desired at a task area, the proposed method allows for a fast and efficient way to improve the accuracy of simulations using ray tracing.

Towards a near-field concentrated solar thermophotovoltaic microsystem: Part I – Modeling

Modeling of a near-field concentrated solar thermophotovoltaic (STPV) microsystem is carried out to investigate the use of STPV-based solid-state energy conversion as high power density MEMS power generator. Near-field radiation can be realized between two closely separated surfaces (order of radiation characteristic wavelength), resulting in the enhancement of the heat radiation flux orders of magnitudes higher than the blackbody limit, consequently increasing cell output power density. The near-field STPV model incorporates a photonic crystal absorber which transfers absorbed concentrated solar radiation to a tungsten emitter. Thermal radiation from the emitter illuminates an In0.18Ga0.82Sb photovoltaic (PV) cell generating electrical power; waste heat is rejected from the backside of the PV cell via a microcooler. Based on the model, the near-field STPV performance is estimated for different emitter-to-PV cell separation distances dc, emitter temperatures Te, and emitter/absorber area ratios AR. Results from the numerical study showed significant enhancement of the heat fluxes due to tunneling of the near-field radiation, resulting in power densities as high as 60W/cm2 which is 30 times higher than the equivalent far-field power density for dc=20nm,Te=2000K and solar concentration of ×4350. For a emitter/absorber area ratio of AR=1, the emitter/absorber thermal efficiency and the overall solar to electrical conversion efficiency were 73% and 15.5%, respectively. Higher power densities are achievable (up to 50 times that of far-field values) however cooling requirements and solar concentration could be a concern.

Enhancing aspect profile of half-pitch 32 nm and 22 nm lithography with plasmonic cavity lens

Poor aspect profiles of plasmonic lithography patterns are suffering from evanescent waves' scattering loss in metal films and decaying exposure in photoresist. To address this issue, we experimentally report plasmonic cavity lens to enhance aspect profile and resolution of plasmonic lithography. The profile depth of half-pitch (hp) 32 nm resist patterns is experimentally improved up to 23 nm, exceeding in the reported sub-10 nm photoresist depth. The resist patterns are then transferred to bottom resist patterns with 80 nm depth using hard-mask technology and etching steps. The resolution of plasmonic cavity lens up to hp 22 nm is experimentally demonstrated. The enhancement of the aspect profile and resolution is mainly attributed to evanescent waves amplifying from the bottom silver layer and scattering loss reduction with smooth silver films in plasmonic cavity lens. Further, theoretical near-field exposure model is utilized to evaluate aspect profile with plasmonic cavity lens and well illustrates the experimental results.

Virtual-source diffusion approximation for enhanced near-field modeling of photon-migration in low-albedo medium.

Most analytical methods for describing light propagation in turbid medium exhibit low effectiveness in the near-field of a collimated source. Motivated by the Charge Simulation Method in electromagnetic theory as well as the established discrete source based modeling, we herein report on an improved explicit model for a semi-infinite geometry, referred to as "Virtual Source" (VS) diffuse approximation (DA), to fit for low-albedo medium and short source-detector separation. In this model, the collimated light in the standard DA is analogously approximated as multiple isotropic point sources (VS) distributed along the incident direction. For performance enhancement, a fitting procedure between the calculated and realistic reflectances is adopted in the near-field to optimize the VS parameters (intensities and locations). To be practically applicable, an explicit 2VS-DA model is established based on close-form derivations of the VS parameters for the typical ranges of the optical parameters. This parameterized scheme is proved to inherit the mathematical simplicity of the DA approximation while considerably extending its validity in modeling the near-field photon migration in low-albedo medium. The superiority of the proposed VS-DA method to the established ones is demonstrated in comparison with Monte-Carlo simulations over wide ranges of the source-detector separation and the medium optical properties.

A geometric calibration mehtod of hydrophone array with known sources in near field under strong multipath

In order to meet the demand of underwater acoustic array calibration in near field with strong reflection, a high-precision geometric calibration method with known sources is proposed. Colligating the principles of non-plane wave model of point source and the Taylor approximation, a two-dimensional geometry error model for near field is established. And then the line mapping relationship is obtained between geometric error of sensors and signal eigen vector. Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) of this mode is deduced and analyzed. The influence of multipath on geometric calibration is studied. The strong reflections are compared to the coherent sources at a known position, and the compensation strategy is realized. The results from theory and simulation show that the precision of geometry calibration technique with accessorial sources in near field is high and it is close to the CRB in the case of low SNR. The method has a certain tolerance for the position error of accessorial sources. And it is applicable for multipath. Pool test results further verify the correctness of these results.

Research on Signal of Field Monitor of 7220A Localizer Beacon Subsystem of ILS

From the actual perspective of working principle of localizer beacon subsystem of Instrument Landing System (ILS), consideration of the distance information from localizer antenna to field monitor antenna and wide aperture effect of localizer antenna, broke through the limitation of signals synthesized only far-field (FF), established the near-field (NF) model. The three-dimensional mathematical model of localizer beacon was designed, and the signals at both near-field and far-field were analyzed qualitatively. At the environment of Antenna Fault as well as Antenna Distribution Unit (ADU) phase shifter simulation, the characteristics of near-field and far-field were also compared. The simulation results showed that the model met the requirement of theory of localizer beacon, and the gap between two models was so evident, which resulted from the broken geometric symmetry in NF area. The model could provide valuable theoretical basis for performance evaluation and maintenance of the ILS, and meanwhile, provide reference for the further analysis of localizer beacon.

Modelling extracellular electrical stimulation: IV. Effect of the cellular composition of neural tissue on its spatio-temporal filtering properties

Objective. The objective of this paper is to present a concrete application of the cellular composite model for calculating the membrane potential, described in an accompanying paper. Approach. A composite model that is used to determine the membrane potential for both longitudinal and transverse modes of stimulation is demonstrated. Main results. Two extreme limits of the model, near-field and far-field for an electrode close to or distant from a neuron, respectively, are derived in this paper. Results for typical neural tissue are compared using the composite, near-field and far-field models as well as the standard isotropic volume conductor model. The self-consistency of the composite model, its spatial profile response and the extracellular potential time behaviour are presented. The magnitudes of the longitudinal and transverse components for different values of electrode-neurite separations are compared. Significance. The unique features of the composite model and its simplified versions can be used to accurately estimate the spatio-temporal response of neural tissue to extracellular electrical stimulation.

Properties of plasmonic arrays produced by pulsed-laser nanostructuring of thin Au films.

A brief description of research advances in the area of short-pulse-laser nanostructuring of thin Au films is followed by examples of experimental data and a discussion of our results on the characterization of structural and optical properties of gold nanostructures. These consist of partially spherical or spheroidal nanoparticles (NPs) which have a size distribution (80 ± 42 nm) and self-organization characterized by a short-distance order (length scale ≈140 nm). For the NP shapes produced, an observably broader tuning range (of about 150 nm) of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band is obtained by renewal thin film deposition and laser annealing of the NP array. Despite the broadened SPR bands, which indicate damping confirmed by short dephasing times not exceeding 4 fs, the self-organized Au NP structures reveal quite a strong enhancement of the optical signal. This was consistent with the near-field modeling and micro-Raman measurements as well as a test of the electrochemical sensing capability.

Model for screening-level assessment of near-field human exposure to neutral organic chemicals released indoors.

Screening organic chemicals for hazard and risk to human health requires near-field human exposure models that can be readily parametrized with available data. The integration of a model of human exposure, uptake, and bioaccumulation into an indoor mass balance model provides a quantitative framework linking emissions in indoor environments with human intake rates (iRs), intake fractions (iFs) and steady-state concentrations in humans (C) through consideration of dermal permeation, inhalation, and nondietary ingestion exposure pathways. Parameterized based on representative indoor and adult human characteristics, the model is applied here to 40 chemicals of relevance in the context of human exposure assessment. Intake fractions and human concentrations (C(U)) calculated with the model based on a unit emission rate to air for these 40 chemicals span 2 and 5 orders of magnitude, respectively. Differences in priority ranking based on either iF or C(U) can be attributed to the absorption, biotransformation and elimination processes within the human body. The model is further applied to a large data set of hypothetical chemicals representative of many in-use chemicals to show how the dominant exposure pathways, iF and C(U) change as a function of chemical properties and to illustrate the capacity of the model for high-throughput screening. These simulations provide hypotheses for the combination of chemical properties that may result in high exposure and internal dose. The model is further exploited to highlight the role human contaminant uptake plays in the overall fate of certain chemicals indoors and consequently human exposure.

Finite difference computational modeling of marine impact pile driving

Computational models based on the finite difference (FD) method can be successfully used to predict underwater pressure waves generated by marine impact pile driving. FD-based models typically discretize the equations of motion for a cylindrical shell to model the vibrations of a submerged pile in the time-domain. However, because the dynamics of a driven pile are complex, realistic models must also incorporate physics of the driving hammer and surrounding acousto-elastic media into the FD formulation. This paper discusses several of the different physical phenomena involved, and shows some approaches to simulating them using the FD method. Topics include dynamics of the hammer and its coupling to the pile head, transmission of axial pile vibrations into the soil, energy dissipation at the pile wall due to friction, acousto-elastic coupling to the surrounding media, and near-field versus far-field propagation modeling. Furthermore, this paper considers the physical parameters required for predictive modeling of pile driving noise in conjunction with some practical considerations about how to determine these parameters for real-world scenarios.