Silica Cavity Research Articles

Laser-induced plasmas in micromachined fused silica cavities

Cavity formation is a frequent result in many laser ablation applications. Although most theoretical investigations have been devoted to laser ablation on a flat surface, the development of a laser plasma inside a cavity is of both fundamental as well as practical significance. In this study, the temperature and electron number density of laser-induced plasmas in fused silica cavities were determined using spectroscopic methods. The effects of cavity aspect ratio on plasma properties were investigated. The temperature and electron number density of laser-induced plasma were measured to be much higher and to decrease faster for a plasma inside a cavity than on the flat surface. Cavity wall influences on the plasma expansion are discussed.

206Pb– 230Th– 234U– 238U and 207Pb– 235U geochronology of Quaternary opal, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

U–Th–Pb isotopic systems have been studied in submillimeter-thick outermost layers of Quaternary opal occurring in calcite–silica fracture and cavity coatings within Tertiary tuffs at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA. These coatings preserve a record of paleohydrologic conditions at this site, which is being evaluated as a potential high-level nuclear waste repository. The opal precipitated from groundwater is variably enriched in 234U (measured 234U/ 238U activity ratio 1.124–6.179) and has high U (30–313 ppm), low Th (0.008–3.7 ppm), and low common Pb concentrations (measured 206Pb/ 204Pb up to 11,370). It has been demonstrated that the laboratory acid treatment used in this study to clean sample surfaces and to remove adherent calcite, did not disturb U–Th–Pb isotopic systems in opal. The opal ages calculated from 206Pb∗/ 238U and 207Pb∗/ 235U ratios display strong reverse discordance because of excess radiogenic 206Pb∗ derived from the elevated initial 234U. The data are best interpreted using projections of a new four-dimensional concordia diagram defined by 206Pb∗/ 238U, 207Pb∗/ 235U, 234U/ 238U activity, and 230Th/ 238U activity. Ages and initial 234U/ 238U activity ratios have been calculated using different projections of this diagram and tested for concordance. The data are discordant, that is observed 207Pb∗/ 235U ages of 170 ± 32 (2σ) to 1772 ± 40 ka are systematically older than 230Th/U ages of 34.1 ± 0.6 to 452 ± 32 ka. The age discordance is not a result of migration of uranium and its decay products under the open system conditions, but a consequence of noninstantaneous growth of opal. Combined U–Pb and 230Th/U ages support the model of slow mineral deposition at the rates of millimeters per million years resulting in layering on a scale too fine for mechanical sampling. In this case, U–Pb ages provide more accurate estimates of the average age for mixed multiage samples than 230Th/U ages, because ages based on shorter-lived isotopes are nonlinearly biased by younger mineral additions. Use of the combined U–Th–Pb technique to date Yucca Mountain Quaternary opals significantly extends the age range beyond that of the 230Th/U dating method and shows that selected fracture pathways in the unsaturated zone felsic tuffs of Yucca Mountain have been active throughout the Quaternary.

Athermal fibre cavity etalon for ultra-high-sensitivity strain sensing

An ultra-high sensitivity static strain sensor with 300 nɛ/°C thermal apparent strain has been fabricated by constructing a fibre etalon cavity of concatenated fluoride and silica fibre sections bonded to a low thermal expansion coefficient graphite composite strut tube. The athermal cavity is 30 times less temperature-sensitive than a simple fluoride or silica cavity, while retaining the same response to physical strain.

A Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Pressure Induced Liquid-Plastic Phase Transition of Pure Cyclohexane and Cyclohexane in Silica Cavities

Abstract Molecular dynamics simulations at temperature 313 K and pressures up to 4 kbar for six-centre Lennard-Jones model of C6H12 are reported. The calculations are performed for pure cyclohexane and cyclohexane in pores. A cavity is obtained by placing silica clusters at the corners of a cubic box. Two cavities of diameter of about 30 A and 50 A are considered. Thermodynamic, structural and dynamic properties of molecule confined to the pores are compared with the results for pure cyclohexane. Changes of molecular behaviour with diminishing pore size are observed and the liquid-plastic transition point shifts to higher pressures.

Effect of cavity surface on S 2 emission in molecular emission cavity analysis

Alkali metal salts present in distilled water as impurities change the surface of a silica cavity from smooth to rough and groovy surface. The multi-peaked responses observed with a new cavity change into a single peak when the cavity is treated with alkali metal salts compounds. It is concluded that the effect of the alkali metal salt-treated cavity is mainly attributable to the roughness of the surface; the peak splitting is cuased by aggregate formation and the roughness of the cavity surface enhances good dispersion and volatility of samples and suppresses peak splitting.

Transverse spin diffusion and spin rotation in very dilute, spin-polarized 3He-4He mixtures.

We report measurements of the transverse-spin-diffusion coefficient ${\mathit{D}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$ and the spin-rotation parameter \ensuremath{\Omega}${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$ for two very dilute $^{3}\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}^{4}$He mixtures (${\mathit{x}}_{3}$=1.82\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}3}$ and 6.26\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}4}$) spin polarized by an 8-T magnetic field. Brute-force spin polarization up to 40% was achieved at the lowest temperature, 6 mK. We find that \ensuremath{\Omega}${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$ increases monotonically as the temperature is reduced through the Fermi temperature ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{F}}$, in disagreement with the only previous experiment but in good agreement with recent theory. Unlike the earlier experiment, which measured spin echoes, the present experiments employed a spin-wave technique that avoids nonlinear excitation of the spin field. We compare our results with the recent calculations of Jeon and Mullin for spin transport in dilute gases with arbitrary polarization and degeneracy. The best fit to the data is obtained by scaling the quasiparticle interaction V(q) proposed by Ebner by a modest factor, 1.07. The corresponding s-wave scattering length is a=-1.21 \AA{}. Good agreement is found for \ensuremath{\Omega}${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$(T) at both concentrations and all temperatures, and for ${\mathit{D}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$/\ensuremath{\Omega}${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$(T) apart from the lower concentration at T20 mK. The discrepancy in ${\mathit{D}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$/\ensuremath{\Omega}${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$ at the lowest temperatures and ${\mathit{x}}_{3}$ could be explained by an unanticipated polarization dependence or by modification of the spin-wave boundary condition by processes occurring at the interface between the mixture and the silica cavity wall.