SCUBA - A submillimetre camera operating on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

The Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) is one of a new generation of cameras designed to operate in the submillimetre waveband. The instrument has a wide wavelength range covering all the atmospheric transmission windows between 300 and 2000 microns. In the heart of the instrument are two arrays of bolometers optimised for the short (350/450 microns) and long (750/850 microns) wavelength ends of the submillimetre spectrum. The two arrays can be used simultaneously, giving a unique dual-wavelength capability, and have a 2.3 arc-minute field of view on the sky. Background-limited performance is achieved by cooling the arrays to below 100 mK. SCUBA has now been in active service for over a year, and has already made substantial breakthroughs in many areas of astronomy. In this paper we present an overview of the performance of SCUBA during the commissioning phase on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT).Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures (1 JPEG), Proc SPIE vol 335

MMTF: The Maryland-Magellan Tunable Filter

This paper describes the Maryland-Magellan Tunable Filter (MMTF) on the Magellan-Baade 6.5-meter telescope. MMTF is based on a 150-mm clear aperture Fabry-Perot (FP) etalon that operates in low orders and provides transmission bandpass and central wavelength adjustable from ~5 to ~15 A and from ~5000 to over ~9200 A, respectively. It is installed in the Inamori Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph (IMACS) and delivers an image quality of ~0.5" over a field of view of 27' in diameter (monochromatic over ~10'). This versatile and easy-to-operate instrument has been used over the past three years for a wide variety of projects. This paper first reviews the basic principles of FP tunable filters, then provides a detailed description of the hardware and software associated with MMTF and the techniques developed to observe with this instrument and reduce the data. The main lessons learned in the course of the commissioning and implementation of MMTF are highlighted next, before concluding with a brief outlook on the future of MMTF and of similar facilities which are soon coming on line.Comment: 38 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, now accepted for publication to the Astronomical Journa

Choosing a Better Delay Line Medium between Single-Mode and Multi-Mode Optical Fibers: the Effect of Bending

Optical fiber cables are materials whose core is made of silica and other materials such as chalcogenide glasses; they transmit a digital signal via light pulses through an extremely thin strand of glass. The light propagates and is being guided by the core which is surrounded by the cladding. Light travels in the optical fiber in the form of total internal reflection in the core of the fibers. The flexibility, low tensile strength, low signal loss, high bandwidth and other characteristics of optical fibers favors it for use as a delay medium in many applications. Another favorable characteristic of optical fiber delay lines is are their relative insensitivities to environmental effects and electromagnetic interferences. The immunity of optical fibers to interferences and their less weight added advantages to it for use as delay medium. Single-mode and multi-mode are the two most popular types of optical fibers. Single-mode fibers have good propagation and delay properties with a minimal loss that allows the signal to propagate in a large distance with insignificant distortion or attenuation. The percentage of power transmission of single-mode fibers is found to be higher than that of the multi-mode fibers. It is, therefore, a preferred type for use as a delay line. In this paper, relative studies of the two optical fibers modes, and the results of power input/output measurement of the two modes are presented with a view to coming up with a better type for use as a delay medium

The Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) for the Spitzer Space Telescope

The Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) is one of three focal plane instruments in the Spitzer Space Telescope. IRAC is a four-channel camera that obtains simultaneous broad-band images at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 microns. Two nearly adjacent 5.2x5.2 arcmin fields of view in the focal plane are viewed by the four channels in pairs (3.6 and 5.8 microns; 4.5 and 8 microns). All four detector arrays in the camera are 256x256 pixels in size, with the two shorter wavelength channels using InSb and the two longer wavelength channels using Si:As IBC detectors. IRAC is a powerful survey instrument because of its high sensitivity, large field of view, and four-color imaging. This paper summarizes the in-flight scientific, technical, and operational performance of IRAC.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in the ApJS. A higher resolution version is at http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/irac/publication

The Design of FTTH Network

The aim of this thesis is to explain the problems of optical access networks with wavelength division multiplexers, main purpose is to demonstrate the difference between theoretical and real measurement. The work is divided into several thematic areas. The introduction outlines the basic of telecommunications, fiber optics lasers, single mode, multimode, lasers fibers cables & cores, splitters division multiplexing system, there are known solutions discussed fundamental wavelength multiplexes and their possible combinations. The following chapter deals with the active elements such as AON, PON, which are essential part xWDM systems such as optical lasers, detectors and amplifiers. Another chapter focuses on passive elements, which form a key part of the wavelength multiplex. Methods of measurement of WDM/PON networks are discussed in the following part. The next section describes the topology used active and passive optical networks. The penultimate part of the work consists of architecture & technology of xWDM such as GPON and WDM-PON networks and comparing their transmission parameters. The final part of the paper presents the results of practical experimental measurements of optical access networks with wavelengths division multiplex while these results are compared with the theoretical output & methods of Optical lost test, OTDR & LSPM, with advantage & disadvantage of every methods. The second part of practical is the draft to the connection resident housing units of 30 houses, boarding-house (10 rooms) and 2 shops, 20 km distant from exchange. With comparing the possibilities of two options- passive and active optical network- PON system – WDM- Wave multiplex. Suggest the possibility of measuring and monitoring the created network.The aim of this thesis is to explain the problems of optical access networks with wavelength division multiplexers, main purpose is to demonstrate the difference between theoretical and real measurement. The work is divided into several thematic areas. The introduction outlines the basic of telecommunications, fiber optics lasers, single mode, multimode, lasers fibers cables & cores, splitters division multiplexing system, there are known solutions discussed fundamental wavelength multiplexes and their possible combinations. The following chapter deals with the active elements such as AON, PON, which are essential part xWDM systems such as optical lasers, detectors and amplifiers. Another chapter focuses on passive elements, which form a key part of the wavelength multiplex. Methods of measurement of WDM/PON networks are discussed in the following part. The next section describes the topology used active and passive optical networks. The penultimate part of the work consists of architecture & technology of xWDM such as GPON and WDM-PON networks and comparing their transmission parameters. The final part of the paper presents the results of practical experimental measurements of optical access networks with wavelengths division multiplex while these results are compared with the theoretical output & methods of Optical lost test, OTDR & LSPM, with advantage & disadvantage of every methods. The second part of practical is the draft to the connection resident housing units of 30 houses, boarding-house (10 rooms) and 2 shops, 20 km distant from exchange. With comparing the possibilities of two options- passive and active optical network- PON system – WDM- Wave multiplex. Suggest the possibility of measuring and monitoring the created network.

Review: optical fiber sensors for civil engineering applications

Optical fiber sensor (OFS) technologies have developed rapidly over the last few decades, and various types of OFS have found practical applications in the field of civil engineering. In this paper, which is resulting from the work of the RILEM technical committee “Optical fiber sensors for civil engineering applications”, different kinds of sensing techniques, including change of light intensity, interferometry, fiber Bragg grating, adsorption measurement and distributed sensing, are briefly reviewed to introduce the basic sensing principles. Then, the applications of OFS in highway structures, building structures, geotechnical structures, pipelines as well as cables monitoring are described, with focus on sensor design, installation technique and sensor performance. It is believed that the State-of-the-Art review is helpful to engineers considering the use of OFS in their projects, and can facilitate the wider application of OFS technologies in construction industry

Microwave band on-chip coil technique for single electron spin resonance in a quantum dot

Microwave band on-chip microcoils are developed for the application to single electron spin resonance measurement with a single quantum dot. Basic properties such as characteristic impedance and electromagnetic field distribution are examined for various coil designs by means of experiment and simulation. The combined setup operates relevantly in the experiment at dilution temperature. The frequency responses of the return loss and Coulomb blockade current are examined. Capacitive coupling between a coil and a quantum dot causes photon assisted tunneling, whose signal can greatly overlap the electron spin resonance signal. To suppress the photon assisted tunneling effect, a technique for compensating for the microwave electric field is developed. Good performance of this technique is confirmed from measurement of Coulomb blockade oscillations.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in Rev. Sci. Instrum. The bibliography file is update