3,247 research outputs found
Determining the contribution of volcanic ash and boundary layer aerosol in backscatter lidar returns: a threeācomponent atmosphere approach
A solution of the lidar equation is discussed, that permits combining backscatter and depolarization measurements to quantitatively distinguish two different aerosol types
with different depolarization properties. The method has been successfully applied to simultaneous observations of volcanic ash and boundary layer aerosol obtained in Exeter,
United Kingdom, on 16 and 18 April 2010, permitting the contribution of the two aerosols to be quantified separately. First a subset of the atmospheric profiles is used where the two aerosol types belong to clearly distinguished layers, for the purpose of characterizing
the ash in terms of lidar ratio and depolarization. These quantities are then used in a threeācomponent atmosphere solution scheme of the lidar equation applied to the full
data set, in order to compute the optical properties of both aerosol types separately.
On 16 April a thin ash layer, 100ā400 m deep, is observed (average and maximum estimated ash optical depth: 0.11 and 0.2); it descends from ā¼2800 to ā¼1400 m altitude over a 6āhour period. On 18 April a double ash layer, ā¼400 m deep, is observed just above the morning boundary layer (average and maximum estimated ash optical depth: 0.19 and 0.27). In the afternoon the ash is entrained into the boundary layer, and the latter reaches a depth of ā¼1800 m (average and maximum estimated ash optical depth: 0.1 and 0.15). An additional ash layer, with a very small optical depth, was observed on 18 April at an altitude of 3500ā4000 m. By converting the lidar optical measurements using estimates of volcanic ash specific extinction, derived from other works, the observations seem to suggest approximate peak ash concentrations of ā¼1500 and ā¼1000 mg/m3,respectively, on the two observations dates
Beyond backscattering: Optical neuroimaging by BRAD
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a powerful technology for rapid
volumetric imaging in biomedicine. The bright field imaging approach of
conventional OCT systems is based on the detection of directly backscattered
light, thereby waiving the wealth of information contained in the angular
scattering distribution. Here we demonstrate that the unique features of
few-mode fibers (FMF) enable simultaneous bright and dark field (BRAD) imaging
for OCT. As backscattered light is picked up by the different modes of a FMF
depending upon the angular scattering pattern, we obtain access to the
directional scattering signatures of different tissues by decoupling
illumination and detection paths. We exploit the distinct modal propagation
properties of the FMF in concert with the long coherence lengths provided by
modern wavelength-swept lasers to achieve multiplexing of the different modal
responses into a combined OCT tomogram. We demonstrate BRAD sensing for
distinguishing differently sized microparticles and showcase the performance of
BRAD-OCT imaging with enhanced contrast for ex vivo tumorous tissue in
glioblastoma and neuritic plaques in Alzheimer's disease
Recent Advances and Future Trends in Nanophotonics
Nanophotonics has emerged as a multidisciplinary frontier of science and engineering. Due to its high potential to contribute to breakthroughs in many areas of technology, nanophotonics is capturing the interest of many researchers from different fields. This Special Issue of Applied Sciences on āRecent advances and future trends in nanophotonicsā aims to give an overview on the latest developments in nanophotonics and its roles in different application domains. Topics of discussion include, but are not limited to, the exploration of new directions of nanophotonic science and technology that enable technological breakthroughs in high-impact areas mainly regarding diffraction elements, detection, imaging, spectroscopy, optical communications, and computing
Enabling Technology in Optical Fiber Communications: From Device, System to Networking
This book explores the enabling technology in optical fiber communications. It focuses on the state-of-the-art advances from fundamental theories, devices, and subsystems to networking applications as well as future perspectives of optical fiber communications. The topics cover include integrated photonics, fiber optics, fiber and free-space optical communications, and optical networking
Antennas and Propagation
This Special Issue gathers topics of utmost interest in the field of antennas and propagation, such as: new directions and challenges in antenna design and propagation; innovative antenna technologies for space applications; metamaterial, metasurface and other periodic structures; antennas for 5G; electromagnetic field measurements and remote sensing applications
1-D broadside-radiating leaky-wave antenna based on a numerically synthesized impedance surface
A newly-developed deterministic numerical technique for the automated design of metasurface antennas is applied here for the first time to the design of a 1-D printed Leaky-Wave Antenna (LWA) for broadside radiation. The surface impedance synthesis process does not require any a priori knowledge on the impedance pattern, and starts from a mask constraint on the desired far-field and practical bounds on the unit cell impedance values. The designed reactance surface for broadside radiation exhibits a non conventional patterning; this highlights the merit of using an automated design process for a design well known to be challenging for analytical methods. The antenna is physically implemented with an array of metal strips with varying gap widths and simulation results show very good agreement with the predicted performance
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