CMOS compatible integrated all-optical radio frequency spectrum analyzer

We report an integrated all-optical radio frequency spectrum analyzer based on a ~4cm long doped silica glass waveguide, with a bandwidth greater than 2.5 THz. We use this device to characterize the intensity power spectrum of ultrahighrepetition rate mode-locked lasers at repetition rates up to 400 GHz, and observe dynamic noise related behavior not observable with other technique

The Electron Capture in 163^{163} Ho Experiment - a Short Update

The definition of the absolute neutrino mass scale is one of the main goals of the Particle Physics today. The study of the end-point regions of the β- and electron capture (EC) spectrum offers a possibility to determine the effective electron (anti-)neutrino mass in a completely model independent way, as it only relies on the energy and momentum conservation. The ECHo (Electron Capture in 163Ho) experiment has been designed in the attempt to measure the effective mass of the electron neutrino by performing high statistics and high energy resolution measurements of the 163 Ho electron capture spectrum. To achieve this goal, large arrays of low temperature metallic magnetic calorimeters (MMCs) implanted with with 163Ho are used. Here we report on the structure and the status of the experiment

Micro to nano: Surface size scale and superhydrophobicity

This work looks at the fundamental question of how the surface mobility of drops in the composite state is related to the size scale of the roughness features of the surface. To this end, relevant literature is first reviewed and the important terms are clarified. We then describe and discuss contact and roll-off angle measurements on a set of hydrophobicized silicon post surfaces for which all parameters except for the surface size scale were held constant. It was found that a critical transition from “sticky superhydrophobic” (composite state with large contact angle hysteresis) to “truly superhydrophobic” (composite state with low hysteresis) takes place as the size of the surface features reaches 1 μm

Development of a Fluorescent Microfluidic Device Based on Antibody Microarray Read-Out for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Acenocoumarol

The development of a proof-of-concept point-of-care (PoC) device for the determination of oral anticoagulants determination is presented. Acenocoumarol (ACL) is prescribed to prevent certain cardiovascular diseases related to the prevention of deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Oral anticoagualant treatment (OAT) represents a population of 2% under treatment which has expenditures about $ 144 million in 2011. The main drawback for OAT is the associated narrow therapeutic window and the unpredictable dose-response relationship, which is one of the main causes for visiting the emergency room at the hospitals. In a previous work, family antibodies were produced for the simultaneous detection of ACL and warfarin (W) depending on the area of application. It was developed in different formats, indirect and direct, either with similar detectabilities and both assays quantifying the oral anticoagulants with high accuracy and reproducibility. We present the implementation of the already developed immunochemical method to a point-of-care (PoC) device to assist on the patient compliance assessment programs. In order to achieve this goal, a first development was performed implementing ACL ELISA assay into a microarray format with fluorescent read-out. The assay was successfully implemented achieving a LOD of 1.23 nM of ACL directly measured in human plasma. Then, a fully integrated microfluidic system is developed which incorporates the specific immunoreagents for the detection of ACL. The immunoreagents were attached onto the glass slide in a microarray format. The system is automatic, rapid, sensitive, and disposable that could help clinicians monitor patients under OAT. According to the fluorescent label of the ACL binding, the chip can be easily read with a scanner. The microfluidic system performed good according to the robust and reproducible signals, and subsequently yielded an accurate result.The ICTS “NANOBIOSIS”, and particularly the custom antibody service (CAbS, IQAC-CSIC, and CIBER-BBN) is acknowledged for the assistance and support related to the immunoreagents used in this work.Peer reviewe

Specific Heat of Holmium in Gold and Silver at Low Temperatures

The specific heat of dilute alloys of holmium in gold and in silver plays a major role in the optimization of low temperature microcalorimeters with enclosed $^{163}{{\text {Ho}}}$, such as the ones developed for the neutrino mass experiment ECHo. We investigate alloys with atomic concentrations of $x_{{{\text {Ho}}}}=0.01{-}4\%$ at temperatures between 10 and $800\,{{{\hbox {mK}}}}$. Due to the large total angular momentum $J=8$ and nuclear spin $I=7/2$ of ${{\text {Ho}}}^{3+}$ ions, the specific heat of Au:Ho and Ag:Ho depends on the detailed interplay of various interactions, including contributions from the localized 4f electrons and nuclear contributions via hyperfine splitting. This makes it difficult to accurately determine the specific heat of these materials numerically. Instead, we measure their specific heat by using three experimental setups optimized for different concentration and temperature ranges. The results from measurements on six holmium alloys demonstrate that the specific heat of these materials is dominated by a large Schottky anomaly with its maximum at $T\approx 250\,{{{\hbox {mK}}}}$, which we attribute to hyperfine splitting and crystal field interactions. RKKY and dipole–dipole interactions between the holmium atoms cause additional, concentration-dependent effects. With regard to ECHo, we conclude that for typical operating temperatures of $T\le 20\,{{{\hbox {mK}}}}$, silver holmium alloys with $x_{{{\text {Ho}}}}\gtrsim 1\%$ are suited best

HRSC auf Mars Express - Photogrammetrische und kartographische Auswertungen

Die High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) an Bord der europäischen Raumsonde Mars Express ist die erste Kamera einer Planetenmission, die speziell für photogrammetrische und kartographische Zwecke entwickelt wurde. Seit Januar 2004 liefert die Kamera hochaufgelöste Bilddaten der Marsoberfläche in Stereo und in Farbe. Die Bilddaten bergen ein immenses Potenzial zur Ableitung präziser Digitaler Geländemodelle (DGMs) und farbiger Orthophotos sowie zur Herstellung topographischer und thematischer Karten und weiterer Produkte. Die Arbeitsgruppe für Photogrammetrie und Kartographie des internationalen HRSC-Forscherteams beschäftigt sich mit der systematischen Erstellung von Standardprodukten aus den Bilddaten und der Verfeinerung dieser Produkte mit dem Ziel, eine höchstmögliche Qualität zu erzielen. Dieser Beitrag beschreibt einige zur Verfeinerung geeignete Arbeitsschritte und illustriert den erreichten Stand anhand einer Reihe von Beispielen

Production, isolation and characterization of radiochemically pure ¹⁶³Ho samples for the ECHo-project

Several experiments on the study of the electron neutrino mass are based on high-statistics measurements of the energy spectrum following electron capture of the radionuclide 163Ho. They rely on the availability of large, radiochemically pure samples of 163Ho. Here, we describe the production, separation, characterization, and sample production within the Electron Capture in Holmium-163 (ECHo) project. 163Ho has been produced by thermal neutron activation of enriched, prepurified 162Er targets in the high flux reactor of the Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France, in irradiations lasting up to 54 days. Irradiated targets were chemically processed by means of extraction chromatography, which allowed separating the formed Ho from the 162Er target-material and from the main byproducts 170Tm and 171Tm, which are co-produced in GBq amounts. Decontamination factors of &gt;500 for Er and of &gt;105 for Tm and yields of 3.6·1016 and 1.2·1018 atoms of 163Ho were obtained, corresponding to a recovery yield of 95 % of Ho in the chemical separation. The Ho-fraction was characterized by means of γ-ray spectrometry, Inductively-Coupled-Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry (RIMS) and Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA). In this process, the thermal neutron capture cross section of 163Ho was measured to σHo-163 to Ho-164m= (23±3) b and σHo-163 to Ho-164g= (156±9) b for the formation of the two isomers of 164Ho. Specific samples were produced for further purification by mass separation to isolate 163Ho from the Ho-isotope mixture, as needed for obtaining the energy spectrum within ECHo. The partial efficiency for this second separation step is (32±5) %.</p