Three-dimensional imaging of direct-written photonic structures

Third harmonic generation microscopy has been used to analyze the morphology of photonic structures created using the femtosecond laser direct-write technique. Three dimensional waveguide arrays and waveguide-Bragg gratings written in fused-silica and doped phosphate glass were investigated. A sensorless adaptive optical system was used to correct the optical aberrations occurring in the sample and microscope system, which had a lateral resolution of less than 500 nm. This non-destructive testing method creates volume reconstructions of photonic devices and reveals details invisible to other linear microscopy and index profilometry techniques.Comment: 8 pages, 3 color figures, 2 hyper-linked animation

Direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide in water at ambient temperature

The direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) from hydrogen and oxygen has been studied using an Au–Pd/TiO2 catalyst. The aim of this study is to understand the balance of synthesis and sequential degradation reactions using an aqueous, stabilizer-free solvent at ambient temperature. The effects of the reaction conditions on the productivity of H2O2 formation and the undesirable hydrogenation and decomposition reactions are investigated. Reaction temperature, solvent composition and reaction time have been studied and indicate that when using water as the solvent the H2O2 decomposition reaction is the predominant degradation pathway, which provides new challenges for catalyst design, which has previously focused on minimizing the subsequent hydrogenation reaction. This is of importance for the application of this catalytic approach for water purification

Simulations of the Mg II k and Ca II 8542 lines from an AlfvÉn Wave-heated Flare Chromosphere

We use radiation hydrodynamic simulations to examine two models of solar flare chromospheric heating: Alfven wave dissipation and electron beam collisional losses. Both mechanisms are capable of strong chro- ´ mospheric heating, and we show that the distinctive atmospheric evolution in the mid-to-upper chromosphere results in Mg ii k-line emission that should be observably different between wave-heated and beam-heated simulations. We also present Ca ii 8542Å profiles which are formed slightly deeper in the chromosphere. The Mg ii k-line profiles from our wave-heated simulation are quite different from those from a beam-heated model and are more consistent with IRIS observations. The predicted differences between the Ca ii 8542Å in the two models are small. We conclude that careful observational and theoretical study of lines formed in the mid-toupper chromosphere holds genuine promise for distinguishing between competing models for chromospheric heating in flares