4,289 research outputs found
Vertically emitting annular Bragg lasers using polymer epitaxial transfer
Fabrication of a planar semiconductor microcavity, composed of cylindrical Bragg reflectors surrounding a radial defect, is demonstrated. A versatile polymer bonding process is used to transfer active InGaAsP resonators to a low-index transfer substrate. Vertical emission of in-plane modes lasing at telecom wavelengths is observed under pulsed optical excitation with a submilliwatt threshold
Assessment of lithographic process variation effects in InGaAsP annular Bragg resonator lasers
Optical microresonators based on an annular geometry of radial Bragg reflectors have been designed and fabricated by electron-beam lithography, reactive ion etching, and an epitaxial transfer process. Unlike conventional ring resonators that are based on total internal reflection of light, the annular structure described here is designed to support optical modes with very small azimuthal propagation coefficient and correspondingly large free spectral range. The effect of lithographic process variation upon device performance is studied. Laser emission wavelength and threshold optical pump power are found to vary between similar devices given different electron doses during electron-beam lithography. As the resonance wavelength and quality factor of these resonators are very sensitive to environmental changes, these resonators make ideal active light sources that can be integrated into large arrays for gas and liquid sensing applications and are easily interrogated
Gypsum-DL: an open-source program for preparing small-molecule libraries for structure-based virtual screening
Computational techniques such as structure-based virtual screening require carefully prepared 3D models of potential small-molecule ligands. Though powerful, existing commercial programs for virtual-library preparation have restrictive and/or expensive licenses. Freely available alternatives, though often effective, do not fully account for all possible ionization, tautomeric, and ring-conformational variants. We here present Gypsum-DL, a free, robust open-source program that addresses these challenges. As input, Gypsum-DL accepts virtual compound libraries in SMILES or flat SDF formats. For each molecule in the virtual library, it enumerates appropriate ionization, tautomeric, chiral, cis/trans isomeric, and ring-conformational forms. As output, Gypsum-DL produces an SDF file containing each molecular form, with 3D coordinates assigned. To demonstrate its utility, we processed 1558 molecules taken from the NCI Diversity Set VI and 56,608 molecules taken from a Distributed Drug Discovery (D3) combinatorial virtual library. We also used 4463 high-quality protein-ligand complexes from the PDBBind database to show that Gypsum-DL processing can improve virtual-screening pose prediction. Gypsum-DL is available free of charge under the terms of the Apache License, Version 2.0
Annular Bragg resonators (ABR): the ideal tool for biochemical sensing, nonlinear optics, and cavity QED
Circular resonators are fundamentally interesting elements that are essential for research involving highly confined fields and strong photon-atom interactions such as cavity QED, as well as for practical applications in optical communication systems as and biochemical sensing. The important characteristics of a ring resonator are the Q-factor, the free spectral range (FSR) and the modal volume, where the last two are primarily determined by the resonator dimensions. The Total-Internal-Reflection (TIR) mechanism employed in "conventional" resonators couples between these characteristics and limits the ability to realize compact devices with large FSR, small modal volume and high Q. Recently, we proposed and analyzed a new class of a resonator in an annular geometry that is based on a single defect surrounded by radial Bragg reflectors on both sides. The radial Bragg confinement breaks the link between the characteristics of the mode and paves a new way for the realization of compact and low loss resonators. Such properties as well as the unique mode profile of the ABRs make this class of devices an excellent tool for ultra-sensitive biochemical detection as well as for studies in nonlinear optics and cavity QED
Lasing from a circular Bragg nanocavity with an ultra-small modal volume
We demonstrate single-mode lasing at telecommunication wavelengths from a
circular nanocavity employing a radial Bragg reflector. Ultra-small modal
volume and Sub milliwatt pump threshold level are observed for lasers with
InGaAsP quantum well active membrane. The electromagnetic field is shown to be
tightly confined within the 300nm central pillar of the cavity. The quality
factors of the resonator modal fields are estimated to be on the order of a few
thousands.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures Submitted to AP
Low Threshold Two-Dimensional Annular Bragg Lasers
Lasing at telecommunication wavelengths from annular resonators employing
radial Bragg reflectors is demonstrated at room temperature under pulsed
optical pumping. Sub milliwatt pump threshold levels are observed for
resonators with 0.5-1.5 wavelengths wide defects of radii 7-8 mm. The quality
factors of the resonator modal fields are estimated to be on the order of a few
thousands. The electromagnetic field is shown to be guided by the defect. Good
agreement is found between the measured and calculated spectrum.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
InGaAsP annular Bragg lasers: theory, applications and modal properties
A novel class of circular resonators, based on a radial defect surrounded by
Bragg reflectors, is studied in detail. Simple rules for the design and
analysis of such structures are derived using a transfer matrix formalism.
Unlike conventional ring resonators, annular Bragg resonators (ABR) are not
limited by the total internal reflection condition, and can exhibit both large
free spectral ranges and low bend losses. The Bragg reflection mechanism
enables the confinement of light within a defect consisting of a low refractive
index medium (such as air). Strong atom-photon interaction can be achieved in
such a structure, making it a promising candidate for sensing and cavity QED
applications. For sensing applications, we show that the ABR structure can
possess significantly higher sensitivity when compared to a conventional ring
resonator sensor. Lasing action and low threshold levels are demonstrated in
ABR lasers at telecommunication wavelengths under pulsed optical pumping at
room temperatures. The impact of the intensity and dimensions of the pump-spot
on the emitted spectrum is studied in detail.Comment: 7 pages 10 figure
Enantio- and Diastereoselective 1,2-Additions to α-Ketoesters with Diborylmethane and Substituted 1,1-Diborylalkanes
The catalytic enantioselective synthesis of boronate-substituted tertiary alcohols through additions of diborylmethane and substituted 1,1-diborylalkanes to α-ketoesters is reported. The reactions are catalyzed by readily available chiral phosphine/copper(I) complexes and produce β-hydroxyboronates containing up to two contiguous stereogenic centers in up to 99:1 e.r. and greater than 20:1 d.r. The utility of the organoboron products is demonstrated through several chemoselective functionalizations. Evidence indicates the reactions occur via an enantioenriched α-boryl-copper-alkyl intermediate
First Attempt at Spectroscopic Detection of Gravity Modes in a Long-Period Pulsating Subdwarf B Star -- PG 1627+017
In the first spectroscopic campaign for a PG 1716 variable (or long-period
pulsating subdwarf B star), we succeeded in detecting velocity variations due
to g-mode pulsations at a level of 1.0-1.5 km/s.The observations were obtained
during 40 nights on 2-m class telescopes in Arizona, South Africa,and
Australia. The target,PG1627+017, is one of the brightest and largest amplitude
stars in its class.It is also the visible component of a post-common envelope
binary.Our final radial velocity data set includes 84 hours of time-series
spectroscopy over a time baseline of 53 days. Our derived radial velocity
amplitude spectrum, after subtracting the orbital motion, shows three potential
pulsational modes 3-4 sigma above the mean noise level, at 7201.0s,7014.6s and
7037.3s.Only one of the features is statistically likely to be real,but all
three are tantalizingly close to, or a one day alias of, the three strongest
periodicities found in the concurrent photometric campaign. We further
attempted to detect pulsational variations in the Balmer line amplitudes. The
single detected periodicity of 7209 s, although weak, is consistent with
theoretical expectations as a function of wavelength.Furthermore, it allows us
to rule out a degree index of l= 3 or l= 5 for that mode. Given the extreme
weakness of g-mode pulsations in these stars,we conclude that anything beyond
simply detecting their presence will require larger telescopes,higher
efficiency spectral monitoring over longer time baselines,improved longitude
coverage, and increased radial velocity precision.Comment: 39 pages, 9 figures, 4 tables, ApJ accepted. See postscript for full
abtrac
Annular Bragg resonators (ABR): the ideal tool for biochemical sensing, nonlinear optics, and cavity QED
Circular resonators are fundamentally interesting elements that are essential for research involving highly confined fields and strong photon-atom interactions such as cavity QED, as well as for practical applications in optical communication systems as and biochemical sensing. The important characteristics of a ring resonator are the Q-factor, the free spectral range (FSR) and the modal volume, where the last two are primarily determined by the resonator dimensions. The Total-Internal-Reflection (TIR) mechanism employed in "conventional" resonators couples between these characteristics and limits the ability to realize compact devices with large FSR, small modal volume and high Q. Recently, we proposed and analyzed a new class of a resonator in an annular geometry that is based on a single defect surrounded by radial Bragg reflectors on both sides. The radial Bragg confinement breaks the link between the characteristics of the mode and paves a new way for the realization of compact and low loss resonators. Such properties as well as the unique mode profile of the ABRs make this class of devices an excellent tool for ultra-sensitive biochemical detection as well as for studies in nonlinear optics and cavity QED
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