High-performance Bragg gratings in chalcogenide rib waveguides written with a modified Sagnac interferometer

This paper was published in Journal of the Optical Society of America B-Optical Physics and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=josab-23-7-1323. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law.Mehrdad Shokooh-Saremi, Vahid G. Ta'eed, Neil J. Baker, Ian C. M. Littler, David J. Moss, Benjamin J. Eggleton, Yinlan Ruan, and Barry Luther-Davie

Sub‐micrometer focusing setup for high‐pressure crystallography at the Extreme Conditions beamline at PETRA III

Scientific tasks aimed at decoding and characterizing complex systems and processes at high pressures set new challenges for modern X‐ray diffraction instrumentation in terms of X‐ray flux, focal spot size and sample positioning. Presented here are new developments at the Extreme Conditions beamline (P02.2, PETRA III, DESY, Germany) that enable considerable improvements in data collection at very high pressures and small scattering volumes. In particular, the focusing of the X‐ray beam to the sub‐micrometer level is described, and control of the aberrations of the focusing compound refractive lenses is made possible with the implementation of a correcting phase plate. This device provides a significant enhancement of the signal‐to‐noise ratio by conditioning the beam shape profile at the focal spot. A new sample alignment system with a small sphere of confusion enables single‐crystal data collection from grains of micrometer to sub‐micrometer dimensions subjected to pressures as high as 200 GPa. The combination of the technical development of the optical path and the sample alignment system contributes to research and gives benefits on various levels, including rapid and accurate diffraction mapping of samples with sub‐micrometer resolution at multimegabar pressures.Facing the challenges of X‐ray diffraction from tiny samples subjected to multimegabar pressures, instrumentation developments are presented that enable, among other studies, single‐crystal data collection from micrometer‐ to sub‐micrometer‐sized grains. The developments are based on a sub‐micrometer beam capability employing compound refractive lenses operating with a phase correcting plate and a precise motorization solution

Sub-micrometer focusing setup for high-pressure crystallography at the Extreme Conditions beamline at PETRA III

Scientific tasks aimed at decoding and characterizing complex systems and processes at high pressures set new challenges for modern X-ray diffraction instrumentation in terms of X-ray flux, focal spot size and sample positioning. Presented here are new developments at the Extreme Conditions beamline (P02.2, PETRA III, DESY, Germany) that enable considerable improvements in data collection at very high pressures and small scattering volumes. In particular, the focusing of the X-ray beam to the sub-micrometer level is described, and control of the aberrations of the focusing compound refractive lenses is made possible with the implementation of a correcting phase plate. This device provides a significant enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio by conditioning the beam shape profile at the focal spot. A new sample alignment system with a small sphere of confusion enables single-crystal data collection from grains of micrometer to sub-micrometer dimensions subjected to pressures as high as 200 GPa. The combination of the technical development of the optical path and the sample alignment system contributes to research and gives benefits on various levels, including rapid and accurate diffraction mapping of samples with sub-micrometer resolution at multimegabar pressures.Funding Agencies: Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany (BMBF) [05K19WC1]; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) [DU 954-11/1, DU 393-9/2, DU 393-13/1]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linköping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009 00971]; Alexander von Humboldt Foundation</p

Performance Analysis of Rfid Applications in Cold Chain Management

Cold chain management represents a focal activity in several industrial contexts from food to chemical chains (i.e. fresh food, vaccines or pharmaceutical products). It involves a network of temperature controlled processes and vehicles, which have to be strictly interconnected and monitored to assure product protection for both sanitary and economical reasons. All these factors could be managed by a more efficient system for improving visibility and traceability, based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) applications. The paper aims to highlight a metric model for assessing effectively economic performances of an RFID application in a specific cold chain. The model could support the design and the control of the whole cold supply chain by evaluating technological and managerial implication of the RFID application