Uniparabolic mirror grading for vertical cavity surface emitting lasers

Includes bibliographical references (page 607).We report details of mirror grading profiles for high efficiency vertical cavity surface emitting lasers. The mirrors provide low vertical resistance in conjunction with improvements in optical reflectivity, thermal conductivity, and lateral electrical conductivity in comparison to earlier grading profiles. The enhancement of these properties is verified by a comparison of thermal resistance and total electrical resistance for lasers of varying size.This work was supported by the United States Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC04-94AL85000

Different mirror, A

Includes bibliographical references.Mirrors grown in the crystalline structure ease manufacture of vertical-cavity lasers, which emit collimated circular beams and can form large two-dimensional arrays. The authors discuss the fabrication of the surface emitting laser mirrors. By means of techniques such as molecular beam epitaxy and metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy, hundreds of layers of semiconductor materials can be grown one on top of the other. By mixing and matching the materials to create "designer" alloys, it is possible to grow a crystalline structure with all the electrical and optical properties desired for its various parts. This method of tailoring semiconductor structures is called bandgap engineering. The principles of the mirrors and their applications are discussed.This work was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy under contract number DE-AC04-94AL85000

Do mindfulness interventions reduce burnout in oncology nurses? A literature review

Nursing patients with cancer is associated with intensity of emotional engagement, that can result in compassion fatigue and burnout, with nurses leaving the profession as a result. This literature review seeks to answer the question ‘do mindfulness interventions reduce burnout in oncology nurses?’ A systematic database search resulted in 294 papers, that were filtered using inclusion/exclusion criteria. Thirty-one papers were read in full and critically appraised. Seven original studies provided the final data. Findings are presented under the headings of overall effectiveness of the diverse selection of interventions, physical and psychological impact on nurses (including skills acquisitions to improve resilience) and the practicalities of using emotional support interventions. Mindfulness interventions can reduce levels of compassion fatigue and burnout in oncology nurses. Techniques learned can be used in practice to help reduce stress and support coping in challenging situations. Support can reduce the emotional cost of caring, reduce staff absence due to ill health and reduce the number of people leaving the profession/department

Index guiding dependent effects in implant and oxide confined vertical-cavity lasers

Includes bibliographical references.Implant and oxide confined vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers are compared in terms of properties dependent upon the nature of index guiding in the two structures including CW threshold current scaling with size, light-current linearity, pulsed operation delay, and beam profiles. The oxide confined lasers, fabricated by wet thermal oxidation, have a built-in index guide and thus exhibit substantially better properties than do lasers from the same wafer fabricated by proton implantation which rely on a thermal lens to reduce diffraction losses.This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DEAC04-94AL85000

Developing Optimized Trajectories Derived from Mission and Thermo-Structural Constraints

In conjunction with NASA and the Department of Defense, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) has been investigating analytical techniques to address many of the fundamental issues associated with solar exploration spacecraft and high-speed atmospheric vehicle systems. These issues include: thermo-structural response including the effects of thermal management via the use of surface optical properties for high-temperature composite structures; aerodynamics with the effects of non-equilibrium chemistry and gas radiation; and aero-thermodynamics with the effects of material ablation for a wide range of thermal protection system (TPS) materials. The need exists to integrate these discrete tools into a common framework that enables the investigation of interdisciplinary interactions (including analysis tool, applied load, and environment uncertainties) to provide high fidelity solutions. In addition to developing robust tools for the coupling of aerodynamically induced thermal and mechanical loads, JHU/APL has been studying the optimal design of high-speed vehicles as a function of their trajectory. Under traditional design methodology the optimization of system level mission parameters such as range and time of flight is performed independently of the optimization for thermal and mechanical constraints such as stress and temperature. A truly optimal trajectory should optimize over the entire range of mission and thermo-mechanical constraints. Under this research, a framework for the robust analysis of high-speed spacecraft and atmospheric vehicle systems has been developed. It has been built around a generic, loosely coupled framework such that a variety of readily available analysis tools can be used. The methodology immediately addresses many of the current analysis inadequacies and allows for future extension in order to handle more complex problems

Temperature-dependent characteristics and single-mode performance of AlGaInP-based 670-690-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Includes bibliographical references.We report on temperature dependent characteristics and single mode performance of one-wave cavity, planar implanted, AlGaInP-based vertical-cavity surface emitting lasers. By optimizing the overlap between the gain peak and the cavity mode of the structure, we demonstrate record device performance, including 8.2 mW maximum output power and 11% power conversion efficiency for multimode operation and 1.9 mW and 9.6% power conversion efficiency for single mode operation at 687 nm. Improved performance at elevated temperatures is also achieved, with 1.5 mW output power demonstrated at 50 °C from a 15-μm-diameter device.This letter was supported by the US Department of Energy under contract no. DE-AC04-94AL85000

Selectively oxidised vertical cavity surface emitting lasers with 50% power conversion efficiency

Includes bibliographical references (page 209).Index-guided vertical cavity top-surface emitting laser diodes have been fabricated from an all epitaxial structure with conducting mirrors by selective lateral oxidation of AlGaAs. Low voltage, a 78% slope efficiency, and a 350μA threshold current in a single device combine to yield a maximum power conversion efficiency of 50% at less than a 2mA drive current. The device operates in a single mode up to 1.5mW

Gain-dependent polarization properties of vertical-cavity lasers

Includes bibliographical references.We show that the partitioning of power into the two orthogonal eigen polarizations of infra-red gain-guided vertical-cavity lasers depends upon the relative spectral overlap of the nondegenerate polarization cavity resonances with the laser gain spectrum. Furthermore, at the condition where the polarization resonances and the peak laser gain are aligned, abrupt switching of power between the eigen polarizations is observed as the gain sweeps through the polarization resonances. The gain-dependence of the polarization requires spectral splitting between the eigen polarizations, which is found to be strongly influenced by local strain. The polarization of the fundamental and higher-order spatial modes can be selected and maintained for all InGaAs vertical-cavity lasers in a wafer simply by employing a 20 nm or greater blue-shift offset of the peak laser gain relative to the cavity resonances.The work performed at Sandia National Laboratories is supported by the U. S. Department of Energy under contract No. DE-AC04-94AL85000

Atmospheric and oceanic impacts of Antarctic glaciation across the Eocene-Oligocene transition

The glaciation of Antarctica at the Eocene–Oligocene transition (approx. 34 million years ago) was a major shift in the Earth’s climate system, but the mechanisms that caused the glaciation, and its effects, remain highly debated. A number of recent studies have used coupled atmosphere–ocean climate models to assess the climatic effects of Antarctic glacial inception, with often contrasting results. Here, using the HadCM3L model, we show that the global atmosphere and ocean response to growth of the Antarctic ice sheet is sensitive to subtle variations in palaeogeography, using two reconstructions representing Eocene and Oligocene geological stages. The earlier stage (Eocene; Priabonian), which has a relatively constricted Tasman Seaway, shows a major increase in sea surface temperature over the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean in response to the ice sheet. This response does not occur for the later stage (Oligocene; Rupelian), which has a more open Tasman Seaway. This difference in temperature response is attributed to reorganization of ocean currents between the stages. Following ice sheet expansion in the earlier stage, the large Ross Sea gyre circulation decreases in size. Stronger zonal flow through the Tasman Seaway allows salinities to increase in the Ross Sea, deep-water formation initiates and multiple feedbacks then occur amplifying the temperature response. This is potentially a model-dependent result, but it highlights the sensitive nature of model simulations to subtle variations in palaeogeography, and highlights the need for coupled ice sheet–climate simulations to properly represent and investigate feedback processes acting on these time scales

Physical activity and nutrition intervention for Singaporean women aged 50 years and above: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

The majority of the older Singaporean women aged 50 years and above are physically inactive and have unhealthy dietary habits, placing them at ‘high risk’ of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The adoption of regular physical activity (PA) and a healthy diet are essential lifestyle behaviours to reduce this risk. This randomised controlled trial (RCT) involves the development, implementation and evaluation of a PA and nutrition programme for community-dwelling Singaporean women who currently attend recreational centres (RCs are public facilities supporting social leisure activities) in their local area. The intervention will be developed after conducting formative evaluation with RC attendees and managers through focus group discussions and pilot testing of resources (i.e. surveys, accelerometers, and health booklets). Programme ambassadors (trained, certified fitness instructors and nutritionists) will deliver all sessions in English and Mandarin; implement classes to meet participants’ varying needs; and conduct sessions at different times at convenient venues. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) has been selected as the theoretical framework to inform intervention strategies as it explores the interactions of human behaviour with the environment and has been found to be valuable when developing behavioural change interventions particularly in older adults (J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 67B(1):18–26, 2012; Obesity Reviews 15(12):983–95, 2014). Its major construct, self-efficacy, is invaluable in achieving successful behaviour change, such as increasing levels of PA or improving dietary intake (Trials. 2017; https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-016-1771-9 ; Psychol Health Med 18(6):714–24, 2013)