Frequency Division Multiplexing Readout and Simultaneous Manipulation of an Array of Flux Qubits

An important desired ingredient of superconducting quantum circuits is a readout scheme whose complexity does not increase with the number of qubits involved in the measurement. Here, we present a readout scheme employing a single microwave line, which enables simultaneous readout of multiple qubits. Consequently, scaling up superconducting qubit circuits is no longer limited by the readout apparatus. Parallel readout of 6 flux qubits using a frequency division multiplexing technique is demonstrated, as well as simultaneous manipulation and time resolved measurement of 3 qubits. We discuss how this technique can be scaled up to read out hundreds of qubits on a chip.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Better than a lens -- Increasing the signal-to-noise ratio through pupil splitting

Lenses are designed to fulfill Fermats principle such that all light interferes constructively in its focus, guaranteeing its maximum concentration. It can be shown that imaging via an unmodified full pupil yields the maximum transfer strength for all spatial frequencies transferable by the system. Seemingly also the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is optimal. The achievable SNR at a given photon budget is critical especially if that budget is strictly limited as in the case of fluorescence microscopy. In this work we propose a general method which achieves a better SNR for high spatial frequency information of an optical imaging system, without the need to capture more photons. This is achieved by splitting the pupil of an incoherent imaging system such that two (or more) sub-images are simultaneously acquired and computationally recombined. We compare the theoretical performance of split pupil imaging to the non-split scenario and implement the splitting using a tilted elliptical mirror placed at the back-focal-plane (BFP) of a fluorescence widefield microscope

Resilience index for critical infrastructure self-assessment for hospitals: an exploratory qualitative systems analysis

Background: Critical infrastructure (CRITIS) in hospitals has become the focus of resilience research due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and also the events in Ukraine. This foundational research examines overall contexts, categorizing and quantifying them. Previous research examined limited-scale damage situations with little CRITIS involvement: Worst case studies are missing. The vulnerabilities of the CRITIS of one or more countries will likewise be a prime target for attack in current and future conflicts or criminal extortion - this is especially true in the healthcare sector. Therefore, detailed research with a black swan scenario is necessary in this field. Objectives: The aim of the study is to create and validate a categorized and weighted model for the self-assessment of the resilience of critical infrastructure in German hospitals at different levels of care before the exemplary scenario of a prolonged supraregional power blackout. Material and methods: Using an explorative design, experts from 8 hospitals of different care levels performed an expert-based qualitative system analysis to develop, weight and test the model. The resilience index was then calculated using adapted interdependence analyses in a Vester influence matrix. Results: Seven categories and 24 subcategories of hospital CRITIS were identified. There are several key elements: rank 1 of active elements is the emergency power system (E1), and for passive elements, it is the nursing staff (P2). This means the PSU has the greatest impact on all other areas and the nursing staff is most dependent on all others for their work. The most critical elements, because they are most intertwined in the overall system, are the Situation Center/Command Staff (Z1) and Technical Staff (P3), on which the entire system depends. From the weighted individual elements of CRITIS, an overall resilience for a hospital can be calculated (resilience index). The developed model can be used by hospital crisis experts as part of a self-assessment to provide a basis for risk management, financial planning, technical planning, personnel planning or crisis and disaster management. Conclusions: The categorization and quantification of critical infrastructure (CRITIS) in hospitals with the aim of resilience documentation and optimization is possible. The model that has been developed allows rapid adaptation to changing initial situations and increases in resilience that can be realized in the short and medium term. Emergency and crisis preparedness is a dynamic process, which has been combined here with the further development of critical infrastructure. Consequently, there can be 4 no final state to be achieved, but only a certain best possible framework within which the hospital as a business enterprise can operate. The classification of the categories in the model must also be constantly developed further and adapted to the current status. Once the explorative, qualitative basic research has been completed, it is necessary in a further step to subject the model, which has been validated by experts, to a broader review. Ideally, this will be done using quantitative methods and a significantly larger sample.Hintergrund: Die Kritische Infrastruktur in Krankenhäusern (KRITIS) ist durch die Auswirkungen der COVID-19 Pandemie und auch der Ereignisse in der Ukraine in den Fokus der Resilienzforschung gerückt. Die vorliegende Grundlagenuntersuchung analysiert Gesamtzusammenhänge, kategorisiert und quantifiziert diese. Bisherige Forschungen untersuchten nur Schadenslagen begrenzten Ausmaßes mit geringer KRITIS-Beteiligung: Worst Case Studien fehlen jedoch. Fragestellung: Ist es möglich, ein kategorisiertes und gewichtetes Modell zur Selbstbewertung der Resilienz Kritischer Infrastruktur in Krankenhäusern für das exemplarische Szenario eines längeren überregionalen Stromausfalls zu erstellen und zu bewerten? Material und Methoden: Das Forschungsdesign ist explorativ. Mit Expert*innen aus acht Kliniken unterschiedlicher Versorgungsstufen wurde in einer qualitativen Systemanalyse das Modell anonym erstellt, gewichtet und getestet. Der Resilienzindex wurde dann mithilfe von adaptierten Interdependenzanalysen berechnet. Ergebnisse: 7 Kategorien und 24 Unterkategorien wurden identifiziert. Die Netzersatzanlage (E1) hat die größten Auswirkungen auf alle anderen Bereiche. Das Pflegepersonal (P2) ist für seine Arbeit am stärksten von allen anderen abhängig. Die kritischsten Elemente sind das Lagezentrum/ der Führungsstab (Z1) und Technisches Personal (P3), von denen das gesamte System abhängt. Aus den gewichteten Einzelelementen lässt sich eine Gesamtresilienz für ein Krankenhaus berechnen (Resilienzindex). Diskussion: Die Kategorisierung und Quantifizierung der KRITIS in Krankenhäusern mit dem Ziel der Resilienzmessung und Optimierung ist möglich. Das erarbeitete Modell erlaubt eine schnelle Anpassung an sich wandelnde Ausgangslagen und kurz sowie mittelfristig realisierbare Resilienzsteigerungen. Die qualitativen Ergebnisse sollten im Rahmen weiterer quantitativer Forschung erweitert und präzisiert werden

Characterization of unplanned water reuse in the EU. Final Report

In order to assess policy options regarding requirements for water reuse via agricultural irrigation and groundwater recharge, the European Commission requested an additional source of information. Thus, the aim of this study was to benchmark the current degree of unplanned water reuse in Europe, in particular in areas that are practicing agriculture irrigation and artificial groundwater recharge using surface water. This assessment included a characterization of qualities of water sources currently used in agricultural irrigation in the EU, including direct and indirect reuse of treated wastewater. In addition, the extent of unplanned reuse and the impact of the development of planned (and direct) water reuse has been assessed for case studies in selected EU river basins in Spain, Italy, France and GermanyCon el fin de evaluar las opciones políticas relativas a los requisitos de reutilización del agua a través del riego agrícola y la recarga de aguas subterráneas, la Comisión Europea solicitó una fuente adicional de información. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de este estudio era comparar el grado actual de reutilización no planificada del agua en Europa, en particular en las zonas que practican el riego agrícola y la recarga artificial de aguas subterráneas con aguas superficiales. Esta evaluación incluyó una caracterización de la calidad de las fuentes de agua utilizadas actualmente en el riego agrícola en la UE, incluida la reutilización directa e indirecta de las aguas residuales tratadas. Además, se ha evaluado el alcance de la reutilización no planificada y el impacto del desarrollo de la reutilización planificada (y directa) del agua para estudios de caso en cuencas hidrográficas seleccionadas de la UE en España, Italia, Francia y Alemania

Nanotrimer enhanced optical fiber tips implemented by electron beam lithography

Here we present a novel fabrication approach that allows for the implementation of sophisticated planar nanostructures with deep subwavelength dimensions on fiber end faces by electron beam lithography. Specifically, we planarize the end faces of fiber bundles such that they are compatible with planar nanostructuring technology, with the result that fibers can be treated in the same way as typical wafers, opening up the entire field of nanotechnology for fiber optics. To demonstrate our approach, we have implemented densely-packed arrays of gold nanotrimers on the end face of 50 cm long standard single mode fibers, showing asymmetrical resonance lineshapes that arise due to the interplay of diffractive coupling of the individual timer response at infrared wavelengths that overlap with the single mode regime of typical telecommunication fibers. Refractive index sensing experiments suggest sensitivities of about 390 nm/RIU, representing the state-of-the-art for such a device type. Due to its unique capability of making optical fibers compatible with planar nanostructuring technology, we anticipate our approach to be applied in numerous fields including bioanalytics, telecommunications, nonlinear photonics, optical trapping and beam shaping

Nanograting-Enhanced Optical Fibers for Visible and Infrared Light Collection at Large Input Angles

The efficient incoupling of light into particular fibers at large angles is essential for a multitude of applications; however, this is difficult to achieve with commonly used fibers due to low numerical aperture. Here, we demonstrate that commonly used optical fibers functionalized with arrays of metallic nanodots show substantially improved large-angle light-collection performances at multiple wavelengths. In particular, we show that at visible wavelengths, higher diffraction orders contribute significantly to the light-coupling efficiency, independent of the incident polarization, with a dominant excitation of the fundamental mode. The experimental observation is confirmed by an analytical model, which directly suggests further improvement in incoupling efficiency through the use of powerful nanostructures such as metasurface or dielectric gratings. Therefore, our concept paves the way for high-performance fiber-based optical devices and is particularly relevant within the context of endoscopic-type applications in life science and light collection within quantum technology

Экологическая оценка состояния растений произрастающих в зоне влияния выбросов железорудных шахт

Выполнены исследования состояния растений произрастающих на территориях прилегающих к железорудному комбинату. Установлены закономерности изменения степени повреждения озимой пшеницы в зависимости от расстояния до вентиляционных стволов железорудной шахты.Виконані дослідження стану рослин, що зростають на територіях прилеглих до залізорудного комбінату. Встановлено закономірності зміни ступеня пошкодження озимої пшениці в залежності від відстані до вентиляційних стволів залізорудної шахти.The studies of the status of plants growing in areas adjacent to the iron ore plant are conducted. The regularities of changes in the damage degree of winter wheat depending on the distance to the ventilation shafts of iron ore mines are fixed

Nanoboomerang-based inverse metasurfaces - a promising path towards ultrathin photonic devices for transmission operation

Metasurfaces have revolutionized photonics due to their ability to shape phase fronts as requested and to tune beam directionality using nanoscale metallic or dielectric scatterers. Here we reveal inverse metasurfaces showing superior properties compared to their positive counterparts if transmission mode operation is considered. The key advantage of such slot-type metasurfaces is the strong reduction of light in the parallel-polarization state, making the crossed-polarization, being essential for metasurface operation, dominant and highly visible. In the experiment, we show an up to four times improvement in polarization extinction for the individual metasurface element geometry consisting of deep subwavelength nanoboomerangs with feature sizes of the order of 100 nm. As confirmed by simulations, strong plasmonic hybridization yields two spectrally separated plasmonic resonances, ultimately allowing for the desired phase and scattering engineering in transmission. Due to the design flexibility of inverse metasurfaces, a large number of highly integrated ultra-flat photonic elements can be envisioned, examples of which include monolithic lenses for telecommunications and spectroscopy, beam shaper or generator for particle trapping or acceleration or sophisticated polarization control for microscopy

Superlattice in collapsed graphene wrinkles

Topographic corrugations, such as wrinkles, are known to introduce diverse physical phenomena that can significantly modify the electrical, optical and chemical properties of two-dimensional materials. This range of assets can be expanded even further when the crystal lattices of the walls of the wrinkle are aligned and form a superlattice, thereby creating a high aspect ratio analogue of a twisted bilayer or multilayer – the so-called twisted wrinkle. Here we present an experimental proof that such twisted wrinkles exist in graphene monolayers on the scale of several micrometres. Combining atomic force microscopy and Raman spectral mapping using a wide range of visible excitation energies, we show that the wrinkles are extremely narrow and their Raman spectra exhibit all the characteristic features of twisted bilayer or multilayer graphene. In light of a recent breakthrough – the superconductivity of a magic-angle graphene bilayer, the collapsed wrinkles represent naturally occurring systems with tuneable collective regimes