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The third-order nonlinear optical properties of water-soluble Cu2-xSe nanocrystals are studied in the near infrared range of 700–980 nm using a femtosecond pulsed laser by the Z-scan technique. It is observed that the nonlinear optical response of Cu2-xSe nanocrystals is sensitively dependent on the excitation wavelength and exhibits the enhanced nonlinearity compared with other selenides such as ZnSe and CdSe. The W-shaped Z-scan trace, a mixture of the reversed saturated absorption and saturated absorption, is observed near the plasmon resonance band of Cu2-xSe nanocrystals, which is attributed to the state-filling of free carriers generated by copper vacancies (self-doping effect) of Cu2-xSe nanocrystals as well as the hot carrier thermal effect upon intense femtosecond laser excitation. The large nonlinear optical response and tunable plasmonic band make Cu2-xSe nanocrystals promising materials for applications in ultra-fast all-optical switching devices as well as nonlinear nanosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After approximately half a century of development, HgCdTe infrared detectors have become the first choice for high performance infrared detectors, which are widely used in various industry sectors, including military tracking, military reconnaissance, infrared guidance, infrared warning, weather forecasting, and resource detection. Further development in infrared applications requires future HgCdTe infrared detectors to exhibit features such as larger focal plane array format and thus higher imaging resolution. An effective approach to develop HgCdTe infrared detectors with a larger array format size is to develop the small pixel technology. In this article, we present a review on the developmental history and current status of small pixel technology for HgCdTe infrared detectors, as well as the main challenges and potential solutions in developing this technology. It is predicted that the pixel size of long-wave HgCdTe infrared detectors can be reduced to 5 μm, while that of mid-wave HgCdTe infrared detectors can be reduced to 3 μm. Although significant progress has been made in this area, the development of small pixel technology for HgCdTe infrared detectors still faces significant challenges such as flip-chip bonding, interconnection, and charge processing capacity of readout circuits. Various approaches have been proposed to address these challenges, including three-dimensional stacking integration and readout circuits based on microelectromechanical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a theoretical scheme to speed up adiabatic population transfer in a Josephson artificial qutrit by transitionless quantum driving. At a magic working point, an effective three-level subsystem can be chosen to constitute our qutrit. With Stokes and pump driving, adiabatic population transfer can be achieved in the qutrit by means of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. Assisted by a counterdiabatic driving, the adiabatic population transfer can be sped up drastically with accessible parameters. Moreover, the accelerated operation is flexibly reversible and highly robust against decoherence effects. Thanks to these distinctive advantages, the present protocol could offer a promising avenue for optimal coherent operations in Josephson quantum circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present here an adaptive control scheme with a feedback delay to achieve elimination of synchronization in a large population of coupled and synchronized oscillators. We validate the feasibility of this scheme not only in the coupled Kuramoto’s oscillators with a unimodal or bimodal distribution of natural frequency, but also in two representative models of neuronal networks, namely, the FitzHugh–Nagumo spiking oscillators and the Hindmarsh–Rose bursting oscillators. More significantly, we analytically illustrate the feasibility of the proposed scheme with a feedback delay and reveal how the exact topological form of the bimodal natural frequency distribution influences the scheme performance. We anticipate that our developed scheme will deepen the understanding and refinement of those controllers, e.g. techniques of deep brain stimulation, which have been implemented in remedying some synchronization-induced mental disorders including Parkinson disease and epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The laser-pumped potassium spin-exchange relaxation free (SERF) magnetometer is the most sensitive detector of magnetic field and has many important applications. We present the experimental results of our potassium SERF magnetometer. A pump–probe approach is used to identify the unique spin dynamics of the atomic ensemble in the SERF regime. A single channel sensitivity of 8 f·THz−1/2 is achieved with our SERF magnetometer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to its unique photothermal initiation mode, laser ignition has been considered as one of the most promising initiation methods for the next generation of initiators and pyrotechnics. Unfortunately, the wide application of laser ignition has been prevented by its stubbornly high initiating energy. With the benefit of a unique two-dimensional (2D) layered structure, graphene oxide has been reported to be effective in reducing the initiating energy for laser ignition. However, due to the intrinsic drawbacks of graphene oxide, a further reduction in initiating energy is still a challenging task. Notably, a core–shell structure is a very attractive framework for the design of functional materials owing to its versatility in regulating the properties of diverse components. Herein, we have designed a graphene-based core–shell structure by the in-situ formation of a uniform coating layer on the surface of individual graphene oxide sheets. The 3-aminophenol/formaldehyde resin coating layer will contribute to increases in light absorbance and energy density, which endow the surface coated graphene oxide with much improved photothermal properties. Accordingly, through use as the energy converter of the laser ignition device, a freestanding membrane of surface-coated graphene oxide is able to effectively enhance the temperature rise during laser irradiation and reduce the initiating energy for laser ignition. Such a strategy of designing a suitable core–shell structure will not only serve to further improve laser ignition, but also shed light on the development of 2D materials in different fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A miniature quad-channel optically pumped atomic magnetometer (OPM) has been developed based on the spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) mechanism. With a vapor cell of size 8 mm×8 mm×8 mm, we have incorporated four SERF magnetometer channels, which provides sufficient spatial resolution for magnetoencephalography (MEG). The four channels share the same laser beam for the best cancellation of common mode noise due to laser fluctuations. With gradient measurement, the sensitivities of the four sensors are better than 6 fT/Hz1/2, which is also good enough for MEG measurement. The vapor cell is heated to 160 °C by a novel nonmagnetic current-heating structure. Our sensor with high spatial resolution and compact size is particularly suitable for MEG systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an alternate adiabatic evolution for the Deutsch—Jozsa problem. The biggest difference of our adiabatic evolution constructed here with those appearing before is that an alternate initial Hamiltonian is used for the adiabatic evolution, with which the evolution task can be finished in O(1) time complexity. Our construction mostly resembles the one discussed by Das et al. [Phys. Rev. A 65 (2002) 062310], except for the initial system Hamiltonian of the adiabatic algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]