David R. Smith

Bio: David R. Smith is an academic researcher from Duke University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Metamaterial & Antenna (radio). The author has an hindex of 110, co-authored 881 publications receiving 91683 citations. Previous affiliations of David R. Smith include Brunel University London & Princeton University.

EMCCDs for space applications

Abstract: This paper describes a qualification programme for Electron-Multiplication Charge Coupled Devices (EMCCDs) for use in space applications. While the presented results are generally applicable, the programme was carried out in the context of CCD development for the Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS) instrument on the European Space Agency's cornerstone Gaia mission. We discuss the issues of device radiation tolerance, charge transfer efficiency at low signal levels and life time effects on the electron-multiplication gain. The development of EMCCD technology to allow operation at longer wavelengths using high resistivity silicon, and the cryogenic characterisation of EMCCDs are also described.

Observation of ion scale fluctuations in the pedestal region during the edge-localized-mode cycle on the National Spherical Torus Experimenta)

Abstract: Characterization of the spatial structure of turbulence fluctuations during the edge localized mode cycle in the pedestal region is reported. Using the beam emission spectroscopy and the correlation reflectometry systems, measurements show spatial structure—k⊥ρiped—ranging from 0.2 to 0.7 propagating in the ion diamagnetic drift direction at the pedestal top. These propagating spatial scales are found to be anisotropic and consistent with ion-scale microturbulence of the type ion temperature gradient and/or kinetic ballooning modes.

Subwavelength plasmonics for graded-index optics on a chip.

Abstract: Planar plasmonic devices are becoming attractive for myriad applications, owing to their potential compatibility with standard microelectronics technology and the capability for densely integrating a large variety of plasmonic devices on a chip. Mitigating the challenges of using plasmonics in on-chip configurations requires precise control over the properties of plasmonic modes, in particular their shape and size. Here we achieve this goal by demonstrating a planar plasmonic graded-index lens focusing surface plasmons propagating along the device. The plasmonic mode is manipulated by carving subwavelength features into a dielectric layer positioned on top of a uniform metal film, allowing the local effective index of the plasmonic mode to be controlled using a single binary lithographic step. Focusing and divergence of surface plasmons is demonstrated experimentally. The demonstrated approach can be used for manipulating the propagation of surface plasmons, e.g., for beam steering, splitting, cloaking, mode matching, and beam shaping applications.

Relaxation of Alignment Errors and Phase Calibration in Computational Frequency-Diverse Imaging using Phase Retrieval

Abstract: We demonstrate a computational, frequency-diverse, phaseless imaging technique at microwave frequencies that minimizes the impacts of phase calibration and alignment errors on image reconstruction. Phase calibration error is introduced by means of misaligning the sub-antennas forming an aperture, causing unwanted phase shifts between the forward model and adjoint operation. It is shown that by leveraging phase retrieval techniques, distinguishable images can still be reconstructed in the presence of significant phase errors, while complex-based reconstructions—those relying on measurement of both phase and amplitude—produce heavily corrupted images. Using a frequency-diverse imaging system consisting of a cavity-backed metasurface antenna that operates at microwave frequencies in the K-band (17.5–26.5 GHz), we demonstrate the complex-based and phaseless images of various objects, from a simple subwavelength conducting element to more complex metal structures. We verify that the combination of the phase retrieval approach with the frequency-diverse imager significantly improves the robustness of the composite imaging system to phase errors. While frequency-diverse computational imaging systems have significant advantages in terms of hardware, their reliance on a near-exact forward model places heavy requirements on system calibration. The phase retrieval approach developed here has the potential to alleviate this reliance, increasing the feasibility of such systems.

Dynamic Metasurface Antennas Based Downlink Massive MIMO Systems

Abstract: Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is a promising technique to enable orders of magnitude improvement in spectral and energy efficiency by utilizing a large number of antennas. Despite its theoretical gains, the implementation of large-scale antenna arrays faces many practical challenges in hardware cost, power consumption, and physical size. In this work, we study downlink massive MIMO systems in which the base stations (BSs) are equipped with dynamic metasurface antennas (DMAs). DMAs can realize low-cost, power-efficient, planar, and compact antenna arrays. We first formulate a mathematical model for DMA-based downlink massive MIMO systems. Then, we characterize the achievable sum-rate for the resulting systems and design an efficient alternating algorithm to dynamically configure DMA weights to maximize the achievable sum-rate. Our numerical results demonstrate that, in addition to their simplicity and low cost, properly configured DMAs can achieve downlink sum-rate performance which is comparable with the fundamental limits of multi-user MIMO systems.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Abstract: 抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

Gold nanoparticles: assembly, supramolecular chemistry, quantum-size-related properties, and applications toward biology, catalysis, and nanotechnology.

Abstract: Although gold is the subject of one of the most ancient themes of investigation in science, its renaissance now leads to an exponentially increasing number of publications, especially in the context of emerging nanoscience and nanotechnology with nanoparticles and self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). We will limit the present review to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), also called gold colloids. AuNPs are the most stable metal nanoparticles, and they present fascinating aspects such as their assembly of multiple types involving materials science, the behavior of the individual particles, size-related electronic, magnetic and optical properties (quantum size effect), and their applications to catalysis and biology. Their promises are in these fields as well as in the bottom-up approach of nanotechnology, and they will be key materials and building block in the 21st century. Whereas the extraction of gold started in the 5th millennium B.C. near Varna (Bulgaria) and reached 10 tons per year in Egypt around 1200-1300 B.C. when the marvelous statue of Touthankamon was constructed, it is probable that “soluble” gold appeared around the 5th or 4th century B.C. in Egypt and China. In antiquity, materials were used in an ecological sense for both aesthetic and curative purposes. Colloidal gold was used to make ruby glass 293 Chem. Rev. 2004, 104, 293−346

Surface plasmon subwavelength optics

Abstract: Surface plasmons are waves that propagate along the surface of a conductor. By altering the structure of a metal's surface, the properties of surface plasmons--in particular their interaction with light--can be tailored, which offers the potential for developing new types of photonic device. This could lead to miniaturized photonic circuits with length scales that are much smaller than those currently achieved. Surface plasmons are being explored for their potential in subwavelength optics, data storage, light generation, microscopy and bio-photonics.

Phd by thesis

Abstract: Deposits of clastic carbonate-dominated (calciclastic) sedimentary slope systems in the rock record have been identified mostly as linearly-consistent carbonate apron deposits, even though most ancient clastic carbonate slope deposits fit the submarine fan systems better. Calciclastic submarine fans are consequently rarely described and are poorly understood. Subsequently, very little is known especially in mud-dominated calciclastic submarine fan systems. Presented in this study are a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) that reveals a >250 m thick calciturbidite complex deposited in a calciclastic submarine fan setting. Seven facies are recognised from core and thin section characterisation and are grouped into three carbonate turbidite sequences. They include: 1) Calciturbidites, comprising mostly of highto low-density, wavy-laminated bioclast-rich facies; 2) low-density densite mudstones which are characterised by planar laminated and unlaminated muddominated facies; and 3) Calcidebrites which are muddy or hyper-concentrated debrisflow deposits occurring as poorly-sorted, chaotic, mud-supported floatstones. These