Total external reflection

About: Total external reflection is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 829 publications have been published within this topic receiving 22213 citations.

Polycapillary X-ray optics for microdiffraction

Abstract: Polycapillary optics, i.e. shaped arrays consisting of hundreds of thousands of hollow glass capillary tubes, can be used to redirect, collimate or focus X-ray beams. X-rays emitted over a large angular range from conventional laboratory-based sources can be transformed into a beam with a small angular divergence or focused onto a small sample or sample area. Convergent beams of X-rays, with convergence angles as high as 15°, have been produced using polycapillary X-ray optics. Focused-spot sizes as small as 20 µm have been achieved, with flux densities two orders of magnitude larger than that produced by pinhole collimation. This results in a comparable decrease in data collection times because of the increase in direct-beam intensity and reciprocal-space coverage. In addition, the optics can be employed to reduce background and provide more convenient alignment geometries. The inverse dependence of the critical angle for total external reflection on photon energy results in suppression of high-energy photons. This effect can be employed to allow the use of higher tube potentials to increase the characteristic line emission and has also been employed to increase significantly the Kα/Kβ ratio in Cu radiation. Measurements of X-ray diffraction data and crystallographic analyses have been performed for systems ranging from elemental crystals to proteins. Data from a lysozyme protein `standard' with a slightly convergent beam, taken in 3 min per frame with 2° oscillation with a 2.8 kW source, refined to an intensity variance of 5% compared to a standard data set. High-quality data were also obtained with a 0.03 kW fixed-anode source and a 2° convergent lens in 5 min per frame.

Reflection of a Gaussian beam from a nonlinear interface.

Abstract: A numerical analysis of the reflection of a two dimensional Gaussian beam from the interface between a linear and a nonlinear medium is presented. The refractive index of the nonlinear medium is a function of the intensity of the radiation field, having a smaller value than the linear refractive index for zero field intensity. The Gaussian beam is incident from the linear medium and suffers total reflection at low intensity. At sufficiently high intensity nonlinear effects are observed. Above a threshold value the incident beam breaks up into a reflected wave and a surface wave. Once the beam is sufficiently strong for a surface wave to form, its interaction with the boundary becomes surprisingly independent of field intensity; but for very strong fields the reflectivity is increased at the expense of the surface wave. A very different behavior is observed when the refractive index is constrained to remain below a certain maximum value. Now the field detaches itself from the surface and penetrates into the nonlinear medium forming one or more distinct beams. The plane wave theory predicts the existence of hysteresis so that two different solutions should exist for the same physical parameters. A second solution was indeed found in one case with constrained refractive index, but its validity is somewhat uncertain at this time.

Spatial light modulators, holographic 3-dimensional display apparatuses including the spatial light modulators, and methods of modulating spatial light

Abstract: A spatial light modulator may include a refraction layer including first and second regions with refractive indices different from each other; and/or a metal thin film on a lower face of the refraction layer configured to generate surface plasmons due to light incident on the metal thin film via the refraction layer. When first light is incident on the refraction layer, a phase difference between light reflected by the first and second regions may occur. A spatial light modulator may include a metal thin film and a refraction layer on the metal thin film. The refraction layer may include a first region with a first refractive index and a second region with a second refractive index different from the first refractive index. When first light is incident on the refraction layer, there may be a phase difference between light reflected from the first and second regions.

Frustrated total internal reflection optical power limiter

Abstract: In order to protect a delicate photo-detector from high-intensity optical radiation such as from a laser, a device for limiting power to the detector is interposed between the radiation and detector This device has two embodiments and is made such that high-intensity radiation is totally reflected In the absence of high-intensity radiation, total reflection is frustrated, and desired radiation passes to the detector Both embodiments use two prisms with parallel surfaces skewed to incident radiation and with a slightly absorbant optical material between the surfaces Desired radiation normally passes through the prisms and the material to the detector In one embodiment, the material is a liquid which vaporizes in response to high-intensity radiation, and in the other embodiment, the material expands and pushes the prisms apart In either case, transmission of radiation halts, and the radiation is totally reflected by a prism skewed surface

Simulations of ferrite-dielectric-wire composite negative index materials.

Abstract: We perform extensive finite difference time domain simulations of ferrite based negative index of refraction composites. A wire grid is employed to provide negative permittivity. The ferrite and wire grid interact to provide both negative and positive index of refraction transmission peaks in the vicinity of the ferrite resonance. Notwithstanding the extreme anisotropy in the index of refraction of the composite, negative refraction is seen at the composite air interface allowing the construction of a focusing concave lens with a magnetically tunable focal length.