工件表面轮廓均方根斜率的光散射测量

描述并确定具有明显纹理粗糙表面均方根斜率的光散射技术(均方根斜率是联合表面轮廓高度和波长特性的混合参数)。称为散射光锥法(The scattered light-conemethod)的该技术是基于激光角散射检测阵列(DALLAS——Defector Array for Laser LishtAngular Scattering),它用于测量粗糙表面散射光角分布的仪器。均方根斜率是从DALLAS光散射图象的角宽得到的。一般可以发现角宽(即估计的均方根斜率)对光的入射角和散射角变化相当大时是不敏感的。这些结果与表面材料无关,并且对正弦和随机粗糙表面都是有效的。介绍了散射光锥法的测量原理、实验、数据分析和几点结论。     

Energetic ion emission for active spacecraft control

Future space missions aiming at the accurate measurement of cold plasmas and DC to very low frequency electric fields will require that the potential of their conductive surfaces be actively controlled to be near the ambient plasma potential. In the near-Earth space these spacecraft are usually solar-cell powered; consequently, parts of their surface are most of the time exposed to solar photons. Outside the plasmasphere, a positive surface potential due the dominance of surface-emitted photoelectrons over ambient plasma electrons is to be expected. Photo- and ambient electrons largely determine the potential and positive values between a few Volts up to 100 V have been observed. Active ion emission is the obvious solution of this problem. A liquid metal ion emitter and a saddle field ion emitter are nearing the stage of flight unit fabrication. We will attempt to clamp the spacecraft potential to values close to the plasma potential. We present first results from vacuum chamber tests and describe the emission behaviour and characteristics of emitters producing, respectively, In⁺ and N₂⁺ beams with an energy of ≥ 5 keV.     

High resolution science with high redshift galaxies

We summarize the high-resolution science that has been done on high redshift galaxies with Adaptive Optics (AO) on the world’s largest ground-based facilities and with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). These facilities complement each other. Ground-based AO provides better light gathering power and in principle better resolution than HST, giving it the edge in high spatial resolution imaging and high resolution spectroscopy. HST produces higher quality, more stable PSF’s over larger field-of-views in a much darker sky-background than ground-based AO, and yields deeper wide-field images and low-resolution spectra than the ground. Faint galaxies have steadily decreasing sizes at fainter fluxes and higher redshifts, reflecting the hierarchical formation of galaxies over cosmic time. HST has imaged this process in great structural detail to z  6, and ground-based AO and spectroscopy has provided measurements of their masses and other physical properties with cosmic time. Last, we review how the 6.5 m James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will measure First Light, reionization, and galaxy assembly in the near–mid-IR after 2013.     

One-to-one relationship between low latitude whistlers and conjugate source lightning discharges and their propagation characteristics

One-to-one relation with its causative lightning discharges and propagation features of night-time whistlers recorded at low-latitude station, Allahabad (geomag. lat. 16.05°N, L = 1.08), India, from continuous observations made during 1–7 April, 2011 have been studied. The whistler observations were made using the Automatic Whistler Detector (AWD) system and AWESOME VLF receiver. The causative lightning strikes of whistlers were checked in data provided by World-Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN). A total of 32 whistlers were observed out of which 23 were correlated with their causative lightnings in and around the conjugate location (geom. lat. 9.87°S) of Allahabad. A multi-flash whistler is also observed on 1 April with dispersions 15.3, 17.5 and 13.6 s^1/2. About 70% (23 out of 32) whistlers were correlated with the WWLLN detected causative lightnings in the conjugate region which supports the ducted mode of propagation at low latitude. The multi-flash and short whistlers also propagated most likely in the ducted mode to this station.     

Occurrence of equatorial plasma bubbles over Kolhapur

This paper reports the nightglow observations of OI 630.0 nm emissions, made by using all sky imager operating at low latitude station Kolhapur (16.8°N, 74.2°E and dip lat. 10.6°N) during high sunspot number years of 24th solar cycle. The images are analyzed to study the nocturnal, seasonal and solar activity dependence occurrence of plasma bubbles. We observed EPBs in images regularly during a limited period 19:30 to 02:30 LT and reach maximum probability of occurrence at 22:30 LT. The observation pattern of EPBs shows nearly no occurrence during the month of May and it maximizes during the period October–April. The equinox and solstice seasonal variations in the occurrence of plasma bubbles show nearly equal and large differences, respectively, between years of 2010–11 and 2011–12.     

Analytical-HZETRN model for rapid assessment of active magnetic radiation shielding

The use of active radiation shielding designs has the potential to reduce the radiation exposure received by astronauts on deep-space missions at a significantly lower mass penalty than designs utilizing only passive shielding. Unfortunately, the determination of the radiation exposure inside these shielded environments often involves lengthy and computationally intensive Monte Carlo analysis. In order to evaluate the large trade space of design parameters associated with a magnetic radiation shield design, an analytical model was developed for the determination of flux inside a solenoid magnetic field due to the Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCR) radiation environment. This analytical model was then coupled with NASA’s radiation transport code, HZETRN, to account for the effects of passive/structural shielding mass. The resulting model can rapidly obtain results for a given configuration and can therefore be used to analyze an entire trade space of potential variables in less time than is required for even a single Monte Carlo run. Analyzing this trade space for a solenoid magnetic shield design indicates that active shield bending powers greater than ∼15 Tm and passive/structural shielding thicknesses greater than 40 g/cm² have a limited impact on reducing dose equivalent values. Also, it is shown that higher magnetic field strengths are more effective than thicker magnetic fields at reducing dose equivalent.     

Spectroscopic data and Stark broadening of Cu I and Ag I spectral lines: Selection and analysis

Optical emission and linear laser absorption spectroscopy techniques were used in investigation of plasma with copper and silver admixture. The method of selection of spectral lines and spectroscopic data with the aim of diagnostics of multicomponent air plasma with two metal vapors admixture was developed. Energy level populations behavior on the Boltzmann plot were used for Cu I and Ag I spectroscopic data selection. In this way the selection of spectroscopic data for some of Cu I and Ag I lines was realized. Stark broadening parameters of Cu I and Ag I were examined. Experimentally obtained temperature and electron density radial distributions were used in the calculation of plasma composition in the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium. Linear laser absorption spectroscopy was used to examine the state of plasma.     

Spectroscopy peculiarities of thermal plasma of electric arc discharge between electrodes with Zn admixtures

Plasma of the free burning electric arc between Ag–SnO₂–ZnO composite electrodes as well as brass electrodes were investigated. The plasma temperature distributions were obtained by Boltzmann plot method involving Cu I, Ag I or Zn I spectral line emissions. The electron density distributions were obtained from the width and from absolute intensity of spectral lines. The laser absorption spectroscopy was used for measurement of copper atom concentration in plasma. Plasma equilibrium composition was calculated using two independent groups of experimental values (temperature and copper atom concentration, temperature and electron density). It was found that plasma of the free burning electric arc between brass electrodes is in local thermodynamical equilibrium. The experimental verification of the spectroscopic data of Zn I spectral lines was carried out.     

Stochastic processes for line shapes and intensities

Stochastic processes provide flexible and fast calculations for modeling dynamical interactions between an atom and charged particles. We use a stochastic renewal process for the plasma microfield being the cause of Stark broadening. The accuracy and improvement possibilities of Lyman profiles calculations with a renewal process are analyzed by comparing to ab initio simulations for ion broadening only. Stochastic processes may also be applied to out of equilibrium plasmas. We present our first results for the effect of Langmuir waves on a line broadened by electrons only, and for the changes of atomic populations submitted to strong temperature fluctuations.