ABSTRACT
Si:As blocked impurity band detectors have been partially deprocessed and measured by Fourier transform spectroscopy to determine their transmittance and reflectance at cryogenic temperatures over the wavelength range 2 µm to 40 µm. A method is presented by which the propagation constants can be extracted from an inversion of the transmittance and reflectance data. The effective propagation constants for the active layer from 2 µm to 20 µm were calculated as well as the absorption cross section of arsenic in silicon, which agrees well with previous results from the literature. The infrared absorptance of the full detector was determined, and the analytical method also provides an estimate of absorption in the active layer alone. Infrared absorptance of the active layer is compared to the quantum yield measured by photoelectric means on similar detectors. The optical methods outlined here, in conjunction with standard electronic measurements, could be used to predict the performance of such detectors from measurements of the blanket films from which they are to be fabricated.
ABSTRACT
We have designed and constructed a linear polarizer for use with visible and infrared radiation. The broadband polarizer consists of four germanium plates arranged in a chevron geometry. Input radiation is incident near Brewster's angle for the first plate such that the reflected beam is preferentially s-wave polarized. This reflected beam is steered subsequently to the successive plates, always intersecting near Brewster's angle. The beam polarization at the output of the device is almost completely s-wave polarized. The ratio of the paraxial flux of the nearly extinguished p-wave polarized light to the s-wave polarized light transmitted through the device is found to be less than 10(-5) for laser illumination at wavelengths of 0.633, 1.32, 3.39, and 10.6 mum. Calculations predict that extinction ratios less than 10(-5) are achievable over the wavelength range from 0.4 mum to beyond 500 mum. Alternative design geometries involving fewer plates are also described along with their advantages and disadvantages.
ABSTRACT
We have investigated the ordinate scale accuracy of ambient temperature transmittance measurements made with a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrophotometer over the wavelength range of 2-10 mum. Two approaches are used: (1) measurements of Si wafers whose index of refraction are well known from 2 to 5 mum, in which case the FT-IR result is compared with calculated values; (2) comparison of FT-IR and laser transmittance measurements at 3.39 and 10.6 mum on nominally neutral-density filters that are free of etaloning effects. Various schemes are employed to estimate and reduce systematic error sources in both the FT-IR and laser measurements, and quantitative uncertainty analyses are performed.
ABSTRACT
Patients with severe nonthyroidal illnesses (NTIs) frequently have decreased serum concentrations of triiodothyronine (T3) and less often of thyroxine (T4) without clear evidence of hypothyroidism. To determine whether T3 and T4 levels are also reduced in the tissues, we analyzed autopsy samples from 12 patients dying of NTI and 10 previously healthy individuals dying suddenly from trauma. Mean serum T3, T4, and free T4 index values were lower by 79%, 71%, and 49%, respectively, in the NTI group than in controls, but serum thyrotropin (TSH) values did not differ significantly. Mean T3 concentrations in cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, pituitary, liver, kidney, and lung were lower in the NTI group than in controls by 43% to 76%, but mean values in heart and skeletal muscle did not differ significantly between the groups. The mean liver T4 concentration was 66% lower in the NTI group, but mean T4 concentrations in the cerebral cortex were similar in the two groups. These results indicate that many tissues may be deficient in thyroid hormones in patients with fatal NTI, although the severity of the reduction in thyroid hormone concentrations may vary from one organ to another.
