ABSTRACT
Well characterized photon number resolving detectors are a requirement for many applications ranging from quantum information and quantum metrology to the foundations of quantum mechanics. This prompts the necessity for reliable calibration techniques at the single photon level. In this paper we propose an innovative absolute calibration technique for photon number resolving detectors, using a pulsed heralded photon source based on parametric down conversion. The technique, being absolute, does not require reference standards and is independent upon the performances of the heralding detector. The method provides the results of quantum efficiency for the heralded detector as a function of detected photon numbers. Furthermore, we prove its validity by performing the calibration of a Transition Edge Sensor based detector, a real photon number resolving detector that has recently demonstrated its effectiveness in various quantum information protocols.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The influence of different types of posts and cores on light transmission through all-ceramic crowns was assessed by spectrophotometric analysis and clinical evaluation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three extracted natural teeth were replicated in acrylic resin, with roots prepared to receive standardized posts and cores. Using a silicone impression material as a template, various prosthodontic reconstructions were obtained by combining four types of posts and cores (polished and matte-finished gold alloy, all-ceramic, and ceramized metal alloy) and three types of all-ceramic crowns (IPS-Empress 2 surface-colored, IPS-Empress 2 stratified, and In-Ceram). The spectrophotometric analysis was performed in the dark at 25 degrees C. The teeth were backlit with an incandescent lamp at the color temperature of A illuminant and shielded to avoid spurious light entering the spectrophotometer. The transmitted light was analyzed in terms of luminance at four points of the sample surface (cervical, middle, incisal, and proximal). Twelve measurements were performed for the natural teeth, and 144 were performed for the artificial teeth. RESULTS: Natural teeth had the highest luminance. Among all-ceramic crowns, surface-colored IPS-Empress 2 had the highest luminance, and stratified IPS-Empress 2 had the lowest. Regarding posts and cores, the luminance was highest with the all ceramic, lower with the ceramized and the polished gold alloy (which had very similar luminance), and lowest with the matte-finished gold alloy. No significant difference among prosthodontic combinations was detected under clinical observation. CONCLUSION: The surface-colored glass ceramic (IPS-Empress 2) was the most translucent crown. At the standard crown thickness used, there were small, significant spectrophotometric, but not clinical, differences among the combinations tested. These findings show no esthetic contraindications for the use of polished gold alloy posts and cores with all-ceramic crowns.
Subject(s)
Ceramics/chemistry , Crowns , Dental Porcelain/chemistry , Dental Prosthesis Design , Post and Core Technique , Acrylic Resins , Aluminum Oxide/chemistry , Aluminum Silicates/chemistry , Color , Colorimetry , Darkness , Esthetics, Dental , Gold Alloys/chemistry , Humans , Light , Metal Ceramic Alloys/chemistry , Models, Dental , Palladium/chemistry , Photometry , Post and Core Technique/instrumentation , Potassium Compounds/chemistry , Spectrophotometry , Statistics as Topic , Surface Properties , Temperature , Tooth Crown/anatomy & histology , Tooth Preparation, Prosthodontic , TransilluminationABSTRACT
We present an original implementation of the absolute-sphere method recently proposed by Ohno. The luminous-flux unit, the lumen, is realized by means of an integrating sphere with an opening calibrated by a luminous-intensity standard placed outside. The adapted experimental setup permits one to measure luminous-flux values between 5 and 2500 lm with a significant improvement with respect to the simulated performances reported in the literature. Traditionally, the luminous-flux unit, the lumen, is realized by goniophotometric techniques in which the luminous-intensity distribution is measured and integrated over the whole solid angle. Thus sphere results are compared with those obtained with the Istituto Elettrotecnico Nazionale goniophotometer. In particular, a set of standards, characterized by luminous-flux values of ~2000 lm, has been calibrated with both techniques. We highlight some of the problems encountered. Experimental results show that the agreement between the two methods is within the estimated uncertainty and suggest promising areas for future research.
ABSTRACT
The design of antireflection coatings at any light incidence is a challenging task in optics. To this aim, a minimax method is presented: it minimizes the maximum deviation of the spectral reflectance from the desired specifications over the wavelength for a given set of incidence angles. Refining is limited to lossless coatings with assigned refractive indices and undetermined thicknesses; the algorithm consists of iterating appropriate linear optimization steps. In the examples some minimax-refined coatings are compared with coatings reported in the literature.
ABSTRACT
A new minimax method for refining optical multilayer systems is presented. It minimizes the maximum deviation of the spectral transmittance from the desired specifications. These are assigned in such a general way that any shape can be approximated. The algorithm consists of iterating optimization steps that are obtained by developing the transmittance in the Taylor expansion versus the known parameters and solved by piecewise-linear programming. The investigation is limited to the design of losslessmultilayers with assigned refractive indices and undetermined thicknesses. Some minimax-refined designs are compared favorably with those reported in the literature.
ABSTRACT
A continuation method for synthesizing antireflection multilayer coatings is presented. It takes into account the family of similar problems constituted by the syntheses of spectrally flat coatings that approximate different transmittance levels in the range 0-1. This method traces a path moving from the transmittance (in air) of the chosen substrate to the full transmittance. Whenever one or more thicknesses become too thin, this path is branched by investigating the existence of other local minima, so several optimal designs characterized by different numbers of layers are obtained. Some examples show the capabilities of the proposed synthesis.
ABSTRACT
A method based on an optimization algorithm is presented for designing optical glass filters arranged in series. It implies specially structured applications of linear programming, which automatically reject too thin glasses. The algorithm enables work on an original very large set of glasses to be achieved in acceptable CPU time.
