High-performance 1-10 THz integrating sphere.

The SPICA far-infrared instrument (SAFARI), one of instruments of the space infrared telescope for cosmology and astrophysics, requires a calibration source assembly to calibrate the transition edge sensor readout circuits. A high-performance integrating sphere working at SAFARI wavelength (34-230 µm) is essential. A novel process for preparing terahertz integrating spheres was developed. The aluminum surfaces after sandblasting, wet-etching, and gold plating processes demonstrate rough morphology but high reflectance of 0.91 in 1-10 THz. The spatial distribution of the measured output power excellently agrees with the numerical simulation results based on the assumption of uniform surface radiation at the output port.

Active auroral arc powered by accelerated electrons from very high altitudes.

Bright, discrete, thin auroral arcs are a typical form of auroras in nightside polar regions. Their light is produced by magnetospheric electrons, accelerated downward to obtain energies of several kilo electron volts by a quasi-static electric field. These electrons collide with and excite thermosphere atoms to higher energy states at altitude of ~ 100 km; relaxation from these states produces the auroral light. The electric potential accelerating the aurora-producing electrons has been reported to lie immediately above the ionosphere, at a few altitudes of thousand kilometres1. However, the highest altitude at which the precipitating electron is accelerated by the parallel potential drop is still unclear. Here, we show that active auroral arcs are powered by electrons accelerated at altitudes reaching greater than 30,000 km. We employ high-angular resolution electron observations achieved by the Arase satellite in the magnetosphere and optical observations of the aurora from a ground-based all-sky imager. Our observations of electron properties and dynamics resemble those of electron potential acceleration reported from low-altitude satellites except that the acceleration region is much higher than previously assumed. This shows that the dominant auroral acceleration region can extend far above a few thousand kilometres, well within the magnetospheric plasma proper, suggesting formation of the acceleration region by some unknown magnetospheric mechanisms.

Wavelength tuning of surface plasmon coupled quantum well infrared photodetectors.

A novel method of detection wavelength tuning for surface plasmon coupled quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs) was demonstrated. By changing of the thickness of the top contact layer, the detection wavelength can be adjusted. The displacement of the detection wavelength is related to the effective dielectric constant of the dielectric layers in the device structure. The peak wavelength moves toward longer wavelength as the contact layer thickness decreases. With a proper match of the 2D metal hole array and the QW absorption region, the responsivity can be kept within a reasonable range for samples with different top contact layer thicknesses.

Robust terahertz polarizers with high transmittance at selected frequencies through Si wafer bonding technologies.

Terahertz (THz) polarizers with robust structure and high transmittance are demonstrated using 3D-integrated circuit (IC) technologies. A Cu wire-grid polarizer is sealed and well protected by Si-bonded wafers through a low-temperature eutectic bonding method. Deep reactive-ion etching is used to fabricate the anti-reflection (AR) layers on outward surfaces of bonded wafers. The extinction ratio and transmittance of polarizers are between 20 dB and 33 dB, and 13 dB and 27 dB for 10 µm and 20 µm pitch wire-grids, respectively, and 100% at central frequency, depending on frequency and AR layer thickness. The process of polarizer fabrication is simple from mature semiconductor manufacturing techniques that lead to high yield, low cost, and potential for THz applications.

Repetitive patterns in rapid optical variations in the nearby black-hole binary V404 Cygni.

How black holes accrete surrounding matter is a fundamental yet unsolved question in astrophysics. It is generally believed that matter is absorbed into black holes via accretion disks, the state of which depends primarily on the mass-accretion rate. When this rate approaches the critical rate (the Eddington limit), thermal instability is supposed to occur in the inner disk, causing repetitive patterns of large-amplitude X-ray variability (oscillations) on timescales of minutes to hours. In fact, such oscillations have been observed only in sources with a high mass-accretion rate, such as GRS 1915+105 (refs 2, 3). These large-amplitude, relatively slow timescale, phenomena are thought to have physical origins distinct from those of X-ray or optical variations with small amplitudes and fast timescales (less than about 10 seconds) often observed in other black-hole binaries-for example, XTE J1118+480 (ref. 4) and GX 339-4 (ref. 5). Here we report an extensive multi-colour optical photometric data set of V404 Cygni, an X-ray transient source containing a black hole of nine solar masses (and a companion star) at a distance of 2.4 kiloparsecs (ref. 8). Our data show that optical oscillations on timescales of 100 seconds to 2.5 hours can occur at mass-accretion rates more than ten times lower than previously thought. This suggests that the accretion rate is not the critical parameter for inducing inner-disk instabilities. Instead, we propose that a long orbital period is a key condition for these large-amplitude oscillations, because the outer part of the large disk in binaries with long orbital periods will have surface densities too low to maintain sustained mass accretion to the inner part of the disk. The lack of sustained accretion--not the actual rate--would then be the critical factor causing large-amplitude oscillations in long-period systems.

Voltage-tunable dual-band quantum dot infrared photodetectors for temperature sensing.

We report voltage-tunable 3-5 µm & 8-12 µm dual-band detection in the InAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As/In0.15Ga0.85As confinement-enhanced dots-in-a-well quantum dot infrared photodetectors. The capability in temperature sensing is also demonstrated. Distinct response peaks at 5.0 µm and 8.6 µm were observed in the photocurrent spectra with working temperature up to 140K. The two peaks correspond to the transition paths from the quantum dot ground state to the quantum well state and the quantum dot excited state, respectively. At 77K, the response ratio of the 8.6 µm peak over the 5.0 µm peak changes from 0.29 at -3V to 5.8 at + 4.8V. Excellent selectivity between the two peaks with bias voltage makes the device attractive for third-generation imaging systems with pixel-level multicolor functionality.