Photonic-assisted approach for instantaneous microwave frequency measurement with tunable range by using Mach-Zehnder interferometers

A novel photonic-assisted approach to microwave frequency measurement is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The proposed scheme is based on the frequency-to-power mapping with different transmis- sion responses. A polarizer is used in one output branch of a phase modulator to simultaneously implement phase modulation and intensity modulation. Owing to the complementary nature of the transmission re- sponses and the Mach-Zehnder interferometers （MZIs）, this scheme theoretically provides high resolution and tunable measurement range. The measurement errors in the experimental results can be kept within 0.2 GHz over a freauencv ranee from 0.1 to 5.3 GHz.

Extraordinary tunable dynamic range of electrochemical aptasensor for accurate detection of ochratoxin A in food samples

We report the design of a sensitive,electrochemical aptasensor for detection of ochratoxin A(OTA)with an extraordinary tunable dynamic sensing range.This electrochemical aptasensor is constructed based on the target induced aptamer-folding detection mechanism and the recognition between OTA and its aptamers results in the conformational change of the aptamer probe and thus signal changes for measurement.The dynamic sensing range of the electrochemical aptasensor is successfully tuned by introduction of free assistant aptamer probes in the sensing system.Our electrochemical aptasensor shows an extraordinary dynamic sensing range of 11-order magnitude of OTA concentration from 10^−8 to 10^2 ng/g.Of great significance,the signal response in all OTA concentration ranges is at the same current scale,demonstrating that our sensing protocol in this research could be applied for accurate detections of OTA in a broad range without using any complicated treatment of signal amplification.Finally,OTA spiked red wine and maize samples in different dynamic sensing ranges are determined with the electrochemical aptasensor under optimized sensing conditions.This tuning strategy of dynamic sensing range may offer a promising platform for electrochemical aptasensor optimizations in practical applications.

Development of single-resonant optical parametric oscillator with tunable output from 410 nm to 630 nm

A single-resonant low-threshold type-Iβ-Ba_(2)BO_(4)(BBO) optical parametric oscillator (OPO) with tunable output from 410 nm to 630 nm at 5 k Hz repetition rate is reported.By taking the noncollinear phase matching method,low-threshold OPO operation could be obtained compared with the configuration of collinear phase matching,and the maximum optical–optical conversion efficiency of 11.8%was achieved at 500 nm wavelength when 0.4 m J pump pulse energy was applied.When the noncollinearity angle was preset at 1.6°,4.8°,and 6.3°,a continuously tuning output with a total spectral range of 220 nm was successfully obtained by adjusting the phase matching angle of the BBO crystal.

Fluorinated Polyimide/POSS Hybrid Polymers with High Solubility and Low Dielectric Constant

A series of fluorinated polyimide/POSS hybrid polymers（FPI-4-FPI-16） were prepared via a facile synthetic route using 2,2＇-bis（trifluoromethyl）benzidine, 4,4＇-oxydiphthalic dianhydride and monofunctional POSS as starting materials. The hybrid polymers showed excellent solubility and film formation ability. Flexible and robust hybrid films could be conveniently obtained via solution-casting. The hybrid films demonstrated low dielectric constants and high thermal stability. Their dielectric constants were in the range of 2.47-2.92 at 1 MHz measured for their capacitance, and were tunable and decreased with an increase of POSS content. Their 10% weight loss temperatures were in the range of 539-591 ℃ and the weight residual at 800 ℃ ranged from 48% to 53% in nitrogen atmosphere. These hybrid films also possessed good mechanical properties and hydrophobic characteristics. This work could provide a potential strategy for the preparation of fluorinated polyimide/POSS hybrid polymers.