Measuring glass transition of a polymer coating layer over working fiber using forward Brillouin scattering.

The glass transition temperature is a key parameter of polymer coating layers that protect optical fibers, and it affects the proper function of the fibers in their service environment. Established protocols for glass transition temperature measurements are destructive, require samples of specific geometries, and may only be carried out offline. In this work, we report the nondestructive measurement of the glass transition temperature of an acrylate polymer coating layer over a working standard fiber.

Conformational mobility of small molecules in glass-forming solutions studied by FTIR spectroscopy.

Small molecules with two or more stable conformations when embedded in a glass-forming liquid (matrix) serve the role of "conformational probes", i.e., their conformational transitions are used to follow local mobility in the matrix.

Micro attenuated total reflection spectra of bulk silica glass: effects of experimental conditions and glass thermal history on appearance of a surface polariton in the Si-O stretching region.

Micro attenuated total reflection (micro-ATR) spectra of bulk silica glass were investigated for a variety of samples, including fused quartz slides, an optical fiber preform, and a series of optical fiber claddings. The experiments were performed at varied distances between the internal reflection element (IRE) and the sample. At certain conditions, a surface polariton peak is observed in the region 1100-1160 cm(-1).

Purification of soluble and active RaxH, a transmembrane histidine protein kinase from Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae required for AvrXa21 activity.

SUMMARY The RaxHR two-component regulatory system (TCS) of the rice pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae is required for AvrXa21 activity. RaxH is a typical transmembrane histidine protein kinase (HK), whereas RaxR is its concomitant response regulator (RR).

Application of micro-attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy to quantitative analysis of optical fiber coatings: effects of optical contact.

Micro-attenuated total reflectance (ATR) infrared spectroscopy is one of the few methods applicable for an in situ analysis of polymer coatings. In this method, the information is collected using an internal reflection element (IRE), which is brought into contact with the coated substrate. Perfect optical contact is hardly achievable for non-flat substrates and/or for those samples that cannot be well aligned with respect to the IRE.