SiV centres in diamond: effect of isotopic substitution in carbon and silicon.

The neutrally charged silicon-vacancy defect (SiV) is a colour centre in diamond with spin S = 1, a zero-phonon line (ZPL) at 946 nm and long spin coherence, which makes it a promising candidate for quantum network applications. For the proper performance of such colour centres, all of them must have identical optical characteristics. However, in practice, there are factors that influence each individual centre.

doping of epitaxial diamond with germanium by microwave plasma CVD in GeH-CH-H mixtures with optical emission spectroscopy monitoring.

We report the growth of Ge-doped homoepitaxial diamond films by microwave plasma CVD in GeH-CH-H gas mixtures at moderate pressures (70-100 Torr). Optical emission spectroscopy was used to monitor Ge, H, and C species in the plasma at different process parameters, and trends for intensities of those radicals, gas temperature, and excitation temperature, with variations of GeH or CH precursor concentrations, were investigated. The film deposited on (111)-oriented single crystal diamond substrates in a high growth rate regime revealed a strong emission of a germanium-vacancy (GeV) color center with a zero-phonon line at ≈604 nm wavelength in photoluminescence (PL) spectra, confirming the successful doping.

Electrospun Core-Sheath Fibers with a Uniformly Aligned Polymer Network Liquid Crystal (PNLC).

Electrospun polymer-liquid crystal (PLC) fibers have potential applications such as wearable sensors and adaptive textiles because of their rapid response and high flexibility. However, existing PLC fibers only have a narrow responsive range and poor resistance to heat and chemicals. Herein, a new type of PLC fiber is prepared by using a coaxial electrospinning process.

Photoconductive terahertz generation in nitrogen-doped single-crystal diamond.

The generation of terahertz radiation in a photoconductive emitter based on nitrogen-doped single-crystal diamond was realized for the first time. Under 400 nm femtosecond laser pumping, the performance of diamond antennas with different dopant levels was investigated and compared with a reference ZnSe antenna. Terahertz waveforms and corresponding spectra were measured.

Visible and infrared optical modulation of PSLC smart films doped with ATO nanoparticles.

In recent years, smart windows have been gradually applied and developed in the fields of environmental protection, energy management, smart camouflage and display. With the continuous upgrading of market demand, smart windows with both visible and infrared band modulation functions are the future development trends. However, the optical modulation of smart windows is usually limited in the visible light band (380-780 nm).

The Influence of Monocular Spatial Cues on Vergence Eye Movements in Monocular and Binocular Viewing of 3-D and 2-D Stimuli.

The influence of monocular spatial cues on the vergence eye movements was studied in two series of experiments: (I) the subjects were viewing a 3-D video and also its 2-D version-binocularly and monocularly; and (II) in binocular and monocular viewing conditions, the subjects were presented with stationary 2-D stimuli containing or not containing some monocular indications of spatial arrangement. The results of the series (I) showed that, in binocular viewing conditions, the vergence eye movements were only present in the case of 3-D but not 2-D video, while in the course of monocular viewing of 2-D video, some regular vergence eye movements could be revealed, suggesting that the occluded eye position could be influenced by the spatial organization of the scene reconstructed on the basis of the monocular depth information provided by the viewing eye. The data obtained in series (II), in general, seem to support this hypothesis.

Smooth Pursuit in Elderly Adults Studied With Apparent Motion.

The variability of smooth pursuit eye movements was studied in a group of healthy subjects for horizontal apparent motion by a method that does not require direct measurements of eye movements. It was found that the individual smooth pursuit efficiencies for binocular perception in group of healthy elderly subjects (mean age 61 years) as well as in the group of healthy young adults were distinctly differentiated. Furthermore, we have not detected any age-related decrease in the fraction of subjects showing high smooth pursuit efficiencies.